SUN TZU AND 5 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO BE MORE SUCCESSFUL
Success like beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Each of us strives for success in many different areas of our lives simultaneously. Financial, career, sporting, and social, there are so many areas in which we compete. Below are five dynamics you can apply to improve your success. So where do you start? Start with the understanding you are already successful. The first and last challenge is to see how much more successful you can be.
1. You don't need a perfect strategy.
Too often we end up fighting the wrong battle in the wrong field. You don't need a perfect strategy, you need a winning strategy. We can find we are fighting we don't need to be fighting and so we are not at our best when it comes to critical battles or challenges. Learn from your mistakes and move on.
1.26. Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation at all! It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose.
The fact you realise that you need to have a strategy is a great beginning. Many people think themselves out of actually doing anything. While over-strategizing you can miss opportunities. A strategy is a guide, the more time you put into trying to get a perfect strategy the more time you take away from developing tactics. Tactics equate to actions, actions equate to getting things done and moving you on to success.
5.14. Therefore the good fighter will be terrible in his onset, and prompt in his decision.
So avoid “paralysis through analysis”. Plan your strategy, focus your tactics, and get going. You can refine the details as you go because situations change as you go. Battles and challenges are never static. There is a time to think and a time to act.
2. Convert problems into opportunities.
It is easy to let problems overwhelm you at times. If all you see are problems, then you will soon be worn out and then the problems seem much larger and tougher than they are. When you can only see problems, go back to basics and simplify things.
5.5. In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed to secure victory.
You know there are only two ways to meet a challenge, head-on or with strategy. You have overcome problems before, so you know you have what it takes. Problems may change, but the dynamic to overcoming them does not. Thoughtful and timely actions have always been the way and will always be the way. When you can't change the situation and all you see are problems, change your perspective. Changing your aspect can reveal a whole host of solutions to choose from. Try seeing if you can break the problem down into smaller problems that can be handled more easily. View the problem as if it is someone else's problem and consider how they would solve it. Either way, you reduce the stress you are feeling and when you are less stressed you can think better.
8.7. Hence in the wise leader's plans, considerations of advantages and disadvantages will be blended together.
Review your strengths. This will give you more confidence. You know there will be actions you can't take, so don't worry about them. Start with something small you can do and build from there. When you review your strengths this instantly moves you to a mindset that is more positive and a positive mindset will see opportunities.
6.24. Carefully compare the opposing army with your own, so that you may know where strength is superabundant and where it is deficient.
When you compare your strengths to the weaknesses of the problem, opportunities will appear. Even the smallest opportunity can be built on or lead to other possibilities that you can convert into opportunities.
10. Reduce the hostile chiefs by inflicting damage on them, make trouble for them, and keep them constantly engaged; hold out specious allurements, and make them rush to any given point.
When you break down big problems into smaller problems you can then organise them. This will give you a sense of control. When you feel in control, you will be more open to seeing solutions than just problems. It is easier to take on a smaller problem, there are always solutions to smaller problems.
3. Stop the brain fade.
When you try to deal with too much at once, your brain will quickly tire and your progress will slow dramatically. So will your success. To be more successful you need to continually improve how to handle information. How to get it, how to manipulate it, and how to use it.
13.4. Thus, what enables the wise sovereign and the good general to strike and conquer, and achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men, is foreknowledge.
Sometimes we can have a glut of information, however, usually, you don't need all of the information on offer. Too much information can hurt you by hiding the key details you need. Recognize that foreknowledge is an asset, an ocean of information can be a hindrance. The key is getting the right information before you need to use it.
13. 6. Knowledge of the enemy's dispositions can only be obtained from other men.
Don't try to reinvent the wheel. The vast majority of problems you will face have been dealt with by someone you know or you can find to help you. Strength is not stoic, silent resistance. Strength, genuine strength is attracting a team that can help you solve the problem. Fortune favours the brave because they know when they need help and will find a way to attract that help. Two heads are better than one, if you need help or advice, find someone who is successful in that skill and ask for assistance.
13.17. Without subtle ingenuity of mind, one cannot make certain of the truth of their reports.
Know that you need information, and also know when you have enough to decide and then take action. Focus on what information you need to defeat your problem, when you have it use it and move on.
4. Educate yourself continually.
Some say that things have changed, that now we need to keep learning until we die. This point of view needs to be challenged. One has to wonder if an age ever existed. Education does not have to be a chore. Modern technology has revolutionised how you can learn today. Try different ways until you find something that suits your lifestyle and interests. Education does not have to follow the traditional, formal path, although in some professions it may be. Outside of this though there is so much information we can access today that was nonexistent a decade ago. Universities are putting their courses online for free. New gadgets mean we can take this knowledge anywhere we dind it and tap into it.
2.16. Now in order to kill the enemy, our men must be roused to anger; that there may be an advantage from defeating the enemy, they must have their rewards.
When you have success, reward yourself. This is important as success breeds success, we are told. Rewarding yourself for being successful, maintains the winning attitude.
7.2. Having collected an army and concentrated his forces, he must blend and harmonise the different elements thereof before pitching his camp.
Your knowledge is your army.. knowing more than the next guy makes you more powerful than the next guy. What you don't know is probably what is going to hurt you. Fire. Hot. Ouch. Bad. Don't touch it. Education gives you information. Experience turns it into knowledge. Knowledge is the turning of information into weapons to defeat your problems and improve your success.
8. 6. So, the student of war who is unversed in the art of war of varying his plans, even though he is acquainted with the Five Advantages, will fail to make the best use of his men.
Try being more flexible. Be open to doing things differently. You don't have to change things wholesale. Sometimes a little tweak here and there can be most beneficial. While not trying to fix something that isn't broken, you will not improve and time will make some of your methods less efficient. When you learn, you change, it is unavoidable. Guiding your learning so you are improving and not just changing is the key.
5. Stop being a slave to 'the short-term'.
The short term while easier to know and understand must serve the long term. Take superannuation. Your short-term actions are made to enhance the long-term value.
2.19. In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.
4.17. In respect of military method, we have, firstly, Measurement; secondly, Estimation of quantity; thirdly, Calculation; fourthly, Balancing of chances; fifthly, Victory.
4.18. Measurement owes its existence to Earth; Estimation of Quantity to Measurement; Calculation to Estimation of Quantity; Balancing of Chances to Calculation; and Victory to Balancing of Chances.
Love the process, enjoy the rewards. Get the process right and the rewards will flow. You should have three plans in one, short, medium, and long-term. The plans should flow one into another like a stream into a river into the ocean. One is for getting started, one is to keep the flow going and the last is to guide you to your destination. Any change to the plans, all good plans change to meet the changes in situations, should be an evolution. If you need a revolution, you have missed a step or taken a misstep.
Some of us don't understand that battles are fought to win wars. If you don't aim to win the war, you will be condemned to fighting battle after battle and winning nothing in the long term but a long tale of woes. Battles and tactics are short-term. Wars and strategies are the long term. Long-term and short-term are relative judgments and time-sensitive. Depending on what you are focusing on, the short-term can range from a few minutes to a few years. Like catching a bus as opposed to getting a high-paying job and buying a car.
2.20. Thus it may be known that the leader of armies is the arbiter of the people's fate, the man on whom it depends whether the nation shall be in peace or in peril.
In the end, it all comes down to you, your choices will determine how successful you are. It is a worthwhile activity to take the time to map your previous successes. This will remind you that you have been successful and secondly, it will help you understand how you are successful. This will give you a firm base to build on. An appropriate plan will keep you focused, energized, and prepared. Having a plan will keep you where this last line advises us to be.
8.11 The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable.
Sun Tzu by the Numbers
The Four Important Influences
5 Ways to Maintain a Long-Term Focus
The Five Levels of Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu and 5 Things You Can do to be More Successful
5 Steps to Boost the Skills That Will Help You Better Yourself.
8 Points on Tactical Dispositions
9 Thoughts on Friendship
10 Ways to Move Art of War Into Your Life.
Ten Principles of Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu and 15 Ways to Make Better Choices.
