Who does not know the evils of war cannot appreciate its benefits.
Sun TzuRead
Appear at points which the enemy must hasten to defend; march swiftly to places where you are not expected.
Interpretation
The quote advises using strategy and unpredictability to gain an advantage over opponents.
Sun Tzu emphasizes the importance of strategy and surprise in achieving victory. By appearing where the opponent is unprepared and forcing them to respond quickly to defend their position, one can create an upper hand in conflict or competition. This principle can be applied not only to warfare but also in various aspects of life where strategic thinking is essential.
In practice
In a team meeting, you could reference this quote when discussing innovative approaches to outsmart the competition.
Who does not know the evils of war cannot appreciate its benefits.
Great results, can be achieved with small forces.
To capture an enemies army is better than to destroy it.
The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand.
You can ensure the success of your attacks if you only attack places that are undefended. You can ensure the safety of your defense if you only hold positions that cannot be attacked. Therefore, that general is skillful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend; and he is skillful in defense whose opponent does not know what to attack.
If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.
What we get from each moment depends on the attention we give it, and the quality of our experience reflects the quality of our awareness.
As my sufferings mounted I soon realized that there were two ways in which I could respond to my situation -- either to react with bitterness or seek to transform the suffering into a creative force. I decided to follow the latter course.
I don't guess. I think. I ponder. I deduce. Then I decide. But I never guess.
A man must not always tell all, for that be folly; but what a man says should be what he thinks.
The interior joy we feel when we have done a good deed is the nourishment the soul requires.
There's hard lessons in this world. What's the hardest? I dont know. Maybe it's just that when things are gone they're gone. They aint comin back.
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