Who does not know the evils of war cannot appreciate its benefits.
Sun TzuRead
First learn to become invincible, then wait for your enemy's moment of vulnerability.
Interpretation
One must first build strength and resilience before seizing opportunities against adversaries.
This quote from Sun Tzu emphasizes the importance of preparation and self-improvement as foundational steps before engaging in conflict. It suggests that having a solid defense and strategy will position you to effectively identify and take advantage of your opponent's weaknesses when they arise.
In practice
During a leadership workshop to discuss strategic planning and competitive advantage.
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.
You are your greatest investment. The more you store in that mind of yours, the more you enrich your experience, the more people you meet, the more books you read, and the more places you visit, the greater is that investment in all that you are. Everything that you add to your peace of mind, and to your outlook upon life, is added capital that no one but yourself can dissipate.
A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.
I believe that if you don't derive a deep sense of purpose from what you do, if you don't come radiantly alive several times a day, if you don't feel deeply grateful at the tremendous good fortune that has been bestowed on you, then you are wasting your life. And life is too short to waste.
The obvious choice isn't always the best choice, but sometimes, by golly, it is. I don't stop looking as soon I find an obvious answer, but if I go on looking, and the obvious-seeming answer still seems obvious, I don't feel guilty about keeping it.
Sometimes you learn more from losing than winning. Losing forces you to reexamine.
If you are able to state a problem - any problem - and if it is important enough, then the problem can be solved.
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