The Most Important Lessons I Ever Learnt – From Sun Tzu’s “The Art Of War”

What is the difference between a Hustler and a player?

A player has goals, and a hustler has dreams. Players have a plan, and a directionless hustler is nothing more than a confused guy looking for an easy way out. Most people who want to be players end up becoming directionless hustlers.

I was given a copy of “The Art of War by the Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu” by my mentor, many years ago. It has been a constant source of inspiration for me ever since. I am now reading it again because it is even more relevant today than it was when I first read it.

This timeless classic has stood the test of time because of its validity as strategic advice for any leader or combatant in any confrontation. It is packed with hard-hitting, tactical advice essential for anyone who aspires to succeed in today’s brutal, complex world.

We all have blind spots, and it is up to us to keep trying to see our flaws to correct them. To that end, I have made it a point to study and re-read classic books and treatises on various aspects of life and business. Here are some of the lessons which have stuck with me:

Life and The Art Of War

The Attack is the secret of defense; defense is the planning of an attack.‌‌When competing against people who have the same level of education and experience as you do, it becomes increasingly important to enhance your arsenal of skills continually. The way to succeed in this arena is not by memorizing facts and figures but by developing your skills and becoming an expert in those areas where you have a distinct advantage over your competitors.

He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.‌‌Saying no is not always easy, and this phenomenon is also known as “work overload.” In reality, things almost always turn out to be more complicated than we initially imagined. There are “contingencies” that we did not consider, and unforeseen obstacles occur with great regularity. However, in almost every case, if you learn to say “no” gracefully, then over time next person will come to realize that you are not the pushover he thought you were.

Your productivity will likely decrease when you let your personal and family life slip down the priority list. This is a lose-lose situation. You either sacrifice your personal and family life to the cause of work – which probably won’t end well for you – or you let work take over your life – which almost guarantees burnout.  You cannot be great at everything, but you must aim high. If you are indifferent to anything except your self-interest, you are dead inside. The way to win here is not to play the game. We all have to eat, so to speak, and if you are not careful, people will always push projects on you that are not in your own best interest. You must learn to say no to these types of projects with a clear conscience. On the other hand, there are many opportunities out there that will be a perfect fit for you if you are open to them. All you have to do is find them.

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One may know how to conquer without being able to do it.‌‌Time is the irretrievable element. It flows like water down a drain. Once gone, it is impossible to get back.  How much time do we have? Not much. But, with a bit of planning, we can use that limited time as effectively as possible. The first step is awareness. We need to become aware of what we are spending our time on – and remove the things that are wasting our time. And, don’t think that just because something is important to you is essential to everyone else. The truth is that most people spend 95% of their time on things that are not important to other people at all.  Instead, your goal should be to free up more time for your dreams and goals. By outsourcing objectives to other people, you will have more time to accomplish your essential things. You can hire people to do something for you and spend more time on the things that count.

Anger may in time change to gladness; vexation may be succeeded by content. But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life.‌‌To be successful, you must be prepared to make a lot of mistakes. No matter how competent you are at what you do, there will always be an element of trial and error. It is true that if you do not make mistakes, you cannot learn anything. But that is not the way the world works. In the real world, you can reduce your chances of making mistakes by being prepared. Being prepared means having the right tools, the right information, and knowing when to ask for help

This is a result of the Golden Rule; Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Sometimes when we are frustrated with someone else, we fail to see the other person’s point of view. So what? Why should I care? The answer is simple: You should care because the other person’s perspective is often 100% correct. You may be wrong, but, most often, the other person is right. You will never know unless you try to see things from their eyes. People tend to remember the things that happened in the recent past and the things that happened years ago. So by being friendly with people who are difficult now but who may be very helpful later, you will build up an impressive collection of valuable contacts..

Ponder and deliberate before you make a move.‌‌Planning is knowing what you want to accomplish, and executing is doing it.  Execution is doing what you have planned.  The process of evaluating all the possible outcomes of a situation and choosing the best (or most desirable) one is called decision making. Decision-making is one of the most critical life skill sets, and it is crucial for everyday survival.

The point is that if you have a thought or an impulse, you should pause and reflect a little bit on whether saying or doing that particular thing will be in your best interest.  You should measure the effect your words or actions will have and then decide whether continuing in that specific direction will be to your advantage. These are simple rules of thumb that can improve the quality of your decisions and interactions with others, and they will also help you avoid making mistakes that can cost you time and money. Think of these rules of thumb as “filters” that allow you to decide what is essential and what can be ignored in any given situation.

Work and The Art of War‌‌

Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and When you move, fall like a thunderbolt.‌‌Good plans are not simply ideas you have in your head. A good plan is one you act upon. Without concrete action, a plan is just a plan and nothing more. This applies to both projects and everyday activities. Most people have a great idea of what they should do daily but fail to put those good intentions into action. And, as mentioned earlier, most people don’t even have a good idea of what they should do on a monthly or yearly basis. You need to work backward from the end goal and figure out what steps to take to get there.

It is prevalent for people who are getting started in any field to think they are already experts and don’t need to study or learn anything. This is a big mistake. Experts are always learners, and even the most seasoned veterans constantly need to learn new tricks and techniques to keep their skills fresh and sharp. The truth is that nobody can know everything and I believe that to reach your potential you must always be willing to learn new things. Failure to do so will eventually lead to burnout, and no matter how much money or success you have achieved, that is something you do NOT want to happen to you.

He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.‌‌A leader should not place too much emphasis on any one single advantage. A team must have all the advantages if it is going to succeed. However, a leader must also develop skill sets to be equally effective in all areas. If not, the team will find itself outmaneuvered and overwhelmed by more competent opponents.

Good people do good things. Great people do great things. Extraordinary people do extraordinary things. Organizations that have a distinctive culture achieve outstanding results. Great teams are great because of their ability to solve problems, and that requires a level of skill and expertise that can only be acquired through experience. However, the experience can be very short-lived. What is needed is that all team members remain in communication with each other and continue to acquire new knowledge.

There are not more than five primary colors, yet in combination, they produce more hues than can ever be seen.‌‌Tools are essential, but your ability to apply them to a particular situation and achieve a specific goal counts. Sometimes too much tool-pampering can get in the way of accurate creative problem-solving. A good analogy is a difference between a carpenter and a mechanic. A carpenter will always have many hand tools, but a mechanic will only use the ones he needs in any particular repair job.

We should all be more like artists. They say that artists are people who will boldly go where no one has gone before when presented with a blank canvas. In the same way, we should not be afraid to experiment with new things, even if we are a little unsure about the outcome. If an artist is willing to take a chance, perhaps it is time for the rest of us to follow suit.

Move not unless you see an advantage; use not your troops unless there is something to be gained; fight not unless the position is critical.‌‌Opportunities do not come with a “rabbit-ear” plastic bag attached to them. They come in all shapes and sizes. Some may be huge and obvious; others may be small and seemingly insignificant. The opportunities are out there, but you must be looking in the right places. And even if you do find an option, you still need to recognize it when you see it. In other words, you must develop a “feel” for opportunities.

People who have succeeded, did not sit back and relaxed until the opportunity was “legally” theirs. They took the initiative to go after the opportunities even before they were “legal.” That is why I always tell my readers that they should not wait for opportunities to come. Instead, they should go out and create opportunities. Opportunities are things that happen because of you, not because of some force beyond your control. If you are sitting around waiting for opportunities to come to you, you will be waiting forever. Go out there and create opportunities.

If he sends reinforcements everywhere, he will everywhere be weak.‌‌It is not possible to be good at everything, and you have to decide what you will be good at and focus all your energies on that area. Once you have identified your critical areas of strength, the next step is to determine which areas you need to work on. This is known as “fine-tuning.” The idea is to have a clearly defined plan and then work on that until it becomes a finely honed, efficient operation.

Studies show that multitaskers are less productive than those who focus on a single task at a time. The human brain is not designed to handle multiple tasks simultaneously. The quality of a person’s work suffers when they attempt to do two or more functions simultaneously. The person will likely do one job poorly and then move on to another task without completing the first.

Personal Improvement and The Art of War‌‌

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.‌‌The ability to recognize and understand human behavior is crucial to being a good leader, and it is one of the main ingredients of good leadership. Without it, it is almost impossible to lead others effectively. Leadership is all about influence, and influencing others requires an intimate knowledge of what affects them the most.

One thing that has helped me immensely over the years is to develop a good understanding of my personality. It has enabled me to understand what makes people tick and why they do what they do. This knowledge has also helped me to be a more effective communicator. It is easier for me to identify what motivates people and what kind of language they respond to. People don’t like to be insulted, but they also don’t want to be told “no” very often. Knowing what people like to hear helps me to say the right things at the right time. It also enables me to tailor my communications to the audience better. If I know my audience well, I won’t waste any words on them. I will speak only to those who need to hear it. For example, during my early days, I failed to realize that my client then didn’t understand how networks worked, and I loaded him with details about IP, subnets, firewalls, etc. What I was doing for this particular client was NOT helping him. In fact, what I was doing was making it harder for him. And besides that, I wasn’t paying attention to what he was saying or the way he was responding to what I was saying. So, if you are working on a project and you get stuck or your client gets stuck or you both get confused, stop talking and start listening.

Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while Defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.‌‌A  true player knows that he will never stop working until he has achieved his goal or, at the very least, has found an acceptable substitute. True success is not something you earn; it is something you continue to work toward every day of your life. Just because you’ve finished the first phase of the process doesn’t mean that the journey is over. There’s always another hill to climb, another mountain to overcome, another river to cross. Don’t ever think that the trip is complete – it’s only just begun.

Regret stops you from moving forward, and it keeps you stuck in the past. True victory lies in the here and now. Making a decision and then going on to something else is fine – but only if you go on to something else better than the original decision. If you examine the decision you made and find it lacking, you should question why you found the decision lacking and take the necessary steps to correct it. But it would help if you did not dwell on it. Go on to something else.  Make another decision. Keep doing this repeatedly, and you will become a master of the art of making good decisions.

There is no instance of a nation benefiting from prolonged warfare.‌‌Whatever you are doing is an act of creation. When you create something, you should give it your all right from the start. If you don’t, you will never be able to produce your best work. Worse, if you procrastinate, you may end up having substandard work that is almost impossible to improve. Please don’t waste time trying to figure out what to do or how to do it. Figure it out as you go along. If you are working on a marketing project, for example, don’t wait for perfection. Start writing or creating now. The sooner you get started, the more likely you are to succeed.

The sooner you implement your idea, the less likely you are to have some “competing.” A person (with a similar idea) beat you to the punch. Don’t let this happen to you. Get your concept implemented as soon as possible! It will give you a huge advantage.

In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.‌‌You have to learn to embrace problems – not run from them. Problems are opportunities in disguise, and they are often the hidden blessing that makes the difference between mediocre performance and outstanding performance. Problems help you grow, and they force you to adapt. They force you to become a more skilled and effective problem solver. To successfully navigate the rough waters of life, you need to learn to profit from problems.

You cannot control everything, so you need to develop a sense of humor about what you cannot control. This allows you to make the best of what you can control. Controlling what you can control is the essence of effective management. If you don’t learn to accept and even embrace this truth, you will spend all your time and energy trying to control things out of your control, which will cripple your ability to do anything at all.

Never venture, never win!‌‌For everyday people like you and me, a career change can go a long way. A recent study shows that Americans over the age of 50 have the highest rate of job-hopping (7 times higher than the average for all working Americans), and people over the age of 55 have the highest rate of changing careers (12 times higher than the average for all working Americans). There are many reasons for job-hopping, including boredom, dissatisfaction, financial need, and a desire to try something new. Whatever the reason, it happens all the time. The good news is that job-hopping is not only expected, it is also easy. The process of changing careers is similar no matter what profession you are in. The first step is to make a list of everything you currently are doing and are proud of. Next, think about everything else you could be doing. Finally, evaluate which of the new opportunities seem more exciting and have more growth potential.

There’s no such thing as an overnight success. Success takes time, effort, and, often, trial and error. But the rewards of persisting and never giving up can be tremendous.  The first step in this direction is to identify your skills and knowledge gaps. What do you need to know to be more effective? Where do you need to improve? Once you’ve identified these areas, the next step is to find out what people are willing to teach you. It’s essential to have some passion or “fire” about something in your life. If you don’t, it won’t be easy to make any significant progress in any area of your life. If you lack passion or fire for something, you might decide to learn about it because “it should be interesting.” However, if this is true, you will quickly grow bored with the endeavor. If you find something you are passionate about, then the learning process will become exciting and fun.

‌What lesson from The Art Of War has been the most valuable one for you?