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"Keep the general who listens to my calculations, for in using him, he will win. Remove the general who does not listen to my calculations, for in using him, he will lose."
- Sun Tzu One of the big challenges of applying The Art of War to life is the book, though short (13 short chapters that could be read in a day), contains a lot of principles to draw wisdom and guidance from. In addition, though the text appears simple, it is actually part of an elaborate and deep system of thought with a lot of layers. To make it easier for myself to put Sun Tzu's principles and strategies into practice, I came up with this list of ten simple rules to guide my everyday decisions. These rules are:
Following these rules consistently has helped me not just in making good decisions, but in avoiding making bad ones. Below I go into them in more depth. Rule 1: Cultivate the Tao For Sun Tzu, the Tao, or the Way, is what unites the upper and lower ranks in the army towards achieving a higher purpose. It’s what motivates the ruler, officers, and soldiers to act in the face of danger and informs them of why they are doing what they are doing. In your own life, you must develop your own Tao - a deep sense of purpose, a philosophy of what you want out of life and how you want to live. Your Tao encompasses your values and aspirations, your priorities and desires. Cultivating your Tao means looking at your situation and choosing actions that align with your Tao, your Way, so that you can maximize joy and fulfillment in your life. Rule 2: Calculate the risks before committing Sun Tzu tells us, “Only by calculating the dangers of going to war can you calculate the advantages.” Every endeavor you make has potential costs and dangers. You have to familiarize yourself with these before starting anything. What are the potential costs or dangers of starting a relationship with this person, or starting this business, or taking this job? The bigger the commitment, the greater the need to calculate the risks. Rule 3: Conceal your goals and intentions “Warfare,” Sun Tzu tells us, “is the Way of deception.” An army must conceal its position, its plans, and its actions from the enemy. For you, this means resisting the urge to tell other people your plans or ideas. The world has a very strange way of opposing your intentions if it knows about them. Friends and family will offer criticism. Enemies will offer obstacles and resistance. Even you will sabotage your own plans - through self-doubt, insecurity, or laziness. Your goal must be to keep your plans and movements secret. Rule 4: Gather intel Intelligence, or what Sun Tzu calls “foreknowledge” (xiān zhī), is a prerequisite for taking any kind of action or making any decision. Want to get into a relationship with someone? Find out about his/her interests, hobbies, values. Want to get a job at a company? Research the company - its market, its competitors, its products and services, etc. Want to try a new diet? Read what you can on it - how will it impact your life, what are the benefits, what are the potential downsides. Get enough information to get a clear picture of what you might be getting into. Rule 5: Make sure you are protected before taking action Sun Tzu tells us, “Skilled warriors first occupy an unassailable position, and then wait for the enemy to be open to attack.” Your priority in any endeavor is to make sure that if your endeavor fails, you are protected against losses. Don’t quit your job before you know you have that other job. Don’t move to that new town unless you have a backup plan. Give yourself a safe space to make mistakes and fail. Rule 6: Use your strengths to exploit opportunities For Sun Tzu, the way to victory is to attack with strength where the enemy is fewest or weakest. This same principle applies to life. Don’t try to strengthen where you are weak; rather, use your natural skills, talents, and traits to take advantage of opportunities that would be easier for you to maintain. Play in a space where you can dominate. Choose a business or job that fits exactly what you are good at and that you know you can contribute to. Choose a relationship where you can clearly see how your romantic strengths can fit with your partner’s. Find a place where you can uniquely contribute. The better the fit between you and the opportunity, the easier it will be to succeed. Rule 7: Take action only if there is some advantage The common advice when it comes to life or success is often focused on taking action, action, action. For Sun Tzu, however, taking action can be dangerous. Taking action may reveal your position, or it may cost valuable resources. This is the same philosophy you need to take in your own life. Make your moves strategic: only take action when there is something to gain. Only apply to job positions that will move you forward in your career; don’t apply just to escape your current job. Only launch a new product if it aligns with your philosophy and will strengthen your positioning in the market; don’t launch just because people are willing to pay. Only look for a relationship if you want to grow in your life; don’t do it just to escape loneliness. Rule 8: Accumulate as many little advantages as possible Following Rule #7 - yes, take action only if there is an advantage, but that doesn’t mean the advantage needs to be big. An advantage is any resource or opportunity that can improve your chances for success. An advantage could be a new connection to add to your professional network, a new client, a mentor, a tool or tip for improving your results. Anything that can increase your odds of success helps, and the more of these advantages you have, the closer you get to a tipping point. Rule 9: Focus on quick, secure victories with modest rewards over long, risky victories that can reap huge rewards For Sun Tzu, the biggest calamity in war is fighting a long, drawn-out war, regardless of the potential benefits. A long, drawn-out war sucks resources, costs lives, and opens a nation up to being attacked by neighboring countries. In life, this same principle applies. What you are after is a quick victory, one that doesn’t cost you much in time, effort, or money, but that can give you decent profits. For example, if you have to choose between job #1, which pay a lot, but comes with insane work hours and huge responsibilities and lots of restrictions in terms of decision making, and job #2, which pays less than than job #1, but offers you a lot more time and space to make decisions, job #2 would be the better choice. Though it’s less money, job #2 offers greater freedom and more time. Likewise, if you have to choose between client #1, who is willing to pay a substantial amount of money, but who comes with a lot of headaches and requires a lot of attention, and client #2, who pays less than client#1, but who is very easy to manage and requires little attention, then client #2 would be the better choice. Client #2 offers more time and freedom to acquire more clients like him. Rule 10: Once committed, go deep For all of Sun Tzu’s talk of calculating risks, moving only if there is advantage, and prioritizing being protected before taking action, his most controversial piece of advice is that when running a campaign, always invade as deeply as possible into enemy territory, where the danger is the highest. Why? Because the deeper you are in enemy territory, the more unified and motivated your army is. The army must work together and fight to survive, putting in more energy and attention than the enemy will to do so. The same goes with life. Once you’ve decided to commit to a certain endeavor - to take a job, to get into a relationship, to start a business - you must take the plunge. You must dedicate your time and energy to making it successful. You must be fully committed to improving and contributing. You must take your commitment very seriously, working with a sense of urgency and desperation. If you’ve followed Rules 1-9 well, then you will come out on top.
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