7.1

"In general, the way of military operations is

• The general receives his orders from the ruler;
• He assembles together the many [soldiers] of the army;
• He makes peace with allies and camps.

There is nothing more difficult than armed struggle."
- Sun Tzu

The title of Book 7 is "Armed Struggle." While this passage seems to talk about a single general, it is important to understand that Sun Tzu means both sides follow military operations this way. This is the meaning of the "struggle": like two opponent chess players setting up their pieces across from each other on the board, the generals of the opposing sides must set up their armies and start thinking about how they will employ their troops to gain a position of advantage over their enemy.

Sun Tzu tells us that nothing is more difficult than deciding, after the army is assembled and encamped, what the army should contend for and how should they contend for it. One must choose where one is going to mobilize the army, what grounds the army should occupy, what pathway should they follow, what advantages they are hoping to find.

These are all decisions that, if made wrong, could be disastrous for the army. Thus, Book 7 will delve into why it is important to understand the dangers of employing the army, since, as Sun Tzu tells us in Book 2, "one who does not fully know the dangers of using the army cannot fully know the advantages of using the army."

In life, your situation is the same,. Once you've determined the path of success you wish to start, you have to be clear about what you are contending for and how you will contend for it.

​Are you really going to take the same path that everyone else is taking? Is it really the best move to spend thousands of dollars or go deeper into debt to do that education program? Should you really take that job with long hours or long days of travel away from your family just to get higher pay? Are you really going to take on any client just to get money for your small business? Are you really going to exclusively date that one person who doesn't have a job or a stable life just because they are "fun"?

Your success depends on the choices you make. If you do not think about the risks of certain choices, the dangers they may provide you, then you open yourself up to more and more expensive disasters down the line.

What you contend for and how you contend for it should be your first considerations before you take on any endeavor or journey.