How war can teach us about life.
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“Life is a battle every day” — Joanna Roberts Chandler, circa 98 or so, in Hartford Connecticut
When I was about 20 ,someone handed me a copy of Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War.” Sun Tzu was a general who lived during the Spring and Autumn periods of ancient China.
You don’t need to be the strongest, or the scariest, or even the most numerous to win the day. You just need a plan about how you are going about your days
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At that point in my life I weighed a buck ten soaking wet and was a crotchtail waitress. Every day life consisted of eluding the grasp of non tipping patrons, while going to school full time. How was a book about how to win a war going to help me?
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The Art of War is a short book, filled with fables. It explains how to use your opponent’s abilities against them. One of my favorite stories in it is about a battle where the attacking army was vastly outnumbered.
They were trying to take a walled city on a hill. The general on the outside of the wall told his people to build twice as many fires as men the first night of the siege. The second night, they made half the amount of fires. The third night, half again.
Once you stop thinking of yourself as a soldier and more of a general in your own life- magical things start to happen.
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The people in the citadel see this, and think that the army is filled with deserters. They mock them, thinking it will be an easy battle . They decide to go on the offensive. They open the gates, and are captured by the marauding army.
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How does this connect with how you live your life? Well, there is something to be said about being strategic in your thinking. You don’t need to be the strongest, or the scariest, or even the most numerous to win the day. You just need a plan about how you are going about your days.
Once you stop thinking of yourself as a soldier and more of a general in your own life- magical things start to happen. The rough edges of schedule and work start to bend to you instead of the other way around. People think you have lost 10 lbs.The boss asks your opinion.
The downside is that people ask you for directions while you stride through cities you have never been to. But a small price to pay for a life you are leading instead of a life that leads you.
Note: A heartfelt thank you to all the veterans everywhere- war is indeed hell.
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Photo: Getty Images
Unfortunately, many generals and people in business don’t care much about the lives of their people under their command and use them ruthlessly for their own personal ambitions and then toss them away when they don’t need the survivors anymore.
Hi G-
The key here is that you are your own general. That your life is your war, and that when you decide to take charge of that- you are the one who is in control. Not everything can be in your power- but you can most certainly control yourself.
Even generals need support. Any general who thinks he/she got anywhere in life by himself/herself is a fool.