Sun Tzu on making yourself hard to beat before you try to win. From The Art of War by Sun Tzu, about the 5th century BC.
Most advice about winning is about attack: find the opening, strike first, go hard.
Chapter 4 of The Art of War starts somewhere else. It looks back at the good fighters of old, the generals Sun Tzu held up as models. They did two things, it says, and always in the same order. The first had nothing to do with the enemy.
In chapter 4 of The Art of War, the good fighters of old first made themselves impossible to defeat, then waited for the enemy to offer a chance. Not losing is in your hands; the chance to win comes from the other side. On Zhao’s northern border, Li Mu was mocked as a coward until his trap crushed the raiders.
Make yourself hard to beat, then wait for the opening. Practical advice: before you push for something big, fix the one weak spot that could sink you.
Likely, on the evidence · checked against 3 sourcesName the one weak spot that could sink you, and fix it this week.
“I want a promotion, but my position at work feels shaky. What should I shore up first?”
First, Don’t Lose and the other 11 ideas of The Art of War, a minute at a time.
Download on theApp StoreEvery idea is drawn from the public-domain text, and its names, dates and quotes are checked against the sources listed with it. The paintings are made for Counsel; they show the scene, not a historical record.
