Thursday 17 May 2012

The Art of War

"The Art of War" by Sun Tzu.  Why on earth would I be talking about a book on strategies of warfare in a blog all about personal development and success?  Especially considering my personal philosophy is that all war and violence is inherently wrong no matter what the provocation!  The reason is simple: although Sun Tzu wrote his book as a treatise on military strategy it can actually be used by anyone to achieve almost any objective if they read it properly.  Many successful business leaders have used "The Art of War" to achieve their business success.  Some personal development coaches use it as the basis of their coaching - and charge their clients high fees for the privilege.

You can use "The Art of War" to improve your sporting ability, build a business, overcome personal challenges, widen your social circle, make bullies leave you alone, attract a member of the opposite sex (or, for that matter, the same sex) - in fact, for almost any challenge you may have in your personal or professional life.  The secret, of course, is to read between the lines and adapt this treatise in your mind so it provides you with an appropriate strategy to achieve your desired goal.

You should begin by obtaining a copy of "The Art of War".  This book is well out of copyright now, having been written well over 2,000 years ago.  The English translation most accepted by academics was written by Lionel Giles, who died in 1958, so this version, too, is no longer copyright.  There are many free versions now available on the internet, including at Project Gutenberg.  One version with a typeface I find particularly easy to read is that published by Pax Librorum in 2009.  You can download this version here (for free, of course!):

"The Art of War" by Sun Tzu

Once you have your copy, sit for a while thinking clearly about what you are trying to achieve.  Then take your copy and begin reading it, identifying in your mind each section with your intended strategy.  Make copious notes in your book, crossing out words and phrases and replacing them with ones appropriate to your own goal.  Continue doing this, maybe not in one sitting, until you reach the end of the book.  Then go back to the beginning again and begin writing out your own version, using your own changes you made to make the book fit your strategy.  Now you will find you have a very good manual, totally personalised, which will help you make very good progress indeed with whatever strategy you have in mind.

The autosuggestion specialists, Subliminal MP3, have even come up with a subliminal MP3 you can use to ensure appropriate affirmations to help you achieve your goal are embedded in your subconscious.  You could either use this on its own or in conjunction with the strategy I have outlined above.  If you want to try the Subliminal MP3 you can obtain a copy here:

Subliminal MP3 of "The Art of War"

If you download this within the next three days, as a reader of my blog you will be entitled to a 30% discount.  Just enter the following coupon code at the checkout:

ARTWAR234

Good luck with whatever strategy you have in mind for your copy of "The Art of War".  And go in Peace!

No comments:

Post a Comment