Who does not know the evils of war cannot appreciate its benefits.
Sun TzuRead
Invincibility lies in the defence; the possibility of victory in the attack.
Interpretation
The quote highlights that true strength comes from defense while success is found in offense.
Sun Tzu's quote emphasizes the duality of strategy in conflict and life. It suggests that an invincible position is achieved through strong defenses that protect against failure, whereas the potential for victory emerges through proactive and aggressive efforts. This illustrates the balance between caution and ambition in achieving one's goals.
In practice
During a team meeting discussing project strategies.
Who does not know the evils of war cannot appreciate its benefits.
Great results, can be achieved with small forces.
To capture an enemies army is better than to destroy it.
The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand.
You can ensure the success of your attacks if you only attack places that are undefended. You can ensure the safety of your defense if you only hold positions that cannot be attacked. Therefore, that general is skillful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend; and he is skillful in defense whose opponent does not know what to attack.
If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.
From the cradle to the grave is a school, so if what we call problems are lessons, we see life differently.
Old people love to give good advice; it compensates them for their inability to set a bad example.
Passion makes idiots of the cleverest men, and makes the biggest idiots clever.
There is an unseen sweetness in the stomachβs emptiness. We are lutes. When the sound box is filled, no music can come forth. When the brain and the belly burn from fasting, every moment a new song rises out of the fire. The mists clear, and a new vitality makes you spring up the steps before you . . .
Truth is the baby of the world. It never gets old.
Nothing does reason more right, than the coolness of those that offer it: For Truth often suffers more by the heat of its defenders, than from the arguments of its opposers.
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