When given the chance, everyone behaves badly. Those who are unaware they are walking in darkness will never seek the light. Life itself is your teacher, and you are in a state of constant learning. It is far better to be alone than to be in bad company. If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.
When the enemy is relaxed, make them toil. When full, starve them. When settled, make them move. Who wishes to fight must first count the cost. If you wait by the river long enough, the bodies of your enemies will float by. Know yourself and you will win all battles. To win 100 victories in 100 battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.
Build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across. Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby, you can be the director of the opponent’s fate. The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy so that he cannot fathom our real intent.
What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins but excels in winning with ease. Rouse him and learn the principle of his activity or inactivity. force him to reveal himself so as to find out his vulnerable spots. The most dangerous person is the one who listens, thinks, and observes. If you want to be successful, you must respect one rule.
Never lie to yourself. Patience can cook a stone. Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons, and they will follow you into the deepest valley. Even the finest sword plunged into salt water will eventually rust. Move swift as the wind, closely formed as the wood. Attack like the fire, and be still as the mountain.
Be afraid of a friend who compliments you too much. Complimenting means telling a person exactly what you think of them. All cowardice comes from not loving truly or at least not loving well. Every day is a new beginning. Of course, a person also needs luck. But first, one must do what is necessary so that when luck knocks on the door, one is ready.
One of the best lessons you can learn in life is to master how to remain calm. A wise man can always be found alone. A weak man can always be found in a crowd. Focus on making yourself better, not on thinking that you are better. Anger, if not restrained, is frequently more hurtful to us than the injury that provokes it.
No man was ever wise by chance. He who is brave is free. Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears. The willing are led by fate, the reluctant dragged. What we do now echoes in eternity. While we wait for life, life passes. When you accept yourself, the whole world accepts you. Calm is a superpower.
When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new. Remember, no man is really defeated unless he is discouraged. Every situation in life is temporary. So when life is good, make sure you enjoy and receive it fully. And when life is not so good, remember that it will not last forever.
And better days are on the way. The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one. The more I learn, the more I realize how much I still have to learn. Ever tried, ever failed? No matter. Try again, fail again, fail better. Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise.
When one door of happiness closes, another opens. But often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us. Always remember that you’re absolutely unique. Just like everyone else when you build in silence, people don’t know what to attack. You only fail when you stop trying.
Your struggle is part of your story. Excuses make today easier, but tomorrow harder. Discipline makes today hard, but tomorrow easier. If you really want to escape the things that harass you, what you’re needing is not to be in a different place, but to be a different person. Until we have begun to go without them, we fail to realize how unnecessary many things are.
We’ve been using them not because we needed them, but because we had [Music] them. If a man knows not which port he sails, no wind is favorable. We all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinion than our own. Here is a rule to remember in future. When anything tempts you to feel bitter, not this is misfortune, but to bear this worthily is good fortune.
Man conquers the world by conquering himself. Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one. The things you think about determine the quality of your mind. If it is not right, do not do it. If it is not true, do not say it. You can’t reach what’s in front of you until you let go of what’s behind you. Everyone leaves.
Learn how to survive alone. Before you act, decide. Before you decide, think. Before you think, focus. Your comfort zone is killing your potential. Your only limit is you. Words without action mean nothing. When you learn to survive without anyone, you can survive anything. Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory.
Tactics without strategy is noise before defeat. The captured soldiers should be kindly treated and kept. One need not destroy one’s enemy. One need only destroy his willingness to engage. Every animal with blood in its veins and horns on its head will fight when it is attacked. Never trust a friend who is silent about your flaws.
When you arise in the morning, think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love. Inwardly, everything should be different, but our outward face should conform with the crowd. Anyone who can make you angry becomes your master. The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit.
The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are. You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this and you will find strength. He suffers more than necessary who suffers before it is necessary. Nature hath given men one tongue but two ears that we may hear from others twice as much as we speak.
People are frugal in guarding their personal property. But as soon as it comes to squandering time, they are most wasteful of one thing in which it is right to be stingy. Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth. Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.
