Summary
In Episode 15 of “Warrior: The Art of War for Life ~ A Podcast on Winning” I discuss six “be-attitudes” for kicking butt and taking names in the battlefield of the mind to become the master of our own destiny! They are:
1. Believe in the Value the Victory We Are Winning 貴勝
2. Be Proactive: Don’t Value Protracted Problems 不貴久
3. Become a Warrior: Understand the Battles We Are Fighting 知兵
4. Be the General on Our Own Future 兵之將
5. Be the Director of Our Own Destiny 民之司命
6. Be the Master of Our Own Security 安危之主
With inspiring quotes from Robin S. Sharma, Stephen R. Covey, Roger McDonald, Giacomo Casanova, and the Buddha this episode is sure to get you fired up to start winning your daily battles with power and purpose!
Soundtrack by Sentius
Transcription
Podcast Intro (Previously Recorded)
Welcome to Warrior: The Art of War for Life – A Podcast for Those Who Want to Win! Leadership Lessons, Motivational Mindsets, Empowering Principles, Success Strategies, and Transformational Tactics from Sunzi, the Master of Victory
I am your guide on the side, David Boyd, award-winning educator, transformational speaker, and Certified Life Coach.
It’s time to start winning at life!
Episode Introduction
Hey! Hey! Hey! Welcome everyone! Thanks for joining us! I am so glad you are here listening! Last week, we discussed Sunzi’s: “Three Tactics for Maintaining Motivation & Growing in Abundance and Strength.” Next week, I have the distinct pleasure to interview another of my longtime friends, All-American volleyball player, competitive weightlifter, Brazilian Jujitsu champion, USAFA strength and conditioning coach, and U.S. Army Reserve MP Captain Kim Pinske.” She has such an amazing story everyone, so please tune in! If you are a visual learner like me, check out the blog version of this podcast at www.artofwarforlife.com, which includes the Chinese characters I discuss along with additional images. Don’t forget to join the Art of War for Life Facebook page and follow us on Instagram @artofwarforlife. For any questions, comments, or to work with me, shoot me an email at: artofwarforlife@gmail.com. I am so excited for today’s topic, which is “Six Butt-Kicking Battlefield Beatitudes for Becoming the Master of Our Own Destiny!” So let’s go!
Disclaimer
“And as always: The views expressed in this podcast are my own and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the United States Air Force Academy, the Air Force, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. Thank you. Thank you very much!”
Becoming the Master of Our Own Destiny!
In Chapter 2.5 of Sunzi’s Art of War, we read:
Therefore, in war value victory, don’t value protracted campaigns. Therefore, the general who understands war is the Director of Destiny for the people and governor of the state’s security.
故兵貴勝, 不貴久; 故知兵之將, 民之司命, 國家安危之主也。
In this concluding passage of Chapter 2, Sunzi lists six butt-kicking battlefield beatitudes for becoming the Master of Our Own Destiny. They are:
1. Believe in the Value the Victory We Are Winning 貴勝
2. Be Proactive: Don’t Value Protracted Problems 不貴久
3. Become a Warrior: Understand the Battles We Are Fighting 知兵
4. Be the General on Our Own Future 兵之將
5. Be the Director of Our Own Destiny 民之司命
6. Be the Master of Our Own Security 安危之主
1. Believe in the Value the Victory We Are Winning 貴勝
In Episode 10, I discussed “Sunzi’s Five Full Send Commitment Tactics for When We Hit the Wall.” The first of these is to visualize the value of the victory we are winning – what it is that we are fighting for, what are we reaching out for in our lives. The conceptual pair is gui4sheng4 貴勝, which means to value the victory. If you missed it, go back and check out the detailed analysis. Today, I’m going to expand on this concept from the perspective of becoming the Master of our own Destiny!
It’s not enough to just visualize the value of the victory we are winning – that’s just the first step. In order to become the Master of our own Destiny, we have to grab hold of that vision, that precious prize, that desired outcome with both hands and not let go! We have to work for it and fight for it with the burning desire and passion and purpose! To do that, we have to believe in it. Because our actions are driven by our feelings and our feelings are created by our thinking and our thinking is shaped by our beliefs, to be able to maintain our motivation, like I discussed in last week’s Episode 14, we have to believe two things: First, that we can actually achieve victory, that we can really win in our lives, and Second, that there is actual value in our victory and worth in our work.
Far too often we fall into those six traps of (self-)deception that I discussed in Episode 6, particularly the “Limiting Lie” that I can’t, I’m not enough, I am incapable, or I am undeserving or the “Futility Farce” – that there is no use. If we believe that, it doesn’t matter how much we value we see in what we are trying to achieve. This is why it is essential to “Raise the BAR” on our beliefs – because we need to “Believe” before we can “Achieve” and “Receive” as I discussed in Episode 9.
At the same time, we also need to believe that there is actual value in what we are working to create. Otherwise, we will struggle to maintain motivation and push through when we hit the wall. Remember, our “why” is our way forward, which is one of Sunzi’s Five Strategic Success Factors, I discussed in Episode 3.
This is why the first secret to becoming the master of our destiny is to value the victory. We have to want to win, believe we can win and are deserving and worthy of that victory; we need to know – to believe deep down inside that all the blood, sweat, and tears that we are shedding, that what we are fighting for, what we are working towards, what we are sacrificing for, and pouring our heart and soul into is valuable and needed in this world! Without that banner belief, we will have no bedrock upon which to build our “Big Deals.”
2. Be Proactive: Don’t Value Protracted Problems 不貴久
The second butt-kicking battlefield beatitude to becoming the Master of our own Destinies is to not place value on protracted problems. This ties back to taking decisive action now and not letting problems and challenges linger for a long time in our lives, which is the second of “Sunzi’s Five Full Send Commitment Tactics for When We Hit the Wall,” which we also discussed in Episode 10.
Far too often, we let problems drag on unacknowledged, unaddressed, and unresolved. What’s worse, we can begin to identify with, feel permissive toward, and even feel comfortable with chronic conditions, longstanding situations, or perpetual drama. Do you know someone who just seems to be a magnet for all sorts of problems and drama? Have you ever felt like things were going to well and were uncomfortable or uneasy with how smooth life was? As dysfunctional as it may seem, some of us get so caught up and used to being in survival mode that we don’t know how to live without the “Constant Chaos” and “Distracting Drama” that I discussed in Episode 6. What does it mean to be proactive? According to Canadian author and thought leader Robin S. Sharma: “Being proactive means you shape circumstances and they do not shape you.” So in the words of Stephen R. Covey: “Be proactive. Ask yourself, ‘Are my actions based on self-chosen values or on my moods, feelings and circumstances?’”
There is absolutely no value in running around in circles, like a dog chasing its own tail, letting problems, challenges, and issues linger long in our lives and letting the atrophy of indecision weaken our resolve and our wills until, exhausted, we just lay down and accept – settle for a less than life and a diminished destiny!
3. Become A Warrior: Understand the Battles We Are Fighting 知兵
Sunzi’s third butt-kicking battlefield beatitude to becoming the Master of our own Destinies is to become a warrior – to understand the battle and the warrior mindset. We need to know the nature of the actual battles we are fighting and the actual enemies we are facing, as I discussed in Episode 13: “Three Secret Strategies for Overcoming Our (Inner) Enemies.” Knowledge is the arrow and, as I discussed in Episode 4: “Level Up Your Life! Sunzi’s Five Essential Attributes of Great Leaders” wisdom applied knowledge or the ability to hit the target with the arrow of knowledge. To do that, we need to know what we are fighting for, what we are fighting against, and what we are shooting at. What is our target? If we don’t understand the nature of the daily battles we are engaged in, how can we ever hope to win? We may end up fighting the wrong battles.
Throughout my life, I have struggled with some self-sabotaging and self-destructive behaviors, bad habits, and patterns. I thought that they were the real problems and if I could just stop doing those things – if I could just defeat those inner enemies that my life would be perfect. It wasn’t until I learned that these behaviors were just a symptom – a manifestation of an underlying issue and were being driven by much deeper beliefs – limiting lies – that I had accepted about myself, about others, and about the world, that I realized that the behaviors were not the actual problem or the real enemy – they were just a band-aid, my misguided attempt to cope with and escape from the actual source of the problem – the pain of my beliefs. My first inkling of this idea came decades ago before I began studying or even knew about the warrior mindset. One day I was out pulling weeds, nasty thistles. It was hard work uprooting each one completely and despite wearing thick gloves, my hand and fingers were pierced repeatedly with the sharp barbs. As I looked at the vast area of weeds I needed to pull – the immensity of the problem I needed to resolve – I felt overwhelmed and insufficient for the task. In a moment of desperation, I decided to just pop the tops off, knock them all down with the weed eater, and deal with the rest later. It was much easier, much faster, and when I was done the patch looked good – for a while. But a few weeks later, the thistles were back in force, larger and more numerous than before. I have reflected on this incident many times since.
I have settled for temporary band-aid solutions in so many areas of my life for so long without doing the difficult and sometimes painful work of getting to the root issue because I felt overwhelmed, ill-equipped, was more interested in appearances, or just didn’t want to spend the time dealing with it. What I have learned about this is that our problems will continue to grow and fester beneath the surface until we uproot them.
What do we actually need to cut down on or cut out of our lives and what are the inner enemies that prevent us from passionately and powerfully pursuing our purpose on this planet? What and where are the lumbering limits and limiting lumber that block our way forward? What are the actual limiting lies, debilitating doubts, and festering fears that need to be clear cut from our forest of thought and our garden of beliefs? The more that we can learn – the more intelligence we gain – about our problems and challenges, the more we empower ourselves with the arrows of applied knowledge. Once we have identified the real enemies in our thinking and beliefs and have assembled a quiver full of solutions, it is time to go to war!
4. Be the General of Our Futures 兵之將
The fourth butt-kicking battlefield beatitude to embrace to start winning our battles is the be the general of our futures! The Chinese character for general is jiang1 將 (simplified: 将). Interestingly, it is also the character for “future.” Its current etymology is a bit muddled as it depicts a simplified version of ribs or meat ⺼ (full: 肉) above a hand and thumb 寸, which doesn’t give any insights into the word. However, the ancient character form as recorded on Zhou Dynasty bronze inscriptions from 3,000 years ago is clearer, comprised of a platform爿 (qiang2, which also serves as the phonetic) beside the character to “establish,” to “stand,” or to “stand firm” or “stand strong” 立 (li4; ancient form: 𡗓), which is itself comprised of the word for great or large 大 (da4) standing strong firm or large on the ground, above a sideways eye 目 (mu4). Taken together, the etymology reveals that in ancient China, the general was the platform that everyone looked to on the battlefield to stand firm and establish a stronger “future.” This also helps explain the meaning of “future” associated with this word as in the modern Chinese term for “future” 将来 jiang1lai2, which literally means: “when the general arrives.” At some future point in time, when the general arrives on the battlefield everything will get sorted out, become firmly established, and there will be a greater, better future.
In the battlefield of the mind, our thoughts are like un-enlisted soldiers or mercenaries. Left to themselves without discipline and good order, they may get us into quite a bit of trouble. They may fight for us or they may work against us. Without a unifying vision and overarching strategy, our thoughts and the underlying beliefs that shape them, may undermine what we actually want in our lives, out of our lives, and for our lives. The good news is that we are in charge of our thinking, we get to choose what we will believe about ourselves, each other, and the world. It is time to call our thinking to attention and enlist our beliefs in the pursuit of our “Big Deals,” of who we want to be and the future we want to create. If we don’t become our own generals out there on the battlefields of life and most importantly on the battleground of the mind within, how can we ever hope to win? If we don’t work and fight for what we want, we most likely end up working and fighting for other people’s dreams and goals.
In our lives, it is time for our own inner general to come to the battlefield, take charge of the campaign, and firmly establish a better, stronger, and greater future! So congratulations, you just got battlefield promoted to Brigadier General of your own battalions of beliefs. It’s up to you to firmly establish a vision for your personal mission on this planet. Go get ‘em tiger!
5. Be the Director of Our Own Destiny 司命
The fifth butt-kicking battlefield beatitude we need to embrace to start winning our daily battles is to be the Director of our own lives. The term Sunzi uses here is fascinating and empowering. It is Si1ming4 司命, which was an official title in the spiritual pantheon of ancient China meaning “Director of Destinies” or “Director of Life-Mandates.” In ancient China, the term 司 si1 meant to take charge, preside, manage, or command. It is comprised of a left-facing person 亻 above a mouth 口 (kou3). The term 命 (ming4) refers to a life or death decree from above, orders to be followed at all costs, missions that took precedence above all else. The character depicts a downward facing mouth speaking an edict or decree from above 亼over an upward facing mouth 口 beside a person kneeling 卩.
In asserting that the General was the Siming or Director of Destinies, Sunzi is arguing that held the fate of the people in his hands. Similarly, the degree to which we will control or create our own destinies is tied to how much we take charge of and personal responsibility for our own lives. We are in charge. Regardless of what the River of Life brings our way, we get to choose how to navigate our RAFT. Regardless of what happens to us, regardless of where we started out in life and what opportunities we may or may not have had, we get decide what we are going to do with what we’ve been given and what we’re going to make of ourselves. We are the only ones – we hold our destinies in our own hands and we have all the tools and resources available to us to make whatever we want out of our lives! In the words of Australian author, poet, and scriptwriter Roger McDonald: “I am master of my own destiny, and I can make my life anything that I wish it to be.” Do we believe that? If not, why not? This belief is priceless. As Italian adventurer Giacomo Casanova wrote: “My great treasure is that I am my own master, that I am not dependent upon anyone, and that I am not afraid of misfortunes.” Even when we make mistakes and face hardship, we get to be in charge, we get to direct our own destinies – no one else!
Throughout Asia lotus flowers are beautiful symbols of purity, healing, and rising above. Because they rise out of the mud, they symbolize transcendence and our ability to grow, rise up, and overcome our past, our starting points, and our character defects. As the Buddha taught: “As a lotus flower is born in water, grows in water and rises out of water to stand above it unsoiled, so I, born in the world, raised in the world having overcome the world, live unsoiled by the world.” I have always loved that imagery and symbolism. Just like the lotus, we too have the ability to rise above the mud, muck, and mire. Each of us can bloom out of the deepest darkness and radiate light and beauty into the world. We are the ones who get to decide what we will live for, what we will die for, what we will rise above, and what we will overcome. We are the Directors of our own Destinies!
6. Be the Master of Our Own Security 安危之主
The sixth and final butt-kicking battlefield beatitude we need to embrace to start winning our daily battles is to be the master of our own safety and security. The Chinese term for master is 主 (zhu3), which originally meant the light of a lamp and only later came by extension to mean ruler, lord, or master. Each of us is a light and a lamp – a vessel and vehicle for light. Each of us can light our own way and shine and be a light for others.
What does Sunzi say we are the master of? While the military general is the master of the safety and security of the nation, each one of us is the master of our own safety and security, our own risk and danger. The Chinese term is an1wei1 安危, which literally means safety or security and danger.
I like the etymology of danger 危 (wei1), which depicts a kneeling person both above and below a cliff. In facing the dangers of life, we get to decide whether we will scrape and claw and climb our way to the top of the cliffs of challenge. Will we fall to our knees in victorious celebration at the summit or will we take a knee before the climb has even begun.
We get to pick our own battles. We get to manage our own risk. We get to decide our own comfort level when it comes to risk and security. We get to choose where to play it safe in life and where to climb the cliffs of challenge. Each of us has the opportunity to make enlightened decisions in our lives.
Conclusion
Today we have discussed six butt-kicking battlefield beatitudes to embrace to become the Master of our own Destinies from Sunzi’s Art of War. They are:
1. Believe in the Value the Victory We Are Winning 貴勝
2. Be Proactive: Don’t Value Protracted Problems 不貴久
3. Become a Warrior: Understand the Battles We Are Fighting 知兵
4. Be the General on Our Own Future 兵之將
5. Be the Director of Our Own Destiny 司命
6. Be the Master of Our Own Security 安危之主
First and foremost, we need to believe in the value of the victory we are winning. We need to grab that vision and hold on to it with both hands. We need to believe that what we are working for, fighting for, and sacrificing for is worth every effort and that we can and will achieve victory, whatever that looks like for us! Victory is in our grasp so don’t let go. Don’t give up. Don’t give in. Don’t quit. Don’t settle. Keep trying!
Second, be proactive and make things happen. Don’t wait around for someone else to come solve our problems for us. It’s on us! There is no value in burying our heads in the sand, turning a blind eye, and pretending everything is fine. It may hurt at first, it may really suck at times, but being proactive about what we want in our lives, out of our lives, and for our lives gives us back our power to respond to whatever the River of Life throws at us and, which allows us to ultimately shape our destiny! So get up, get out there, and do something! Take a step toward what we really want. Make a move – even if it doesn’t work out right away. Keep at it and it will!
Third, become a warrior! Stand up and fight for what we want. Gather intelligence, learn, gain knowledge – for knowledge is the arrow. Get clear on what our objectives are and what the real enemies are that stand in the way. Then start taking them out one by one! Face our fears, defeat our doubts, eliminate our limiting labels, empower our expectations, and raise the bar on our belittling beliefs! Take our shot – let’s be a little more Hawkeye or little more Legolas! Let be more awesome archer and less quivering coward in our minds!
Fourth, be the general of our own futures! It’s time to look to ourselves for firm leadership out there on the battlefield of life and in the battleground of our own minds. Embrace our battlefield promotion as Brigadier General of our lives and start enlisting battalions of empowering beliefs and tactical thoughts to fight for what we want rather than allowing the neglected mental mercenaries to run amok in our minds, pledging their allegiance to highest bidder in the moment. It’s time to pin on the “Star” and get to work. No one else can do it for us.
Fifth, be the Director of our own Destiny! We get to decide what we will think, say, and do with the time we have been given on this planet and since none of knows how long that is, we get to control and take charge of this present moment – the here and now! We get to decide what we are going to give our lives to, what we are going to live for and die for. That is how we direct our destiny! Like the lotus flower, at any moment we can choose to rise above our muddied past. Each of us is beautiful, powerful, and awe-inspiring!
Lastly, be the Master of our own safety and security. Don’t wait for someone else to step in and protect us or save us from danger! Each of us is our own lamp and we can radiate and shine – choosing for ourselves where we want to create a safe home base and where we want to take some risks and climb the cliffs of challenge. Each of us has the power and ability to make enlightened choices and decisions that let our lights shine and not just to curse the darkness around us!
So believe in the value of the victory we are winning, be proactive in pursuing it, become a warrior and empower ourselves and each other with the arrows of applied knowledge, be the general of our own future out there on the battlefield of life and in the battleground of our own minds, be the director of our own destinies, and be a light-bearer, master of our safety and security – choose to kneel in victory atop of the cliffs of challenge we have overcome and not to take a knee before the battle has even begun. You can do it! You can win and the victory of winning the inner battles of life is far sweeter than anything we can imagine out there. It is worth every effort. You are worth every effort! So invest in yourself! Believe in yourself! Empower yourself! Don’t give up! Don’t settle! Keep trying! Keep fighting! Keep learning! Keep giving yourself grace and space! Keep rising above the muck and mire of circumstance! You are the Master of your own destiny and your destiny is greater than you can even imagine right now! Great things are coming! It’s going to happen!
Outro
Thanks so much for listening everybody! If you found this podcast impactful, please like and subscribe, and join us for new episodes every “Warrior Wednesday.“ For more information, tools, and resources to help you in your daily battles, for questions or to work with me, shoot me an email at: artofwarforlife@gmail.com. Most importantly, always remember: “The power to win resides within! There is ALWAYS a Way!”
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Warrior: The Art of War for Life - A Podcast on Winning 
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