1. Top Priority: First become unconquerable 先為不可勝.
2. Becoming unconquerable resides within ourselves – not anyone else 不可勝在己.
3. The Opportunity to Conquer Lies Without – Watch, Work, & Wait for the Opportune Moment 可勝在敵, 待敵之可勝
4. Manifesting a Future: Understand how to overcome our inner enemies even before we have done so 勝可知, 而不可為.
Chapter 4.1 of Sunzi’s Art of War states:
Sunzi said: In the past, those who excelled in combat, first made themselves unconquerable, in anticipation of the opportunity to conquer the enemy. Becoming unconquerable resides within ourselves. The possibility of conquering lies with the enemy. Therefore, those who excel in combat are able to make themselves unconquerable, even if they cannot necessarily make the enemy conquerable. Therefore, it is said: ‘You can know how to conquer and not yet be able to implement it.’
孫子曰: 昔之善戰者, 先為不可勝, 以待敵之可勝, 不可勝在己, 可勝在敵。故善戰者, 能為不可勝, 不能使敵必可勝。 故曰: 勝可知, 而不可為。
From this passage, I’ve extracted four principles for becoming unconquerable in our lives. They are:
1. Sunzi’s Top Priority: First Become Unconquerable.
2. Becoming Unconquerable Resides Within Ourselves – Not Anyone or Anything Else.
3. The Opportunity to Conquer Lies Without – Watch, Work, & Wait for the Opportune Moment.
4. Manifesting a Future: Understand how to overcome our inner enemies even before we have done so.
1. Sunzi’s Top Priority: First Become Unconquerable
Etymology of wei4 爲 (simplified: 为) to do, to make. The character is comprised of a hand 爫 above an elephant 象, or literally to feed an elephant – to accomplish a grand thing. How do we feed an elephant?
How do we eat an elephant? How do we feed an elephant? One bite at a time. How do we become unconquerable? How do we develop an unconquerable mindset? One decision at a time – by making the decision now to believe that we can overcome anything and everything that life throws at us and determining to NOT let anything break us, as I discussed in Episode 27.
In the words of the ancient Stoic philosopher Seneca: “It is the power of the mind to be unconquerable.”
Do we believe we have that power?
To become unconquerable requires that we put a set of unconquerable beliefs in place in our minds. What are they? They are embodied in principle #2.
2. Becoming Unconquerable Resides Within Ourselves – not anyone else 不可勝在己
The second of Sunzi’s four principles to become unconquerable is that becoming unconquerable resides within ourselves – not without based on circumstance or with anyone else.
It is the set of beliefs and mindset that I call the Warrior Mindset, which I introduced in Episode 1: “What Are You Fighting For? What is Your Big Deal?” It is the growth mindset that says that I can solve any problem placed before me, I can figure out any challenge, find any solution, solve any question, and overcome any obstacle.
It is the mindset that says I have everything that I need to succeed and win at life within me or that I will find what I need along the way – like I close every episode with – “the power to win, resides within – there is ALWAYS a Way!”
It is the mindset that says that there is ALWAYS a way forward, a way upward, a way onward – there is ALWAYS a way for us to get from where we are right now to where we want to be in any area of our lives! There is ALWAYS a way through, a way around, or a way out of any situation or circumstance in life!
It doesn’t matter how long we’ve been stuck, or many times we’ve tried and failed! There is ALWAYS a way to see things, do things, think about things, and believe differently, so that we can change the outcome we’ve been experiencing and start getting the outcome we want!
It is the belief that there are no “Kobayashi Marus” in life – there is no such thing as a “no-win” scenario. We are never helpless, hopeless, or powerless! There is ALWAYS something that we can do or do differently right now, where we are, as we are, with whatever we have to work with to get us closer to where we want to be, how we want to show up, and what we want in our lives, out of our lives, and for our lives!
Do we believe that? Do we really believe that? Do we believe that no matter what? No exceptions, no “Yes-Buts,” like I discussed in Episode 17: “Three Principles for Achieving the Ultimate (Personal) Victory in Life?”
To become unconquerable, we need to “Raise the Bar” on our beliefs, like I discussed in Episode 9: “What it Going to Cost Me?” To do that we need to examine our current beliefs.
Some good questions to ask ourselves is this: How do I currently see, believe, or think that ultimately leads to defeat? What beliefs or limiting lies do I currently hold that keep me down, hold me back, or break me mentally, emotionally, spiritually, or socially when difficulties emerge in my life? What do I let conquer my spirit, my determination, and my will? What do I let dissuade me from pursuing my “Big Deal,” my dreams, and my purpose? What do I let convince me that I must give up, give in, and settle for a less than life?
Before any external circumstance or situation has defeated us, it is our inner enemies, as I discussed in Episode 13, those demons of debilitating doubt, those fiends of festering fear, and the leeches of limiting lies that suck the life out of us that we have tolerated, accepted, and embraced in our hearts and minds, that have broken our wills before we have even made an initial attempt!
So what do we do? We watch, work, and wait for the opportune moment.
3. The Opportunity to Conquer Lies Without – Watch, Work, & Wait for the Opportune Moment 可勝在敵, 待敵之可勝
The third of Sunzi’s four principles for becoming unconquerable is that the opportunity to conquer and overcome lies without. Seizing that comes as we watch, work, and wait for the opportune moment to reveal itself.
This is far from a passive patience, but rather a proactive engagement.
The Chinese character Sunzi uses here is dai4 待, which to wait for. It is comprised of a crossroad on the left 彳 and a foot above a measuring hand 寺 on the right. Taken together the elements convey the sense of waiting at the crossroads of opportunity, of actively measuring time and distance to destination in preparation for acting, moving, and taking a step.
We listen, we strategize, we get tactical, and we engage – we get out there! Then we do it again, and again, and again, as I discussed in Episode 5: “Four Keys to Tip the Scales of Life and Shift the Balance of Power in Our Favor.”
We watch – we do our due diligence and look for opportunities and openings, as I discussed in Episode 11: “The Art of Getting Stuff Done: Sunzi’s Three Tactics for Effective Execution!” and we work on ourselves and our craft while we wait for “the opportunity of a lifetime” and then we seize it!
As former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) observed: “The secret to success is to be ready when your opportunity comes,” which brings us back to the principle of preparation that I talked about in Episode 26: “Sunzi’s Pentagon Predicters of Guaranteed Victory or Five Waypoints on the Path of Success!”
“Be ready when opportunity comes … Luck is the time when preparation and opportunity meet,” as American industrialist Roy D. Chapin Jr. (1880-1936) noted.
So, put a plan in place and be ready, which leads us to Principle #4.
4. Manifest Our Future: Understand how to Overcome our Inner Enemies Even Before We Have Done So
The fourth and final principle of becoming unconquerable is to manifest a future, to craft a compelling vision of a future reality even before it exists, and to come to know, to understand how to overcome our inner enemies even before we have done so 勝可知, 而不可為.
Here Sunzi encourages us to dream big, put plans in place, and begin working. Winning at anything is a process that takes time and effort. It does not happen overnight and that is okay!
If our goal is to be able bench press 250 pounds, then we get with a trainer and put together a plan and we start executing, we start working on it and toward it, even before we can actually lift that much.
If it is to become a millionaire, then we get with a financial planner or we rub shoulders with millionaires, we learn their mindsets and their approaches to creating wealth and abundance and then we start implementing them in our own lives and circumstances – we start where we are and we begin to move forward!
If our goal is to overcome a personal challenge, we empower ourselves with knowledge, we work on our mindset, and we begin growing and stretching ourselves – even before we can beat that bad habit, break out of that vicious cycle, or defeat that debilitating doubt or that festering fear, or that limiting lie in our lives.
It seems really clear-cut, really straightforward to do that in the weight room or the gym, or even in our personal finances, so why is the principle so much more difficult to apply in our personal lives?
Far too often it’s like we demand an all-or-nothing perfection of ourselves and fall into the trap that if I can’t do this right now, if I can’t change this thing perfectly and permanently, or quit cold-turkey once and for all, that I am destined or doomed to fail and be stuck this way forever, that this is just “who I am,” and that this is just my lot in life! Then we give up, give in, and settle for less.
Would we stop trying to do a hundred push-ups just because we can’t do a hundred push-ups right now? Would we stop trying to earn a million dollars just because our bank account is missing a few zeros on the end of that number at the moment?
This is why people stay stuck in bad habits, bad jobs, and bad relationships because at a certain point we accept that this is as good as it gets, that this is all we can have, or this is all we deserve. What a horrible, painful belief!
Just because we haven’t accomplished something in the past or haven’t been able to overcome a personal problem or challenge does not mean that we cannot do so now or won’t be able to in the future!
In Episode 6: “Sunzi’s Six Traps of (Self)-Deception and How to Avoid Them,” I talked about the “Limiting Lie” or the incapable myth that we lack the ability, strength, or intelligence to accomplish and achieve our goals and dreams. That we are not enough. I talked about how we are grizzly bears not teddy bears capable of doing so much more than we give ourselves credit for! We are powerful with a profound purpose on this planet not punchless pariahs!
You’ve probably heard of the story of the elephant and the rope. The story goes that a man was traveling through Asia and saw this giant elephant tied to a small tree with an even smaller rope. Curious, the man began asking how such a small rope could keep such a large elephant in check. Why didn’t the elephant just snap the rope and leave? Why didn’t the elephant just snap the tree and leave? The locals explained that when the elephants were young and much smaller they began using the ropes, and that the elephants couldn’t break their bonds when they were younger, and so they would try and strain in the beginning but ultimately become conditioned to their circumstances, essentially accepting defeat – they believed the lie that a former limitation was universally true for them for all time and all circumstances – and they didn’t even realize it. Their own conditioning became the chains that held them back! Their own beliefs became the bonds that bound and held them down to a diminished life devoid of freedom! Are we any different?
Don’t let our pasts define our present or prescribe our future – let our past refine us and let our potential, let our possibility, define us!
In Episode 4: “Level Up Your Life! Sunzi’s Five Attributes of Great Leaders & How to Develop Them,” I talked about the grit of American rock climber Chris Sharma and how he fell over a hundred times in his quest to summit Es Pontas off the coast of Mallorca. He didn’t know what he was going to have to do to get to the top until he started climbing and even after he knew how to get to the top, it took him a long time to execute his plan – to master the specific moves each obstacle required. Imagine if we had quit after the tenth or fiftieth fall into the ocean waters below and determined that he couldn’t do it based on his past failures! But he didn’t! Instead of using those failed attempts as proof or evidence that he was a failure, that the task was impossible, or that the obstacles were insurmountable, he learned from each step in the process, got stronger, got better, and ultimately overcame!
And so I say again, even if something was true for you in the past, even if you couldn’t overcome a challenge then, or solve a problem, even if you have failed to do so over and over and over again before, that does not mean that you can’t do so now or that you won’t be able to find a way to do so at some future point. Even if you weren’t strong enough in the past or aren’t strong enough right now – that’s okay – don’t give up! Keep working, keep watching, and keep waiting for your chance, your big break – it will come! We are not finished yet!
“Even though the acorn cannot fathom the giant oak tree towering above it in all its grandeur and majesty, it nevertheless carries within it the infinite possibility and potential of all that it will one day grow to be.”
We may just be tiny, little acorns and yet we contain within us the potential of the giant oak tree – it’s in our very DNA! So give ourselves room to grow! Start seeing ourselves, not as that acorn struggling to sink its roots, struggling to come out of its shell, or struggling to just stay grounded in an unstable and sometimes hostile world! Instead choose to see ourselves as that magnificent oak tree that brings life, nourishment, and sanctuary to the world! That is our destiny!
Catch a vision of what that destiny looks like for you and choose to begin living out of that place! Know it, believe it, and grow into it!
Raise the bar on our beliefs! We must conceive of the future reality, outcome, or dream that we want and then choose to do the hard work of believing that it is possible for us, before we can achieve those things and receive them into our lives!
Conclusion
Today we have talked about Sunzi’s four principles for becoming unconquerable. They are:
1. Sunzi’s Top Priority: First Become Unconquerable.
2. Becoming Unconquerable Resides Within Ourselves – Not Anyone or Anything Else.
3. The Opportunity to Conquer Lies Without – Watch, Work, & Wait for the Opportune Moment.
4. Manifest Our Future: Understand how to overcome our inner enemies even before we have done so.
It is not our lack of opening or opportunity that is the obstacle, but our lack of optimistic outlook! It is not our potential that is the problem but our lack of positive and empowering perspective! So before anything else, we must install an unconquerable mindset and belief structure! Without it, everything will be a struggle. With it, no problem will be impossible, no obstacle will be impassable! In the end, the only thing that can stop us from achieving our “Big Deals,” our Grand Endeavors, our personal missions, those deep-seated soul yearnings inside of us – is our own limiting lies, belittling beliefs, and debilitating doubts – those are the parasitic paradigms in our own heads that suck the life out of us! So make a decision and begin to become unconquerable!
We don’t need anyone’s permission, anyone’s blessing, or anyone’s encouragement – sure those things are nice – but they are not essential! All we need to do is conceive of a world where it could happen, believe that we can achieve it, and then receive that grand vision into our lives to guide our actions and motivate our steps. If we don’t have the belief system within to encourage, empower, and inspire ourselves when things get tough, when we hit the hall, when we stumble and fall, when the blood flows and the fear grows, then no amount of encouragement from anyone else will help us for very long! But if we do have that belief system within, that warrior mindset, then no one can ever take it away from us! No situation or circumstance can ever devastate us and drag us down for long! Sure we’ll feel the hurt and the pain, like muscles being strained to total failure only to recover and return stronger than before! Every time we feel the stress and strain, every time we hit the wall, every time we stumble and fall, we are strengthening our mental muscles, those neuropathways in our brain that fire with belief and determination!
So we watch, we look for opportunities and openings, we work on our craft, strengthening ourselves and managing our MESS, we develop success strategies and learn to implement them in our own battles, and we put ourselves out there, and keep doing so over and over again until our opportunity arises and we give ourselves a chance to go, fight, and win!
Most importantly, we cling to compelling vision, we hold to those empowering beliefs, and we don’t give up, we don’t quit, we don’t settle! We keep fighting, we keep getting back up, we keep going back to the drawing board, we keep learning, and we keep trying! We fall down seven times and get back up eight! Or eighty! Or eight hundred! Until we turn that vision into a reality! Until we manifest our own desired destinies! It will happen! Because we won’t quit until it does!
Warrior: The Art of War for Life - A Podcast on Winning 
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