The 33 Strategies of War

By Robert Greene

Part 1

You are your worst enemy. You waste precious time dreaming of the future instead of engaging in the present. Since, nothing seems urgent to you, you're only half involved in what you do.

Our 'successes' and 'failures' in life can be traced back to 'How well' or 'How badly' we deal with the inevitable conflicts that confronts us in the society.

Your mind is the starting point of all war and all strategy. A mind that is easily overwhelmed by emotion, that is rooted in the past instead of the present, that cannot see the world with clarity and urgency, will create strategies that will always miss the mark.

Your wealth vanishes, the latest gadgetry suddenly becomes a passe, your allies desert you. But if your mind is armed with 'The Art of War', there is no power that can take that away.

Do not waste time on 'things', you cannot change or influence.

It is your own bad strategies, not the unfair opponent, that are to blame for your failures. You are responsible for the 'Good' and 'Bad' in your life.

Make the mind tougher by exposing it to adversity.

Events in life mean nothing if you do not reflect on them in a deep way. Ideas from books are pointless if they have no application to life as you live it.