An Offensive Strategy (谋攻) in Sun Tzu's Art of War
Sun Tzu's Art of War (孙子兵法) is one of the well-known military strategy classics which has a total of 13 chapters. It has seen extending its usage from a battleground into today’s business, our daily lives, and careers, gaining much popularity not only in the Chinese communities but also recognized worldwide.
In today’s context, although we may not be encountering wars and battles every day, we have many challenges and battles to fight; ranging from business battles to our personal battles that we are facing every single day in wealth, health, relationship, career, etc.
In the chapter of Offensive Strategy (谋攻), it was mentioned that “If you know both your enemy and yourself, you will be able to win a hundred battles and never be defeated - 知彼知己，百战不殆”.
To relate this strategy to our current time, we need to recognize our strength and capability, and how this can be applied to our daily lives and businesses with a metaphysical tool known as Bazi.
If you know both your enemy and yourself,
you will be able to win a hundred battles
and never be defeated. … Sun Tzu
Just like Enneagram which defines an individual with 9 types of personalities, while Numerology or the Power of Numbers group people into numbers from 1 to 9, in Chinese Astrology like Bazi (八字), categorizes people into 10 types with the Yin and Yang aspects of your personal traits based on 5 different elements using your Day of Birth. This represents your basic nature and character, and also reveals your Business Competence, what’s your unique capability in business, or rather your entrepreneur’s potential.
The Yin and Yang aspects of your personal traits
For example, a Bing fire (丙火) person has a Yang trait aspect, with a strong Value-oriented personality and a creation-executor mindset, while a Xin metal (辛金) person has a Yin trait aspect with a People first driven personality and a connection-thinker mindset.
What’s about your Business Competence?
To extend a little further into your Business personality, a Jia wood (甲木) person has a Diversification business competency. It is like a big tree with many branches, and these can be represented by people who are inspired to strive for multiple streams of business endeavors. An example of a Jia Wood person is Richard Branson.
Another example will be a Ren water (壬水) person who has a Competitive business competency. It is like a big ocean that can reach out to anywhere it can flow, and this can be represented by a person always looking out for new opportunities, and with a “never give out” belief. This is indeed an essential trait in the making of a successful entrepreneur. Examples of Ren Water persons are Bill Gates, Jack Ma, etc.
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