The Art of War; Fighting for Success and Achievement.......ON 'THE SYSTEM'

When I turned 14, I received one of the greatest gifts ever from my father, a small book called The Art of War, by Sun Tzu. At the time I was only slightly intrigued but now, this book is second only to my Bible because it revolves around the timeless teachings of Sun Tzu, an ancient Chinese philosopher and acclaimed war general. It is such a good read that I can honestly say I have read it more than 20 times, and I refer to it all the time; I'm still working on memorizing it word for word, that's how good the book is. Sun Tzu was one of the most respected experts on war in ancient times and even after 2500 years his teachings are treasured by modern generals (its a required read for generals in the US army), Fortune 500 CEO's, jet-setting business executives, politicians and career diplomats the world over. In fact The Art of War is primarily responsible for several remarkably successful war campaigns from antiquity to modern times. It was applied by Emperor Wu to unify all of China; by the fearsome Mongolian Hordes as they swept all over Asia and Europe unchallenged; to the victories of Napoleon Bonaparte in Europe (he subsequently lost against the Russians only when he broke with the precepts of he book); to the victorious campaign of General Mao Zedong. In fact it even accounts for the rapid resurgence of the Japanese economy after WWII because it was a mainstay of study for most samurai families; and I'm truly seeing Sun Tzu's teachings being applied flawlessly by the Chinese in their quest for World Economic dominance, already at number 3 and slated to become number 1 by 2020. Personally, I ignored this book for most of the time I possessed it, reading it only as a great book to pick sayings and simple tricks from. But once I decided to apply it rigorously and appropriately I begun to see amazing results in every aspect of my life and even in business; I don't smoke anymore, I exercise religiously, I own my own company, I am a director of 3 more, and I even took the initiative and formed BMIC (Truth is these firms are not yet yielding substantial profits.....for now!). In fact for a time I even applied the teachings to chasing women, and OH my success rate was incredible......Abi U For Kno! I am glad I begun paying rapt attention 6 years after receiving it and I now know how truly great a gift my dad gave me then.

The teachings of Sun Tzu go way above and beyond warfare; I actually have another version called The Art of War for Executives (actually stole this copy from my dad; and he's not happy) and it basically re-translates everything from army lingo into business sense. I would advise both versions to anybody that wants to succeed in competitive situations in this world from business to sports, religion to personal health, The Art of War applies. One of the greatest teachings of this book is this, "To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting." Imagine, in a book exhorting the best strategies and tips to wage and win war, it gives the highest marks to winning without fighting. When I first read this I didn't quite understand its true meaning, but as time went on I realized what Sun Tzu was trying to say, especially in terms of succeeding in business - Never fight your enemy directly as much as possible; refuse to go along with your enemy's plans rather let your enemy go according to yours, delay, frustrate, irritate but never attack; be patient and wait for the perfect moment, and then strick so decisively that your enemy succumbs against your onslaught without retaliation.

What does this mean for the discerning business man or woman? I mean gone are the days of Genghis Khan, General Washington, Napoleon Bonaparte and Mao Zedong. In the world of small business and big business, entrepreneurial and carrier-oriented approaches to making a living, who is the Enemy - who is my enemy, who is your enemy in business? The Enemy is The SYSTEM.....Yes......The Socio-Economic and Political framework that we all find ourselves in; the World economic 'matrix' that ranks you according to your race, age, gender, family, educational level and soon to come your genetic makeup. Your present situation, your inability to fully realize your dreams, your inability to get all the things you need and want, your undue dependencies and your insecurities are all part of the System - and that is Our Enemy. To prevent sounding unduly anarchic I must clarify one point here: the System is the Enemy of Ambitious people ONLY. If you are content with your present state of being as well as your social and economic status then The System is not your enemy but rather your best friend; I hope.

Now then, why would I make such a statement, accusing something quite so abstract as "The Enemy" in the Fight for Prosperity? The reason is rather simple; The System tells us what we can and cannot do when in fact there is nothing we cannot do if we set our minds to it. Our parents, our siblings, our families, our friends, our teachers, our acquaintances, we ourselves are all part of this intricate System; it stratifies every one of us into an arbitrary hierarchy of power and privilege; sets equally arbitrary boundaries and limits for each individual and then rigorously enforces these whims for most of us. The System polices us and ensures: that the rich stay rich and the poor remain so; that a farmer's son is most likely to farm instead of acquiring a University degree; that most women will strive and work just as hard as men but will not get the respect and treatment they truly deserve in the workplace; that Africa will always remain a poor supplier to the developed world; that 80% of business start-ups fail; that most Ghanaian youths should go slave for peanuts abroad and this same System also says it is impossible for me, a mere 22 year old to make my 'drop dead' million in the oil industry by the end of 2010; yes that System is my enemy....and if your are as ambitious as I am then its your enemy too.

Wow.....this kid is truly insane......a million......fight the System.......How do I fight the System that spawned me, nurtured me and provides for me? This was my exact thought pattern when I begun making these realizations even before I got into business, back when I was just a normal kid who liked partying and fooling about. In fact I became so depressed when I realized a version of the system was my enemy that I gave up on my ambitions, a pretty sweet lifestyle, some amazing opportunities in the US and decided to come back home to Ghana where the system was easier and more forgiving.....and indeed it has been exactly so......Until I decided to fight the System when I recovered my ambitions again and realized that the System Here (In Africa) is even more rigid and resistant than abroad. But I am truly glad I am fighting now, to me its a personal battle and I do not encourage you to join in this fight unless you are truly prepared to work, sacrifice and become extremely self-disciplined all in the hopes of enjoying greater rewards later on. In fact a lot of people don't realize that the reason why religion makes so much sense is simply because it echoes practical realities but packages them in an appealing, stimulating and motivating format. So back to the question at hand: How does one go about fighting The System? How does one even defeat This System? If you have been avidly reading this article things must be making a little bit of sense now; you must see why The Art of War is so important to me and should be to you too.

One of the teachings of The Art of War is this, "All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near." Deceive the system by figuring the system out and then fit in perfectly and abide by its rules. Remember don't try to fight the system openly as much as possible, fight the system covertly (internally); work harder, study harder, sacrifice the fun for now, refuse the opiates and enticements the system throws at you to slow you down. Be Disciplined, Be Determined and Be Dynamic and you will not only succeed in waging war on the system but you will defeat it. Sun Tzu also says in the book, "Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation at all! It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose." This essentially means that if you want to defeat the System; and not be bound by what it says you can and cannot do and achieve you have to plan better than the system, work harder than the system and be better than the System!! You can't just sit there and hope the System will capitulate and some lucky break will fall on your lap right when you need it; operate on the basis that Luck and Chance will meet your Preparation and Work and surely you will succeed. One cannot hope to achieve greatness by being average or merely above average, one must be exceptional indeed. "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.

Why am I so confident and optimistic; why am I so assured of success; WHY? These are valid questions especially when I haven't achieved anything; when for all my encouragements and admonishments I am a Junior Brokeman just like you - why should I advise people I am more or less the same as - sometimes criticisms like these are not just valid but warranted. The answer to this question is simple; regardless of what you think I am not doing this for you as much as I am doing it for myself ! Why should I stop what I am doing knowing the potential benefits that will be accrued from this venture later on? Why must Sarcasm douse the Fire of Optimism. Alas, for many of us we will succumb to The System because this War is just too much work, too much sacrifice, too much required therefore if it is not a fight you cannot wage then give up and be content with whatever comes your way; try to make yourself happy on what The System says you should be happy on. As for me, I cannot be content, I REFUSE to be content with Mediocrity......I will continue to Fight on......Alone if necessary.......For "The art of war is of vital importance.....A matter of life and death, a road to safety or ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.....In times of war prepare for peace and in times of peace prepare for war."