Become a Master Strategist
How to elevate your mind above the battlefield and get out of tactical hell
I love reading about strategy and applying it to all aspects of life. I especially like Robert Greene’s books for his deep thinking and translation of those ideas into fascinating stories and principles to live by.
In the book The Daily Laws by Robert Greene, September is focused on becoming the “grand strategist.” Greene talks about people living in tactical hell - constantly reacting to others and getting emotional in the process. Each day has a core idea from one of his books, such as from The 33 Strategies of War. While this book uses war references, it presents strategies for winning the subtle social game of everyday life.
Seeing everything from a strategic lens helps you determine how, when, and if to engage. Most importantly, you lead with a sense of purpose and clarity about reality.
Here are some of the daily laws in September that aims to transform you into a strategic warrior of daily life. This is not a substitute for reading the book to understand the meaning.
9/1 - Elevate Yourself Above the Battlefield - Daily Law: Tactical people are heavy and stuck in the ground; strategists are light on their feet and can see far and wide. Where are you on that spectrum?
9/2 - Control the Entire Chessboard - Daily Law: Maintain control of your emotions and plot your moves in advance, seeing the entire chessboard.
9/3 - Attack the Center of Gravity - Daily Law: When you look at your rivals, search for the center of gravity that holds the entire structure together. That center can be their wealth, their popularity, a key position, a winning strategy. Hitting them there will inflict disproportionate pain.
9/4 - Avoid Tactical Hell - Daily Law: Create a ladder of values and priorities in your life, reminding yourself of what really matters to you. If you determine that a particular battle is in fact important, with a greater sense of detachment you can now plot a more strategic response.
9/5 - Place Yourself in Shih - Daily Law: Rid yourself of the illusion that strategy is a series of steps to be followed toward a goal. Run in the opposite direction of any expert or guru proclaiming to possess a secret formula for success and power.
9/6 - Never Attack Your Opponents Head-On - Daily Law: When you attack people head on, you stiffen their resistance and make your task that much harder. Instead: distract your opponents’ attention to the front, then attack them from the side, where they least expect it.
9/7 - Divide and Conquer - Daily Law: Take problems one by one.
9/8 - Exploit the Chaos - Daily Law: Attack problems from new angles, adapting to the landscape and to what you’re given.
9/9 - See the Larger Dangers That Loom in the Future - Daily Law: Overcome the natural human tendency to react to things as they happen, and instead train yourself to step back, imagine the larger things taking shape beyond your immediate vision.
9/10 - Never See Defensive - Daily Law: By acknowledging a petty problem you give it existence and credibility. The less interest you reveal, the more superior you seem.
I encourage you to adopt a strategic mindset and leverage time-tested ideas to win whatever game you are playing.
- James