Miyamoto Musashi lived among the storied times of Japan's Samurai, inspiration for the contemporary Tom Cruise epic The Last Samurai, set midst the Bushido way of surviving. Centuries ago, Musashi's diary became a chronicle for The Book of Five Rings. Musashi was not simply a warrior with extraordinary physical gifts, but an introspective Samurai; half warrior, half spiritualist. Recorded in 1580, Book of Five Rings was rediscovered, then sluggishly translated in the 1980's when it fast emerged as a prime exhibit for MBA programs and corporate boardrooms.
The centuries have not diminished nor altered the substance of Musashi's wisdom. By request, from our book The Motivator, here are ten principles of self-conduct in a dangerous and uncertain time. Semantically decoded they should apply to your competitive "Bushido."
1. Know your opponent. Study everything; capability and habits.
2. Avoid predictable attacks. Surprise is the essence of victory.
3. Muster all natural advantages: terrain, sun-angle, and vision.
4. Never favor one weapon.
5. Use all available weapons of the mind and body.
6. Decide and plan calmly, then attack with emotion.
7. Guard your planning and your spirit.
8. Use perception, not your sight. Things are seldom as they appear.
9. Accept the fact that you are always at war-stay ready.
10. Do not surrender the courage of a strategist. Believe in yourself. Stay with your plan.
It's amazing how little most of us know of life beyond our own constricted specialties. From 1580 Japan, each of us can take away a little piece of Musashi's translation to affect change in the way we live, the way we compete, and our winning percentage.
