Picking up from the previous chapter, “Initial Assessment”, we were faced with a fundamental question:
Is this battle worth fighting?
Not every fight deserves action.
But once you’ve assessed the situation and decided this battle must be fought, a far more difficult question immediately follows—
Do you have enough resources?
And more importantly: can you endure it?
This is exactly what Chapter 2: Waging War is about.
It doesn’t teach you how to fight beautifully.
It warns you that once war begins, consumption accelerates relentlessly.
The longer it drags on, morale declines, resources dry up, and even your original advantages can turn into fatal weaknesses.
In modern life, many major decisions work the same way:
- Starting a business
- Changing careers
- Making large investments
- Committing to long-term projects
- Staying in a relationship that’s already exhausting, yet hard to let go
The real issue is never whether you can begin.
It’s whether you can finish without burning yourself out.
Today, let’s talk about Chapter 2: Waging War—
how to evaluate resources and endurance after you decide to act, and how to prevent effort from becoming a bottomless pit.
The Art of War · Chapter 2: Waging War (Original Text)
Sun Tzu said:
In the conduct of war, when chariots are dispatched in thousands, armored vehicles in thousands, and a hundred thousand soldiers are mobilized, with provisions transported over great distances,
the internal and external expenses—hospitality, materials like glue and lacquer, the maintenance of vehicles and armor—
amount to a daily cost of a thousand pieces of gold.
Only then can an army of a hundred thousand be raised.If the campaign is victorious but prolonged, weapons grow dull and morale collapses.
Assaulting fortified cities exhausts strength.
Prolonged deployment drains the state’s resources.When weapons are blunted and resources depleted, rival powers will exploit the weakness.
Even the wisest strategist cannot reverse the consequences.Therefore, in war one may hear of clumsy speed, but never of clever delay.
There has never been a state that benefited from prolonged warfare.
One who does not fully understand the harm of war cannot fully understand its benefits.
A skilled commander does not repeatedly conscript troops nor transport provisions over long distances.
He draws supplies from the state and feeds off the enemy, ensuring his army is sustained.When a state is impoverished by distant supply lines, the people suffer.
When armies are stationed nearby, prices rise and wealth is exhausted, forcing heavier taxation.Strength and wealth are consumed; households are weakened.
Of the people’s resources, seven-tenths are lost.
Of the state’s resources—broken carts, exhausted horses, armor, weapons, shields, and transport oxen—six-tenths are lost.Therefore, a wise general seeks provisions from the enemy.
One unit of the enemy’s supplies equals twenty of one’s own.Killing the enemy is driven by anger; seizing their resources is driven by gain.
In chariot battles, when ten or more enemy chariots are captured, reward those who take them first.
Replace the flags, mix them into your own ranks, care for the captured soldiers.
This is how one defeats the enemy and grows stronger.Thus, war values victory, not duration.
The general who understands war holds the fate of the people and the survival of the state in his hands.
The Core of Waging War: Conflict Is a High-Intensity Consumption Engine
This chapter makes one thing clear:
Sun Tzu does not romanticize war.
What he calculates over and over is:
- Supplies
- Manpower
- Logistics
- Money
- Time
Every additional day multiplies the cost.
While ancient logistics and weapons may not apply directly today, the warning is profoundly modern:
Have you underestimated the cost of long-term commitment?
The Central Insight: War Is Expensive — Speed Is Wisdom
Throughout this chapter, Sun Tzu repeats one idea:
Victory matters. Duration does not.
War is not about who can endure the longest.
It’s about defeating the opponent before you exhaust yourself.
Applied to personal life, this logic fits almost perfectly.
1️⃣ The Nature of War Is Consumption
For a state, prolonged war hollows out national strength.
For an individual, prolonged strain leads to:
- Declining energy
- Impaired judgment
- Distorted mindset
- Fighting just to “not lose,” rather than to win
Many people don’t fail due to lack of ability.
They fail because they underestimate how fast consumption accumulates.
🔍 Ask yourself this brutal but necessary question:
Can this end within a foreseeable timeframe?
If not, should you narrow the battlefield, adjust the objective—or retreat entirely?
2️⃣ “One May Hear of Clumsy Speed, but Never of Clever Delay”
This line is a wake-up call for all perfectionists.
Sun Tzu isn’t advocating sloppy work.
He’s saying that speed itself is a form of risk management.
In personal terms:
- Instead of spending six months crafting a “perfect” plan
- Build an MVP and validate direction early
Procrastination often isn’t caution—it’s fear of feedback.
The rule is simple:
Finish first. Optimize later.
Speed is often safer than perfection.
3️⃣ Preserve Your Core Strength by Using External Resources
When Sun Tzu speaks of “feeding off the enemy,” he’s not glorifying plunder.
He’s emphasizing resource leverage.
In modern life:
- Work: Don’t shoulder everything alone—collaboration matters
- Startups: Outsource non-core tasks; focus on real value creation
- Life: Use tools, systems, and processes to reduce repeated drain
True strength isn’t about brute endurance.
It’s knowing what you should not carry yourself.
4️⃣ Seek Gains, Not Just Damage
Sun Tzu is brutally pragmatic:
Killing the enemy is driven by anger.
Seizing their resources is driven by gain.
Emotion may win you a moment.
Only tangible benefits let you go far.
Applied personally:
- Careers: Not just landing an offer, but choosing environments that build capability
- Investing: Not short-term excitement, but sustainable cash flow
- Relationships: Not winning arguments, but building trust that lasts
Ask yourself:
When this battle ends, will I be standing in a better position than before?
Conclusion: Endurance Decides Outcomes More Than Ability
Chapter 2: Waging War delivers a deeply modern reminder:
In any long-term commitment, success is determined less by capability
and more by capacity to endure.
This applies to:
- War
- Entrepreneurship
- Long careers
- Life-defining choices
If you haven’t calculated:
- Time
- Money
- Energy
- Psychological cost
Then the seeds of failure were planted before the battle even began.
Being able to fight matters.
Being able to endure matters more.
Exploring the meeting point of technology and the inner world is often a solitary journey—but a meaningful one.
If this article has brought you a moment of clarity or inspiration, you’re welcome to buy me a cup of coffee and support me in continuing this kind of thoughtful, in-depth writing.
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