#2 New Year, New You: What I Learned About Blogging From "The Art of War"

Welcome to the second post in the Createyou86 New Year, New You Blog Series.  Recently i decided i wanted to read "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu. This book is very well known, and read for a wide array of reasons.  Sun Tzu was a very well known Chinese Military General, and is best known for this book on military strategy "The Art of War".  Many famous generals have deployed Tzu's principles including Napoleon Bonaparte.  
       There are so many ways that this book, and strategy can be applied to everyday life.  Here are some of the basics of the information behind "The Art of War."

The Art of War says:

• The art of war is of vital importance to the state.
• It is a matter of life, and death.
• The art of war is governed by 5 constant factors to be taken into account in ones deliberations when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field.

These 5 constants are:

• The moral law
• Heaven
• Earth
• The commander
• Method & Discipline

At this point you are probably thinking....that is all well, and good, but what the heck does it all mean????  

Moral Law:  A principle of harmony, causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler so that they will follow him regardless of their lives.  Undismayed by any danger. (Keep constant practice.)

Heaven:  Signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons.

Earth:  Comprises distances great and small, danger and security, open ground and narrow passes, the chances of life and death.

The Commander:  Stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage and strictness.

Method & discipline:  To be understood the marshaling of the army in its proper sub-divisions, the graduations of rank among the officers, maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army, and the control of military expenditure.  

These definitions are the basics of understanding "The Art of War", and they are also what Sun Tzu thought were the most important parts to creating the perfect war.  He also based his strategy around

The 5 Cardinal Chinese Virtues

1. ​Humanity or benevolence
2. Uprightness of mind
3. Self respect, self control or "proper feeling"
4. Wisdom
5. Sincerity or good faith

Every time i sit down to write a blog post it feels like a war strategy session.  Coming up with a blog post, or series that readers will enjoy, and keep readers coming back or even subscribing to our mailing list is a challenge.  One of my personal goals everyday is to create content that is relatable, and of high quality.  I have also tried to instill the five cardinal Chinese virtues when blogging, and writing articles which i would hope most bloggers do as well.
Here are a few things that i have learned about blogging through my favorite quotes from "The Art of War."

16 & 17.) "In regards to plans: while the main laws of strategy can be stated clearly enough for the benefit of all sundry, you must be guided by the actions of the enemy in attempting to secure a favorable position in actual warfare." - Chang Yu

I would NEVER think of another blogger as an enemy, but I do take from this quote that in blogging you need to be one step ahead of other bloggers when you plan your editorial calendar.  This means doing research, and finding out what has already been done by other bloggers, or finding out which of your own posts have been the most popular, and building your editorial calendar around that type of post.

"In war then, let your great object be victory not lengthy campaigns."

We all want perfection as bloggers.  We spend so much time researching, and writing posts that by the time we actually release our post or campaign we can lose major steam, but that shouldn't be our downfall.  Don't take so long doing your research, or perfecting a post to the point that you NEVER get your post or series out to the public.  Sometimes you need to take that chance, and make yourself vulnerable to something that might not seem absolutely perfect to you, but might seem perfect to your readers, or even someone just stopping by for the first time.

"If you know neither the enemy or yourself you will succumb in every battle."

As blogger we need to be in-touch with ourselves to be able to have a consistent voice in our writing, and we also need to know our specific audience as well.  If a reader feels that you may not be being authentic it will most likely be a very big turn off for them, and they may never visit your site again.  This being said try to know your topics as well as possible.  Know about the products that you are testing/reviewing, or about the topics which you are posting about.  If you aren't so sure about them take the extra time to research what you need to to educate yourself, and your readers.  Your readers will most likely thank you for your due diligence.

​Sun-tzu, , and Samuel B. Griffith. The Art of War. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1964. Print.

Thanks for taking some time out of your day to check out this blog series.  We hope that you are enjoying these new posts!

Have you ever read "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu?  Would you consider reading it?  Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!