Sonshi - The original Sun Tzu's Art of War resource
  • Home
  • Sun Tzu
    • Start the path to victory
    • Who was Sun Tzu?
    • What is Sonshi?
    • Sun Tzu's Art of War Translation
    • The Art of War Course
    • Best Art of War Books
    • Official Sonshi Art of War book
    • Interviews with Art of War authors and scholars
    • Sun Tzu lives on slideshow
    • Sun Tzu's Way slideshow
    • Articles related to Art of War and strategy
  • Blog
  • Store
  • About
  • Contact
Online since 1999

An analysis of kindness

9/12/2022

8 Comments

 
Picture
[11.29] The soldiers do not have wealth, but not because they dislike material goods; they do not live long, but not because they dislike longevity. 

[11.30] On the day the men are issued orders to do battle, their tears will roll down their cheeks and soak their sleeves. 

[11.31] However, if you throw them into a dire situation, they will have the courage of Chuan Chu or Ts'ao Kuei.

Sun Tzu's The Art of War
Today I would like to discuss the topic of kindness.

But I think it's important I define what kindness actually is, and what it isn't.

Kindness isn't superficial greetings and simple gestures, like saying "Good morning," opening doors for people, picking up our own trash, not stealing, donating our surpluses, being understanding of mean people, and other similar actions. They are behaviors of maturity and necessary for organizations, communities, and societies to function properly. 

Kindness is helping someone even when it is most inconvenient to us. Kindness is helping someone even when there is a real cost to us. Kindness is going out of our way to help because someone is suffering. (Whether they are truly suffering is another matter for another day.)

So kindness can come from the poorest of the poor and the weakest of the weak to the richest of the rich and the strongest of the strong. Kindness can come from anywhere by anyone at anytime. 

In other words, we may have little left or a lot more but we unhesitatingly help, cutting through all our greed and selfishness. This is true strength. We are strong not because of what we have but who we are. The producer is much more valuable than the product. This is how men and women rise to the level of gods. And gods are immortal for a reason.

Therefore, seriously consider where we want to go. How and whether or not we'll succeed are inevitable because both are pre-determined by the kind of person we choose to be when we make that decision. ☯
8 Comments

Formless but full of force

9/10/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
From the 2017 movie, "The Current War"
I'm sure many of you are wondering why am I continuing to discuss about George Westinghouse in a Sun Tzu site. It's because they parallel each other so well. For example, they were both unconcerned about their personal fame. This is an extremely rare trait, especially by those who have risen to power in society, yet refuse to continually seek validation of their power from others. They already know their true worth internally. And because of that rarity, it connects them both despite their separation of time and geography.

​This trait is explained in an excerpt from George Westinghouse's biography by Francis Leupp published in 1918, just four years after Westinghouse's death:
Among the idiosyncrasies of Westinghouse, none was more marked for many years than his hatred of personal publicity. He was glad to have his industries exploited to the fullest extent, for in that direction lay commercial success; but so sedulously did he keep himself in the background that, long after he had become a celebrity in the outside world, he was practically unknown to the mass of his fellow citizens of Pittsburgh. This was because almost their only chance to see him was when he walked from the railway station to his office or from his office back to the station. He refused to let his portrait appear in the newspapers if there were any way of keeping it out. "When I want newspaper advertising," he would say, "I will order it and pay cash."
Another biographer, Jill Jonnes, thinks there are probably no more than 20 photographs of George Westinghouse. Compare this with at least hundreds if not thousands of photographs of Thomas Edison, who was born within a year of Westinghouse's birthdate.

Both biographers Francis Leupp and Henry Prout claimed George Westinghouse left virtually no personal letters (outside of the letters to his wife Marguerite).

Given that George Westinghouse died over 100 years ago, one can understand why he is mostly unknown by the general public today. But those who are educated know he existed. Now imagine if a similar personality lived 2500 years ago who shunned publicity in the same way. Even the educated might claim he never existed, which would be a great shame.

You can even say both Sun Tzu and Westinghouse are so well hidden they are formless. As any diligent student of Sun Tzu knows, being formless is powerful.

​So what is hidden cannot be forgotten when there is so much force behind the personalities of Sun Tzu and Westinghouse. As a movie title goes, they are crouching tigers and they are hidden dragons. They can't be held back. There is an undeniable desire to tell their stories. The power of their lives -- their humanity, wisdom, and accomplishments -- is simply too good to let go. They are national treasures that now belong to the world. ☯
0 Comments

George loves Marguerite

9/1/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
George and Marguerite Westinghouse at Niagara Falls
Sun Tzu's Art of War is still being studied by military forces all around the world. And we know people also read Sun Tzu's Art of War to be successful in competitive environments like business.

Having started over 60 companies, George Westinghouse (1846-1914) is nothing short of an extraordinary businessman.

However, Westinghouse wasn't perfect. He took too much risk with credit and naively believed bankers had his interests and values in mind. After the financial crisis of 1907, Westinghouse would eventually lose control of his prized company, the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company.

But what Westinghouse didn't lose was the respect and admiration of his employees. Unlike the robber barons of the time, Westinghouse never had to contend with worker strikes because his workers were well paid, worked in safe plants, had weekends off, among other benefits. During the earlier financial crisis of 1890, his employees even proposed to cut their pay in half. After he died, his employees fully funded a memorial costing $3.5 million in today's dollars.

To learn more about Westinghouse, I highly advise you to read George Westinghouse: Powering the World, a brand new biography published this year by Dr. William Huber.

Westinghouse wasn't only admired at work by men like Nikola Tesla and his 60,000 employees; he was also admired at home by his wife of 47 years, Marguerite Erskine Walker Westinghouse. Like charity, success starts at home. A happy wife is a happy life. I have more clichés but I think you got the gist.

Modern leaders speak of work-life balance. Well, here is a man who lived well over 100 years ago who was a master of that balance. It would benefit many of us to learn how he lived his life.

Previously, I shared with you a handwritten letter from Westinghouse. I later learned there is only one other surviving handwritten letter to a recipient outside of his family (it was to a lawyer in 1874). It is believed that Westinghouse, a private person, had many of his personal letters destroyed before he died. Luckily, the ones that were saved were the best ones: the letters to his wife Marguerite.
Picture
From Henry Prout's biography of Westinghouse
Picture
From Francis Leupp's biography of Westinghouse
Yesterday I was fortunate to review 31 amazing pages of handwritten letters George Westinghouse wrote to Marguerite Westinghouse throughout the years on various stationery.

It was normal for George to correspond with Marguerite every day when he traveled. And if the communication wasn't by telephone, it was by telegram or handwritten letters.

The common themes of the handwritten letters were descriptions of his work, but it would always come around to him missing her and wanting to be with her. There was a sentence that summed it up well: it would be a "success" to him if he could finish up his work on time to finally be with her again.

Below are seven snippets of what I read. But be forewarned: they are incredibly sweet. The love and respect he had for Marguerite are evident. They can only come from a devoted husband and a doting father, which makes the already great George Westinghouse even greater.
Picture
"I long for your sweet company and wonder many many times if you cannot come soon. I can get a special car any time and it would be so nice if you were here with our little Georgie. If you think favorably I will bring you the next time."
Picture
"I hope you will get on nicely and when I arrive I may find you feeling well. Now darling I will close with fondest love and many kisses for little Georgie and for you. Ever your devoted husband, Geo."
Picture
"My darling wife I will now close this with fondest love for you and baby and please kiss him for me."
Picture
"I wrote you some days ago that if you could come here by May 20th I would like it; for darling I am so lonely I love you so fondly all of the time."
Picture
"Oh what a long day this has been to me and how I have desired to be with you and to see our little boy. I am sure you are both happy and that you are progressing well. I was very glad to get your telegram last night for I had not (and have not yet) got your letter. I think of you so often and wish you were here where the things look so lovely."
Picture
"Now darling sweet wife I will close with very fond love and affection for the sweetest and best wife that ever blessed man."
Picture
"It is bed time and I will now close with the best love a man is able to give a devoted and loving wife. Ever your own loving husband Geo."
0 Comments

    Author

    Thomas Cuong Huynh, founder of Sonshi

    Picture

    Archives

    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2020
    April 2020
    September 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017


    Receive Sonshi updates and our must-read article, "Three Common Mistakes People Make About Sun Tzu's Art of War":


    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

SONSHI - THE ORIGINAL SUN TZU'S ART OF WAR RESOURCE
​"Winning battles such that the whole world cries, 'Excellent!' is not the highest excellence." Sun Tzu
Privacy Policy
© 1999-2022 Sonshi.com. All rights reserved. The name SONSHI® and "four-leaf clover" logo are registered, incontestable trademarks of the Sonshi Group 和平的力量.