America’s leading authority on Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, Gary Gagliardi, shared the ancient Chinese thinker's principles of strategy and how they can apply to many aspects of a person's life today. Sun Tzu wrote his text 2,500 years ago as a reaction against the more passive Confucianism and Taoism, Gagliardi explained, yet many of his ideas embraced avoiding outright conflict in order to achieve maximum success. For instance, his use of the word "battle" translated as "meeting a challenge," and didn't necessarily indicate fighting. And holding the right information was more valuable than force, Sun Tzu wrote. In using these techniques as a way of life, Gagliardi said they could be broken down into knowledge, vision, action and positioning. One could use information to make small rather than big steps in a new direction. And from this new position a person could take advantage of opportunities that arise. The use of surprise is also useful, he said, as it creates momentum tow ... More »