Ancient Warrior Secrets For The Modern Entrepreneur

The words you see onscreen trigger subconscious responses. Dark images penetrate your mind. Your heartbeat increases slightly. Your muscles tighten. Like a warrior advancing to combat, you prepare to engage with your market. Ready, aim, fire. You send an email! Everyday, military metaphors are projected across our computer screens. Guerrilla marketing. Market penetration. Global domination. Competitive intelligence and more. How do you approach your marketing, your business? At the end of the day, do you feel like you have been in battle? Suffering battle fatigue.

War is just metaphor for the application of force. By understanding the nature of war, you can apply this understanding to business. You can apply the principles of war with elegance or with crudeness. It is like knowing the difference between a charging gladiator and a meditating warrior-monk.

Here are some warrior secrets that have been derived from traditional Maori martial arts and modern military tactics. Adapt and apply some of these principles into your life and business.

1. The Power of Oneness.

When tracking and observing, you need to become one with your environment. The trees, the insects, the wildlife become your eyes and ears. The forest becomes part of your body. In order to reach this level of feeling, you need to become one with yourself. This power of oneness begins with the point of stillness. You need to slow down your thinking and relax into yourself. Slow down your thoughts so that you can sense your own body. Tense muscles. Nervous responses. Stressed breathing. Just slow down and take time out from your busy work environment. Spend an hour of slow thinking each day. Do nothing during this hour then move when you are ready. The modern entrepreneur is like a scout, silently observing then moving with swift, efficient actions.

2. Know Yourself.

Know your strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes it takes honesty to admit your own weaknesses. Your partner, your children or close friends can all be good mirrors. They reflect back both your good and ugly features. The ego of a mighty entrepreneur can be easily pricked by the honest opinion of his 4-year old daughter. Your results are also another good indication. What results are you getting? Look around you for 360 degree feedback. Put yourself in uncomfortable positions so that you can stretch and grow.

3. Know Your Enemy.

I said know your enemy, not kill your enemy. Sometimes your worst enemy can be yourself. Sometimes your enemy is called your competitor. Try this. Look at your competitors as potential allies. Study them. Think like them. Talk to them. Understand them. They very much want the same things in life as you do. Yet be like an iron fist wrapped in a velvet glove. Negotiate and operate from a position of strength and honour rather than weakness and deceit. The energy of your values and beliefs radiate out from you like a force-field. What energy are you sending out?

4. Think 3 Times Beyond Your Current Capability.

Some warrior races such as the Maori of New Zealand used to train so that one warrior was equal to three or more opponents. Their smallness in numbers was compensated for by the quality of the warriors. Find a way to leverage your current capability so that you achieve a 300 percent improvement in your results. You could be three times faster in delivering your product to the customer. Or your product could be three times more reliable. Why stop at a ratio of three? Perhaps you could achieve a 10, 20 times improvement ratio on your current capability.

5. Focussed Relaxation in High Stress Situations.

Stress is the number one cause of reduced work efficiency. When teaching martial arts I encourage people to consciously laugh when in high stress situations. This relaxes the body and allows natural reflexes to emerge. Imagine a bloodstained maniac running at you with an axe. Your body starts to tense up. Your mind panics. Now imagine the same axe maniac running straight into an invisible concrete wall three metres in front of you. He is completely knocked unconscious and thrown backwards onto the floor. You laugh. Now slow this moving image down, frame-by-frame. Bring the invisible concrete wall a little closer each time. Laugh as the maniac gets knocked out. Now speed up the frame sequence. Charging axe maniac. Bang! Knock out! Hahaha! Repeat several times. The concrete wall becomes a metaphor for the power of your focussed mind. The next stage is to learn and apply defensive shock-actions so that you have the equivalent physical impact of an invisible concrete wall. Use t!

his same mind process when encountering negative or hostile customers. Put up an invisible barrier to block their negative energy. Use laughter to disarm the tension. Be in control of your own mind and space.

Find ways to activate the warrior energy within you. Use it as a force for good. This is the challenge for the modern entrepreneur. To serve the common good while creating several successful businesses.

Copyright 2004 Hirini Reedy

About The Author

Hirini Reedy is a native author, poet, civil engineer, retired military officer, martial arts black belt, NLP master and internet entrepreneur. He shows people how to integrate ancient wisdom with modern success principles using SIMPLE TEACHINGS. Learn more at http://www.maori-secrets.com/?warrior

---

Innovation incubator: Build it and keep it running

If your company is like the one I work for,... Read More

Entrepreneurs, Are You Hauling Buckets?

Once upon a time, there was a village on the... Read More

Competing With The Big Dogs

You run a small consultancy. You're well qualified, experienced and... Read More

Message to Prospective Franchisees for Franchisors

Many franchise companies fail to send the proper message to... Read More

Entrepreneurship as Your Passion

Entrepreneurship has been my passion for as long as I... Read More

Solo Mojo for Solo Entrepreneurs --- Where?s Your Juice?

I recently read a magazine article about Andrew, a 42-year... Read More

Why I Should Go In To Business

Rohit Kochgaway was very upset with his boss for his... Read More

What Makes a Person an Entrepreneur?

Entrepreneurship is generally characterized by some type of innovation, a... Read More

CHINESE TAKE-OUT: Oriental Business Principles Demystified For Online Enterprises

"The expectations of life depend upon diligence; the mechanic that... Read More

Judging Entrepreneurial Ideas

Most entrepreneurs constantly come up with new ideas. Whether they... Read More

What Qualities Do Franchisors Need?

When I got into business I wanted to build a... Read More

Your Company Needs A Mission Statement; Make It Count

Does anyone remember that book "Built to Last" done y... Read More

Applying The Daffodil Theory into Business Practice

At times all of us need a bit of inspiration... Read More

Veteran Entrepreneurs Are Growing In Ranks

When I'm not running my own business, writing articles about... Read More

Franchises - Success and You

Many people believe owning a franchise will make them rich,... Read More

Franchises - Emotional Fulfillment - The Challenge

Does A Franchise Meet Your Needs?Do you look forward to... Read More

Be an Entrepreneur

The Department of Labor predicts that the #1 employer in... Read More

Increase Profits with No Pain, No Change Approach

Implementing changes, even when they're good for your business, can... Read More

Double Down on Marketing

If you want to compete in the world of high... Read More

Answering Why You, Why Now Critical in a Winning Business Plan

Business plans continue to be an essential element of the... Read More

What Part of Handwriting on the Wall Dont You Understand - They Dont Hire People Over 50

In a recent talk to the Detroit Economic Club, President... Read More

Chairman Greenspan and the FED, learn more you will be glad you did

So many people work their whole life to make money,... Read More

Hearing That Entrepreneurial Voice?

Women business owners are our only clients, so naturally we... Read More

Creativity & Entrepreneurship: The Creative Evolution of an Intellectual Property©

In each of us, there is a creative spark -... Read More

The Myth of Undercapitalization - Six Ways Entrepreneurs Achieve Success in Spite of Start-Up Money

This year more than 17 million people will become entrepreneurs,... Read More

Great Tips Of Choosing An Office

You have decided to strike it out on your own... Read More

From Employee to Entrepreneur: Taking the Plunge

Before you decide whether or not running your own business... Read More

Can a Microbusiness Help You Enjoy a Better Retirement?

Not having enough money for a comfortable retirement tops the... Read More

5 Habits Of Successful Entrepreneurs

Habits get a bum rap. When you think about your... Read More

Compensating for Your Entrepreneurial Style-or Lack of Style

I recently took an entrepreneurial quiz which evaluated my answers... Read More

Lets Not Forget About The Little Guy

Every business has to start somewhere. What truly makes this... Read More

Entrepreneurship: What does it REALLY mean?

Introduction:In a world where ideas drive economies, it is no... Read More

The Business and Life You Want to Build

In the early days of my first consulting business, I... Read More