Reviewing The Fallacy Behind the World Taiji and Qi Gong Day

Today is World Taichi (or Taiji) and Qi Gong Day.  It is one of those "kumbaya" scenarios where everyone wanted to feel good because they are all following a certain practice.

They usually assemble together, hoping that they could change the state of the globe with one hot exhale of carbon dioxide.  Do you think they could be the cause of global warming?  ... One wonders if they think that their act could decrease world hunger and diminish the threat of global warming.  . . . Hmmmm!? 

This group reminded us of the Art of War cult.  (That is another long post.) 


Ruminations and Afterthoughts 

So, how many Taiji players do you really know, who could comprehend the technicalities on how this martial art system really works!? 

From our observation, the majority of the "Taiji" masses are always concentrating on a few "big picture" technicalities and the final outcome without understanding the true connection between the grand fundamental points.

There are some knowledgeable people who could explain to the newbies on how the fundamentals worked from a ground up perspective. 

Then there are the numerous messengers who usually dominate their entire group as the authority and delineate the newbies on how it all works from a top down view in terms of the "imaginary results."  . . . 

Interestingly, a few of them could barely transform their Taiji experience into their daily life on a 24/7 basis. Humorously, they are the salespeople of the group.

The commonality of the novices is that some of them are studying it for the purpose of finding some level of self-enlightenment. Once the fundamentals are learned (not mastered), they dashed to their favorite social media channels and boost to the world about their neophyte achievement.

Some might get lucky in receiving the benefits from practicing it correctly. The rest of them are just declaring that it does help them without personally specifying the long-term benefits. 


The rarity during one's learning of Taiji or any other internal martial arts is to discover the skilled person who could patiently explain to the novices- the connecting "balancing point" between the general perspective and the wide array of specific points with real examples. 

The challenge for the "skilled person" is determining whether it is worth his/her time to explain that "balancing point" to them. ... In summary, that skilled person would rather spend time honing their skills in their own private terrain.


The Assessment Points 
In any niche, the ratio between the group of messengers-pseudo specialists are greater than the experts. To filter the competent instructors from the masses of amateurs, assess their skills carefully.  

Use their advanced students as the measuring gauge. Study if they are able to integrate the attributes of breathing, balancing and rhythm into their practice. Examine if they can stay "relaxed, grounded, centered, calm and whole" in each and all of their movements.  Those two grand perspective are what most "current and future" students have always missed.

Following are other assessment points:

• Are the advanced students able to mindful about the principles before ever employing a move? 
• Are the advanced students able to stay focused on their movement without being distracted?
• Are the advanced students able to practice in isolation?
• Are the advanced students able to utilize their Taiji skills outside of their practice?
• Are the advanced students able to multi-process within their surroundings ?

# Click here for a good listing of errors that most novice Taiji players usually displayed in their practice.

The knowledge of identifying what are the relevant factors is what the serious Taiji players are focused on.  


The Chief Benefit of Taiji 
Building and augmenting the skill of one's mindfulness is the name of the game.   The state of mindfulness could enable the desktop strategists to understand certain Chinese strategic classics in a different light. 

One could build this unique skill through the practice of integrating the state of relaxation, the state of grounded, the state of centered, the state of calm and the state of being whole through the control of the breath. Regardless of the difficulty, it could be done 

The other options to building the skill of mindfulness are: Six Harmonies and Eight Methods System; Aikido; Baguazhang; Xingyiquan, and Yiquan.

Suggestion to the Serious Taiij Players
It is difficult to learn "real" Taiji in a group setting unless the group is quite serious about it.  In most cases, most group setting focuses on the social aspect of the activity.   . . . Those who are seriously interested in learning Taiji, should seek a competent instructor who is patiently experienced in teaching them on an one on one basis before ever seeking an expert.  

Final Points

So, what is the fallacy?  ... The day and the time for Taiji practice does not matter to some serious players. They could practice in isolation or with a group of technical equals who understand the Big Tangible Picture (BTP) behind their practice and will practice with a purpose.  One of the most significant traditions that counts is the daily practice of their personal exercises.

The importance of timely practice only concerns the serious Taiij players who have studied traditional Chinese medicine.   

Side Note
The ultra class experts are usually staying away from the ranked amateurs who have publicized themselves as the true specialists.  They isolated themselves from the masses for the purpose of staying focused to their practice to the nth degree.   ... In some rare instances, some of these experts usually privately trained their most dedicated students behind the closed doors for the purpose of preserving the essence of the system.  ... 

You could learn more about this topic by visiting the following sites

• Cook Ding Kitchen  (Possesses an outstanding listing of quality Taiji sites)
• The WuShu Centre
• Energy Arts
• Wing Lam Enterprises
• Be not Defeated by the Rain 
• Smiling Tiger Martial Arts

# # #

The 26 Replies by The Cult of Art of War on Why Their Sunzi Strategies Fail

Following is a listing of the top 26 replies by The Cult of Art of War whenever their Sunzi strategies did not work:
26. Where were you when this problem occurred?

25.  I was busy shopping for that special tramslation of Sunzi that I saw Wesley Snipes was reading in the Passenger 57 movie.
24.  I was too busy quoting Michael Douglas lines from the Wall Street movie
23.  I was too busy watching the Art of War movie marathon on the Grit channel.
22.  I was taking inspirational advice from a female strategist (from the East Coast) who claimed that being happy is everything.  
21.  You don't say.

20. That’s weird…

19. It’s never done that before.

18. It worked yesterday.

17. How is that possible?

16. It must be a tactical performance problem.  Therefore, the fault is not mine's.

15. What did I say to get the team to walk out on me? 

14. There has to be something funky in the implementation of the tactics.

13. I haven’t practiced that Sun Bin tactic (or that stratagem from 36 Strategems)  in weeks.

12. We must utilized the wrong translation of Sunzi

11. It’s just some unlucky coincidence.

10. I can’t think of everything !

09. Someone told me if I read Sunzi before the meeting, that I will win.
08. It works, but the tactic hasn’t been thoroughly tested yet.

07. Somebody must have changed my instruction. Identify that "meathead." 

06. While my goal is to triumph over the competition without a bloodshed , I just had to go opposite.
05. Even though it doesn’t work, How does it feel?

04. You can’t use that tactic with my team.

03. Why do I have to assess the situation, don't you know who I am?

02.  My version of Sunzi did not resolve my inner demons

01. It worked on my head while I am sniffing crack 

The Darwin Award Goes to Some of the Drug-induced Silicon Valley Techies

(updated on 11.29.2015)

Some of the Silicon Valley geniuses have believed that they can either be super problem solvers or become ultra-innovative through the intake of LSD. Interestingly others preferred the choice of Adderol.

Without ever understand the medium to long risk consequences of their decision, this unique group of geniuses could have a lifetime of bizarre behavior.  ...   Smoking an abyss of joints might relieve the anxiety, will not going to consistently enhance one's creativity.

Regardless of the pseudo moment of pleasure, the grand attribute of ambition, drive and focus will be quite seriously reduced.  Creativity will be minimized and unrepeatable. ... Frying the brain over a futile job is not a good decision.  ... Once the brain adapted to the effects of the drug, the drug becomes useless. Now the physical being of the user becomes addicted to the "feel" of the drug.

The Big Tangible Picture
Smart creativity occurs from one's own current comprehension of the configuration that operates within their goal and the Big Tangible Picture that connects to their goal.

Prediction or Guess-timation 
Those who enjoyed the act of projecting the possible outcome of their pre-executed decision,must be able to identify the strategic factors that could lead to success or failure.

Following is an abridged listing of the strategic measures that are significant to the chief decision makers who wanted to the validity of their choices:

• the tangibility of the projected benefits; 
• the actuality of the potential challenges; and 
• the reality of the possible drawbacks. 

This grand measure of strategic overview-ing usually enables the chief decision makers to understand the expected veracity that would originated from their decision.

As long as the positive after-effects of their choice are greater than the negative after-effects, the choice is valid. 

Suggested Solution 
Learn to center yourself and getting more sleep are quite beneficial.  Also, concentrate on learning how to view the configuration on one's Big Tangible Picture through the act of assessing, positioning and influencing.

Final Point

Regardless of the industries and the levels within it, there are always "drugged out" professionals. 

April First: The "Perfect" Day To Honor the Cult of the Art of War

Source: The Atlantic
( updated on 04.09.15, 12:00 noon )

The number of ways that the amateurs have conceptualize the essence of Sunzi's essay on strategic competition- (Sunzi's Art of War) into rules and simplifications, have somewhat "confounded" us (for a brief moment) in terms of their naivety.

These amateurs really believed that the utilization of heuristic rules, simple graphs and Venn diagrams could solve the complexity of life.

Some of these result-oriented winners usually look at life in terms of a black box.  They are rarely ever concerned about the inner workings of the box as long as the grand benefit of the projected result outweighs the drawbacks.  Simultaneously, these people rarely consider the possible "reciprocity" from their actions.

Because of their social-economic standings, they really believed that most of their life is like a "1+1=2"  equation.

In a complex (disinformation-driven) society like ours, is the number "1" really a number "1" ?


Hagy's Book
Click here  on how Jessica Hagy simplifies the message of Sunzi.

Visually and conceptually, her book is superb for the "simple solution-driven"novices and the pseudo cult leaders who loathed deep thinking and long memories.

It is perfect for the pop culture-driven society who are always demanding simplicity in their empty lives.

In summary, some of us have seen the book, and liked it for its visual content.  The context is great but the details are missing.

We recommended this book for the newbies and the novices who preferred a simple perspective for solving problems and who are participating in other minor competitive situations.

The Questions of the Day
Q: Regardless of the simplicity of her view, do you think that you can succeed with that two-dimensional perspective  in a complex, multi-dimensional strategic situation while the clock is ticking?

Q: If there is an err in your decision, are you able to absorb the after-effect? . . . Or will your associate asked their own pawns to target their "finger of blame" at someone else for the obvious reason?

Q: Do you think that the knowledge of knowing the different philosophic approaches to solving strategic problems (from the Art of War), will help you in a competitive situation that encompasses the essence of complexity?

Q: Do you know how to pinpoint the correct set of tactical means that connects the wide array of operational modes to that suggested approach?

Q: Instead of spending your time assessing the Big Tangible Picture (identifying the catalyst level within the abyss of complexity and conclude the advantageous exception in a cyber minute), are you going to search for that unique set of favorite quotes that would inspire you to greater heights?

Q: When the "feel good" magic of the book disappears and the reality of your life creeps back into the attic of your mind, how are you going to decide your next move?

Q: Are you going to contact your guru and ask for "a clear shine" of a solution?

Thoughts From The Compass Desk
In summary, do you think that there is more to the concept of "tangible strategy" than the current "simple" broadcast of Sunzi's Art of War principles?

To the Cult of the Art of War, enjoy your day.  ...

#

It is time for us to return to some serious fishing.

Connecting the Schubert's Symphony No. 8 in B Minor to the Efficient Economy

(update at 18:18)

A corporate manager had tickets to the symphony--Schubert's Symphony No. 8 in B minor--but he couldn't make it so he gave them to his efficiency expert. The expert attended the concert and the next morning gave the following report:

For a considerable period, the oboe players had nothing to play. Their number should be reduced, and their work spread over the whole orchestra, thus avoiding peaks of inactivity.

All 24 violins were playing identical notes. This seems unnecessary duplication, and the staff in this section should be drastically cut. If a large volume of sound is needed, this could be obtained by the use of an amplifier.

Much effort was involved in playing the 16th notes. This seems an excessive refinement, and it is recommended that all notes should be rounded off to the nearest eighth note. If this were done, it would be possible to use paraprofessionals instead of experienced musicians.

No useful purpose is served by repeating with horns the passage that has already been played by the strings. If all such passages were eliminated, the concert could be reduced from two hours to 20 minutes.

The symphony is in two movements. If Schubert did not achieve his musical goals by the end of the first movement, then he should have stopped there.  The second movement is unnecessary and should be cut.

In the light of the above, one can only conclude that if Schubert had paid attention to such matters, his symphony would probably have been finished by now.


Comments From The Compass Desk
Once the innovation hype of anything is over, the emphasis of efficiency begins,

In the efficient economy, much of the bottom-tier jobs are slowly being eliminated by automation and self-help service especially in the dining industry. It is only a matter of time that the fast food section of that industry will be automated.

[ More to come. ]

The Fallacy Behind the World Taiji and Qi Gong Day

(updated at 11:10 hr)

Today is World Taichi (or Taiji) and Qi Gong Day.  It is one of those "kumbaya" scenarios where everyone wants to feel good because they are all following a certain practice.

They all assemble together, hoping that they could change the state of the globe.  One wonders if it could decrease world hunger and diminish the threat of global warming.  . . . Hmmmm!? 

Ruminations and Afterthoughts 
How many Taiji players do you know, really comprehend the technicalities on how it really works!? 

From our observation, the majority of the "Taiji" masses  are always concentrating on a few "big picture" technicalities and the final outcome without understanding the true connection between the grand fundamental points.

There are some knowledgeable people who could explain to you on how the fundamentals worked from a ground up perspective. The numerous messengers usually dominate this entire group and delineate the newbies on how it all works from a top down view in terms of the "imaginary results."  . . . 
Interestingly, a few of them could barely transform their Taiji experience into their daily life on a 24/7 basis. Humorously, they are the salespeople of the group.

The rarity during one's learning of Taiji or any other internal martial arts is to discover the skilled person who could patiently explain to the novices- the connecting "balancing point" between the general perspective and the wide array of specific points with real examples. 

The challenge is that the "skilled person" must determine whether it is worth his/her time to explain that "balancing point" to them. 

The commonality of the novices is that some of them are studying it for the purpose of finding some level of self-enlightenment. 

Some might get lucky in receiving the benefits from practicing it correctly. The rest of them are just saying that it does help them without personally specifying the long-term benefits. 

The Assessment Points 
In any niche, the ratio between the group of messengers-pseudo specialists are greater than the experts. To filter the competent instructors from the masses of amateurs, assess their skills carefully.  

Use their advanced students as the measuring gauge. Study if they are able to integrate the attributes of breathing, balancing and rhythm into their practice. Examine if they can stay "relaxed, grounded, centered, calm and whole" in each and all of their movements.  Those two grand perspective are what most "current and future" students have always missed.

Following are other assessment points:

• Are the advanced students able to stay focused on their movement without being distracted?
• Are the advanced students able to practice in isolation?
• Are the advanced students able to utilize their Taiji skills outside of their practice?

# Click here for a good list of errors that most novice Taiji players usually displayed in their practice.

The knowledge of knowing what factors to look for, is what the serious Taiji players are focused on.  

# The Chief Benefit of Taiji 
Building and augmenting the skill of one's mindfulness is the name of the game.   The state of mindfulness could enable the desktop strategists to understand certain Chinese strategic classics in a different light. 

One could build this unique skill through the practice of integrating the state of relaxation, the state of grounded, the state of centered, the state of calm and the state of being whole through the control of the breath. Regardless of the difficulty, it could be done 

The other options to building the skill of mindfulness are: Six Harmonies and Eight Methods System; Aikido; Baguazhang; Xingyiquan, and Yiquan.

Suggestion to the Serious Taiij Players
It is difficult to learn "real" Taiji in a group setting unless one is interested in the social aspect of the activity.   . . . Those who are seriously interested in learning Taiji, should seek a competent instructor who is patiently experienced in teaching them on an one on one basis before ever seeking an expert.  

Final Points

So, what is the fallacy?  ... The day and the time for practice does not matter to the serious Taiji players. They could practice in isolation or with a group of technical equals who understand the Big Tangible Picture behind their practice and will practice with a purpose.  One of the most significant tradition that counts is the daily practice of their personal exercises.

Side Note
The ultra class experts are usually staying away from the ranked amateurs who have publicized themselves as the true specialists.  They isolated themselves from the masses for the purpose of staying focused to their practice to the nth degree.   ... In some rare instances, some of these experts usually privately trained their most dedicated students behind the closed doors for the purpose of preserving the essence of the system.  ... 

You could learn more about this topic by visiting the following sites

• Cook Ding Kitchen  (Possesses an outstanding listing of quality Taiji sites)
• The WuShu Centre
• Energy Arts
• Wing Lam Enterprises
• Be not Defeated by the Rain 
• Smiling Tiger Martial Arts

# 

Humor: An Tactical Advice For Those Who Are Involved in Worst Case Scenario

When you are in deep trouble, "center" your being and look straight ahead. Keep quiet. Move with the flow. Say nothing.   ... Stay focused on getting home while being mindful of your terrain.  The mindfulness will enable you to make the proper adjustment. Avoid any feeling of emotional outburst by compartmentalize it until you have safely arrived in your home terrain. 

Magus Carlson Beats Bill Gates in Nine Moves

This past Thursday, Bill Gates lost a televised chess game to Magus Carlson, the reigning world chess grandmaster in nine moves. 

Bill Gates plays the white pieces.

1.e4 ♘c6 
2.♘f3 d5 
Black plays the Nimzowitsch Defense.  This is an interesting choice. 

3.♗d3 ♘f6    
The efficient book move is 3. e5. Creating an odd pressure in the spacing of the King side. 
Some people preferred to play 3. ♗b5 .

In most opening game scenarios, positioning  the White's king bishop to obstruct the movement of the White queen pawn is not a good idea.  This obstruction is the beginning point for more bad moves.  In real life, the bishop rarely protects the pawn. 

4.exd5 ♕xd5 

5.♘c3 ♕h5 
White should have played ♘ e4 
Developing the positioning of the pieces by chasing the queen is also a good idea.

6.O-O ♗g4 
One should never maneuver their king (castling) into a possible storm.

7.h3♘e5 
Black applies more pressure to the White's king side.

8.hxg4 ♘fxg4 
White takes the bait
Black returns the favor and targets extreme pressure on H2 while displaying a simple misdirectional bait.

9.♘xe5 ♕h2
One bad move in the opening (White's third move) usually guarantee the beginning of total chaos.  The road to this category of loss is paved with good intentions and amateurish analysis. Regardless of the game, some people are so focused on the front effect that they cannot see the "subtle duality" of that move.  

Compass Rules

• Read the entire board before make a decision.
• Understand the positives and negative of any moves before concluding the next move. 

Side Notes
Regardless of this micro loss, Bill is still a big winner in life.  

If Magus and a bridge partner were playing a game of Bridge against Gates and Buffet, While it would be an interesting match, my money might be on Gates and Buffet.  

In a pseudo-predictable setting like chess, one must focus on the time factor, the space factor, the mobility factor, the force factor and the pawn structure factor (formation) .  ... When playing white, one must stay one move ahead while maintaining spatial control of the center with direct occupation of pawns and indirect control by minor pieces to force black to play reactive defense. 

As mentioned before, castling into a storm (move #6) is not a good strategy. 

Retrospectively, the amateurs are obsessed with their gadget openings while the professionals are focused on playing their games.   The budding chess players consciously decides which route to take/ 

While being fans of the late Robert James Fischer, some of us preferred to play Go (weiqi) or "Texas Hold 'Em" poker. 

Go is to chess as theoretical physics is to arithmetic.  Some people believes that life could be described as a game of Go or a game of showdown poker or a game of chess. We believed that the configuration of the situation determines the game metaphor.   ... Whether the implementer has the awareness to understand it, is a different story. Interestingly, we have seen people using the chess metaphor in a "Go game" type of setting. Strategically, their perspective will only hurt them on a long run.  Without any under-standing of the unknown that could lie in front of them, they will be grounded and pounded by the indirect forces.

Their incorrect use of a metaphor reminds us of novices bringing a penknife to a gunfight.  In most occurrences, their projected outcome will not be real.


The Bottom Line 
To thrive in any settings, the chief decision maker must know how to read the entire situation before deciding on anything relevant. 

Food For Thought: An Idea for December 25

Chinese Food + Netflix = A Good Day

An Interesting Perspective

Comments From The Compass Desk
The late and great Red Auerbach the former coach of the Boston Celtics (a professional basketball team) , always had Chinese food for dinner regardless whether his Boston Celtics team won or lost a game.   ... He always insisted that his team consumed Chinese food for dinner, especially before a game. 

The presumption was that good Chinese food should never create the feeling of "heavy" with the eater.  Whether Coach Auerbach and his team ever completed a Chinese "nine course" banquet, is a different story.   

"Being light is right" is the basic rule.     In our case,  some of us have always followed the Compass rule of being agile and mobile.

Happy Holidays!

Profiting in the NFL Economy- The Dao of Assessing the Worst Teams

In the game of craps (shooting dice), the uniquely smart gamblers are usually betting on the possibility of the shooters "seven out " before making their point.

Tonight is the first game of the NFL season.   Regardless of the results, it is a game between two playoff contenders, not pretenders.   

The experts and the serious fans are usually good at assessing which teams are going to the playoffs. Whether all of those teams are able to reach the second stage of the NFL season,  is a different story. 

To be different, we decided to focus on the other end of the spectrum,- the bottom five.

By looked at a set of strategic factors (the strength of schedule; the quality of competition; the quantity of personnel turnover (the players and the staff); the number of quality rookies in their rosters; the quality of the coaching staff (in terms of being involved with a winning program), the playoff experience of the quarterbacks, the number of players that they had to trade for, etc.), we concluded the following five NFL teams: The Raiders; The Jags; The Bills; The Cardinals and The Jets.

Once the bottom five are established, the successful strategists usually begin their strategic assessment phase by focusing on the number of points that each of those five teams will lose by? 

Assessing the Specifics Behind the Worst Teams
“These are the ways that successful strategists are victorious. They cannot be spoken or transmitted in advance. ... Before the confrontation, they resolve in their conference room that they will be victorious, have determined that the majority of factors are in their favor. Before the confrontation they resolve in their conference room that they will not be victorious, have determined a few factors are in their favor.

If those who find that the majority of factors favor them, will be victorious while those who have found few factors favor them will be defeated, what about someone who finds no factors in their favor?

When observing from this viewpoint, victory and defeat will be apparent.”

- Art of War 1 (Paraphrased from the Sawyer's translation)

As each week progresses forward, the successful strategists begin to see a sequential trend of factors that regularly represented the losing team.  ... 

Following is an abridged listing of those factors:

• the length of the injury of the starters between the losing team and the contending opponent; 
• the ratio of forced turnover between the losing team and the contending opponent;
• the ratio of touchdowns between the losing team and the contending opponent;
• the ratio of interceptions between the losing team and the contending opponent; and 
• the ratio of high yards after completion (yac) per game average between the losing team and the contending opponent.

By going through the comparison of the specific factors, one concludes the present state of a competitor's strategic disposition.  Only the amateurs employ a Occam's analysis methodology to finalize their conclusion.

Side note 
Do you know the matrix of connectivity that integrates the factors together?

Updated note
Depending on the prevalence of those factors, a team listed on the bottom could improve when their quality of the competition begins to decline.



The Possible Solution For Each of Those Teams

Those who cannot repair the technical configuration of their team, usually tape it up and hope for the best. 

Comments From The Compass Desk
There are some technical differences between that of a professional football team and a business organization.

The major difference is that the team's fans will keep on investing money in their losing team because they have nothing else to live for.  In the case of a business organization, there is a limitation to how much capital that they could lose, before proceeding toward bankruptcy.

Then there are the Detroit Lions and the Oakland Raiders

Each week, billion of dollars are wagered on professional and college sports. Some believed that this is the ultimate stage of wagering. Ultra class professionals like Edward O. Thorp believed that the narrow niches that lie within the vast stock market is the real casino. ... Understanding the tangible connection between the global politics and the physics of wall street is more challenging than the over-hyped human behaviors behind professional sports. 

Profiteering in the Chinese Economy (Humor)

( source: Winextra )  

Side note: There is no truth whether this crime was ever committed.

During a robbery in Guangzhou, China, the bank robber shouted to everyone in the bank: "Don't move. The money belongs to the State. Your life belongs to you."

Everyone in the bank laid down quietly. This is called "Mind Changing Concept” Changing the conventional way of thinking.

Comment: The robber sold the Big Picture of understanding the importance of carefully making the right choice to the bystanders within the bank.  

When a lady lay on the table provocatively, the robber shouted at her: "Please be civilized! This is a robbery and not a rape!"

This is called "Being Professional” Focus only on what you are trained to do!

Comment: The robber depicts his alleged "professional" image to the audience in hope that everyone understood that he and his partner were only there for one grand purpose.

When the bank robbers returned home, the younger robber (MBA-trained) told the older robber (who has only completed Year 6 in primary school): "Big brother, let's count how much we got."

The older robber rebutted and said: "You are very stupid. There is so much money it will take us a long time to count. Tonight, the TV news will tell us how much we robbed from the bank!"

This is called "Experience.” Nowadays, experience is more important than paper qualifications!

Comment:  The older robber believed that his perception of experience was the golden rule.

After the robbers had left, the bank manager told the bank supervisor to call the police quickly. But the supervisor said to him: "Wait! Let us take out $10 million from the bank for ourselves and add it to the $70 million that we have previously embezzled from the bank”.

This is called "Swim with the tide.” Converting an unfavorable situation to your advantage!

The supervisor says: "It will be good if there is a robbery every month."

This is called "Killing Boredom.” Personal Happiness is more important than your job.

Comment: The supervisor quietly understood the factors behind the current circumstance for transforming an unfavorable situation (to others) toward his own advantage. 

The next day, the TV news reported that $100 million was taken from the bank. The robbers counted and counted and counted, but they could only count $20 million. The robbers were very angry and complained: "We risked our lives and only took $20 million. The bank manager took $80 million with a snap of his fingers. It looks like it is better to be educated than to be a thief!"  ... This is called "Knowledge is worth as much as gold!"

Comment: The robber concluded that their perception of reality was a minuscule of the reality of their grand settings.

The bank manager was smiling and happy because his losses in the share market are now covered by this robbery.  ...  This is called "Seizing the opportunity.” Daring to take risks!  ... So who are the real robbers here?

Comment: By being calm, the supervisor mindfully saw the opportunity to utilize a chaotic situation to their vantage.  He utilized the results of one event to concealed his previous move and his next move. (This approach is similar to "Waiting at Leisure While Waiting for The Enemy" Stratagem from the 36 Stratagems essay. 

Comments From The Compass Desk
With the foreknowledge of the after effects of their situation, would the two robbers have committed the crime?  We quite doubt it.  The probability of them securing that intelligence is quite low. Most people rarely ever think past their current objective. Because of their possible financial plight, these robber would have executed their plan regardless of the circumstances.

The masses have a tendency of perceiving most situations with generalities, without ever knowing the specifics of the  view is a minuscule of the reality (the Big Tangible Picture) that prevails over the grander setting.  They are frequently focused on the immediate gains without knowing the negative after-effects.  ... This category of behavior rarely changes because of their need for immediate gratification.

How to Stay Ahead of The Curve 

When being mindful of the connectivity behind the Big Tangible Picture of their setting, one could become attentive to the possibilities of the on-coming opportunity.  (Side note: It requires a mindful practice of calming the mind, body and spirit.)

Without any understanding of the risk consequences, the practice of "immediate perception is reality" has prevailed over the masses of "unmindful" amateurs. These people just want that one ignition key applicational solution. Understanding how things are connected within the grand terrain and beyond is a waste of their time.  They are always living for that moment.

The exception are the few mindful observers who occasionally possessed the advantage of time, resources and the grand understanding of their current situation and beyond, that enables them to capitalize on some of the possible opportunities.

The Compass Practice

The customary Compass practice is to focus on one's current objective while being mindful of the "matrix of connectivity factor" that quietly operates within one's grand terrain.  You do know how to do that.  Do you?

Disclaimer

We do not endorse the commitment of any crime with this unique strategic practice. 

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