Famous Sun Tzu Quotes: Learn why “Art of War” has been so influential for centuries and how smart strategies make all the difference with the best Sun Tzu quotes on leadership. These quotes by Sun Tzu can teach you how to transform your mind into your most potent weapon, which enables you to block out negative thoughts and keep them from entering your consciousness. By reading The Art of War, you will learn how to dominate your thoughts and your body in order to win any conflict you face.
There are times in life when we are faced with adversity, we feel isolated, or our carefully laid plans are derailed in some way. There are some experiences in which we have a difficult time finding meaning, which can be taxing on our minds, bodies, and spirits. The experiences that we go through in life, whether positive or negative, should be welcomed with open arms. Sun Tzu, a Taoist philosopher and one of the most influential military generals in Chinese history, explains the significance of turning one’s attention inward in order to combat the negativity and mental anguish that can be found in everyday life.
You will find our compilation of motivational and insightful Sun Tzu quotes below. These quotations have been compiled over the years from a wide variety of sources. Use these quotes from Sun Tzu as a plan to win any personal conflicts you may be going through.
Famous Sun Tzu Quotes
“Using order to deal with the disorderly, using calm to deal with the clamorous, is mastering the heart.”― Sun Tzu
“Know the enemy, know yourself and victory is never in doubt, not in a hundred battles.”― Sun Tzu
“You have to believe in yourself.” – Sun Tzu
“Energy may be likened to the bending of a crossbow; decision, to the releasing of the trigger.” – Sun Tzu
“Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons. And they will follow you into the deepest valley.” – Sun Tzu
“There is no instance of a nation benefiting from prolonged warfare.” – Sun Tzu
“Violent language and driving forward as if to the attack are signs that he will retreat.” – Sun Tzu
“If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril.” – Sun Tzu
“If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.” – Sun Tzu
“One may know how to conquer without being able to do it.” – Sun Tzu
Motivational Sun Tzu Quotes
“He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.” – Sun Tzu
“If the mind is willing, the flesh could go on and on without many things.” – Sun Tzu
“All war is deception.” – Sun Tzu
“Build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across.” – Sun Tzu
“Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.” – Sun Tzu
“Unhappy is the fate of one who tries to win his battles and succeed in his attacks without cultivating the spirit of enterprise, for the result is waste of time and general stagnation.” – Sun Tzu
“The wise warrior avoids the battle.” – Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu Quotes That Will Expand Your Mind
“A wise general makes a point of foraging of the enemy.” – Sun Tzu
“When envoys are sent with compliments in their mouths, it is a sign that the enemy wishes for a truce.” – Sun Tzu
“If the enemy knows not where he will be attacked, he must prepare in every quarter, and so be everywhere weak.”― Sun Tzu
“Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent’s fate.”― Sun Tzu
“First make yourself unbeatable, then go to war.” – Sun Tzu
“So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong, and strike at what is weak.” – Sun Tzu
“It is easy to love your friend, but sometimes the hardest lesson to learn is to love your enemy.” – Sun Tzu
“The line between disorder and order lies in logistics.” – Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu’s Art Of War Quotes
“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” – Sun Tzu
“For them to perceive the advantage of defeating the enemy, they must also have their rewards.” – Sun Tzu
“He wins his battles by making no mistakes.”― Sun Tzu
“Keep your friends close, your enemies even closer.” – Sun Tzu
“In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.” – Sun Tzu
“When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard.” – Sun Tzu
“Move swift as the Wind and closely-formed as the Wood. Attack like the Fire and be still as the Mountain.” – Sun Tzu
“Every animal with blood in its veins and horns on its head will fight when it is attacked.”― Sun Tzu
The Art Of War Sun Tzu Quotes
“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy are the noise before defeat.” – Sun Tzu
“He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not will be victorious.” – Sun Tzu
“Even the finest sword plunged into salt water will eventually rust.” – Sun Tzu
“He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.” – Sun Tzu
“To know your Enemy, you must become your Enemy.” – Sun Tzu
“Convince your enemy that he will gain very little by attacking you; this will diminish his enthusiasm.” – Sun Tzu
“Knowing the enemy enables you to take the offensive, knowing yourself enables you to stand on the defensive.”― Sun Tzu
“Do not press an enemy at bay.” – Sun Tzu
“Leadership is a matter of intelligence, trustworthiness, humaneness, courage, and sternness.”― Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu Quotes On The Art Of War, Love and Life
“The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.” – Sun Tzu
“The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.” – Sun Tzu
“It is more important to out-think your enemy than to outfight him” – Sun Tzu
“To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.” – Sun Tzu
“The opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.” – Sun Tzu
“To win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.” – Sun Tzu
“If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” – Sun Tzu
“There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.” – Sun Tzu
“The skillful employer of men will employ the wise man, the brave man, the covetous man, and the stupid man.” – Sun Tzu
Best Sun Tzu Intelligence Quotes
“The victorious army is victorious first and seeks battle later; the defeated army seeks battle first and seeks victory later.”― Sun Tzu
“When strong, avoid them. If of high morale, depress them. Seem humble to fill them with conceit. If at ease, exhaust them. If united, separate them. Attack their weaknesses. Emerge to their surprise.” – Sun Tzu
“The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy so that he cannot fathom our real intent.” – Sun Tzu
“The peak efficiency of knowledge and strategy is to make conflict unnecessary.” – Sun Tzu
“Attack is the secret of defense; defense is the planning of an attack.” – Sun Tzu
“The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand.” – Sun Tzu
“Let your plans be dark and as impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.” – Sun Tzu
“Ponder and deliberate before you make a move.” – Sun Tzu
What other Sun Tzu quotes would you add to the list?
Do you have any additional quotes by Sun Tzu that you think should be added to the list? If so, please share them with us. When we look for meaning in our own lives, whether through organized religion or other practices, we discover that the most profound insight does not come from the lessons we have learned or the things we have read; rather, it is discovered within our very selves and in the manner in which we handle the occurrences in our lives. There will probably be times of anxiety and sorrow, but what will make us more stable is the ability to respond to these challenges and overcome them. Utilize the following quotes from Sun Tzu as helpful reminders of the significance of self-perseverance and astuteness, and meditate on accepting both the nature you were given and the possibilities that life has to offer. Which of these Sun Tzu quotes was your favorite, and why?