Start where you are with what you have and better things will come to you as you proceed. That’s just what George Washington did.

History provides ideas that drive everything we do. Isn’t it strange to realize the actions of George Washington, Mao Tse-Tung and the Assassins of the 11th to 14th centuries illustrate useful business principles? There is really nothing new in the world of ideas. What we see as new is old information that has been banging around the universe for eons; it’s just that individual world-views have kept someone from recognizing the idea or, if it were recognized, some individual has used the idea in a new way or offered a new interpretation of it. Plank, Einstein, Schroeder, and others responsible for the cutting-edge ideas of quantum mechanics were all influenced by ancient ideas from Eastern religions which were developed seven or eight thousand years ago.

Our short historical analysis begins with Napoleon Hill saying the time will never be just right to do anything. Start where you are with what you have and better things will come to you as you proceed. That’s just what George Washington did.

With little money and a small number of poorly trained troops, he realized no offensive war could be waged during the American Revolution. So he used what little he had and set up strategic defensive positions. The offense, if you can call it that, was by small units equipped and informed by local residents. Francis Marion, the “Swamp Fox,” is a well-known leader of one of these bands. These little groups had no uniforms and got their weapons however they could. Local residents were cultivated for food, clothing and military knowledge.

Mao-Tse Tung did the same thing. His idea was to send organizers to small villages with his ideas. Groups would form, and Mao’s guerillas could use them to obtain food, military supplies, clothing and strategic and tactical knowledge. This is how he managed to equip and maintain his army on its long march which resulted in conquering all of China.

A central tactical doctrine employed by Mao was “Sheng Tung, Chi His.” Translated, this means “Uproar in the East, Strike in the West.” I’ve always liked to restate this as “Attack in the West while coming from the East.”

Stay with me, I’ll get to the point in a minute.

A current phenomenon worldwide is suicide bombers or other suicidal acts to inflict damage on others. This is by no means new. Sometime around the 11th century a dissident religious group located in the castle at Alamut (Eagle’s Nest) in what then was Persia. They became known as the Assassins, because they specialized in killing people. This group also used local residents in the surrounding area for provisions, intelligence activities and general support.

We must cultivate the people around us, our customers, our employees and our affiliates or downline. These are valuable and all must be treated well for our businesses to succeed. Most modern marketing experts espouse some form of “viral marketing.”

 

When a group of young men was selected for an assassination assignment, they were drugged with hashish and taken to a lovely garden. Upon awakening, their every wish was catered by attractive maidens. These men were then drugged and returned to the reality of the castle. They were told the garden was a preview of the Paradise that awaited them upon their death. The effect of this training is recounted by Count Henry of Champagne. Henry went to the castle to receive an apology for a murder related to the Crusades. The assassin leader told him no Christian was as loyal as his Assassins were to him. To illustrate, he signaled a group on a high ridge; two men immediately plunged to their deaths.

Here’s the lesson in all this: We must cultivate the people around us, our customers, our employees and our affiliates or downline. These are valuable and all must be treated well for our businesses to succeed. Most modern marketing experts espouse some form of “viral marketing.” This simply means treating your customers with respect, providing courteous service, and answering all their questions. In return they will recommend whatever it is that you do or sell to all their friends and everyone they know, This is much cheaper and a lot more effective than all the purchased advertising you can ever do. A recent example of the success that can result from treating those around you properly is the emergence of Delta Airlines from bankruptcy. The CEO attributes this event to new policies that treat customers and employees with respect and courtesy.

Do what Napoleon Hill said: “Start where you are and use what you have.”

And the story of the Assassins illustrates the value of giving people what they want. But never mislead, as the Assassins did, for it will only lead to your demise. The last Assassin leader thought he had it made when his captors, the Mongols, took him in lavish style to the Great Khan. The Great One sent this man back home—he was murdered by traveling his companions.

Start where you are and use what you have. —Napoleon Hill -

Mao Tse-Tung’s West-East strategy tells us to always be creative, find our niches, and seize our opportunities. Our best opportunities usually come from totally unexpected directions. Be alert.

If you want more “hysterical” ideas, try these:

Elliott, Paul. Warrior Cults. Blandford (UK), 1995.

Mao Tse-Tung. Mao Tse-Tung On Guerrilla Warfare. Praeger Publishers, Inc., 1961.

Weigley, Russell F. The American Way of War. Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1973.

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