[ Another Example of Shock and Awe ]

In order to win a war,. one must commit himself to go through the extremes. Following is a story of commitment to win with a touch of "Shock & Awe". It is a samurai story from Kushida:

There was a young man who was a samurai in name only. He worked with a local merchant which put him in low esteem of his peers, but also amassed a fortune. By virtue of his wealth, he married the merchant's beautiful daughter.

This young man was despised by a local samurai who challenged him to a duel. He was given time to train before the fateful day.

Try as he might, he couldn't master even the basics of swordsmanship. Finally his teacher told him that on technique he had no hope. His only chance was to fight as though he had nothing to live for.

On the morning of the duel the challenger approached the house of the weak samurai. He found the young man quite composed.

He stood in front of his house, with all his possessions piled behind him, and a torch in his hand, and a box at his feet.

First he threw the torch onto the pile of goods which was soaked with oil, and immediately started to burn. The house was soaked with oil too, and that caught as well.

Then he opened the box. In it was the head of his wife. He showed it to his challenger, carefully set it aside, and drew his sword. ...

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The lesson is: The true contenders knows the distinction between commitments and promises.

It's similar to what Sunzi said, "The day the general leads his troops into battle, it is like climbing up high and (then) throwing away the ladder. He leads his troops deep into the enemy ground, and releases the trigger. He burns his boats and destroys the cooking pots...When the troops are in desperate situations, they fear nothing; having penetrated deep in enemy ground, they are united. When there are no other alternatives, they will fight."

In life, we sometimes need to "throw away the ladder" and truly commit to our goals.