Today’s expression: A Baptism of Fire 🔥

What happens when your very first experience turns out to be your biggest challenge?

🎙️ In this episode, you’ll learn the meaning of a baptism of fire and how native speakers use it to talk about difficult beginnings that make us stronger and more confident. 💪

English with Navid

Baptism of Fire

guó jūn bù néng yīn wéi shēng qì jiù dǎ zhàng,
国君不能因为生气就打仗，
A ruler must not start a war simply out of anger; 
 shēng qì kě yǐ biàn gāo xìng,
生气可以变高兴，
anger can turn to happiness,
 dàn shì guó jiā méi le jiù huí bù lái,
但是国家没了就回不来，
but a lost nation cannot be restored,
rén sǐ le yě bù néng fù huó
人   死了  也不    能     复活（be brought back to life）。
and the dead cannot be brought back to life.
suǒ yǐ zuò shì bù néng píng qíng xù, 
  所  以  做  事   不   能       凭      情  绪（impuse），
Therefore, one should not act on impulse;
yào shēn sī shú lǜ
   要   深   思  熟  虑。
 one must think carefully and consider thoroughly.

For more learning, welcome to book <Sunzi military strategy >!


《孙子兵法Sūnzǐ Bīngfǎ》The Art of War

23《孙子兵法Sūnzǐ Bīngfǎ》The Art of War

yǒu rén wèn，rú guǒ dí rén qiáng dà，wǒ men gāi zěn me bàn？
有人问，如果敌人强大（强大means strong），我们该怎么办？
Someone asked: If the enemy is strong, what should we do?

Sūn zǐ shuō，zhǎo dào dí rén zuì ruò de dì fāng，rán hòu gōng dǎ。
孙子说，找到敌人最弱的地方，然后攻打（攻打means ATTACTK）。
Sunzi said: Find the enemy's weakest point, then attack.

What can we learn from this? 

wǒ men hé kè hù tán pàn shí，bú yào xiān zhēng lùn jià gé，zhǎo dào kè hù zuì guān xīn de wèn tí，
我们和客户谈判（to negociate)时，不要先争论(to argue)价格，找到客户最关心的问题，
When we negotiate with clients，don't argue about the price first，find out what the client cares about most.
shuō míng kě yǐ jiě jué tā men de wèn tí，ràng kè hù jué de zhè ge jià gé shì zhí dé de
说明可以解决（to solve）他们的问题，让客户觉得这个价格是值得(be worth it)的。
Explain that you can solve their problems.Make the client feel the price is worth it.

For more learning, welcome to book <Sunzi military strategy >!

21《孙子兵法Sūnzǐ Bīngfǎ》The Art of War

Sūnzǐ shuō，jì yào liǎojiě zìjǐ，yòu yào liǎojiě díren，hái yào liǎojiě dìxíng
 孙子   说，    既要     了解 自己， 又要      了解   敌人，    还要     了解   地形。
Sun Tzu said you need to know yourself, know your enemy, and know the terrain too. Because in a war, you win by using the environment around you. For example, in World War II, German U-boats won three big battles in the Mediterranean—they hid their boats using the sea’s special water conditions, and that helped them win. So knowing the terrain is really important.

For more learning ,welcome to book <The Art of War>~

见微知著（jiàn wēi zhī zhù），意思是从小细节，看出背后的大实情。
See the whole from the part (jiàn wēi zhī zhù) means discerning the bigger truth behind things from small details.
孙子说，看士兵拄着棍子站、打水先喝，就知道敌军又饿又渴；看敌人阵脚（zhèn jiǎo，队伍的秩序）乱，就知道他们军心（jūn xīn，士兵的心思）不稳。这就是从细微的表现，判断真实情况。
When Sun Tzu marched his troops, he saw the enemy soldiers standing on their staves and drinking water as soon as they fetched it, and he knew the enemy was starving and thirsty. He noticed the enemy’s battle line (zhèn jiǎo, the order of the troops) was in disarray, and he told his men the enemy’s military morale (jūn xīn, the soldiers’ thoughts and spirits) was shaky. This is judging the real situation from subtle signs.
生活里也一样，比如朋友平时话很多，突然沉默不说话，能从这个小细节看出他可能心情不好，主动关心一下。学会见微知著，不管做事还是相处，都能更懂对方、少走弯路。
The same applies to daily life. For example, if a friend who is usually talkative suddenly falls silent, you can tell from this small detail that they might be in a bad mood and reach out to comfort them proactively. Learning to see the whole from the part allows you to understand others better and avoid detours, whether in work or interpersonal relationships.

For more learning, welcome to book <Sunzi military strategy >!

《孙子兵法》20

顺势而为， To go with the flow。
孙子说，在山地行军，要选择在有水草的地方走，要选择在高的、向阳的地方停留，不要从上往下攻打敌人。也就是说什么样的环境就要有什么样的行军策略。
 Sun Tzu said that when marching in the mountains, one should walk where there is high grass(to hide), stop at high and sunny place, and never attack the enemy from a lower position to a higher one. In other words, one’s marching strategy must match the environment.
举一个生活中的例子，在中国北方的农村，春天适合播种，就应该去播种，冬天适合休息，就应该在家里休息，如果出去播种，也不会有什么收获。
Here’s a life example: in rural northern China, spring is the right time for sowing, so people sow seeds then; winter is for resting, so they stay at home. If you go out to sow seeds in winter, you will get no harvest at all.
所以说，做事是顺着形势，找对时机不用费很多力气，事情也能够做好。
So when you do things, follow the flow of events and seize the right moment—you won’t have to struggle hard, and you’ll still get things done well.

《孙子兵法》19

随机应变suí jī yìng biàn，就是根据实际情况而变化， To adjust according to situation。孙子认为一个
Suí jī yìng biàn (to adjust one’s approach according to the actual situation). Sun Tzu believed that 
好的将军如果不懂得变化，总是坚持以前的作战计划，他有再好的条件也不能赢。
a competent general who fails to adapt and rigidly adheres to pre-set battle plans cannot achieve victory, no matter how favorable his conditions are.
举个例子，一个老板开了一家糖果店，他发现有游客到他的店里买糖果，他就把糖果制作成小包装。游客见到精美的礼盒，就忍不住多买几份，于是老板赚了很多钱。
Take an example: a shopkeeper ran a candy store. When he noticed that tourists were visiting his shop to buy candies, he repackaged the candies into small, exquisite gift boxes. Seeing these fancy boxes, the tourists couldn’t help buying several more portions, and the shopkeeper made a handsome profit.
那么再回到我们自己。你是否有遇到什么困难？有没有开始考虑用新的办法去解决呢？
Now, let’s turn to ourselves. Have you encountered any difficulties lately? Have you started thinking about adopting new methods to solve them?




《孙子兵法》18

孙子说，做事情的时候，争取主动（zhēng qǔ zhǔ dòng,to seize the initiative)是最难的，也是最重要的。什么叫“争取主动”呢？就是让事情按照你希望的样子发生，而不是总是跟着别人跑。
那怎么做呢？孙子告诉我们三个简单的方法：
第一，保持力量（bǎo chí lì liàng,to maintian the strength)。 就像你要去爬山，不能为了快，就把水和食物都扔掉，那样你会没力气。但也不能走得太慢，错过看美丽的日出。所以，做事情要准备好，但不能累坏自己。
第二，灵活改变(líng huó gǎi biàn,to be more flexible)，像水一样。 水遇到石头，就会绕过去。我们做事也一样。记住一个秘诀：避开别人很强的地方。 比如打篮球，如果对方个子很高，你就不要总想着在他面前投篮，可以试试传球给队友。
第三，选对时机(xuǎn duì shí jī，to find the right time)。 想象一下，你的朋友刚跑完步，很累的时候，你不会去跟他比赛跑步，对吧？你会等他休息好了再玩。

最后，孙子还说了几个“不要(not to do)”：

不要和比你厉害很多的人直接对抗（duì kàng，to compete）
小心，那可能是个圈套（quān tào，trap）！
给别人留一点空间（kōng jiān，space）。

你看，它告诉我们：成功的关键，不是用力气，而是用头脑。 要主动，要根据不同的情况，灵活地改变我们的方法。
下次，当你遇到一个难题，不管是学习还是和朋友相处，都可以想一想孙子的这三个建议：1.保持力量，2.灵活改变，3.选对时机。 试试看，你会发现自己变得更从容(cóng róng，to take it easy)、更聪明了。

希望这个小智慧能帮到你。我们下次课再见！

《孙子兵法》17

大家好，今天我们来聊一个重要的方法，叫“避实击虚”。什么意思呢？就是说，打仗的时候，不要直接去打敌人很强的地方，而是要去找敌人比较弱的地方去打。这就像水一样，水总是从高的地方流向低的地方。举个例子。以前，瑞士的手表世界第一，但后来日本做出了便宜、准确的电子表，很多人就不买瑞士表了。

瑞士人没有跟着日本做电子表（这是“避实”）。他们想：我们最会做机械表，技术特别好。于是，他们努力把机械表做得更薄、更漂亮，做出了别人没有的特别手表（这是“击虚”）。

最后，人们又重新喜欢瑞士表，瑞士又赢了。

所以，成功不是模仿别人，而是找到自己的长处，做自己最擅长的事。这就是“避实击虚”的智慧。

