Ego Is the Enemy

by Ryan Holiday

Khan’s first powerful victories came from the reorganization of his military units, splitting his soldiers into groups of ten. This he stole from neighboring Turkic tribes, and unknowingly converted the Mongols to the decimal system. Soon enough, their expanding empire brought them into contact with another “technology” they’d never experienced before: walled cities. In the Tangut raids, Khan first learned the ins and outs of war against fortified cities and the strategies critical to laying siege, and quickly became an expert. Later, with help from Chinese engineers, he taught his soldiers how to build siege machines that could knock down city walls. In his campaigns against the Jurched, Khan learned the importance of winning hearts and minds. By working with the scholars and royal family of the lands he conquered, Khan was able to hold on to and manage these territories in ways that most empires could not. Afterward, in every country or city he held, Khan would call for the smartest astrologers, scribes, doctors, thinkers, and advisers—anyone who could aid his troops and their efforts. His troops traveled with interrogators and translators for precisely this purpose.

kita dapat belajar dari pemimpin perang genghis khan yang merupakan salah satu conqueror terhebat sepanjang masa. dia tidak termakan oleh ego dia sendiri walau dia telah menaklukkan banyak sekali wilayah dan kerajaan. namun, genghis melakukan belajar dari setiap pertarungan ataupun peperangan yang telah ia lakukan dan dia belajar budaya, teknologi, kelebihan dari wilayah yang pernah ia jajah. dia tidak meninggikan ego dari diri nya sendiri namun terus menerus menjadi seorang pembelajar