Willpower and Onrush

You will get the Forces you call…

Those who proceed vigorously have willpower.
Lao-Tzu

Thinking is fruitless if you do not exercise your willpower. Only then can you transcend your limits. Willpower makes the impossible possible by strengthening the spirit.
Strain your will to the maximum!

Someone who steadily pursues his purpose and is undistracted by primitive desires is like a military commander, a lord who, unlike a slave, is able to attain goals. Spiritual slavery is the worst kind because it is incapacitating. A slave is demoralized because his goals seem too long-ranged and success is uncertain. But a lord takes a step towards the target even if he knows it may be his last. He is led by an abiding Faith.

Time restrictions do not exist for a patient man who has firmly decided he will win; if not today then in a week, or a year, or after a thousand reincarnations. Success is predetermined by willpower and spiritual superiority. A Master has the will to follow through with decisions and may fight for his goals for many years. Never disappointed by failures and regardless of the cost, he wages his assault until he seizes the fortress. It is a matter of honor, a question of life and death. Limits do not exist.

Once you define your goal, all you need is an iron will and a sharp mind to achieve it. Nothing is unattainable, obscure, or ‘unrealistic’, but you must approach it properly. If a goal is far-fetched and complex, break it down into smaller, simpler steps, even if there are thousands. Stay true to yourself until the end. Probably the hardest thing is to overcome one’s inner apathy. But if you are really persistent, life itself will lend you a helping hand. When you’ve achieved success, rejoice over your victories and count them every day. Only free persons do whatever they want. This kind of living is harder, but it makes your life worthy and meaningful.
Fuse a supreme spirit and strong body. Be man of action and have enough will to accumulate Strength. This means always holding your position, never retreating, and always moving forward.

Because most people have the psychology of an infant, they are slow to act unless something promises immediate results or instant gratification. They do not have enough willpower and stamina to tackle the seemingly unattainable. Stamina is a valuable quality and the basic element of the Master’s system. It means being able to gather up the willpower to attain a goal and patiently wait for the outcome, clearly understanding what you want. Stamina is calmness and activity at the same time. It allows you to control your strength so that you use it only at the right time and place. Stamina is the strength which produces and executes your skills.
If you make the best of an unforeseen opportunity, it creates the potential for a new opportunity. But if the chance is missed, so is the opportunity. This is also known as the law of differentiation.
Maximum achievement generates an opportunity.

To defend its positions, the system is ready to crush and eliminate everything alien.
You must be prepared for hardships and be a man of spirit. The simplest way to do this is to segregate yourself from everything irrelevant and learn to safeguard your solitude for as long needed. Create a barrier from external pressures, erect unassailable defenses within, and temper your spirit with the philosophy of the Master. Once such practices of mental hygiene become natural, peripheral distractions are cut off and the consciousness is purified, stimulating your mind to achieve goals.
Consciousness governs the body, psyche, and actions. To control and direct the processes, you must first fully understand everything, and then the need for control will fade naturally.

The knowledge that you really possess does not strain you anymore and will never disappear. To illustrate this, some Buddhist monasteries would put sutras or formulas into hundreds of little boxes, and disciples would have to memorize where they were placed and locate them on command without a moment’s thought, automatically.

Certain ideas must be fixed in your consciousness. Visualize that you are touching prayer beads, each one representing a link in the chain of thought. A virtuoso is perfectly in tune with his instrument. A Warrior’s instrument is his mind. With practice, you will be able to quickly induce yourself into or withdraw yourself from a focused state of consciousness the same way you would tighten or relax a muscle.

Samurai art by Tatiana Berg

Strategy of Onrush
If your efforts are scattered or directed incorrectly, you are doomed to fail. You must be focused. Anything can be achieved by approaching it step by step, closing the distance to strike. Take your time, and wage a deliberate, systematic assault.
Indecision humiliates a warrior. Replace anxiety and doubt with strategic objectives that contribute to your personal development. Once you understand the concepts of stamina, you will morph into a new person: steadfast yet flexible, alert yet calm. You will embody tranquility and action at the same time. Do important things, not many things.

Most people spend the biggest parts of their life pursuing matters of minor importance. A Master only does what is necessary, excluding everything elsee. He understands that when he attains the valuable things he also gains access to the trivial. The most significant things are catalysts. A Master is firm and unflinching when it comes to crucial issues and pays no attention to irrelevant matters, just like a thick-skinned hippopotamus ignores the insects that crawl over him. A spiritually aristocratic man, he rules circumstances and is not intimidated by obstacles. His sole strategy as a free man is to staunchly advance along his own Way.
A strong man rules circumstances; a weak one surrenders to them. Accepting a loser’s role is equal to suffering a crushing defeat... Read further in Samurai: Spirit of the Warrior

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This an abstract from the chapter "Willpower and Onrush" from Spirit of the Warrior by A. R. Berg