Knight Moves - A chess player's guide to succeeding in life - Jacques de Villiers
The Queen
The Queen is your self confidence. Your action hero. Action leads to confidence. She's the most powerful piece on the chessboard. She can move anywhere she wishes. She takes action, rolls up her sleeves and does what has to be done to achieve the goals and strategy set out by the King. . She knows that taking action, taking the first step has power and pays off in the long-term. In a chess game white is proactive and black is reactive (at the start of a game, white always gets to move first). In chess the value of the first move is clear.
At Grandmaster level white wins 29 percent of the time, black 18 percent and 53 percent of games are drawn. She needs to pay attention. Because when you don't pay attention to your environment, your body and your relationships you could end up in pain. When the battle lines change we need to change tactics (note, not strategy), course correct, adapt and move forward.
The Queen is the master of the moment. When she sees an opportunity to take an action that will move the game forward, she does so. And she does it with confidence because she knows she is backed up by a superior strategy. That's why you should spend time on your life strategy. When you believe that your strategy is built on a solid foundation of intellect, research and sound life and spiritual principles, you feel more confident, don't you?
Sometimes when you go out on a limb and try something, you can feel afraid and timid. Chess player, Akiba Rubinstein became so timid that after making a move he'd hide in the corner of the playing hall awaiting his opponents reply. Sounds like someone that didn't believe in his strategy (or didn't have one). But, let's be honest, I'm sure that you've felt the same way as Akiba from time to time. Because whenever you try something new you risk opening yourself up to rejection and failure. Most of us don't try something new because we fear failure. Well failure is just another word for feedback, isn't it? You need to have the perspective and wisdom to know that you've just been told how not to do something and that you need to come up with something else to move you forward. When you know your place in the world and trust the direction in which you're heading, it gives you extreme confidence. You become massively courageous.
But, as you already know, courage and confidence are an inside job. Whatever is going on in your head and your heart will reflect in the amount of confidence you have when it comes to fulfilling your life destiny. The Queen cannot function optimally without a Knight watching her back and protecting her. That's why whenever she leaves the castle, the King ensures that she is protected by a phalanx of Knights. Whilst every piece is important in chess and in life, the Knight in my opinion is the alpha piece.
The business generator, Jacques de Villiers helps organisations make sense of sales and marketing for real return on investment. He is a keynote speaker, consultant and trainer focusing on sales training, sales management training and internet marketing.
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