Sweat or Bleed

@DAVIDVGOLIATH brings a quote from Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit:

The more we sweat in peace, the less we bleed in war.

This is appropriate to me, as I am a member of the military, currently undergoing training.  However, this sentiment is not only limited to military applications.

I have heard this quote many times in my line of work, starting in basic training, and before every major training exercise.  Every time someone complains about how hard we’re working, this quote (or a variation thereof) is brought out.

It is also applicable to civilians.  You can’t learn when the shit hits the fan; that is when you use what you have learned.

We spend a lot of time pretending to be in combat.  We are often pushed beyond the point that the ship would sink, in order to ensure that we can work with limited resources and under great stress.

If you are a member of a team, you don’t wait until you’re against an opponent before you begin to practice.  Your business doesn’t wait until a trade show to learn their product.  Products aren’t made at the store.

The “sweating in peace” to which Pandit refers is all the preparation and training you do on a day-to-day basis.  The “bleeding in war” is when your training is needed, the competition or trade show, when your product is put along with the competition in the store aisles.

The more you prepare in advance, the less you stress when it counts.