Musashi's Dokkodo (The Way of Walking Alone)

Warrior:
This precept is one of practicality, and one I agree with completely.
However, I do have to admit that it is one I haven’t always followed. I
too have been caught up in the materialistic habit of keeping stuff.
[27]

---

Allow me a circuitous route to get to why I think Musashi was on
point with this precept on not holding on to possessions you no
longer need. A fundamental trait of the warrior is that of taking action
and getting things done. At its very core, taking action saves lives.
The warrior knows he must get off the X. If someone is shooting at
you, slashing at you, or throwing a punch at your nose, you must
take action. Doing nothing will get you shot, stabbed, or hit. What
you do will be dependent on many variables, but you absolutely must
do something. This is true for just about any threatening situation.
People have survived plane crashes only to die from smoke
inhalation because they failed to immediately get up and get off the
aircraft. Survivors actually passed those who later died on the way
toward the exits. Taking action saves lives.
Because of the necessity of taking action to survive combat, and the
discipline instilled through a warrior’s training, warriors are often high
producers that get more done. When I teach people warrior
principles to help them achieve success in various occupations and
endeavors, the principles of discipline and taking action are among
the most important. When it comes to taking action and getting more
done, few have a stronger and better message that Don Aslett (1935
– ). I’ve had the pleasure of meeting this prolific author from Idaho
and have enjoyed many of his books. He said is perfectly in the first
book of his I read back in 1996, 
How To Have A 48-Hour Day
. He
wrote, “The number one, the very first step to become a ‘more doer,’
a high producer, is to stop accumulating and start eliminating. In
other words, dejunk!”
Junk and clutter in and around homes, offices, and lives creates
stress and results in an amazing amount of wasted time. There is a
lot of time consumed over the ownership of stuff. And many of these
possessions are no longer needed and don’t add any value to our
lives, but they certainly waste our time and create unnecessary
problems we’d be better off without. Therefore, if you want to be a
top producer, a person of action, a warrior; get rid of anything you
don’t use or want. It’s ridiculous to love what can’t love you back,

---

and a warrior will refrain from becoming attached to anything that
doesn’t serve his or her purpose.
I think Musashi understood this key to efficiency and time
management. After all, time spent with possessions you no longer
need is time taken away from the most important of activities:
training. I think this is one of the most important and practical of
Musashi’s twenty-one precepts. It’s not only important for warriors,
but for anyone wanting to increase their personal productivity and
efficiency. So, take Musashi’s advice and get rid of that stuff you no
longer need.