The Warrior Ethos

by Steven Pressfield

Courage is inseparable from love and leads to what may arguably be the noblest of all warrior virtues: selflessness.

In 1912, the Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton was seeking volunteers for an expedition to the South Pole. He placed the following ad in the London Times: Men wanted for hazardous journey, small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful; honor and recognition in case of success.

Honor is the psychological salary of any elite unit. Pride is the possession of honor.

The will to victory may be demonstrated in places other than actual battle.

The capacity for empathy and self-restraint will serve us powerfully, not only in our external wars but in the conflicts within our own hearts.

Arjuna’s divine instructor (one of whose titles in Sanskrit is “Lord of Discipline”) charges his disciple to: Fix your mind upon its object. Hold to this, unswerving, Disowning fear and hope, Advance only upon this goal.

The hardest thing in the world is to be ourselves.