A Warrior Does Not Complain

In 2006, I was blown up by a roadside bomb.
It wasn’t my first close call — and it wouldn’t be my last.

I didn’t agree with every mission.
Some days I questioned the strategy.
But I still put on the uniform.
Still loaded my kit.
Still rolled out.

Because that’s what warriors do.

You move forward —
Even when it’s hard.
Even when it hurts.
Even when the cost is personal.
Even when you know you might not come back.

A warrior doesn’t complain.
Not because it’s easy — but because the mission matters more than your feelings about it.

I’ve carried that with me ever since.
Into boardrooms.
Onto stages.
Into startups and turnarounds.
Into every room where hard things need doing.

And here’s the truth —
Business is a battlefield of a different kind.

Too many people want the title without the weight.
They want the win without the work.
They want to be seen without standing for anything.

And when it gets hard? They start complaining.
The market. The customer. The org chart. The boss. The weather.
(Or worse — they post about someone else’s failure, like it’s sport.)

But warriors don’t do that.
They do the hard thing. Without complaint. Without blame.
With a clear moral compass.
And they do it again tomorrow.

That’s the code.

You don’t have to serve in combat to live like this.
You just have to decide that what you're building matters more than how you feel about doing the work.

So if you’re leading a team…
Launching a product…
Fighting to build something real…

Don’t flinch.
Don’t whine.
Don’t wait for perfect.

Show up.
Do the hard thing.
And do it without complaint.

Because the people around you are watching.
And whether you realize it or not,
you’re already in the arena.