“A messenger returned to Sparta from a battle. The women clustered around. To one, the messenger said, “Mother, I bring sad news: your son was killed facing the enemy.” The mother said, “He is my son.” “Your other son is alive and unhurt,” said the messenger. “He fled from the enemy.” The mother said, “He is not my son.”

Warrior Ethos is another quick read written by Steven Pressfield of The War of Art fame. Warrior Ethos is about the warrior mindset that you may be familiar with as the "fight" part of the fight-or-flight reaction us humans have.

Warrior Ethos is based around the example of the ancient Spartans of Greece. The Spartans were great warriors who desired honor over comfort or fame or luxury or richest. Warrior Ethos explains what that honor entails, what having it means, and how armies and civilizations reflect or don't reflect this warrior mind state.


Pressfield ends his book with an explanation of how the warrior mindset can and should be applied inwardly at its highest level, allowing us to eliminate negative elements such as greed and fear and jealousy. That principle has a direct relation to Napoleon Hill's talks on eliminating fear in Think and Grow Rich, as I mentioned in this post.