We are born with the innate ability to communicate. Although it is nonverbal at first, it quickly becomes verbal because we are driven to be heard as soon as possible—to be understood, to have ourselves mean something to those around us, and to get verification in a verbal fashion. We are driven to soak things up—probably even while we are still in the womb.

We can hear, feel, and touch. After we are born, the light and shadows from our time in the womb become crystal-clear images, as we see those around us for the first time. We learn how to resolve what we are looking at into discreet concepts, such as people or objects. We cannot help ourselves. We just start soaking it all up, and this is where cultural elements influence our development. What we hear, what we feel, and what we see matters to us. As children, we do not have any control over what we receive, until little by little (if we realize that it matters) we start being critical of what we are getting. We start to apply rationales to it, and start trying to filter out what we are being exposed to. Some of this is innate, and some of this is learned, but the sooner we start to discriminate the better off we will be in the long run. This is why the lesson of discipline is so important to us, and why we crave leadership and discipline.

True warriors are discriminating creatures and use their gift of discernment to define filters for their growth, training, and development. Social filters, relationship filters, learning filters, training filters, communication filters, and emotional filters. The true warrior realizes that some of his or her filters were established in the mind or soul at a very young age, and may no longer be age appropriate. The true warrior regularly engages in self-assessment to root out everything that is no longer helpful. True warriors embrace tools, programs, organizations, teachers, teams, and structures that help them go were many dare not go, will not go, or cannot go—to free themselves of the chains of bad programming, inappropriate filters (habits), and warped instinctual drives. Please understand that you are not an island. You need not accomplish everything all by yourself, nor should you be expected to do so. That is why you are a member of many tribes (informal and formal) who will extend their wisdom to you, should you only seek it out.

You are warriors and through effective self-assessment and good filtering, you will develop the mind of a winner. As a result of what you do each day, which matters, you will reap massive rewards—spiritual, emotional, mental, and material. So it has been written.