“A true samurai has only one judge of honor, and this is himself. Decisions you make and how these decisions are carried out are a reflection of who you truly are.
“You cannot hide from yourself.”
-The Code of Bushido
Heroic Courage
“Rise up above the masses of people who are afraid to act. Hiding like a turtle in a shell is not living at all. A samurai must have heroic courage. It is absolutely risky. It is dangerous. It is living life completely, fully, wonderfully. Heroic courage is not blind: it is intelligent and strong.”
-The Code of Bushido
Lovingkindness
“When you speak to another person, speak to them as if you were speaking to God. For in fact, you are.”
-Coach Ralphie
Polite Courtesy
“Samurai have no reason to be cruel. They do not need to prove their strength. A samurai is courteous even to his enemies. Without this outward show of respect, we are nothing more than animals.
“A samurai is not only respected for his strength in battle, but also by his dealing with other men.
“The true strength of a samurai becomes apparent during difficult times.”
-The Code of Bushido
Honesty and Justice
“Be acutely honest throughout your dealings with all people. Believe in justice, not from other people, but from yourself. To the true samurai, there are no shades of gray in the question of honesty and justice.
“There is only right and wrong.”
-Code of Bushido
Mastery
“Only one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole strength and soul can be a true master. For this reason mastery demands all of a person.”
-Albert Einstein
Preparedness
“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.”
-Sun Tzu
Magnanimity
“Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world.”
-Miyamoto Musashi
Knowledge
“Knowledge becomes really such only when it is assimilated in the mind of the learner and shows in his character.”
― Inazo Nitobe
Adaptability
“Don't force your children into your ways, for they were created for a time different from your own.”
-Plato
Wealth
“Wealth and poverty do not lie in a man's estate, but in men's souls.”
-Antisthenes
Character
“Good character is not formed in a week or a month. It is created little by little, day by day. Protracted and patient effort is needed to develop good character.”
-Heraclitus
Free Will
“No man is hurt but by himself.”
-Diogenes
Injustice
“If thou suffer injustice, console thyself; the true unhappiness is in doing it.”
-Democritus
Excellence
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
-Aristotle
Empathy
“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”
-Plato
Boldness
“Live your life as an exclamation rather than an explanation.”
-Isaac Newton
Ambition
“Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers.”
-William Wordsworth
Tranquility
“Be thine own palace, or the world's thy jail.”
-John Donne
Mind
“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heav'n of hell, a hell of heav'n.”
-John Milton
