“No force, no firmness, the pale coward shows; He shifts his place: his color comes and goes: A dropping sweat creeps cold on every part; Against his bosom beats his quivering heart;

“Not so the brave – still dauntless, still the same, Unchanged his color, and unmoved his frame: Composed his thought, determined his eye, And fix’d his soul, to conquer or to die:”

– Homer

The truth always finds its way out of the silence of deception. Always.  We try to hide from our true selves with marvelous feats of social exhibitionism, but somewhere, somehow, our trials and tribulations will expose us for who we truly are: and in that day, the puissant shall rejoice mightily over the craven, whose cowardly colors will be revealed for all to see.

In a society where selfishness and self-indulgence are celebrated and lionized, it’s our choices, not our intentions, that define us. We become, through repetition and practice, the very embodiment of our dominant emotional state, which begs the question of whether we are living life on our own terms or in the perpetual void of our impulses, inconsistencies and rationalizations.

Intentions reveal who we wish we were.

Choices reveal who we are.

What do your actions say about you? Given the choice between following through with your promises and blowing off your responsibilities, which course of action do you tend to gravitate towards? The mind warping reality is that our actions matter: each and every choice we make ripples through the spider’s web of human connectedness, touching even those whose existence we ignore, in very real, very significant ways. It is for this reason then, that understanding one’s motivations is an indispensable part of personal development.

Our choices can certainly be shaped by the capricious whims of our nature, our environment and the people we surround ourselves with, but ultimately, the measure of control we hold over our behavior is total: we just like to think that our fuckups couldn’t have been avoided. Verily, the theatricality through which our public personas are masked must be rejected, cast off, and replaced by firmness of spirit. 

“Without a sign his sword the brave man draws, and asks no omen but his [bleeding heart’s] cause”

– Hector of the glinting Helm

When we forsake a life of ascetic magnanimity for the spoils of instant gratification, not only do we make it impossible for our lives to ever be infused with meaning, but we actively close ourselves off to the opportunities that are constantly opening up all around us; why continue frequenting individuals whose brokenness seeps through their bravado in the form of incessant bemoaning and petty lusts when entire legions of outstanding, upright individuals await our friendship on the outside of our emotional fortifications?

Why lend our ears to naysayers and buffoons, whose words seek nothing more than to neuter our resolve with baseless, poorly formulated musings on global affairs, economic theory and political turbulence? Life is a slave master. Get over it. Bear your cross like everyone else and start doing some goddamn good in your corner of the world instead of complaining about your (lack of) swag like the social media eunuchs whose venomous advice seeks only to destroy our sense of self.

“Threats urge the fearful, and the valiant praise”

– Homer

The fearful will never be crowned in recognition or praise, fortheir ambivalence in the face of virtue is only swayed towards that which is right by the urgings of the righteous in times of dire need. In contrast, he who strives to be valiant finds rich recompense in upholding his convictions through the bitter toil that lines the hero’s exploits; true acclaim is naught but the confirmation of strength.

“Even now some energy divine I shared
And seem to walk on wings, and tread in air!
With equal ardor (Telamon returns)
My soul in kindled,and my bosom burns;

“‘Tis not your cause, Achilles’ injured fame:
Another’s is the crime, but yours is the shame.
Grant that our chiefs offend through rage or lust,
Must you be cowards if your king’s unjust?”

– Ajax the Mighty

But the hero’s task does not come to an end in doing what is right: the strong must also inspire the aspiring virtuous when the oscillating flame of resistance bows and bends before the winds of hardship. This is what Lambda Strength is about: we have created a haven where the temerarious can come together and share their tales of triumph and defeat, as well as the multifarious lessons that life has generously gifted them with.

If you are looking for a place where to meet and learn from extraordinary individuals, look no further: join the ranks of the Equals and live the life that you have always envisioned in the dreams of your youth.