The Symbol
You’ve seen it - quiet, persistent, woven into the edges of these pages like a whisper. An upward arrow crowned with a curve, marked by a tilted square.
This is not decoration. It’s a reminder.
The arrow is Tiwaz - ᛏ - the rune of the warrior. Of disciplined courage. Of sacrifice without fanfare.
Named for Tyr, the Norse god who placed his hand in the mouth of the wolf to uphold what was right, knowing what it would cost.
Tiwaz doesn’t point up by accident.
It calls you to rise.
To move with clarity.
To aim without flinching.
The square? That’s something more personal.
Turned on its axis, it becomes a diamond - balancing, yet stable. Shaped by pressure. Sharp, yet held together by tension.
It’s a shield, echoing the final pages of the book: the idea that your capability is not for you alone.
A sword protects the self.
A shield protects others.
Each line of that tilted square is a life: my wife, my two sons, and myself. Four lines, four people. Held together. It’s our family, but it might as well be yours.
I placed this symbol throughout the book to be felt. As a mark of alignment. A north star. A quiet invocation to hold your ground, carry what is yours to carry, to lift your shield, and keep moving forward.
You don’t need to wear it, explain it, or speak of it.
Just live it.