Burn The Boats

(album: Words Are Weapons - 2023)

Burn the boats. It's fly or die, gentlemen
Sink or swim. We either take this island or we die
No surrendering, no retreating. The only way we go home is on our enemy's ships
It's easy to give up when you have a way out. Burn the boats. Burn your excuses
Burn your fears and insecurities. Burn your doubts and lack of confidence
Success is your only option. Failure's not

So many of you, I know this
I've gone through this as well, you're out there
You're trying, and you've got people who want you to fail
People you love who just want you to go back to normal life
They want you to live a normal life
And as you're trying to do things beyond yourself, people want you to fail
I think we understand this
This is something that's got me through so many times
It's not a bad thing to fail
It's a gift that we have to go fail, to learn, to grow
And if we keep doing it, we'll become who we need to be

When your back's against the wall, that's when you find out what you're really made of
It's in the dark moments when your light shines brightest
It's under enormous pressure that coal is turned into a diamond
It's insurmountable odds that cause men and women to rise to the challenge
The only person you were destined to become is the person you decide to be
What you do today matters. The actions you take every day matter
The path to success is not convenient. It's easy to stay in bed and watch TV
But there is no instant life for microwave dreams
Life is not some clickable link, and there's no such thing as an overnight success

Gold medals aren't really made of gold
They're made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts
And I think coming back to this understanding that gold medals are not made of gold
They're made of all the stuff you put in to earn it
So if you really want to get those things, you want the gold medals
You want the records, you want the prize, you want the money
You want the whatever you're driving forces
You understand that that's what's made of the blood, sweat, determination

Everyone starts somewhere. I started with zero followers
Subscribers, fans, and ideas
I spent five years honing my craft as a songwriter
Rejected, disappointed, show after show
Song after song, before I finally had any success
Which was halfway across the globe in Japan
It took another five years before I ever got recognized in my own country
So yeah, overnight success, ten years in the making
Championships aren't won in the ring with lights and a cheering crowd
They're won in solitude, training in the gym
Day after day, rep after rep when no one's looking

During a lot of times in my life where things have been down
And hard and I've been struggling
I turned to Churchill so many times
And this is one of my favorite quotes talking about the war
He said, we have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind
We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering
You ask, what is our policy? I will say it's to wage war by sea
By land, by air, with all of our might
With all of our strength that God has given us. That is our policy
You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. Victory. Victory at all costs
Victory in spite of all terror. Victory however long and hard the road may be
I think for all of you guys who are out there who are trying to be successful
It's not going to be easy. You have many long months of struggle and suffering
What is your aim? It's victory. Victory at all costs