There is a quotation I return often: “Perfection is the ability to take pain.” From Isadore Sharp, founder of Four Season. The longer I have led teams and companies, the more I realized how true that line is – not just in theory, but in practice.

We talk a lot about leadership in terms of vision, determination and strategy. But the best leaders I know – those people would follow in the fire – have something else: the ability to suck the pain.

The absorbing pressure so that others do not need

Leadership comes with pressure. This is part of the work. But the best leaders not only manage that pressure, they protect their teams from her. They maintain the emotional and strategic weight of uncertainty so that others can stay focused and secure.

This is not about being a martyr; It's about being a buffer. The type of leader who makes the complexity feel clear, even when it is not. The kind that gets the late night call, makes a difficult call or blame when things go sideways-not because it's easy, but because it protects the team's momentum.

Michael Jordan's 1997 ”flu“It is a perfect example. He fell 38 points while he was visibly ill during the NBA final – not for the titles, but because the team had to adopt that moment and lead through it. The same opinion exists in the leadership of the military elite, where the commanding officers often eat the last, sleep less and leads to the principle.

In business, I have watched the mentors to get into brutal conversations on board, get heat from interested parties, and walk back to the office with readiness. Not to hide the truth, but to keep the teams not rotate. That kind of leadership does not appear in a resume – but it gains confidence over time.

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Pain is inevitable but the capacity to build

Inhalation Isn't it something that is born with. Is a capacity you build. And like any muscle, it grows through daily repetitions. That's why doing difficult things – intentionally, every day – it's more than just a habit. It is a mentality that forms how leaders appear when it matters more.

The most effective leaders do not expect disaster to reach before they create resistance. They train for her. Regardless of whether they are cold showers, difficult conversations or carved time for deep focus, they are tilted in discomfort as a form of preparation. They know that clarity in difficult times is not accidental – it is acquired through a lasting, deliberate challenge.

Train the moment before it arrives

There is an appreciation attributed to a navy seal Saying, “You don't get up on the occasion. You fall to your training level.” That line climbs me because it's brutally true.

When things go sideways – and they always do – you won't call magic with strength. You will predict whatever you have practiced. If you have spent time building mental and emotional durability through difficult things, you will keep the line. If you don't have it, you will feel it quickly.

That is why I have received inspiration from people like David Gogginswho speaks openly about the value of setting yourself through voluntary difficulties. He does not do it for show. He makes it to build a reservoir that can attract when life stops being theoretical. And in leadership, that moment always comes.

Transforming uncertainty into action

Leadership often feels like standing on the edge of the unknown, asking to decide before the picture is completely clear. In those moments, strength is not just about the intellect – it is about readiness. Your team doesn't need you Have all the answers. They should believe that you will not turn on.

These two ideas converge here: the absorption of pain and doing difficult things. One is the external result; The other is the inner engine. The absorption of pain without construction capacity will burn you. But if you make a habit to choose the toughest path – bending over friction rather than far from it – you will increase your ability to hold more and stay grounded while you do it.

I'm not perfect in this. But I'm consistent. I look for small ways to challenge myself every day. I surround myself with people who are not separated from the hard things. And when uncertainty strikes, I work to turn it into something active – making it simple and manageable.

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The true roi of doing hard things

The biggest misunderstanding of embarrassment is that it is essentially negative. I would argue that it is a shortcut for clarity. When you make a habit of handling the difficult thing first – whether it's a difficult conversation, a strategic strategy or a new initiative – you create confidence in your ability to handle what is next. And over time, this FAITH becomes contagious.

Teams do not need perfect leaders; They need sustainable ones. They need leaders who appear in difficult times and do not lose their center; Leaders who turn pain into focus and insecurity in motion; Leaders who have trained for the moments that others are afraid of. That's what I'm trying to build, a hard thing at a time.