I Fought, and I Lost
Leadership isn’t about never falling. It’s about what you do when no one’s cheering.
Some people become leaders by choice.
Others get dragged into it by necessity.
Jon Snow? He never wanted a crown.
He just kept showing up — even when it broke him.
Scene 1: “I fought, and I lost.” (Season 6, Episode 9)
After the Battle of the Bastards, Jon isn't triumphant. He’s traumatized.
He doesn’t celebrate. He doesn’t boast.
He stands in a room, silent, wrecked.
And he says it:
“I fought... and I lost.”
That line isn’t weakness.
It’s everything leadership actually feels like — when you’re alone with the weight of it.
He fought for something real. For his family. For his people.
And still... he nearly lost everything.
Sometimes you do the right thing and still end up buried.
Scene 2: “The King in the North!”
And yet — despite the blood, the silence, the doubt — they name him King.
Why?
Because they saw him take the hits no one else would.
Jon didn’t ask for loyalty.
He earned it.
But here's the hard truth:
Even earned loyalty comes with an expiration date.
Scene 3: “The lords of the North are loyal... when it suits them.” (Season 7, Episode 1)
Later, Jon sits with Sansa. He’s King now. But the crown doesn’t protect him — it isolates him.
Sansa tries to warn him: The lords aren’t as loyal as he thinks.
Jon insists they are. He wants to believe in the people.
Sansa, colder and wiser, delivers the gut punch:
“The lords of the North are loyal... when it suits them.”
That’s the leadership tax no one warns you about:
You earn trust by bleeding.
You lose it the moment they smell opportunity.
And you have to keep going anyway.
Why This Matters
I’ve led projects that no one believed in — until they succeeded.
I’ve taken the fall when others disappeared.
And I’ve been crowned and questioned, often in the same breath.
Jon Snow reminds me of something too many creators, founders, and leaders forget:
The throne doesn't make the king.
The fight does.
And sometimes, the loss is what forges you.
If you've ever fought and lost — and still got back up —
This one's for you.