20 Lessons You Can Learn From Game Of Thrones

 If you have not watched/read Game of Thrones and going to be sad to get spoilers, I’d like to thank you for visiting and say have a good day ahead.

If you are a true fan of the Game of Thrones world and already watched the whole seasons couple of times, reading the theories regarding the future of the story, you know what I am talking about. We have learned a lot of lessons from the variety of the characters (still alive or departed from the universe of Game of Thrones) by now, and still waiting to learn what kind of end stories are waiting for them.

While we are still in wonder, let’s remember some of the best phrases told by legendary characters of the series.

Here are 20+ Quotes from Game of Thrones that you can also learn as a lesson for your career:

1 – “Winter is coming.”

– Ned Stark (Season 1, Episode 1)

Ned Stark became an influencer from his first appearance in the Game of Thrones world and encouraged others to forecast possible threats ahead. Unfortunately, he also taught us another lesson when he was not accurate enough to calculate his future however, in the end, he was right.

“Winter is here.” – Sansa Stark (Season 6, Episode 10)

 2 – “The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword.”

– Ned Stark (Season 1, Episode 1)

To all the leaders who always blame others for their own mistakes, as a true team leader, Ned suggests that one should take the responsibility to execute an undesired task especially if it is a consequence of one’s own order. Tyrion also says wisely in this issue:

“A ruler who kills those devoted to her is not a ruler who inspires devotion.” (Season 5, Episode 9)

 3 – “Never forget what you are. The rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor, and it can never be used to hurt you.”

– Tyrion Lannister to Jon Snow (Season 1, Episode 1)

If your colleagues are trying to use a ‘negative’ title against you, show how proud you are of it. Make them feel ashamed of themselves when they see how valuable you are.

 4 – “A mind needs books like a sword need a whetstone if it is to keep its edge.”

– Tyrion Lannister (Season 1, Episode 2)

Know what skills and abilities you need to develop in order to succeed in your role/position .

 5 – “There is no honor in tricks.”

– Sansa Stark to Lord Baelish (Season 1, Episode 5)

You might achieve to climb a few steps higher with tricks as Lord Baelish plans throughout the story, but never forget how Sansa later demonstrated the fatal consequence of being shady. Don’t get fired from the game!

 6 – “Fire cannot kill a dragon.”

– Daenerys Targaryen (Season 1, Episode 6)

As a true dragon herself, Daenerys proved that she is immune to a manmade fire which means in our case that when you know your strengths and distinctive abilities you can never be hurt by others using whatever you already have inside!

 7 – “Not today.”

– Arya Stark (Season 1, Episode 8)

Always be strong and believe in yourself when you confront a problem you think you cannot handle and feel defeated. You can also use this phrase to your colleague asking a favor but you already scheduled your day.

 8 – “Power resides where men believe it resides. It’s a trick, a shadow on the wall. And a very small man can cast a very large shadow.”

– Lord Varys (Season 2, Episode 3)

This advice is not for people who excessively want to seize power because they think a successful career is only about being in a higher position in every step. This is for everyone else who thinks they do not have enough power to cast their future career ahead.

 9 – “You know nothing.”

– Ygritte to You-Know-Who (Season 2, Episode 7)

As Ygritte repeated this famous phrase to Jon, never assume that you know everything. Learn from new experiences and don’t underestimate the advice of others. Or just say it to the people who think they know better than you.

 10 – “All my life men like you have sneered at me. And all my life I’ve been knocking men like you into the dust.”

– Lady Brienne of Tarth to Jaime Lannister (Season 2, Episode 8)

Brienne of Tarth, Knight of Seven Kingdoms, proved that you can overcome the difficulties of being a woman in a very male-dominated career and so should you.

 11 – “There is a beast in every man and it stirs when you put a sword in his hand.”

– Ser Jorah Mormont (Season 3, Episode 3)

Let’s not lose our faith in humanity, but always be careful analyzing people’s tendencies before you let them have a powerful title. For another advice regarding this issue let’s remember these wise words from Tyrion:

“It’s hard to put a leash on a dog when you place a crown on its head.” (Season 2, Episode 7)

 12 – “Any man who must say ‘I am the King’ is no true King.”

– Tywin Lannister (Season 3, Episode 10)

Don’t try to respect people who think they are in that specific position to dominate you because if this is the only thing they understand from their position they clearly don’t deserve it.

 13 – “You’ll never walk again, but you will fly.”

– Former Three-Eyed Raven to Bran the New Three-Eyed Raven (Season 4, Episode 10)

You may not take back what you had lost, but it may open new doors for you to achieve things you wouldn’t even imagine.

 14 – “Nothing isn’t better or worse than anything. Nothing is just nothing.”

– Arya Stark (Season 4, Episode 7)

If you want to see some progress, you have to do something, simple as it is. Fail if necessary, but try first!

Speaking of ‘nothing’, as an additional inspiration let’s remember this conversation between Jon and Daenerys:

“I don’t know how to ride a dragon.”

“Nobody does until they ride a dragon.” (Season 8, Episode 1)

 15 – “I’m not going to stop the wheel, I’m going to break the wheel.”

– Daenerys (Season 5, Episode 8)

Don’t be that manager you once hated when you get there. If you are aware that the order you try to fix is already rotten inside, be brave enough to demolish it and start from the scratch! 

As Lord Varys reminds us later “Do not become what you’ve always struggled to defeat” (Season 8, Episode 4) do not always trust the wheel-breakers who are unaware of their blinding ambitions.

 16 – “Information is the key. You need to learn your enemies’ strengths and strategies. You need to learn which of your friends are not your friends.”

– Lord Varys (Season 5, Episode 10)

Wise words speak for itself, knowledge is power.

 17 – “My watch has ended.”

– Jon Snow (Season 6, Episode 3)

Know when you need to leave your job, before you burn out. Look for further opportunities.

 18 – “Good, now go fail again.”

– Ser Davos to Jon Snow who whines about failing (Season 6, Episode 3)

“The freedom to make my own mistakes was all I ever wanted,” said once Mance Rayder. (Season 5, Episode 1)

Even Sam was “tired of reading about the achievements of better men” at some point. (Season 7, Episode 5)

Complementing the nothing can be achieved if nothing is done about it. Game of Thrones taught us to be brave to fail in order to succeed. 

 19 – “When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives.”

– Sansa Stark (Season 7, Episode 7)

North remembers the wise words of Ned. Know when you need to work as a team to survive and don’t forget that every member of the team is valuable. In memoriam of Hodor:

“Hold the door.” – Hodor (Season 6, Episode 5)

This advice is nothing to do with faith but being part of a team. Know your role and don’t underestimate it. You’ll understand your importance when your help is most needed and move the whole team forward.

 20 – “Why do you think I came all this way?”

– Bran (Season 8, Episode 2)

Well, we had to change the quote “How do you know there is an afterward?” said by Bran in the second episode of the same season, because apparently there’s a high chance that he actually saw his future coming. So what should we learn from that? In the end, Cersei was right saying “When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die” (Season 1, Episode 7) if we think the fact that players really couldn’t survive to the throne, however, we also don’t have a winner.

Maybe Bran was actually sneakily paving his way to success indeed, or he knew the future and as the three-eyed raven saw himself as the rightful king of the throne. In any case, the last but not least, be there when you know that it’s time for you to collect the fruits of your ‘labor’, but don’t expect the others to respect the end result if it was not clear how you ended up there.