Even in yoga, which is a peaceful practice, there exists a warrior pose. It's important because it symbolically helps us do battle with ourselves in to order to achieve self awareness.

Self awareness is tricky. I've heard it said that the last thing we know about ourselves is how others perceive us. And yet how they perceive us depends on how well we know ourselves. Catch 22? A little but that is where our inner warrior does its work.

At my first job I had an image in my mind of what a professional person should be. I was one person during the day and another in my personal life. But as I inevitably became friends with people in the industry in which I worked this compartmentalization of self became complicated. And yet I remained guarded until I realized that I wasn't having a very rich or rewarding relationship with anyone. It wasn't easy, but I began to open up. Every time I did my warrior did battle with that part of myself that wanted to remain in the shadows for fear of being hurt.

Today, the warrior within us is important for another type of survival -- that of our businesses.

In another Eastern philosophy called the "Thick Black Theory" (a Chinese plan for mental toughness written in 1911) it is argued there can be no enlightenment without a full concept of the darkness. It's a theory that author Ching Ning Chu took up again in a book she wrote in 1995, Thick Face, Black Heart. She wrote about achieving success in our professional and personal lives by creating a "thick face" and using it as a shield to protect, not deflect. And the black heart? She asserts it is necessary in order to develop a noble type of ruthlessness that allows one to succeed without compromise.

"One must thicken one's face to protect his self esteem from the opinions of others," she writes. "The person adept at Thick Face creates his positive self image despite criticism from others. The thick-faced person instills confidence in others through his self-confidence."

The image of a thick face supports that of the warrior who is able to face the world without fear. But what of the black heart? Certainly we've seen the downside of self-centered ruthlessness today in business. But can the ability to take decisive action without regard for the consequences be an asset? Yes, Chu writes, "A black heart is ruthless but not necessarily evil," and she gives the example of a surgeon, general or business owner who does what has to be done.

While I understand that the warrior needs a black heart on the battlefield and the surgeon during an operation, and that there are important lessons to take from the darkness that exists, it's no way to live and work all the time.

For me, I'll take the image of the thick-faced spiritual warrior to be my internal guide for business in 2010 as I set my intentions to ... Make smart, noble choices. Act with less hesitation. Remain facing forward, firmly grounded, and sure footed. Have the hard conversations. Look for points of connection rather than departure. And ultimately, hold steady and breathe into my warrior pose as it reveals new truths, insights and awareness.