Truth Has a Cost—But So Does Silence
What Hrant Dink Taught Us About Becoming the CEO of Your Voice
I’m taking a slightly new direction with this newsletter.
Beginning with this issue, I’m using real historical events to explore what it truly means to become the CEO of your life. Because … behind every bold decision, act of defiance, or quiet truth-teller… is a mindset we can all learn from.
The Enemy of the State… Was a Journalist
In 2007, a journalist was murdered on a busy Istanbul street.
Not because he lied.
But because he remembered.
His name was Hrant Dink. He was a Turkish citizen of Armenian descent and the founding editor of Agos, a small bilingual newspaper that dared to say what the state refused to admit.
He didn't scream.
He didn’t provoke.
He simply told the truth—about history, about identity, and about what it meant to belong to a country that continually tried to erase you.
And for that, he was labelled a traitor.
Charged under a vague law for “insulting Turkishness.”
And eventually shot in the back of the head by a 17-year-old radicalized by nationalist propaganda.
But this newsletter isn’t about Turkey.
It’s about you.
Because … whether you’re building a business, starting a creative career, or trying to live with clarity in a noisy world …
You will, at some point, face the same choice:
Stay safe—or speak the truth.
That choice won’t always look like politics.
It might look like launching a bold offer instead of the easy one.
It might look like publishing the version of your story you’ve been editing to sound more “professional.”
It might look like saying what you believe when your industry tells you to shut up and perform.
Whatever shape it takes, it’s the same core moment.
🔥 CEO Life OS Principle #1: Truth Is More Important Than Tactics
Dink wasn’t strategic in the modern sense.
He didn’t optimize headlines for clicks.
He didn’t pander to either side of the conflict he was born into.
He simply refused to lie.
Not just to others, but to himself.
In his final column, published the day he was killed, he wrote:
“I feel like a dove. Always alert. Always fearful. But I will not leave.”
This wasn’t bravado. It was alignment.
And that’s the first lesson:
Your voice becomes powerful when you stop negotiating with your integrity.
🛠️ CEO Life OS Principle #2: Identity Is a System You Design
Dink was attacked not just for his ideas, but for his identity.
He was too Armenian for Turkey. Too Turkish for the diaspora.
Too honest for the government. Too nuanced for the media.
Sound familiar?
In the age of branding, clarity is often mistaken for simplicity.
But leadership—authentic leadership—lives in paradox.
Being the CEO of your life means refusing to cut yourself down to fit someone else’s binary.
You can be bold and calm.
You can be heritage and progress.
You can be a system builder and a rule breaker.
But only if you stop letting other people’s categories run your operating system.
🧭 CEO Life OS Principle #3: Silence Is a System Too
After Dink’s death, hundreds of thousands marched in silence, holding signs that read:
“We are all Hrant Dink. We are all Armenian.”
It was a rare moment in modern Turkey, where grief became protest, and solidarity refused to be quiet.
But the more profound truth?
The system that killed Hrant wasn’t just made of bullets.
It was made of silences—small, daily, socially acceptable silences.
We live inside similar systems.
When you don’t speak up in a meeting.
When you water down your message.
When you delay a launch because you're scared of what people might say.
You’re not avoiding risk.
You're building a prison one quiet moment at a time.
The CEO Life OS doesn’t just ask: “What’s your truth?”
It asks: Where are you outsourcing your voice?
🧠 What This Means for You
You don’t have to be a martyr to lead with truth.
But you do have to get honest about what you’ve been avoiding.
Here's how to start:
Audit your story.
What parts have you edited, softened, or erased to be more “marketable”?Choose clarity over comfort.
Publish the bold version. Say the thing. Own the tension.Design your voice, don’t default it.
Your messaging, presence, and business should reflect your whole self, not your edited self.
Because when you speak clearly, you build differently.
⚡ TL;DR
Hrant Dink didn’t die because he shouted.
He died because he remembered—calmly, clearly, and without compromise.
That kind of truth has a cost.
But so does silence.
And if you’re serious about building a life, a business, or a voice that matters…
You need to decide which price you’re willing to pay.
📖 For the full story behind Hrant Dink’s life, legacy, and the forces that tried to silence him, read the original deep-dive here → The Man Who Wouldn’t Be Silent.
✍️ Actions for the Week
Write the truth you’ve been avoiding.
Not for posting. For ownership.Audit your silence.
Where are you editing yourself to be accepted by people you wouldn’t hire?Speak once this week without checking who’s watching.
That’s your new baseline for integrity.
That’s a Wrap
Before you go: Here are 3 ways I can help you build a life that leads instead of reacts:
Rewire Your Mindset — Join the free 10-day course to stop drifting and start acting with clarity.
CEO Life OS — Upgrade your subscription for premium execution tools, mindset challenges, and behind-the-scenes playbooks that simplify momentum.
Offer-to-OS Accelerator—Do you need a system, not just inspiration? Work with me one-on-one to clarify your offer and scale without chaos. Click here to schedule an info call with me.
See you in the next issue,
Warren
Your voice is your leadership. Don’t rent it out to fear.