The Cowboy Code: 10 Principles to Live By

When many of us think of the Wild West, we think of a place where gunmen ruled with selfish impunity, cowboys waged war on rival ranches, and the bank was the most dangerous spot in town.

Much of this was a myth, created by Hollywood directors to sell the idea of a lawless desert ruled by violence. In reality, the Western reaches of American civilization were ruled by a strict code—the code of the West. That code is what kept order and dignity on the undeveloped plains. It shaped the cowboy into a cultural avatar of American values, just as much as the horses, longhorns, and dusty ranches ever did.

James Owen, a 35-year Wall Street veteran, is the author of the best-selling “Cowboy Ethics: What Wall Street Can Learn from the Code of the West,” “Cowboy Ethics: What It Takes to Win at Life,” and “Cowboy Values: Recapturing What America Once Stood For.” Owen believes that modern America has exchanged its moral principles for blind materialism, and that by returning to shared American values, we can find personal and national success again.

Owen says that in our materialistic culture, we assume success means abundant wealth and money. But he believes that those who live by a code are able to make new definitions of success—success in improving one’s character, upholding values, and finding meaning outside of material possessions.

In the ten years since its publication, Owen’s idea of cowboy ethics and its “ten principles to live by” have been successfully put into practice on Wall Street, in classrooms, and in personal lives.

The Ten Principles

Live Each Day With Courage

To the cowboys of the old West, courage was as necessary as wearing boots. There were no bootless cowboys, and there were none without courage. Life was dangerous by nature, as the unrelenting elements, stampedes, and marauding natives and bandits claimed many lives.

The cowboy spirit was, out of necessity, cheerful in the face of all perils. For a cowboy, having cowardice was a danger to himself and those who relied on him. A cowboy who let his fear grip him could not do what he needed to when facing decisive moments. Courage did not mean the absence of fear; it was the ability to put fear aside when there was work to be done.

“A man wanting in courage would be as much out of place in a cow-camp as a fish on dry land,” the Texas Livestock Journal said in 1882.

A cowboy demonstrates knot tying to a little boy, circa 1945. Ralph Hopewell Anderson/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Take Pride in Your Work

A cowboy took pride in his work and skills. His superb riding, courage, and grit gave him the confidence to sit in the saddle like a knight on the field.

A cowboy tried to avoid any work that wasn’t in the saddle. But if he really had to dig post holes, he would do the best he could. And when he rode past that fence years later, he would feel pride that he built that fence and left his legacy on the land.

Always Finish What You Start

Cowboys despised quitters. They despised complainers and whiners too because to cowboys, they smelled like quitters. When the going gets tough, that’s when one needs to be the most reliable.

In the cattle drives of the old West, cowboys would often face hardships and dangers on their months-long journey from the plains of Texas to the railroads up north. Every man could trust that no one would abandon the monumental task halfway through.

Do What Has to Be Done

The cowboy, the Western hero, was a man of justice. To rectify injustice and punish evildoers: that was the code of the West enshrined in his heart. A cowboy’s honor rested upon his willingness to do the right thing. Even more honorable was the ability to stick to what was right in the face of overwhelming odds.

“A cowboy gets his strength from knowing what is right and what is wrong and being true to his beliefs. This is the essence of the Code of the West and the true cowboy way,” the Journal said.

Four cowboys ride together, in a file photo. Jeanne Provost/Shutterstock

Be Tough, but Fair

The cowboy could weather harsh conditions, risk his life daily, and come back the next day, because to be a cowboy was to be grit and nails in boots. Cowboys prided themselves on their toughness, and that pride made them notoriously intolerant of insults.

But being tough wasn’t the only thing that kept cowboys riding. Being fair, and abiding by the Golden Rule, was considered just as important. The cowboy’s code created a symbiotic social order that was essential to life on the plains.

For example, a cowboy was entitled to enter any ranch at any time when in need of food and shelter, and was not expected to pay a penny. And if a neighbor’s cattle wandered onto a rancher’s lot, the rancher was free to sell the animal, but the rancher would be obligated to pay his neighbor the money he received for it. The Golden Rule was always upheld.

If a man was killed in a fair fight, it was simply an incident. But it was murder to kill a man who was unarmed or fleeing. Murderers had frontier justice waiting for them.

When You Make a Promise, Keep It

A cowboy’s promise was more binding than any legal contract.

A cowboy’s allegiance to the code was worth more than his life. In a world where a handshake was law, to break a promise was to lose the trust of every decent man on the plains.

Ride for the Brand

Cowboys were exceptionally loyal to their outfits. They put their outfits before their own comfort, needs, and even lives.

But cowboys weren’t loyal to their bosses simply because they were the ones who paid them. Cowboys were loyal because the boss upheld the code of the West, and expected that they would too. The boss built the ranch from nothing with just his hands, his time, and his daring. By riding with his brand, a cowboy became part of that legacy of honorable hard work.

Cowboys round up cattle on a pasture next to the Gulf of Mexico to take them to safe ground before the possible arrival of Hurricane Laura in Cameron, La., on Aug. 25, 2020. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Talk Less and Say More

Part of the cowboy’s trademark was his short and pointed speech. Cowboys couldn’t stand a windbag who wasted words simply because he never ran out of them.

Cowboys needed effective and short communication while on the job. Conditions while herding cattle could change on a dime; effective communication made the job easier and kept everyone safe.

Cowboys weren’t unexpressive or too simple-minded for grander expressions. Cowboy folklorist Ramon Adams said of the cowboy that he “laid firm hands on language and squeezed the juice right out of it.”

Remember That Some Things Aren’t for Sale

A cowboy’s dignity and way of life had no price. He would not sell it, and he would not buy it from another.

This is exemplified best in the 1970 movie “Monte Walsh.” At the beginning of the 20th century, Wyoming cowboy Monte realizes that his time as a small-time rancher is coming to an end. Larger corporations are creeping out the competition in the ranching business.

Monte ends up getting recruited to play a cowboy in a circus, but realizes that he can’t sell his way of life for any sum of money. He turns down the high-paying job and returns to struggling as a rancher.

A farmer prepares to feed his livestock in Quemado, Texas, on June 14, 2023. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Know Where to Draw the Line

The code of the West, the principles that cowboys lived by, was to be followed strictly. Cowboys believed that the destruction of a man’s integrity was almost never one big fall and crash, but caused by numerous cracks spreading over time. Every small step over the line of the cowboy’s code, every little cut corner or rationalized wrongdoing, was a step closer to the collapse of a man’s integrity and that of the community that relied on him.

The cowboy had to be strict in his morals and stubborn in his principles so that the fragile social structure of the Wild West could continue and life could flourish.

Conclusion

Contrary to the popular portrayal of cowboys as rogues, cowboys were more similar to medieval knights, who followed a strict code of chivalry. Indeed, the code of the West and the chivalric code are similar in many ways, highly valuing courage, honor, and justice.

By modern standards, the cowboys of the Wild West were no saints: they cursed, smoked, and drank profusely, with little knowledge of table manners. But their legacy shapes America to this day, and it'd be best not to forget the principles that made them stand out as icons of American folklore. Live each day remembering the way of the cowboy; grit, honesty, and fairness.

Anyone who can put these ten principles into practice will find satisfaction in their life and actions, and achieve success not measurable in money.