Deliberate Development

There is no way to move an organization forward if we are not willing to accept temporary setbacks. Sometimes, we get shut down and have to wait a few months to try again and sometimes it is a few years. I had to wait 8 years to make a change I wanted to as an instructor. Back then, I couldn’t get the support. But in my later years, I had the rank, connections and understanding to make the change happen. Sometimes we have to shelf our idea, but we rarely have to toss it in the trash. Tomorrow’s problem may the solution you created today.

All too often we tend to look at things through the lens of the world. We live in a time where anything is possible. We have the power to create an empire using only the smart phones in our pocket, and yet we are content with the status quo. We can reach out to any human being on this planet and learn anything we want, and yet we don’t. I could ask why we do this, but I would rather ask why not make a difference in just one person’s life today. Just one. Then go watch cat videos on youtube.

This is one of my favorite quotes of all time. We tend to look at what others have or the opportunities they seize and think they are just lucky. However, if they were not prepared to seize that opportunity, it would have just passed them by. I know I have been fortunate enough to have moments cross my path that I was prepared for and it felt like luck to me too. And then there were those that I was not ready for that passed me by and I felt jaded. Both scenarios were my fault. Will you be prepared for your next chance?

I have done this so many times in my personal life and in my career. I become fixated on some distant goal. I want to get x degree or buy y device and do nothing except focus on that end goal. I turn everything and everyone away unless it gets me closer to the goal. What is worse, is that I do not enjoy the ride there because I am only concerned with the end result. I may achieve my goal, but I am alone at the finish line.

Most of us base what we are capable of off of the things we have done in our past. The jobs we get in the Air Force require the last 5 EPRs and the positions are chosen based on our “work history”. Although, I think our histories offer great insight into how we will react and respond to situations in the future; they are not how we should be defined. Rather, we need to determine potential based on character and what others have learned from their successes and failures. I was always taught the military promotes based on potential and prior job performance.

This quote by the greatest fighter pilot of all time is a great reminder that we need to take action. However, not just any action. We need to think about and decide what is the best path to travel. I have gone through the whirlwind of my day and jumped from task to task and thought I was getting somewhere because I was taking action. What I have learned is that I did not accomplish anything worthwhile because it was all busy work. It wasn’t until I decided what was most important to my team and myself that I began to make some progress.

I see this all the time. People are not happy with the opportunities they are given or upset about something else that is “holding them back.” However, when I ask them where they are going, they don’t have a real direction. They just know they want to be successful. If we are not sure where our finish line is, we can’t ever expect to cross it. Define your path and then seek the opportunities that add to your mission.

This has been my method of learning something new for as long as I can remember. I wonder if I learned this from studying Bruce Lee or somewhere else, but it is a very effective model. When learning something new, look at what is working and what will work for you. Get rid of the extra steps and then find a way to make it your own. You will create routines and systems that work for you.