“You’ve got to Push it up to take off.  And you have to take-off to fly!”

I’ll never forget the first time I flew the F-16.  The rush of adrenaline was amazing. The tower controller cleared me for take-off and from the back seat my instructor pilot, Captain “Deke” Slaton, called out over the intercom, “Push it up, Waldo!”

“Yes, Sir!” I replied.

I nervously pushed up that throttle to full power and felt a kick in the seat unlike anything I’ve experienced in my life.  30,000 pounds of pure thrust. The power was unreal as I became airborne and in seconds accelerated to 350 knots.

I won’t forget how hard I worked to make it to the cockpit that day. But it paled in comparison to how hard I would work to stay there. I had to push myself beyond my limits to earn my wings and become mission ready in the F-16.

I’ve embraced the phrase “Push it up!” in my personal and professional life and use it as a call to action to my clients, fellow wingmen, and friends. I want you to use it as well because it symbolizes what it takes to win. It stands for maximum effort. It’s the thrust which drives you forward.  It’s what gives you wings to fly.

Push it up means you:

• Put forth maximum effort
• Discipline yourself to take (the correct) action every day
• Commit yourself to your goal
• Stay focused until the mission is complete
• Face adversity with courage.

It’s about personal leadership, and you’re the pilot in command.

Push it up also means you’re a trusted partner in life – a wingman. Someone others can count on to get the job done. You have a disciplined, determined and passionate approach towards living every single day and you don’t need to wear a flight suit of fly an F-16 to develop it.  It originates in your heart, is inspired through your attitude, and is executed through your action.

Let me share something with you.  Success isn’t necessarily about motivation or even attitude. It’s about action. Action that leads to performance that leads to results. The world rewards results, not attitude… and while your attitude is a tremendous asset in your life and will likely inspire you to act, it’s not going to directly give you results.

Some say attitude determines altitude. I totally disagree.  Here’s a better formula:

Attitude + Action + Ability determines Altitude.

What drives you to get out of bed every day ready to push it up and take action? Are you willing to work for it?

Hard work is the impetus to action. It’s the sun to the blooming flower and the sweat to the athlete. There is no substitute when it comes to success.

Winners in business and life possess a positive attitude that is seasoned with discipline, passion, and commitment. But at the end of the day, they take action to make it happen.  Winners sharpen their sword and do the work to perfect their craft.  Most importantly, they resist the temptation to ease up–to pull back the throttle–despite the missiles of life that are constantly being launched.

Push it up isn’t easy. But it separates the mediocre from the “Mach-1.” Are you pushing it up or pulling it back in life? How hard are you willing to work? The difference will determine whether or not you take off and reach new heights.

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So, how do you get a 35,000-pound F-16 jet fighter to fly?

It’s no easy feat. To overcome the force of gravity, you have to create a force that is greater than gravity’s grasp.

That force is lift.

As the F-16 blasts through the sky, there is an “enemy” of  lift that must be overcome known as drag. There are two kinds of drag – Induced and Parasite. Induced drag is a “good drag’ in that it is a bi-product of lift and is necessary for flight. Parasite drag is not helpful as it battles against the “good” drag, working to slow the aircraft down. It’s caused by the non-lifting portions of the aircraft, such as the landing gear, missiles, and fuel tanks.

Ok - here’s the big picture.  In order to fly, a jet’s lift must exceed drag. The less drag, the easier it flies.

Let’s look at this in fighter combat. When evading missiles or engaging another fighter, one of the first things you must do is jettison your stores. You have to get rid of all the parasite drag hanging from the jet that’s not critical to immediate, fast flight. Fuel tanks and bombs, for example, go. This reduces your weight while simultaneously reducing drag, allowing the fighter to be much more maneuverable to avoid getting shot down.

Simply put, if you don’t need it, you drop it.

What ‘parasites’ do you have dragging you down and stopping you from reaching new heights in your life?  Do you find yourself unable to avoid life’s the missiles because you have too much weighing you down?

Parasites are the negative relationships that sap your energy and time. They are also the fears, doubts, mental baggage, and self-limiting beliefs that strangle your ability to take action. Parasites suck the life out of you. They can drag you down emotionally and hold you back from being a successful leader.

Do you have any of that “hanging around?”

We all have parasite drag in our life and we know it.  We’re just not aware that we have it, or we put off doing anything about it until our own personal “missiles” begin to fly.  The problem is if we’re dragged down too much, the missiles will hit us.

What are you holding on to that you really need to let go of?

Here’s my advice.  Jettison your parasites now!

Are you willing to jettison what’s dragging you down so you can become more fulfilled and successful? Perhaps it’s an unhealthy relationship, laziness, or a private addiction such as TV, gambling, or even that sugar fix you seem to always crave.  Or maybe it’s a bad job that is bringing you down or a fear of failure that is stopping you from starting a new business.

Want to find what gives lift in your life? Look at what drives your passion. Look at the relationships and activities that get you excited and energized and ready to “push it up” in life. Then, pursue them relentlessly. Seek what gives you life.

When flight planning for success, winners have an ability to get rid of distractions and focus on action that leads to positive results. They also surround themselves with people who challenge them.  If you want to be a success, spend time with people that lift you up to greater heights. They are your wingmen.  Folks who have the courage and compassion to tell it like it is.  They won’t settle for your excuses, but they will also inspire you and give you hope.

So, how do you attract these type of people into your life? You do it by giving your time, advice, and hope to those in need.  You become a wingman to others and help them to fly to greater heights. You do the hard work to build your own character before expecting it of others. This is the core of leadership. When you do this, wingmen will naturally be attracted to you. They will feel comfortable coming to you for help and you will slowly but surely find yourself surrounded by people you trust. As I always say, never fly solo.

Leadership Wingtip:
Leaders push themselves up, while pulling others up.
Discipline, hard work, and productive relationships are the lifts in life that overcome the parasite drags of unhealthy relationships, addictions and complacency. They are your tools to conquer mediocrity and live with courage. They will help you to win.  Don’t leave them from your flight plan.

If you want to reach new heights in business and life, make sure you do whatever it takes to maximize your lift and minimize your drag. Not only will you avoid the missiles, but you’ll hit your target as well!

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COMMIT COMMIT!

December 21^st, 1998 – a brisk winter day in Saudi Arabia. I was stationed on my first combat deployment, flying missions enforcing the Iraqi southern no-fly zone.

I was scheduled to take off on only the fourth combat sortie of my career, inexperienced and quite nervous. It was a mission I’ll never forget.

I was flying that day with my flight lead Lt Col “Hos” Hyatt, the commander of the 79^th Fighter Squadron Tigers. Our “2 ship” of F-16’s were charged with “sanitizing” the airspace of any enemy aircraft that might be crossing the restricted area. It could have been a routine patrol – or not.

Suddenly, our radios blared with an urgent call from the radar ground controller, “Viper flight, you’ve got a MIG-23 150 miles off your nose headed south…hostile, hostile!”

This meant the MIG had crossed the no fly zone and was headed towards us and the fuel tankers we were in charge of protecting. A split second later, my headset erupted with a call from Hos.

“Viper flight, COMMIT, COMMIT!”

Almost unconsciously, I pushed up my throttle to afterburner and started to climb as I struggled to stay in perfect formation with Hos. There was no turning back. We were going after that MIG.

With those two words, “Commit, Commit,” my destiny was set in motion that day. No time to think – there was simply time to react. I was trained for that moment and my instantaneous choice was really quite clear: it was time to “commit.”

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We have a saying in the fighter pilot world, “lose sight, lose fight.” Lose sight for just a second of the ground or aerial target, and chances are you’ll lose the fight (i.e. miss the target or get shot down). It takes intense concentration, discipline, and focus to keep sight. Your vision is only as good as how well you see the immediate target.

We’ve all heard the experts talk about vision. Vision paints an inspiring picture of what an organization can become and gives us something to believe in, work towards, and identify with. Warren Bennis calls it ‘a compelling goal.’ When we have a vision, we’re naturally driven to achieve it and it inspires us to action every day. It gives meaning to our mission as it provides a purpose in all we do.

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I am well aware of the toil, and blood, and treasure, that it will cost us to maintain this declaration, and support and defend these states. Yet, through all the gloom, I can see the rays of light and glory; I can see that the end is more than worth all the means, and that posterity will triumph. John Adams letter to Abigail Adams, July 3, 1776

Tomorrow is the 4th of July. My ‘orders’ from my trusted wingman and business associate John Harrington is to relax. I plan on doing so.

But when I look up into the sky and see the fireworks, I won’t relax. I can never relax. And neither should you.

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“We’re each of us Angels, with only one wing, and we can only fly embracing each other”
Luciano de Crescenzo
It’s 25 April at 1:30 am and I just turned 39!

As I celebrate the start of my birthday, I can’t help but think about how awesome of a year it’s been for me. So many great victories and exciting opportunities that were a direct result of you…my wingmen! You’ve supported me, instructed me, and most of all, encouraged me. You gave me a wing when I needed it most. (special plug for mom, dad, and my twin brother Dave – yes…there are two Waldos!)

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Lack of communication can take the most carefully laid plans and destroy them with the corrosion of doubt. It can transform the most confident person into a “second-guesser” and that’s bad for everyone on your team.

I remember flying a combat mission in Iraq when I lost radio contact with my wingmen. I was flying in the “dark.” Having no radio contact at 20,000 feet and separated from my wingmen by 10 miles on a night combat mission in hostile territory was not an ideal situation. What if I lost my engine or was engaged by ground fire? How could I call for help? Was something wrong with my radios?

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When your squadron commander meets you at your jet, it’s normally not a good sign. “Waldo, we need to talk,” he said as he headed for the aircraft hangar. Had I messed up? Was I in trouble? I gulped. Was something wrong at home?

“Waldo, Sgt. Tyler told me what happened before you took off this afternoon, and I am not impressed.” In an instant I knew what he was referring to.

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“We’re each of us angels with one wing, and can only fly by embracing each other”
Luciano De Crecenzo

Mayday is the universally recognized call of distress. It’s a call you never want to make, but it could be the most important call of your life.

Fighter pilots use it during extreme emergency situations – when we lose an engine, are getting prepared to eject from an un-flyable aircraft, or even when witnessing an emergency of one of our wingmen.

Mayday translates to I Need Help…NOW!!

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“I need help!” In my opinion, the three most important words in the English language other than “I love you.”

Since the beginning of September 2005, we have all witnessed our fellow citizens trapped in a sea of desperation, fear and helplessness as Hurricane Katrina literally swept away their lives, homes, and dreams. As a nation, we have heeded their call for help and have responded with our wallets, prayers, and compassion. It’s been far from perfect, but slowly, hope is being injected back into their lives and they can now look to the future in faith rather than fear.

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