Passion and Vision

As he came to the Belmont Stakes in June 1973 with a chance to become the first Triple Crown winner in a quarter of a century, Secretariat led the news headlines in North America. The Big Red Horse made the covers of Time, Newsweek and Sports Illustrated – something that hadn’t happened before, or since. I watched the movie Secretariat this weekend. 

He was the horse that no one wanted, except for Penny Tweedy (Chenery). She had passion to save her family’s farm. She had a vision of what the horse that no one wanted could do. She compiled a team to work with him and led that team up to the Triple Crown. 

Imagine how the thoroughbred racing history would have changed if she did not have passion or vision. There is no way that the “horse that no one wanted” would have produced 600 foals. 

Vision is everything for a leader. It is indispensible. Why? Because vision leads the leader. It paints the target. It sparks and fuels the fire within, and draws him forward. It is also the fire lighter for those who follow the leader. Show me a leader without a vision and I will show you someone who isn’t going anywhere but traveling in circles. You can not buy, beg, or borrow vision. It has to come from the inside. 

Penny Tweedy was a housewife. She entered a man’s world and feared nothing as they laughed at her. Did you know 75 percent of the U.S. Presidents were in the bottom half of their school classes? More than 50 percent of all millionaire entrepreneurs never finished college. What makes it possible for people who might seem ordinary to achieve great things? The answer is PASSION. Nothing can take the place of passion in a leader’s life. 

A great leader’s courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position. When you look deep into your heart and soul for a vision, what do you see? Penny was willing to pay any price to do what she knew was right. What are you willing to do?

Penny ran her race. Pilots before us ran their race. Now it is up to us to run our race. 

Integrity

We all Google something from time to time. Last night, before I was turning in, I found myself reading one subject to another. Funny how we can start off with searching for one subject then finishing with a completely unrelated subject. It always fascinates me how much our mind can process. Well last night was no different. I found myself reading about Navy Ships while I was watching American Pickers, I ended up reading about Bill Lear. Not sure how I got there, but he had a fascinating story.

If you have ever travelled through small airports or in a corporate aircraft, you have probably seen or flown in a Lear Jet. My dad took me on one when I was very young. They are small and fast. After my long travel to Dallas and back, it amazes me on how much time a Lear Jet can save when traveling, no wonder corporations use them.

Did you know that Bill Lear held more than 150 patents? The automatic pilot, car radio, even 8-track tapes. He started in the 50’s with his idea of a small corporate jet, it took several years to make his dream a reality and in 1963 he made his first maiden voyage on the first Lear Jet.

His success was immediate. But shortly after his start two jets crashed with no reason. He was devastated. He immediately grounded all Lear Jets. Can you imagine? Finding out what caused a problem with less than 2% of all the jets out there caused him to really jeopardize his aircraft. But he thought more lives being lost outweighed the adverse public reaction.

He could not find out on the ground what went wrong, so he had to try to recreate the circumstance. Yes, he did, he flew the jets until he nearly lost control like the other two pilots. But he made it through and found the defect. He corrected the problem and eliminated future danger.

I am sure grounding the planes cost him a lot of money and probably planted seeds of doubt in the minds of potential customers. But he never regretted his decision. He was willing to risk his success, his fortune and even his own life to solve the mystery of those 2 crashes, but not his integrity. And that takes character.

How do you deal with different circumstances? Do you choose your integrity over your success and fortune? Every path leads to a crossroads of character or compromise. Every time you choose character you become stronger, even if there are negative consequences such as Bill Lear and loosing potential customers.

Sherri Lynn Dunik

Plan with Attitude. Prepare with Aptitude. Participate with Servitude, Receive with Gratitude. And that should be enough to Separate you from the Multitudes.

Pilot International Leadership Coordinator

http://facebook.com/sldunik

Twitter @sherrilynndunik

Character

While at the airport in Chicago yesterday I was standing in line for a pizza slice. A little girl and her father were in front of me. She asked "Daddy, I want a piece all by myself." She looked about 5 or 6. Her father replied "Sweetheart, are you sure you can eat all that?" The little girl said "Daaaaaddddddd...I'm a lot bigger on the inside than the outside."

It was cute, but then on my last flight home, I kept thinking about it. And that is what character is all about. Being bigger on the inside.

So as we come home from our annual meeting and begin our new leadership roles remember that your character is your most important asset. Ask yourself, does your words match your actions? Do you follow through your assignments? If you promise to be somewhere, are you there? Can people trust your handshake as they would a legal contract?

Character is a choice, we create it every time we make a choice. As you make choices this year, you are continuing to build your character. " Be bigger on the inside than the outside!"

Sherri Lynn Dunik

Plan with Attitude. Prepare with Aptitude. Participate with Servitude, Receive with Gratitude. And that should be enough to Separate you from the Multitudes.

Pilot International Leadership Coordinator

http://facebook.com/sldunik

Twitter @sherrilynndunik