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May 23, 2005
Their eyes are
closed in intense concentration. Each man has one hand resting
lightly on the table, all hands holding onto an invisible handle
moving in cadence with the leader’s voice.
Six highly
trained men, each of whom commands $28 million dollars of metal and
technology are in an empty room, mentally rehearsing the precision
movements of a show performed at up to 700 mph, where one misstep will
result in immediate death. They are the Blue Angels.
The selection
process for Blue Angel pilots is rigorous. Each applicant must be a
career-oriented, carrier-qualified, active-duty Navy or Marine Corps
tactical jet pilot with a minimum of 1,350 flight hours.
Once selected,
“Angels” enter into intense training. At speeds approaching Mach 1, a
hesitation of one second can spell disaster. The squadron focuses
stress in a program built around exercise, weight training,
cardiovascular health, flexibility training and healthy diet.
It goes without
saying that vision is essential to the success of these jet pilots.
Extensive physical exams ensure 20/20 vision that is sustained under
intense g-force maneuvers. But there is another vision required for
success as an “Angel.”
Blue Angels,
with all the skill, technology, and personnel supporting their own
training, must also rely on their individual capacity to sit with eyes
closed, visualizing the exact order and movements of their
performance, a mental rehearsal of every detail. Their body can only
perform what their mind can envision.
The power of a
good mind is central to human success. Jet pilots “see” their F-18’s
speeding through the air before they ever climb into the cockpit.
Mountain climbers fix their eyes on the heights before they ever take
the first step.
Vision of
success builds success. It is the ingredient of dreams. It inspires
hope. It creates endurance through faith built on a picture we see
with our mind.
Visions give us
dreams. Lifting her lamp beside the golden door, the Statue of
Liberty welcomes the tired and poor of the world to
America.
But they arrive on our shore long before their ships set sail. They
arrive first in their dreams and visions of what life might be in a
distant land.
What dreams and
visions do we inspire in our children?
“We would teach
abstinence,” some tell us, “but we know kids are going to have sex
anyway.” A vision of failure is planted. It is nurtured. It is
cultivated with thoughts of eventual failure.
Looking below,
seeing the possibility of eventual failure, picturing ourselves
falling off the mountain, what good does that do? Yet, that is what
some would have us believe about our kids.
People came to
America
inspired by a vision. Pilots train with a vision. Yes, visions must
be chased and caught. They require something of your own blood sweat
and tears. But they give us the picture of heaven on earth, a target,
a place to aim our aspirations.
Beware of people
who expect us to fail. Listen for words predicting disaster. As we
speak, so shall we think. And as we think, so shall we do.
The best
educational program begins not with books and lessons and charts and
graphs. It begins in the mind of a person who has captured the vision
of success.
And the best
teachers are those who can inspire the vision in others, who can train
the eyes upward for the climb and paint a picture of what it will be
like when you mount the peak, plant your flag and claim success.
March 14, 2005
Does Abstinence Work?
October 29, 2004
Food for the Brain
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