09/06/2018
From The Fire Inside:
There was a time in this profession when people were scared to fail. Things like fitness, drilling into the night, spending the tour in the rig, falling asleep reading, fighting over station tasks, and repetition after repetition of fundamental skills were the norm as everyone tried to prove themselves daily. Most took every training opportunity they could get their hands on (especially the informal ones when the senior guy said “everyone ‘gather round”) knowing that the stakes were too high to get it wrong.
Somewhere along the way we became more worried about our egos than actually earning our place. We flipped the script and made people scared to SUCCEED! That’s right, you heard me, WE ARE SCARED TO SUCCEED! Why? Well, simply put, because we have become too accommodating to those who can’t cut it. We now mock and embarrass those who will stop at nothing to get it right! We have villainized things like dedication and commitment to our beloved craft. We tell the motivated to sit down while we whine about the potential of those who refuse to stand up! Sadly, it has gotten to the point where many are embarrassed to talk about their accomplishments and are ultimately downplaying their commitment due to fear of being attacked by those who do not share the once required enthusiasm that is fading into an endangered state.
So, if you want to be remembered for how many years you showed up, how well you cooked, how cool you were, how awesome your ride is, how successful your side job was, the house you lived in, the number of friends you had, or any other measure of high school status then so be it. I don’t know about you, but I want more than that, I want to be GREAT. And to do so, we must understand that greatness is usually a culmination of our training, education, enthusiasm, and effort that come together in one shining moment of clarity and definition. In this line of work, we find it in the service of others rather in the service of ourselves.
So, STOP BEING SCARED TO SUCCEED! You are going to be hated by SOMEBODY no matter what you do. Why not make it worth it by pouring all your passion, dedication, and energy into changing the lives of those you swore to protect?! Maybe our pride comes off as selfish from time to time, but we are simply proud because we get to serve this profession and the community! There was a time when that was enough!!!...
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