Page 184 - Never Fly Solo

RELEASE BRAKES! | 157
siles are headed your way, it’s time to be a warrior, not a
worrier.

THE WARRIOR SPIRIT

Warriors acknowledge the reality of their fears and then lead
by action. When I flew in combat with my wingmen, sure, we
were scared! Sure, we had doubts. But when it came time to
execute, we had already prepared relentlessly as a team, and
now we took action as a team. We felt confident because we
were not flying solo and knew we could count on each other
for mutual support. Most important, we focused on our
actions, not our attitude.
Being a modern-day warrior is not about combat. War-
riors live by the credo “The more you sweat in peace, the less
you bleed in battle.” They plan and train with discipline and
intensity and put forth the effort so that they never have to go
to battle. As the great Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu
wrote in The Art of War, “The greatest victories in war are
the ones that are never fought.”
Warriors are also the consummate wingmen, who will do
what it takes to help you turn your fear into courage, push up
your throttle, release your brakes, and take off. Warriors want
their wingmen to win.

FLY OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE
At some point while reading this book, you have probably
wondered why, knowing that I was phobic about enclosed
spaces and heights, I chose to fly the F-16. Before I flew fight-
ers, I was an Air Force instructor pilot, teaching men and
women how to fly. It was fun and fairly easy—hour-long
flights over friendly airspace, with no missiles or night refuel-