Page 38 - Never Fly Solo

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Chair Flying

The More You Sweat in Peace,
the Less You Bleed in Battle

Nothing can prepare you completely for a serious threat at
thirty thousand feet. There is little room for error, and your
first impulse is to panic. But your training has taught you to
dismiss that feeling—your life depends on it. Your eyes and
ears switch to full alert. Every sense is heightened. Your men-
tal checklists are double- and triple-checked. Then training
and instinct take over. Hopefully, you’ve done the thinking
already, because now it’s time to act.
In an F-16, hostile fire, bird strikes, engine failures, and
bad weather threaten us every time we take flight. Each has
the power to take us down. In business, the threats, though
obviously different, are nonetheless serious. Sure, your life
may not be on the line, but the life of the sale, your job, or
your company may be. A sales objection, a missed deadline,
task overload, or even the flu can take you down. How do
you handle these hazards? Are you mission-ready, or do you
go into a tailspin?

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