Page 83 - Never Fly Solo

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influence from your life if you want to punch through your
old flight ceiling.
Parasite drag also manifests itself in jobs, or even careers,
that stifle your creativity or neglect your best skills. Right
now, as you are reading these words, you may be stuck in a
job that you literally feel is dragging you down. Until you find
a way to jettison this drag, you’ll not only wind up depressed
and resentful, you’ll put a concrete ceiling on your potential.
Sure, it’s risky to leave a secure job, especially in this uncer-
tain economy. But I’m talking about reaching new heights
here. All growth comes with risk.
Induced drag, on the other hand, comes from you and is
completely controlled by you—and it’s even harder to get rid
of than parasite drag. It’s your negative, counterproductive
habits and self-limiting beliefs and fears—things you do that
you know you shouldn’t do. Do you have a private addiction
to gambling, alcohol, or TV? Do you easily get distracted by
non-mission-critical items, such as answering the phone when
you don’t need to or checking e-mail every five minutes when
you should be working on a proposal? Do you spend more
time filing your paperwork or talking to coworkers than dis-
cussing ways to improve your sales or management processes?
At work, are you complacent, letting others take on added
responsibilities while you shirk any task that isn’t absolutely
necessary? Or are you “all thrust and no vector,” rushing
around and looking busy but not really accomplishing all that
much? Such attitudes can easily take you off the course of
success. They will drag you down and keep you from going
to the next level in your career and life.
Induced drag takes a lot more discipline and self-control
to jettison. And unlike with parasite drag, you’re probably