06/10/2026
There Are Two Struggles. Only One of Them Can Stop You
Ask people what it takes to succeed and you'll hear the usual answers. Discipline. Persistence. Consistency. Courage. Patience. Resilience. They're all important—every one of them. But after more than three decades in aviation, I've come to believe most people misunderstand where the real battle takes place.
Because there are actually two struggles.
The first is the external struggle, and it's the one everyone sees. The long hours and early mornings. The setbacks, the rejection, the training, the mistakes. The countless times you have to do something over and over before you finally get it right. We expect that struggle. We know it's coming.
What catches people off guard is the second one: the internal struggle. The doubt. The fear. The frustration. The voice that shows up when progress is slower than you hoped and asks, "Maybe this just isn't for me."
I've watched people with incredible talent walk away from their goals because they lost that internal battle. I've also watched people with average talent accomplish extraordinary things because they simply refused to quit. The difference usually wasn't ability. It was purpose. They knew why they started.
Every dream feels exciting in the beginning. Everyone is motivated when the weather is clear and the runway is in sight. The test comes later—months later, sometimes years later. When nobody is cheering. When nobody notices the work. When progress feels invisible and you're tired and discouraged and wondering if all the effort is worth it. That's where most goals die. Not because people lack talent, but because they lose sight of their why.
When you don't know why you're doing something, every obstacle feels like a reason to stop. When you do know why, obstacles become part of the journey. The struggle doesn't disappear. It just loses its power over you.
One of the lessons aviation teaches quickly is that turbulence isn't necessarily a sign you're off course. Sometimes it's proof you're exactly where you're supposed to be. The pilots who succeed aren't the ones who never hit turbulence—they're the ones who know how to fly through it. Life works much the same way.
The reason I wrote *Leadership in Flight* is that I spent years believing the external struggle was the hard part. It wasn't. The real challenge was learning to manage my perspective, control my reactions, stay emotionally level under pressure, and keep moving forward when doubt showed up. That's what the book is really about—not leadership as a title, but leadership as a daily choice. The choice to keep the wings level when conditions deteriorate. The choice to trust your instruments when your emotions tell you otherwise. The choice to keep moving forward when turning back would be easier.
Every worthwhile destination requires both struggles. The external one gets your attention. The internal one determines your future. And nobody clears turbulence by pretending it isn't there. You clear it by knowing where you're going, remembering why you started, and continuing to fly the airplane until you reach the other side.
If you're in the middle of your own climb right now, I hope *Leadership in Flight* helps you stay the course. Because sometimes the greatest obstacle in front of us isn't the challenge itself. It's forgetting why we started the journey in the first place.
*Leadership in Flight: Your Flight Plan for Navigating Life and Leading Others with Clarity and Confidence* is available here: https://a.co/d/0dz5BtJy
