“Ordinary things, consistently done, produce extraordinary results.” —Keith Cunningham
A Mission in the Night
As I pushed the throttles forward, commanding 50,000lbs of thrust out of the afterburning engines, the jet leapt forward and lifted into the pitch black sky. It was 1am and my flight of two F-15E Strike Eagles were tasked with destroying a hideout used by the enemy to store information and weapons. The mission that night presented an unusual challenge because the hideout was nestled in a narrow twisting ravine.
Attack
The flight from the base to the target area was uneventful. The stars were breathtaking that night; the Milky Way Galaxy brilliantly spanned the entire night sky. As we checked in on the radio, it was clear that the operation was a go. All permissions had been granted, and now it was a matter of double checking the attack parameters and waiting for the time-on-target (TOT) to arrive. On this particular attack, a precise time had been set for the weapons to impact, adding a layer of complexity.
Soon, the time arrived. I gave my wingman one last brief on how to expect the attack to happen, what communications he could expect to hear, and what formation geometry we would employ to ensure a simultaneous impact of our six collective bombs. At two minutes prior to the time-on-target, I issued the “target direct” call. At that point we turned both jets toward the hideout and executed our final checks on the weapons, timing, and target locations. Then, without a word, we released our weapons. One second before the TOT my first bomb detonated, immediately followed by the other five. Through my night-vision goggles I counted each detonation, ensuring all six weapons hit their targets. What remained of the hideout was completely obscured by dust and debris as we called in the weapon impacts.
My flight successfully achieved our mission objective that night, but the story above is only 10% of the picture. 90% of the success from that night can be attributed to work done before take off.
What do I mean by that?
90% of success happens before the game even starts.
To use a sports analogy, consider olympic gold medalists. 90% of the conditions for their victory were set even before arriving at the games. Years, likely decades, of training and hard work happened prior to their demonstrations of athletic dominance. During the events they expend instantaneous effort (10%), but they also draw on the experience gained in years of practice (90%).
In the case of my combat mission, it took four years of rigorous training to reach the point where I could lead a flight of Strike Eagles in combat. Similarly, my wingman had years of training under his belt. The military intelligence that found and tracked the location and activity of the hideout was crucial to the success of the mission. In the hours after receiving notification of the mission, we began an extensive mission planning session in preparation for the flight. My mission crew, with the help of many others, studied the terrain and orientation of the targets to determine the optimum attack geometry, weapons trajectory, and bomb fuzing required to destroy the hideout.
Finally, before we put on our harnesses and walked out to the jets, I briefed my crew on exactly how we would fly the mission from takeoff through landing. We discussed how we would arrive in the target area, and how to find the hideout and target it to our weapons. Then we talked through how we would fly the attack, making sure the weapons would impact exactly at the TOT.
Meanwhile, a fleet of maintainers had worked all evening preparing the jets for takeoff, loading the correct bombs on the aircraft, and ensuring that every system was in working order.
Without any one of these pieces of preparation, the mission could have failed.
Why does this matter?
It matters because everything you are doing right now is preparation for what is to come. Only the final 10% of your efforts are seen and recognized by others. Overnight successes do not exist. A successful military operation is the culmination of years of training, millions of dollars of equipment, and thousands of hours of intelligence gathering and mission planning.
Olympic athletes rigorously train for years, compete in trials and qualifying events, and spend hundreds of hours studying their craft before donning their county’s colors. Your favorite music artist did not start singing or playing instruments yesterday, but likely has been honing their craft for years.
Malcolm Gladwell popularized the “Ten thousand hour rule”, stating it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert [1]. Whether there is truth to that exact number, the concept rings true. It takes many years of hard, focused work to become highly successful in a specific field.
What do you want your future to look like?
What is your dream job? What work doesn’t feel like work to you?
What you are striving after matters, but what matters most is that you begin putting in the effort right now. Set the foundation. Lay bricks every day.
Author and speaker Keith Cunningham sums this up succinctly:
“Ordinary things, consistently done, produce extraordinary results.”
So begin today. Get to work. Begin building the path to your dream. Work with consistency and watch for brilliant results.
Conclusion
Generally, the toughest part of any venture is getting started. Jumping into the unknown takes courage. As Keith Cunningham said above, consistency is the key to achieving results. If your goal is getting physically fit, you need to consistently eat right and exercise. If you want to write a book, developing a habit of writing every day will propel you toward a published book. In my case, successfully completing the strike mission required consistent training over many years.
5 ways to get started and ensure you stay consistent:
- Find a coach
- Begin a month challenge with a friend
- Join a mastermind
- Be a mentor for someone and find a mentor for yourself
- Utilize the Seinfeld Chain
Remember, 90% of success happens before the game even starts.
Get after it. Live on purpose.
