No secrets

"There are no secrets to success. It is a result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure."

~Colin Powell, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff - and later, Secretary of State. After a Stunning victory during the first Gulf War

This quote jumped off the page when I first read it in Never Fly Solo. I instantly started thinking about how this is so true in every aspect of life. Whether it's school, sports, getting a girlfriend, or flying. Take college football for example athletes watch film all week on the upcoming team, usually anywhere from 3-5 hours a week. Preparation. They spend summers and off seasons working in the gym getting stronger, more in shape. Hard work. After every game every play is evaluated and graded, the plays that you got wrong are talked about in meetings and adjustments are made for the following week. Learning from Failure.

This quote also made me think about how it related to flying and instructing. As an instructor it is my responsibility to prepare the student, kind of. I am responsible for assigning homework, study items, things to do to prepare for each lesson. If I don't do that I'm not giving my student a chance to prepare for the lesson properly and fairly. Now it is up to them to take it upon themselves to actually come do the work and come prepared.

Flying is hard work. Sure, flying is meant to be fun but to be proficient requires hard work. You aren't just within commercial standards the first time you try a steep turn. It takes practice, work, sometimes it won't come easily to your students. But don't let them give up, find new approaches to teaching/executing a maneuver.

I've learned a lot from failure, and like to let my students fail at things as well. Think about it, which landing do you remember more? The one you greased in or the one you screwed up bad and thought you were going to go through the runway? Which one did you learn more from? As an instructor you need to let your students make mistakes, so they can learn from them. I will always let my students make mistakes, as long as it doesn't put us in a dangerous situation.

Siouxpilot