Glad to Be Here

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160407-N-IR734-266 KINGSVILLE, Texas (April 7, 2016) U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, Lead Solo Lt. Ryan Chamberlain and Opposing Solo Capt. Jeff Kuss fly in formation during a photo opportunity at the Naval Air Station Kingsville Wings Over South Texas 2016 air show. The Blue Angels are currently celebrating their 70th show season and are scheduled to perform 66 demonstrations at 34 locations across the U.S. in 2016. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ian Cotter/Released)

In April I was able to attend my company’s sales incentive trip to San Diego for overachieving my quota targets. At the event, they brought in a speaker John Foley who led the Navy’s Blue Angels, the elite fighter pilots who perform extreme maneuvers in the air. John’s speech was very motivating but mostly humble.

Financial Glass - Blue Angels Cockpit

His motto around life is “Glad to Be Here” it sums up his humility, gratitude for life, and that there is always room for improvement. I read his short book (also named Glad to Be Here) that highlights how he leads his team huddles after a practice or performance. It provides a useful way to be vulnerable, recognizes quality performance, and continue to strive for improvement.

The idea is that there is a way in which we should reflect after a meeting, event, or practice in order to synthesize how well we performed. Being able to reflect and see what went well, what did not go well, and highlight ways to improve in the future is useful to ensure we don’t miss learning opportunities.

There is always an opportunity to get better and improve that the Glad to Be Here framework makes easy to understand. In addition to reflecting it is important to not be too hard on ourselves and recognize how far we have come. There is a tendency for humans to work really hard towards a goal achieve it then forget what all we have accomplished. A study was done on Ivy League undergraduate students who worked extremely hard to get accepted. Initially, there were very excited but after a semester or so the recognition of their improbable position wears off as the focus is on current problems and new goals.

Financial Glass - Blue Angels Formation

We struggle to give ourselves credit for all that we have accomplished to get to where we are today and recognize the good things in life. Glad to Be Here captures the essence of being both grateful and humble for your circumstances.

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