For those of you who have been members of the Afterburner Club for a while or have signed up for my free email course you will be familiar with my motivating words about the most important trait you need as a fighter pilot in the making:

Persistence!

You may have heard my stories about the recruit you wouldn’t accept that a failed eye exam was going to get in his way, or my use of the AIM-9 Sidewinder missile as an analogy for life.

I wanted to remind you all about the importance of persistence in your pursuit of a career as a fighter pilot and share a few more stories with you about fighter pilots who have persevered in the face of obstacles and in spite of them, landed themselves in the cockpit of a fighter jet, and into the career of their dreams!

This past March 8^th was International Women’s Day and the job of Fighter Pilot was one that was especially difficult for women to break into.

I recently came across a news story about women in Pakistan of all places having their first female fighter pilots.

Now while Pakistan may not be one of our allies, we can respect that for a woman to become a fighter pilot in a conservative Muslim nation must have been no small feat. The obstacles these women must have faced can only mean that they truly embodied the spirit of persistence that I am talking about.

I also recently wrote a bit about the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African American Fighter Pilots in the United States Air Force and the obstacles of racism that they had to face at that time in history.

Not only did these men overcome the discrimination of minorities at that time, they also became some of the best fighter pilots in the United States military during the Second World War.

Overcoming obstacles will not only allow you to achieve your goals no matter what, it will make you stronger along the way.

I am always looking for stories to keep you guys and gals motivated to push through the tough times, the obstacles, the negative people, and the hard work because I believe that you can achieve anything with PERSISTENCE!

If you have pushed through some tough times and made it, share your story with us!