PPSA Keynote McCormick (CONT’D FROM PAGE 22)
Not only did she not fail, her application to the Penta- gon for one of two available spots in the entire country was accepted. “If I had known there were only going to be two spots in the entire United States of America, I probably wouldn’t have been so confident in my situation,” she said. “But what I really learned from experience is that we’re not
“I didn’t have to know ‘the how’ to believe it was going to happen, I just needed to believe it was going to hap- pen,” she recalled. “I was not in my ‘comfort zone,’ I was in my ‘potential zone,’ where I truly believed that it could happen.” That potential zone, that area of true belief in one’s self and one’s mission, is where McCormick believes business leaders need to be. She shared the story of how she went to the Army re- cruiting office and told the officer there that she wanted to join the Warrant Officer Flight Training Program – she’d already done her research – and was promptly told, “You can’t do that.” McCormick responded with another message for any- one who’s ever been told, “You can’t.” “Anytime you are faced with a ‘can’t,’ you have a choice: you can listen to that message or you can believe in your- self, in your abilities and in your situation. So I asked the question, ‘Why not? What’s standing in my way?’” As it turns out there were multiple things standing in her way, like having perfect eyesight, being in peak physical condition, having a college degree, and possessing lead- ership skills. But she “checked all the boxes,” overcame all the objections (of a male-dominated military hierarchy) and was accepted to the eight-week training program her superiors expected to fail.
always meant to know all the obstacles and our odds at achieving success. It really has to come from your vision.” Belief In Your Vision McCormick imparted a bit of psychology: “If you believe something is hard, it will be hard. If you believe something is easy, it will be…not as hard. Because what you believe CONTINUED ON PAGE 26
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