This place will be my attempt at getting some ideas out there and express myself while working on some projects including a book on Leadership. I have some strong opinions on what it means, what it should be and what it isn't. We'll get into it as we go along...this may take some time.I also have a love of Classic Cars and my present focus is on our old workhorse, a Jeep, specifically the US NAVY JEEP. This version of the tried and true vehicle that made victory possible in War & Peace wasn't given as much credit as it should have by historians.
As a Seabee, and one who spent the majority of his Navy service in the desert, I thought that someone should make sure that the Navy Jeep got some recognition....so I used that as my logo and call sign. I am presently restoring a 1963 Willys Jeep in Navy style & colors....I'll share some of that with you later also.
The "Gray Goat" has been my nickname around the homefront for many years, so it fits....I hope to share some stuff with you and I hope you share with me.....
Here's something to start.... An example of one of my heroes, Senator John McCain. I have met him on several occasions and he is the kind of Leader that sets himself apart for all the right reasons. In 1999, he was awarded the Profiles in Courage Award by the JFK Library in Boston for his political courage. What set him apart that evening were the words he used in his acceptance speech which outlined how he viewed his own weaknesses and how honor plays into this aspect of Leadership. (We will cover Honor later on as it is a very important part of Leadership)
Senator McCain spoke these words and I have dedicated my life to living up to his standard;
“ I wish I could pretend to you and to myself that my efforts were comparable to the courage with which I have seen many good men live and die, and whose inspiration has given me heart in difficult times. But I cannot. For my actions are less a profile in courage than a profile in shame. When I was a young man, and all glory was self-glory, I responded aggressively and often irresponsibly to anyone who questioned my honor... But as I grew older, and the challenges to my self-respect became more varied and difficult, I was surprised to discover that while my sense of honor had matured, its defense mattered even more to me than it did when I believed that honor was such a frail thing that any empty challenge could threaten it. The courage of the living and the dead taught me that. They taught me to dread dishonor above all other injuries. "
Remarks delivered by U.S. Senator John McCain, recipient of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award Ceremony, May 24, 1999.
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This is our starting point - we'll move forward from here
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