Challenge and Adversity in Life and the Workplace

Sometime in September of 1984, I was on the circuit course at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina. We were running the end of first phase Physical Fitness Test. Like most significant events and tests during Marine Corps Boot Camp, failure did not end your time on the island. It sent you back to the beginning to try again. I ran my three miles ahead of the required time and maxed out my sit-ups. But now I was faced with the daunting thought that I needed to pass the pull-up part of the course. I dreaded this. I was six foot and 180 pounds. I was not particularly athletic, and I certainly had no history of being exceptional at upper body strength. In the first phase, the minimum acceptable pull-ups were three. (It would increase with each phase but for now, three was the goal).?I waited my turn, anxiously eyeing the bar as each recruit mounted the bar and completed the task. Finally, it was my turn. Drill Instructor Sergeant Paramore had selected me and another recruit as his personal project. He had instructed us that every time we saw him to immediately begin doing Mountain Climbers, a three-part exercise that was particularly grueling in the summer heat of South Carolina. Eventually, it would make us hard as nails, but not on this day. Finally, it was my turn, and I eyed the bar. Paramore started yelling and I did my best to block out the noise as I jumped up and mounted the bar. Three, I said to myself. You can do it. Three. Slowly I pulled, once, twice, three times. I tried for a fourth but whether I had only prepared myself to do three or simply could not do more, I dropped to the ground awaiting the command to move on. It did not come. Instead, Paramore stood with the brim of his cover touching my forehead and yelling at me as to why I did not give him his three pull-ups. What followed was a classic and cliched circular argument that began with “Why did you not give me my three pullups?” “Sir, the recruit did three pull-ups, sir” followed by “So you’re calling me a liar?” “Sir, no Sir.” This went on for several rounds until it caught the attention of the training officer, an enthusiastic young Lieutenant, who began the circular argument all over again until presumably they both got bored. At this point, the Lieutenant informed me that the only way to solve this question was for me to remount the bar and do the task over again. Panic set in. I did not want to fail but I barely did the first three pullups. I had no idea how or confidence that I could do it again. I mounted the bar once more, this time not only under the scrutiny of Paramore, but the Lieutenant, both standing on either side of me, hands on their hips yelling. I pulled. And then I pulled again, and again, and again. I tried for a fifth and got part of the way there but dropped to the ground. I stood at attention and waited and finally, the command came. With an outstretched hand, palm facing outboard, Paramore screamed at me to get away from him as fast as I could. I had passed. It wasn’t a big win. It mattered little from a physical standpoint. It certainly did not impress anyone. But it was a win. It was a win of mind over matter. It was a win of discipline. It was a fear of failure that caused success. It was a fear of failure that caused the extra effort to do it one more time. It was an important lesson, one that served me well during my thirteen years in the Marine Corps, helped me work through the injuries that caused me to leave the Marine Corps early, and has reminded me how to handle challenges and adversity, tough obstacles, and deadlines and commitments. Paramore may have hated me or maybe he just picked me because I needed extra attention. Either way, he left a lasting impact on me that I carried with me through the rest of my time in the Marine Corps, my time as a graduate student at Norwich University, and throughout my career. Face each challenge in life as an opportunity to grow, learn, and improve. Our motto at Norwich is "I will try." Never fear a challenge and never give up. It is not only the physical challenges in life that build us but overcoming the mental challenges that truly build the strength of character. I have many memories of my time in the Marine Corps, but it was that particular moment in time that was the moment I realized I could do anything if I simply set my mind to it. Semper Fi.?God Bless.