Roosevelt Field.....7:52 am

....excerpt from my message sent to the company this morning...

"Life without risks is not worth living" - Charles Lindbergh

It was on this day at 7:52 am in 1927 that Charles Lindbergh, a relatively unknown airmail pilot was about to make history and become one of the most famous men of the 20th century. His Spirit of St. Louis airplane was loaded with fuel and barely cleared the trees and telephone wires at the end of the runway. This would be the first solo transatlantic flight from New York to Paris. Several years prior, a wealthy NY Hotelier, Raymond Ortieg offered a $25,000 award for the first solo flight across the Atlantic from NYC to Paris - either way. Many famous and experienced pilots had attempted the solo flight and failed, several disappeared forever never to be seen again after takeoff. This was a dangerous challenge and the entire world recognized not only the gravity of the feat, but also the importance of achievement.

At times Lindbergh grazed over turbulent storm clouds at 10,000 ft and other portions of the flight he was skimming 10 feet above the Atlantic waves. He had reported that to stay awake for the 33 hour flight he would hold his eyes open, try to close one eye at a time, open the window and put his hand out to pull in the cold air to rush over his face, and said that in his exhausted state he hallucinated many times ghosts flying into the cockpit. Lindbergh flew through rain, sleet, and at times blindly for hours through fog. Over 100,000 Parisians greeted Lindbergh when he landed and carried him around the field for hours. He had achieved the impossible.

Charles Lindbergh had persistence, grit, and belief in himself. Many said it was not possible because so many had tried and failed the solo flight challenge.  

Team, I love reading about those that refuse to quit, push through the impossible and overcome all obstacles. Everyday, we are closer to our goal of providing our Accuryn technology to the world. You are stronger today than you were yesterday. You know more than you did last week. You are prepared and ready for each and every challenge you face because of the experiences you have had to this point. You and this team together are doing the impossible and I love it.  

Relish in this moment and realize how special this is to be on a team that will push medicine forward with our clinicians by our side. All of these challenges, and each and every time you have overcome them sometimes through individual growth and other times as a team, each one of these experiences is special. Those hard and difficult moments have made you stronger today and prepared you for greater challenges that are in front of you.  

It is something that you will crave in the future beyond your days at Potrero and that feeling you may not be able to define today is something you will try and recreate after Potrero. That feeling is the process of winning, but not just winning. Winning is a moment in time...usually a single moment. What you have today is the struggle and the experiences of overcoming the struggle to achieve that win. It is the struggle that hardens you and prepares you for more. It is the struggle that you will work to recreate in the future. It is the team that you are working with and overcoming the challenges one by one that you will forever remember. Be present in the moment and realize how incredible this time is for you and how lucky we all are to be here today with each other as we embark on the incredible journey we are on.

Have a wonderful day!!

ALWAYS FORWARD!!!!!

Joe

This is a series of articles based on the daily letters that I write to my company (slightly modified - company specifics removed). My hope is to share some positive thoughts that gently push the world toward positive thinking and encourage many to achieve their fullest God-given potential