Most of us can remember where we were on September 11, 2001. In my case, I had a wonderful weekend (September 9th and 10th, 2001) in Calabasas and Oxnard, CA away from the city. And then waking up to the tragedy the following Monday morning. Tuning into the news and watching the 2nd jet crash into the 2nd World Trade Center Tower was awful. Hearing of another crash at the Pentagon and then the crash in Pennsylvania made it seem that the world had gone mad.
What transpired in the weeks and months ahead was an effort to get those responsible for this horrific tragedy. One that will live in the minds of those that witnessed directly and those that kept their eyes glued to their television sets all day and night. Eventually we all learned of who was responsible for this. A terrorist group known as al Qaeda had committed this act and it was headed up by a person known as Osama bin Laden.
Our country was joined in by other countries to find this person and take him out if necessary. This proved very difficult to accomplish. For many years we worked with many operatives and captured members of this terrorist organization to no avail. Sure, our people in the military was able take out some high-ranking members, just not the #1 guy.
It took continued learning. It took making mistakes. It took what is known as a Can-Do Attitude with persistence. We finally found the right people to work with and locate Osama bin Laden. The gathering of the right intelligence was important. That work was not done overnight. Intelligence work never is. Many times it can be frustrating for those involved. And then the right set of circumstances from the work will come into play. Patience in making it work is important. Patience and persistence carried the mission to the final play. The mission to kill Osama bin Laden played out perfectly finally.
What can each of us learn from this?
Yes, we can bring back a sense of National Pride. I believe that we can carry this through other areas of our lives. If you want to celebrate, do it. More important, use this to have your own Can-Do attitude with persistence. Never give up on your dreams. If you make a mistake, so what. Learn from your mistake and then make adjustments.
If a plan doesn’t work the first time, doesn’t mean that you should give up. Maybe you need to find the right people and go a different direction to get the results you want. If you continue on your journey towards a worthy goal, eventually you’ll claim success. Remember, it didn’t happen overnight. Many will believe that. You know what it took to reach your goals, your dreams.
It took Persistence and a Can-Do Attitude!