How to Get to the Top

It occurred to me the other day that "getting to the top" is pretty tough to do when the times are good.

I don't spend much time in front of the TV if the Spurs aren't playing but one of my favorite programs is "Band of Brothers" that aired on HBO right around 9/11. I received it on DVD a couple of Christmases later. It's fantastic. It's about Easy Company, part of 501st Airborne Infantry in WWII. It follows the company from the beginning, when they formed the division and companies, to the end of the war. During this time the central character, Lieutenant Dick Winters, goes from 1st Lt to (if I remember correctly) Major Winters. He didn't do it because times were good. He sacrificed his leadership and rank many times, he put his life on the line and survived. He led well, inspiring his men not by pushing them, but by pulling them up after him. And through attrition -- he went from platoon leader to head of Easy Company because his CO died on D-Day -- ability and sacrifice, he rose all the way up. If there were no battles, if it was all easy, he would have ended the war where he started, perhaps with a promotion or two, but he never would have made it as far as he did without the ability to shine during the tough times.

So, now, it at least appears our country is in a bit of a pickle. We are driving big cars and gas prices are through the roof. That's a small problem. Some people made bad decisions in taking home loans they eventually couldn't pay back. China seems to have most of our IOU's -- and as a country we have plenty of IOU's. It's kind of like most of our personal accounts. There isn't any real room for error there. But these are the good times. These battles and struggles will allow you to rise up and promote yourself from wherever you are to wherever you want to be. You won't get the chance to radically improve where you are in life if it's all E.Z. But there will be hemorrhaging, of confidence, of money, of stature. If you are steady and consistent and make good choices, your sand castle will be the one that still stands when the waves recede. Crack open your Bible, all you need to know to hold steady in tough times is in there.