Monday, February 11, 2019

What Makes a Fighter Pilot - From Deep Survival By Laurence Gonzales

The rigid person is a disciple of death - from the Tao Te Ching


Laurence Gonzales : Psychologists who study survival say that people who are rule followers don’t do as well as those who are of independent mind and spirit. When a patient is told that he has six months to live, he has two choices: to accept the news and die, or to rebel and live. People who survive cancer in the face of such a diagnosis are notorious. The medical staff observes that they are “bad patients,” unruly, troublesome. They don’t follow directions. They question everything. They’re annoying. They’re survivors.

He's the kind of person who, when you tell him something, he gets it right away. He's a good athlete. He's competitive. He can stand up in front of a hundred people and speak on something he doesn't know about. He'll just do it. He won't hesitate. He's a creature of habit and a perfectionist. (a fighter pilot)

(LG was born in 1947 in St. Louis, Missouri and grew up in Houston and San Antonio, TX)

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