May 10th, 2026 by Mike Manazir – (4-5 minutes)
Leaders learn perseverance the hard way.
How do ordinary people achieve extraordinary things?
In Navy flight training, one of the most important milestones for a naval aviator is carrier qualification. It’s the moment when a student pilot proves they can safely land on an aircraft carrier repeatedly.
After my sixth and final landing aboard the carrier in a TA-4J Skyhawk, I heard the words every student pilot hopes to hear:
“110, Paddles. Congratulations, you are a qual.” I was ecstatic.
After my final catapult launch, I flew back to NAS Key West over the emerald waters of the Gulf doing aileron rolls the entire way. I didn’t fly straight and level once.
I was on top of the world.
When I landed and shut down the aircraft, one of the instructors walked up to me.
He was known as a joker, so when he said, “Manazir, the LSOs called. You’re a disqual,” I assumed he was teasing.
He wasn’t. Every one of my approaches had been too fast and outside the acceptable limits. My qualification was revoked. I was devastated.
I called Kelly and told her what had happened. She cried with me because she knew how important it was.
If I didn’t pass carrier qualification, I would never earn my Wings of Gold.
For several days I walked around in a fog.
Eventually I was told I would get another chance—but I would have to wait until the next class reached the carrier qualification phase.
That failure became one of the most important lessons of my life.
Until that moment, I believed that if you worked hard and had a clear goal, success would follow.
But that’s not how life works. The path to success is paved with setbacks and disappointments.
Winners simply refuse to quit.
Months later, I returned to the carrier landing syllabus. This time I had something I didn’t have before—experience with failure. I had learned from my mistakes.
When the day came for my second attempt, I launched from NAS North Island and flew out to USS Constellation, with a tiny bit of trepidation but bolstered by confidence. You are ready for this!
Two touch-and-goes and six arrested landings later, I had done it. No confusion. No doubt. I was qualified. And I was a far better pilot because of the failure that came first.
That moment reshaped how I looked at success. Sometimes the best thing that can happen to you is failure—if you are given the chance to try again.
Perseverance transforms setbacks into stepping stones.
When leaders demonstrate perseverance:
• Teams learn to push through adversity.
• Failures become learning opportunities.
• Creativity increases as teams seek solutions.
• Confidence grows during difficult challenges.
• Leaders earn respect for their determination.
Perseverance is contagious. When a leader refuses to quit, the team follows.
Here’s the bottom line: Extraordinary achievements rarely happen on the first attempt.
They happen after setbacks.
They happen after disappointment.
They happen when someone decides to try again.
Perseverance is what turns failure into progress.
Early in my flight training, I placed a sticker of an F-14 Tomcat on my helmet demonstrating to everyone that I was going to fly Tomcats someday.
I stayed focused on that goal.
Today, I have more than three thousand flight hours in the F-14.
You don’t fail when you stumble.
You fail when you stop trying.
Want more powerful leadership lessons from Mike?
- Begin leading from the heart: Order Learn How to Lead to Win | The Manazir Maxims | Leadership Study Guide for Manazir Maxims
- Book Mike to Speak or for 1:1 Executive Coaching
P.S. Know someone trying to build up their people and lead with heart? Forward this to them. It might be the encouragement they need to keep going.
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Let’s lead to win together,
Mike Manazir
Retired Navy Rear Admiral | Bestselling Author | Keynote Speaker | Executive Coach