I have a bit of an Air Force history lesson for you all today. This doesn't really have anything to do with HR per say, but it's a very uplifting story that I hope will inspire some of you the way it inspired me. When I was a brand new airman, I was given the opportunity to attend an AMC wide conference in Florida. It was my first conference and, left to my own devices, I attended all of the presentations that I could so I could confidently say that I had made the most of my time there. I can't say there was a day at that conference that I didn't enjoy, but I think one of the best experiences, was getting to hear about and meet Gail Halvorsen, the Candy Bomber. For those who don't know, during the Berlin Airlift in 1948, Gail Halvorsen - a young lieutenant at the time - became known for dropping candy and chocolate attached to handkerchiefs from his aircraft to the children of Berlin. He began using his own rations, then cajoled others in his squadron into letting him use theirs as well. When word spread back home to America, people starting sending candy overseas and Halvorsen enlisted several other pilots to help him in dropping these candy bombs for the children. It's such a simple thing, really, giving candy to children who are suffering during a time of war. But it had such a profound impact on those children's lives and the lives of their families. This selfless act of giving up his own rations - a little taste of home and sweet memories - helped to instill hope in the lives of so many who were living without it. Getting to meet the retired Colonel, who was 99 at the time, make an impact on me too. I may not have the opportunity to touch so many people's lives on the same scale that he did, but it inspired me to find ways to spread kindness - no matter how trivial - to others both in my personal and professional life.

Let’s be honest, staying motivated isn’t always easy. Whether it's your personal life or at work. Some days motivation comes easy, other days, even the simplest tasks can feel insurmountable. So, how do we stay motivated on those hard days? For me, I try to find ways that I can genuinely make a difference. Like giving a hand to a coworker who's working on a difficult task, or something as simple as bringing in coffee or donuts for everyone to start everyone's days off with a smile and a treat. Knowing that I’m playing a part in creating a friendly, supportive work environment keeps me going, even when things get overwhelming. But I’ll admit, there are days when work feels heavy. On those days, I lean on small wins—like checking off an item on a to-do list, learning something new, or simply knowing that I’ve helped one person feel heard. What about you? What keeps you motivated, and how do you push through the tough days? I’d love to hear your experiences!

Never trying, though? That’s a different kind of pain. It creeps up on you years later when you look back and realize you didn’t take the chances on things you truly wanted to do. Failure is temporary, but the regret of not trying sticks around for a lifetime. What will hurt you most is waking up one day, wondering "What if?" Instead, let’s focus on pushing through and trying, even when it’s scary or difficult. Action: Take one step today towards something you've been putting off. Whether it's a small task or a larger goal, make that move. Don't wait until tomorrow—start now.

I've worked in a lot of different environments in my time. I started off working in sports bars, then moved on to work a couple other service industry jobs before I joined the military. Not a single one of those jobs did I ever work alone. I was always part of a team. So what does it mean to be a "team player"? To me, it means more than just showing up and working well with your coworkers. My time as a host really solidified my identity as a team player. The job of a host might seem trivial at first glance, all they do is seat people, right? But really, the hosts control the whole flow of a restaurant. My favorite part of the job was learning my waitstaff. Lauren tells me she really needs to make enough in tips to pay her rent by the end of the week? Well, that works great because Jon just broke up with his girlfriend and asked me to skip him every other rotation so he can go cry in the walk-in freezer. I used fake names but that did actually happen. I had one server tell me that he was never worried about busy nights when I was working because he knew if he got overwhelmed, he didn't have to come to the host stand and beg for me to find a cover. He usually didn't even have to ask for a cover because if I saw him stressing out, I already knew that if I sat his section, I would need to ask another server to handle it. I hadn't realized how big of an impact I had made on him until he told me. But that moment, I understood what being a team player really was. Being a team player, especially in a fast-paced, high-stress environment like a restaurant, is so incredibly important. To me, that means looking out for your coworkers; understanding that everyone is coming in to work with their own set of struggles and finding ways to help them bring their best even on their worst days. So, what does it mean to you to be a team player?

As someone who's spent a majority of my working life at the bottom rung of the ladder, I've experienced lots of different leadership types. My first manager was such a kind man and was always looking out for all of his employees. Working in the restaurant industry, I often felt like my managers didn't have my back when a customer complained, even if I hadn't done anything wrong. But he handled those situations with so much grace, resolving the customers issues without throwing any waitstaff under the bus. When I look at all of my past experiences with managers, the ones that stood out as being the strongest leaders, were the ones I could trust. They were dependable. If you did a good job, they recognized you; if you messed up, they called you out and showed you how to do better; if they messed up, they owned up to it. Now, that's just from my personal experience. I want to hear from you all. Do you have any managers you worked for who were strong leaders? What about their leadership stood out to you?