I used to think my destiny/legacy lay in having been an officer and fighter pilot, - Nicole Malachowski

It was the unconscious bias," she said. "What was coming out were the cultural paradigms of the U.S. Air Force at that time, and the expectations about what I should or should not be doing. I removed that application and said, 'You're right, I'm so sorry for bothering you.'"

What happened is, we did it over and over until I got it right. It was the right thing to do by our customer and client [the audience on the ground]. My teammates helped me from a place of kindness and commitment,” she says. “It’s never beneath any of us to offer help, too.”

The runway behind you is always unusable; all we ever have is the runway in front of us.