Every Valley Shall Be Exalted,
And Every Mountain and Hill Made Low.
The Crooked Straight, and The Rough Places Plain.

from Handel’s Messiah – ref. Is. 40:4

On a recent hike, I hit a hill.

For about a ¼ mile, a relatively steep grade of between 15-20% presented itself. I was not aware that it was there before I started out. At this point, I was several miles in from the trailhead — about halfway through the hike. No turning back now. So, I set a pace, found a cadence and began to climb the hill.

As the photo shows, it was beautiful. Clear skies, fresh air – but: that hill. So, I trudged on. Then, I remembered a story.

In his book It Worked For Me, the late Secretary of State, Gen. Colin Powell, relates the story of how unfortunate circumstances led to an outstanding opportunity for he and his soldiers. I’ll let him tell you in his own words:

“Late one winter’s night in Korea after a very tough week of field training, my battalion of five hundred soldiers was waiting for trucks to take us back to our barracks at Camp Casey, twenty miles away. Word came down that we had a fuel shortage, and no trucks were coming. We had to march back that night. The troops were exhausted, but we saddled up and started marching cross-country.

After we launched, Captain Skip Mohr reminded me that we had an outstanding requirement to make a forced twelve-mile timed march to qualify our troops to participate in the Expert Infantryman’s Badge competition. He had plotted it out on the map; we would be twelve miles out in about 30 minutes.

‘“Let’s pick up the pace and go for it,”’ he told me.

We paused just before the twelve-mile point, took a ten-minute break, loosened our winter clothing, and then went for it, over some terrible hills. It was tough going. I wasn’t sure I could keep up with these younger soldiers. But I pushed it, and so did they, magnificently. At the last mile, we could look down at the lights of Camp Casey. We fell into step and marched into camp in the middle of the night singing out a cadence and waking up everybody in the camp.”

And Gen. Powell’s payoff:

It was a great night. We had demanded a lot from our soldiers. But we had prepared them, we believed in them, they believed in us, and we had the confidence and optimism that they would succeed.”

So, MaJoVTA Members:

• While we don’t have any hills to climb, or a twelve-mile forced march ahead of us, we do have the15-week Spring 2025 Vocal Training Term before us.

And if you’ve trained with me any length of time you already know the following:

• The bar for MaJoVTA members is set high. I do not accept everyone who asks for Vocal Training. And I demand a lot from those I do accept.
• But I do my best to prepare you with regular training.
• And the website and other materials are also yours to use and train with – 24/7/365.

Most importantly:

• I believe in you. And let’s keep it simple and honest: if I didn’t think you could do it, you wouldn’t be here.

I also know you believe in me as well, or you wouldn’t “keep on keeping on” as they say.

Instead, you’d just move on…

But you haven’t.

Thank you for that: the trust that you place in me as your Vocal Trainer.

And my bottom line?

I have the confidence and optimism that you will succeed in the 2025 Spring Term.

Now: what do you intend to do with it?

M

#2025ishere
#dothereps
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