This past week at the TNCPE (Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence) conference, several of us heard my friend David Jones tell the story of his recent challenging experience. You might have heard it, too, as it was aired on multiple media platforms in-state, nationally and internationally.

The short story is that he was travelling from South Carolina to Johnson City for his daughter’s wedding. He was determined to walk her down the aisle.

The challenge? Hurricane Helene had just stormed through and left washed-out bridges and debris fields between him and his destination. He walked through the night, and against all odds and through many challenges, he made it to the church on time.

David also shared many lessons with the group, along with the goals and objectives that got him through the night and to his destination. His experience had me wondering why some folks pursue and achieve challenging goals while other folks stand by and never make the attempt.

David Jones was prepared to take some level of risk to walk his daughter down the aisle. Diedre Wolownick, mother of Free Solo climber Alex Honnold, climbed El Capitan at the age of 71. She said the determining factor of success is “How bad do you want it?” David really wanted to NOT miss this occasion.

David had many detours, got stuck in the mud, had to climb through brush and debris that piled up, and had to backtrack several miles because of a washed-out bridge. He found comfort in the thought that in doing so, he was able to pass important information along to others, including emergency responders, to help others navigate the challenging situation.

Many of us have heard President Boyd say that we need to set our professional goals “somewhere between the probable and impossible.” David related that there were a few times he thought he would have to resort to "plan B” and go down the aisle virtually via smartphone and Facetime. Resiliency sometimes requires finding other options to achieve our goals.

David’s story is full of lessons for professional and everyday life. His persistence, perseverance, determination and focus on achieving his goal give us food for thought from a leadership perspective. How do we achieve our goals in the face of uncommon difficulty? That’s something to think about as we L.E.A.D.!