An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Commentary: Go Get My Axe

  • Published
  • By Maj. Wayne Leneau, Jr
  • 315th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron

Somewhere in a small city where there are far more trees than there are people, there is a man who woke up with his back against the wall. 

He woke up to the sobering reality that he had a number of goals to accomplish and a limited amount of time to do so. With what seemed like an insurmountable number of trees to chop, he could still hear the words of his doubters.  Those who said:

“You should’ve never left your home town;” “You weren’t cut out to be a logger;” “Your brother was always much better than you.”

Those words echoed in his mind with an incessant resound as he rose from his sleep and reached for his axe. The sun is far from up. His doubters are still asleep as he raises his axe and begins to chop. 

This isn’t the first time that he has felt this pressure. He has been here before.  After his first few chops the tree doesn’t budge. Despite this reality he continues his consistent chop. As he begins to see the wood chips fly, it is reassurance to him because he knows that it’s consistency that will assist him as he chases his goal.  

Like a man inspired, he continues to chop as the tree begins to buckle under the force of his swing. As he hears the tree snap he knows there’s only one thing left that he can do. He wipes the sweat from his brow and at the top of his voice yells “TIMBERRRRRR!” as the first tree bows down to the force of his will.

Much like that lumberjack, we all face challenges that may seem insurmountable as we pursue our goals. The voices of our doubters and of our past try to drown out our attempts of changing the narrative. They try to negate each step we take towards rewriting our future. However, like that nameless man, we must say to our haters “Go get my axe!” and don’t stop swinging your axe until they hear you yell “TIMBER!”