Myths and Mortals

Chapter 10The Inner LightA plan to illuminate a successor's path

Greg Bush was grounded.

He had been flying A-10 fighter jets for the United States Air Force for seven years out of the Academy when his father, Jack Bush, recruited him to work in the family business, Linwood Mining and Minerals Corporation, one of the largest limestone mining operations in the United States. The transition from sky to underground was a challenge. Greg wasn't used to slowing down from Mach speed. Can I be self-actualized doing this after the nonstop adrenaline rush?

The question immediately made him think of Moose.

Moose was Greg's boss in the Air Force. He told Greg that he would be courted by all sorts of people in the Air Force. “When they come at you,” Moose said, “tell them one thing: ‘Moose says I'm here to fly jets.’” Following his boss's advice, Greg concentrated on being great at his job and subsequently became the youngest instructor pilot, and one of the youngest evaluation pilots, in England: “I did what Moose told me to do, focused on flying, and considered anything else a distraction.”

Moose's good advice then was good advice later when Greg entered the family business. What helped Greg learn to fly helped him learn the mining business. Greg says his plan was simple: “I looked for the place with the biggest problems and learned the system.” He figured out what was wrong and how to make it right. He dug in as deeply as he could for the first two and a half years. He followed the rock ...