Play your own game.

Our profession is comprised of three distinct elements, the department, the crew and the indiviual. All three must synchronize to get the best results. When walking into the firehouse or responding from home, if you are not bringing your personal best the hierarchy will fail to a have foundation for success. We all must play our own game.

During grammar school, I dreamed of being a big league baseball player, more notably a second baseman. The Chicago Cubs were my team and I admired Ryne Sandberg. Every jersey number I wore was 23 as I mimicked his batting stance and his perfect fielding abilities. Tuning into every televised game my posture would follow his as he stood at the plate, to ensure my movements flowed with his. When it was time for practice and our games I stood ready with my equipment that he endorsed or used. At the plate in my "Sandberg Stance", a swing and a miss, and another, followed by another. What was I doing wrong? Surely, if this was the way #23 saw results it must be the best way for me as well.

在未来的几年中，我的梦想转向了音乐。吉他成为我的生活，并在乐队中演奏。就像我在打球时反映了最伟大的芝加哥幼崽一样，我希望像我最喜欢的乐队一样弹吉他。学习我练习几个小时的每个独奏和即兴演奏，直到我的手指上的老茧是生的。当是时候为我们的乐队写歌时，魔术没有发生。我们听起来就像我们练习的人一样。

Each of these stories are the exact same, results were not produced. For both my baseball and musician dreams, the fundamentals were exercised and understood. Baseball and playing guitar were activities I was good at, but my potential was not unlocked until I started to play my own game. In each situation, it took a mentor or coach to open up my understanding of my abilities. Swinging the bat like Sandberg was not how I needed to hit. Playing guitar like Metallica was not how my emotions came through. Being a mirror image of something or someone you are not, will find you minimal success. We all have strengths and weaknesses that must be identified and used to bring success to the team - our crew and department.

我国有许多大消防部门和消防员；他们之所以很棒，是因为他们是最好的工作。我一再谈论最佳实践。背后的推理是因为我们所有人都必须在我们所做的事情上是最好的。我们的情况，能力，教育，经验和观点是独一无二的。我们可能会分享类似的情况，但它们仍然不是我们自己的情况。对与错不能被用来定义对某些人有用的，而不是对其他人有用。有些人可能会说一些错误是全球性的。基于普遍真理和纯科学可能存在一些。归结为每种情况，我们必须使用最佳实践来应对我们面前的事情，玩自己的游戏。

A few weeks ago, a junior Firefighter asks me "What can I do to be the best firefighter?" My reply "Be the best you can be for the department." One must look at what can be done so that every time you walk into the firehouse you bring your best. When each of us does this, our crew will be at its best, which translates into our department being its best. Learn from others their best practices and apply those skills, knowledge and experiences to your own game, because when its 3 am and your faced with a working fire are you going to impersonate Sandberg - then swing and miss or are you going to hit it outta the park as yourself?