You Didn't Skip The Line, You Prepaid! (Part 1 of 4)

Send us a text

In this soul-stirring episode, B-Hawk delivers a raw and reflective message for every HTM professional who's ever felt overlooked, underestimated or unseen. Inspired by a moment at an airport gate, he draws a powerful parallel between boarding a flight and walking through doors in your career, not because of luck, but because of legacy.

If you've ever questioned whether the long hours, missed moments or quiet sacrifices were worth it, this episode will remind you: you didn’t skip the line, you prepaid. With grit. With grace. With consistency.

Tune in and walk away with renewed confidence in your path, your preparation, and your purpose.

Big thanks to our podcast partners: College of Biomedical Equipment Technology, A.M. BICKFORD, INC., UptimeServices, PM BIOMEDICAL AND GMC Healthcare Solutions. Your support keeps the HTM mission alive! 

Support the show

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to another episode of HTM On the Line.
I'm Brian Hawkins Sr.
And this episode will be alittle bit different than the
previous HTM podcasts.
This episode isn't just a story, it's a reminder.
A word for every HTMprofessional who's been grinding
behind the scenes wondering ifanyone notices you didn't skip

(00:23):
the line you prepaid.
Grinding behind the sceneswondering if anyone notices you
didn't skip the line you prepaid.
Now this will be a full-partseries, starting with part one.
Right now.
Let this one hit you where itneeds to.
Let's get into it.

(00:48):
I was flying out for aconference not long ago, got to
the gate early, sat downheadphones in, just waiting.
Now, if you've flown before,you know that waiting game.
You scan the crowd, you checkyour watch.
You try not to zone out toomuch.

(01:09):
That day I noticed somethingright before boarding started.
The vibe shifted.
You could feel it.
People were tense, voices gotsharper, body language changed
and then I heard theannouncement the flight was

(01:31):
oversold.
Now, if you've ever been inthat moment, you know it gets
real.
People start calculating theirimportance out loud.
I have to be on this flight.
I booked this months ago.
I got meetings in the morning.
One guy was pacing, another wascalling customer service right

(01:55):
there at the gate.
I just sat back and watched.
Then a gate agent called mygroup.
I stood up, calm, calm, walkedup, handed her my boarding pass.
She scanned it beep, the dooropened.
No drama, no tension, no debate.

(02:16):
I just walked through.
Now here's what hit me.
Some folks probably looked atme like I got lucky, but they
didn't know.
I bought my ticket months ago,I planned ahead, I paid the cost
, I showed up on time and thatright.

(02:43):
There is a word for somebody inHTM, because some of you are
starting to walk through doors,starting to get recognized,
starting to be elevated, andpeople are whispering why them?
How'd they get in?

(03:04):
Who chose them?
How'd they get in?
Who chose them?
But what they don't see are thenights you stayed past midnight
troubleshooting a ventilator.
The weekends you were on callwhile your kids were at the park
.
The dinners you missed thestress you swallowed the prayers

(03:25):
you whispered when no one elsewas listening.
They didn't see you in thebreak room with your head down,
wondering if this work evenmattered, wondering if the only
time someone says your name iswhen something goes wrong.
They didn't see the pressure,the training, the impossible to
please standards goes wrong.
They didn't see the pressure,the training, the impossible to

(03:47):
please standards, the equipmentthat didn't care if you were
tired, if you were grieving orif it was your day to be off.
They don't know that you didn'tskip the line.
You prepaid.
You paid with consistency.
You paid with consistency, youpaid with sweat, you paid with

(04:10):
humility.
You paid with every singlemoment.
You refused to quit.
And just because someone else ispanicking at the gate doesn't
mean you need to, because you'vealready got your boarding pass,
you've already been cleared fortakeoff.
So walk in peace.

(04:31):
No need to explain yourself, noneed to shrink, no need to
justify the favor on your life.
Just sit in your seat and don'tapologize for where you're
going next.
Let me say that part thereagain Don't apologize for where

(04:51):
you're going next, becausehere's the truth.
You didn't hustle your way in,you honored your way in and
honoring the process.
That's what give you access.
See, in healthcare technologymanagement, we're often behind

(05:13):
the curtain, we're not the oneson the commercial, we're not the
ones getting applause in thelobby.
But make the mistake.
But make no mistake.
When a device fails, when alife hangs in the balance, we
show up.
We show up in silence, we showup under pressure.
We show up because it's notjust a job, it's a calling.

(05:37):
And I want to speak to everyB-Med, every tech, every manager
, every unsung hero out there.
You may feel unseen, but youare not invisible.
You are essential, you areimpactful, you are chosen for
this work.
So keep showing up, keepstaying ready, because

(06:02):
opportunity doesn't knock forthe unprepared.
And you, you're already packed,you're already cleared, you're
already assigned to your nextdestination.
Let them talk, let them wonder,let them question why you're
being elevated.

(06:23):
They don't know what it costs,but you do.
You didn't skip the line, youprepaid.
So as I sat in that window seatwatching the ground crew move
below, I thought about all of usin HTM, all of us who fixed the
equipment and the culture, allof us who carried the pressure

(06:47):
without praise.
And I smiled because, no matterwhere we're flying next, we're
not just passengers, we'repurpose driven professionals
with tickets paid in full.
So go ahead, take your seat,buckle up and don't look back.