I decided I was going to do some things that scared me, just to prove I could, and the first thing was to become a private pilot.
As most of you know, I was a consultant in the aerospace industry, traveling around the country for ten years. One of the rules for that travel was that we could go anywhere we wanted on the weekends, as long as the ticket cost was equal to or less than the cost of going home.
So one year I was working in the winter in Wisconsin and it was wickedly cold -- I remember the thermometer hit -15 degrees F. Yikes! And I smoked in those days too so going outside to put hot smoke in your lungs at that temperature was an adventure all by itself!
Anyway,
one weekend I had to get away from the cold so I booked a weekend to Cat Island. Cat Island is a tiny 'gilligan-esque' location in the Caribbean. To get there at the time, you had to take a puddle jumper airplane from Nassau.
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Cat Island - Bahamas |
And because the island was so remote all goods and services had to be flown in too, so I caught a ride on one of those small transport planes.
In hindsight and knowing what I know now, I should never have gotten on that tiny plane. It was a two-seater and the back was full of chickens, food, and two extra people. In fact I had to sit with my back to the windscreen because that's how crowded it was.
If you know anything about center of gravity, you can pretty much guess that the weight and balance for the plane were way out of whack! But we got there safely and what I remember most was how beautiful the sea looked beneath the plane as we flew over at a low altitude.
The view was completely different than flying in a commercial plane. It was awe-inspiring with the turquoise water and occasional puffs of white caps. That view is what inspired me to be a pilot.
The one thing I'm not telling you is that I used to be afraid to fly. When I first became a consultant and had to travel, every trip to the airport was agony. Eventually I overcame that, but again, flying as a pilot in command (PIC) is completely different from strapping yourself into coach and ordering a cocktail.
I kept thinking about learning to fly, so as soon as I finished the project in Wisconsin, I started flying lessons. I took those lessons at Van Nuys airport -- which, as it turns out, is the busiest general aviation airport in the world. Or so it was at that time!
In fact, I was told later that if you earned your license out of that airport, you could rent planes anywhere in the world. Apparently, if you can fly there, you can fly anywhere!
Ah, ignorance is bliss. I had no idea. Like most wild-hair ideas I get, I plunged in with both feet and did no research or gave any thought to one airport over another. I got all my gear, hired a flight instructor and off I went!
Learning to fly was a good news/bad news sort of experience. On the good side, it is exhilarating to be PIC and to steer a plane with your feet and understand all those instruments. And it is thrilling every time you land a plane by yourself.
On the bad side, I got airsick every time I got into the plane.
I have a terrible equilibrium, poor depth perception and even worse balance. All of which are awful qualities in a pilot! But I persisted, taking lessons every day.
I got the mechanics down pretty quickly but I could not, for the life of me, land that plane smoothly. The plane I flew was a Cessna 172; a two seater high wing aircraft very similar to the transport plane to Cat Island.
Day after day I tried to land that plane. Either I would porpoise* or slam into the ground. I was in tears most days due to frustration, but I did not give up.
Two things happened that changed everything. One -- my instructor asked me if I could ride a motorcycle. When I asked why, he said riding a motorcycle would improve my balance.
So of course I immediately bought a Harley (no joke!). I took the California CC Rider's class -- barely passed the driving part and considered myself a motorcycle driver. In fact, I could drive that Harley and even do a circle in a cul-de-sac without putting my feet down -- but that's another story!
The second and more important thing that happened is I bought a video from the King School. The video was titled 'Perfect Takeoffs and Landings'.
I watched it twice and then when I went to my lesson the next day, I asked the instructor if we could go to Palmdale airport to practice. Palmdale averages 25 knot winds (28-ish MPH) and if I could manage to land there, I figured I could land anywhere.
The first few attempts were abysmal. Still bouncing, still hitting too hard. And then on the third go around, I started visualizing what the video said. The key being -- you have to fly the plane all the way to the ground.
What happened? You guessed it! A perfect landing with the stall warning going off just as the wheels touched down. And every landing after that was the same. Perfect!
When I got back to Van Nuys and made another perfect landing, the guys in the tower cheered! They learn, from your voice, who is who and they'd seen me out there day after day. And that means they saw me struggling to land. They were as happy as I was when I finally figured it out!
All during my physical flying lessons, I was teaching myself the ground school part of flying. That's all the education -- the rules and regulations of flying. I thought air space would be the death of me -- three dimensional, overlapping and invisible! But I finally got it.
The lesson in all this is that visualization can truly make a difference in your life. I visualized the perfect landing and was able to do it. I visualize bringing in new clients and new opportunities and they show up. I visualized the perfect place to live -- and here I am.
And I visualized the perfect life partner -- and he showed up. He did take his sweet time about it though!
Visualization isn't really magic, although it feels like it. To create the impossible takes work. I like to say we make our own luck because I believe that to be true.
Luck comes when you make the decisions and choices that help you down the path toward your goals. I wanted to be a pilot and after 40 hours of training, I did my first solo. I earned a VFR pilot's license despite my flawed equilibrium.
In fact I believe it is possible for anyone to achieve anything they set their mind to do. The key is having a plan and working that plan. And the bigger the goal, the smaller the steps need to be.
It is easier to accomplish small steps than it is to leap across a canyon. Thirteen years ago I set out to build a company -- and here we are: successful, growing and... my biggest prideful moment... we have a great reputation for customer service and doing the impossible.
I visualized it from the start and it came true. And you can too. No matter what your dream. See it, believe in it, and do the work. It will happen!
By the way, when it came time to take my pilot's written exam, it was also time to renew my driver's license and take the written motorcycle test. So.... Because I absolutely love a challenge, I scheduled all three on the same day.
No kidding -- I took all three exams on the same day and I am happy to share that, of course, I passed them all (or there would be no point in telling you! Hahaha)
Until next time, what is your dream? Have you ever tried visualization and if so, has it worked for you? What is your particular brand of insanity?
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