Recently I had lunch with a good friend of mine Joseph Turbin of  http://Joseph-Turbin.com .  Joseph and I are both pilots and in addition to talking about our blogs and MLSP we covered personal interests including flying. It was a very enjoyable lunch. On my way home I realized one of my flying stories had a wonderful lesson hidden inside.

So, here it is for you to enjoy.

When I was first learning to fly, part of the licensing process included a “check ride” similar to a driving test. You have an oral exam with the FAA examiner. You then go fly the plane and demonstrate your proficiency in several maneuvers and emergency situations as directed by the examiner.  This is a very difficult test and many would be pilots have to study and practice for many months or even years to get their license. In fact you need a minimum of forty hours of  flight instruction just to qualify to take the test.

The exam was scheduled for the day before I was leaving for a summer in Alaska.

I took the oral exam and we took off for the check ride. I was put through the paces including the situational awareness test which in this case had me blindfolded and then spun around until we were in a dive pointing straight at the ground! I was able to react appropriately and save the plane, whew

So now for the landings, there are two.

First you do a short field landing and then a regular landing.  As I was doing the last landing I came up a little short. We hit the ground just before the pavement, the main gear catching the lip of the runway and slamming the nose to the ground. Now this is not a terrible crash, but it was technically a crash and the plane had to be examined afterward.

As you can imagine, I didn’t pass!

My examiner was quite kind. He told me everything was great until that last landing and since I was scheduled to leave the next day for Alaska, he was willing to let me retest later that day after his afternoon examination of another student.

During our debrief the examiner explained what I did wrong and what should have been done differently. Turns out my instructor had not fully taught me all the things I needed to know about landing. So instead of retaking the test that day, I chose to go to Alaska, take a few more lessons with a different instructor and then retest. I told him I didn’t want to be a pilot, I wanted to be a GOOD pilot. He was delighted with my choice and told me so.

I subsequently went to Alaska, finished my lessons and obtained my license without further issues.

Now for the lessons I learned.

First, each failure, when taken to heart, is another step toward success. So never stop trying. Learn from your mistakes. Keep focused on your goal.

Second, do not settle for mediocrity. Always strive to do your best and never tell yourself  “that’s good enough” when you fall short of your goal. Stay true to yourself and make it happen the right way.

DREAM BIG! Never settle for less. Keep focused on your goals and don’t except NO for an answer to those dreams.

I hope you found this helpful. Please share if you did. All comments of any type are certainly welcome. Oh, and have a SUPER day!

Life is made up of a series of experiences. Each one will make you stronger, even though it may be hard for you to realize it at the time.

Life is your classroom in which you’re being tested, tried, and formed. Always try to stay in the midst of life and activity. Get involved, don’t isolate yourself from the action. Who you are, your character, develops itself in the stream of life.

The setbacks and hardships you endure guide you in your march forward to success. This world is here to develop your character.

Life expects you to make progress in reasonable time. That’s why those elementary school chairs are so small.

That’s why the world is so BIG!

“I found every single successful person I’ve ever spoken to had a turning point. The turning point was when they made a clear, specific unequivocal decision that they were not going to live like this anymore; they were going to achieve success . Some people make that decision at 15 and some people make it at 50,and most people never make it all.”
~Brian Tracy~

“Don’t just be good enough today. Be Great everyday!”Rodel Natividad Casio

“Most people don’t affect Reality in a consistent substantial way, because they don’t believe they can. They write an intention and then they erase it because they think that’s silly. I mean, I can’t do that. And then they write it again, and then they erase it. So, time average, it’s a very small effect. And it really comes down to the fact that they believe they can’t do it.”

~William Tiller, Ph.D.~

“Our subconscious minds have no sense of humor, play no jokes and cannot tell the difference between reality and an imagined thought or image. What we continually think about eventually will manifest in our lives.”

~Sidney Madwed~

“Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.”

YOU HAVE TO THINK BIG
TO BE BIG

High achievement always takes place in the framework of high expectation.

You will always hit what you aim for,
So why not aim high?

Have the courage to follow your dreams.
It’s the first step towards attaining your destiny.

If you can dream it, you can do it.
If you don’t have a dream, how are you going to make it come true?

The empire of your future resides in your mind.
Big thinking precedes big achievement.

“All of us were meant to be happy and successful. Life is more than a two week vacation once a year. It is, and can be, exactly what you want it to be. There are no limits except those you put on yourself.”

~Thomas D. Willhite~

Why waste energy, focus on solutions!