Tag: Successful Habits

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My Journey

Life Gems From A Boeing 777 Captain (Part 2 of 2)

This is the second in a series of 2 blogs in which I share my recent conversation with a Boeing 777 Captain of a major airline in the USA. The first blog was ‘A Chat With A Boeing 777 Captain’.

Annoyingly, I didn’t get a chance to record the conversation since it happened on a noisy, London Underground train.

Here’s what I’ve done instead. I’ve poured all the fragments of the conversation into a pile of words, on the screen, from memory, and have pieced them back together as accurately and as concisely as I could manage it. I hope you will find it interesting and insightful. I know I did!

CONTINUED

8. How often do you practice emergency procedures at your airline?

We have a 4-day training every year. The first 2 days are focused on the theoretical side and the last 2 days are in the simulator. 

9. What advice would you give to an aspiring pilot such as myself? 

Think of yourself as a 65 year-old, after you’ve retired, what experience would you be happy to look back on? Pursue that.

I have 2 kids, a boy and a girl. Something I tell my kids, although they are not interested in flying, and that’s ok, is that there are 2 kinds of people: those who ‘make life happen’ and those who ‘watch life happen’.

Pilots are not the kind of people who ‘watch life happen’, they ‘make life happen’. If you really want it, you’ll find a way to make your dream happen.

Something to bear in mind is that seniority is everything. If you know that the airlines are where you want to be, ‘pedal to the metal’, get there as quickly as you can. 

I have friends who came into the airlines 2 years later than I and they only just became captains, because of the crises that shook up the aviation industry. The more senior you are, the better the position you’ll be in, to ride all the ups and downs. 

There is so much you can’t control. It’s a tough journey, and you will face disappointments. You just have to keep going.

10. What disappointments have you had to push through?

I didn’t have any financial support form my parents. I had to take up a job as a waiter to start my flight training. Everything changed when I got into the military but until then, it was tough.

Disappointments come in different forms, everyone faces them. You ask anyone, in any field, and they will have faced disappointments. It’s just a part of life.

My Conclusion 

It was great running into Chip. I got a much needed boost from the conversation, even though I already knew what he was saying to be true. In particular, I’m thinking of what he said about ‘making life happen’.

People, usually those who are not in aviation, often suggest that I reach out to pilots to ask for help and support. As it happens, I do have access to airline captains and first officers, but the thought of asking for a hand-out makes me cringe.

I know that people suggesting this are on my side, and so they want my journey to be easier on me. However, from my point of view, there are many who would like that kind of support, and very few opportunities available; there are tough challenges and no easy solutions.

As such, I would rather build something, and hopefully it is something of value – hence the blog and the YouTube channel – than sit around, hoping a saviour comes along. 

Maybe I am wrong, and I just don’t know in what way I might be wrong. What I do know, however, is that no matter how big your dream is, no matter what little you have, you always have enough to get started towards that dream – whatever that means for you. Little steps amount to great distances, over time. 

Once you start moving towards your dream, and once you start making the most of whatever you have, you increasingly attract the opportunities that will help you along the way.

Until next time, stay safe and live your dreams.✌🏾

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Courage: How Fear Keeps Me Going

We admire people who are courageous. Better yet, we are inspired by them. They are giants in our eyes, whatever their physical stature. Even the smallest person can be a giant, a ‘force of nature’, if they are courageous.

What could you become, if you had a little more courage?

We could all do with a bit more courage. At least, I know I could. Anyone know any one selling courage in a bottle? I wish!…I don’t mean drugs. Although drugs can disinhibit us and give us a temporary ‘courage’ (if we can even call it that), it’s not always appropriate to be ‘under the influence’ and it certainly isn’t always healthy. I don’t think that the benefit of drug-induced ‘courage’ outweighs the costs.

Holding Back From Your Dream?

One of the biggest things that kept me from starting off on my dream of become a pilot was fear. How paradoxical then that one of the biggest things that made me finally pursue my dream of becoming a pilot was fear.

Fear can keep you from trying new things, from expressing yourself fully and from making yourself vulnerable. However, fear isn’t only an inhibiting force. It can enable you to run faster than you ever have, jump higher than you ever thought you could and endure far more than you ever have.

I’ve had the dream and hope of becoming a pilot, for as long as I can remember. That was the carrot. It was calling me forth, to an adventure unlike any I had ever embarked on. Interestingly, I didn’t do much about it. I stayed in my comfort zone, waiting to pursue my dream at a more convenient time.

What Will Happen If You Don’t Try?

What sprung me into action was the development of a new, more powerful fear than that which held me back. Instead of being shackled by the fear of what would happen if I went for my dream, I was pushed by the fear of what would happen if I didn’t.

I realised that life could actually pass me by, that I could spend another another 6 years, and then another, and another, and never get any closer to my dream.

I became afraid of being an old man and having my dream turn into nothing more than a bitter regrets. I became afraid of living a life of insignificance, doing everything other than the very thing I’m most passionate about.

I am afraid of becoming the kind of person I would become, if I were to allow fear to shackle and keep me from the righteous pursuit of living my dream. That person is neither the kind of person I would admire, nor the kind of person I would be inspired by.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting that fear is the best fuel or motivator to get anyone to their goal. Hope is a powerful, sustainable and enduring force.

I’m just saying, if you must fear, fear what would happen if you didn’t pursue that which you know to be the most valuable pursuit, even in your own estimation.

Live your dreams. After all, is there anything better to do?

For more on how I’m getting on with learning to fly, check me out on the YouTube.👊🏾

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Keep The Main Thing The Main Thing

Don’t spend major time on minor things.

Jim rohn

One of the mantras that has kept me focused this week is, “keep the main thing, the main thing”. When I shared it with colleagues in the staffroom, during our lunch break, my mantra was met with a, ‘huh?’, along with an expression like that of a cow staring at a new gate. Hopefully I can do better this time around.

Aviate. Navigate. Communicate.

As a student pilot, there is so much for me to learn and it is easy to become task saturated in the cockpit – having much to do and not much time to do it in. Of course, I have my flight instructor with me, but only for now. At some point, it will be all down to me. As such, it is important for me to be able to separate what needs to be done immediately from what can wait – I must prioritise. If I don’t, I could easily end up a statistic. 

Everyday, we are thrown into numerous situations requiring us to navigate an insane amount of choices and arbitrate between competing priorities. We encounter people who have their own agendas and if we are not careful, their agenda inadvertently becomes our agenda, and before we know it, we are further away from our goals and desires.

As a student pilot I have to learn to fly the aeroplane, to navigate and to communicate with the appropriate Air Traffic Service Unit. Inevitably, there are times when these 3 priorities clash. I might find myself in a position where I am lost, not in complete control of the aircraft whilst also being required to respond to a call.

There are 3 really important things to do in this situation: fly the plane, fly the plane and fly the plane! It cannot be overstated. If I lose control of the plane and find myself plummeting to the ground, navigating and communicating become somewhat irrelevant to my outcome.

Identify Your Goal In Any Given Situation

“If you aim at nothing, you will hit every time.” 

Zig Ziglar

One of the great things about the mantra I have been using is that it prompts me to identify what my true priority is in that moment. This was particularly useful when I was frustrated due to feeling like things were not going the way I wanted them to go. As such, I realised I didn’t have to win every single battle and have everything go my way. I only needed one specific thing out of my day, out of my interaction or whatever situation I was in. 

Consider what you are doing now. What is your goal? What is the main thing? You may have to wrestle with your goals and desires a while before the true priority reveals itself. Your priority, your main thing, will differ with each situation. It might be to listen, to think, to plan, to simply get started, to create a terrible first draft, to be playful, to be yourself, to save money, to collect data, to support, to rest, to learn something new or to progress, and so on.

Distractions are everywhere, available free of charge. Some distractions are clear, while others come in a disguise. Like cunning thieves, distractions can steal your resources – time, money, energy – and leave you further from your goal. To give yourself the best chance of reaching your goal and living your dream, make sure you keep the main thing, the main thing. 

The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.

Stephen Covey

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The Challenge of Being Imperfect, With A Perfect Imagination

You never realise just how pathetically unskilled you are at something until you get started. Sure, there are times when your innate abilities and previously attained skills will carry you through, but most of the time when you are truly broadening your horizons, you’ll find yourself in the land of uselessness. At the very least, this seems to be true in my case. But, does that mean you should stop? Does that mean you can’t learn?

One of the greatest challenges of being human, I think, is the fact that we are imperfect beings with perfect (or arguably naive) imaginations. No one ever imagines themselves being useless, least of all when they are mentally, emotionally, physically and financially invested in achieving a righteous goal.

Sure, people hold back at times because they feel they won’t be any good. However, when we decided to go for something, and invest everything that we have and everything that we are into a goal, we rarely ever imagine ourselves being shockingly terrible at it. If we did, we just wouldn’t do it.

I had one of those ‘shockers’ not too long ago during one of my flying lessons. Sitting on the left-hand seat, in the cockpit of the Piper Pa28, my instructor asked if I was ready to make the initial radio call. I had never made a radio call to an Air Traffic Service Unit before, but I had practised over and over, before the lesson, just in case. Needless to say, when the time came to deliver the good, I completely butchered it! (See for yourself: My RT Call Fail)

I was slow. I didn’t give all the necessary information. My read back was incorrect. I even used the wrong callsign at the end; a great way to crown an amateur radio call. It’s one thing to master it on your own. Delivering the goods in the moment, under pressure, with lots of other things on your mind at the same time, that’s something else. That, I certainly didn’t do.

You might say I am being harsh with myself. You’re right! Of course it was amateur attempt. What else did I expect? What were the chances that it would be professional level, at my first attempt? It isn’t failure that is a surprise, it’s success that should be baffling.

“You will never improve at something you haven’t started.”

Future Pilot Niner One

It is far easier to see the bigger picture when you are looking into the frame, as opposed to standing in it. When we are the ones in the hot seat, it is much harder to be charitable to ourselves, and yet it is necessary. It is the challenge of being an imperfect being, with a perfect, or arguably naive, imagination.

It is easy to stay within the limits of your comfort zone. There, you are a great success with consistent victories. Beyond that, everything looks foggy, uncertain and chaotic. However, despite others being impressed with you, you might find yourself haunted by the idea that you can do, achieve and be more.

To realise the potential buried within you, you must go beyond your current comfort zone – carefully, methodically but certainly. Beware! The more that you venture beyond the bounds of your current capabilities, the more you expose yourself to the possibility of failure and the discovery of your current inadequacies, in light of your goal.

As much as you might imagine yourself being perfect in your process of growth – not making the dumbest mistakes along the way, always feeling motivated and ‘up for the task’, taking 2 steps forward and no steps back and people always having your back and so on – the real world doesn’t conform to your imagination.

Besides, there is something far more real and more important than trying to live up to the perfect and perfectly illusive conjurings of the imagination, it’s called ‘progress’. There is something more satisfying, it’s called ‘effort’.

I am encouraged by the words CT Fletcher who says that there is victory in knowing that you did all you could do. I am encouraged by the words of Jordan B Peterson when he says, “Just because you have faults doesn’t mean you have to stop. Just because you have faults doesn’t mean you can’t learn.”

Remember that when you venture, even tentatively, beyond your comfort zone in an attempt to become something more than what you currently are. Your mistakes reveal where you are now, allowing you to more accurately plot your path towards what you could be.

The path to success is paved with many failures – even the kinds of failures that we never imagined. Every failure is an opportunity to learn. Every lesson learned unlocks further progress. Every bit of progress means we are truly closer to our goal, when compared to where we started.

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Why Do Something That ‘Sucks’ Everyday?

“You can have more than what you’ve got, because you can become more than what you are.“

Jim Rohn

Ever had a nice, hot shower on a cold winter’s morning? Ah, the feeling is like no other. Twisting and turning as you scramble to send the streams of water cascading down every part of your body, leaving you with that warm, fuzzy feeling.

Ever turned the tap to ‘cold’ by accident? Oh it sucks, right?! (to borrow the concise and accurate American phrase.) What, then, would posses a man, such as myself, to intentionally turn the tap cold? Why is it important to do something that ‘sucks’ everyday?

I grew up dreaming of becoming a pilot from an early age. After years of procrastinating, I finally turned that dream into a goal and started this amazing here adventure. (See about me.) A mental transformation was necessary to make progress possible. Doing something that sucks everyday contributed massively to my mental transformation.

“Unless you change how you are, you will always have what you’ve got.”

Jim Rohn

Life’s Unchangeables

Love it or hate it, like it or lump it, there are some things in life that we just can not change. I don’t have to be prophet or fortune teller to know that we will face diverse trials and challenges, throughout life. I consider this, one of life’s unchangeables.

We may not know the nature, the scale and the duration of the challenges to come, but we know that they will come. No amount of protesting, voting or detesting can cancel that truth. Just look at the current sitch with the vid virus.

The Bottomless Questions

Consider these questions. How much potential do you have? What are you capable of achieving? If you really put your mind to it, what could you become? How will you become more than what you currently are? I grapple with these bottomless questions everyday. Can you relate?

What Will You Become?

There is a huge difference between facing a challenge, and being faced with a challenge. The former makes you stronger, more courageous and a force to be reckoned with. The latter makes you smaller, weaker and more pathetic.

Psychologists say that the moment you decide to willingly face your challenges, you reduce the stress response and activate the exploratory circuit in your brain.

There is a world of difference, psychologically, between accidentally turning the tap cold, and experiencing the same thing as the result of an intentional decision.

Intentionality takes you out of ‘reaction’ and into ‘action’; out of the role of victim and into a position of power. Note: Just because you are a victim doesn’t mean you have to play the role of victim.

Why Should You Do Something That Sucks Every Day?

1. It Is Good For You. Whatever you do should take you beyond the bounds of your comfort zone and bring you a bunch of benefits, all at the same time. See some examples below.

2. It Increases Your Mental Toughness. Overcoming a healthy, mental challenge everyday will help you build mental toughness and resilience. If you are reading this, you’ve probably lived long enough to know how necessary those qualities are.

3. It Makes You More Fearless. At one time, I left letters unopened for months, for fear of the ‘demons’ that would jump out, so to speak. Now, I look forward to negotiating whatever problems pounce out of the envelopes. Well, at least I do most of the time. The difference is stark, like night and day.

In completing your daily, self-directed challenge, you learn that you are the kind of person that can confront challenges and overcome them, despite dread and discomfort.

4. It Sets You Up For The Day. The challenge is a great way to gift yourself a win, right at the start of your day. Start your day as a courageous conqueror and establish a positive pattern for success.

5. It Increases Your Trust In Your Ability to Develop. As your challenge gets easier and easier, because your mind is getting tougher and tougher, you realise that you are the kind of person that can get better, stronger and tougher, with time.

Examples: My Daily Challenges

Cold Shower for 10+ seconds, after a warm shower. It really wakes me up and raises my energy level to the roof. You should definitely try it if you struggle to be ‘awake’ in the morning.

Running, whatever the weather. I started off with a five minute run and built up to a 2-mile daily run, before going to work. I do this 5-days every week. It gets the body going and oxygen circulating, among many other benefits.

100 pushups and sit-ups, to maintain my strength during lockdown. Over time, I have been able to complete the challenge in fewer sets (although this can fluctuate).

Waking Up Early. I haven’t found anyone who is successful in the same kind of way that I want to be successful, who wakes up after 7am. Being up early allows you to do the productive things you need to do for you, before the world places external demands on your time, energy and other limited resources. (See ‘How To Waste Your Time More Effectively’)

Reading/Listen to a Chapter a Day. Success is simply the result of applying good ideas everyday. In taking in those good ideas, written by people who overcame challenges of their own, you equip yourself with the tools to overcome your own challenges and build your own success.

Giving Up My Bed. No more ‘lay-ins’. Giving up my bed and sleeping on the floor or on a recliner armchair for a year was great for my back but it also meant that when it was time to get up, it was time to get up. There was no bed ‘calling my name’ anymore.

Writing. I am writing this sentence at 6.44 am, on Thursday 25th February 2021. I have been writing first thing every morning this week. The aim was to wake up at 5am everyday. I failed at times but the writing was not negotiable so I compromised other things to make sure I still got it done first thing. (See ‘Why You Should Be Enthusiastic About Failing’)

Note: My routines generally apply 5-days in the week. I throw the rule book out of the window on ‘rest’ day and use the next day to get back up to speed with a minimally structured day.

“Keep your commitment to your commitment.”

Les Brown

In conclusion…

Doing something that ‘sucks’ everyday is one of the keys that helped me unlock progress towards my childhood dream, after procrastinating for a decade.

Isn’t it amazing that something so simple can have such a deep, dynamic impact on your mind, your character and therefore, your future. It’s the same kind of amazing simplicity that is packed into a small seed which grows into a much bigger tree, and bears much fruit.

It’s not the things we do occasionally that have the greatest effect, but rather that which we do every single day that disproportionately impacts our destination in life.

Remember, there is a huge difference between facing a challenge, and being faced with a challenge. The former makes you stronger, more courageous and a force to be reckoned with. The latter makes you smaller, weaker and more pathetic over time.

Never allow challenges to face you without you facing them, as best as you can. Start your practise by doing something that ‘sucks’ but makes you stronger and better, on a daily basis.  

“In life, we don’t get what we want. We get what we have to have… We don’t get our ‘should’, we get our ‘must’“.

Tony Robbins

What do you do to improve yourself everyday?