“A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between work and play; labor and leisure; mind and body; education and recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is …
New Rich Stowell Podcast
Great stick and rudder discussion from a master instructor who has over 35,000 spins in 240 something single-engine airplane types. Forty years of flight instruction yields some valuable insights: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/sportys/episodes/Stick-and-rudder-skills-for-modern-pilots–with-Rich-Stowell-e3km35h “I’m still learning. It’s a never ending process.” Questions include which control turns an airplane? What would you change in …
Hemingway on Work
“He was going to work on it until he got it. Maybe never, but he would know as he got near it. It was a job. Maybe for all his life.” Ernest Hemingway I’m going to keep working on flying. It is work. It is a job. I may never …
Pilot of the Month
“Do everything with a mind that lets go. Do not expect praise or reward.” Ajahn Chah The picture is AI generated, because I don’t have a Pilot of the Month coffee cup! And what awards I have received over the years, I’ve (mostly) thrown away. Flying well is the reward. …
Why Bother?
”You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but …
Mastery is the Best Goal Because . . .
“Mastery is the best goal because the rich can’t buy it, the impatient can’t rush it, the privileged can’t inherit it, and nobody can steal it. You can only earn it through hard work. Mastery is the ultimate status.” Derek Sivers, How to Live, 2021.
What Good Pilots Consistently Do …
“What good pilots consistently do is perfect their foundational skills. They practice — they live — on airmanship. It’s courtesy, consistency, and core competency.” Darren Pleasance, new President and CEO of AOPA, in Pursuit of Excellence, AOPA PILOT magazine March 2025.
There is Something Beyond …
“The attainment of proficiency, the pushing of your skill with attention to the most delicate shades of excellence, is a matter of vital concern. Efficiency of a practically flawless kind may be reached naturally in the struggle for bread. But there is something beyond — a higher point, a subtle …
Armstrong’s Last Presentation
“Like that of Ulysses, each of our lives is a miniature Odyssey, going to new places, seeing new things, understanding new ideas, and each day penetrating the biggest unkown of all: tomorrow. For each of us it should be, and can be, an exciting voyage. Buen Viaje!” Neil Armstrong, 2011. …
Not up on a Shelf
“I want to live everyday all days as hard as I can. We party hard, we love hard, we jump hard because we’re reminded way too often that it can end like that. We’re very aware of how precious life is. What a gift it is. So we use it. …