“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. There might be a lesson here for high-flying super-cool insta-pilot …
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 one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself …
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 and unmistakable touch of love and pride beyond mere skill; …
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. The quote is from his submission to the 2014 book …
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. It’s not up on a shelf still in its bubble …
Sooner or Later
“If you’re going to go to the Moon, sooner or later you’ve got to go to the Moon.” Flight Director Glynn Linney, summing up the rationale for the Apollo 8 ‘go’ decision, NASA meetings, 1968. Quoted in the 2019 book Shoot for the Moon. This was a huge decision, a quantum step from Earth orbit flights. Apollo 8 was the …
It Seemed the Aircraft was Almost …
“As we took to the skies it seemed the aircraft was almost an extension of his body, carving its way over the water and through the air as if it already knew what inputs came next.” Niki Britton, describing pilot Aaron Singer flying a seaplane over San Francisco. AOPA Pilot magazine, October 2024. It’s what good flying looks like.
Die Doing What I Love
“I definitely don’t want to die doing what I love. But I want to live doing what I love.” Eric Tucker, in the amazing video short 26,000 Days. Watch it here: https://vimeo.com/925195981