Play to Win in 2010!

In my younger days, the fighter squadron was like a second home. We spend a lot of time there getting ready for missions, discussing tactics and the usual camaraderie you may find in a no estrogen zone. Each squadron had many briefing rooms, a common area, a vault with all the secrets and most importantly a bar. I can still remember a poster hung in a cheap frame that stated, "Attitude is not everything, It is the ONLY thing." Next to it was a picture of the F-15 with a quote from Manfred von Richthofen that stated "The duty of the fighting pilot is to patrol his area of the sky, and shoot down any enemy fighters in that area. Anything else is rubbish."

One of the things that establishes the aviator in a category among some of the most skilled and accomplished has to do with a process discipline that is sustained by a winning attitude. In fact, many of the most successful people of all vocations share these common traits. Doing the right thing fueled by an uncompromised passion is the breeding ground for success. What are your passions? Have you compromised your dreams? I challenge you to play to win in 2010! Take those dreams and ambitions off the shelf, dust them off and get after them. You will grow personally while attracting talent and resources to your cause.

What's on your bucket list? Renew your child like faith. Who would admonish a child for claiming they wanted to be the President, a Police Officer, a Fireman, or even a fighter pilot? Yet, as we grow older we lose sight of those ambitions and somehow placate ourselves living paycheck to paycheck. What's out there for your taking? A new rating? Start a flying club? Renew your CFI? Buy a newer airplane with all the bells and whistles? Fire your boss? Time Freedom? More community involvement? If you do not like the cards that you have been dealt, demand a reshuffle and a new deal.

People are risking their lives every day to become part of the American dream. I find it ironic that in the amount of time we commiserate with our neighbors about how screwed up our government has become, an immigrant has launched a nail salon on the street corner and turning a profit. Much like what happens in a storm, one can become snow blind. Many of us have become opportunity blind in the land of opportunity.

Here's the great news! We all have a choice on how we handle life circumstances. It's called attitude. Since I left the corporate world where I was advised to color inside the lines, I have found an abundance of opportunity in arguably the worst economy since the great depression nearly one hundred years ago. I have discovered businesses that allow you to work from home with no start-up cost, earning well over $200,000 on a part time basis (less than 20 hours a week). I have discovered opportunities that monetize any set of skills. Whether you want to wear a suit or shorts, pay $20,000 to start a business or start with nothing, work full time or part time, you can get it done if you choose.

I'll be the first to admit that money is not everything, but it does rank right up there with oxygen. Seriously, the reason I took a stab at the money angle was because it frees your mind to think clearly. Once you are not worried about paying the bills, free thinking reduces stress and gets the creative juices flowing for even more abundance. Let me illustrate with a simple exercise I learned from Keith Cameron Smith, the author of Top 10 distinctions between Winners and Whiners. I think most would all agree that for a balanced life you need to be strong in 5 key areas. 1. Faith 2. Family 3. Friends 4. Fitness 5. Finances. Stick out your hand and assign the first four to each of your fingers. Assign Finances to your thumb. Notice that your thumb, Finances, can touch all four of the other critical areas!

Do yourself and everyone around you a favor this year by performing an attitude tune up. Start dreaming again and begin living the life you were destined to enjoy. Discover what puts a smile on your face and live your dream. I hope that your passion somehow intersects with the general aviation community. The business model needs an overhaul. I paid more for the oil change in my Escalade than I do for an oil change in my airplane. Actually they did rotate the tires and spend $50 of my money to tell me I had a short in the 12 volt receptacle that I told them was not working. It was another $115 to actually fix it. The point is that automobile labor and airplane labor pay scales are bass-ackwards. The aging flying community is not recruiting more pilots than they are retiring. For the first time the Air Force graduated more pilots assigned to a cave flying a joy stick commanding an UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) than flying jets.
Together we can make a difference in an industry that has so much to offer. Play to win in 2010!