I'm prouder of my pilot's certificate than I am of my diploma from the University of Wisconsin. So let's get THAT out of the way. College was an easy joy ride for me, a blur of parties and angst.
Learning to fly, on the other hand, was something I wanted to do my whole life, and I had to bust my ass to do it. I didn't get the chance to fly until I was 35, when I finally put all the puzzle pieces together (and had a boss who was a pilot himself, who kept kicking me toward the FBO.) I had two little kids underfoot, a wife working part time, and a house payment, when that opportunity finally presented itself. It was the worst possible time to do it -- but I jumped, because I knew I would never get another chance.
How has it changed my life? It would be easier to list how flying has NOT changed my life. When I earned my ticket, I was a mid-level manager in a newspaper, with a little money left over from selling my first business.
Since that job didn't provide the income I needed to pursue my newfound addiction -- and "addiction" is an accurate descriptive term -- just a few years later we moved to Iowa and I founded a company that distributed periodicals all over the state.
This business provided the income and rationale to purchase our first airplane -- and we've never looked back.
Would I have done any of that without the impetus of flying? No way.
Then, in 2002, thanks to a variety of things coming together in my life, (and thanks to the input of a lot of people who hang out here), we purchased our first hotel, up in Iowa, and started down the long road of creating a pilot's dream destination hotel. For the next 8 years, we traveled the country, accumulating artwork and memorabilia for our aviation themed hotel.
Then, in 2010, we discovered this wonderful island, and decided to create ANOTHER pilots destination hotel here. This has kept us busy ever since.
NONE of this would have happened without flying. None of it. I would still probably be a mid-level manager at a newspaper...somewhere...struggling to survive in a dying industry.
Instead, I'm living the "glamorous" 24/7 life of a small businessman
(I'm still working as I type this -- it's after midnight), albeit one that gets to hang out with pilots all day long.
Example: Today we have pilots at the inn from the Netherlands, Dallas, Chicago, and Waco -- one of whom is celebrating his birthday. Fun times!
So...flying changed my life vastly for the better, and it continues to do so in ways that I cannot begin to describe here. It opened my mind, my heart, my ambitions -- and, best of all, I've been able to share it all with my wife -- who became a pilot, too, back in 1997!
Flying IS life.
