The Power of Positive Thoughts

I am often asked how I have accomplished so much in my life. My secret really ins't a secret. All I do is pinpoint focus my thoughts and continue to evolve them over time until I make the thoughts a reality. Here's an example of what I'm talking about:

When I was around 6 years old we lived on an Air Force Base. I saw jets taking off and landing every day. I dreamed of one day being able to fly. My dad was in the Army and tried every way he could to discourage me. He wanted me to go into the Army and he was not a fan of the Air Force! I did not let my Dad or anyone discourage me. The thought of one day being a pilot stayed with me.

When I was around 10 years old I joined Civil Air Patrol (Air Force Auxiliary) so I could be around airplanes -- My Dad did not condone this at all, but fortunately my Mom was supportive! By age 17 I was a Warrant Officer in the CAP (highest rank). I flew as a passenger in small aircraft on hundreds of search and rescue missions (SARs) and learned everything I could about Airplanes. After graduating from High School I had to leave CAP to earn a living, but I never lost track of my desire to be a pilot. As soon as I earned enough money for my first few lessons I enrolled in a flight school (Central Skyport) around age 19. A few months before my 20th birthday I earned my Pilots license and continued the quest to add additional ratings/endorsements.

My aviation journey led me to starting my second business called Apollo Aviation that was based at the Port Columbus International Airport (KCMH) in Columbus, Ohio. I grew Apollo Aviation from nothing more than an idea into a FAA Part 135 operator and Fixed Base Operation (FBO). I was fortunate enough to land some lucrative commercial accounts transporting medical supplies, organs, and various transport goods such as canceled checks in addition to renting aircraft for flight training.

Pictured above is my first plane - a Cessna 310. I purchased it in August 1992. This is the plane that enabled me to start an air transport business. I actually bought this twin-engine aircraft before I was licensed to fly a multi-engined airplane!

My childhood aviation dream also connected me to my wife Lisa who was learning how to fly in one of my planes. Our first date was actually in an Airplane! We flew away for dinner and back. We have been together ever since.

I eventually sold Apollo Aviation to Foster Lane who was a formidable competitor of mine at the airport. He and I became very close friends. Foster was my first real mentor. He taught me how to be a better pilot, businessman and leader. To this day, Lane Aviation continues to be one of the top rated FBO's in the country.

My point with telling you a bit about my background is to highlight how the power of thought has worked for me. The idea of being a pilot at 6 years old led me to becoming a pilot 13 years later, starting an aviation business, meeting my wife, and learning how to negotiate a sale of a company. None of this would have happened if I had let my Dad or someone talk me out of my dream.

The Power of Thought

The power of thought is indisputably powerful. For another example let's look at the life of Henry David Thoreau, a 19th-century Massachusetts philosopher.

In 1849, Thoreau, as a relatively unknown scholar, published his thoughts in a controversial essay about civil disobedience. The essay expressed his ideas about justice:

• Not all laws are just
• A person should respect justice more than the law
• Without resorting to violence, a person of conscience is justified to transgress the law to protest its injustice

Thoreau's thoughts, as the basis for nonviolent resistance, would end up fueling two of the greatest social advancements of the 20th century - Ghandi's struggle to free India from Britain's colonial rule and the American Civil Rights Movement led by Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Thoughts about Thinking

Thoughts never begin fully formed

The easiest way I have found to describe how thoughts evolve is to think about using a microscope. At first glance the image appears blurry and indistinct. However, after adjusting the lens, the image comes into focus, and you can see with remarkable clarity.

When thoughts enter ones mind, they are hazy and disordered, much like the initial image seen through a microscope. They have to be fine-tuned by dwelling upon them, and connecting them to other thoughts. It takes awhile for me to wrestle with a thought before its merit becomes clear, but when I do I can see something in my mind as clearly as if it already existed.

Thoughts take time to develop their potential

I have found that reflection turns my experience into insight. At the close of every day I roll back through the important lessons I learned. I will contemplate any failure I may have had until I have gained a nugget of wisdom, or I'll consider how the day's events validated or invalidated one of my ideas. Through time, evaluating my experiences helps my thoughts to expand and mature. 

Thoughts take others to develop their potential

Alone, thoughts can be shallow and unexceptional. I enhance my own thinking by piggybacking on the wisdom of friends and colleagues. In conversations or observations of their behavior, I strengthen and confirm my own inklings about leadership and life. 

Each of us is trapped inside our own perspective and limited by our blind spots and prejudices. If we isolate ourselves, we diminish our minds, and our thoughts atrophy.

We are wise to seek out others to test our assumptions and sharpen our thinking. I routinely do this when I want to learn a new skill. I don't want to waste time making the mistakes others already have already done. I find the best person doing what I want to do and learn from them.

Thoughts are fragile in the beginning

Gardeners know the delicate nature of a newly planted seedling. To survive, the plant must receive nourishment and be protected from harsh winds, weeds, or hungry animas. Until its roots take hold and its stem grows, the seedling is vulnerable.

Likewise, our thoughts are fragile at first. They are endangered by pessimism, busyness, insecurity, forgetfulness, and a host of other threats. In the words of Bob Biehl, "Ideas are like soap bubbles floating in the air close to jagged rocks on a windy day."

In order to grow, our thoughts need careful attention and cultivation. The more time we spend focused on our thoughts the quicker they will mature into reality. We are what we think.

Thought Busters

Thoughts only reach their potential in a healthy environment. It is important to avoid people and events around us that can threaten or destroy our dreams and thoughts.

Criticism

When leaders pay any cost to ward off criticism, they sacrifice their best thoughts. In the words of Elbert Hubbard, "If you have something others don't have, know something others don't know, or do something others aren't doing, then, rest assured, you will be criticized." In my opinion, thinking requires boldness, the courage to be second-guessed, and readiness to endure conflict.

Lack of personal commitment to thinking

Taking action is by no means a negative quality in a leader. However, when a leader is all action, it's only a matter of time until he or she falls behind, steers off course, and surrenders the reins of leadership. Here's what Gordon MacDonald's said mental fitness: 

"In our pressurized society, people who are out of shape mentally usually fall victim to ideas and systems that are destructive to the human spirit and to the human relationship. They are victimized because they have not taught themselves how to think, nor have they set themselves to the lifelong pursuit of growth of the mind. Not having the faculty of a strong mind, they grow dependent upon the thoughts and opinions of others."

As leaders, thinking keeps us in front. Before we shape the future, we must get our minds in shape.

Excuses

"I don't have enough time," is the most common excuse to avoid thinking. However, blaming time constraints is not a legitimate excuse. After all, a great idea is one of the greatest commodities a person can own. Besides, by taking the time to think, we invent smarter ways to expend our energy and resources.

"I'm not creative," is another excuse I hear all of the time. Of course, blaming lack of creativity is actually a sorry excuse for being lazy. Thinking well isn't easy. It takes concentration, focus, and, most challenging of all, the discipline to stop moving for a few moments.

Jim