Christopher Laney and www.lessonsfromthecockpit.com
offer new insights on flying and life. See what he has to say.
offer new insights on flying and life. See what he has to say.
My name is Christopher Laney and I live in Greensboro, North Carolina with my wife and three sons. Lessons from the Cockpit
combines two passions: flying and writing. I've learned a lot about
myself and life over the last few years, courtesy of the flying as well
as navigating around--and sometimes through--the storms that can pop up
in our lives. My hope is the pages of this blog will help others gain
new insights to old problems and possibly view our world from a
different perspective.
When I tie down my plane and walk away after my flights, I'm often
exhilarated, sometimes introspective, but always appreciative of life. I
hope these pages instill the same for you as a reader.
As
for the Navy, when younger, I would have never thought I'd join the military.
But after goofing off in college for two years, I thought the Navy would be a
good place to learn discipline as well as receive money for the rest of college
from the GI Bill. Funny thing is, I had the discipline I needed after a month
of boot camp.
Nothing will make you realize how easy you have it in college
like boot camp. In the military, you always have someone telling you where to
be, when you have to be there, and what to do.
The whole experience made me realize just how much opportunity and
choice we have in the civilian world, and how often many of us don't take
advantage of it. I vowed, once I got out, that I'd experience as much as
possible of the activities and and life events of my choosing.
I
started the blog to begin building an audience for a book I was writing, and
I was surprised by how much I
enjoyed everything about the process. It's fun and satisfying--for me at
least--to have my own little pinpoint on the web.
The
best thing that has happened to me because of the blog is the people I have
connected with. I've "met" and kept in touch with people all over the
world. I love how small the internet makes the world.
I like to look for
something to admire within everyone I meet. Everyone has a story, and everyone
has something they are good at, which is often tied to his or her passions. There is an energy that flows
when people talk about their passions, and I love being a part of that. And
within those conversations, I almost always find something unique about that
person that makes me realize how special each individual on this earth is.
As
for the event that has affected me most, that would be the time I watch a man
come up to accept a volunteer-of-the-year award at a local school, and in his
impromptu speech, he spoke of an eighteen wheeler truck doing 70 that struck
his car with him in it. He walked away, bruised and sore, but alive. And for
two weeks afterward, he could see a glow around everything important in his
life, his family, his church, the field where his kids played ball…
His
words, combined with 9/11 months later, led me to search for things that glowed
in my life, which led to flying and writing. Eventually, the glow, and how to
find it, as well as flying, all played a part in the manuscript I wrote.
As
for the advice I'd give young people today, that's easy. Never give up; you
will succeed if you simply keep trying.
For more of Chris's story:
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