transcribed from interview #28 with Donna Miller
1- The bigger the why, the easier the how. What that means is if you have a compelling enough reason you’ll figure out how to do it. When I realized I wanted to fly I had this laser focus. Anything I wanted to purchase I related it to flight time, for example I wanted to buy some pants but I knew they equaled 6 minutes of flight time so I didn't buy them. If you want it bad enough you'll get there.
2- You can't steal second base with your foot on first. I was working a desk job in the training center at United Airlines. I watched all the pilots come through and thought they're not smarter than I am, I could do this job. When I decided I could be a pilot, there was a captain who told me "You can’t steal second base with your foot on first." It was a light bulb moment for me. There is no connection between my desk job and the flight deck without getting experience and building up hours and then coming back to a desk. My first flying job once I got off first base was flying car parts to Mexico out of El Paso, Texas. But I knew I was on track- someone was paying me to fly instead of me paying them. I was on my way!
3- With all this manure there must be a pony in here somewhere. My incredibly wise and funny mother would often say this to me. I was furloughed from American Airlines 2 days after 9/11 when 10,000 pilots were on the streets. When everything went wrong, I had to look at what was going right. There were very few flying jobs and the ones that were available didn’t pay well. My first job after 9/11 I made $20,000/year doing charter and air ambulance. I moved out of my townhouse, rented it out, then had to rent a room in someone else’s basement. I knew I'd have to do whatever I could to stay current and qualified. You're more likely to hear about a flying job if you have a flying job. And the pony in all this manure was that I got to fly Neil Armstrong to Kitty Hawk for the Centennial celebration!
