Pilot your life Pilot your life Pilot your life Pilot your life Welcome to issue no. 7 of Pilot your life. January 2010 I hope that you’ve had a wonderful festive season and that you’ve set your goals for the new year. I don’t make New Year’s resolutions because they’re so easy to forget or put aside, I make old year’s resolutions. In other words, I’ve set my goals and done my forward planning before the end of the current year. I’ve had time to think about what I want, I’ve not put pressure on myself by making hasty or rash decisions and I’ve had a head start to the new year by setting in motion the process for achieving my goals. Much less stressful and with a better chance for success. In flying terms, I’ve done my flight plan, all my checks, and taxied out to the runway ready for departure to my new destination. As well as looking forward to the new year, it’s also good to look back over the past. It’s important to have dreams and to remember things which have struck a chord over the years, even as far back as childhood. I was fairly sickly as a child, with asthma and the usual bevy of childhood complaints. Whenever I was sick in bed at home, to help pass the time, Mum would bring me a big tray and a jigsaw puzzle which I could put together on the tray. One was of a horseman in front of a pink and orange canyon wall. Because I loved the jigsaw so much, the picture really captured my imagination and stuck in my mind. Maybe that’s why I subconsciously wanted to visit Bryce Canyon in Utah last year. I’d seen pictures of the spectacular rock formations with their varied hues and just had to go there because it reminded me so much of my jigsaw.

Now, to take the best photos you have to venture down into the canyon on foot or on the back of a mule. I badly wanted to do the mule ride because I hadn’t booked far enough ahead to go mule riding down into the Grand Canyon.

Pilot your life Pilot your life Pilot your life Pilot your life So, when I found that there were still vacancies on the trail ride into Bryce Canyon, I jumped at the chance – well, not really, because as you know I’m afraid of heights and a mule is gigantic!

Just getting up onto the back of the mule was a feat in itself with my bad knees. However, I was told to trust in my mule, Angie (above), because she knew what she was doing – I wasn’t quite sure if I did though. After a while, I began to relax and focus on the actual trail rather than the steep drop down into the canyon. I even released my strangle hold on the reins and saddle to take photographs with both hands on the camera as Angie picked her way along the trail. The group made a number of stops along the way while the cowboy, John Henry (yes, that really is his name), gave us a commentary about the history and geology of the area. At several of the stops I had that flash of déja vu. There was the horseman and canyon wall from my jigsaw (well almost).

I’d just fulfilled another dream. A bit like the TV documentary with Joanna Lumley travelling to find the Northern Lights in Scandinavia. Her inspiration came from a book which she had read in her childhood called Ponny the Penguin. It doesn’t really matter what triggers the memory – a jigsaw puzzle, a book, a scent or a sound, if it prompts you to follow your dream, then just do it. So, another great tip for how to pilot your life (personal or business) is: Follow your dreams Not just the dreams you have for the future but bring to life the forgotten dreams of the past.

Pilot your life Pilot your life Pilot your life Pilot your life

Two of my presentation topics are: Follow your dreams (at any age) Having a sense of humour under stressful conditions For another stunning view of Bryce Canyon, email me at fran@franwest.com and I'll send you a photo which you can use as your desktop wallpaper. Visit: www.franwest.com and http://au.linkedin.com/in/franwestau Phone: 61 8 82706623 Email: fran@franwest.com for speaking engagements, purchases and the first six issues of the newsletter. To enjoy more stunning scenery while you’re waiting for the next newsletter, the “Utah Rocks” Screensaver is available for only $9.95. 20 photos highlight some of Utah’s best known treasures like Monument Valley, Bryce, Zion and Arches National Parks and many more – a visual delight. Order now from fran@franwest.com. You are welcome to forward Pilot your life to others who may be interested. If this newsletter has been forwarded to you by someone else, please contact me at fran@franwest.com and I'll add you to my emailing list. Bye for now,

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Pilot your life Pilot your life Pilot your life Pilot your life For snippets of some of the DVDs visit www.youtube.com/ozdragon52