The Idea of Service

In the episode, The Idea of Service . . .

“All of our income, tangible and psychic, of any kind, comes to us from making the best use of What We Are - as learning, growing, thinking, imagining, productive creatures in the service of others.”

Have you ever considered how the fate of one person has influenced your life for the better?

Allow me to introduce you to that person and how, through serving others, he changed the lives of countless millions.

Recently, as a volunteer for the Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum, we launched an educational initiative on YouTube titled "The Inside Loop." Using the computer interface, Zoom, we can conduct interviews with retired U.S. Marines (in their homes) from World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

This got me thinking about a former Marine who served during WWII on the USS Arizona, which was attacked on December 7, 1941, in Pearl Harbor. Killed were 1,177 of the 1,512 crewmen on board at the time; he was one of only 15 marines to survive the attack that day. His name is Earl Nightingale.

While in the Marine Corps, Earl was allowed to volunteer at the local radio station as an announcer. This is what eventually sparked his desire to move to Chicago and explore his newfound “broadcasting career.”

In Chicago, he began hosting his own daily commentary program on the huge, 50,000-watt clear channel, WGN radio. Earl's career spanned over 40 years, and from 1950 to 1996, he was known as the voice of the hero in the popular action-adventure series 'Sky King,' which also aired on WGN radio.

During that time, he authored a book, The Strangest Secret, which has been hailed as “one of the great motivational books of all time.”

He then went on to narrate this book in 1956. It was the first audio recording to achieve gold record status (over one million copies sold).

What captured my attention, as a young boy, was Earl Nightingale’s daily five-minute program, “Our Changing World,” which aired in 1959, five minutes a day, five days a week during that 40-year span. The program was heard on over a thousand radio stations, it was the most widely syndicated program of its time.

Subsequently, those five-minute segments would be compiled and distributed as a digital audio download, The Essence of Success.

I’ve made those segments a part of my life for over 55 years. So allow me to quote once again Earl's Idea of Service,

This is Patrick Ball. Thanks for listening. See you in the next episode.

Comments

Resurrecting the '90s Graphite

Let’s face it, there’s a certain danger in reading John Gierach's Trout Bum . His wit, self-deprecation, and sharp, effortless satire are entirely infectious. If you aren't careful, his words will inspire you to drop everything, wade into a freezing river, and try to outsmart a creature with a brain the size of a lentil. In my case, re-reading Gierach recently didn't send me straight to the river. It sent me digging through the dusty, spider-guarded corners of my garage. In the early 1990s, seeking a natural escape from Manhattan's concrete canyons, I decided to learn to cast a fly rod. I bought an Orvis Rocky Mountain —eight-and-a-half feet, three ounces, built for a five-weight line—and had absolutely no idea how to use it. To avoid aimlessly whipping the water like scrambling eggs, I took fly-fishing lessons from Al Cucci, co-author of Hatches , on the Delaware River. With his guidance, I fished renowned waters: the AuSable in New York and Michigan, and New Jersey...

A B+ Kind of Life

Welcome back to this week's On the Fly . Retirement has taught me something unexpected: life gets a lot more enjoyable when you stop chasing perfection. Lately, I've been having an absolute blast playing executive par-3 courses like Rancho Carlsbad . A short iron, a sunny morning, and nowhere to be except the next tee—that's my kind of day. This Thursday, though, I'm raising the stakes. I'm heading to The Links at Lakehouse in San Marcos, a full-size par-71 course with enough water hazards to keep the local fish well-stocked with my golf balls. After shooting a 64 on a par-3 course, I've set myself a new goal: shoot an 89 before my birthday next August. Why 89? Because on a par-71 course, that's bogey golf—one extra stroke per hole. For non-golfers, think of it this way: par is like earning 100% on a final exam. Bogey golf is a solid B+. You got the job done, learned something, and probably had a lot more fun getting there. The older I get, the more I appre...

From Mailbox to Microphone

In this episode, catching up with Sierra . What happens when you combine a little imagination, modern digital tools, and the willingness to make a glorious, muddy mess? You get our guest’s latest project. I’m Patrick Ball. Welcome back to On the Fly . Today, we are diving into the world of native plants and guerrilla gardening with twelve-year-old creator Sierra. After watching her impressive, self-produced tutorial on how to make ‘Seed Balls,’ I had to know how she did it. It’s incredibly inspiring to watch Sierra evolve from a young artist wielding crayons and stationery into a savvy digital creator. She’s writing scripts, mastering voiceovers, and editing—all to make a positive, green impact on her local community. “She shoots, she scores, and she’s here to tell us all about it.” Please welcome Sierra to On the Fly ! Let’s get into it. Audio interview . . . For more blog posts showcasing Sierra’s talents, see: The Mailbox Surprise . . . and The Summer Surprise I’m Patrick Ball. Sta...

The Birth of a Cubs Legend

In this episode, The 162-Game Exhale — and the Birth of a Cubs Legend There’s a hush in the baseball world on Game 162 — a collective breath drawn in and slowly released. Scoreboards stop flipping. Dugouts empty. For six months, the game has been our steady heartbeat, pulsing from the cherry blossoms of Tokyo in March to the crisp, playoff-charged winds of late September. And now, as the regular season exhales, baseball fans everywhere pause to absorb the story we’ve just lived. For me, that story has been deeply personal. This season unfolded in the rhythms of my daily life. It was the summer soundtrack echoing beneath the constant turmoil of politics and sensational headlines. It was a handful of carefully chosen ballpark pilgrimages stitched together with countless nights in front of MLB.TV. And at the center of it all, for a lifelong Cubs fan like me, it revolved around one name — a young center fielder who turned hope into history: Pete Crow-Armstrong. The 2025 season didn’t begin...

On The Fly

Search This Blog