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One Year Podcast Anniversary

In this episode, Our First Podcast Anniversary.

Wow! It's hard to believe the first episode of On the Fly went live one year ago yesterday!

In my subconscious, the seed for this project was planted many years ago, listening to the radio program Our Changing World by Earl Nightingale.

When challenged with the question, "What would you do if you knew you could not fail?" Without hesitation, Host a radio show. Then we discovered podcasts. An On-demand radio program. How cool.

Was it easy? No. It took many years to refine my writing skills, purchase the right equipment for a working studio, find the right music, learn to record and edit my program. And - find a way to deliver it.

I'm proud to say; this podcast became the medium to express my voice. The absolute joy of discovering what motivated me. An exciting, rewarding, life-changing experience.

Was it fun? Absolutely! Preparing a weekly production kept me learning, growing, and encouraging myself to explore just who I was becoming.

Since the beginning, we've meticulously delivered every week. And we're not finished yet!

My listening friends, I challenge you to go back and listen to episode one; funny, this all started with a letter.

Be safe, keep the faith, enjoy the spring blooms, and challenge your dreams. “If you can dream it, you can do it.”

"Won't you be my virtual neighbor?" If you enjoy our visits, please share them with a friend.

This is Patrick Ball; thanks so much for listening. I'll see you in the next episode.

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