Skip to main content

Two-Year Podcast Anniversary

In this episode, Our Two-Year Podcast Anniversary . . .

Welcome to Episode 152 of On the Fly. Believe it or not, we went live on the Anchor platform over two years ago! But there's more to the story.

People still ask, "So, what's your podcast about?" A smidgen of history, a dash of culture - a minute dedicated to making you smile. "It's whatever comes to mind!" But it's much more than that. People undervalue the redemptive power of building a creative life one success at a time. Each episode reflects my experiences and life lessons.

You see, when you're learning, you're growing. However, learning is frittered away until you put that learning into action. And the best way to do that is to share your newly found discoveries with others. When you do - you'll soon realize that you're digging in the richest gold mine in the world; you're creative imagination.

The seed for this project was planted many years ago while 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.

In 2004 we discovered and began recording podcasts for GIA. The program was titled Inside GIA Education, produced by GIA's course development department, and hosted on Apple's iTunes platform. At that time, Podcasts were revolutionary, on-demand radio programs. We created two episodes a month for over four years. In April of 2012, we began writing a blog to produce content for the On the Fly podcast.

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

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

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

My listening friends, I challenge you to go back and explore the many archived episodes. You will be enlightened.

I'm Patrick Ball; thanks for listening. I'll see you in the next episode.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most Popular of All Time

Beyond Facts-The Deep Dive

✨ In this episode, Beyond Facts: Reimagining School–in the Age of AI . . .   This week's podcast is a bit different; it's another example of how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can offer tools to creatively enhance your analytical presentation of information. We took this week's blog and copied it into Gemini with the question, “If a story is to work, it must, on some level, create an illusion of escape and also achieve a goal simultaneously. Does this apply to my blog post that follows?” What's created is not just an analysis of the writing, but an AI-generated discussion produced “On the Fly” - Enjoy! Did you know that the word "school" comes from the ancient Greek word scholē , which originally meant "leisure"? Not a rigid schedule or droning lectures filled with "facts," but free time for thinking and conversation. To the Greeks, learning happened best when life slowed down—when you had room to reflect, to ask questions, and to wrestle ...
4 comments
Read more

Retirement Talk

In this episode, Patrick & Huck: Retirement Talk . . .   We all get caught daydreaming sometimes, don’t we? Just like Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn might’ve done, lazyin’ by the river with a fishing pole in hand and the BIG wide world spinn’ in their heads. This morning, with coffee steaming and plans bubbling, I found myself driftin’ into a chat with none other than my imaginary friend–Huck Finn himself. Patrick: “Mornin’, Huck. Say, I’m mighty curious what you’d make of this retirement business.” Huck: “Well now, sit tight, ‘cause I’ve been thinkin’ on that too. Only thirty-one days 'til you're sixty-nine — whew! You're talkin’ ‘bout quittin’, hangin’ up your spurs, Givin’ the workin’ life its final good slurs. Ain’t got no debts, no mortgage, no fuss, Just clean livin’ and freedom waitin’ on the bus. Most folks’d throw hats in the air, cheerin’ loud and proud, But you? You’re starin’ out yonder, lost in some cloud. You're dreamin’ of cyclin' and books and guitar...
2 comments
Read more

The Summer Surprise

In this special episode, The Summer Surprise . . .   Well, howdy there! It's me, Huck Finn, and lemme tell ya, somethin' special happened just the other day. We called it "The Summer Surprise.” Phew-wee! That ol' post box, it coughed up somethin' good! Wasn't no bills, nor them pesky ads, and thankfully, no regular ol' rocks neither. Nope, this here was a letter, folded up neat as a pin, looked a bit like one o' them school lockers, just sittin' there waitin' to be opened. It was from young Sierra, a mighty fine friend, and she'd gone and made some pure, honest-to-goodness artwork with her own two hands. My fingers they was all thumbs, just itching to see what kind of wild wonder she'd whipped up this time. I unfolded that paper, careful-like, you know, and bless my bare feet, there it was! A picture of a whole gymnasium and a mini-soccer field, all done up in colors that just popped. She'd used crayons and pencils, and you could tel...
Post a Comment
Read more

Drifting with Purpose

In this episode,  Drifting with Purpose: What Huck Finn Teaches Us About Finding Your ‘Why’ . . .  Have you ever re-read a book and felt like it had changed while you weren’t looking? That’s exactly how it feels diving back into Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn . I’ll admit, I didn’t expect to be swept away again . It had been decades since I first met Huck and Jim. But here I am – older, hopefully wiser – and finding their journey down the Mississippi more powerful and more relevant than ever. This isn’t just another dusty classic. Twain's masterpiece is a living, breathing story – one that speaks through laughter, danger, awkward truth, and uncomfortable beauty. It’s a book that dares you to ask: “What kind of person am I willing to be?” Right now, I’m deep into Huck and Jim’s incredible journey, and what’s striking me the most isn’t just the plot or the river—it’s the voice. Twain’s masterful use of local dialect pulls you straight into the 19th-century Amer...
2 comments
Read more