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Earl Nightingale

In this 200th episode – Earl Nightingale . . .

The audio segment you heard in the intro was the voice of Earl Nightingale. I've been thinking about this special 200th episode for a few months now, considering what would be fitting. So, I went back and listened to many of the early episodes of On the Fly. I asked myself these questions, Why a podcast? What did I want to share with others? And who unknowingly had the most significant influence on my life?

Little did I realize it then, but in hindsight, one person's destiny and life’s work influenced my thinking for the better. Allow me to introduce you to that person and how he changed the lives of countless millions by serving others through the power of the spoken word.

His name is Earl Nightingale. He was born on March 12, 1921 – March 25, 1989. Earl was an American radio broadcaster, author, philosopher, and entrepreneur fascinated with human character development, motivation, and meaningful existence.

A Marine who served during WWII on the USS Arizona, the ship that was attacked on December 7, 1941, in Pearl Harbor. Killed that day were 1,177 of the 1,512 crew members on board at the time; he was one of only 15 marines to survive the attack that day. While in the Marine Corps, Earl volunteered as an announcer with a local radio station. This eventually sparked his desire to move to Chicago and explore his newfound "broadcasting career."

He began hosting his daily commentary program in Chicago on WGN radio's vast, 50,000-watt clear channel. Earl's broadcasting career spanned over 40 years, and through the period of 1950-1956, he was known as the hero's voice in the popular action-adventure series, 'Sky King,' which also ran on WGN radio.

Nightingale wrote and recorded over 7,000 radio programs, 250 audio programs, television programs, and videos during his lifetime. He authored The Strangest Secret, 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).

So, Why a Podcast?

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 those 40 years. This is what On the Fly, an on-demand audio segment, is modeled after. Earl’s program was heard on over one thousand radio stations, 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. Whenever I need a lift or a reminder of what’s important in my life, I re-listen to select segments on my iPhone.

His message is profound yet so simple that people pass over it like a stranger in the night, it’s this:

                        WE BECOME what we think about.

That, my listening friends, is the “Essence” of The Strangest Secret.


                        WE BECOME what we think about.


I challenge you to look him up on YouTube, Amazon, or Google - Earl Nightingale. Get a copy of his book The Strangest Secret and experience how your attitude, relationships, work, and life will blossom.


I’m Patrick Ball; thanks for listening to this 200th milestone episode; see you in the next episode.

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