On The Fly

Podcast  – The Barber Shoppe . . . No man is rich enough to buy back the past.” – Oscar Wilde. With baseball still on hold, that quote certainly rings true, however, vivid memories at unexpected times can flood the present. Driving home from an errand the other night, I happened to turn the car radio to AM 570 and heard this, “Its time for Dodger baseball.” That iconic start to a game on the radio from announcer Vin Scully. “How is this possible,” I thought? There are no baseball games right now. And Vin Scully is retired! That familiar voice on the radio however immediately took me back . . . Cuba, Il., the early 1960s, Main Street Barber Shop. You see, as a young boy, my first memory of Major League Baseball was not a game on television or a visit to a Major League park. The “game” was always background noise, from an old Zenith  AM radio, on a green shelf, in our local barbershop, tuned to 720 WGN Chicago. Monthly, my father would take my brothers and me for our hai...

In this episode – Visions and Ideals . . . If you were to ask me, “When are you most receptive to positive inspiration?” Without a doubt, I would say -  “While cycling.” It’s a joyous experience. You feel the familiar rhythm of your breathing and cadence, and the thrill of effortless speed. Your mind is free to explore new ideas as the wind gently brushes your face. During these experiences, ideas explode into my mind. For me, it’s the perfect time to listen to audio segments that remind me of how important it is to go back and be inspired, once again, by powerful ideas that have shaped my dreams. A superb example of this transcendent experience is taken from the book, As a Man Thinketh , published in 1903, by James Allen. It's entitled Visions and Ideals. And it's one of the most beautiful segments I've ever heard.  It goes like this, “The dreamers are the saviors of the world. As the visible world is sustained by the invisible, so men, through all their trials and sins an...

In this episode - Your Mind . . .   For a moment, picture your mind as a blank slate waiting to be coded. Much like a computer, your mind accepts programming at birth without any instructions from you. In computer language, this initial programming is defined as firmware , “Permanent software programmed into a read-only memory.” That brings up two questions;  Is it possible to re-write the firmware that is your operating system?  Is your firmware open source code or a closed system? What a captivating concept! Today the social and psychological sciences tend to take the view that human beings are 'formed' socially and psychologically by nature as well as by nurture. And there are inherited traits that society can build on and modify. Early in the seventeenth century, it was statesman-philosopher Francis Bacon who, first established the claims of Empiricism - the theory that all knowledge is derived from sense-experience. John Locke in his  E...

In this episode – The Power of Habit . . . Habit is a powerful connection between goals and accomplishments. Did you know it takes 21 days to establish a habit? According to the How Stuff Works website , “Habits are patterns of behavior that become “worn into” our brains.” Do you wake up every morning, pour a cup of coffee and a glass of orange juice, in that order . . . every morning? If so, that pattern is locked into your brain through well-worn synaptic pathways. Knowing this tidbit of information, with courage, conviction, and composure, you can inspire yourself daily through this power of habit. No one is entirely sure where the 21-day rule originated, but it seems to have first appeared in the book Psycho-Cybernetics , by Maxwell Maltz. One habit of mine is to share a “Thought for the Day” via the web, on Twitter, @ pball001 . (This has since morphed into my podcast).  These are meaningful quotes that I’ve ferreted from books, Google search, and listen...

Podcast - Boots on the Trail . . .  “The present is who I am, just the way I am right now. And it is precious.” Spencer Johnson, The Precious Present . This Memorial Day weekend, with boots on the trail, we experienced the precious present. For the first time, during this COVID-19 quarantine we were allowed to hike the local parks. In Carlsbad, CA. we’re fortunate, we have a 110-acre, picturesque hiking spot, Calavera Hills Nature Preserve. The morning was crisp and cool; the sky blue with patches of fluffy white clouds overhead. Once we hit the trail, a quiet solitude came over me: my mind began to wander, and my senses took flight. Sounds - sights, and smells. The rhythm of my hiking poles tapping the rocks, the plodding of my boots against the good earth, the whistling of the birds, the trickle of running water, and the sweet smells of the grass. My mind recalling bits and pieces of words that expressed my gratitude for the experience. I wanted desperately to write them down bu...

In this episode - Open the Box. . . When you receive a gift that’s beautifully boxed, what’s your first impulse?  My guess is you would enthusiastically open the box. Let me ask you this, what if, in a flash of insight, you realized that you’ve had in your possession the most precious gift on earth yet you’ve never taken the time to open the box? I’m referring to the power of your creative imagination. Earl Nightingale summarized it best, “We become what we think about, but the thinking is up to us.” Let’s examine our daily thoughts, what do you think about? Are your thoughts dependent on your reaction to situations and others? If so that special gift we’re talking about is not being used at all. And if we’re not careful our imagination can lead us into confusing complications. So let’s strive for simplicity.   It's been said the brain has four powers, think of them as switches you can turn on and off.   Switch number: The power to absorb informatio...

Podcast - Change in Behavior . . . Hard to believe it ’ s been over nine months already, my work at Cenergy Power has energized me now more than ever.  To paraphrase Earl Nightingale, when you engage your mind with work you enjoy, in the service of others, you will thrive. In January 2019 I recognized that it was time, once again, to continue the lifelong journey of self-evaluation and personal expression. Like many, I needed a change in behavior. But what to do about it?  Then it hit me, stretch yourself. “ Re-Fire! ” Don’t retire. And what better way to do that than go back and revisit old friends. Books . . . Books that made a powerful impact on my thinking and my professional behavior.  “ Of course, the parables co-authored by Ken Blanchard.” But this time, re-read those books with the intention of put ting the learning into action. In the book,  Know Can Do! “ Learning is a journey from knowing too doing.” Learning involves a change in behavior in order to be v...

Podcast - Light This Candle . . .  “Man must rise above the Earth - to the top of the atmosphere and beyond - for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives.” - Socrates 500 B.C. Have you ever caught yourself pondering,  “I wonder what historical event happened on this day?” Well, just last week, I noticed my brother's birthday was approaching, he was born May 5, 1962. This got me thinking. With Google at my beck and call, I’m curious, what other events, on May 5th, in my lifetime, have shaped our future? It was a day for the history books, May 5, 1961. The entire world was watching. A moment in time that shaped the future of NASA, the Apollo program, advances in science, and the direction of America. Commander Alan B. Shepard, Jr. became the first American in space aboard Freedom 7. This prompted me to pull a book from my office shelf,  Light This Candle , by Neal Thompson copyright 2004. It's storytelling at its bes...