Flying Above The Clouds
By: Adele Alfano

Last weekend I attended a national speaker’s conference in Vancouver. Like most people, there is not many things I like about flying. Except for one thing! When I fly, I always choose the window seat and wait for the best part of the flight! I just love when the plane cuts through the clouds and soars above them. I absolutely love flying above the clouds and looking down onto a sea of puffy cottonballs! It is at this point, when the plane reaches it’s maximum altitude. It is a moment of stability, weightlessness and pristine beauty!

How can we achieve our maximum altitude? How can we obtain those moments in life of flying above the clouds? Life’s goals and personal visions are a lot like packing for a trip! The departures may be different, but the destinations remain the same. Here are some flying tips to reach you closer to your life’s destinations:

1. Pre-preparation! It is the little details that gets you to your final destination. Booking the flight, hotel, choosing your clothes etc. Making a list and checking it twice! Prepare a list to make your journey to your final destination a pleasant one. What are the little details that you need to check off on you list to bring you closer to landing your goals?

2. Pack only your essentials! When we have a goal or mission in mind, keep focused on only what you need to carry to achieve them. Packing for life’s goals is a lot like reading a book: take what you need and leave the rest! If not, you luggage is too heavy to carry!

3. Compartmentalize everything! When packing your luggage, there is a place for everything: your shoes, your suits and your toiletries. Separate your life’s goals much in the same manner. Your immediate tasks, your short term goals and your future long-range goals. Like your luggage, tag and label them and check them often!

4. Listen to the instructions! On any flight, we are forced (we have no choice!) to listen to the instructions and know what to do in case of an emergency and where the exit doors are. Do we listen to instructions, advice and creative criticism from our mentors or family members? Probably not! But, like that flight attendant, they are there to protect us and make our journey a pleasant one.

5. Letting your loved ones know where you are! We have a family pact. When I am traveling, I always leave my hotel info and flight #’s with my family. It not only shows respect, bit it is a way of keeping them informed of my journey. When was the last time, you informed your family/friends where you are in terms of your life goal’s, your dreams, your destination spot? Share your life’s itinerary with the people who are most important in your life.

6. Encountering turbulence! I wish all flights of life were smooth sailing! In trying to reach our personal goals and missions, we sometimes will encounter air pockets and altitude shifts. Know that they are only temporary. Hold you breath if you have to. Grab a friend’s hand in panic. Know that you ‘plane’ will stabilize again. As the saying goes: this too shall pass!

7. Say a prayer! My sister is a white-knuckled, terrified passenger. I always joke with her and say that if something happens to me on a place, at least I am closer to heaven! (To say the least, she does not appreciate the humour!). All joking aside, there are not many people who know, that when I fly, I carry my rosary in my pocket. I, invariably, always say a couple of prayers along the way. Touching the rosary, brings me peace and some calmness. In the air or on land, know that your personal prayers do not fall on deaf ears.

8. Clap when you land! Many of us have been on flights, when the pilot land’s us safely on that runway, that we give a round of applause. When you goals have been met, give yourself a round of applause. You have landed safe and sound!

9. Give thanks! When leaving a plane, the airline staff and crew are always at the door saying goodbye and wishing you a safe trip. I personally thank each and every one of them. When reaching your goal’s destination, give thanks to those that helped you get there. We are not on this journey of life alone. Have an ‘altitude of gratitude’ for those who have helped you on your ‘flight’ towards your goals.

10. Enjoy your trip! I wish all my readers and subscribers a great trip in 2003. Treasure those moments from 2002, when you were flying above the clouds! Know that with every flight in life, you will reach greater heights, soaring with greatness above the clouds

Nominated for Canada 100 Most Powerful Women, Canada's Diamond Coach Adele Alfano www.AdeleAlfano.com is an Award Winning Professional Speaker, Author, Co-Publisher, who has helped thousands of people capitalize on their unique abilities to maximize their potential through her specially designed and created systems. Her proven techniques have helped people mine passion and purpose in their lives and in an evolving workplace. Adele is also the co-author, co-editor and Publisher for the first ever in a series of collaborative books titled Experts Who Speak Books www.expertswhospeakbooks.com and also the founder of the sold-out fundraising events in Southwestern Ontario called "Kiss my Tiara!" www.KissMyTiara.c

Copyright Adele Alfano
www.adelealfano.com/
Reprint is welcome with permission only.