Fran West shares her experiences from the first few months of 2010, where she achieved some goals by trekking in Patagonia and giving speeches in Florida and Washington. She reflects on a relaxing hot air balloon ride where she enjoyed the scenery without worries, as a reward for her accomplishments. West encourages taking time to enjoy achievements and treating yourself, to stay motivated towards future goals and success.

1. Pilot your life
Welcome to issue no. 9 of Pilot your life. March 2010
This year has been particularly busy for me as I’ve already set in
motion and achieved some of my goals.
In January and February I went trekking in Patagonia in southern
Chile and Argentina. Then, after a week back at home to partially
recover, I set off for North America to speak at the Women in Aviation
International conference in Orlando, Florida.
Another speaking engagement followed that with the invitation to
participate in the Women Fly! program at the Museum of Flight in
Seattle.
Not a bad start to the year.
While in Orlando, I experienced the joy of flying in a much slower mode than usual – a hot air
balloon. The flight ended up being both a time of reflection and a time for reflection.
At the Boggy Creek field, with a definite nip in the air, six balloons launched in the blinding
light of the early morning sun. The biggest balloon headed off with two smaller ones, then
ours took off with two others following behind.
The launch was so gentle that we hardly realised that we were aloft. Very different to taking
off in a light aircraft. No roar of the engine with the plane speeding down the runway before
lift off.
Apart from the occasional noisy burst of flame from the gas cylinder to adjust the balloon’s
height, the flight was so peaceful. Just drifting along without a care in the world and having a
bird’s eye view of the land below.

2. Pilot your life
Quite amazing really that I could look out and down and not feel the fear of heights,
particularly as the basket wasn’t very deep and there were no seat belts.
As we floated over the swamp, we saw the reflection of the other balloon below. That in turn
sparked another reflection.
I reflected back on my holiday in South America. It involved some quite arduous trekking to
reach many of the stunning scenic spots in Torres del Paine and Fitzroy National Parks.
Once again this was partly to prove that I could complete the walk despite the knee, feet and
back injuries from the car accident a few years ago. But I really just wanted to achieve
another goal that I’d set myself. Satisfying yet exhausting.
Consequently, the balloon flight, where I relaxed, did nothing (except take photographs), and
just enjoyed the experience, was my reward to me for my achievement in South America.
So, another great tip for how to pilot your life (personal or business) is:
Take time out to enjoy every achievement
Treat yourself to something special and enjoy the moment.
It’s great to achieve goals, but remember to reward yourself as you go.
It encourages you to keep striving for the next goal and success does breed success.
Two of my presentation topics are:
Setting and achieving goals
Success

3. Pilot your life
For another balloon bonanza email me at fran@franwest.com and I'll send you a photo which
you can use as your desktop wallpaper.
Visit: www.franwest.com and http://au.linkedin.com/in/franwestau.
Phone: 61 8 82706623
Email: fran@franwest.com for speaking engagements, purchases and the first eight issues of
the newsletter.
While you’re waiting for the next newsletter, the “Balloon Adventure” Screensaver, with 20
photos highlighting the ballooning experience from start to finish, is available for only $9.95.
You are welcome to forward Pilot your life to others who may be interested.
If this newsletter has been forwarded to you by someone else, please contact me at
fran@franwest.com and I'll add you to my emailing list.
Bye for now,
Australia's Life Pilot
Speaker, Author, Adventurer
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For snippets of some of the DVDs visit www.youtube.com/ozdragon52.