WHY DID YOU PARTNER WITH RODNEY?
When I hired Rodney my life looked perfect from the outside. I had been married for three years and my beautiful son, Jack, was two months old. I had recently been promoted to Branch Chief at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and I had an excellent salary with incredible benefits, a flexible schedule and great professional relationships with my team and my superiors.
But it didn’t feel like a natural environment. Every day I had to say to myself ‘today is going to be a good day’. I had to work hard on having a positive attitude because something was missing from my life.
WHAT DID YOU GET FROM COACHING?
When we met we started talking about my love of flying, which is what I did before the NGA. You said to me: you can make money doing anything you want. You told me a bit about yourself and how you’d walked away from everything to pursue your dreams. I thought to myself: this guy is smart as hell – he’s making a living doing what he loves!
The stories you told me, and the passion with which you pursued your own career, gave me a model for my return to flying.
WHAT RESULTS DID YOU CREATE?
By the beginning of last year I’d started flying again with a regional airline and by the end I had a job offer with jetBlue Airways, an airline I had dreamed of working for since the start of my aviation career. Had I worked with any other coach I know beyond doubt I’d still be working at the NGA. Instead I’m a pilot again, back to my love of safely flying people around the world. What’s more I’m on track to make an even greater salary and I have genuine job satisfaction.
On one of my first trips as a pilot with jetBlue Airways I was flying over the mountains to Vegas, the sun was setting and the captain said to me: ‘That’s a pretty big smile, what’s going on?’ And I just said: ‘I’m back.’ He said: ‘What do you mean?’ I said: ‘It’s a long story, but the simple answer is I’m back flying and I couldn’t be any happier’.
I feel both grateful and proud to have worked with you. I always look forward to a conversation with you and I always walk away feeling as though I can take on the world.