Flying High

With No Safety Net

Iguassu Falls, Brazil/Argentina - Murray Foubister.

I got my skills very early in life and never looked back. A lot of people in my line of work are ex-military, but I was trained and worked as a civilian all of my life. It's funny when I was at school all the advice I got was about getting a ‘good’ job with a ‘reputable company’. What they meant was ‘large’.

I've never worked for a large company. Well, unless you call 30 people large. I’ve worked for myself and for others … in construction, emergency services, tourism, deliveries and seen the world while I was at it.

Papua New Guinea ... only after their independence (I'm not that old!), up in Canada, down in Australia and New Zealand …. I pretty much work wherever the next phone call takes me.

Me? Oh, I fly helicopters.

Flying High is from the series ‘Travels Without Charlie’.

Will never had ‘pilot’ on his ‘what I will do when I grow up’ childhood list, but he’s never regretted it. “What else would I do?” he asked. Self-deprecation aside, it’s as if he was born with rotors. One side benefit that he identified as we talked was that his work was seasonal - ‘although the seasons moved’.

• That meant he often found himself decommissioned at short notice.

• That meant he often found himself with time to continue learning to be able to do his job better, in more places, with different equipment.

• That meant after every contract he became even more employable.

• That meant after every contract his value increased.

Good practice for ‘COVID times’ I suspect.

As always my thanks and appreciation for your continued support, comments and attention. Please like the post, share through your social channels of choice and forward the email to colleagues, friends and family that want to join us on this journey and don’t forget to send me your thoughts. Inspired? Why not comment on the post itself (like here).