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Just Fly The Plane, Stupid!
In his own words, Stevan Pearce describes his amazing journey and the events that shaped his life from an extremely humble beginning on a tiny hardscrabble farm to owning a company in the oil industry of southern New Mexico to being elected to the U.S. Congress.
But as remarkable as his success story is, it is merely the backdrop to the transformation of his life what was going on behind the scenes. This book is his personal story of overcoming a life riddled with overwhelming insecurities and fears, introversion and shyness, the embarrassment of poverty, and a lack of vision to see what other children seem to see naturally.
“The real story is my fight to overcome these internal obstacles, a fight I found far more difficult than overcoming the ones placed in my life by external forces. For so long, I kept myself locked in a cell of fear, unable to move from where I was to where I wanted to be. But the doors that restrain us, I’ve found, are seldom locked. With a little push, they swing wide to welcome a life we never imagined. If just one person pushes at those closed doors, then this book and this story will be worthwhile.”
But as remarkable as his success story is, it is merely the backdrop to the transformation of his life what was going on behind the scenes. This book is his personal story of overcoming a life riddled with overwhelming insecurities and fears, introversion and shyness, the embarrassment of poverty, and a lack of vision to see what other children seem to see naturally.
“The real story is my fight to overcome these internal obstacles, a fight I found far more difficult than overcoming the ones placed in my life by external forces. For so long, I kept myself locked in a cell of fear, unable to move from where I was to where I wanted to be. But the doors that restrain us, I’ve found, are seldom locked. With a little push, they swing wide to welcome a life we never imagined. If just one person pushes at those closed doors, then this book and this story will be worthwhile.”
479 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2013
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3 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 10, 2022
I had worked with the Congressman, knew his staff, some of his philosophy and was curious to read more about him. This book lacked organization and direction. I understand that it is his memoirs, but all the same, it will never go beyond that to be desired literature.
All the same, it still had some excellent lessons on politics and life. I was exposed to new places, cultures and ideas based around NM, AR and TX.
One was about how her mother and a lady called Tanis taught difficult children that I thought was informative. It went, "You have to slow them down and stop them. Still. Quiet. After they have been still and quiet for six to twelve weeks, they can hear. Before that, they just can't focus. Sometimes I have to grip the parents and slow them down. When everyone is quiet and can listen, we can make very good progress." For me that resonated since often people instead resort to other things to deal with kids and I wondered whether I could take that approach.
There was an odd section about very expensive wine (that interestingly he does not really drink), that delved into an idea about getting a particular bottle called Petrus that costs thousands of dollars. Of course he didn't know how expensive it was at the time, but it was interesting to learn about this odd situation that you couldn't buy it in the country of origin since it was always shipped elsewhere.
In particular the Medicine Wheel excerpt was my favorite part that I shared with family and friends alike. It was from "The Four Great Powers" and was about out life journey:
Among the People, a child's first teaching is of the Four Great Powers of the Medicine Wheel.
To the North... is found wisdom. The Color of the North is White and its Medicine Animal is the Buffalo.
The South is represented by the Sign of the Mouse and its Medicine Color is Green... It is a place of Innocence and Trust, and is for perceiving closely our nature of heart.
In the West is the Sign of the Bear... the Looks-Within Place which speaks of the Introspective nature of man. The Color of this Place is Black.
The East is marked by the Sign of the Eagle. It is the Place of Illumination, where we can see things clearly far and wide. Its Color is the Gold of the Morning Star.
...At birth, each of us is given a particular Beginning Place withing these Four Great Directions on the Medicine Wheel. This Starting Place gives us our first way of perceiving things, which will then be our easiest and more natural way throughout our lives.
But any person who perceives from only one of these Four Great Directions will remain just a partial man.
For example, a man who possesses only the Gift of the North will be wise. But he will be a cold man, a man without feeling.
And the man who lives only in the East will have the clear, far sighted vision of the Eagle but he will never be close to things. This man will feel separated, high above life, and will never understand or believe that he can be touched by anything.
A man who perceived only from the West will go over the same thought again and again in their mind, and will always be undecided..
And if a person has only the Gift of the South, he will see too close to the ground and too near sighted to see anything except whatever is right in front of him, touching his whiskers.
...After each of us has learned our Beginning Gift, our First Place on the Medicine Wheel, we then must Grow by Seeking Understanding in each of the Four Great Ways. Only in this was can we become Full, capable of Balance and Decision in what we do."
This theme ran throughout the book, showing how he had grown as a person and in his small businesses. This was the best part of the book.
All the same, it still had some excellent lessons on politics and life. I was exposed to new places, cultures and ideas based around NM, AR and TX.
One was about how her mother and a lady called Tanis taught difficult children that I thought was informative. It went, "You have to slow them down and stop them. Still. Quiet. After they have been still and quiet for six to twelve weeks, they can hear. Before that, they just can't focus. Sometimes I have to grip the parents and slow them down. When everyone is quiet and can listen, we can make very good progress." For me that resonated since often people instead resort to other things to deal with kids and I wondered whether I could take that approach.
There was an odd section about very expensive wine (that interestingly he does not really drink), that delved into an idea about getting a particular bottle called Petrus that costs thousands of dollars. Of course he didn't know how expensive it was at the time, but it was interesting to learn about this odd situation that you couldn't buy it in the country of origin since it was always shipped elsewhere.
In particular the Medicine Wheel excerpt was my favorite part that I shared with family and friends alike. It was from "The Four Great Powers" and was about out life journey:
Among the People, a child's first teaching is of the Four Great Powers of the Medicine Wheel.
To the North... is found wisdom. The Color of the North is White and its Medicine Animal is the Buffalo.
The South is represented by the Sign of the Mouse and its Medicine Color is Green... It is a place of Innocence and Trust, and is for perceiving closely our nature of heart.
In the West is the Sign of the Bear... the Looks-Within Place which speaks of the Introspective nature of man. The Color of this Place is Black.
The East is marked by the Sign of the Eagle. It is the Place of Illumination, where we can see things clearly far and wide. Its Color is the Gold of the Morning Star.
...At birth, each of us is given a particular Beginning Place withing these Four Great Directions on the Medicine Wheel. This Starting Place gives us our first way of perceiving things, which will then be our easiest and more natural way throughout our lives.
But any person who perceives from only one of these Four Great Directions will remain just a partial man.
For example, a man who possesses only the Gift of the North will be wise. But he will be a cold man, a man without feeling.
And the man who lives only in the East will have the clear, far sighted vision of the Eagle but he will never be close to things. This man will feel separated, high above life, and will never understand or believe that he can be touched by anything.
A man who perceived only from the West will go over the same thought again and again in their mind, and will always be undecided..
And if a person has only the Gift of the South, he will see too close to the ground and too near sighted to see anything except whatever is right in front of him, touching his whiskers.
...After each of us has learned our Beginning Gift, our First Place on the Medicine Wheel, we then must Grow by Seeking Understanding in each of the Four Great Ways. Only in this was can we become Full, capable of Balance and Decision in what we do."
This theme ran throughout the book, showing how he had grown as a person and in his small businesses. This was the best part of the book.
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August 25, 2016I have personally met the Congressman, so this review will reflect that.
Just fly the plane is a good collection of anecdotes and advice coming from a man who was raised in the district he now represents. It gave me insight into some of the decisions he's made and some of the reactions he's had.
His faith and personal bias are very evident, but it's labeled as his memoirs, so that's as it should be.
Just fly the plane is a good collection of anecdotes and advice coming from a man who was raised in the district he now represents. It gave me insight into some of the decisions he's made and some of the reactions he's had.
His faith and personal bias are very evident, but it's labeled as his memoirs, so that's as it should be.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews