Why I Started Writing
I'm not a writer by training. I write most days because it calms my mind, clears the noise, compounds like fitness, and connects me to people. Here's why.
Human Factors
When the Last Line of Defence of My Airline Was My Personal Bank Account
A financially crushed pilot is a distracted pilot — and in a two-person cockpit, one person's private crisis is the whole crew's risk. Money is a safety factor.
Aviate, Navigate, Communicate — Meditate
I'd rather run my instrument scan than make small talk. It took me years to see it: the scan is a meditation — a point of attention, and the discipline of returning to it.
🇫🇷 Today is the 14th of July — la Fête Nationale.
Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité. I have spent my working life in a place that runs on exactly those three words — and I had never noticed until this morning.
The Juice Isn't Worth the Squeeze
A teacher asked a class full of pilots' kids what they want to be. None chose the cockpit. Here's the honest ledger our own children see that the glamour hides.
Money Is Like Fuel. Never Land on Empty.
Pilots never plan to land with an empty tank. It isn't about the fuel — it's about options. Your emergency fund runs on exactly the same math.
Fatigue Isn't a Willpower Problem
You're not lazy — you're tired, and willpower can't touch it. Pilots treat fatigue as a hard limit, not a weakness. Rest is an input, not a reward.
Make It Transparent: How a Procedure Frees Your Focus
The procedure isn't a cage. It carries the 95% of work that's identical every time, so your attention is free for the one thing that's actually different today.
I have ADHD. I also fly airliners. Here's how that works.
I have ADHD, and I fly airliners. The focus isn't willpower — it's the cockpit: an environment that removes distraction plus a system of SOPs. Build your own cockpit.
Why Every Goal Framework Forgets the Debrief
You set the goal, made the plan, did the work — and it still fizzled. It wasn't your willpower. Every goal framework hands you three-quarters of a loop and drops the one step that compounds: the debrief.
In Defence of the Good Follower
The whole market sells leadership; almost no one defends following. But a good follower keeps the leader honest — and in a cockpit, that's the difference between a safe flight and a smoking hole.
Just Culture: Build a Team That Reports Mistakes, Not Hides Them
Punish mistakes and people hide them; learn from them and safety soars. The no-blame culture that made aviation safe — and any team better.