Have you ever wondered how a childhood dream can shape your entire life's journey? Today, I take you on an incredible adventure through a day plagued by a massive Microsoft computer outage leading to widespread flight disruptions, all while sharing my own transformative journey into the world of aviation. From an unforgettable childhood flight that planted the seed of a dream, to the societal pressures and personal challenges that followed, including early marriage, motherhood, and years supporting my ex-husband's photography business, you'll hear how I rediscovered my passion for becoming a flight attendant. Despite a challenging post-divorce period filled with odd jobs and eventual stability at Pottery Barn for Kids, my story is a testament to resilience and the undying human spirit.
In a quieter moment, we'll revisit a poignant experience from my early days at a jewelry store, where an act of kindness led to a surprising $18,000 sale. This chapter transitions into a significant January encounter with Leigh, a colleague whose dream about me reignited my childhood aspiration. Discover how Leigh's vision motivated me to explore opportunities at the local unemployment office, leading me to an accredited flight attendant program that set me on a new, life-changing career path in just days. As we wrap up, the episode underscores the importance of spreading kindness and positivity, inviting you to appreciate and support flight attendants everywhere. Let's create a ripple effect of positive change, one small act at a time. Be blessed, be kind, be safe, and don’t forget to hug a flight attendant today!
Have you ever wondered how a childhood dream can shape your entire life's journey? Today, I take you on an incredible adventure through a day plagued by a massive Microsoft computer outage leading to widespread flight disruptions, all while sharing my own transformative journey into the world of aviation. From an unforgettable childhood flight that planted the seed of a dream, to the societal pressures and personal challenges that followed, including early marriage, motherhood, and years supporting my ex-husband's photography business, you'll hear how I rediscovered my passion for becoming a flight attendant. Despite a challenging post-divorce period filled with odd jobs and eventual stability at Pottery Barn for Kids, my story is a testament to resilience and the undying human spirit.
In a quieter moment, we'll revisit a poignant experience from my early days at a jewelry store, where an act of kindness led to a surprising $18,000 sale. This chapter transitions into a significant January encounter with Leigh, a colleague whose dream about me reignited my childhood aspiration. Discover how Leigh's vision motivated me to explore opportunities at the local unemployment office, leading me to an accredited flight attendant program that set me on a new, life-changing career path in just days. As we wrap up, the episode underscores the importance of spreading kindness and positivity, inviting you to appreciate and support flight attendants everywhere. Let's create a ripple effect of positive change, one small act at a time. Be blessed, be kind, be safe, and don’t forget to hug a flight attendant today!
Where will you take flight next? Share your dreams in the comments! #TakeFlightWithMonica
Speaker 1:
Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa. What a day in the world of aviation today. Holy moly, holy moly, holy moly, if you are listening to me today. This happened on the 19th of July and evidently Microsoft like had some sort of issue today where all of the computers went down and I mean went down and the flights were just wacko crazy today, absolutely wacko crazy today. So, whoo, hello everyone. I want to say thank you for following what it's like to be a crazy fly girl in this big, beautiful world of ours.
Speaker 1:
I do love being a flight attendant. I've been a flight attendant now for, I think, a little over 13 years. I'd have to kind of figure everything out. It was my dream to become a flight attendant when I was traveling to see my grandmother as an unaccompanied minor when I believe, I want to say I was around the age of eight or nine, I think, and I remember looking at the flight attendant and I just thought she was just like the most beautiful, stunning thing I'd ever seen and it just left such an impression and she spoiled me and my sister. I don't remember her name, I don't remember exactly what she looked like, but what I do remember is the feeling she left with me and the feeling was just that of like wow, I was in complete and utter like just awe over her, over her. And I I thought, oh, I want to be just like her someday. I just want to be just like her.
Speaker 1:
And you know, when we have those dreams as kids, sometimes, I don't know, they kind of fade away, don't they? They fade away and you know, maybe it's like we feel like we're not smart enough, we're not pretty enough, we are not enough, and I felt like that. I felt like I was not enough. You know, I thought you had to be a certain age, I thought you had to be a certain weight, I thought you just had to look a certain way. And you know what, actually, back in the day that is so true, you did have to look a certain way and be a certain way and and like not be married, and all of that.
Speaker 1:
And I remember when I was driving to college and I remember driving past the academy in Vancouver, washington, and seeing the big billboard sign and this and the billboard said like now accepting applications and classes starting soon. And oh, I would just, when I go past there, I would just dream, I would just dream that someday. That would be so amazing if I could be a flight attendant and, as fate would have it, I don't know. I I was just. I was focused on college. I was focused on boys, a lot actually and I fell in love with two boys, one my junior year, one my senior year, and then the boy, or the man, that I ended up marrying and being married to for 20 years. We had an amazing life together. We really did, and I'll share that another time.
Speaker 1:
And I thought, because I was married and I had kids young, that that dream of becoming a flight attendant just was not a reality like I, just that's not something I could do. So I pretty much tabled my dream. I did it to myself, I never walked into the building, I never checked it out, I just assumed. And you know what they say when you assume you guys. What do they say? They say that you make an ass out of you and me when you assume. Right, that's what I was always told, anyways.
Speaker 1:
So, yeah, I went to college and, you know, became the mom, had my kids young, had my first son at age. Well, wait, oh, I'm driving. Guys, stand by, stand by, stand by. You're going to hear a little bit of road noise. Hopefully you guys can hear me okay, guys can hear me okay. But I got married at 21,. First baby at 23,. Next baby by the time I was 26. And so I have two handsome, incredible, amazing sons. Love them dearly. And I was married. I was married 20 years, 20 years. And, um, yeah, my dream got tabled, my and, and I'll share with you that. I lived my husband's dream and I was always in the thought pattern that you know, your, your man, you had to put your man on the pedestal, and your man, you stood by your man. And my man had a dream to become a photographer, and I stood by my man and we made that happen. We created a really great photography studio for 17 years, you guys, 17 years. We did that and it was an amazing experience and I'll share some of those stories about how we got started and all that we did and and we created a great life for ourselves.
Speaker 1:
But after our divorce and I got divorced in the year 2010, I was lost. I was really lost because I went from being a wife, a mom and a business owner a wife, a mom and a business owner to my kids going into the military, getting a divorce and the business went with the ex. So there I was like trying to figure out life. What am I going to do? Where am I going to go? Where do I want to live? And it was. It was a struggle, it was a difficult time in my life. I don't know if you guys have ever felt like that, where you just don't quite know where you belong. Well, that's how it felt for me. It just felt like I didn't know where I belonged and I remember doing some odd, like odd jobs, like some odd weird modeling jobs and like, just um, car shows and just weird stuff. I I I'm getting way off a subject here, off of, yeah, off of what we were talking about, but I mean, I was just doing different jobs and, um, yeah, just trying to find myself.
Speaker 1:
I ended up finally getting hired at Pottery Barn for Kids and that was a great job. I worked really hard for kids and that was a great job. I worked really hard, I had a really fun time, absolutely loved it, um, but it was very, very physically demanding and I just one day didn't love it anymore and that was the day where my stockroom boy didn't show up and I had to. I had to get a crib off of the bottom of a stack of like five cribs and each crib weighed, oh, about 150 pounds, and my stockroom boy just like up and quit and I thought, oh my gosh, there is just no way. There is no way, I am not cut out for this, to be wearing high heels and a skirt and lifting these cribs and doing all this craziness. And so I went from there to working at Nahoku Fine Jewelry and I loved it fine jewelry and I loved it. Oh my gosh, listening to the Hawaiian music and selling. I think I started somewhere around November. So, man, I was killing it. You guys, I was.
Speaker 1:
I was like really doing well, when my manager was training me, there was this she had gone over all the different types of jewelry, she had shown me how you do it. So when she went to lunch I thought that I would practice, I would practice selling. So this woman came in and you know she was dressed very modestly. She was, I think she was even wearing like an older t-shirt and sweatpants, no makeup, and I just greeted her with a big old smile and I took lots of time with her and I showed her all the different jewelry and I really took the whole lunch hour with this lady and this woman had liked a whole bunch of stuff that I had showed her. I had showed her and my manager comes back and my manager was giving me the stink eye about why are you spending so much time with this lady and she's probably not going to buy anything. And I was thinking, hey, don't judge a book by its cover. I mean, I want to treat everybody with love and respect and not just judge them by the way that they're dressed.
Speaker 1:
Well, this woman had a robbery happen and so, guys, do you know that she spent $18,000 on jewelry with me at the jewelry store and my manager's face was just shocked, absolutely shocked. Now I wish I could say I got the commissions for all that. I'm sure that my manager did, because I was still a trainee. So at that time I wasn't able to get all of the commissions, but it sure was fun. Anyways, I had a great time and I know that the lady enjoyed all the jewelry that she got and it was a very special moment for me at that time. It was really great and anyway. So back to the story. I'm getting like way super off track here. So I remember that in the holidays went great, and in January it's not so fun working in the jewelry industry because people are bringing returns and you're not busy and so it's rather boring.
Speaker 1:
And me and this other gal her name is lay and we had a lot in common, we talked a lot, and especially in january when we had nobody to sell to. And she comes in one day and she says monica, I had a dream about you last night and I'm like what, what do you mean? And she's like oh yeah, she's like I dreamt that you were a flight attendant. And I said, leigh, no, I can't be a flight attendant. I'm too old, I'm not in my 20s, I'm not, I don't weigh 100 pounds. And she said oh no, no. She said, flight attendants nowadays, they, they, you can no, your weight's fine, you don't have to be 100 pounds.
Speaker 1:
And I have a friend that's in her 60s and she's like oh no, no, I saw you doing it, I saw it, I saw it in my vision, in my dream. And do you know that? That little like words of wisdom or dream, or just telling me that it really sparked something in me, where I was like could this be possible? Could I really make this happen? Because, you guys, I was driving every day in the rain Funny, it's raining right now and it's raining, it's a rainy night in Georgia right now and, uh, I would just cry almost every day to work because I was lonely, I was sad, I wasn't happy in my life, I was missing my boys. I, you know, was still trying to recover from the loss of the marriage and I don't know if you guys ever felt like that. Have you felt just lost, lost for direction? You just, you know, you're just trying to figure out life, just trying to figure it out, and someone like Leigh comes along and gives you like a little lifeline, a glimmer of remembrance of my childhood dream. And I told her. I said I had a dream about that when I was younger and I told her the story about going as an unaccompanied minors to go and see my gran in California. And do you know that? I left that night and I went to that academy the very next day and I walked in there and I asked them are you an accredited school?
Speaker 1:
Now, there's a little back story with that that I do need to share, because I wasn't happy, I was probably driving an hour and a half to work and I don't know, it was really gloomy and rainy in Vancouver, washington, that particular season. And I think it was just me. I was just depressed and I remember just thinking I'm working so hard and I'm not getting anywhere. I wonder if there are any programs to support and to help me to change my life. And I went to the local I guess like work office I'm not quite sure, um, what the name of it was, but it's where basically they would rehabilitate you for a different career. And I walked into the it's where basically they would rehabilitate you for a different career. And I walked into the it's part of the unemployment office division. So I walked into there and they had just launched some new programs where it would help you go back to school. And I said, well, I already have my degree. Um, so how would that work? And they said said well, if you find an accredited school, it could be anything. And I thought about it. I was like, oh, do you think that the flight attendant school would be accredited? And I just walked right in there and, mind you, I'd never been in that building before. I walked in there and I asked them I just have one in there and, mind you, I'd never been in that building before. I walked in there and I asked them I just have one question, and one question only are you an accredited school? And they said, yes, we are.
Speaker 1:
You guys, that changed my life. I got registered and I think, like within four days I was going to school. Like within four days I was going to school and I was under a program like a like I got a partial grants and student loans and because I had no idea, like, how do I become a flight attendant? I had no idea, you guys, idea, I didn't know anyone in aviation. And so, yeah, I quit my job and there I was. I was in the school, in the academy and studying. It took me four months to graduate from the academy and be fully ready to go out and interview and I was so excited. I got my first interview and it was in Detroit and I got hired with my first airline.
Speaker 1:
And so exciting times, really, really exciting times, you guys. It was pretty dang awesome and you know there's so many stories amongst those stories, but that's the story I wanted to share with you is, you know, our childhood dreams. Like we forget. We forget about them. Life circumstances, things change, it's just life gets in the way and we don't even allow ourselves to dream, right, we don't, we don't, we just get busy with our day-to-day life and we just think it's not possible and we don't even try. I encourage you to try.
Speaker 1:
If there's something that I can help you with, please reach out to me, message me. I would be honored, honored, to coach you to your dream. And I do take on private clients. I don't take a lot of private clients because I like to really work with the few that really, oh my gosh, you guys, it's super raining, it's really raining hard. It's raining hard in Georgia and it's like midnight as I'm driving home. The glamorous life, oh my goodness. I'm driving home. The glamorous life, oh my goodness.
Speaker 1:
But back to what I was saying. I would be honored to help you achieve your dream, and I do. I have this incredible brain that it works in such fantastic ways and I have a gift of connecting people to their gift. It is. God has blessed me, has really really blessed me to help people. I've helped a lot of people in my life. It makes me feel so good to see you thrive in something that makes you so happy.
Speaker 1:
So, you know, reach out to me. Usually there's some show notes. You can see how you can reach out to me. Oh wait, I have my new website. You can reach out to me. So my new website is wwwtakeflightwithmonicacom. Wwwtakeflightwithmonicacom. You know, shoot me a little email and I will respond back to you. And, um, yeah, that would be so exciting, so fun.
Speaker 1:
I also do have group coaching. So private coaching is a little, uh, too much of a stretch for you. I do have group coaching and, um gosh, through the years I've had lots of fun with that, like during covid, I did a lot of group coaching and you'd be amazed, by just having an accountability partner and setting your goals and your intention, your life can change. And I'm not kidding you. It's so crazy how that works because, all of a sudden, instead of saying someday, someday, someday, somebody's holding your feet to the fire and saying, okay, well, you said you were going to do this, did you do it? Everybody's dream is different. Listen, there's no dream. That is too crazy. It's your dream. God gave you that dream. It's your dream. I don't care what it is, if it's something that makes you smile, makes you happy, and it's something that you maybe you want to write a book, or you want to start a podcast, or you want to create some Etsy products, or I don't know. It's your dream, but I know I can help you, but I know I can help you. Okay, so back to my story. Back to my story. So here we are.
Speaker 1:
I started my morning in Little Rock, arkansas and, honestly, I wish I could have stayed there today, because the hotel was adorable, it's in a really cute part of town and it was a beautiful day in Little Rock Arkansas. And all this craziness was going on in the world, with banks closing down and monitors not working and systems not working, and it really, really, really messed up a bunch of flights. I know that my company canceled over 1500 flights today and they were working hard to recover, moving people as quickly as they can to get back on track. And what a day. You guys, next time you see your flight attendant, I want to give them a big ol hug or a coffee card or something, because today was one of those crazy days and it's not over. It's not over for many of us. We were a sound like a lot of people in the crew room trying to get assistance, trying to get hotels, trying to get home to our loved ones, and it was the company was doing the best that they possibly can. They, they take really good care of us. They brought in snacks for us, they brought in some soda and some refreshments for us, they even brought in some pizza, just trying to accommodate all of us the best they could. But boy, it is like midnight and people were still trying to get flight attendants, were still trying to get help and the hotels are booked up. You guys, they were booked up like crazy.
Speaker 1:
So I'm blessed, I am so blessed. First of all, I'm blessed to be able to share my stories, speak from my heart, without having to feel guarded that I can't share my life and my stories and my wisdom with you, and so I love that. That's what I want this show to be where I can share some amazing, amazing things that are happening. You know the good and the bad and all of it. Well, hopefully not too much bad, right?
Speaker 1:
Anyways, today was a crazy day and Our first flights got delayed, delayed, delayed, delayed, delayed, delayed. And then we headed out on the journey to Atlanta and then, from there, our flight kept getting pushed back, pushed back, pushed back. I was supposed to be in Omaha tonight, but instead here I am in Georgia. So I'm lucky and blessed because I'm driving to my home and I live with my girlfriend, my friend Chrissy, and she has a beautiful horse farm with 17 horses. She has, uh, she's a horse trainer. So, anyways, I'm really blessed because a big storm's going on right now and it's thunder and lightning and the roads are super wet and, uh, the roads are really crowded.
Speaker 1:
Um, at midnight I took some pictures, oh, you guys, hey, I want to invite you to join me on my Telegram channel because I will be posting pictures of my travels and more information on there. It's completely free for you guys. So when you go to my website, I will, I can connect you to all of this. So make sure you go to take flight with Monica calm and I'll get you connected to free, free, free and me, so, anyway. So I'm so blessed, I'm driving home and tomorrow's a new day, and just be kind.
Speaker 1:
Wherever you're at in the world, put yourself in somebody else's shoes with what their day was like. I know it gets frustrated when things are happening, but just put on a happy face, keep your vibes good and positive and think about how you can make a difference in somebody's world. Maybe that's stopping at a starbucks, getting that little five dollar, ten dollar gift card and saying I know you had a really rough day, thank you for being here, thank you for getting this home safely, thank you, thank you, thank you, and watch the red carpet roll out for you in more ways than one, not just when we have people do nice things for us, but also karmically. Be kind, you know. Love your neighbor, help your neighbor. Right, we don't need extra stress in the world.
Speaker 1:
Well, you guys, I probably better go for now. Thank you for listening to me. Make sure that you go to my website and I'll get you connected with me. You can reach out to me for coaching, private coaching and group coaching. All right, everyone Be blessed. Be kind, be safe and hug a flight attendant. Everyone be blessed. Be kind, be safe and hug a flight attendant. I'll see you somewhere in the world. Now, if I can only turn this darn thing off, be blessed.
