What Color is Your Paraglider? Career Transition

“Every person has the opportunity to create. I think anything that we create, and gives our personal life purpose, is life. Living a life without a passion, a dream, or a purpose is what makes living harder. Life is hard in itself, it’s fleeting, you can’t predict the future, and all we have is this moment.” -Greg Kelley, Paraglide Instructor and USPHA official (United States Hang Gliding Association) which governs all foot launched non-powered aviation in the United States..

What color is your Paraglider? I remember going through jump school back at the start of my military career, and realizing how much I loved it. The reason was because I have a very active mind, and while I was jumping, the only thing I could think about was the present moment. Flash forward about 10 years, I went through Paragliding school and felt the same about the concept of flying. I realized through my instruction, that the choices I made during launch, flight, and landing, paralleled my life choices. You choose your flight path and trajectory and go towards your goal/passion versus waiting for it to come to you. I learned from some amazing instructors/mentors who came from around the World.

You choose what type of glider you have, pay attention to your weather (winds and clouds), and pick your flight path according to where you want your life to go/land. Ground school and patience are both critical. My longest flight to date was in Richfield, Utah this past year, where I did feel my mediation in the sky. Being able to fly over the mountain peaks and land at my destination was so rewarding. I was grateful to have learned from some of the best instructors in the Nation. I flew towards my goal.

Now the correlation back to careers. Most of us have at least glanced at the book “What Color is Your Parachute” by Dick Bolles, that highlights career transition. This book is focused on job-hunters and career changes, and the analogy of the variations of your parachute being tied to your path in life. The ‘parachute way’ asks you to figure out who you are, and what you love to do the most. Then you decide what organizations or types of careers match you. You do not wait until something or someone comes your way.

As I talk to people through their transitions in career or life, I try to use paragliding as an example. You go to your destiny, do not wait for it to come to you. I took the opportunity to interview one of the top Paragliding instructors in the Nation, Greg Kelley, to ask him his thoughts about flying and about the parallels to career and life choices. Greg is located in Avon/Vail, Colorado.

Liz: Why did you start paragliding? What inspired you to start? When did you start?

Greg: I started paragliding in 1991. What interested me was the concept of climbing up a mountain and instead of hiking down was to be able to fly down. I had been into rock and ice climbing with some occasional mountaineering since my teenage years. I originally saw paragliding in Whistler BC while skiing. The simple concept of laying an inflatable airfoil on the ground, running forward to inflate and take off a mountain seemed so simple. I had the opportunity once I moved to Vail, CO and while learning realized that there was more to free-flight than I thought. It has been a fulltime passion for 28 years.

Liz: What is your favorite part of doing it?

Greg: I’d have to say my favorite part is being one with the 5 elements of nature. Air, earth, fire, water, void. Being able to be in the air, and an environment that is foreign to human capabilities, and to experience the beauty and the scenery of our planet from the sky is euphoric. To be able to share it with other creatures with flying being their main domain is living the dream.

Liz: Do you find it scary? Where do you push the edge?

Greg: At times I find it scary, especially when I am not sure the decisions that I made in the air were the correct decisions. I always try to give myself a margin of error that will allow me have a landing option, or enough altitude to correct for any canopy problems. If you can get high and stay high, there is more safety to push the limits. Being close to the ground is not the place to push to the edge.

Liz: To me, it represents transition in life. Where you almost meditate to be present and not overthink. What do you think about this analogy? Do you find it peaceful?

Greg: I think with as many pilots that there are, you will find many different answers. For me there is a correlation to meditation as you will find yourself in the moment or being in the present. To me that is the peace you feel while being in the air. The mind clutter disappears as every sense has to be open to input especially smell, touch, hearing, and sight.

Liz: Where is your favorite place to go?

Greg: There are some places in the world that are really ideal areas for free-flight. I haven’t been able to travel all over the world but I do have a few favorites that I regularly visit because of consistency and access. In the US I would say Chelan, WA is one of my favorites. Not only do you get mountain flying, but the flat landing flying is spectacular with definitely some consistent cross country potential. This is one of the reasons there is a competition there almost yearly.

I have had the opportunity to fly in the Alps of France in the Mt Blanc area. The culture of Europe embraces that sport of free-flight and the infrastructure and access is amazing. There are multiple world class flying sites in and around the Chamonix and Annecy area, conditions seem to work every day regardless of the meteorological weather.

Liz: How do you think paragliding correlates to life?

Greg: Every person has the opportunity to create. I think anything that we create, and gives our personal life purpose, is life. Living a life without a passion, a dream, or a purpose is what makes living harder. Life is hard in itself, it’s fleeting, you can’t predict the future, and all we have is this moment. Any activity, love, or passion that brings us in the moment transcends any pain or suffering. The challenge of paragliding, with our attention to the senses, brings us into the moment and everything in this life makes perfect sense. No more clutter.

Liz: How does paragliding correlate to career choices and transition?

Greg: I would say that in a career change as well as in paragliding the choices and decisions we make are directly related to the outcome. Both take time, study, and practice to achieve the desired goals. Mistakes along the way are usually frustrating but are our best teachers. I feel patience with the process enhances the learning and growth process. One of the most important values I've learned from paragliding is never give up. Low saves in flying can be the most rewarding. It's the same in a career, when it's the most challenging, and you make the breakthrough you reach to a higher level you never thought possible.