Ep. 297 Gratitude on the Flight Deck: Tiny Acts. Big Impact.
Ready 4 Pushback
Nik Fialka
4.8 • 716 Ratings
🗓️ 13 November 2025
⏱️ 17 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
After a long, stressful day, one unexpected pay-it-forward moment at an airport burrito line sent Nik down a rabbit hole: why does gratitude feel so good—and how can pilots use it to boost safety, performance, and culture?
In this solo episode, Nik breaks down the brain science (dopamine, serotonin, prefrontal "rest & digest"), then turns it into cockpit-ready habits you can use with FOs, flight attendants, ramp, maintenance, students, and chief pilots alike. Short, practical, and instantly usable.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, pilot, welcome back to Ready for Pushback Solo Show. Let's Talk gratitude. |
| 0:10.2 | It all started as a spark. Maybe it was the sound of jets racing across the sky. |
| 0:17.7 | Or the feeling of your heart racing as you watch Crop Duster flying low and slow. |
| 0:23.6 | Even then, you knew you were meant to fly. |
| 0:27.6 | For pilots, it's more than just a job. It's a calling. |
| 0:32.6 | The early mornings, the long hours, the relentless training, you didn't do it for the money. You did it for |
| 0:39.3 | that moment. That moment when the wheels lift off and the earth falls away beneath you. But flying is |
| 0:46.1 | just the beginning. The journey to your dream job takes more than just skill in the sky. It takes |
| 0:51.5 | strategy on the ground and a lifetime of learning. |
| 0:55.0 | Most pilots don't understand what career opportunities are available in the world of aviation. |
| 1:01.0 | Learn how to go from good to great, from flight school to regional to major, and from hopeful to hired. |
| 1:09.0 | Whether you're sharpening your skills, building your resume, or preparing for that big interview, |
| 1:15.0 | this is where pilots come to level up. |
| 1:17.5 | Let's get ready for pushback. |
| 1:19.6 | Here's your host and my dad, Nick Fialca. |
| 1:23.3 | The other day, I was at the airport and I was going to get some dinner. |
| 1:28.5 | And if you've ever been to an airport, you know that there are not really good choices for dinner. |
| 1:36.1 | And so I was like, all right, what's the least bad thing here? |
| 1:40.1 | So I went to Kodoba and got a burrito. |
| 1:43.5 | I was in line. |
| 1:44.2 | Just kind of, you know, making my way through. |
| 1:46.4 | Not really talking to anybody. |
... |
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