The Side by Side ATC Podcast

In this episode, I talk about the first law you HAVE to follow if you want Academy success.The Law of the Lid is all about making sure that your personal ceiling of growth is high enough that you can pass the Academy.This law is all about your willingness to learn. It's all about you making the decision to be coachable, willing to listen to the criticism that IS going to come your way. Learn every day! Get everything you can from every instructor you work with! Be willing to learn, and raise your Lid!If you have any questions or comments, you can text me at: 817-233-8199.You can also email me at: tomhanes@sidebysideatc.com .The website is: sidebysideatc.com .Have a great week!

In this episode, I introduce my 7 Laws of Academy Success. I give you a small taste of what each law is and why it is important.The 7 Laws are:The Law of the LidThe Law of ProcessThe Law of PrioritiesThe Law of NavigationThe Law of ComposureThe Law of MomentumThe Law of CoachabilityThese laws need to be followed to have success at the FAA Academy. I have seen a lot of students follow them, and I've seen a lot of students who didn't. That is why I will be going over them in the next weeks.If you have questions, or comments, you can text me at : 817-233-8199 or email me at: tomhanes@sidebysideatc.com .Thank you for listening! And have a great day!

In this episode, I talk about why I think it is an amazing privilege to be an air traffic controller. I talk about the small number of people in the USA who get to be air traffic controllers, and the even smaller number who get to be students at the FAA Academy.If you are wanting to be an air traffic controller and are willing to change your life in order to accomplish that goal, then you are already one of the few, one of the microscopic number of people in this country, who are willing to try this career.And you are NEEDED now more than ever!If you want to talk about where you are on this journey, you can text me at: 817-233-8199 ,or you can email me at: tomhanes@sidebysideatc.com . You can also go to my website sidebysideatc.com for more information about coaching programs and video programs.I hope and pray that you all have incredible new years!! And thank you for listening and allowing me the privilege of doing this podcast!

In this episode, I talk about what may just be THE MOST IMPORTANT thing you can ever do to help you as a student at the FAA Academy.Being prepared for the Academy is NOT a choice! It is something that you either do, or not. Once you make the choice to not prepare, you will probably never get a chance to change that decision, and that is so very unfortunate.There are 4 major areas that you need to make sure you have prepared for BEFORE you get to OKC:Academic Mental and EmotionalLifestyleExpectations vs RealityI go over each of these areas as well as giving you insight into the "Why" of some of the things the Academy does.Understand this: Talent helps, but Preparation determines who survives and thrives at the Academy.If you have questions or just want to talk about where you are, email me at : tomhanes@sidebysideatc.com .If you want information about my coaching programs, you can get that at my website : sidebysideatc.com .Thank you very much for listening! Have a wonderful New Year!

In this episode, I talk about what it is like to be an air traffic controller during the Christmas season. I also talk about what it is like to be a student at the Academy during Christmas. I was there myself during Christmas as a student.The most important thing to make sure of is that you have a plan for the Holidays and that you include your family and loved ones. You WILL be able to make memories with your family every year, but, a lot of those years are going to take some planning in order to make those special moments happen. Those memories are worth anything you have to do, any leave you have to take, any shift swap you have to make. They are worth it!!MERRY CHRISTMAS!!Thank you all for listening! I hope and pray that you all have a wonderful Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year!!

In this episode, I talk about another topic from the amazing John Maxwell. I talk about how we can take our talent to the next level. The steps involved are :Learn to Listen. This is probably the most important skill an air traffic controller needs to do their job well.Understand the Learning Process. This is SO important while at the Academy. You have to understand that your improvement is a process that includes- Action; Looking for and evaluating your mistakes; searching for a better, or correct, way to do the tasks; and starting the process over again.Look For and Plan Teachable Moments. Look for moments where you can learn from someone else AND GET BETTER.Make Those Teachable Moments Count. Put into practice what you learn from the teachable moments. Put them into practice immediately or the moments will be gone and the opportunity lost.Ask Yourself, " Am I Really Teachable?" Am I willing to listen to someone else and learn everything I can from them? Remember- "Everything we know, we learned from someone else!"- John WoodenIt is great to have talent, but there is always a higher level that we can take our talent to if we care enough about being the best that we can be.Thank you all for listening!If you have a question, or comment, you can text me at: 817-233-8199 , or email me at : tomhanes@sidebysideatc.com .You can also find information about my coaching programs at : sidebysideatc.com .Have a wonderful week!

In this episode, I talk about how you need to understand what the Academy is going to do to you while you are there.The Academy is going to stretch you, kick you, lift you up on amazing highs, and send you to unbelievable lows. And that is all before you even get close to your evals.One of the keys to succeeding at the Academy is knowing, and preparing for, what is coming. You need to know what to expect. you need to know the goals that the FAA haas for each and every one of you. If you know and understand their goals and the processes they will use to reach those goals, then you can deal with the INEVITABLE ups and downs that are going to happen while you are at the Academy. Those ups and downs are part of the process because they are the same ups and downs you will face for the rest of your career as a controller.So, start preparing yourself when you first get your date to go to OKC. Prepare yourself, mentally, emotionally, and physically for the Academy. If you do this ahead of your arrival to OKC, the probability that you will pass skyrockets!Once you get to the Academy, use your knowledge of the process to get you past the bad days that 100% of you WILL have. Understand that the bad days ARE part of the process. You will have to go through them to get to your goals!!Thank you all for listening!!If you have questions or comments, you can text me at 817-233-8199or email me at tomhanes@sidebysideatc.com .You can also get information about my coaching programs at sidebysideatc.com .Have a great week!!

In this episode, I talk about what you can do to virtually ensure that you pass the Academy!Strong words, I know. It all starts before you get to OKC:Know your MAPKnow the phonetic alphabetDuring Basics:Study more than anyone else in your classBe the person your classmates come to with questionsBe willing to do what it takes to helpDuring EnRoute/Tower/Terminal:Know the phraseology and strip marking best than anyone elseBe the leader of the study groupsMake sure no classmate is EVER left out of the study groupsIf someone is struggling, be the first to offer to help, and keep helping until they get betterIf you will commit to doing these things, YOU WILL PASS THE ACADEMY!! And so will your classmates!!Thank you all for listening!If you have any questions or comments, you can text me at: 817-233-8199 .You can also email me at: tomhanes@sidebysideatc.com , or go to the website at :sidebysideatc.com .Have a wonderful week!

In this episode, I talk about one of the most important things you have to have to be successful as an air traffic controller. CONSISTENCY !Motivation gets you going, but discipline keeps you growing!You have to practice consistently. You have to train consistently. You have to study SOP's, LOA's and every other document you can get your hands on in order to grow and succeed as an air traffic controller. These are not options: they are things you MUST do!Practice with intention. Practice with others. Only practice using the right phraseology, the right steps, the right strip marking. Make permanent the right way of doing these things!Each day matters! TODAY MATTERS! MAKE IT COUNT!Thank you all for listening. It means so much that you are there. I hope and pray that I am helping you as you go along this journey.If you have a question, or comment, you can text me at : 817-233-8199or email me at : tomhanes@sidebysideatc.com .You can also find information about my coaching programs and video program at :sidebysideatc.com .Have a wonderful week!

In this episode, I take John Maxwell's teaching on successful personal change and see how it relates to those of you who are trying to become, or already are, air traffic controllers.The 6 steps are:Change your thinking, and you change your beliefs.Change your beliefs, and you change your expectations.Change your expectations, and you change your attitude.Change your attitude, and you change your behavior.Here's where it gets REALLY good!Change your behavior, and you change your performance!Change your performance, and YOU CHANGE YOUR LIFE!You can change your life, but it all starts with changing your thinking and your thoughts.Remember: You can't change someone else, but you CAN change yourself.Thank you for listening!If you have a question or comment, you can text me at: 817-233-8199.You can also email me at: tomhanes@sidebysideatc.com .You can go to the website at: sidebysideatc.com .Hope you all have a great week!

In this episode, I look back at my first day at the Academy, November 8, 1988. I also look ahead to what it might be like to be an air traffic controller in your future.I talk about some of the things you will have to endure while being an air traffic controller. Things like:Weird schedules and days off.Being a government employee during shutdowns and threats of shutdowns.Lack of sleep.etc. , etc. , etc.Yet with all of this negative stuff, I still think that this career is amazing and SO worth trying to be a part of. A lot will change over the next decades in ATC. I believe that the need for controllers will continue to grow and the technology should be fascinating to see. If your dream is to be an air traffic controller, then I would wholeheartedly suggest you pursue that dream. The pursuit of it will change you in ways you can't even consider until you get there!Thank you all for listening!If you have a question, or comment, you can text me at : 817-233-8199.You can email me at: tomhanes@sidebysideatc.com .You can visit the website at : sidebysideatc.com . ( The Radar videos are almost finished with the Non-Radar videos to come in a few weeks.)

In this episode, I talk about how you can be prepared for the evals at the Academy.Last week, I talked about NERVES and what you can do to mitigate them as much as possible. This week, I talk about what that looks like.It requires you to commit to becoming better every single day you are in OKC. That commitment is essential to becoming the best you can be while you are at the Academy.If you need help making that commitment, or need help keeping that commitment, let me know. We will set up a time when we can talk and see what you may need to do to make those commitments come true.You can text me at : 817-233-8199You can email me at: tomhanes@sidebysideatc.comYou can go to the website and sign up to have me contact you at: sidebysideatc.com Thank you all for listening!! Have a great week!!

In this episode, I go back to a couple of my first episodes and talk about one of the hardest things about the Academy: NERVES.I talk about what you can do to limit the effect of the nerves you are going to have. I also talk about the fact that being nervous before an eval is NOT necessarily a bad thing- it means you care!Prepare as much as you can, and don't let yourself lose sight of why you are there and what you want to accomplish!If you have a comment or question, you can TEXT me at 817-233-8199 or email me at tomhanes@sidebysideatc.com . I would love to hear from you!You can also go to the website: sidebysideatc.com , to see information on the coaching programs that I offer.thank you all for listening! Have a great week!

In this episode, I talk about multi-tasking as an air traffic controller. Multi-tasking is doing more than one thing at the same time. If you use that definition, air traffic controllers DO NOT multi-task. We do ONE thing at a time. We just do them so quickly that it appears that we are multi-tasking.The problem with multi-tasking is that when we try to do more than one thing at a time, we don't do anything as well as we could have!! Period!Instead of trying to multi-task, get better at doing one thing at a time correctly and going to the next task quickly. Then do the next task correctly, and so on.Speed kills! Speed is not your goal at the academy. Accuracy is your goal! As you practice and practice and practice, you will get faster naturally. But, always pursue accuracy over speed.If you have any questions or comments, you can text me at : 817-233-8199 or email me at tomhanes@sidebysideatc.com . You can also go to the website at: sidebysideatc.com for information about my coaching programs.Thank you for listening!! Have a great week!

In this episode, I talk about the mindset that you need to have to do well at the Academy.The Academy is not college, and it is definitely not high school. The Academy is unlike anything you have experienced and if you don't have the right mindset going into it, you are likely to get behind and not be able to catch up.You have to treat the Academy as your job, which is exactly what it is. If you have the mindset that you are an employee of the FAA, that your employer has certain expectations from you, and that you are going to do whatever it takes to meet those expectations, then you have a great chance of succeeding. If you don't have that mindset, your chances of succeeding go down drastically.Treat your time at the Academy, or at CTI school, as a job, with the highest expectations on their employees, and you can succeed. Get as many people around you to help you on this journey and help those who are trying to help you. Do these things and you can be on the road to one of the greatest careers there is.If you have a question or comment, you can email me at: tomhanes@sidebysideatc.com .You can also text me at : 817-233-8199 .The website with coaching programs is: sidebysideatc.com .Thank you all for listening!! Have a great week!!

In this episode, I talk about government shutdowns that I have been through and talk about how the shutdowns can affect you as an air traffic controller at the Academy and at your facility.The shutdowns are going to happen. The best thing you can do is be prepared for them so that your family is not impacted.If you have any questions about this episode or have an idea for an episode, just send me an email or text.My email is : tomhanes@sidebysideatc.com .You can text me at : 817-233-8199 .The website is : sidebysideatc.com .I hope you have a great week! Thank you all for listening!!!

In this episode, I talk about how an activity tracker can impact your life and your life as a student at the Academy.I talk about that trackers themselves, as well as why you need one and how it can help.Some things to remember about the trackers themselves:This is for you to use to track YOUR practice.This is not a competition with other students.The only competition is with yourself.I am offering my Pre-OKC, Non-Radar, and Radar trackers to each of you for FREE!Yes, that is FREE with no strings now or ever! All you have to do is either email me at : tomhanes@sidebysideatc.com or text me at : 817-233-8199 .Make sure to let me know what stage you are at : POKC, NR, or Radar or something to that effect.There will NOT be a link for this on my website! Text or email only!These will not be available for a limited time only, They will be available whenever you need them!No Strings Attached!! Ever!!Thank you all for listening! I hope you have a great week!!

In this episode, I talk about being intentional while you are at the Academy. I talk about what this is, what it looks like, why you need this and more.Most students are not intentional about their time while at the Academy. I have never known a student who could coast through and pass. I have know some who have tried. I was actually one of them; until I figured out that coasting was not going to work. I changed in time to pass. I had a couple of classmates who didn't change... and didn't pass.This is not the first time I have talked about this subject, but I can not stress how important it is to be intentional with your time while at the Academy.Thank you all for listening!If you have questions or just need to talk, you can email me at tomhanes@sidebysideatc.com . Or you can visit the website at sidebysideatc.com .Have a great week!

In this episode, I try to build on what I've been talking about for the last couple of weeks. This week, I talk about another John Maxwell podcast that talks about finding your purpose and reaching your dreams.We each need a dream to shoot for, or you may want to call it a purpose for our life. We have to have something that we are reaching, or striving, for. Whether that is to be an air traffic controller or to be something else, we need to have something that we have to work toward, or strive after.Once we have found this, we need to ask ourselves 4 questions:What price are you willing to pay to reach your goal?How long are you willing to stay to reach your goal?What things are you willing to delay to reach your goal?Who are you willing to slay to reach your goal? Or who are you willing to let into your inner circle to help you reach your goal?When it comes to passing the Academy, these are questions that need to be answered BEFORE you get to OKC. Then you need to ask yourself these questions often as you go through the Academy.All goals that are worth attaining are going to be "Uphill Goals." They are going to require effort on your part to get there, They are going to require that effort "All the way." You are not going to be able to coast and reach your goals.I offered a challenge to each of you as I, too, begin a journey to try to reach some goals that I have, Let me know what your dreams and goals are, what you are going to do daily to reach them, and maybe we can help each other. Maybe we can walk Side by Side along this journey instead of feeling like we have to do it on our own.I'm here. You can email me at: tomhanes@sidebysideatc.com .The website is at: sidebysideatc.com .Thank you all for listening!! Have a great week!!

In this episode, I let you know that you ARE going to have tough times while you are at the Academy. It is a given. It happens to 100% of the students!Some things that will help when this happens are:Make the decision to not give up BEFORE you get to OKC.Make sure you do everything you can do TODAY. Don't worry about tomorrow or the next day.Be intentional about every day at the Academy; even when you are taking time away from ATC.You have to make each day count while in OKC. Make each day count BEFORE you get to OKC.Remember: Today Matters !!Thank you all for listening!I can't believe it has been 1 YEAR of podcasts!!If you have a question, email me at: tomhanes@sidebysideatc.com .The website is at: sidebysideatc.com .If you like the music, you can find more at gregorianrock.com . ( A friend of mine's band)