Aim Point

“My altimeter showed me plummeting through 1,000 feet. I wasn’t flying any more—I was falling out of the sky. It would only be a matter of seconds before I hit the ground at more than 100 miles per hour and exploded in a fireball.” In his thrilling and thoughtful book, Colonel Bruce Hurd vividly describes the adventure, excitement, and triumph he felt during his 30-year career as an Air Force officer and pilot. He also talks movingly about confronting the disappointment, fear, and shame arising from very painful and difficult personal ordeals he faced. With courage and honesty, Colonel Hurd unveils the fears, disappointments, and shame he overcame to be a life-changing leader both at home and abroad. His wit and ability to see the big picture give us a new perspective on possibilities. Colonel Hurd describes the pain of growing up with an alcoholic mother—a decades-long, heartbreaking experience that affected him throughout his life. He also discusses other distressing events in his life that caused him shame: being humiliated and verbally abused by a revered 6th grade teacher; going through a painful divorce caused by his first wife’s manipulation and dishonesty; and receiving the medical diagnosis he would not be able to realize his lifelong dream of fathering a child. Colonel Hurd also paints a vivid picture of going through Air Force pilot training, a highly demanding, yet ultimately successful, year-long training course. Most importantly, he shows what he learned from these and other experiences, and how he grew from having lived through them. Through Colonel Hurd’s powerful descriptions, often told with a dry wit, readers gain a real appreciation for the rich and full life of a career military officer. After great success in numerous leadership positions as an Air Force officer and a program manager for a large technology company, he also speaks to the importance of being able to reinvent ourselves throughout our lives. He concludes his book by introducing the reader to his eight “Aim Point” principles that have been his touchstones when confronted with the need for personal reinvention throughout his life. He will inspire those questioning their life journey with stories of finding direction and reinvention in the midst of adversity and change. He will thrill those following their dream with his accounts of close calls and near misses. He will teach those struggling in life with his lessons and life strategies for learning to fly again.