Welcome to the Main Thing Podcast, your wisdom podcast. I'm Skip Lineberg and I'll be your host.   Twice each month, we bring you a concise, high impact wisdom lesson. Fresh insights and unique perspectives from the wisest people around.   Studying their wisdom and learning together, we all get a little better at life.   From Combat to Creativity - Rob Akers' Journey  In this episode, you hear from my good friend, Rob Akers. Rob is a professional pilot, a father, a husband, creative writer and combat veteran.   In this wide-ranging, intimate wisdom conversation, you'll hear about: What it feels like to be shot at while flying an airplane; How this brave man deals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); and How the creative writing process looks from within the creative mind.   More About Our Wise Guest - Rob Akers Rob Akers is not a speaker, thinker, teacher, philosopher, intellectual psychologist, preacher or entrepreneur. Rob is just a regular guy who is trying to get through life by making his world a little better every day.   Rob and I recorded inside Parkwood Studios in Charleston, West Virginia.   Resources Rob's published story in Spurs & Six Shooters: Tales of the Old West on Amazon. Connect with Rob on Facebook   Credits Editor + Technical Advisor Bob Hotchkiss Brand + Strategy Advisor Andy Malinoski PR + Partnerships Advisor Rachel Bell Marketing, Social Media and Graphic Design Chloe Lineberg   Stay Connected with Us on Social YouTube @themainthingpod Twitter @themainthingpod Instagram @themainthingpod Facebook  @TheMainThingPod LinkedIn   Help Support and Sustain This Podcast Become a subscriber. Share the podcast with one or two friends. Follow us on social media @TheMainThingPod Buy some Main Thing Merch from our Merchandise Store. Buy a book from our curated wisdom collection on bookshop.org. Become a patron and support us on Patreon with funding.   Episode Chapters [0:03:02] - Being shot at while flying an airplane [0:06:07] - How Skip and Rob are connected  [0:06:40] - Rob's career in aviation; military service [0:09:56] - Rob shares his Main Thing wisdom [0:13:24] - Survival, love and the will to live [0:15:46] - PTSD, forgiveness and healing [0:18:19] - Importance of having a counterbalance on the aircraft and in life [0:19:14] - Rob pulls back the curtain on his creative writing practice