--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: With the stick in my right hand, the…" description: "\"With the stick in my right hand, the throttle in my left, and the rudder beneath my feet, I can savor that essence from which life is made.\" — Stephen ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95c/stephen-coonts-26907_essence_with-the-stick-in-my-right-hand-the-thro_1641332.png" --- # With the stick in my right hand, the throttle in my left… ![“With the stick in my right hand, the throttle in my left, and the rudder beneath my feet, I can savor that essence from which life is made.” quote by Stephen Coonts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95c/stephen-coonts-26907_essence_with-the-stick-in-my-right-hand-the-thro_1641332.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95c/stephen-coonts-26907_essence_with-the-stick-in-my-right-hand-the-thro_1641332.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95c/stephen-coonts-26907_essence_with-the-stick-in-my-right-hand-the-thro_1641332.png) > “With the stick in my right hand, the throttle in my left, and the rudder beneath my feet, I can savor that essence from which life is made.” [Stephen Coonts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-coonts/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Control over multiple aspects of life gives a deep, immersive experience of existence. **In simple terms:** Mastery of tools creates a vivid life experience. Key Takeaway Seek balanced control. Themes skill mastery experience Mood focused determined Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - aviation - driving - sports - creative work Key Concepts humanism technology Questions to Reflect On - Which tools empower you most? - How do you maintain balance? A Different Perspective Over‑control can cause stress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Essence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essence/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Rudder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rudder/) [Wheeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wheeling/) ## Related quotes > [But to fly is just like swimming. You do not forget easily. I have been on the ground for more than ten years. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saburo-sakai/but-to-fly-is-just-like-swimming-you-do-not-forget-easily-i-have-been/) Saburo Sakai > [I am alive. Up here with the song of the engine and the air whispering on my face as the sunlight and shadows play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-coonts/i-am-alive-up-here-with-the-song-of-the-engine-and-the-air-whispering/) [Stephen Coonts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-coonts/) > [Law is the rudder of the ship of state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-o-malley/law-is-the-rudder-of-the-ship-of-state/) [Austin O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-o-malley/) > [The man without religion is as a ship without a rudder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/the-man-without-religion-is-as-a-ship-without-a-rudder/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [A project without a critical path is like a ship without a rudder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-project-without-a-critical-path-is-like-a-ship-without-a-rudder/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As a child, during the war, I drew Spitfires and Messerschmitts. With Spot, I found that I had designed a fuselage! His spot is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hill/as-a-child-during-the-war-i-drew-spitfires-and-messerschmitts-with/) Eric Hill > [We are never without a pilot. When we know not how to steer, and dare not hoist a sail, we can drift. The current…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-are-never-without-a-pilot-when-we-know-not-how-to-steer-and-dare/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [How can a man learn navigation Where there's no rudder?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-fry/how-can-a-man-learn-navigation-where-there-s-no-rudder/) [Christopher Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-fry/) > [After Watergate, America was a ship without a rudder. Vietnam was left to its own devices, drifting along towards its fate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nguyen-cao-ky/after-watergate-america-was-a-ship-without-a-rudder-vietnam-was-left/) [Nguyen Cao Ky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nguyen-cao-ky/) > [“The person who has some awareness of the past knows how to fashion a rudder and which direction land is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kareem-abdul-jabbar/the-person-who-has-some-awareness-of-the-past-knows-how-to-fashion-a/) [Kareem Abdul-Jabbar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kareem-abdul-jabbar/) > [Never fly anything that doesn't have the paint worn off the rudder Pedals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-harry/never-fly-anything-that-doesn-t-have-the-paint-worn-off-the-rudder/) Bill Harry > [“Like the Bismarck, each of us is a miracle of engineering. Our creation, however, was not limited by human genius. Man can devise the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson-2/like-the-bismarck-each-of-us-is-a-miracle-of-engineering-our-creation/) Thomas S Monson > [The first hour of the morning is the rudder of the day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/the-first-hour-of-the-morning-is-the-rudder-of-the-day/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“I would rather rudder”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-garcia/i-would-rather-rudder/) Victor J. Garcia > [If we are strong, and have faith in life and its richness of surprises, and hold the rudder steadily in our hands. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/if-we-are-strong-and-have-faith-in-life-and-its-richness-of-surprises/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) ## More by Stephen Coonts > [I am alive. Up here with the song of the engine and the air whispering on my face as the sunlight and shadows play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-coonts/i-am-alive-up-here-with-the-song-of-the-engine-and-the-air-whispering/) [Stephen Coonts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-coonts/) > [The irony of the information age is that it lends credibility to uninformed opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-coonts/the-irony-of-the-information-age-is-that-it-lends-credibility-to/) [Stephen Coonts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-coonts/) > [Flying is like sex - I've never had all I wanted but occasionally I've had all I could stand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-coonts/flying-is-like-sex-i-ve-never-had-all-i-wanted-but-occasionally-i-ve/) [Stephen Coonts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-coonts/) > [“If it floats, flies or fucks, rent—don’t buy!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-coonts/if-it-floats-flies-or-fucks-rent-don-t-buy/) [Stephen Coonts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-coonts/) > [Flight is romance - not in the sense of sexual attraction, but as an experience that enriches life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-coonts/flight-is-romance-not-in-the-sense-of-sexual-attraction-but-as-an/) [Stephen Coonts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-coonts/) > [The most crucial thing is to learn the craft: how to string sentences together, how to make your dialogue sound like real people, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-coonts/the-most-crucial-thing-is-to-learn-the-craft-how-to-string-sentences/) [Stephen Coonts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-coonts/) > [Here above the farms and ranches of the Great Plains aviation lives up to the promise that inspired dreamers through the ages. Here you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-coonts/here-above-the-farms-and-ranches-of-the-great-plains-aviation-lives/) [Stephen Coonts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-coonts/) > [“Don't let the assholes grind you down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-coonts/don-t-let-the-assholes-grind-you-down/) [Stephen Coonts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-coonts/) > [“Back when I was a callow youth, if I had known how miserable the hours would be working for the CIA, I would have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-coonts/back-when-i-was-a-callow-youth-if-i-had-known-how-miserable-the-hours/) [Stephen Coonts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-coonts/) > [“I’ve talked to Molina three times today, and he wants me to pull the rabbit out of the hat now”.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-coonts/i-ve-talked-to-molina-three-times-today-and-he-wants-me-to-pull-the/) [Stephen Coonts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-coonts/) > [This thing we call luck is merely professionalism and attention to detail, it's your awareness of everything that is going on around you, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-coonts/this-thing-we-call-luck-is-merely-professionalism-and-attention-to/) [Stephen Coonts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-coonts/) > [The hard, inescapable reality is that anyone who flies may die in an airplane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-coonts/the-hard-inescapable-reality-is-that-anyone-who-flies-may-die-in-an/) [Stephen Coonts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-coonts/) > [A little mountain will kill you just as dead as a big one if you fly into it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-coonts/a-little-mountain-will-kill-you-just-as-dead-as-a-big-one-if-you-fly/) [Stephen Coonts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-coonts/) > [“but until we fix the government policies that breed poverty, we have condemned the poor, black, white, and brown to a life of economic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-coonts/but-until-we-fix-the-government-policies-that-breed-poverty-we-have/) [Stephen Coonts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-coonts/) > [All really great flying adventures begin at dawn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-coonts/all-really-great-flying-adventures-begin-at-dawn/) [Stephen Coonts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-coonts/) [Explore all 21 Stephen Coonts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-coonts/) ## More Essence quotes > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [Everything in dancing is style, allusion, the essence of many thoughts and feelings. The abstraction of many moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-ailey/everything-in-dancing-is-style-allusion-the-essence-of-many-thoughts/) [Alvin Ailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-ailey/) > [Spiritually, life is a festival, a celebration. Joy is of the essence of life;](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnivesh/spiritually-life-is-a-festival-a-celebration-joy-is-of-the-essence-of/) [Agnivesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnivesh/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [It's all the unwordable things one wants to write about, just as it's all the unformable things one wants to paint - essence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/it-s-all-the-unwordable-things-one-wants-to-write-about-just-as-it-s/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [In essence, I see the value of journalism as resting in a twofold mission: informing the public of accurate and vital information, and its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/in-essence-i-see-the-value-of-journalism-as-resting-in-a-twofold/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [Curiosity is the essence of human existence. 'Who are we? Where are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going?'... I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/curiosity-is-the-essence-of-human-existence-who-are-we-where-are-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The essence of worldliness is exclusion of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-jacobsen/the-essence-of-worldliness-is-exclusion-of-god/) [Henry Jacobsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-jacobsen/) > [I am alive. Up here with the song of the engine and the air whispering on my face as the sunlight and shadows play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-coonts/i-am-alive-up-here-with-the-song-of-the-engine-and-the-air-whispering/) [Stephen Coonts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-coonts/) > [The essence of Christianity...is an ever-new encounter with... the God who speaks to us, who approaches us and who befriends us!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/the-essence-of-christianity-is-an-ever-new-encounter-with-the-god-who/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [The wisdom or the essence of Guru Tattwa is a balance. Like when you maintain a plant, if you do not give it water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/the-wisdom-or-the-essence-of-guru-tattwa-is-a-balance-like-when-you/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [This is the pathless path - returning to where you were initially before you got lost. The deepest truth in you is where the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/this-is-the-pathless-path-returning-to-where-you-were-initially/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [Communism... is the genuine resolution of the antagonism between man and nature and between man and man; it is the true resolution of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/communism-is-the-genuine-resolution-of-the-antagonism-between-man-and/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [I'm not so much in the future as always in the present. The future always takes care of itself. What I do now with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/i-m-not-so-much-in-the-future-as-always-in-the-present-the-future/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [The essence of the stage is concentration and penetration. Of the screen action, movement, sweep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elia-kazan/the-essence-of-the-stage-is-concentration-and-penetration-of-the/) [Elia Kazan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elia-kazan/) [Browse all 3,115 Essence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "With the stick in my right hand, the throttle in my left, and the rudder beneath my feet, I can savor that essence from which life is made.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Coonts" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-coonts/with-the-stick-in-my-right-hand-the-throttle-in-my-left-and-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Essence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-coonts/with-the-stick-in-my-right-hand-the-throttle-in-my-left-and-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95c/stephen-coonts-26907_essence_with-the-stick-in-my-right-hand-the-thro_1641332.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95c/stephen-coonts-26907_essence_with-the-stick-in-my-right-hand-the-thro_1641332.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95c/stephen-coonts-26907_essence_with-the-stick-in-my-right-hand-the-thro_1641332.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“With the stick in my right hand, the throttle in my left, and the rudder beneath my feet, I can savor that…” — Stephen Coonts", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Stephen Coonts", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-coonts/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "With the stick in my right...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-coonts/with-the-stick-in-my-right-hand-the-throttle-in-my-left-and-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-coonts/with-the-stick-in-my-right-hand-the-throttle-in-my-left-and-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```