Evelyn Johnson was in a car accident Sunday morning while driving to church. Sun got in her eyes. She didn’t see the semi in time. Plowed into and under it, shaving the top of her car.

She survived but suffered multiple contusions – and lost a leg. She was 96.

At that age and with those kind of injuries, I began to call her and follow her progress more closely. She always answered her phone by the second ring. But today she doesn’t answer…

Fearing I may have lost my mentor, as well as the world’s oldest flight instructor and Aviation Hall of Fame icon, I call the front desk of her managed care home. Sure enough, the receptionist relays the news in a nonchalant Tennessee drawl.  “I’m sorry…she’s gone.” The wind is knocked out of me.

Then a moment later chirps, “But she’ll be back at five.”

At five sharp, I pick up the phone and speed-dial Evelyn.

Second ring…”Hello?”

“Evelyn, where the heck have you been?”

“Well for gracious sakes alive, I’ve been at the airport…working!”

Silly me.  Why did I default to the negative? The fact is, Evelyn was smoking along at Mach II. She not only had a passion for her work, but an indomitable spirit to thumb her nose at life’s inevitable slings and arrows.

Indeed, with an amputated leg at 96, she quipped to me one day, tongue-in-cheek,  “The short leg slows me down some…but I’ve got a prosthesis on back order!”

Here’s a quickie, albeit aviation-oriented formula, for making your life more positive, powerful and productive. Summed up in just four words: Lift must exceed drag.

Many people are weighed down with daily drag. Workplace boredom, little challenge, co-worker friction, or lack of purpose all contribute to burnout and extinguish excitement. The result is a “crash and burn” scenario where the person checks out emotionally and simply vegetates the day away.

To counter this, strive to increase your lift. Raise yourself to a higher, positive state of mind. In fact, demand it of yourself! As jaded as it may sound, your attitude has an immense influence over your job. Exert a smile. Exert a caring conversation. Exert change.

We all know someone who digs their job. They’re usually happy, healthy and engaged. Thomas Edison said, “I never did a day’s work in my life. It was all fun.” He made work rise to his level. Be of the same spirit.

Today is not a dress rehearsal. If you catch yourself looking at the clock or counting down the years to retire, create a mental strategy where you will simply no longer tolerate that kind of slow death. Instead, make a down-in-the-trenches promise to yourself to integrate change, reduce drag and add positive lift to your life.

Use Evelyn as a model mentor.

She kept her drag to a minimum and lift at max power. Recently, Ev jetted to heaven, first class all the way. Did I mention? Just prior to her flight, Evelyn still worked five days a week, happily managing the Morristown, Tennessee airport. She was 102.