I’m reading a book called Inspire by Adam Galinsky, and right at the beginning, there’s a story that grabbed me.
In 2018, Southwest Airlines flight 1380 suffered a catastrophic engine failure mid-flight. One of the engines blew apart, shattering a window, causing the cabin to decompress. It was loud, terrifying, chaotic. Oxygen masks dropped. People were screaming. The pilots immediately began emergency procedures.
And then, just a couple of minutes into the chaos, the captain—Tammie Jo Shults—came on the intercom and said something simple:
“We are not going down. We are going to Philly.” That was it. A short sentence. Calm. Direct. Certain. And in that moment, it changed everything.
It’s such a striking example of what real leadership looks like—not just in the cockpit of a plane, but in life. When everything feels like it’s coming apart, leadership is the steady voice that cuts through the noise and says: We’re going to be okay. We know where we’re headed.
That line has been echoing in my head ever since. We are not going down. We are going to Philly.
It got me thinking about personal leadership. Most of us aren’t flying commercial aircraft, but we are flying something—our lives, our work, our families, our health. And let’s be honest: life throws its fair share of engine failures at us. Stress. Distraction. Burnout. Overwhelm. Fear.
The question is: do we have a direction? Do we have a version of “Philly” to head toward when things get turbulent?
Because vision doesn’t have to be complicated. It just has to be clear. And it has to come from us.
Maybe your Philly is building a healthier body. Maybe it’s reconnecting with your partner. Maybe it’s carving out time for quiet, or finally picking up the phone and calling a friend. Maybe it’s stepping into a new role—at home, at work, in your community—and leading with presence, not perfection.
At Sundhed, we talk about health as a holistic practice. Body, Mind, Community. And leadership runs through all of it. You don’t have to have it all figured out. You just have to start with a voice—your own—that’s willing to say: This is where I’m going.
Not down. But forward. With clarity. With purpose.
So here’s the question I’ll leave you with: What’s your Philly?
—Joe