The Pancho Barnes Trust Estate Archive consists of over 350 linear feet of files containing her personal and business correspondence, business records, legal files, photographs, photograph negatives and a few 16mm films. For most of her life Pancho Barnes had a secretary and so the correspondence files almost always contain both sides of the communication (i.e., incoming letter and response). During the process of creating the Archive inventory, we culled from her letters some of her thinking on life, love and ‘what it’s all about.’

Pancho Barnes’ Philosophy of Life

“When you have a choice, choose happy.”

“It’s not about being the first. It’s about loving what you do, and making the best of every chance you get.”

“If you don’t think big, only small things happen.”

“Open minds open doors.”

“I’d rather have a life full of ‘oh wells’ than a life of ‘what ifs.’

“Sometimes fear is just excitement in need of an attitude adjustment.”

“A dull life may be respectable, but I don’t recommend it.”

“Every airplane that ever flew was somebody’s crazy idea first. Every single one. So when they tell you your dream is crazy, just remember: crazy flies.”

“If your dream doesn’t shock the hell out of at least three people you know, it’s probably not big enough.”

“Don’t let life’s storms keep you grounded, dance in the rain until the skies clear.”

“You can complain that rosebushes have thorns, or you can rejoice that those bushes have roses.”

“Dream more while you are awake.”

“When life’s wind blow against you, remember that even the mightiest birds take advantage of the headwind to soar higher.”

“Sometimes, the most important journeys we take are the ones that begin with a single leap of faith.”

“Lend a hand, a smile, or a listening ear, and you’ll find your life’s journey is enriched.”

“A compassionate heart makes life’s journey smoother, even in the roughest of airspaces.”

“Imagination rules the world, so keep thinking of new things to do.”

Pancho Barnes’ Thoughts on the Importance of Living Your Life

“Be yourself. Don’t try to be like someone else because we’ve seen that already!”

“Open minds open doors.”

“Life’s too short for slow.”

“Sometimes, the best way to navigate life is to trust your intuition and follow your heart.”

“Be the pilot of your own life, and don’t let anyone else take the controls.”

“You were born an original – don’t let life turn you into a copy of someone else.”

“When you’re true to yourself, you’ll find that the world opens up to you in ways you never
imagined.”

“Being yourself is the best navigational tool you have in the journey of life.”

“Free yourself to be yourself.”

Pancho on Resilience after Loss

“Somebody once asked me why I kept going when everything I’d built burned to the ground. I told them: because the fire only got the buildings. It didn’t get me, and I still have my dreams and ideas for more life adventures.”

“You can burn down everything I own and I’ll still be standing in the morning with a cup of coffee and a plan. That’s not courage. That’s just how I’m built.”

“The fire burned down buildings. It incinerated ‘things.’ That’s all a fire knows how to do. But it doesn’t know how to burn a friendship. It doesn’t know how to burn a memory. And it sure as hell doesn’t know how to burn the kind of big ideas that got dreamed up in that place. So I ask you: what did I really lose?”

Pancho Barnes’ Thoughts on Being a Pilot

“A mile of road will take you a mile, but a mile of runway can take you anywhere.”

“If you are lucky enough to be a pilot, you’re lucky enough.”

“We had more fun in a week than most people have in a lifetime.”

Pancho Barnes’ Thoughts on Sex and Sexuality

“You know that air is a lot like sex. It’s no big deal unless you aren’t getting any.”

“If it doesn’t have wings or pants, I’m not interested.”

Pancho Barnes’ Wit

“Nothing exceeds like excess.”

“They called it a scandal. I called it a Saturday.”

“Scandal is just living out loud in a town full of whisperers.”

“If your life doesn’t shock at least one minister and two generals, you haven’t really committed to the project.”

“They wanted me quiet, respectable, and polite. I gave them a bar at the edge of the desert and a life worth gossiping about. You tell me who got the better deal.”

“The only thing worse than being talked about at the Happy Bottom Riding Club is not being talked about at the Happy Bottom Riding Club.”

“Don’t piss on my boots and tell me it’s raining.”

“Saying that something is ‘impossible’ is not a fact; it is an opinion.”

“Success is like altitude: it’s easy to lose if you’re not paying attention.”

“The sky is not the limit, it’s just the beginning.”

“Practice makes better.”

“I have found that the harder you work in life, the more ‘good luck’ comes your way.”