News from Hartford, CT

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In my last post, I mentioned I wouldn't be blogging for two weeks. Well, that was before I knew a laptop would be available throughout my trip so here I am.

Today I will simply give you an update on the "Flight to Hartford."

On the date of departure (two days ago), we were delayed due to early morning fog and the possibility of pop-up thunderstorms throughout our route. After a few nail-biting hours, most of the fog had burned off and the chance of encountering thunderstorms greatly was greatly diminished. We took-off at 9:30 am and went about our merry way.

The first leg (from Wadsworth, OH to Lockhaven, PA) was super smooth with nary a bump. Visibility was somewhat hampered by the thick haze but was sufficient enough to continue the flight. I would say we had between 4 to 5 miles of forward and side visibility. As a pilot, I was responsible for watching for what we call "back door options" which meant looking for an "out" if we needed to abort the flight for any reason.

While flying through hazy conditions, it can be difficult to distinguish between the haze and clouds. If a pilot was not paying attention through these conditions, he/she could suddenly be taken by surprise, which is never a good thing for the unalert pilot. Therefore, I kept an eye out for alternate airports along the way as well as making sure that the visibility behind our flight path remained open in case we had to turn around and land. As you can imagine, I was one very busy, alert pilot.

Two hours later, we came upon our first stop (Piper Memorial airport) in Lockhaven, PA. The approach to this airport was rather interesting because on one side of it was a huge 2,000 foot mountain! The procedure for landing required what we call in aviation a "right based approach" which means approaching the airport from the right side, making right turns to the runway (instead of the standard left-based approach).

After shutting down the engine, we called the ground crew chief, Joni, to get an update on their whereabouts. Earlier that morning (around 4 am) Joni and her crew mate, Larry, had taken Ryan's personal wheelchair van on the road (with his 300 lb wheelchair on board) only to discover it was wildly unstable, swerving left and right, almost flipping them over at one point. This forced them to come back to Akron, OH (after an hour of driving) and transfer over to the church's wheelchair van. Of course, this set them back significantly. The idea was to give them at least 3 hours ahead of our flight departure so that they could greet us in Hartford with Ryan's wheelchair on the tarmac. Needless to say, it didn't quite work out that way.

When we landed in PA to refuel, we put in a call to Joni to get a status report on their whereabouts. They were only 45 minutes past our refueling stop with at least another 3 hours of driving left! That meant if we wanted them to greet us in Hartford, we'd have to hang out at Piper Memorial airport for a least two hours or so to give them more leeway.

It fell upon me to make a decision whether or not to wait that long. My main concern was for us to arrive at our final destination before the ever-changing weather could stop us. After checking weather reports repeatedly, I discovered to my satisfaction that the weather was forecasted to get better throughout the rest of the day with visibility improving significantly. I decided it wouldn't hurt to wait at least an hour, maybe an hour and a half but no longer. The last thing I wanted was to wait too long only to end up being stuck in PA because the weather suddenly decided to take a turn for the worst. It was better to be safe on the ground in Hartford, CT waiting for the ground crew versus being stuck back in PA.

Despite giving them a little bit of a head start, I knew it would be a close call. After an hour and a half, we took off at 12 30 pm and climbed to 5,500 feet. While the first leg of the trip was super smooth in hazy conditions, the second half was crystal clear yet bumpy. That was because the heat was rising up from the ground, creating air pockets. Apparently that didn't seem to bother Ryan or Sam for they were both lulled to sleep by the rhythmic bumpiness.

Two hours later, the city of Hartford, CT came into view and I began our descend, not knowing I was in for a surprise.

As I began my approach to the final destination, I was shocked to see a car in the middle of the runway! This forced me to abort the landing and make an urgent radio call.

As I was climbing back up to altitude (2,000 feet), I took advantage of the fact that I had two hearing people on board with me. They say in aviation books that a pilot should make use of all available resources whenever needed. This was one of those times. Despite the fact that neither of my passengers were pilots, I asked Sam (who was sitting in the back seat) to listen for responses to my radio calls, asking him to write down what they were saying. They were sending someone from the office to tell the man with the mysterious car to get off the runway right away. Had I been alone in the airplane, I would have simply made one-way radio calls while circling above the airport at a safe altitude, waiting and watching.

While we were waiting for them to remove the car, it was discovered that a few other airplanes were also trying to come in for a landing as well. That made for one very busy airport! Maintaining a sense of awareness became critical at this point. This is where accidents happen - in the area of the airport - where traffic can be hectic - if the pilots are not vigilant.

After several minutes, the mysterious car finally cleared the runway and I was eventually able to make a safe landing. We later found out that the car belonged to a man from the FAA who was taking photos of what was apparently the scene of an accident where a plane ran off the runway earlier in the day!

After landing, we waited approximately an hour and a half for the ground crew to arrive. Since the airport did not have a wheelchair available, Ryan was forced to remain inside the plane until then. When Joni finally pulled alongside the airplane, it was a sweet moment for all of us to be a part of history. We all realized the gravity of the situation for we had just made history within the United Church of Christ. Never before had a deaf pilot along with a disabled passenger flown themselves 550 miles in the name of the First Grace United Church of Christ to attend a large spiritual/religious gathering!

Ladies and gentlemen, that's my report on "Flight to Hartford"! I certainly hope you enjoyed reading this update. A video was taken during certain portions of the flight so I expect to have that up on YouTube at some point. Stay tuned!

The Elevator at College Story

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Several months ago I posted an article entitled, "The Price You Pay for Not Accepting Yourself," a funny account of what happened after I purposefully left my hearing aids at home while out on the town in New York City one night.

Here is another story that played out several years earlier while in college. This time I was actually wearing them.

I was as junior at Marist College, a private liberal arts school that was situated comfortably in the Hudson Valley, located halfway between Albany, New York and New York City. My dorm was a 9-story building overlooking the Hudson River, which made for a nice view for those whose rooms faced west. They were blessed almost every night with a most gorgeous orange sunset -- I was one of those lucky students. Every night after dinner in the cafeteria, I would rush back to my dorm in time to see the sun disappear behind the valley.

On my way to class one day, I stepped into an empty elevator and pressed "G," anxious to get to class on time. I was running a little late for I had overslept that morning. It was a relief to have the elevator all to myself. Don't you hate it when people squeeze themselves in an elevator like sardines in a can and collectively stare at the flashing numbers overhead....in dead silence?

The elevator began its journey to the ground floor when I sensed it slowing down already.

Oh no.

I looked at my watch. Five minutes before class!

The elevator doors cranked open on the eighth floor and a plump girl resembling Monica Lewinsky bounced inside. The elevator dipped considerably.

"Good morning," she said cheerily. She pressed "G" repeatedly.

"Ugh, good morning." I replied, smiling back at her. My eyes automatically turned upward at the flashing overhead panel.

At one point, somewhere between the 6th and 5th floors, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that "Monica" appeared to be agitated. She was looking around the elevator, mumbling something. I turned to look at her.

"What's that funny noise?" she said, with a hint of panic across her face.

Not again.

I knew exactly what was happening. The noise had nothing to do with the elevator.

Should I reassure her that everything was fine or should I have a little fun with this?

The little kid in me decided to have fun.

Feigning a look of great concern, I said to her in a soothing voice, "What's wrong madam?"

"I am hearing a weird whistling sound, I think something is wrong with this elevator!"

Pretending to gasp in horror, I said, "Really, oh yes, my God, I think you are right!"

"Monica" immediately wrapped her arm around mine, holding on tightly. She stared at the flashing numbers as if that would make the elevator go down faster.

When "G" finally lit up, "Monica" broke free and lunged forward in an attempt to pry open the doors. Rather than waiting for them to open all the way, she hurriedly squeezed herself through and bolted out of sight.

For a moment, I was too shocked to react because I hadn't expected such excitement!

It wasn't too long afterwards when I started to feel a little guilty about it so I made a mental note to seek her out and make amends.

The next day I had an opportunity to do just that. I spotted her sitting on the bench under a large Weeping Willow tree, reading a book. I approached cautiously.

"Hey, there, do you have a sec?" I said.

"Sure." Her jet black hair swayed with the wind, partially obscuring her face. With two fingers, she expertly pulled away the last strands of hair and parked it behind both ears.

"Remember yesterday when you heard that funny sound in the elevator?"

"Oh how could I not! Did you hear it too?"

"Well, not exactly. I have a confession to make."

Her eyebrows shot up.

Moistening my lips, I said, "First of all, I'm totally deaf. Secondly, that noise you heard had nothing to do with the elevator. It came from me."

"What!?? What do you mean?" She uncrossed her legs, set aside the book she was reading and gave me her full attention.

"Well, it's like this. You see the hearing aid I'm wearing in my right ear?" I turned my head to show her.

She nodded, "Hmmmm..."

"When you stepped in the elevator, I smiled back at you and that caused the noise you heard."

Scratching her head, she cocked her head like a puppy, not quite understanding.

Pointing to the empty space on the bench, I said, "May I?"

She slid over.

Pulling my hearing aid out, I showed her the inside piece, which was made of plastic molding that was made to exact specifications for the right ear.

"When this molding was first made, it sealed the ear quite nicely. But over time, both the shape of my ear canal and this little piece changed its configuration. When that happens, it creates the possibility for air to sneak its way inside the ear, causing feedback. The problem is made worse when the user smiles or laughs."

She frowned, still not getting it.

"Okay, do me a favor. Smile or laugh but while you're doing that, put your hand over your ear and tell me what what happens."

"My ear moves back every time I smile!"

"Exactly! If the plastic piece is shrinking and the inner ear canal is in different shape, that would mean the hearing aid piece won't fit as snugly as it once did, right?"

I continued further, "when the user smiles or laughs, it creates an even bigger air pocket, because the mold doesn't quite fit like before."

"OH I GET IT NOW." She smiled for the first time.

Then she turned serious for a moment and said, "So you were playing games with me that day?"

"Yes," I said sheepishly. "Sorry about that."

She threw her head back and gave a throaty laugh like Marilyn Monroe. Then she smiled. I smiled back.

"So you forgive me?" I asked hopefully.

Wagging her finger at me, she replied, "Yes, but you're one very naughty boy!"

"Flight to Hartford" Update

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Since I've written about the "Flight to Hartford" project before, I wanted to update you on a few things:

1. Ryan and I were interviewed on the local news, which can be seen here (go to the bottom of the article and click on the video link - note that this link will be invalid within a week).

2. The fundraising was an enormous success - it went far beyond our wildest expectations for we raised $7,700 for this event, thanks to heartfelt supporters from around the country!

3. For those of you who missed previous posts about "Flight to Hartford," you can see them here:

a. "Paying it Forward - 'Flight to Hartford'"
b. "Flight to Hartford" on YouTube!"
c. "Actual Flight Footage for 'Flight to Hartford'"

4. The "Flight to Hartford" takes place next week (week of June 17th). We are aiming for a departure of either Monday or Tuesday, weather depending. Upon our return, I will give yet another update, probably with a YouTube video of the flight itself (shortened from 8 hours worth of flying down to, I don't know, maybe 5 minutes!).

Note: I will not be blogging for about two weeks, beginning June 17th.

Bluffing Ain't Gonna Get You Anywhere!

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I'll never forget a most embarrassing moment that was caused by my unwillingness to ask people to repeat after themselves, especially if I wasn't sure of what they were saying. As a young man, my ego had me think I was something of a "lip-reading expert."

Sometime during the late eighties, I was at a midnight birthday party in New York City. I could tell the music was at full blast because each of the four strategically-placed stereo speakers appeared to be alive with a giant pulsating heart. The party was just starting to warm up, thanks to a few people who had the nerve to herk and jerk their hips like Elaine from Seinfeld:




There I was, holding a freshly refilled glass of white wine, surveying the crowd and looking for a place to fit in somewhere. Within a few minutes, I spied a group of articulate-looking people chatting incessantly with the birthday boy across the room. They were passing dirty jokes back and forth.

"Hmmm...this looks promising," I thought to myself. Taking a deep breath, I promptly made my way over to join them.

Imagine my disappointment when I discovered that the birthday boy was babbling like this guy from the Federal Express TV commercial:



Not wanting to slink away so soon and possibly draw attention to myself, I stood there, pretending to understand every word he was saying. Sipping my cocktail, I nodded, winked and even laughed at all the right moments. I was an expert at this kind of stuff. But like a Cheshire cat waiting to pounce on his prey, I was actually waiting for him to say something that remotely resembled a string of words I could respond to.

Luckily I didn't have to wait very long.

"I'm going to buy some condos downtown........"

AH! I GOTCHA!

Springing into action, I brazenly cut him off and practically screamed, "Yeah, I know where to go for that. Have you heard of a cute little shop down in the village called 'Condoms Around the World'?' Oh, you gotta go check it out!!"

Dang, I was so damn proud of myself - I had done it. I had made my mark that night.

What I didn't know was that just before I opened my big mouth, someone had turned the stereo down for reasons I'll never know.

At first, a look of surprise registered on people's faces. Then as if someone flicked on the switch, everyone degenerated into a cacophony of hoots, cackles, and wails, holding on to their stomachs for dear life. Some were repeatedly banging on the coffee table in a desperate attempt to catch their breath while others were giving each other high fives. Shocked and confused that I could be so profoundly funny over such an innocent comment, but not wanting to be left out, I joined in the chorus of laughter.

My best friend, who happened to be within arm's length, knew better than to think I understood what had just happened. He decided to be helpful.

Instead of grabbing my arm and towing me to the other room where we could talk privately, he waved at me to get my attention and then said, "Hey, that wasn't what the birthday boy said. The dude was talking about condos not condoms!"

Some friend he was, yeah.

For the first time in my life, I actually felt like I was having a hot flash if that were possible. Never before did I hope the Lord would magically float down to that living room and beam me out of there!

Food for thought: Bluffing your way through life ain't the way to live!

Engineering the Impossible

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First, an update on the status of the "Secrets of Dealing with Adversity" tagging project. It is quickly building momentum and has already afforded me a fascinating peek into the lives of several people whose careers and ambitions are totally different from mine. One of the participants is a single mom who is a screenwriter with a project now being considered by an A-list actress (Nicole Kidman) for a major motion picture. Imagine that! She wrote a wonderful story about overcoming adversity on the long road to success. Reading it lifted my spirits and confirmed that we are all in on this together. Of course, she will be among 500 people listed on a future post here at Adversity University and you will have an opportunity to be uplifted by her story too.

The title of today's article magically came to me last night while watching "Pay it Forward." Have you seen that movie? I highly recommend it - it moved me to tears because it was so heartfelt. It made me want to run out and "pay it forward." So I came up with an idea for today's article.

About a month ago, "Celebrate Your Defeats" was written in response to a major literary agent passing on my book proposal for THAT'S RIGHT, STEPHEN! A follow up article entitled "Inside the Mind of a Literary Agent" proved to be quite cathartic and hopefully inspired you because it surely put things in perspective for me.

Shortly after those two articles were written, I was faced with a decision - should I self-publish or continue the "traditional way"? One of the most powerful techniques of overcoming what other people perceive to be impossible is to make a firm decision, regardless of what it is, and then sticking with it. That's how I became a successful Merrill Lynch stockbroker, a deaf pilot who made aviation history, among other things.

My good friend Stephen Shapiro wrote a brief but fascinating rundown called "Sobering Statistics About the Book Industry." Despite the overwhelming odds of getting published, I've decided to go the traditional way. Here's my thinking on this: "If I can become the world's first deaf instrument rated pilot despite the FAA regulations to the contrary, why can't I defy the odds again?"

Engineering the impossible requires at least four things:

1. Belief in yourself

2. Finding someone (just one, only one) who also believes in you. All that needs to happen is that you will be divinely led to this person who is in a position to open doors for you (like that lady who helped me with the book proposal - even though I didn't get literary representation with her agent in the end, she did get my foot in the door of a powerful literary agency in NYC - if she believes in me, imagine who else might!).

3. Perseverance

4. Create the mindset that your time will come, just have faith in God's plan for you.

Once I made the decision to find myself a literary agent, I went out and got six books from the local library on how to write a better book proposal. Day by day I read, take notes and then go back to the computer to tweak things a little more. Taking action like that is a signal to the universe that I am serious about my intentions. This goes along with the H.E.A.R. Principle where "A" stands for "Take Action." ACTION speaks louder than words.

I am sharing this with you not because I want to portray myself as a mythic figure of gothic proportions who overcomes great odds but to hold myself accountable to you, my readers, and to the rest of the universe of my intentions. In essence, I've personally invited you along for the trip. By having you by my side in spirit, I know I have your love and support, which makes this journey all the more worthwhile. By the way, you already have an idea of what the book will be like because it's all in here, in this blog! In fact, I will be creating an e-book in the near future so that you can read it, for free, in an easy and accessible location.

My desire is to create a point of reference where I can bring future readers back to this post to show that I was at one time a person who had the dream of getting published. If you can learn to ignore so-called statistics or man-made rules, then you've got your work cut out for you. All that is required is a firm decision from the deepest part of your being and then moving forward from there. Henry Ford once said:

"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right."

Food for thought: Have you made a firm decision to commit yourself to a certain course of action today?

Secrets of Dealing with Adversity

Adversity does not discriminate...it hits everyone from all walks of life, regardless of who they are. We've all had moments where nothing seems to be going the way we want, whether it's getting through a major crisis, dealing with an unexpected detour on the way to success or you've been told you only have 3 months to live. You name it, it's a universal common denominator among all of us.

Up to this point, this blog has chronicled my personal stories, observations and tips in how I dealt with adversity that came banging at my door. Now I want to turn the tables by borrowing the concept of Aaron Pott's highly successful "Simply Success Secret's" tagging project, and invite you (the readers/subscribers of Adversity University) and the vast world of bloggers, newsletter publishers and website owners to participate in a new interactive experiment. I wish to thank Aaron for his encouragement to begin this project. Thanks Aaron!

Here's what I am looking for in this tagging experiment:

1) List between 5 to 10 things you do when in the midst of adversity.

OR

2) Write a short story of a time you experienced a major form of adversity and how you handled it. End the story with the lesson(s) you learned as a result. There's a saying that when you are ready, the teacher will appear. And that teacher is you!

Here's how you can participate:

Readers and Subscribers of Adversity University:
Read what I've outlined below. If you do not have a blogging platform, then click on the email link on the right side of this page and send me your story and/or the 5-10 things you do to overcome adversity. In your email, let me know whether you want to list your first or full name. At the very least, please indicate the town and state you're from. Thanks!

Bloggers, Website Owners and Newsletter Publishers:
1.) Create a new post on your blog, website or newsletter. In the first paragraph, tell your audience that you are participating in Stephen Hopson's Adversity University tagging experiment called "Secrets of Dealing with Adversity" with a link and/or trackback to this post since I will be compiling the results at the end.

2.) Tag as many bloggers, website owners and/or newsletter publishers you'd like and invite them to join us. Not only will you be helping them gain exposure but you will also be inspiring them to achieve their dreams because they will see firsthand how you personally faced and beat adversity.

3.) For a little link love, please make sure you put a link/trackback to the person who tagged you for "Secrets of Dealing with Adversity."

4.) Depending on which of above-mentioned formats you choose to use, post them on your blog, website or newsletter. By doing this, it is highly probable that it will also be seen by the audiences of those people who tagged you during the experiment because you gave back "link love." This gives rise to the notion that when you give first, you get back!

5.) When you are done, please shoot me a quick email with a link to your post on this experiment so that I can make sure you are included in the final tallying of the results. While I will be using various methods to determine which sites and blogs participated by checking Technorati, Google, Yahoo and MSN, if you send me an email informing me of your participation, not only will I be 100% sure that no one is left out, I would also be in a position to send you an email alert when the final results are in. Cool? Thanks!

This interactive experiment will be over when I feel it has run its course. At that point, I will categorize the results in four sections and create a new blog post here at Adversity University. One section will be labeled "Adversity Stories" with links to sites containing them. The other will be called "Things People Do to Overcome Adversity" and posted in order of popularity. And finally, a special acknowledgement section will list every single participant in alphabetical order at the bottom of the post.

By participating, you will have a sense of satisfaction knowing that you may have helped countless of fellow human beings get through the stumbling blocks that they may be facing right now. You never know the impact you may be making on their lives.

Consider how my fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Jordan, unknowingly made a huge impact simply by uttering three words in response to a question I answered in her class over 30 years ago. Not only did it give me courage to stand up to the school bully on the playground but it also caused a huge ripple effect throughout the rest of my life. You can see the story here and here.

Won't you be like her and make a difference with your words of wisdom today? I ask that you help me "pay it forward" with your words of wisdom and make a difference to the lives of at least 500 people, collectively, with your experience in overcoming adversity.

I'll start first......

5 Ways I Overcome Adversity

1. Pray! - Just when the (deleted) hits the fan, I always go to the one invisible source and pray for soothing comfort and strength to get through it.

2. Take Responsibility - Rather than blaming anything or anyone, I force myself to take a hard look at the situation at hand and see how I might have attracted it to me (i.e. Was it my attitude? Was it my ego? Was I careless or impulsive? Was I too attached to the outcome?)

3. Surround Myself with Supportive Family and Friends - We cannot endure adversity on our own - I seek out the love and support of those who I know care about me. (Note: This is where you find out who your true friends are!).

4. Visualize my dreams - When my dreams are blocked for any reason, I go out to the front porch, light up a Montensino Toro cigar and find myself a comfortable chair. Once settling in, I close my eyes and visualize (in vivid color) the dreams I hold dear to my heart so I can be reminded why I am on the path I chose for myself. This is the single most powerful tool I have at my disposal because it never fails to reinvigorate the enthusiasm and desire for the so-called impossible dreams to manifest. This is how I eventually became the world's first deaf instrument rated pilot, among other things.

5. Exercise - Working out at the gym clears my mind, gets the blood circulating and makes me feel better afterwards, particularly if I had a vigorous run on the treadmill. I feel like a new person, ready to tackle the challenges at hand with a fresh perspective.

The 5 ways I deal with adversity are by no means a complete list of things I do but they count among the most important for me. What about you?

Here are the following bloggers, newsletter publishers and website owners that I am tagging today (in no particular order of preference or status):

Ron McDaniel - Buzzoodle
Jane Genova - Speechwriter/Ghostwriter
Meryl - Meryl.net
Leon Ho - LifeHack
Guy Kawasaki -How to Change the World
Aaron Potts - Today is that Day
Rajesh Setty - Life Beyond Code
Howard Putnam - Former CEO Southwest Airlines
Wendy - Wings for the Spirit
Patrick Combs - Good Thinking Co.
Seth Godin - Seth Godin's Blog
Chris Garrett - Chris Garrett on New Media
Joe Vitale - "Mr. Fire"
Steve Pavlina - Personal Development for Smart People
Michael Werner - Dream Jobs Dialog
Robin Hamman - Ouch!
Eric Lochtefeld - University of Dreams
Nita - Moments
Stephen Shapiro - Goal Free Life
Tony Brigmon - FUN Meetings
Diary of a Bronx Teacher
California Teacher Guy
Karen Putz - A Deaf Mom Shares Her World
Laura Faeth - Sound of Your Soul
Cyan Ta'eed - The Freelance Switch
Darren Rowse - Problogger

Okay, there I'm done! Let's go and inspire people around the world!

How to Send GIGANTIC Files Easily and Effortlessly...For FREE

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At first glance you might think the title of today's article has nothing to do with adversity. But it actually does.....sort of.

Consider this: Have you ever tried to send a large photo or video file via email attachment only to have it bounce back to you with a message saying that it was "too large for the other person's server to handle" (thus clogging up your email server in the process)? That would cause a great deal of consternation, a.k.a. "adversity," wouldn't it?

A few days ago, I was trying in vain to send a HUGE AVI video file to my website designer so that she could put it up on the testimonial page of my professional speaking website. Much to my chagrin, it bounced right back to me becuase it was way too large for an email attachment (17.8 MB). As a result, my email server was severely clogged up for a long time until I finally got rid of it. Believe me, it was NOT a pleasant experience.

Thanks to Pando, they make this annoying little problem go away. It's a free software program that allows you to download and send media files fast and easy via your choice of email, the Web or even IM. The free version allows you to attach up to 1GB worth of files, which for most people, is more than adequate.

Because of special Pando attachments, you're able to bypass email server limitations. After installing Pando to your hard drive (takes seconds), they make it super easy to select whatever media files you want to send and viola, you're done!

A couple of things you need to be aware of:

1. If the intended receiver does not have Pando, they will be required to download the program to open the file(s). TIP: Send them an email ahead of time letting them know you want to send a large media file via Pando and ask them to look at the benefits of installing the program beforehand. That way there are no surprises.

2. If you sign up for a free Pando account, the files you send are stored on Pando's servers for between 7 to 30 days, depending on the how it was sent (email, Web, IM). That means the intended receiver needs to open it sometime during that time period. If they don't, then it "expires." This is explained in great detail on their FAQ page.

Bottom line? It worked GREAT! I was able to send the above mentioned video file to my website designer in less than a minute without clogging up her email server. Now my mind is running amok with different possibilities - I am now thinking of sending media files to prospective and existing clients, family and friends! It's way cool! Check them out at: http://www.pando.com/