Lessons Learned: Tales from Travels To and Fro!

While travel may never be the same as it was before March of 2020, travel is available, and it has been good to be able to travel personally, and it has been wonderful to get to travel for business!

With masks and mandates, here are some lessons learned:

1) Arrive early, as many more people are traveling domestically than seemed to have been doing so in 2019 and previously, and with many getting TSA Pre-Check, even those lines can be the fullest they've ever been!

2) Consider that most people are uncomfortable in their masks and feel encumbered, so high patience and a high tolerance for others is not mandatory, yet it will likely serve your nerves and experience well. On a similar note, please make sure your mask fits, smells good, and is something you will not be fussing with for hours, as your comfort impacts your mood and your mood affects your communication effectiveness!

3) Earbuds and sound-canceling anything(s) are highly recommended, as some people think having their videos on without their sound being only sent to them is okay, and others feel compelled to be vocal about how unhappy they are in their mask, and still, others simply have to speak more loudly to convey their message through their mask

4) Take food and buy non-alcoholic drinks for the flight, and please skip the heavy garlic and onions, as that take-on food can be very lasting on odor for the rest of us!

Remember, you are getting to travel, and that is progress in perspective/comparison to the recent past, and with that consideration, whatever is happening is temporary, and fortunately, you'll be where you are going (home or elsewhere) soon enough with being little worse for wear, if you embrace these lessons learned while en route!

Upgrades Through Optimism

"No matter what the recipe, any baker can do wonders in the kitchen with some good ingredients and an upbeat attitude!"

~ Buddy Valastro

American Chef

Being upbeat is usually a good thing. Optimism is contagious and being positive works to our advantage internally, for perspective, and sometimes externally, too!


How so?



Imagine being tired from a delayed flight getting ready to check in at a hotel while you are hungry, and you answer the opening question "How are you?" from the hotel team member with "Ugh! It's been a terrible day and I cannot believe how ridiculous travel is!" versus saying "It's great to be here! Hope your day has been a good one!". The person behind the desk has likely been ignored, treated poorly and treated well during the day. It costs you nothing to be positive.



Now, onto the upbeatedness of this: Think about asking that person what his favorite rooms are, and if any of those are available, adding you are not in a rush to wait for something s/he deems to be special. Often, showing that upbeat approach, and being genuinely interested in the other person, you'll get upgraded - not because you demanded it, had points for it, or paid for it, simply because you upbeated your way to it! 

Embracing Thanksgiving All Year Long

"I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual. " 

~  Henry David Thoreau

American essayist, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, and historian. 

(1817 - 1862)

Thanksgiving is a day.
Thanksgiving is an attitude.
Thanksgiving is an approach to life.

While we may be celebrating this month, and many eating, drinking, and sharing in thankfulness outwardly and openly this Thursday, there is no need to keep that attitude of gratitude silent for the rest of the year. Thanksgiving is a way to live life, and keeping it going depends on thoughts, words and actions.

To be thankful also means not being hateful. Thinking about how to assist others, and how to encourage, support, and even wish well, whether you are included in that celebration formally or not, is a form of thanksgiving. This includes thinking ahead to how you impact others, and being mindful of what to do, and not do in order to get your intent (thankfulness) aligned with your results (gratitude).

Verbalizing your appreciation is a form of thanksgiving. Sharing ideas with others in a way that is inclusive, pleasant, and even humble shows thanksgiving. Offering what others do well, bragging about them on their behalf, and hoping, wishing and wanting what is good for them, are all ways to be thankful.

Doing things for others without their asking, taking an extra step, and even doing those things without others even knowing, allow for thanksgiving...all days of the year. Remembering that when you are thankful in life, you are not doing favors, rather you are doing what's right for your thanksgiving. Your actions are without motive other than to express thanks, and your actions flow freely with a loving heart.

By thinking thank you, saying "thank you", and meaning thank you will move you from Thanksgiving Day to a thanksgiving way (of life)...and those simple thoughts, words and actions, will surely lead to more!

Awareness, Attitude, Action...Alas!

"Everything you want is out there waiting for you to ask. Everything you want also wants you. But you have to take action to get it." - Jules Renard, French Writer, 1864-1910

While being aware of our strengths and growth opportunities is something that is important for each of us, those bits of awareness serve simply as data points for us unless we check our attitudes about them, and eventually take action.

The attitude we take based on our awareness can be positive or negative, as we can either think of how to incorporate the facts/feedback, or we can plot to defend the reasons we are the way we are. By positively viewing ourselves in a perspective of offerings and improvements, we allow ourselves the chance to both give more of ourselves and grow.

Without the open awareness and forward-focused attitude, our actions will either be to do nothing, or to do things that perpetuate or support keeping us "as is". Being aware with an embracing attitude will combine to lead us to actions that serve us well. The actions for our strengths that are productive are to exercise them, utilize them, and share them. The actions for our growth opportunities that allow for improvement are to understand them, implement new ideas/concepts/approaches, continue to recognize progress, and to stick with it.

Alas, our awareness drives our attitude, and our action is our attitude. What we know, we can process, and what we process, we can implement! So, get aware, check your attitude, and take the action that works for you in your strength-support and your growth-getting each day!

Desire, Doubt or Dread

"In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure." ~ Bill Cosby, American Comedian & Actor

Not everything goes the way we want it to go, and surely sometimes it seems as though there is "too much" or "not enough" whether we are thinking about projects or time, or a litany of other things. Still, we are all pretty fortunate in our opportunities and undertakings...for the most part. Studies have shown that not only our abilities, but also our attitude greatly impact the results of our efforts. And, while most of us likely think we have a good, or even great, attitude, or minimally, a positive attitude, how are you doing on your self-talk, or even your "chatter"? Are you speaking in terms of desire, doubt, or dread?

I often encourage people to speak in terms of "WANT TO" instead of "need to", "should" or "have to", and that is still the case. Now, I hope you will consider minimizing, if not eliminating things like "I don't know how I can do that" (doubt) and "this is impossible" (dread), and event things that seem pretty innocent like "I can't believe this is happening" (doubt), or "I can't wait until this is behind me" (dread). This seemingly innocent chatter we share with friends, family and colleagues can be the death of our direction, as it is feeding into our questioning of our abilities and interest, and therefore, our attitudes. The DESIRE to complete something may sound a lot like the last example given, and yet instead of the "I can't wait until this is behind me" (dread), positioning your mindset in the words "It'll be great to complete this!" or "When I am done with this, I'll celebrate the accomplishment", or even "I am making strides toward finishing this" all send the message that it not only can be done, it will be done, and it is manageable.

This is not meant to be phony, and sure, it may sound like a bit of a trick to your mind. The reality is, our attitude becomes our actions. If we dread something, our behaviors will likely seem put-off or less than interested. That is not how you want to be perceived, right? Change your dread or doubt to DESIRE, and watch not only your approach change, but others' response to you change as well!

3 Things...

Remember it's people who make things happen...or not happen, so, if something has not happened, there are only three things/reasons that it did not:

Someone did not know,
Someone did not know how, or
Someone did not want to do it.

And, to remedy these situations/occurrences, you will want to address them very differently. The solutions are here, so if:

Someone did not know, provide information, and if
Someone did not know how, provide training, and if
Someone did not want to, provide an attitude check.

Attempting to analyze and interpret things outside these three reasons will be futile and frustrating...the challenge is to offer the right solution based on the situation, and not just continue to provide one of the three regardless of the occurrence.

So, from your children doing their chores to your team completing projects, ask yourself (and them, too) what one of the three things to address, and then provide the feedback to enable and encourage their success!

Respect - Not from Age, but Actions

While I write a lot about "reversing the slobification of America", I do not mean it only is an issue for youth, generation X or Y or any one group, for that matter!

Respect or lack of respect are often a reflection of how you feel about yourself, and while I am happy and respectful, I do not believe that children or adults can demand respect for their age or position, rather it should follow from their actions and personal leadership.

I was at an independent living facility and was moving things (in for my Grandparents) when a woman came up and basically refused to walk around the items being moved or act friendly in any way. I was chipper and greeted her with a "Good Morning", and then she and her cat, in a baby stroller, waited in the blazing sun for me to move about 40 pounds of things so that she did not have to go around in the clean grass or down the small curb. I did not mind, but thought how sad she chose to be...poor cat, too...

The same day, less than an hour later, another woman came upon us moving with different things in the way. Again, I was chipper and greeted her with a "Good Morning", and much to my joy and pleasure, she responded in kind. When I quickly tended to moving things, she said not to worry and that she was just fine walking below. Her openness and attitude reminded me, once again, that it is all in the way we approach things.

Who do I respect? Seemingly needless to say, the second woman. I am stating it, though, just to give her double the credit for acting in a respectful way!

Believe me, I was raised to respect my elders, and approach them that way at first and look for it to continue. Respect, after all, is a two-way street...even if it is a bit crowded with a new neighbor's moving items...