Several times a year, I take 3 planes to arrive in Perth, Australia - Denver to Los Angeles to Melbourne or Sydney to Perth.
It’s a 35-hour journey, including layovers and an early arrival at the first airport when traveling international. People tell me all of the time that they ‘couldn’t’ do it and don’t know how I do it. It’s really just a state of mind, an attitude, a willingness to be a part of the journey without attachment to when you arrive, as weird as this sounds.
During the trip, time blurs into one continual space. It’s hard to describe. There is no day or night. It’s all just part of the journey, kind of like being in assisted living, having television entertainment and all of your meals prepared and handed to you and not remembering what day it is.
There are some tips that help the trip (and life) go more smoothly.
Eat Healthy: Bring snacks that you and your body love, that can sustain you if you don’t like the food provided.
Be comfortable: Wear loose comfortable clothing and bring a sweater or something to wrap around you . . . even with the blankets provided, the planes can be cold.
Reboot: Bring a change of clothes; after 15 hours or so, clean clothes are absolutely amazing.
Shower: Know where the showers are located in each airport; sometimes you have to buy a day-pass at Delta or United, but the shower is so worth it, and the food and drinks provided plus the quiet atmosphere versus the hustle and bustle of the rest of the airport are lovely.
Be Patient: Practice patience; going through customs can be slow and cumbersome; listen to music, calm your mind, know and see yourself on the other side of bureaucracy.
How you experience travel (and life!) is your choice.
All of the airport security - is it really protecting us or about power and control? It is as it is. So, prepare for it, and accept it as a necessary step to get where you are going.
Feeling tired and out of sorts because of lack of sleep: is it a terminal disease or minor inconvenience? There’s nothing like a good night’s sleep on the other end to comfort the body and get back on track. Know and see yourself well-rested and relaxed in your ‘new home’ at your destination.
So here's my take away from all of this experience:
Your leadership skills depend on who you bring to the table, your attitude and outlook, your state of Being, all the right tools are useless if you are not in that healthy, self-loving space to apply them.
Let go of opinions and preconceived ideas of how things should be and dance with what’s presented. Go with the flow and bring your best self to all you be and do.
There are only two ways to influence human behavior: love and fear. With love, we inspire people to buy our products or services. With fear, we manipulate them.
Businesses, political groups etc. easily resort to manipulation. Manipulation techniques work in the short-term. But, they do not breed loyalty and the gains are not long lasting.
With manipulation, our products or services become a commodity. We try to get people to buy by:
We use strategies like
When we drop our prices low enough or offer promotions like buy one get one free or two for the price of one, people buy from us. But at what cost?
Slashing prices and running promotions are not good for business. Clients expect a bargain and wait for sales to avoid paying full price. The cash-back or rebate business can be pretty deceptive. Some sellers have so many conditions attached to their rebates that a lot of buyers pay full price. They either fail to follow complex rebate instructions or encounter a loop-hole that precludes them from participating.
Novelty items like a new flavor of toothpaste or a new feature on an existing product can also drive sales. Again, this is temporary. It doesn't last.
Peer pressure advertisements include
Fear-based messages motivate us to move away from something.
Aspirational messages tempt us with something we want and are afraid we can’t get.
Manipulation creates massive stress for buyers and sellers alike. When there are conflicting advertisements and many brands to choose from, buyers can’t tell which one is best for them and feel stressed. The competition to continually produce new and improved brands is hard work. The long-term effects of making short-term decisions are lower profit margins and higher stress levels in business.
Stress is the silent killer. With stress, cortisol is released into our system which increases blood pressure, decreases cognitive ability, increases agression and selfish behavior and makes us more vulnerable to disease.
Employees filled with cortisol are less productive, innovative and reliable. Consumers in cortisol fight-or-flight mode want to feel better. Being manipulated to buy your company's product or service may give them temporary relief, but that doesn't equate to long-term loyalty or commitment to your what you offer.
Using manipulation as a means to an end is negatively affecting our health and wellbeing on many levels. It is the anthesis to success. How can we influence human behavior with love? Love is the answer.
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