Everyone wants to know the secrets to youth, health, and vibrancy – especially the baby boomers who are hitting those milestone ages of 50 and 60. Thousands and thousands of people are reaching these milestones daily.
Anti-wrinkle creams are now a billion dollar industry. New antioxidant foods and liquids are popping up everywhere. By the way, who ever heard of Botox 15 years ago? I have read a lot of literature on the topic of staying young (I am a baby boomer after all!) and I have discovered there is a common theme when it comes to maintaining youthfulness and vitality – live a stress-free life and laugh more.
Being a traveling trainer can often be frustrating and tiresome – or can it? I guess it depends on how you deal with life’s everyday challenges, especially the airport kind. So, are you ready to laugh? I will tell you a funny story that happened to me while conducting a workshop in a distant suburb of Chicago.
I called a reputable shuttle company to pick me up at the hotel to take me back to the airport, which was approximately 45 minutes away. The shuttle driver arrived about ½ hour late, and after loading my bags, drove to the end of the hotel and asked me, ”Do you know how to get to airport, it’s my first day on job, and I just moved here to the US.” He proceeded to get his map out and we hit the road. After about 10 minutes, you guessed it. We were lost! He pulled into a small pizza shop for directions, but that didn’t help because we were still lost. So I moved up to the front seat and began to read the map and give him directions. Surely this must have been my once-in-a-lifetime Candid Camera moment!
He took the wrong highway, but decided to pull off the exit ramp and BACK-UP. I screamed in fear, “You can’t do that, you’ll get us killed!” He started mumbling over and over again, “I go home soon, upset stomach.” My anger then turned into compassion. He was just as frightened as I was. Finally we arrived at the airport more than an hour past my flight. Of course he was not trained to run a credit card, which upset him even more. Calling his dispatcher/office for help many times did not help either. I told him it was OK, and as it turned out it was, because my flight was delayed for over two hours.
So, there you go. I now have a priceless story that I have shared at least a dozen times, and everyone, including myself, gets a good laugh out of it. We don’t laugh about the person, but at the situation, because while laughter is good for the soul and a wonderful coping mechanism, a lack of training is no laughing matter.
Ron
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