Fasten Your Seat Belt

I just arrived home after another working trip. It was a great trip… wonderful people and location, but my favorite part of traveling is the flight. I love to travel by plane…. On my last flight I settled into my seat as usual but this time looking at the back of the seat ahead of me I read…‘Fasten your Seat Belts’….

A very common statement on all flights; we see and hear that message throughout the flight but for some reason this time it caught my attention…Not regarding safety but it got me thinking about careers and how we do have to ….

Fasten our seat belts for the ride of our lives.

I love flying and the adventure of traveling but  with that opportunity come good experiences and those that are not so good. Flights that are delayed or sometimes cancelled….. Having to be at the airport hours before the actual flight time and then the security line.  All dressed up for the flight only to have to remove your shoes, your belt, jacket and for me the jewelry… Of course you must take out your lap top and after you clear  security You have an opportunity to put it all back on or back in your bag.

But I still love flying…. Of course we have to find the gate and sometimes they are FAR away, or you only have a short time to get to your connecting flights. Have you ever had your luggage lost?…. 5 days in the same dress in Australia was not fun!

One of my favorites was the flight attendant who spilled a full glass of wine on me just after take off.  Thankfully it was white wine…. and the seat beside me was empty so I could get up out of the puddle of wine I was sitting in and move to the dry seat. Well what does that have to do with Fasten Your Seat Belt and your career?  So very much…. Do you love your career so much that you are willing to put up with setbacks?

Are you willing to put up with the inconveniences so you can enjoy the rewards? If your career is based on appointments then are you OK with postponements or cancellations?

I can remember the day I was taking a new Consultant on an appointment with me for training and I missed our exit ….. to correct that error meant we had to drive 40 minutes out of the way.  At the time I was so annoyed at myself but that appointment turned out to be a huge success; great sales and a training opportunity. By the way in later years that consultant went on to become a National Sales Director..

Another time I had an appointment but my car was in for repairs so I had to borrow a car from a friend.  However to get to my friends house I had to ask someone else to drive me there to pick up the car.

This meant packing all my supplies into two cars before I was actually on my way to my appointment. When I arrived at the address for the appointment the only place to park was on the street on a hill and I had to walk up to the apartment building.

I quickly realized the appointment was on the 4^th floor and there was no elevator.

It took two trips to get me and my supplies up to the door, but I did it.  When I rang the bell there was no answer….I went to the super’s office to see if they could call the person. (yes it was before cell phones!) When I asked the super’s wife to help contact the person in that apartment she assured me they were not home and also told me the appointment was for the next night because she was invited to be there.

Fasten your seat belt!!!! Yes, I would have to do that entire routine all over again the next night.

The 2 cars – parking on the hill.  Climbing the stars to the 4^th floor ….And did I mention it was June and there was no air conditioning? But I loved what I did…. I loved going on appointments, presenting my products.

I loved the gatherings and helping people have an enjoyable time trying the products.  I have learned that if we stay the course and accept the ups and the downs then we give ourselves a chance to become Masters of our Fate.  When we choose to continually experience our opportunities, schedule and hold our appointments, we become pro’s. We learn to master our fate!

Today I am a world traveler….. and look forward to each trip.  It is an adventure and a luxury to me. It is the very same feeling I had during my direct sales career.  I have come to know that there is always something good in all we do… even with the delays and disappointments there are lessons. With the victories and celebrations there is joy but the challenges are what lead to true success.  So yes, we have to Fasten Our Seat Belts if we are committed to the journey.  I have sat in airports around the world and have traveled first class and at times in the last seat of the plane as well .  I prefer first class but sometimes you just have to get there and deal with what gets you there. In a direct sales business… the objective is to get there; to book the appointment and then show up. To have an idea of how things should go but if they don’t we need to be resourceful enough to:

Do what you can

Where you are

With what you have.

Back to that appointment on the 4^th floor on that hot June night…. it was a time that I was working to complete my team qualifications to become a Director in Qualification. The person who hosted that appointment became my next team member.  Yes it was so very worth the “double take” in getting to that appointment. Today I am glad I was willing to face the ups and downs with dignity, commitment to my journey and responsibility to staying the course.

I did choose to fasten my seat belt and its been a trip of a lifetime….. a career that taught me how to soar.. how to create a life I love living…and I still do.   Learning never ends, and by the way, neither do inconveniences…but when we choose to work through them very often opportunities lie within them.  Are you ready to Fasten Your Seatbelt?