Keeping It Real | Travel Research Online

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Keeping It Real

I love this phrase. It reminds us to avoid what isn’t genuine. Like fake jewelry and people who are fakes. It reminds us that truth still prevails.

In golf, there is a term known as “Feel vs real.” It reminds us that what we “feel” may not be what is actually happening. This pertains to a golf swing, but is a great reminder for anything you undertake. What you think may not be what is happening. But today’s message is not about golf. It is a story about travel.

Yesterday I was down at the docks on Lake Otsego checking my boat prior to a forecasted afternoon thunderstorm. Out on the dock I spotted an older man working on his boat. I thought I recognized him so I stopped to ask, “If I were to call you Doug, would I be getting close?” He responded with a smile, “Close. But my name is Dan. You got the D right.”

We had met years earlier at a town hall meeting so we reintroduced ourselves and before I knew it we were sharing stories about the Sahara Desert, Santomenna, Italy and Vietnam. I’m not kidding. Two relative strangers. A simple hello, and bada-bing we were off and away sharing memories and smiles. As I stood listening to this “stranger” it dawned on me what was happening.

He was not revisiting his shear delight of buying his first motorcycle or the fact that he was voted  the MVP on his college baseball team. Here was an 82 year-old man reliving his travel experiences with me at the end of a dock in upstate New York. He was recalling memories he experienced 40-50 years ago. He was time-traveling back to memories of yesteryear. You could read the joy in his facial expressions. I listened and tried to picture each scene.
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And that my friends is the power and nature of the business we are all immersed in. Things come and go. But the people, views, kindnesses and historical episodes we are introduced to while away from home manage to imbed themselves in our souls. We can’t shake those memories, and furthermore, we choose not to.

Travel rocks! And that is the business you are in. The sad truth is that most people get caught up in their day-to-day activities and fail to take the time or find the time to experience these life-altering adventures.

This is where you come in. It is your job to gently and subtly remind them that time waits for nobody. That life is for living and until proven otherwise, they have a lot more life to live. More people need to dance like nobody’s watching and live like they are dying.

I will always remember that chance encounter on the dock in Springfield Center, New York when Dan Rosen’s eyes lit up while telling me how one evening he was having dinner in the desert with a local tribesman and his family.

Note: When I told Dan I had my fill of airports he quickly reminded me that was because I was always passing o through them for business. He looked me in the eye and said, “Mike, it may be time for you to take a vacation.” Brilliant advice Dan. Thanks.


Mike Marchev Mike Marchev has plenty of stories, strategies and tactics to keep you on top of your game. Ask to be placed on the distribution list to receive his periodic Motivational Memo. Click Here to Join Now.
For information on Mike’s 6-Week Online Selling Course, email Mike at mike@mikemarchev.com with the words “sales course” in the subject box.

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