Getting back at work on January 5th for many of us will have that first day of school ambiance – a new year, new opportunities – promise. It’s a good feeling and one that we would all do well to learn how to extend for more than a few days – even throughout the year. It’s possible. We have all seen a fortunate few do it…they live their life not with some simple notion of “positive thinking” but with a more something more rich, a calm certainty and enjoyment of the path they have chosen.
My father was one of those people. He would wake up each day and go to work glad to be alive. Having grown up during the Great Depression, he was never forgetful of life’s blessings and always thankful for his job and the opportunity to serve others. I seldom heard him complain and he was always smiling. He worked hard, and smart. He expected a lot from himself and “good enough”, well, just was not good enough.
This year, I wish all of this for all of us. Most of us have chosen the travel industry because we love it. That is not a bad place to start a new year. As I’ve said in columns from last year, 2009 will be a bit tougher than 2008, but it does not have to be worse. It’s all in the attitude, in the willingness to get up one more time than you fall. Six times down, seven times up.
TRO will do what it can to help. You will see some new tools at TRO this year, each designed to assist you with building your travel practice. To begin with, look at the first installment of our “60-Second Geography”. You are free to use this content in your own newsletters and on your website.
Our new Webinars section will grow at a fast pace this year. Here is an opportunity to attend live seminars and to watch recorded ones at your own convenience.
Our Video section is growing and will continue to do so this year at the rate of a couple of new videos each month. Like all of our content, you can private label it with your own logo and agency info and email it to your clients…and watch for a very special announcement later this month about the TRO destination guides.
What’s ahead? You get to decide. There is little you can do about the way 2009 will unfold on a macro-economic or political scale. But you have all the control in the world over your own reactions to it. Your clients are counting on you to help them understand how to travel well. Wake up. Be thankful and glad to be alive. Your clients will need that as well. Do that for them and you will help shape their attitude, they will in turn affect others. Come to think of it, maybe there is something you can do about the way 2009 will unfold on a grand scale.
