Today’s lesson comes via the Bassett Hospital waiting room. My wife is in receiving a follow up x-ray after a recent leg injury. (Let’s keep your hang nail pains in perspective.) A magazine titled Golf Journal was left on a chair, so I decided to thumb through the pages. That is when an article on page 48 caught my attention. It was titled STRESS LESS. Message: Article ideas come from anywhere and everywhere. 
The writer was talking about the much-needed balance between mental and emotional health when it came to professional athletes. In the last few years, we have seen more than a few examples of this with perhaps the most recognized being the consummate Olympian Champion, Simone Biles. The article reminded the reader that virtually every professional golfer grew up “loving” the game of golf. They breathed golf. They talked golf. They dreamed golf. They lived golf. Golf was their entire reason for being, until … it wasn’t. At one point in their career a handful of professionals allow the stresses that come with fame and fortune effect their total approach to the game. They become burned out and lost focus. Their love of the game became a debilitating burden. In short, they lose their mojo. I immediately saw the connection as it relates to travel professionals. Your love for travel gets you into the game. Soon the daily challenges of building and sustaining a “business” year after year begins to erode your passion for travel and you eventually lose your enthusiasm associated with helping people plan their dream vacations.
So, what can travel professionals do when they begin to feel they are getting into a rut. When suppliers, clients, insurance problems, cash flow concerns, the weather and the unknown all enter the picture at what seems to be the same time? Here are three “do it now” rather than later activities to seriously consider:
- Breathe. Deeply. Slowly. Pause and let your body rejuvenate with fresh oxygen which will clear your brain of negative influences. (Don’t poo-poo this advice. It works.)
- Remind yourself that you are an experienced, seasoned professional and there is nobody better at handling problems when it involves travel.
- Keep your job and all the responsibilities that come with it in perspective. Chances are nobody is about to die. Do what you can as expeditiously as possible before taking the next step. (90% of what you do for clients is appreciated. Don’t play to the wrong audience.)
- Now I am not suggesting you spend more time hanging out in hospital waiting rooms. But when you do find a few minutes of time on your hands, why not reach for an ear-torn magazine and see what you can glean from the pages within.
Mike Marchev is always looking for a few more proactive travel professionals to join his Sales and Marketing Club, mike@mikemarchev.com.
*** You want more to think about? Check out my weekly podcast (Miked Up Marchev). Also listed on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google, and iHeartRadio.
