Travel Blog (T-blog) #1 - Be a blessing or be blessed.

Today, I was blessed with the gift of flying across 12 time zones to visit my family and friends in my birthplace. As I walked through two airports, it was clear to me how privileged I was to do this. Not everyone can afford to travel overseas. The further you go, the bigger the ticket cost.

At the start of my trip, I chose to get my luggage shrink-wrapped at the airport. "Jimmy" was courteous, patiently walking me through signing up for the baggage tracking option and gently telling me all about the service I was paying for. I recognize he must repeat this information day in, day out but not once did he rush through his shpiel nor did he huff at my basic questions. He seemed to When I asked for his name and thanked him by name, letting him know he was giving my journey a truly pleasant start, his eyes opened wide in a big smile as he wished me a good trip.

An hour and a half later, I'd encounter "David", managing the crowd at the boarding gate seating area. He went from pods of people to rows of people to inquire if they were waiting for my flight. For all the yeses, he welcomed them and shared briefly what would be coming up soon as boarding began. For all those who said no as they were waiting for the flight at the next gate over, he wished them a pleasant flight with a smile.

By the way, I think people from other flights sat where I was due to the amazing view of the sunset.

It's easy to add value to people experiencing your brand if: 1) you love your job and 2) you have a heart to be of service. It's even easier to see you have no love for what you do.

These two simple encounters helped set the tone for the next 23 hours of flying and finding my way around airports. Maya Angelou was right when she said, "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Thanks, Jimmy and David.