What will you experience for the first time? this coming year?
One of the things I love to do is travel in order to experience new places, cultures, sights and things. This past year I have had a number of travel firsts as I visited Mt. Rushmore, hiked the Badlands of South Dakota and toured Devil’s Tower in Wyoming (of Close Encounters of a Third Kind fame). I’m headed to South America for the first time in a few weeks to visit the Galapagos Islands and hopefully Machu Picchu. I have 8 couples going with me. I organized the trip as an unofficial travel agent, as I have done for the last number of years. I am traveling to Scotland, and Northern Ireland in August with 4 couples where I will hopefully play at the birthplace of golf – St. Andrews. I LOVE experiencing and sharing these travel firsts with my friends.
According to a landmark study by Brian Uzzi, there is a common origin that most of the important relationships in our life have. In his 2005 Harvard Business Review article, Uzzi wrote “Potent relationships are not forged through casual interactions but through relatively high-stakes activities that connect you.” He calls this the Shared Activity Principle. I have been blessed to be able to develop “important relationships” by sharing many first travel activities. Activities like Salmon fishing in Alaska, river cruising the Rhine River from Amsterdam to Switzerland and last year on Safari in South Africa as we shared the experience of a parade of 30 elephants traveling just feet in front of us as we stood silent in awe. Majestic, Moving and Memorable!
As I look to welcome in the new year, I have turned my duties (passion) as an unofficial travel agent to my friends into becoming an “official” independent part-time travel advisor for a local Travel Agency. I still am hard at work at my day job. I used my weekend and nights to get my training and received my CLIA (Cruise Line International Association) card this week. I had my first official booking yesterday of a sea/land cruise for a family of 5 to Alaska. I could NEVER had imagined attempting to achieve this without my continued quest of firsts that have become a facilitator of learning, growth & excitement. I’m looking forward to a New Year “full of things that have never been.” Another year filled with many challenges, new experiences and FIRSTS! How about you? Happy New Year!