Finding the Way
by Lisa Marie Platske

Airports are filled with lessons on leadership and provide one of the best places to people-watch. I'm a quiet flyer. I wear a suit whether I'm traveling for business or not, keep to myself, smile, and limit my small talk to an occasional comment to a stranger here and there. Typically, my travels are uneventful, although I do meet interesting folks who usually have a story to tell.

As my husband and I planned for the annual trek to visit his parents and extended family, I realized that we have a certain routine. Although I enjoy change, the familiarity of this trip and the places where we lay our heads provides the comfort of knowing what I'm going to get ahead of time. Several such constants include our one-night stay at the Elephant Walk, a shopping trip to Wal-Mart in Stillwater, Minnesota to purchase a current road atlas (priced below $5.00 for the past few years, you just can't beat it...especially since Jim likes reading maps), the gathering of the Platske family at Uncle Bill's, and my morning walks with Chip and Bella at the best bed-and-breakfast in the United States, The Inn at Timber Cove.

This year our trip was a little different. Our first flight was delayed due to a power outage. While it only lasted 30 minutes, it affected every flight in Southern California so Jim and I sat on the runway for over an hour. When we arrived in Phoenix, our gate wasn't ready so we sat on the tarmac for 20 minutes, making our one-hour flight close to three hours. While we missed our connection to Minneapolis, the frazzled flight attendant announced that the airline had re-booked everyone on another flight. Yeah! We were further instructed to disembark and head over to the counter at gate A-7 where our new tickets were waiting for us.

Jim and I were seated at the front of the plane, but we waited in line at A-7 for one half hour to pick up our tickets. With a quick glance at our tickets, we realized that we needed to move fast in order to make it, so we took off running to the next terminal. When we arrived at gate B-12, panting and out of breath, we looked around and saw no plane. Did we miss this connection, too? Closer inspection of our tickets revealed that our airline had booked us on a 9:55 p.m. flight - 12 hours later! We hoofed it over to customer service to see if we could catch an earlier flight. After another hour-long wait, we were told that 9:55 p.m. was the best they could do. However, we could try to fly stand-by, something I had never done before.

Trying to be as upside as possible, we decided to get a quick bite to eat because we just knew we were going to get on that 12:10 p.m. flight. Jim checked with customer service after our "Great Steak &Potato Company" lunch and was told by a bubbly, young gal that we had a good chance of getting on the flight as we were #1 and #2 on stand-by. After all zones had boarded, the desk agent called our names and that of one more passenger to the counter to tell us they had seats for us. YEAH! We were on our way!

As I walked down the jetway, half full of relief and half full of pride and accomplishment, it was as if the record playing "congratulations" in the background had skipped. I spun around thinking I hadn't heard correctly as the agent said, "I made a mistake. We only had two seats available." Ugh. I couldn't believe this was happening. The other passenger was at the end of the jetway and here we were, in limbo, with nowhere to go but back to the terminal. I felt like I was trapped. While he inquired whether one of us wanted to fly solo (NO!), I felt like I had just lost my get-out-of-jail-free card in Monopoly.

Back to the terminal we went. We were put on the next stand-by list for a flight that was leaving 3 hours later. Typically, I carry my power cord and toiletry bag, but this was supposed to be a quick trip with very little layover. I started to become annoyed with myself and then decided to shrug it off. Jim and I talked, shared stories, and laughed. I did a little work and he read. He meandered over to Starbucks for a cup of java, but even that wasn't right. After two attempts, the coffee still wasn't hot! Something just wasn't right in the universe; after all, the one constant in the universe is that the Starbucks experience is always the same - and the product is rich, piping hot coffee!

The next 7 hours weren't much different. Three more stand-by flights with no availability (although there were three sets of travelers at the counter and we were all individually told we were first on the list!), a dinner at Burger King where the motto is "you can have it your way" and I tried three times (ask me about that sometime), and several other mishaps.

When we did finally make it out of the Phoenix Airport, I thought it would be smooth sailing. However, even our arrival into Minneapolis had a few bumps. Our luggage had made it before we did and was under lock and key with no airline representative available. The sign on the door directed us to the check-in counter if no one was in the baggage claim. We walked back upstairs and there wasn't a soul in sight, so Jim called the 1-800-number on the door in baggage claim. He got an answering message that said luggage claim was closed for the night. I called the number for airline reservations and the customer service representative told me TSA could open the locks. (She was wrong.) Finally, we located someone from one of the airlines to help. Next stop - car rental.

Well, you guessed it, our car rental was closed. There was a VIP on the flight for whom one of the rental car companies was waiting, so we begged for a car and they obliged. One of the major roads was closed on the way to our bed-and-breakfast, but we did finally find our way to Stillwater, Minnesota, home of the Elephant Walk and our first night in the area. Even though it was 4:30 a.m. when we finally laid our heads down on the goose-filled pillows and silk comforter, we were overjoyed.

In between every misfortune, Jim and I were laughing and making the most of our time together. We were courteous and kind to the airline personnel and our fellow travelers, many of whom were also trying to visit family for the Memorial Day weekend. Around 4 p.m., a woman introduced herself to me and said, "I watched you interact with the counter agents a few hours ago and made a mental note of it. I couldn't help but stop you now to comment on how wonderful you were to them. If I get on the next flight, I will give you my seat." I was speechless but for anyone who knows me, that didn't last long. We chatted for about 20 minutes and I thanked her, for she had validated one of the components of upside thinking and an entire chapter in Designing Your Destiny - having an attitude of gratitude.

Being kind to the people around me was deliberate and came naturally because I have practiced. While many of the other people around me were screaming and uttering phrases like, "They ruined my day," staying calm was part of knowing my way - the upside way. "You are where you choose to be" is a foundational principle, and knowing the way you want to live your life, who you are, and what you value is critical to determining your level of effectiveness.

Life happens and many times our business dealings don't work out the way we envision them. We lose a sale, the project we're working on is delayed, our co-workers don't react the way we'd like them to, we miss a deadline, our email crashes...whatever the situation, the frame of mind in which you place yourself when experiencing events of this kind will determine how effective you will be during your remaining hours of the day. If you identify and clearly understand what is most important to you, life's unexpected events won't derail your effectiveness.

Remember, as Grandma Moses said, "And life is what we make it, always has been, always will be." Finding the way is always easy if you set yourself up right and know what is most important to you. May you chart a clear course and find the way to the destination of your choice!

Lisa Marie Platske is the President and CEO of Upside Thinking, Inc., an international leadership development company that wows audiences with inspirational seminars and workshops and provides coaching/consulting to change the way leaders approach their personal and professional lives.
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