I am excited to share the five most popular questions asked during an event. If you missed questions 1-3 make sure you read those on my blog page!
Here we go with Question Number 4!
How can I still love my job with all the craziness of travel?
One of my favourite questions. I’ve been living this amazing, blessed life as a speaker for over 30 years. Simply answered, you have to love what you do.
To open this blog response, I have to reflect back on the experience I shared within my Focus on the 90% book. The craziness of travel doesn’t even cover it. At the onset of my career, my husband Darren and I made a decision. “ Let’s travel together to your events with our kids, it will be fun!”
For years, I was a full-time speaker who travelled with my family. I don’t know if that conjures up glamorous images for any of you, but the reality is that it was not always easy. It had its 90%s, but it definitely had its 10%s too. I have travelled with sick children and sick me.
I have packed and unpacked more times than I can count. I have acrobatically nursed my children in a moving vehicle. Darren would wait outside of the banquet rooms with our babies, and I would run out on the breaks and nurse my children during my presentations. We have dealt with cancelled flights and lost luggage and have been rerouted to cities we’d never heard of. You name it, and we have likely been there, intentionally or accidentally! I chose to travel with my family so I could be with them every day. I also chose to do this because I share a very strong “family first” message in my presentations. If you are going to talk about it, I figure you need to walk it, too. When our children went to school, I committed to a very balanced travel schedule, scaling back overnights to once a week during the spring and fall, and summers off to be with them.
The 90%s of travelling as a family were many. We did not miss a day with our children, and we have albums of pictures filled with the adventures we have been on. We have had many 90%
adventures, but of course, we have had a few 10%s, too, and they have been just as memorable!
I loved how my job provided the opportunity to travel and spend time away from home with my family. How lucky was that?
Now, raising adult kids, I travel alone. I spend my car and plane travel time, airport waits, and hotel time taking care of me, downloading new ideas for presentations and books, and finding ways to improve my business. No more strollers, snacks, or crafts, running down hotel hallways chasing after kids or picking up stuffed toys. I take the time to renew, sleep, eat well and focus on the best version of me. Ahhhhhh…..
I love how my job provides me the opportunity to travel to amazing places & events and gives me the time to look after myself along the way. How lucky can I be? And, as each event, client and audience are different, what I learn about them is so exciting and gratifying.
To summarize the answer, I love my job because I choose to do it. Don’t complain about what you do for a living, as the energy is toxic. Start the new year by telling people you are proud of what you do for a living. If they look back at you strangely or make a weird comment, look at them straight in the eye and proclaim, “I am happy in a job that I choose to do!”
Find happiness in what you do…
Tune in next week for question 5, you won’t want to miss it!
Darci Lang
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