Up in the Air
I always enjoyed watching this movie. George Clooney plays a high flying executive named Ryan whose true home is nowhere and everywhere. He spends his life as a business traveler on the road 340 days of the year. I can definitely relate to him as I have spent a career traveling all around the world for close to 19 years. (Albeit thankfully not that many days away). Many of the lessons are very relevant for all of us even if you don’t travel.
Routines:
You need a sense of routine & comfort while travelling. You need a touchstone when everything around you is different. This allows you to process the differences & acclimatize quickly. You want some change and some exoticism but not too much. It’s a balance, if you do not have some touchstones, you start to feel lost and out of control. I personally think this is one of the reasons franchises like Starbucks or McDonalds are so loved by many American business travelers. It’s a touch of the familiar. (For the record, i personally hate most American franchises and you would not catch me in them anywhere unless i was using their bathroom)
Motion:
The state of motion allows you to feel like you are moving forward with your life. Although motion doesn’t always equate to progress. But it drives excitement and slows the speed of time. Your awareness of things around you goes up and your life is so much more interesting.
Motion equates to new Experiences. As my old violin teacher told me, in the end all the matters are your experiences and your memories.
Mileage:
Ryan maximized his expense account spend when traveling to optimize getting miles. This is just plain smart, you accumulate miles and good credit while saving all the other expenses you would normally spend while at home. If you are extra smart, you would bank and invest all this money.
Connection:
Making sure you connect with people wherever you are going & making friends in different cities & countries is really what makes business travel so special. But at the end of the day, despite the apparent sexy lifestyle of business travel, you do need to land and return home. Having loved ones to return home to is probably the best part of business travel. At least it is for me.
Watch this old movie. It’s a funny & sad yet eye opening look at business travel. And a glimpse of that pre-Covid world we took for granted.
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