y travels have involved
the usual share of can-
celled flights, surly
flight attendants,
dreadful airline food, dinners from
the mini-bar, and lonely nights in bad
hotels.
Some of the more notable experiences include getting poisoned by
the Mafia in Moscow, going through
Army checkpoints in Bangkok as the
city was burning to catch the last flight
out; speaking to 7,000 people shoehorned in an auditorium in Kiev, with
no air conditioning in 95 degree heat;
and, waking up in the middle of the
night on the top floor of a hotel as an
earthquake hit. This last one actually
happened a few times.
So why do it? Why put yourself
through the arduous travel, strenuous
demands, and petty inconveniences
that life as a road warrior entails?
Because it also offers some of the most
amazing benefits and experiences you
cannot find in any profession, such as:
• Taking a shower at 35,000 feet on an
Emirates Airbus 380
• Standing on an iceberg in Alaska
• Sneaking into La Scala opera house
in Milan, Italy
• Feeding the fish from a window in
the floor of my overwater bungalow
in Tahiti
• Celebrating in the town square in
Auckland, watching with the locals as
New Zealand won the America’s cup
• Looking at the circumference of the
earth though the windows of the
Concorde, traveling at Mach 2.2.
As a speaker, you have the chance
for meaningful contribution, effect-
ing positive change in the world, and
experiencing a kaleidoscope of inter-
esting people, cultures and events.
After you’ve done it enough, you
learn how to work the frequent flier
and hotel guest programs to make the
travel less arduous. You learn how
your body responds to travel and plan
m
No one likes to talk
about it, but there is
a certain amount of
narcissim involved in
being a speaker.
accordingly. You learn that it isn’t
about always running off to the next
booking, but exploring and experiencing the place you’re at today.
Once you get over the tendency to
stay at the airport hotel poised for a
quick exit, you can really enjoy the
beauty of the places you visit. You
learn to skip the chains and the tourist
traps and experience a city as the
locals do. I’ve eaten Danish pancakes
in Denmark, French toast in France,
Irish stew in Ireland, Key lime pie in
the Florida Keys, pasta Roma in Rome
and chicken Kiev in Kiev. The people,
sights, foods and culture bring a whole
new element to your life. It fosters
creativity, kills boredom and expands
your consciousness.
Another exciting development for
speakers today is social media and
other technology.
In the past, the time and connection
you had with your audiences was fleeting. Especially if you were a keynoter,
you barely saw your audience over the
lights. Now that has all changed.
You have a Twitter account, a
Facebook fan page, a You Tube channel,
a Linkedin profile, and a blog, enabling
you to directly connect and engage
with your tribe every day. This makes
the business more rewarding for a
number of reasons.
First, it makes the marketing much
easier. Social media is free and when
you do it right, it ends up driving a
lot of business to you. (That may not
be the objective, but it certainly is an
outcome.)
