To fly or not to fly: That is the question

Air travel. I used to think that it sounded quite glamorous. That was in my teens when I hadn't done a lot of it. I would dream of exotic locations and look at the map on the bedroom wall and think of the places that I would like to go to.

Recently, unfortunately, that kind of glamorous idea has gone from my mind. For me, a ten hour flight is just a way to get from A to B.

International flight are more affordable for a lot of people so as when in the past it was only the shall we say, more well off people who could go, now it is most people.

Of course this can cause some problems in that some people are not so sure of the "proper etiquette" (for example, feet up on the seat).

I digress however.

Today I want to talk about airline cabin crew.

The reason that I want to talk about that topic is that I read an interesting article about the "extracurricular" activities of people who spend a lot of time on aeroplanes.

http://nypost.com/2017/10/20/stewardess-claims-first-class-passengers-pay-flight-attendants-for-sex/

I'm not here to judge what they do and don't do. I would hope that they are fully grown adults and hey, if you have it, why not flaunt it, right?

My question today is, can you be an introvert (energise by being alone) and have job that requires your to spend up to 15 hours on an aeroplane?

I always thought that it would be quite cool to work for an airline. Flying all over the world. Exploring exotic locations. That sounds quite cool, right?

Yeah, I'm not sure. You are going to have to like people for that kind of job and believe me in 2017 you are going to meet some "interesting" people. A quick search of YouTube proves that.

There are copious amounts of books and blog posts and newspaper articles out there talking about the horrors of working on a plane. Have a look. It is quite interesting.

What I would like to say is that you might like one thing and it sounds glamorous but then you have to put up with the other thing. You have to weigh one thing off against the other. It might just not be worth it. You have to decide.

A letter to myself.

Dear Blair,

Here are some rules you need to follow and you need to start following them now. Are you ready to hear them because some of them may not be easy for you to hear but you need to.

1. Blair, you need to do the work. You can't just do the bare minimum. You need to be doing what other people aren't doing. Stop being lazy and start doing the work.

2. They say that procrastination is the thief of time. Blair, you can't wait around thinking this is the best time because it will never happen. The time is now.

3. You have to do it yourself because no one else will do it for you Blair. People say that they have your best interests at heart but they have their own problems. They don't care about you.

4. Do stuff. You can't just think about it Blair. Obviously you have to imagine it and have that thought in the back of your mind but if you do nothing then that it just means it is a dream. Nothing else.

5. Get up early Blair. It is very easy to stuff around in bed doing nothing but as difficult as it is, to get up early and do some things means that your day gets off to a good start and you get some of the hard stuff out of the way early.

6. Don't complain Blair. I know you can let irritating stuff get to you quite easily. Let it go. Think of stuff you can change. People are in their own little world. They don't think of the same stuff as you do.

7. Blair, you are a nice guy but it doesn't mean you have to be nice to every idiot that is around. Why hang out with people who bring you down? Why hang out with people who don't know what they are doing? Why?

8. You can't control the idiot who is walking down the wrong side of the road, Blair. Why bother thinking about it? Why don't you appreciate what you have? Why don't you appreciate the surroundings. This will make it a lot better for you.

9. It's not good to lie Blair. It is also not good to say things that are just to impress people. Stop doing it.

10. You can't please everyone Blair. It is just impossible. The only person you should be trying to please is yourself.

11. Did that chocolate bar taste good Blair? I'm sure it did. But why did you need it. Why did you need to have it when a good old fashioned boiled egg with a little salt would have done the trick.

12. Stop doing the same thing Blair and expecting a different result. Einstein said it well. Take his advice.

From Blair.

DON'T DO THESE THINGS!

Do you do any of the following things?

1. Stay out late. (This could mean different things for different people)

2. Sleep in. (Once again, this could mean different things for different people.)

3. Party all weekend.

4. Cancel your Crossfit class even though you booked.

5. Veg out on the sofa

6. Drink a beer or a soda (pop, fizzy drink)

7. Decide to start it tomorrow

 8. Bitch and moan about something

9. Give 99% or less

10. Overreact

Let me look at this list again.

Hmmm, I think I score 9/10 for the above list. Not good and I'm sure many of you score either 9/10 or even 10/10.

Remember if you stay out late, lets say you go out and get home at 2am. Not a late night by any means but remember that the other guy is working on that Friday or Saturday night. He is working on his side-hustle and getting ahead of you

Remember, if you sleep in, you are in my opinion anyway, missing out on the best time of the day. There are not many people around, the air is clear, it is quiet. You can get your workout out of the way and start you day off in the best possible way. If you do sleep in, someone else is going to the gym, going to that early morning class.

Remember if you party all weekend that you may have some great memories and see some great things but in the long run, how is this going to help you 5, 10 years down the track?

Remember if you cancel your Crossfit class, this could be the start of cancelling the next one and before you know it, you are going once a month and it is a huge waste of money. Sure cancel once in awhile if you don't feel like it. Going to the gym shouldn't feel like a chore. Of course in some circumstances it will feel like a chore but most of the time you should want to go there.

Remember if you veg out on the sofa then everyone is getting ahead of you even if they are going for a walk down the corner shop. At least they are being active. You are just sitting there, most probably snacking on something unhealthy. They are getting lean and mean and you are getting fat.

Remember when you are popping open a beer or a cola, you are getting fat and the water drinking guy is getting hydrated. Understand the difference?

Remember if you decided to start tomorrow the the guy who did start today is already ahead of you. The diet starts Monday. I don't think so, it starts NOW!

Remember, if you bitch and moan about something, all of your energy is focusing on that particular complaint. You will feel bad about everything and that isn't great while the guy who has his focus elsewhere is getting ahead.

Remember, give 100% in everything. End of story. Don't half-ass it. That isn't cool.

Remember to stay cool. Don't overreact and everything will be fine.

Arnold: He is 'THE MAN.'

Arnold Schwarzenegger.

When you hear this name, what do you think? Do you really need to say the Schwarzenegger bit? You can just say Arnold, right? I mean people of my generation might think of the following:

But I very much doubt it.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is an icon. He is at the top of the food chain in Hollywood and has had success as a politician as well. I'm sure if he concentrated on golf he could even manage it on the PGA Senior's Tour.

As you probably all know, Arnold made it as a bodybuilder first. Before he got into movies, he was pumping his way to title after title on the bodybuilding circuit.

I was reading the other day and this really surprised me, Arnold wasn't necessarily the biggest or even the best conditioned bodybuilder when he first got started but the thing was, he was Arnold. He had (has) a personality that is larger than life.

In this blog post I talk about the 1970's movie Pumping Iron in which we see the contrast between Arnold and his archival at the time, Lou Ferrigno. One was very extroverted and outgoing and always wanted to be the centre of attention (Arnold) and one was quiet and maybe even a little shy (Ferrigno).

What has happened in their respective careers? Ferrigno has had some parts in movies and tv shows. I'm sure he has made an ok living.

Arnold however, is worth according to my Google search, about $300 million and counting.

How much did his outgoing and extroverted personality help him?

I say a lot. He wouldn't be anywhere near he is now if he was quiet and shy. Most probably no one would know who he is.

Would he have won all of those bodybuilding titles?

Who knows?

The point today is that we are not going to be all like Arnold Schwarzenegger but we can pretend. We can fake it if you like. We need to get ourselves out of our comfort zones and be that extrovert for a short time.

Do you want me to show you how?

Another interesting quote - October 19th

Here is an interesting quote from Horacio Jones:

"I like being alone. I have control over my own shit. Therefore, in order to win me over, your presence has to feel better than my solitude. You're not competing with another person, you are competing with my comfort zones."

That's an excellent point. Some people are happy just being by themselves and even though what you have planned may, in your mind be lots of fun, other people might not see it that way. If they do decline your invitation, it is not an insult to you, it is just that the other person feels more comfortable in their own company than in yours.

LETS CHANGE OUR LIVES TOGETHER

I've noticed this year that I have let some things slip which is not good. So if you are in the same boat as me here are some things that both you and I can do that will make 2018 better and better.


1. Gratitude

We are so lucky to live in 2017. There are so many things now that we take for granted. If you have a question, you can reach into your pocket and press a few buttons and there you have on your phone screen, your answer. You can do anything from that thing in your pocket. Rather than be grumpy, think of all the good things that are in our universe.


2. Be fine with being alone

Sometimes you have to sit alone and think. You have to relax, yes even those extroverted people out there. I've said this a number of times, it is ok to sit at home on a Friday or Saturday night either by yourself or with a significant other.


3. Banish the trash

I remember a few years ago I noticed that a Facebook friend was doing a "restructuring" of her page. She was getting rid of the trash. (Her words, not mine.) I noticed that she was deleting a lot of her "friends" on Facebook. Anyway about five minutes later Iw as one friend less. I'm still not sure what I did or didn't do to get the boot but I suppose what she was doing was banishing the people who don't bring positive energy into her life. That's what you should do too. Say goodbye to the negative people. They will bring you down to their level and that is never good.


4. Turn off the telly

TV, telly, boob tube, whatever you call it, sometimes you need to turn it off and read a book or heaven forbid, maybe even go outside. It is not just the television either, sometimes you need to turn off the Internet (YouTube in particular) and do something else.


5. Cultivate a skill

Find something that you are interested in and give it a go. This might be to learn a language or to learn everything there is to know about a particular subject. I remember a friend of mine saying that if you spend 6 years reading about a particular topic every day for a minimum of seven pages, then you will be in the top 1% of authorities in that subject. Something to think about, don't you think?


6. Commit

This is something that I'm not very good at, committing at something. Choose what you want to focus on and give it 100%. I'm sure you have heard all of those cliches. You know what I am talking about, regret weighs more than failure and things like that.


7. Exercise

I went to the 7.30am class this morning. I do feel a bit tired now while I am writing this. Do I regret going? Not at all. This is another thing that personally I need to commit to. What is that I hear you ask? Consistent exercise and clean eating. I know in this society it is easy to just pop out for a kebab to something similar but it is much more satisfying to cook something yourself. It is generally healthier and probably more delicious.


8. Learn from your mistakes.

Do I have to say anymore?

Engage with the WALLFLOWER (You never know who you are going to meet)

When you are at a party or an event you are going to tun into people who may not want to be there. You will recognise them, they are standing by themselves, next to the wall, not talking to anyone.

They are called:

"WALLFLOWERS"

Say hi to them. Start up a conversation. They will be very happy that you took the effort to break the ice and even though they might not look like the life of the party (because they are not) you might find that they are super-intelligent and quite fun to be around.

Next time you are at a party engage with the wallflower. You will make their day and you will find a friend for life. I can almost guarantee it.