The flights were delayed, then rerouted, and finally cancelled due to the severe winter storm that’s going on. As I write this we’re stuck in an airport hotel at what should have been our layover. So the bad news is that we will miss the ship tomorrow The good news though is that the airline is flying us at no-cost to the ship’s next port of call, the island of Antigua, where we will relax at the beach for 3 days until the cruise ship arrives and we board it for the rest of the voyage and fulfill the contract. So I guess the lesson is: sometimes missing the ship isn’t all that bad! No,really, the lesson is, never check your bags. I always carry what I need on with me so that we’re comfortable if anything like this ever happens. Travel Tip #1: Always fly to the ship a day in advance so at least you have options if there are flight delays or cancelations Travel Tip #2: Carry emergency contact information with you for airlines, hotels, and ground transportation. Calling can save you from having to stand in a long line in the event of a flight cancelation and can get you a seat on the next flight quicker. Travel Tip #3: Carry on your luggage. I actually wrote an article about how to pack without checking any luggage here: http://www.joshuaseth.com/how-to-pack-for-your-next-trip-without-checking-any-luggage/ It’s an excerpt from my upcoming book, “Cruise Ship Speaking: How to build a six figure speaking business while traveling the world for fre.e”. That book

As I think back over the years and wonder at how I got to live this life of non-stop travel and adventure I am reminded of two of my favorite phrases “The world is your oyster” and “Carpe diem” (seize the day). I truly believe you can be, have and do anything you want in life once you clearly identify what that is and give yourself permission to have it. 

As a philosophy major in college I thought a strange thought one day: what if heaven and hell exist only in our own minds and our lives manifest those perceptions? What if we can chose our own realities and really live instead of merely just survive? 

To pilfer another famous line “life is what happens while we’re busy making plans”. So what if we stop worrying about the future and start enjoying today to the fullest. What would happen? Well, I’ll tell you what has happened for me. I know who I am so I know what I want and I reach out my hand and I take it (and if it doesn’t yet exist then I make it). No “what if”. No going to sleep early when there’s a party right outside my door. No putting off till tomorrow what could be done right here, right now, today.

Yesterday a wonderful performer collapsed to the floor right next to me. He’s a very funny man, full of life and energy despite getting on in years, and then suddenly, in mid-sentance he passed out. A moment later he was fine, but what if that had been it. He’d been telling me about all the things he wanted to do in his life and hadn’t. Will he do them now? Would you? 

None of us knows how long we have to enjoy this gift of life. Make every day count. Stop worrying about the news, and politics, and the price of tea in China and start noticing the flavor of the food you eat, the quality of the company you keep, and the memories you make along the way. 

I feel like I’ve lived five lifetimes already and I’m just getting started. Throwing myself out of a perfectly good airplane at 13,000 feet while screaming at the top of my lungs on my birthday was as good a way as any to shock my system into full awareness that I am alive. I can tell you the air smelled sweeter and ground felt firmer when I landed.

Here’s the video. Carpe diem!

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Patti Squire

]]> http://www.joshuaseth.com/skydiving-as-a-metaphor-for-life/feed/ 0 http://www.joshuaseth.com/last-minute-air-travel-tips/ http://www.joshuaseth.com/last-minute-air-travel-tips/#comments Fri, 31 Jul 2009 22:00:19 +0000 Joshua http://www.joshuaseth.com/?p=233 My girlfriend and I are flying to Greece tomorrow to do a show and then on to Italy and all I can say is… I’m sure glad someone else is paying for the tickets.  

Did you know that American Airlines (the Nation’s largest commercial airline) is about to start charging $15 to check your FIRST bag after June 15th? Look for the other airlines to follow suit. They have to do something to offset the rising costs of jet fuel.

A few months ago I wrote an article about how to pack for your next trip without checking any luggage. At the time many airlines had just started charging $25 for checking a second bag. I’m thinking about how these kinds of additional fees will impact a family going on vacation (mom, dad, and 3 kids could rack up $200 in luggage charges) or a company planning an incentive program or trade show. This kind of stealth inflation can actually have a much greater impact on the overall economy than the meager dollar amounts would suggest. Hidden fees are like regressive taxes that create inflation without appearing to do so.

American also announced that they will be raising fares by another $20 (the 17th time they’ve done this since the start of the year!) and cutting domestic flight capacity in the US by over 10% by the end of the year. Look for fewer empty seats, less room in overhead storage compartments, more connections, and longer delays when flying. Fewer flight options will also result in higher ticketing prices (supply and demand).

The takeaway?

If you have any upcoming trips or summer vacations planned and can purchase the tickets before June 15th you’ll save yourself both time and money.

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Gloria

Thanks, Joshua. I going to San Diego in July. Fortunately I got my ticket through flight miles. The last time I took this trip two years ago, the round trip fare was $175. it’s almost $500 this time. Incredible. Have a great trip to Italy and Greece. and thanks again for the tips. Dale

Joshua, I’ve already had this issue with other airlines (2nd bags). As our family of 5 were flying from California to Florida for a 15 day cruise, we found that it was easier and cheaper to Fedex our extra luggage to the motel ahead of schedule. marlene killian

hi seth, finding it hard to want to travel anymore. it has become more work than pleasure to get anywhere. have a terrific trip and be safe. marlene

I’ve tried using a second laptop battery to solve this problem, but it requires that you shut down all of your programs and tun off the machine to use it. This can be very inconvenient if you have a lot of different projects open on your screen. Also, it doesn’t charge any of your other gadgets when you need it.

I’ve also tired using an airplane charger. Nice idea, but I flew Southwest twice today and none of their planes have the input for it. I’ve found that most planes don’t have a way to charge your laptop from your seat.

The best solution I’ve found by far is the Energizer Energi To Go. This is a portable battery with both a standard three prong adapter and two USB power ports.

With this handy little backup battery you can simultaneously charge your laptop, cellphone, and iPod while you’re cruising at 30,000 feet! It also comes with a car adapter so you can recharge the unit while on the road.

It costs around $120 and you can find it in most airport gadget stores.

There is also a competing product called the Duracell PowerSource Mobile 100 but I’ve never seen it sold in an airport shop (which is where the urge to buy such an item is most like to hit).

Here’s a short video showing the Energizer version. Pick one of these up before your next trip and you can stay charged up and productive all day long

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Caterina

It’s a little expensive. How much time will this battery buy me?

Joshua Seth

Hi Caterina, It’s cheaper than an external laptop battery and much more versatile. The amount of time you will get from it depends on the type of laptop you use. NOTE: If you get this device, make sure to remove it from your carry-on bag and place it a tray, just like you do with your laptop. I have had a “bag check” twice because it looks so strange on the x-ray machine. -Joshua Josh where buy? jimdavis

Great tips. I am amazed with it. I can tell it was really helpful for all travelers and that includes me. Thank you very much for the tips Joshua. Jim Joshua Seth

Hi Josh, I bought mine in an Airport Wireless store. Here’s a current listing of stores with competitive prices for those who are interested: http://tinyurl.com/4wktbs Alheli

Josh, thank you for sharing your energizer energy to go. I need to get one of those look like a great idea! have a good weekend Alheli Natalie

Thanks Josh for this useful tip..it was introduced in a very effective manner too!! must get one to recharge my patience at home too

I arrived in Atlanta only to find that my connecting flight had been cancelled and that I would have to find a hotel room for the night. I’m kicking myself right now because I checked my luggage! I haven’t checked

Cruise Ship Speaker Joshua Seth - Getting Lost in Istanbul

As soon as I looked out of my cabin window this morning I knew that this port would finally provide the taste of old Europe that I’d yet to find on this voyage. Mosques and minarets dotted the landscape and bright red flags with the Muslin moon and star snapped briskly in the sea breeze. It was about 90 degrees already and it was only 8am.

The first stop of the day was at the Hippodrome, the site of chariot races in old Constantanople that attracted crowds of 100,000 people. The Egyptian obelisk that still stands at it’s center is over 3,500 years old and I suddenly realized that I’d never before seen anything older than a few hundreds years that wasn’t locked up behind glass in a museum. This massive sculpture was standing right out in the open, just steps away from the equally impressive Blue Mosque.

Men are forbidden to enter mosques with their knees exposed in Turkey and this is why I was now sweltering uncomfortably in my jeans as the temperature topped 100 degrees. It was worth it though, as again I’d never seen anything like it, not just in terms of size and age but in detailed adornment too. I took a great many pictures of the same domes and columns, trying to stitch together some semblance of the scope of the place.

Afterwards I went to a rug making demonstration which was actually quite a bit more interesting than I’d anticipated, and not just because the place was air conditioned! Mustachioed men kept throwing rugs out onto the floor, one after another, bam bam bam, for about 45 minutes, saying as each one unrolled “This rug took 4 years to make. It’s silk on silk. All hand woven”. Bam! “This one took 5 years to make. It has over 600 stitches per square inch and is over 100 years old.” Bam! And they’d throw another one on top of that until there were dozens of carpets piled all over each other, covering the floor completely.

Finally I entered the Grand Bazaar, home to over 7,000 shops and easily twice that many merchants trying to aggressively coerce passersby into sampling their wares. I used various accents and attitudes with the vendors and had a great time pretending to be from different parts of the world. I even posed as a Turk several times and tried to outsell the shop’s vendor, enticing the tourists it with Borat like enthusiasm. It was great fun. Eventually I just dropped my Turkish accent and did a flat out Borat impersonation. I’m sure the Turks don’t know who Borat is but they loved it just the same and invited me back behind the counter for green apple tea and Turkish delights.

I got lost in the bazaar for hours and picked up a few oddities, like a bookmark made of woven Turkish carpet and a bunch of “evil eyes”. When it was time to go back to the ship, it took me nearly half an hour to figure a way out of the bazaar and back to the street where I’d started! I’d gotten entirely turned around in the never-ending maze of merchants and only managed to find my way back again because I’d noticed the particular design on the ceiling where I’d entered.

It was an exciting adventure! I highly recommend getting lost every once in a while. It’s a great way to find yourself

* Venice – It’s beautiful, it’s small, it’s sinking, and contrary to popular belief it’s not stinking. Water smells nice actually, still I wouldn’t drink it.

* Naples – birthplace of pizza, the mafia, and Sophia Loren. That’s everything you need to know, now get out of town and go see Pompeii or Capri. Did I mention they have great pizza though!

* Pisa – Skip it. Just photoshop yourself into a picture where you look like you’re holding up the leaning tower. No need to actually go there.

* Florence – It’s a big indoor / outdoor sculpture museum. You can walk around all day taking pictures of famous statues. I walked around all day taking pictures of tourists standing in line waiting to see the statues inside of the buildings instead of just looking at the statues on display in every intersection and square. They also have the best gelato in all of Italy!

* Rome - One of the most amazing cities in the history of the world. Deserves more than a day. Put it on your “must see before I die” list.

It seems that no matter how nice the hotel is, when you pull the certain closed there’s always a gap between them. I’m on tour and in a hotel rooms more often than I’m at home so I’ve encountered this annoyance hundreds of times. Light finds a way of streaming in through that little gap in the curtain, creating a slice of light through the room that always seems to lead directly to my eyes… as though the room had been designed specifically that way!

After being woken up like this a few too many times, I devised a way to block out this early morning intruder once and for all. It’s called a “Big Chip Clip”. These are the little plastic clips that you can use to hold a half eaten bag of chips closed and wouldn’t you know it, they work just as well on curtains too.

So on your next trip, toss one of those clips into your bag. Before you go to sleep that night use it to clip shut the curtains in your hotel room. You’ll get a much better night’s sleep and not get woken up at the crack of dawn… unless you’ve got noisy neighbors. The clip only works well on them if you can get it to stay put on their mouths and I imagine it’d slip off pretty quickly… just prior to them chasing you down the hall in your PJs!

If you forget the clip you can always use one of the hangers in the room, the kind that has two clips in the bottom for a pair of pants or a skirt. Just turn the hanger sideways and use the two clips to clamp the curtain shut in the middle. It’s better to bring the clip though because in some hotel rooms they’ve made it so you can’t remove the hangers from the rods.

Sweet dreams! And make sure you set a wake up call so the total darkness doesn’t seduce you into sleeping past the check out time

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Wally MacKinnon

I have faced the same problem many times and have never thought about using one of those coat hangers with the clips on it for pants. Thanks for the tip, I’ll be sure to try it on my next trip. All the best; Wally David Farr

I use an eye mask. That way, no matter how much light gets in, it’s still dark to me! From Can’t Sleep in Hotels? Try This Travel Tip…, Joshua Seth

Hi David, I use an eye mask when flying and it works great. I think that most people would find them uncomfortable to wear all night long though. You may be the exception, which wouldn’t surprise me as you’ve always been exceptional! Mia Marrocco

Josh, Its funny because when ever I go away I have a great night sleep, it is when I am home I dont sleep that well. Joshua Seth

Hi Mia, you may want to check out my Sleep Ezzzzz CD

I originally made that CD to put myself to sleep after doing my live hypnosis shows. I’d get back to the hotel room at about 1 am, all pumped up from the performance, and have to fly out again a few hours later. This CD always works like a charm

Denise

A lot of people talk about living the life of their dreams but very few actually go out and do it. I’ve been fortunate enough to be able not only to live my dream life but to surpass those dreams in every respect.

I thank my friends, my family, my agents and bookers, and every single audience member for helping to make this dream a reality. No one does it alone and in this blog I intend to give back to all of you by sharing tips, insights, and experiences that I pick up along the way.

All my best, Joshua Seth

NOTE: this was the first blog post / article on this website on July 14, 2007.

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Jenny Wong-Rinyai

I was at one of your shows & the weight loss seminar on the Caribbean Princess the week of Nov 25th. Awesome!!!! My husband and I bought your “Beat Stress now” and “Banish insomnia” CDs while onboard. I just wanted to say, even though we did not get a chance to listen to them 21 days straight…I listen to when I can/have time and they are amazing. I have slept so well and not let stress take hold of my life.

I just have to work on the weight issue…though I am not overly overweight I wanted to change my eating habits. Your seminar proved successful. I just have to keep at it and not feel guilty if I stray sometimes here and there.

Thanks a million!!!!!

Jenny