Typically we are all very busy at this time of year and gearing up by hiring summer staff, welcoming guests, and filling our bank accounts. 2020 is going to be different. Many of you are starting to open in a new way, or at least setting plans in motion. Some of you are still waiting. I’d like to suggest adding these 2 books to your summer plans. This is not the year for beach reads; this is the year to find and use all the information you can to move forward.
The Obstacle is the Way
This book appeared as a suggestion on my Amazon Prime reading list. The subtitle ‘The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph’ seems made for our current reality. Holiday turns to an ancient group of philosophers called The Stoics and shows how ‘what impedes us can empower us‘. And isn’t that just the type of message we need to hear now?
Everything feels like an obstacle and a challenge to overcome. This book is broken into three sections:
- Part 1: Perception. How we perceive a challenge affects how we overcome it
- Part 2: Action. Many tactics are explored. Persistence and flexibility are key
- Part 3: Will. Know that the obstacle will not be moved quickly, or in the way that you expected. But your mindset is key to success.
One of the elements I like about this book is that he reminds us we won’t just go through this trial and then be fine. No, learning how to navigate difficult times, huge obstacles and setbacks are part of the human condition. This book shows that you can follow a process to overcome them, and as he quotes the emperor Marcus Aurelius “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”
How to Stop Worrying and Start Living
In 1990 I was wandering through a used bookstore in Norway, Maine and found this paperback for .35 cents. As a young Mom with limited money, I felt like I was always worrying so I grabbed this book. Little did I know that it would become a staple in my library and that I would reach for it yearly to refresh my memory on the information inside.
Dale Carnegie is a household name and brand for personal and professional development today, but when he wrote this book in 1944 he was teaching adult education programs at a YMCA in NYC. He saw first hand how worry prevented people from achieving their full potential and he developed a program and framework for overcoming it. It is written in a conversational tone and has a summary at the end of each section.
It’s a bit of a peek into history as well because when it was written, the world was a different place. There is a section titled ” How the Housewife Can Avoid Fatigue- and Keep Looking Young!”. In several chapters, he encourages you to send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to receive more information and I am sure all the people he profiled in the book are long gone.
But the principles are sound. And human nature hasn’t changed one bit as you will see from all the examples he uses. Worrying can rob you of energy and optimism so putting a stop to it with the tools in this little book will help you see a bright future for yourself in Tourism.
This book contains one of my all-time favorite quotes as well: ‘Two men looked out through the prison bars, one saw mud, the other saw stars.’
More book suggestions
I wrote a post about some of my favorite books that have helped me grow as a Tourism Professional. Here is a link to that post.
How can I help you in May 2020?
Have you checked out Tourism Pro Academy? There are free resources, online courses and more. Take some time to learn something new during our National “Pause”. I am adding new courses this month so check it out! Click here to access the site for free.
DMO’s – Are you looking for ways to provide some value to your members during this time? Would you like to offer a live webinar “Continue your Career from Your Couch” that I will host? Join organizations such as
- SYTA,
- Circle Michigan,
- Happy Valley Adventure Bureau
- Pennsylvania Bus Association, and
- Visit Baton Rouge who have hired me already this year to educate and inform their members.
- Click here for additional information on the Online Tourism Training Program.
New! Profile Sheet 911. We know that your profile sheet is your sales ambassador in the Group Tour market. Is yours doing it all it should? Is it effective in answering tour operator questions and making your business sound appealing? Get ready now for when group tours start picking back up.
Sign up for the new Profile sheet 911 program. For only $69 you will get a customized review that is also recorded. Click here for more details. I am here to help you create your best profile sheet that will make tour operators pick up the phone!
My friend Jonathan Elkoubi has teamed up with some other Tourism Pros and created HTTA and asked me to share:
If you have recently joined the ranks of the unemployed and furloughed of the US Hospitality, Travel, Tourism and Activities Industries, we invite you to register now at www.HTTA.us. HTTA is a benevolent, confidential and secured database meant to allow you to remain connected to the Trade Associations and DMOs you were involved with, which are unaware of your current work status. We will be adding new functionalities to benefit you once recovery starts, such as industry job boards, a continuing education resource center, and a recovery information repository.
Can I ask a favor? Could you share this post with at least 2 of your colleagues who would benefit from reading it? And then they can sign up here to receive my posts directly to their inbox. Thank you.