Traveling - The Good and Bad

Like many people in business these days, my life has evolved into a frantic routine of frequent travel around the world. Many times I want to stop and settle down. But then when I go for 2 or 3 months in the same place, I get itchy feet. I get bored and start looking for a new adventure. How did I get this way?

International travel has fantastic benefits. I observe and meet many great people around the world. I learn about new cultures, politics, different languages. Travel allows me to make fantastic friends, learn many amazing things, and broaden my horizons past my small area where I grew up. Growing up in a cowboy state, I never had any hint that someday I would learn how to speak Japanese and Chinese languages. I never new that I would learn to navigate the subways in Tokyo and Beijing - without a guide - almost as well as the highways in my home state. I have walked along Hadrian's wall and dined in English castles. The cobblestone streets around Paris' Notre Dame were soaked in history, culture, and fashion. In a sidewalk cafe in front of Notre Dame, I drank wine and imagined how many heads rolled off a guillotine in the Plaza during the French revolution. China and Japan and Korea are fascinating to me because I am always lost. I am drawn to the challenge of learning how to communicate and do business with people who think so differently from me. I got a tremendous thrill when I learned to speak and read enough to travel around Japan and go sightseeing by myself without a translator.

International travel is tremendously rewarding. But it is also very challenging. It is impossible to establish a daily routine. Patience is the first rule for succes. How can I join a club or get involved in many activities when I am often somewhere else? Few people realize how many times I arrive at my hotel or home at midnight, and yet must be ready for work at 7 AM the next morning. I hate airports and airplanes - sitting in one place for many hours is very painful for all the past injuries I sustained in my adventurous younger life. Travel delays and long hours of waiting are standard fare. So is sickness from bad food or cold weather. If I forget something or lose something, am I sure I can find a replacement? For instance, if I buy medicine in a foreign land, am I sure I bought the proper stuff? The biggest problem is the constant fatigue. I am usually tired from not getting enough sleep, and yet must somehow maintain good humor and patience in long meetings and difficult negotiations. Loneliness is my other problem. I am too often removed from my wonderful Jane, my good friends and family. Sitting in a hotel room at 2 AM, staring at a television show I cannot understand. Sometimes I wonder why I do all this.

The best way for success in any endeavor is to concentrate on the positive aspects. Yes, there are always negative aspects to anything, and we must recognize and deal with them. But I prefer to focus on the positive things. This helps maintain my sanity and success. No question about it, my life has had far more rewards than penalties. God has showered me with good fortune and good friends. He has allowed me to contribute a small part to creating good jobs and improving lives and technology in different parts of the world. Someday my goal is to find a balance for travel - to have homes in different places where I am comfortable; in Asia and also in America. I want a weekend or holiday home in the mountains where I can relax in my comfort zone.

I deal with the stress and fatigue of travel by observing people and gathering stories about the good times I have. I love to tell stories. For nearly my whole life, writing and telling stories has been one of my safety valves, the way to release steam. I can't write much about my business because my customers trust me to keep their various secrets. Therefore I tell stories about my adventures, new languages, drinking beer, and singing karaoke. I've been writing stories for many years, but now this blog offers a faster, more efficient way to share the stories with my friends and family.

Recently I was told that this blog is unprofessional and presents the wrong message to my customers. I am a company president and engineer doing important work, but the blog shows that I am interested only in having fun around the world. Hmm...how do I respond to that? Albert Einstein was a brilliant physicist, but his first love was playing the violin. The great French mathematician Poincare discovered a completely new system of geometry while on vacation in South America. Everyone needs a safety valve, a way to release steam, to stay effective. I am not brilliant like Einstein, but who cares? I just do this for enjoyment.

So here I am again, writing this blog instead of working like a dog. No problem. I'll get to work later. Now it's time to relax, go to the beach, do some karate exercises, and enjoy a Sunday with my wonderful wife and some of our friends. Work can wait a little bit.