One of my favorite things about travelling is meeting new and interesting people. I can usually tell right away once entering a conversation if the person is someone that I would like to invest more time in. Sometimes, like on an airplane, you don’t get a choice.
I was recently on my way back from Orlando to Portland and my flight took me through Phoenix. It just so happens that I was in Orlando the same weekend as the Daytona 500. The airport was packed full of people, many of them still sporting their “race gear.”
I got on the plane and found a seat near the back and although they said the flight was full, the center seat in my aisle remained empty until the very end when a couple and child got on to the plane. You could tell that they were a little wiped out – you know the look. The father sat with his son in the very back row and the mother climbed into the seat next to me.
“Hello” I said. “Hi” she all but barked back. “How you doing today?” trying to lighten up her mood. “We were at the race and this has been the worst vacation of my life” she replied. At this point in time I realized there was nothing much more I could say. Life had happened to her and clearly she felt the victim of her circumstances.
Kary Oberbrunner in his recently released The Deeper Path talks about the difference between victims and victors. Victims have a tendency to let life happen to them and victors more than likely, make the choice to happen to life. I was clearly sitting next to a victim.
Enter Carla and Ginny (See photo). As I stated, I had a stopover in Phoenix but stayed on the same plane. I was the only one left in the back of the plane and had a chance to speak with the two fight attendants on my Southwest Airlines flight.
Former CEO and co-founder of Southwest Airlines Herb Kelleher, is well known for his leadership qualities and it was evident that these two women had graduated from Kelleher’s school of “the right way to do business.” Both Ginny and Carla we friendly and professional exuding strong positive attitudes, even considering the “cleanup in row 28” they had to deal with a few hours earlier when a lady got sick mid-flight.
Carla told me that over twelve years ago, once her kids were out of grade school, she told her family that she wanted to pursue her dream of being a flight attendant. Ginny had filled out an application during college hoping to get some part time work flying and a year later received an acceptance letter. She accepted and has loved her job ever since.
The way I see it, I saw the best and worst on that flight from Orlando to Phoenix. I saw a clear picture of what a victim looks like and a more encouraging picture of two victors. Ginny made the comment that she enjoys her job so much it doesn’t even seem like a real job. I asked her “what is a real job?” Her response … “you know, like a 9-5 desk job or something like that.”
Funny how different people have different views. I would suggest a real job is a job that any job you enjoy doing. Anything else is just plain work. Real job or not, Carla and Ginny were living their dream and that’s what really matters.
So now you know the difference between a victim and a victor so you have a choice to make. Are you going to happen to life or let life happen to you?
***********************************************************************
Don’t miss a single post from Building What Matters by subscribing at the top left of this page.
Help support us by clicking here and Liking our facebook page
Barry Smith www.buildingwhatmatters.com 3/1/13 photo by author
