Warning: This is not a business blog post. A bit touchy feely but I had to mention it.

The world is changing it seems. I don’t know what is was the last few days, but something good is coming out of the bad news in the financial sector. People on the road seem to be “kinder”. As I rushed around the last few days going with a client back and forth from Silicon Valley, a few strange occurences happened which I had never witnessed before:

1. A closed vendor at the airport gave me a bottle of water “on the house”. (They usually close up early)

2. A taxi driver stopped and gave money to a homeless man off the highway ramp. (They usually practically run them over.)

What amazed me was how it affected my travel mood (which is usually pretty lousy with all the travel indignations we need to put up with these days). After witnessing these random acts, I felt lighter, happier and kinder. It made a big difference in the day’s business.

Have you been witnessing strange acts?

You have all seen the news: American Airlines will begin charging $15 a bag for the first bag you check beginning June 15th.  I am an executive platinum flyer with the airline (the top level) and this makes no sense at all. (BTW- they sent me an email yesterday saying that I would be exempt from this fee because of my “elite” status.) American is of course blaming higher fuel prices on this latest action- I am not denying that fuel prices are high but it seems that everyone is blaming everything on the price of oil these days.

American’s $15 a bag will eventually backfire. People will try to bring more bags on the airplanes and try to stuff them into the overheads. This will delay the loading and departure of flights and will further hurt customer satisfaction for airlines which is already at a record low. We need to do actually the reverse- limit what people bring on. This is what European airlines do and the planes their load and unload much more quickly. I would much rather have American raise its fares and get me their on time….don’t nickel and dime me on the way especially when it effects customer service.

I like American Airlines. They are my preferred carrier. They have been good to me. But $15 a bag will backfire on them and they will need to find another way.

When I was on vacation in the mountains is Utah this past summer, I walked a stone labyrinth at the beginning of each day. Carrying only my sunglasses and hotel card in my pocket, I felt light and free. Since the labyrinth is a circular path, there is really no where to go. This actually was freeing. I could walk with intention, but just the same, just walk and not have to accomplish anything specifically except whatever came up for me.

We need to live our business lives more like this. There always isn’t some place to go or something to acheive. Many times, we just need to enjoy and be where we are. We can make alot of progress this way.

The day is already off…I arrived at the airport and the flight to and from LA was canceled today. They say it is equipment problems,  I say that its the incoming weather. I booked a flight to Dallas today instead ($30 less and it will still get me to the mileage goal. This is called a “mileage trip” by the airlines. Apparently I am not the only crazy business traveler that does this. I guess this goes on alot this time of year. It’s Tuesday, join me in Dallas for lunch!

Post Script- The flights worked out great. Came back on the same plane I flew down on with only 45 minutes in Dallas. The longest part? Getting home on public transportation here in Chicago because of the snow.

I have done some crazy things in my business life and today certainly qualifies in that category. I travel alot. I will do almost a hundred flights this year. One of the benefits of traveling on one airline is to get to their “supreme” frequent traveler status. If you get there, they treat you like “gold” and you always get to sit in first class if the seats are not purchased. This makes a big difference if you are on airplanes every week like I am.

With one month remaining (a two business trips to be taken), I am 3500 miles short of hitting that status….so I am flying to LA for lunch today so I can fly the miles to achieve that milestone. I have work and movies to bring along on the 8 hours of flying I will do today. Snow is expected in Chicago today, so it may be a long, long day…

I will making more blog entries today along the way. Please join the conversation!

Budget Travel this month reported this month on what happens the 13 million "contraband" items TSA takes away every year from travelers. To my surprise, it get sold as surplus on Ebay and other bidding sites. I had to check out the one for Illinois to see if I could fine by keyknife. Now if I could only get back my water bottles, shampoo and shaving cream I would be set!

Last night, Brett Farmiloe and his Pursue the Passion team pulled the tour bus in Chicago and our block for interview and dinner. Brett, Zach, Jay and Noah are making the 1400 mile trip around the country in a souped up RV to ask the how professional pursue their passion in life. Over drinks and dinner, we talked about their 3 month journey and who they had met and what they had learned. I miss these times when 10 people sit at a table and just laugh, talk and learn. I had the feeling that these 4 guys were doing something important.

Up until now, most hotels I stay in are all the same. But on recent visit to Hilton’s Embassy Suite Hotel in Dallas, they made me feel special throught the HHonors Program. When I arrived in my room, there was a custom note welcoming me. What surprised me more was a note that simple said,

"for your convenience, your beverage selection from your Hilton HHonors VIP program has been place in the refrigerator.."

I opened up the refrig, and their were two bottles of Fuji water…my favorite.

Now that’s Crazy Customer Service!

There was an early morning fire alarm in the hotel I was staying today. It is amazing when you wake up and have to get out fast what you take with you and what you leave behind:

Things I grabbed: My wallet, laptop, phone, insulin, room key

Things left behind: iPod, wedding ring, watch, car keys, clothes

For those heady business people, you can know rent an entire village or country on your next vacation. RentaVillage.com offers the ability to do this. Aimed at corporate events, the site promises:

"Rename streets and squares using names that have a connection with your company. Have your logo carved into the white snow of a mountain slope or introduce your own currency for the duration of your stay. And transform the venue for your event into your very own village."