Beware of What You Read

This is the latest in a series of guest columns from a marketing pro and ‘practicing entrepreneur.’

“All Indications Point Toward a Banner Year For Travel Professionals According to James T.Bigelow”

How do you feel now?

How do you feel after reading a favorable forecast depicting a pretty picture?

Mike Marchev

You don’t know the writer, and he or she doesn’t know you. Yet I am quite certain that you are feeling better about your travel business knowing there is a bright light at the end of the tunnel.

Things are looking up, according to some person known as an “authority.” In this case it’s James T. Bigelow.

Listening to strangers
Don’t you find this a bit strange?

Don’t you think it odd that you allow a stranger to raise or lower your enthusiasm quotient based on a series of words tied together in a magazine headline?

They say ‘good,’ and you feel good. They say ‘bad,’ and you begin looking for a new career.

This responsive behavior is also prevalent when talking about the weather or the Dow Jones.  At the very least, this can be labeled as quizzical behavior.

You can’t control fuel prices and you can’t control the Dow Jones Stock Index. For that matter, you can’t control the weather.

What you can control
The only thing you can control is ‘you.’

It is both healthy and logical to realize that you—and only you—have a say in how your future will unfold.

Of course there will be a few outside influences, but the bulk of your success will come from the choices you make.

My advice to you: Make good choices. Take control of your business.

Once you begin taking your cues from your own personal activity, while paying less attention to the pundits, you will be well on your way to another banner year.

Not by Mr. Bigelow’s say-so, but by your actions and follow up.

The ball’s in your court: This simply infers that you are “driving the bus.”

The only persona in control of your life is you. Whatever happens to you in the next 35 years will be determined by the decisions you make from this moment forward. Got it?

Customer-oriented decisions
My recommendation to you is to start making good decisions.

And that means customer-oriented decisions. That means that as soon as you realize that your largest problem concerns ‘visibility’ the sooner you will make every attempt to become more visible.

Here are some more proven success-driven suggestions.

If you want to become more successful (by your definition), you must begin doing more today. You can’t allow the industry ‘rags’ to determine your attitude or the rate and effectiveness of your contribution to the traveling public.

If this is beginning to sound like too much work, you might want to consider another line of work.

If you are an honest, hard working travel professional it is time to get up, get out, and make more people glad they know you.

Mike Marchev knows that what you learn after you know it all is what you need to learn if you want to know it all. (Or something like that.) Bonus offer: email Mike at mike@mikemarchev.com to receive his “12-Word Marketing Plan” Special Report.