The No Regrets Tour
Back in 2000-2001, I spent a year working for a startup airline called Canjet. It was an interesting time, post Y2K and pre-911. It was my 3rd job in as many years and when the airline was acquired in the spring of 2001 I looked at it as another opportunity to do something new and exciting. As it turned out, the company that acquired Canjet was a Charter Airline called Canada3000. During the transition period, the IT staff was asked to be on call but we had very little to do as they integrated the companies. This resulted in a 6 week period where I found myself with access to airline passes and a world full of destinations – that doesn’t come along every day!
I guess in hindsight I could have spent my last 6 weeks at Canjet looking for a new job or worrying about the job I was losing…it just wasn’t where my mind was at the time. So…not that I over think things….but my best friend from high school was going through a bit of a rough patch. She was a stay at home Mom of four, an artist and married to her high school sweetheart who was a police officer. When I found out that I had the opportunity to travel... for basically free... anywhere in the world I wanted to go... I went home and told my husband that I wanted to take my friend to Paris so she could see all the works of art that she had admired her whole life. It filled me with great joy and happiness to know that I could give her this unique gift.
I won’t go into all the details about the story of how we got to Paris and all the interesting and wonderful events that went along with it. I will say, that we both shed tears as we walked through the Museum D’Orsey and basked in the Van Gogh & Monet exhibits. I will also say that the common theme of the whole trip was “the no regrets tour”. We said at every turn, everywhere we went and every choice we made that we had to do it with hearts open wide and with no regrets. If we wanted to stay longer somewhere and it meant missing something else – we did it with no regret. If we wanted to buy something we had to do it then and there and not regret later that we passed it up. The opportunity was so rare, and the place so amazing we knew that we might never get a chance quite like this ever again so we had to come home saying we had no regrets.
To this day, almost 20 years later, she and I talk about it as one of the most wonderful experiences of our lives. It was a turning point for her and despite the fact that she may not have been ready for such an overwhelming experience at the time, it put her in a better place to cope and move forward in her life. We lived large, we laughed, we cried, we left Paris knowing we had experienced everything we wanted to.
Why does this story come to mind and what does it have to do with our leadership journey? A while ago I watched a segment that was on “Real Sports” with Bryant Gumbel called “Live Like Line” This was a girl who appeared to live large, laugh with abandon and ultimately with no regrets. She was described as someone who gave it her all every day and had a huge impact on anyone she interacted with. What was so touching about this piece was that in life she was a leader for her team, and with her death she became a leader for a whole community. Her impact had the whole town wearing shirts that said “Live like Line” to remind them to give their all, to live life to the fullest and, in my opinion, without regrets.
That kind of leadership and impact is rare in any circumstances, but what this clearly showed was that any of us can leave a lasting impact if we let our energy, passion and love of life shine through without worrying about how you will be perceived by others. Be yourself, be comfortable that you gave it your all every day, and let others rise to the occasion rather than you stooping to just blend in.
I believe that “life is the no regrets tour” has been a theme throughout my lifetime and that the reason I keep seeing examples of it…as well as why the stories stick with me…is that I seek them out. This is also a time in our history…just like Y2K and 911…where we are seeing so many people give of themselves to help others with no regrets. To lead by example…to see a need…to lend a hand...to make a difference.
I am proud to work for a company that at each virtual meeting the leadership team starts with care and concern for our colleagues…our partners…our customers and their families. It is the recognition that we need to make choices with no regrets so we can all look back at who we were in this moment and know that we made the best decisions we could with the information we had.
I hope you and your families are safe and making the most of this time with no regrets. I’d love to hear YOUR story of how YOU are spending your time as well as what you are dreaming about…or planning once all this is behind us…to live your life the no regrets way!
Leadership questions of the week for YOU:
Can you think of a circumstance or event recently where you felt you did not give your all and that you have some regret over it?
How important is it for us as leaders to be whole hearted, give it our all and inspire others to be their best even when we feel things are outside of our comfort zone?
What event in your past reminds YOU to live the “no regrets tour”?
Thanks for reading….and remember…YOU make a difference!
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