What I’m Reading - 12/22/24

Dec 22, 2024

I’m writing this on Friday from a hotel airport near the Detroit airport. I got stuck here overnight, not because of the snow in Green Bay but because of a mechanical issue on my plane in DC that had us leaving over an hour late. I say mechanical problem, but when I asked for a hotel voucher - because it was the airline's fault - I was told it was “airplane damage” and not “mechanical,” so they don’t give vouchers out. I have a rule that I don’t get into things too much with gate agents as they don’t make the rules, and there was a large group of people who also missed their connections behind me, so I’ll bring it up with Delta later.

But do you want to know what disappointed me the most? Myself. I am a seasoned traveler. I’ve been in all sorts of situations, and one of my first rules is to always travel with my own amenity kit that includes a change of underwear, a toothbrush, toothpaste, a brush, shampoo/conditioner, and a razor. Did I do that this time despite my intuition telling me something would likely happen? No. And I checked all my stuff in a checked bag because I had Christmas presents to bring home, and I couldn’t do that on a carry-on. (I am glad I got airtags for all my luggage, purses, and keys this year. At least I can see where my checked bag is.)

Not traveling as much as I did before COVID has made me weak. I won’t be making this mistake again.

But that does remind me of a question I wanted to ask you all. If you have a few minutes, Ben Whitelaw, Alice Hunsberger, and I would be grateful if you would fill out our survey, letting us know what kinds of content you want to see in 2025. However, if you only have a few seconds, I have one idea that I want feedback on. I’ve debated adding an advice-type newsletter one day a week. I’d cover travel tips, how I’m using AI in my business, how I built my business, how I approach my newsletter, career stories, etc. I get asked these questions a lot in 1:1s, and I thought putting them out in newsletter form could be good. What do you think? Would you be into that?

I hope everyone has a lovely upcoming week. I made it home to Wisconsin and will be snuggling my new niece and playing many games with my nephews.