One can not exceed the speed of light, no matter how much you train. I find myself less capable of maintaining the rate of activity I have in the past. I’m not sure if it is the body wearing out or the ebbing of motivation, but I don’t see the need to push the edge so hard. I travel from Labor Day to Thanksgiving Day almost continuously. This is the time when the “rubber chicken circuit” is in full swing. The construction projects are frantically finishing up before winter. The convention season is in hyper drive with me speaking at a dozen locations. I call it the “rubber chicken circuit” because you accept a keynote speaking session and you get to join the crowd for a “rubber chicken” lunch served by the thousands by the host hotel.At the end of this travel period, I am usually physically and mentally exhausted. I’m not smart enough to let off the gas by myself, so my body reminds me that I’m human. Every late fall like clockwork I get a good head cold. My body decides to punish me for my year of neglecting sleep and a proper diet. My body chooses the illness most capable of intense pain if travel is not postponed. If you are unaware of tremendous debilitating pain of a plane ride with a head cold, I wish only that you never experience it. I’m not able to describe the agony as the plane descends and the decompression attempts to slowly burst your ear canals. The pain continues to increase until the plane lands on the runway. It could drive sane people into deranged madmen. While the descent is typically 30 minutes, the agony is sufficient for a lifetime. It’s like a pair of red hot ice picks is slowly driven into your ears. I develop acute paranoia if I’m traveling with a runny nose.
In the past I developed a routine which allowed me to travel in a plane even with a severe cold. The process starts with a remedy called “airborne” which is a combination of dozens of herbs, minerals and vitamins designed to strengthen your immune system. If you believe the label, it was created by a teacher who was always getting colds from her class. Next is a lethal dose of maximum sinus decongestant. Finally as the plane leaves the runway I insert into my ears a pair of earplugs called “Ear Planes”. These earplugs are designed to buffer the decompression of the airplane. This formula allowed me to ignore the warning signs of impaired health and push past to the next symptom.
No longer am I compelled to travel when I’m not feeling well. I was to travel to Tampa this morning to meet with the board of directors of a new association at their annual meeting. I was to meet with 50 executives to solicit comments for a chapter in a technical book I’m writing. I prepared my routine, all the products were purchased. I awoke at 4:00 am to catch 5:40 am flight to Atlanta. I stood looking in the mirror at this worn figure and decided to crawl back to bed. My mind could not muster the energy to talk myself into heading to the airport. I knew the trip would further degrade my health, making it that much more difficult to crawl out of bed at 5:30 am Friday for another trip to Chicago. I know there is going to be hell to pay for this last cancellation, but the mind is not willing to push the flesh to the edge again.
“Time waits for no man” the saying goes. I’m debating the need to continue to grow my success and the need to take the pedal off the gas some. My particular industry is exceptionally competitive. The glow of success fades quickly as the media looks for the next star to feed the publicity machine. Compliancy only leads to obscurity. As my yielding mind and body tells me to rest, all I know is that today I choose obscurity. It’s time to close the shop a couple of days for repairs.
