I was interviewed this week for “HR Wire” magazine about what to do to help employees through a downsizing. At the end of the interview, the writer told me that I was the only person she had interviewed who had talked about the importance of dealing with people’s FEELIINGS. She said that every other “expert” had simply talked about systems, processes, and the business aspects of returning to productivity.

I shared with her that several years ago Mike Stewart, a colleague and friend, and I developed a wonderful program called “FEELING your Way Through Change – Understanding and Managing Transitions in Life and Work” to deal with this very issue, and it has been highly successful in helping individuals and organizations work through many different kinds of changes in a much more healthy way, accounting for both the business and the human sides of change. (This program can be a keynote, half day or full day program.)

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A REMARKABLE RECOVERY!

According to research first done in 1973 by British Airways and replicated many times since, there are four things all our customers want: 1. Friendly, caring service; 2. Flexibility; 3. Problem solving; and 4. Recovery. One of the most difficult of these skills to master is often Recovery because most organizations do not want to admit that mistakes have been made. Amazingly, they would rather blame the customer and then lose them for life!

I tell my clients to view “mis-takes” as OPPORTUNITIES -opportunities to recover quickly and meaningfully and opportunities to learn what is going wrong. The most impactful recovery usually occurs within 72 hours of the “mis-take,” and it is always most memorable when the customer is surprised or delighted by the recovery. There are three steps to a great recovery: 1. Apologize sincerely; 2. Fix it; and 3. Do something extra.

Recently, my daughter had an amazing and memorable recovery experience with Payless Shoesource. She had been shopping at their Portland, Oregon, store with her 6 month old baby and a 2 ½ year old (my VERY precious grandchildren!). Owen, the two year old, loves skeletons (his daddy is a skateboarder), and they had just found shoes for him with a “Googey” on them, as he calls a skull and crossbones. He was so excited that he began to run to the counter to have Gretchen pay for them.

On the way he tripped, fell, and hit his head on one of the display shelves, tearing a big gash in his forehead. As he was crying and bleeding and Gretchen was trying to comfort him while also juggling his baby brother, the manager of the store totally ignored what had happened and offered no help at all. Finally, she approached him, anxious and upset and worried about her hurt child, and asked if he could get her some paper towels to help stop the bleeding. He said, No, they did not have a bathroom, and she would have to go all the way across the mall to Old Navy where they did have one …and then he went on about his business.

Leaving the treasured shoes behind, she grabbed Owen and the baby and rushed across to Old Navy where a staff person realized she needed help and took Simon while Gretchen went to find the bathroom. She said they could not have been nicer there and helped her with the baby, paper towels to stop the bleeding, and comforting Owen while she tried to assess how badly he was hurt. What a contrast in customer service! The girl at Old Navy who took charge of the situation was stationed in the dressing room, and she even closed it down in order to help Gretchen. She then got a first aid kit and found a customer who was a nurse to come and clean Owen’s wound. The compassionate customer advised Gretchen that he would need stitches. All of them went above and beyond to help a hurt little boy and a very upset young Mom. Thank you, Old Navy, for wonderful service!

Knowing Payless was one of my clients, Gretchen immediately called me when she got home, and I sent an email to my contact there to inform him of the terrible service she had received. Three days later, Gretchen had a knock on her door, and it was Dana Rego, the Regional manager of Payless. He apologized over and over and knew exactly who the manager was who had ignored her need and also told her that they DID have a bathroom there. (We have not heard what consequences there were for that store manager, but I suspect they were significant!) She truly appreciated his concern and honesty in not trying to defend the employee but instead admitting that a grave “mis-take” had been made.

Then he presented her not only with the shoes she had planned to buy exactly in Owen’s size, but he also had another pair that had Spiderman on them and lit up when the child walked which he said were the most popular shoes in their store. He then gave her several $10 off coupons and told her he hoped she would return to shop in one of their stores soon. He also insisted that Payless would take care of their doctor bills, something which was above and beyond the scope of their responsibility since Owen’s fall had been an accident. That Regional Manager certainly saved the day for Payless! (Weeks later he has even called to check on how Owen is doing.)

Gretchen was so blown away by this recovery that she called me right away. I have to say that after my extreme disappointment in the store manager, I was thrilled and proud of the way Dana Rego and Payless handled what was a huge mis-take on their part. They not only recovered quickly, but they apologized, fixed it, and did something extra, all the steps of a great recovery. My daughter – AND all her friends-will continue to be loyal Payless customers as a result! What could have been a horrible experience, thanks to both Old Navy and Payless, has become one from which every organization can learn.

Hanoi, Vietnam – February 22 – 27

We had a leisurely morning today packing, and I even got to swim some laps in Brian’s beautiful pool. At 12:00 the girls made us a lovely lunch and then the young guys came to carry all our heavy bags down ALL THOSE STEPS to the truck to take us to the airport. We got there only to find that our flight was delayed by 1 ½ hours, so we had a Thai foot massage for 100 baht (about $3.50) while we were waiting. Of course I was overweight with my three bags so had to pay $100 US..however, it is a small price to pay for all our shopping fun – AND we still have 5 days in Vietnam to go! 😉

The airport in Bangkok was a complete nightmare! We arrived very late and had almost no time to get to our flight to Hanoi. We must have run two miles, had to go through security again, and got to the new gate, only to find that they had changed the gate to another terminal. Again, we ran another mile and found we had to go through security AGAIN. When I went through, the girl there asked me about the wonderful hat I had bought for Gretchen and how much it cost (a leather cowboy hat covered in Thai beer cans with elephants on them). I think she must have held it back in the machine, so when we were rushing and it was not there, I just completely forgot, and we ran on to the next gate where the flight was boarding (we thought), so there was no time to go back,. ( I suspect that girl is now wearing Gretchen’s hat..BUMMER!!!!) After we gave them our tickets, they put us on a bus and then drove us back to the VERY SAME GATE and the VERY SAME PLANE we came in on! Not only did we almost kill ourselves running, but I lost the most perfect gift I had gotten for my daughter.

We got to Hanoi, and the person from the hotel was waiting for us. We drove about 45 minutes and then turned into some tiny, narrow, dirty side streets with people and motor cycles and noise everywhere. Our hotel ended up being in the middle of one of those streets which did not thrill us. (It was a small boutique hotel recommended by one of Nancy’s friends, and it was only $60 a night for two, so that is why we had chosen it.) The room was clean, but both of us were feeling uncomfortable, and the final decision came when at 6:45 am a call to prayer and Asian music was blasted on a loud speaker right outside our window! We found out later that it is a government-controlled way to get the people off to work. That morning we packed up, took a cab to the Hilton, and breathed a sigh of relief to be in a place that, though MUCH more expensive, was not chaotic and a bit scary!

That afternoon we booked a half day tour of the city which was an amazing experience. We learned two Vietnamese expressions (phonetic spellings): “sin chow” = “Hello” and “come oon” which is “thank you.” We were told that there are 4 million people in Hanoi and 2 million motorcycles, and the chaos of traffic, including all the rickshaws, was absolutely awesome. We could not believe that there were not more accidents, but it almost began to feel like a kind of wild dance as they were all integrated into the flow. The first hour we each were put into a rickshaw pedaled by a Vietnamese man. We rode for an hour through the narrow streets of Old Hanoi. There were people and motorcycles everywhere with women balancing two large baskets of fruit and veggies on long poles like you see in all the pictures, bikes carrying HUGE loads of things, people sitting on the curbs eating lunch, and others selling their small goods.

There were certain streets for everything – blocks and blocks of nothing but shoes, then blocks of toys, hardware, flowers, tires, gift items, clothing, etc. It was truly a Shopper’s Heaven! 😉 One thing we noticed was that they bring their motorcycles right into the stores with them, something that we have never seen in a country before. Even though we did not get out of the rickshaw, we filed certain places in our memory for our last day there when we will do OUR shopping tour. In some ways we felt like we were taking our lives in our hands to ride this way; however, it does somehow work.

Our guide explained that the Vietnamese culture is based on Buddhism, Confucianism, and Communism, and the three all work together. There are four animals revered in Vietnam: the dragon for power (interestingly, their dragons have no wings and no fire, so they are friendly); the Unicorn for peace (their version has a dragon head and a horse body); the phoenix for prosperity and beauty; and the turtle for longevity and long life.

After the rickshaw experience. we met our driver and went on to the Temple of Literatures which was built in 1070 as a part of the transition from Chinese rule to independence when they had to come up with their own educational system. The king founded a special school for only the elite scholars of Vietnam as a kind of graduate school. The top three of these scholars were chosen each year to be Doctors of Philosophy, and their names were inscribed on Stelea or tablets surrounding the courtyard. All of these had turtles at the foot of them, indicating the hope that these wise scholars would never die.

The temple consists of five courtyards for the five elements: water, fire, wood, metal, and soil. Although they were trying to break away, the Chinese influence was very dominant throughout the temple. While most of the statues we saw in Thailand were of the Buddha, here they seem to honor Confuscius in most of them.

Next we went to Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum. We got there just as they were doing the changing of the guards which only happens every two hours, so we were lucky. The whole place is built around a square, reminding me of Tienamin Square in China, and is quite well keptt, unlike some of the other places we have visited in Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh’s body lies in state in the mausoleum; however, it is only open in the morning, so we did not get to go inside. He was a very simple man with a simple lifestyle, and he never married. We saw the “House on Stilts” where he lived the last 11 years of his life. It was very sparse, and I was most interested by a bomb shelter built right next to the house. He died in 1969 at 70 years of age. All the complex was painted in a dark gold color. It was interesting that we saw almost no flowers in any of the public places we visited in Vietnam. Almost everything was brown and dry.

We then went to see the “One Pillar Pagoda.” It was built in the 10th century. The king had a dream that there was a female Buddha sitting on a lotus flower holding a baby. His wife soon got pregnant and delivered him a son, so to celebrate the answer to his dream, he built the pagoda after what he saw in the dream. It is built on one large cement pillar with an altar with the Buddha and baby at the top.

It is interesting that even though North Vietnam was our enemy in the war, there seems to be no animosity for the American people here. Everyone has been very friendly and helpful. We have noticed, however, that there is definite male dominance. They say that is changing, but in the past women have had no status in the society. I always smile when people refer to their money. It is called “dong,” and $1 US is about 18,000 dong. One million dong = about $60 US, so Nancy and I are BIG spenders! 😉 Another person told us that the average income of the Vietnamese people is $600, so $1 US is a big tip .

Later that day when we returned, we got our courage up and walked to the Q & T spa which had been recommended by the hotel. We intrepidly crossed several streets in the midst of all the chaos but thank goodness, made it safely! We each had scheduled a full body massage for $25 for 60 minutes and then the best of all, a shampoo and blow dry for $5. As a part of this, they gave us each a 15 minute head massage that was the highlight. Then we walked to Bobby Chinn’s, a very nice restaurant, and had wonderful seafood and wine. We both really slept well that night!

On Sunday we took a bus at 8:00 am for a three hour ride to do an overnight cruise on a Junk boat to Halong Bay, one of the most famous places in Vietnam. We shared the ride with Kristen and Ali, a darling couple from Atlanta. Of course, THEY teased me about how much stuff I had, even for an overnight. I said, “Just you wait-if you run out of anything, you will be coming to me.” ( I guess I will never learn to pack light! 😉

It was a very interesting ride through the countryside of Vietnam. Their houses are very tall and narrow, usually three stories, and are painted in bright colors (lots of yellow and gold). However, we noticed that most of them were only painted on the front. The side walls were bare cement. The bottom floor was always the garage. We saw many fields of rice paddies, and we were amazed that their cemeteries are right in the middle of the rice fields. There were people working in the fields, water buffalos, and scenes right out of the travel magazines!

We arrived at the meeting spot for the boat about noon and went by dinghy to our ship. I have many pictures of the little junks with the sails up. They just hold about 40 people and are four stories tall, two levels of sleeping rooms and then a dining room area and a deck on top. There were 8 English speakers, Vanessa and Larry from Rhode Island, Ali and Kristen from Atlanta, and Lucille and Keith from Perth, Australia. We had lots of fun together and shared many experiences even in such a short time. The other passengers were a large group from France. The rooms were not great, but the service and the food was wonderful.

Halong Bay is filled with huge volcanic boulders and small, floating fishing villages. It would be a very lonely life and yet it is probably all they know. Children would paddle homemade canoe-type boats out to our ship to try to sell us abalone shells. The scenery was absolutely spectacular, and we saw many, many boats, large and small. It was peaceful and very inspiring.

After lunch on the boat, we boarded the dinghy again to see the famous caves on one of the islands. They were huge.and involved lots of stairs to climb to get there. Later we were supposed to go to one of the fishing villages, but it started to rain and it was hard to see in the mist, so we were not able to do that. That evening after dinner Nancy and I each had a back massage, and after that wonderful relaxation, we both went to bed. Any of you who know me will be most AMAZED that I went to bed at 9:00 pm!!!!! 😉 We heard the other passengers doing squid fishing and having fun, but it was only through a fog..as we were so wiped out.

The next day we had breakfast, sailed for about an hour, and finally arrived back at the docking station. On the way we accidentally hit another boat and some angry words were shared. We were tickled that curses and hand signs seem to be universal! Our van was waiting, and we had another 3 hour drive through the countryside back to the hotel. It seemed much longer than it did the day before, but we did enjoy the scenery. We saw many weddings, both in the country and back in the city. We later found out that it was an “auspicious” day according to the lunar calendar, and since the Vietnamese are quite superstitious, they follow this calendar in making all kinds of decisions in their lives.

After we got back, we had lunch with Ali and Kristen (we were delighted to be able to get a pizza, and it was good, too!) and then walked to see the Water Puppet show. There were little vignettes with lots of dragons, snakes, fish, and even children playing that celebrated life in Vietnam. The puppeteers control the puppets with a long stick under the water, and it was amazing to see all the movement they could get from them. The other thing that impressed us was that the tickets were less than $2, so that makes it possible for most Vietnamese to bring their children. Afterwards we all went to our now favorite spa and had facials and Ali had a 4-hand massage..sigh. Then Ali and Kristen treated us to a wonderful Vietnamese dinner at one of Hanoi’s famous restaurants. We were fascinated with a sweet dessert made of green beans!

Our last day in Vietnam was a MEGA SHOPPING day (even though I told Nancy that morning that I really did not need anything else ;-)- we had such fun, especially buying things for the children in the family. We did notice that they do not bargain nearly as much as in other Asian countries, and they were not nearly so aggressive. It was interesting that all prices were in US dollars, which tells you who their primary tourist buyers are! My favorite purchase was a quilted silk jacket with hand embroidery which they custom made for $70 and delivered to our hotel only 6 hours later! That day we took a different walking route and saw a much better section of the city which gave us a different perspective on life there. We also walked through a flower and vegetable market which was fascinating – meat out everywhere, all kinds of strange fruits (one we found out acts like Viagra!) and plastic tubs with live snakes, crabs, and fish swimming around,

After we ran out of steam and money, we went back to “our” spa and had a massage and another shampoo and blow dry. They have no sense of modesty and expected you to undress right in front of them while the whole time the door to the lobby was opening and closing which was a bit uncomfortable, yet we both felt that the end result was well worth a little discomfort! I have never had such wonderful massages, and the head massage with the shampoo was the best treat of all. We wish we could take these little girls home with us! The pampering was perhaps the best part (although the shopping was a close second.) of our trip to Hanoi!

That evening we had our farewell dinner at a lovely restaurant called Wild Rice. We kept being amazed at how cheap the taxis are here. For example, a 45 minute – 1 hour trip to the airport was only $12 – 14. We madly packed (of course, now I had three very heavy, very full bags!) and got to bed by 11:30 for an early morning flight. We have really enjoyed the beautiful breakfasts at the Hilton -wonderful fresh fruit and foods from every country. We were in the taxi by 8:30am and arrived at the typically chaotic international terminal about 9:30. One thing that really threw me was that China Airlines only allows ONE carry on bag per passenger and it cannot weigh more than 8 kilos, so of course I was in big trouble. I went back to the counter and begged and finally did get permission to take on two bags…sigh of relief! This was the first time this has ever happened,

We decided that our major impression of Vietnam is that “MOTORCYCLES RULE!” Not only are they everywhere (4 million people and 2 million motorcycles), but they also seem to take control of life there. Stoplights are only for cars, they are parked everywhere on the sidewalks, so most of the time you have to walk in the street, and they even take them right into the stores. We saw an unbelievable amount of stuff piled on them – including a pig, huge bundles of fabrics, 5 water cooler jugs of water, and about anything else you can imagine. They build little wooden platforms on the back seat to hold extra things. We often saw whole families on one bike, and they weave in and out of traffic in almost a kind of dance.

Other things we noticed were that most people eat right out on the sidewalk. They have kerosene cook stoves and of course access to all kinds of fresh veggies and fruits, and they sit on little stools at makeshift tables. The people here seem much more solemn and less happy than those in Thailand or even India, perhaps because of the impact of communism. There was, however, a sense of enterprise as people had set up little stalls and selling stations everywhere.

The smog in Hanoi was terrible, a fog surrounding everything, and car horns pierced the air day and night. We noticed bigger cars here than in the other countries, and of course motorcycles everywhere. Very few signs were in English yet almost all the prices were! We smiled on the day we left because it was only about 55 degrees yet everyone was bundled up with heavy coats, scarves, and hats. Little do they know about cold!

A couple of things we learned about future travel were that you can hire university student guides who do not charge a fee but simply want to practice their English and their tour guiding skills. The website is casualtours.com. Also, several of the people we met said they had learned a lot about the country and where to go and not to go as well as cautions at traveladvisor.com.

Nancy and I decided that these were the following themes for our experience in each country:
India – Flexibility, adaptability and hope
Thailand – Happy people and beauty
Vietnam – Motorcycles rule!

All in all, it was a wonderful trip and we knew we were being watched over; however, we will be glad to get back to the USA tomorrow. I have another few days of speaking in LA and Anaheim to Southern California Edison and to Blue Cross Blue Shield and then will fly to Atlanta and then home to Sarasota after one hectic month of traveling around the world. We learned a lot, met many wonderful people, experienced many new things, and came home with treasures for everyone. I feel very blessed to be able to see so much of our amazing world!

Chiangmai, Thailand – February 17 – 22, 2008

One of my brother’s workmen picked us up at the airport in their truck which was good because of all our luggage. Brian’s retreat center (you can view pictures at Asianleadership.com) is absolutely gorgeous and a wonderful, peaceful placc in the mountains of Thailand. He has 3 ½ acres and the walled complex is built on a hill, so there are many, many steps. Everything is beautifully landscaped, and everywhere there are lovely statues and artwork. Near the entrance is a small, open Buddhist meditation temple, Jang’s office in a separate little building, and a domed meditation chapel designed especially for chanting. On one side is a small health center with a steam room, showers, and an oxygen pool, and as you go up the stairs, there are three bungalows for guests. At the top of that side is a temple to Quanyion, the goddess of compassion, and a shrine to the ancestors where Brian has invited us all to put our ashes if we would like!

On the other side, as you go up, there is a central garden with a darling statue of the “Happy Buddha”. Every time I went by, I rubbed his tummy to bring me good luck. 😉 Then there is an outdoor porch for massage, and finally Brian and Jang’s first home which looks out over the mountains of Chiangmai. It is built on three levels and mostly open to the outside. Above that is Brian’s office and at the center of the complex what they call “the Big House.” This is just being finished and contains a spa, an exercise room, several bedrooms, two kitchens, and lovely living areas. My favorite, of course, was a 50 foot pool, where I swam my laps whenever I could. Brian told us they had 26 toilets in the complex and over 70 ceiling fans! They will use it not for commercial purposes but only for his special executive clients.

They have three dogs, a St. Bernard named “Zero,” a cockapoo named ‘Sunshine’, and a golden retriever named “Princess,” all named by Torin and Mekhala, their children. One funny thing was that a really ugly chicken which they rescued from the road bonded with Princess and follows her everywhere and even sleeps on top of her! They also have while peacocks, several beautiful roosters, and cages of other pretty birds around the complex. We ate wonderful vegetarian food while we were there and especially enjoyed Jang;s aroma therapy steam treatments. How lucky we were to have such a wonderful place to stay!

The first day Brian took us on a tour of the complex, stopping at the specially domed chanting room and sharing with us how they use the bowls to create different sounds. Then we had lunch, picked up Mekhala at school, and went to see another house that Jang was helping build. They have about 20 people on their staff and pay them about $150 per month, so labor is very cheap. However, Brian told us that they pay better than almost everyone else in the area. That evening we swam, did a steam treatment, and went in the oxygen pool.

The next day we went out to lunch with Jang’s Mom and then went for Thai massages. They cost about $10 for 90 minutes, but they HURT!!! Nancy said she kept thinking, “No pain, no gain!” It was interesting because they have you put on a kind of pajamas rather then being nude. Just before our massages, I used my ATM card for the first time. (The kids and friends have been after me to get one for ages, so Nancy was just going to tell me how proud she was of me.) I was so excited that money actually came out, that I LEFT my card in the machine but did not realize it until after our massages when we went to get some more money. I panicked because this was the one card I had not had time to copy to have the emergency call number, so Nancy helped me dump everything out of my purse to try to find it. Just then a policeman came up and asked “Card?” I was hoping against hope that they had found it, but he would not say a word. He asked which machine and I showed him and then he motioned for me to follow him. He took me through the parking lot on a rather roundabout way down to the basement. There another guard at his desk asked for my passport (which luckily I had with me), and they DID have my card-on my, the relief! God has been watching out for me this whole trip, but this was the very best example!) That evening Brian and Jang had a “welcome” party for us and invited several of their friends from the area, very interesting people. We were especially intrigued by Mona, who is Katoy (a Thai word for a “boy girl”).

We found that Thai time is quite different from US time, so it often took us a while to get out each day The following day we spent part of the day in Bantuai, a wholesale market for crafts, art, furniture, and antiques. We would have loved to have spent more time here as the shopping was “to die for!” 😉 We did find several wonderful things and then had lunch at one of the local restaurants there. For six people the bill was bout $20 US! It is interesting that I can find “Coke Zero” everywhere we have been. That night all of us ate Jang’s wonderful vegetarian dishes and we swam and did steam.

On Thursday we hired a driver to take us to see many things in Chiangmai. Our new friend, Mona, joined us for the day. The first thing we saw was Bhubing, the Queen’s Palace. It was her project for this area, so she lives there although she was not there this day which meant that we could see more of it. The grounds were phenomenal – flowers of every hue, variety, size and shape in beautifully manicured gardens everywhere. In the background soft meditative music was playing which added to the peace and calm of the whole place. We did lots of walking and saw the Guest House, the Queen’s Residence, and then to the Water Reservoir with dancing fountains. I told one of the guards that they should be very proud of their country to have such a beautiful place for their queen.

Our next stop was , one of the most famous temples in Thailand, Phrathat Doi Suthep monastery. We took many pictures of the hundreds of Buddhas in every size and shape. Many people were there because it was a holiday of the full moon called Macha Buccha. They carried incense, candles, and flowers and sometimes gifts of food and walked three times around the stupa. (We did the same thing later in the evening at a local temple.) The stupa has a cone-shaped from with the point reaching to heaven, symbolic of a conduit for spiritual energy. The artwork and decorations on the temple buildings were mostly in red and gold and very well maintained. OF course we had to take off our shoes before entering any of the temples as a sign of respect.

We then drove to the Hill Country tribes which was my favorite part of the day. It cost 500 baht (about $18 US) which was more expensive than any other of the attractions; however, it was a very worthwhile donation. There are four different nomadic tribes. This one was Hmong. Brian explained that at least one of the tribes smuggle in their goods from Burma, and if they get caught, they are shot. They then come to these huts and try to sell their goods in order to get currency because their currency in Burma is worthless. When they finally get enough money, they then are accepted into the Thai refugee camps. We loved the wonderful workmanship of the goods they had, and we certainly helped several families grow their savings!

We were especially intrigued by what they called the “Long Necks,” girls with many solid brass gold rings around their necks to stretch them, some having up to 18 rings. Even the little girls had them as they are a symbol of beauty in their culture, and many of them had them around their knees as well. We picked up one of the neck pieces, and it must have weighed 30 pounds! We wondered how they could hold their heads up and how they could sleep with so much weight. They seemed to want us to take pictures, so we were able to photograph many beautiful women with VERY long necks!

The huts were made out of branches and the roofs were leaves. All the women were weaving with looms, but we saw no men. There were very fruitful gardens with a wide range of crops and tiers of rice paddies. It seemed that the men were in charge of the agriculture and the women the crafts. It was a very simple but productive life.

Just down the road was the Maesa Elephant Camp which was our next stop. We got there just in time for the last show of the day. On the way in, we bought a bunch of bananas and a bundle of sugar cane for 20 baht (less than a dollar) to feed the elephants. The show was amazing! It began with the young elephants and they danced, played soccer, threw darts at balloons, moved logs, did a relay race, and the most impressive of all was to see them painting with their trunks. There were seven different elephants painting, and each one had a particular style, from sunflowers to tulips to daisies to a bonsai tree. People were able to purchase the paintings afterwards.

After the show we fed the elephants our treats (they ate the whole bunch of bananas at once!), and then we walked down a back way and found that we could have our picture taken sitting on the elephant’s knee with his trunk around us. The elephant even gave us a little hug with his big, hairy trunk! Then, as we were leaving, the elephant took the trainer’s hat and put it on each of our heads and then thumped it with his trunk which really surprised both Nancy and me because it was NOT a light pat! Mona nearly fell over laughing at our expressions.

Mano, our driver, then took us to a restaurant which was located right next to a lovely waterfall with beautiful flowers and scenery all around us. We laughed because the sign in front was advertising steaks when we were in the hill country of Thailand, in the heart of vegetarian country! We had Singha beers and wonderful Thai food and really enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere.

The last part of the day was spent seeing three different temples in the city of Chiangmai. The first was the oldest temple in the city. The next one was the home of the marble and crystal Buddha. A woman there was selling birds in cages on the front steps of the temple. For 100 baht you could set two birds free, and for 200 baht you could free several little ones. Mona had a soft heart and set two baskets of birds to their freedom. The last one, Wat Jedee Loung monaster, was known for the emerald Buddha and was quite old as well. We found some beautiful carved soap flower candles here and were tickled by a sign that said “Monk Talk – free.” You could ask any questions you wanted from several monks who were seated at tables under umbrellas on the temple grounds.

As we made our way home, Mona, who is from Australia, exclaimed that we had done more sightseeing in a day than she had ever done in her whole life! After one of Jang’s wonderful vegetarian dinners, we met several of Brian’s friends to go the watt for the Macha Buccha ceremony, the holiest Buddha day of the year. Because there were so many of us, most of them rode in the back of the pickup truck. It was one time Nancy and I were glad to be the “older generation” because we got to ride inside! One of the things they did when we got to the monastery was to tie a multi-colored string around our wrist which had been blessed by the monks. You are supposed to wear it until it rots off as a sign of good luck for your future. We toured the caves they dug out of the mountain at this watt to house the “Mad Monk,” who was clairvoyant, even though deranged. They said many people came to him for advice. Hundreds of people were there for the ceremony, including many westerners, and we were delighted to join in. It was a lovely experience to take our incense, flower, and candle and walk three times around the stupa with many other people, a fitting end to a very interesting and blessed day!

Mumbai, India, February 11 – 17, 2008

Nancy and I met at the Newark airport and boarded our flight, only to find that they had changed the flight plan and could not get clearance, so we sat at the gate for 1 ½ hours. The good news was that we were each in a row (seats across the aisle) with three seats and no one else, so for the 16 hour flight, we could each put up the arms and lie down, allowing us to both get 3 or 4 hours sleep. Like all international flights (and unlike any US flights), they fed us three times, and we each watched two Indian movies to prepare for our adventure. My sister had already recommended getting the book, “Shantaram,” which I began reading, a novel all about life in Mumbai.

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The first week of my “around the world” speaking tour is completed, and I am tired but still healthy, and I have been blessed with meeting some wonderful people and feeling as if I have made a difference.  I have done five different presentations in four different cities, including Mexico, in six days!

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NEW WEEKLY BLOG ENTRY FOR YOU!

In August I was asked by Unity Media Group to fly to California to film a series of segments for a new website called IQuestions.com. It was an amazing experience to film nearly eighty 3 to 5 minute answers to questions about my areas of expertise, simply speaking to a camera!

We filmed for three days with a professional Hollywood crew, and the result is a series of questions and answers that I hope will be helpful to you in your work and your life. Starting February 26th, we will feature one new video question and answer each Monday on the blog for the next two years. Please let us know how you are enjoying them.

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Mastermind Group

I just returned last night from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where I met with my Mastermind group for three and a half days. It was one of the most wonderful experiences I have had for a long time, both for my business and for my spirit!

Many people have asked what a Mastermind group is, and although every one is different, they all have certain characteristics. They are usually made up of a diverse group of people who have some COMMON GOAL. In our case, we are all professional speakers although we each have different family situations and different strengths and focuses in our individual businesses. We have come together, however, with an even more important goal – we are all Christians and have a deep sense of servanthood. We are very clear that God is our CEO and that even though we work very hard, our talents are His gifts to us, and we are simply His messengers.

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Day Seven – Flight from Aswan to Cairo

We had another early morning – up at 6:00, taxi at 7:00. However, we are learning that “Egyptian time” is not quite the same as real time! Our taxi was an experience – the passenger door on one side would not open and Barb had to hold onto the seat on her side because the door on that side would not close. The seat was so narrow that even I had to sit sideways, and though ramshackle, the inside of the cab was all covered with a matching navy and gold middle eastern pattern-what a contrast it was.

The security at the airport was amazing, probably because of the recent terrorist attacks as well as the critical importance of the dam to this whole country. At the first stop about half a mile away, the driver had to relinquish two different IDs and then pay a small tax to enter. At the next checkpoint, he had to give up another form of ID, all to be picked up on his departure. When we got to the terminal, we were met by men in blue and yellow uniforms who nearly fought over taking our bags. We tipped them. Then when the bags were inside the airport building, another crew took over until we got through security, and we had to tip them. After that another man took the bags to the check-in station and he wanted a tip, and finally, the man who put the tags on the bags asked for another tip – all in all, it cost us $10 in singles to get our bags on the plane (we hope!) Working here must be a plumb job!

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Day Six-Kom Ombo Temple, the unfinished Obelisk, Aswan Dam, Philae Temple, and a felucca ride

Today was another very early day, especially after our forced late night last night. However, the walk to the temple felt good, and it was another amazing sight. This temple was completely buried in sand yet is the most well-preserved of all the temples in Egypt. It is the only one dedicated to two gods, Horus the elder (the falcon god) and Sobeck, the crocodile god of fertility. It was rebuilt twice, in 1400 BC and again by the Greeks in about 184 BC. Each of the columns had different tops which was a part of the Greek architecture.

The temple is famous for the mummified crocodiles. The guide shared that they discovered that the bites of scorpions and snakes could be cured with crocodile skin and the fat was used as a fertility remedy which also functioned like Viagra! One of the carvings was of women using the birthing chair and included all the medical instruments they created, many of which we are still using today such as forceps, injections,and dental pliers. We have been awed by the quality of their medical knowledge so many thousands of years ago. In some ways the medical profession seems to have not made a lot of progress.

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