The Contented Cow Blog

Building Workplaces That Work

Our blogmistress extraordinaire, Tia Graham, has suggested that occasionally we post something that has nothing to do with our business topic – leadership and creating a great place to work. This is one of those posts.

After all the planning, getting the house-sitter settled, and the long, long flight, we’re finally here. Hawaii. Most of you have probably beaten me here; I hardly know anyone who hasn’t already been to this American paradise. And so I don’t have to tell you what a magnificent place it is.

In a post a couple of weeks ago, I told you about visiting North Dakota, and that the Roughrider State was number 49 for me. A long time ago, I resolved to visit all 50 US states before I reached the age of 50, and by golly, I’ve done it! Just in the nick of time, too. It feels good to reach a goal, and it doesn’t hurt that the realization of this particular goal was coincident with stepping off a plane into a balmy breeze and some of the most gorgeous scenery on the planet.

My teenage son, concerned that I have no more goals left, has challenged me now to visit all 7 continents by age 70. He’s on! I’m serious! It’s 3 down and 4 to go.

What makes this even more fun is that, so far, we haven’t spent much money to get here. The flights came from my Delta Sky Miles account, and the accommodations from two sources – my Hilton Honors account, and a gift from a very good and generous friend who had rights to a week in a condo here that he couldn’t use. The car came from Hertz points. Now, if I could just get everyone to go on a fast for ten days, we’d have this trip for nearly nothing.

Hawaii feels paradoxical to me. At the same time in my own country, and a place that looks and feels nicely foreign. It really does feel different from all the other 49 states, and yet the news carries the stories of “Chief Justice John Roberts’s seizure”, of “the death of Bill Walsh”, and the role of Michelle Obama in her husband’s presidential campaign. Somehow I think that if I were, in fact, in a foreign country, the headlines would be different.

Well, I am, after all, on vacation, and although I’ve been up for an hour and a half, the sun has finally decided to join me. We’re going to Pearl Harbor today. Something else I’ve wanted to do all my life. I’ll write about it soon.

Richard Hadden is an author, leadership speaker, and business consultant, who makes the business case for creating a great place to work. For more information about Richard, his partner Bill, and their work, or to book Richard or Bill to speak for an upcoming event, please go to www.ContentedCows.com.

Aloha.

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