The One Place....Yeah, That One

Question of the day: What’s that one place you want to travel to more than any other? Most people know the answer to this question, and you probably do, too.

A while back, I was talking to a client when the topic of travel was brought up. They revealed to me their absolutely biggest bucket list item is to travel to ________ (the place isn’t important….insert your imagination here). They’ve always dreamt of it, and they talk about it all the time, but they have no plans to ever do it. It’s not a money issue. The trip honestly wouldn’t cost too much money in the context of their financial situation. It just felt too big to actually be real.

In the conversation, I reminded them how they’ve spent many multiples of this trip in restaurants, clothes, toys, and other miscellaneous “want” categories over the last few years alone. In short, they’ve willingly (but accidentally) abandoned their biggest bucket list item in exchange for a lot of things they really don’t care about.

Then, I asked another question. “When are you going? Pick a day.” “It’s not that simple, Travis.” But it is. It is that simple. It’s that stinkin’ simple. We visually mapped it out on the whiteboard. They have the vacation time, they have the flexibility, and they certainly have the desire. We illustrated that if they were to save $_____ for the next 5 months (completely doable!!), the trip is paid for. Just like that!

Last night, I received a screenshot of a hotel reservation. They are doing it!!! They’ve waited 15 years to take this trip, and all it took was a little nudge and a lot of intentionality.

What’s your one place?

Can't Win 'Em All

On Saturday, I was struck with a brilliant idea. Ok, maybe it wasn’t brilliant……but in my head it was! The Minnesota Timberwolves were a near lock for the 9th seed in the NBA’s Western Conference, meaning they would host a home play-in game on Wednesday night. Considering this is a borderline bucket list item for me, the idea of road-tripping to this game excited me. That’s when my second brilliant idea surfaced. My buddy, Keaton, is a Minneapolis resident and a huge Timberwolves fan. It was then and there that I decided to buy fantastic seats for that game and gift my friend an awesome experience. He said he was in, I bought the tickets, and I rearranged my schedule. Investing in memories, notching off a bucket list item, and giving an awesome gift to a friend…….such a cool situation! Brilliant, right?!?!

Second tier, front row, mid-court…….

What happened next is where it all came crumbling down. The Timberwolves go on to win their final two games and other teams lost theirs. Translation: the Wolves moved up in the standings and weren’t going to host this game in Minnesota. Huge bummer! All is not lost, fortunately, as I’ll get a refund because the game got canceled…..or so I thought. The ticket system considered this game “play-in game #1.” Little did I know, but if the Wolves lose this first game (played last night), they would play a second play-in game on Friday night at home. Well, I knew that part. The part I didn’t know is that Friday’s home game would now be considered “play-in game #1.” In other words, I may still have two expensive tickets to Friday night’s game……which my friend can’t attend.

Meanwhile, the Timberwolves are a mess. One of their best players punched a teammate during a huddle in the season finale, resulting in a one-game suspension (for last night’s game), and another player, in anger, punched a wall at halftime and broke his hand (out indefinitely). Did I mention they were playing at the Lakers, where Lebron and AD are getting hot at the right moment? Not looking so good for the Wolves……which means it might not look so good for me. How’d it all play out? Last night’s game was an overtime thriller, with the Lakers pulling it out. Therefore, it looks like I have two expensive tickets for a game I can’t take my friend to. Ouch.

Brilliant idea, horrible outcome. I never would have known had I not tried. I don’t regret it at all and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Oh well, nothing worth doing is ever easy or perfect. I’ll definitely do something dumb like this again in the future, and that one may work out to be one of the best outcomes ever……or it too could blow up in my face, again. You can’t win ‘em all.