Top 10 Travelers Tips for a Happy Family By Steve
Waterhouse
As an international speaker and consultant, I cover
the world from Sydney to Dubai . Here are 10 secrets
that have made the difference for me and my family. Send
postcards from everywhere. It makes younger children
look forward to your next trip and reminds your spouse
that you are thinking of him or her.
Use your frequent flier miles for the family. My
family knows that long trips mean many miles to apply to
great summer vacations. This helps them see the positive
side of my time away.
Be home when you are home. When I had a non-traveling
job, I would leave for the office at 6am and return at
11pm . The funny thing is that I called that 'being
home'. When I started traveling, I knew a change was
needed. I scheduled breakfast with each of my two
children each week at our favorite bagel shop. It was
great one-on-one time and ensured that they did not get
lost in the post-trip paperwork. I actually spend more
high-value time with the family now than I did before.
Don't whine! Your family doesn't want to hear about
your delayed flights and bad hotels and you don't need
to rerun it in your mind. Tell them about the good stuff
and you'll all feel better about it, too.
Marry the right person. Gina and I have been married
for over 25 years and her friends think she's nuts for
'letting me do all that travel'. Fortunately, Gina is an
independent type who enjoys her time alone and takes
advantage of my time away.
Bring a little home with you. I have my favorite
picture of the family on the background in my laptop.
Every time I turn it on, they are there.
Have your children's teacher's email addresses. When
there are problems at school, I can keep in touch with
the teacher from anywhere with email. The teachers love
it and I know my children feel my presence (even when
they wish I would disappear).
Keep available. I give the kids my cell phone number
so they can call me anytime, anywhere. My daughter once
called me in Europe to get directions to a restaurant in
Boston . It was great to hear from her!
Help out when you are home. Gina knows that she can
count on me to do doctor and dentist runs when I am
home. I assume this role and others so that she doesn't
feel like a single parent when I am on the road.
Plan some family fun time. When I am home I feel an
obligation to encourage fun family time. Whether it's
dinner out, a trip to the mall or a movie, we have fun
together. You can plan this while you are traveling and
give them something to look forward to.
For a free copy of "10 Ways to Motivate Your Sales
Team", please email
article21@waterhousegroup.com and ask for article
#2.
Steve Waterhouse is Principal and Founder of Waterhouse
Group (www.waterhousegroup.com), a sales consulting and
training company that helps companies dramatically
increase their sales. He can be reached at
1-800-57-LEARN or
info@waterhousegroup.com.
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