just plane wisdom

On a recent fight, I had the pleasure of being upgraded to first class and sitting next to an entrepreneur, who was a voracious reader and leadership junkie. He had been a lawyer, a restaurateur, and was now a consultant.  He told me to look around the first-class cabin and take note of how many of the passengers were reading books. Of the 11 out of 12 seats occupied, 10 were reading business or leadership books. He said he had noticed this phenomenon on many flights. After all, who sits in first class? Business leaders whose oversight and expertise are in demand across the globe; hence the frequent-flyer miles and upgrades to first class. He said that he doesn’t see such a high proportion of readers when he flies coach. Folks tend to listen to tunes, nap, browse the SkyMall catalogue, or do the crossword puzzle in the airline magazine. I made a conscious decision to pay attention during my two coach-class return legs and noticed the same thing. There were readers in coach but, proportionately, the percentage was much lower than my first-class sample. He was on to something so simple, yet so brilliant! Even a one-hour flight is a chance for a much needed break in the daily communication barrage inundating us every waking moment. It’s a respite from the noise and a chance to turn it all off, per FAA regulations of course! So why not take this great opportunity to concentrate on something as simple as reading transformational material? So what are you waiting for? On your next flight take the chance to get some tremendous reading material in hand and permanently upgrade your status to first class!