This post is sponsored by National Car Rental. However, the ideas, thoughts, and opinions in it are mine and mine alone.
Everyone has one specific thing they love about business travel. For some, it’s the freedom of being somewhere new. For others, it’s getting home to the family, for others, it’s about being able to be on the road instead of being stuck at a desk. For others, it’s the idea of status – collecting points, miles, and the like, then using them for that dream vacation. Or even just collecting them for the sake of collecting them.
For me, though, the one thing I love about business travel isn’t a thing about business travel, per se. It’s the act of the travel. It’s the journey, not the destination. In my brain, the thing that makes me the most happy about business travel is that for me, the journey is the destination.
I love getting on that airplane. Sitting down in an empty seat with 4, 5, 10, even 17 hours of nothing but opportunity in front of me. A blank canvas, whether on my laptop or in my mind, where I’m free to create, to write, to journal, to imagine… For me, the beauty of the trip is the freedom to build something – to launch an idea, to craft a plan, to create something from nothing. That, to me, is the magic of business travel.
Here’s a secret: All five of my books were written entirely on planes. HARO was created and built on a plane. This article you’re reading right now? I’m writing it on a plane.
Business travel is the ultimate productivity hack. With nothing else to do, you can do anything you want. Armed with nothing more than a laptop, a power cord, and a good pair of headphones, you can put down the foundation of what could be the next big thing to change the world! The opportunities are simply endless.
Of course, I like other things about the travel as well. I love that I can give my miles away each holiday season to those less fortunate who can’t afford to get home. In the past five years, I’ve sent over 200 people home to visit their families for the holidays. It’s a wonderful feeling.
I love that I have a certain kind of status that allows me the freedom to travel easier, whether with my daughter, friends, or just by myself. I love that I’ll always have my earned miles to use – weather to bring in friends or family I haven’t seen in a while, or to be able to make multiple strangers’ holidays brighter.
I love the loyalty that comes with travel, as well, if you take advantage of it. The ease of use comes with the loyalty, as well. My Emerald Club experience with National Car Rental, for instance. Open the mobile app, find your lane, pick any car. National also plays nice with others – you can combine points with other loyalty programs… I can get free days with National just with renting a car! Plus, seamless checkout gives me that much less to think about.
I think in the end, there are two types of business travelers. Those who see the excitement in it, the magic and the world ahead of them, ripe for the taking; and those who don’t. I consider myself so fortunate to be in the former column. I hope you are, too.
