A travel professional I speak with frequently called me the other day to talk about an idea for an article. She wanted to write about the need for travel professionals to continually update their skill set in destinations, technology and sales techniques. I told the agent that I was impressed that she was so deeply interested in continuing education, and I asked her if the other travel agents in her agency felt the same way. She indicated that some did, but in general most seemed content to do things the way they had always been done, to service the clients the agency ownership put in front of them and to clock out at 5:00. I asked the agent what motivated her, and I really liked…

The winter games have come and gone, and as they always manage to do, they brought with them the thrills of victory and the agonies of defeat. I have always enjoyed tuning in nightly to see precise analogies of life itself unfold before our very eyes.

Looking beyond the allegiances of the individual countries involved, I can’t help but focus on the years of preparation that are involved regardless of your medal position.

The best, most finely tuned and skilled athletes in the world place their futures on a piece of wood, an edge of a blade, the speed of a sled or the spin of a piece of granite mined from an island off the coast of…