The Flagg Agency

Awww...look at that face

Sometime in the last decade or two, I remember hearing a quote from Richard Branson. Paraphrasing, I remember him saying “I don’t want to be 80 years old and saying or thinking…”Gosh if I had just…or I wish I had done…”

My daughter and I spend a day at the beach

On her website “Inspiration and Chai”, Bonnie Ware posted an article entitled “Regrets of the Dying” about the time she spent working with people who had gone home to die. She would question those in her care about the regrets they had as they mentally prepared themselves to pass on. In her article she listed five regrets common to all of her patients.

In the business of helping people find the perfect travel experience, one of those regrets hit home:

I wish I didn’t work so hard.

Flagg Family at Hubbard Glacier

Laura and I have been married for nearly 18 years. Did you know that in the first nine years of marriage, we never thought we would be able to have a child? Before our daughter was born, we traveled quite a bit. My wife had never been out of the country before much less to the many states we were able to visit. We spent a great deal of time expanding our knowledge of culture not only around our country but in other countries as well.

The number one question I get a cruise consultant is, “Can I get a free cruise?” My answer is always the same, “Yes,” but it will take some work. We are looking for someone who would be an incredible group leader. He or she could sell hair-cuts to bald men, ice to eskimos, or convince Larry the Cable Guy that he could be King of England. Perhaps you are someone like this or know someone who is like this. Someone like this does not want to get into the nuts and bolts of picking staterooms, processing credit card payments, or handling paperwork, but they LOVE to travel and would love to lead a group.

Muddy from ATV riding near Denali National Park

Last year, I wrote extensively while we were on our Celebrity Cruises’ Alaska CruiseTour. My daughter and I were looking at pictures from our adventure when she asked, “How did mud get there?” I reminded her this was the day we all rode ATVs through the mud near Denali National Park. She was full of huge smiles as she began to remember that day.