The Indy Mindset changes everything

Be Indiana Jones. Be an adventurer. Be Indy. It makes every trip the best trip.

As I’ve said before, nobody wants to travel. They want to live, to breath, and to feel.

But I do know people who embrace the entire trip, door to door — not just when they arrive at their resort. They love the story,

the whole story, with all its authentically imperfect details.

I know people who almost always have a great flight, no matter what. I’ve talked to people after a trip that wasn’t ideal with cancelled flights, rain for days, poor service, and worse — and when I ask them how their trip was, they smile and say, “It was great!” and proceed to excitedly chronicle the entire tale, exalting the good and the bad with equal glee.

Wait, what? The trip wasn’t perfect, and they still had a good time? What’s their secret?

Simple. They decided that an authentic experience was their perfect vacation. This simple shift in their mindset made all those little irritants and imperfect pieces additions to the tapestry of their tale. They live, breath, and feel through every part of their trip as each piece adds to their story. After all, the story is what really matters.

The Idealist sets unrealistically high expectations for themselves, others, and situations, often doing so like a bride does on Bridezilla — and when things don’t go well, they often fall into self-blame or blaming others. It’s virtually impossible to enjoy anything and play the blame game at the same time. They become focused on what’s wrong rather than all the things that are right.

Indy, though, makes a plan and is prepared precisely so that they can roll with what comes along. Changes in the plan just add spice to their adventure.

The Idealist often avoids risk and only goes with the obvious path in an attempt to avoid “failure.” Indy, being an adventurer, is less concerned with control and more interested in creative and interesting approaches to bumps in the road. They know that Indiana Jones would have been a flop if it started at the destination, the Arc, and skipped the journey getting there.

Ultimately, Idealists focus on what isn’t working and, as they do, they will discover more things that aren’t perfect. When looking for what’s wrong, we often find more things that are “wrong” as we expand our definition of “wrong” to include everything that’s “not perfect.” That’s a slippery slope. The Indy type, though, sees what’s going well and, just as the Idealist finds more that’s wrong, they find more to appreciate and be happy with. They’re not lowering expectations; they’re just expanding their definition of “right.”

So, how do we get our clients into the right mindset?

Indy knows how to qualify their clients to set expectations. A few tips to do this include

• Always undersell slightly.
• Under promise and over deliver.
• Mention a thing or two that are likely to be a hassle.
• Share stories of clients dealing with imperfections.
• Focus on the authenticity of the experience.
• Sell them on the feeling of adventure and exploration rather than thread count and exotic soaps.
• Focus on what a great story the trip will add to their lives.

If I’m honest with myself, I know that there are times I fall into the Idealist mindset, in travel and in life. But I also know that at any moment, I can choose something different; I can choose to live, breathe, and feel. I can always choose to be Indy, the star of my own adventure. And, as a lifelong entrepreneur and traveler, that choice has made all the difference.