Just moments ago I was sitting in an airport waiting to come home to San Jose, California for the holidays. Lo and behold – they came on the loudspeaker and announced that our flight had been cancelled. Not delayed, but CANCELLED cancelled, as in not going anywhere for at least a day.

Everyone immediately started complaining. A number of people start cursing loudly on their cell phones and yelling at the airline employees. It was truly incredible to see such a large group of adults totally lose it and overreact.

I happened to be sitting there in a zen like state eating a candy bar and listening to an audio book at the moment – and I can honestly say it didn’t bother me one bit. In fact, I was almost laughing to myself at how funny it was watching everyone. I mean sure, maybe it’s not what you were expecting – but would it really be the end of the world if you got there one day later? It reminded me of a popular article I wrote on this blog about why you shouldn’t let little things in piss you off.

Delayed/cancelled flights – photo by presta

I even had the presence of mind to snap a few pictures to document the occasion. Honestly, I felt a bit like a researcher observing a bunch of monkeys who had just gotten their cocaine pellets taken away. I started feeling bad for the airline employees though. People were making all sorts of jokes at their expense and yelling at them (the irony of course was that the airline employees had nothing to do with the flight being cancelled – they were merely the bearers of bad news).

The two or three overworked employees at the gate started frantically dealing with all the angry customers to book them in a hotel for the night and reschedule their flights. It seemed no one was getting to California until tomorrow as this was one of the last flights of the day.

That’s when I got an idea. I knew my parents were up in San Francisco for the day (which is about an hour from San Jose) and might be able to pick me up there. I waited through the line of angry people to get to the ticket counter and finally came up to the attractive checker who looked like she was about at her wits end.

I gave her a big smile and said “by the way I can tell you guys are doing your best here and this isn’t your fault – so don’t let these silly people get to you”. She immediately looked up and smiled as if to say “wow, I can’t believe you just said that”. I held eye contact with her for a bit and flirted as I continued…”by the way, if it helps I totally wouldn’t mind going to San Francisco instead, just thought I’d offer”. (Another big smile).

She laughed for a moment and started searching flights. Moments later I was booked on a standby ticket to San Francisco. Then I helped her with another customer who didn’t speak English very well. As I walked away, ticket in hand, a few people eyed me suspiciously with a look that said “wait a sec…how’d HE get a another flight already”. “By not being an asshole!” I thought to myself.

After getting my standby ticket I had a few hours to kill. Instead of hanging around the angry mob, I retired to the airport bar for some cocktails. If you want to meet people who also have the “just-freakin-relax!” attitude toward flying you should checkout the airport bar. I regaled stories with other stranded passengers about their world travels and even helped the bartender get a date while I was there. You never know who you’ll meet in these places; airports are full of interesting people.

Anyway, long story short…that huge angry mob of customers was crowded around the ticket counter for a solid two hours and was finally carted off (kicking and screaming) to a nearby hotel for the night. They won’t be making it to California tonight while I, on the other hand, am currently typing this article from 30,000 feet up on my way to San Francisco. Success!

Me blogging on an airplane – the people next to me probably thought I was pretty weird

I realized also while writing this just how far I’ve come in the last few years since quitting my job in 2005. Working for myself has improved my quality of life in so many ways. I’ve become independent. I feel like things don’t bother me as much anymore. I’m not stressed about little things. I just know everything is going to be OK because I’m in control of my life – I control my own destiny and I know I’ll be OK no matter what happens. I know that even if I didn’t make it to California until tomorrow I still would have been fine. It would have made an interesting story for the family at Christmas and I would have probably gotten into some other fun adventure. If you just have the mindset that you’re on vacation already, you can start having fun right away – even if you’re stuck in the airport bar or if you’re in the totally wrong city (probably more so if you’re in the wrong city).

Don’t get me wrong, there are still some things I have to work on. I get sad sometimes, I get angry at people who I feel have wronged me, I sometimes replay negative thoughts or conversations in my head even though I know it serves no purpose. But overall my life is just much easier and more fun and much more relaxing now that I’m self employed and have started generate more passive income. This feeling I can really only attribute to the complete freedom that comes with being my own boss and setting all my own rules in life. I know that I’m the only one responsible whether I fail or succeed. I’ve really broken free – and it’s a great spot to be.

I hope you’re making the best of the holidays – no matter where you might be or what situation you might be in. Have fun!

Brian Armstrong