6 Flights, 3 Lessons, Infinite Application

Have you ever felt the dilemma of sharing an armrest on a packed flight? Have you ever watched absolute mayhem on a flight? Or...have you ever had an unexpectedly beautiful encounter while waiting for a flight to arrive? Join Coach J in this episode of Pep Talk as I unpack the lessons learned from my recent trips with American Airlines and Southwest Airlines. These lessons range from simple to ridiculous, but each one will help you reprogram and refocus for the week ahead if you take them to heart. 

Listen in as I unpack each one and give you the simple lessons that can help push you forward in life, one flight at a time. This is one trip that you don't want to miss! 
As always, send me a fanmail to let me know what lesson strikes a chord with you, and also please be sure to leave us a 5-star review wherever you listen to podcasts! I love hearing from you. 

Enjoy! 

Chapters

• 0:00 Taking Up Space and Being Present
• 14:54 Embracing Unexpected Connections
• 20:56 Episode Planning and Sign Off

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

When's the last time you had a pep talk? Pep talk, pep talk, yo. When's the last time you had a pep talk? Has it been a minute? That's okay, you're in the right place. I've got you.

Speaker 1: 0:10

Welcome to pep talk, and in today's episode, we're talking about how American Airlines and Southwest can help you in life. Now let's get it, yo. Welcome to episode 74 of Pep Talk, the podcast that cheers you on and coaches you up. We believe that you're great, but we also believe that there is another level of greatness that you can aspire to, and it is the mission of this podcast to be that voice of encouragement and challenge to get you through your week. My name is Coach J, I'm a life coach in DFW and it is my pleasure and my privilege to be hanging with you all you through your week. My name is Coach J, I'm a life coach in DFW and it is my pleasure and my privilege to be hanging with you all to start your week or whenever you listen to the podcast, wherever you're catching it.

Speaker 1: 0:52

Now, today, we are talking about airports and airplanes. Let me tell you why. This summer, I have had the incredible opportunity to travel and speak at some youth camps with an organization called Christ in Youth or CIY. So far, I've been to four locations and it has been incredible. But, y'all, I have flown more than I have in probably a decade. It has been on one plane off another. It has been on one plane off another, on another, off another, and, while, no, it's been fun, because I like to fly it hasn't been stressful in the least. It's just been it's been incredible. But as I think about the last month, there have been some things that I have learned, things that American Airlines and Southwest Airlines have taught me, that I thought that I would bring back to you all as a means of helping with your mindset, giving you some seeds and some nuggets for the week, and I hope that you will receive these and, you know, not just store them in the memory banks, but actually put them into practice, because I think, personally, I think these are really good. So I'm not going to waste your time, I'm going to dig right into it. And here's the first thing. The first thing is to take up all of your space. Now here's where this one comes from On my, let's see, I think I was flying home from Arizona, from Flagstaff, arizona, and on my connecting flight in Phoenix, my last flight, I had a seat by the window and of course there was somebody in the middle seat and someone on the outer seat, the lady who was on the aisle seat, she was just she didn't.

Speaker 1: 2:47

She just kind of shrunk into her seat and she was in her book having a great time. But the person who was sitting in that middle seat, y'all, he took up both of the armrests. If you've ever been on a plane, you know that the armrest is sacred. It is a spot of balance, it is a spot of respect. It's not a spot where people choose violence. Right, we share the armrest. Spot where people choose violence, right, we share the armrest.

Speaker 1: 3:28

But listen, the guy that I was sitting beside, his cologne was a lot loud and he hogged both armrests. He hogged both armrests and so I was kind of like pinned to you know, the side closest to the window, because every time I tried to get in on the armrest action he was kind of shuffling his elbow to box me out, like this was basketball. He would not share the space and I was mad, enjoy, I couldn't even enjoy my flight home from an awesome time in Flagstaff, arizona, speaking to a group of, you know 1200 young people. I couldn't even enjoy it because I caught a cramp, because I was bent over in my seat trying to make some space but I didn't have anywhere to put my elbow. That that was no fun Like that. That was. That was horrible. It was absolutely horrible.

Speaker 1: 4:30

However, upon further review, this taught me something, and that something is to take up your space, and here's how I want to spin this for you. Okay, when, when I was growing up, I was always taught to be humble. The Bible talks about having humility, uh, and so my mom was especially harping on the fact that we should walk through life and we should be humble. Now, I took humility to be that I placed myself in a lower spot, right, and so I lived my life in that way, seeking to lift others up above me by lowering myself, to not make myself the main thing, because I'm not the main thing. I want you to be the main thing. I wanna make you look good and on a face value, there's nothing wrong with that, because the Bible teaches us to exalt our neighbor above ourselves, to prefer, sorry, our neighbor above ourselves. However, at no point in time does the Bible ever say that we are to shrink away from who we are. And so this gentleman on this airplane, taking up both armrests, taught me something important armrests taught me something important. If, upon getting on that plane, I had asserted my presence and my right to space, then we probably could have shared that armrest and I wouldn't have caught a cramp on the ride back to Dallas.

Speaker 1: 6:01

And here's how that affects us. When we go through life and we are shrinking from who we are, when we're shrinking away from the space that we were created to take up, then we're throwing our life, we're throwing ourselves out of balance, because you were created to take up space. There is a space, there is a pocket in existence that you are here to inhabit, and when you don't fill up your space, other people are going to encroach it and the balance gets thrown off. You have space to take up at your job, your voice. They want to hear from you. They want to hear your ideas. You have a space to take up in your family. If you weren't there, there would be a void. You have a space to take up your ideas, have a space to take up. And when you choose to not take up your space, what's happening is you are throwing things out of whack, y'all. Humility is not being less than Humility is simply being who you are taking up the space that you were meant to take up, doing the job, the task that you were meant to take up Airlines, to push that into your head, that yo, you have a space. Take up all of your space, do you hear me? Take up every single bit of your space and share the armrest. Please share the armrest, all right.

Speaker 1: 7:48

Here's number two. So the second one is it's not going anywhere. It is not going anywhere, all right. So one of my pet peeves, and it doesn't even really affect me, but I'm just like what are y'all doing? So the plane, it stops right and we get to the point of disembarkment.

Speaker 1: 8:15

Now, as soon as the plane stops, what happens? Everybody and I mean everybody and everybody, and I mean everybody, e-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-b-o-d-y, everybody jumps up and starts trying to jockey for the overhead bins to grab their huge carry-ons that probably should have been checked bags. The hallway, the lane is clustered and people are getting upset because somebody's taking so long to get off, et cetera, et cetera. And meanwhile I'm sitting in the back right, because I'm not in first class, I'm not in business class, I'm back with everybody and I'm sitting in my seat and I'm watching everybody jump up To try to get off the plane. Now, I understand that there are people who are catching connecting flights that they have to get to.

Speaker 1: 9:14

However, however, when I pass by the baggage claim and I see like 80% of the people on my flight at baggage claim to grab their bags, I'm thinking to myself so you allowed yourself to get into a bad mood just to get here with everybody else and have to wait on your luggage to get here? Like you made it to your destination. It wasn't going anywhere without you, so why not just sit back and just enjoy, like have a conversation with me? Just why jump into the fray? Why be in such a big hurry? And I say that to say this.

Speaker 1: 10:02

We hear it two ways your goals, your destination in life. We often hear you know and I've said it myself you know you want to be focused. You want to be focused and you want to be moving toward that goal at all costs. Like you, you, you, you want to get there. You want to get there so you can get there and be there and start doing what you're supposed to be doing. Start living your purpose, start discovering your purpose, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Right, but it's also a thing to understand that your purpose start discovering your purpose, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Right, but it's also a thing to understand that your purpose, your destination, this big thing that you're supposed to be doing, it's there, it's not going anywhere, and the more impatient that you get on your way to getting there, the more time it's going to take you to get there, the more time it's going to take you to get there.

Speaker 1: 10:51

So, instead of allowing yourself to be worked up into a frenzy, to be frustrated, why not do this? Why not enjoy the journey? Why not be adaptable and just sit and collect your thoughts and watch everybody else get worked up as they're trying to get to where they need to go, but you take the mindset that it's going to be there when I get there, so I can stay kind. I can. I cannot be rude, I can remain respectful, I can keep my peace right. Hashtag, protect my peace. I can do all of these things and enjoy my life and not get worked up into a frenzy trying to get to my destination because it's not leaving, your plane is not leaving. Now I understand. I've been left by a plane before I get that stress, a plane before I get that stress.

Speaker 1: 11:55

However, if you're headed to your ultimate destination anyway, doesn't it suffice to say that it's going to be there when you get off, like if you get off the plane and you're the last person, your baggage is still going to be circling on that baggage claim by the time you get there, yeah, yeah. So what's the use in pushing to get off the plane when everything that you need is going to be right there waiting on you when you arrive? Y'all there is something to be said for just enjoying the journey and not getting so caught up in the destination that it warps you, that you lose focus and and and that you, you find yourself becoming a totally different person, y'all. I've seen old ladies get pushed on airplanes. I've also heard old ladies curse people out because they wanted to get off the plane. Meanwhile, I'm just sitting there eating my Biscoff cookie right and just scrolling my phone that I just got service on because I'm not in a rush.

Speaker 1: 13:04

I've enjoyed my plane ride, except for the Phoenix ride. I've enjoyed my plane ride and I know that when I get off then my wife is going to be there waiting for me, even if she has to circle the arrival, you know, a few times before I get there. It's okay, everything's going to be waiting for me when I get there. And I'm saying this, I'm saying this to you, the young person who's wondering when you're going to make it. To the person who's transitioning into a new job and you're wondering when that new employer is going to bite. To the older person who's trying to figure out what you want to do with the rest of your life. The destination is there, it's set. God has already ordained it. It's right there for you. You can't rush it, right, because if you rush it you're going to miss something. But you can take your time and enjoy the fullness of the journey, because I promise you, enjoying the fullness of the journey will not raise your blood pressure and you also won't piss off the people around you. All right, so just, the destination is going to be there. No need to rush, no need to frenzy. All right, all right. Here's number three and this is the last one, and I think this one is probably my favorite one. Number three in the the three things that I've learned from flying this summer and how they can help our mindset is be open and to new conversations, to new experiences, to new people. All right, so I think this was on my flight to Holland.

Speaker 1: 14:54

I'd gotten to the terminal and I had sat down and I had put my earplugs in, just like people. You know, don't mess with me, don't talk to me, I'm just gonna sit here and wait for the plane. Right, I had my podcast going. I was listening to Midnight Burger, which is an excellent podcast. If you're into serial fiction storytelling podcast, midnight Burger is top tier. It's chef's kiss, it's beautiful.

Speaker 1: 15:19

Okay, so I'm listening to Midnight Burger and there's this older couple that is sitting diagonal from me and they keep looking at me, and so he says something, but I have my ear plugs on, so I have to pull them out. I'll pause my podcast. And I said I'm sorry, sir, what'd you say? And he said your shirt. What does your shirt say? Tell me about your shirt. So I start telling him about my shirt, which are two symbols which stand for, and then, and so I explained to him what they mean.

Speaker 1: 15:51

And then this opens up to us having just a beautiful discussion. I'm a young black man and there are two older white people, but as we're talking. We're talking about church and we're talking about faith and we're talking about church planting. It becomes this, this, this beautiful, totally unexpected moment and that's the best way that I can put it, because our hearts were so aligned and they were flying back to I believe it was Lake Tahoe in Colorado, because they work at a resort, um, but they're also doing some things with church planting, and so we were talking about some things there and it was just. It was the most beautiful, totally unexpected thing that I never would have encountered had I just kept my earbuds in and completely zoned out from everything around me, like I wanted to do.

Speaker 1: 16:56

And you see it right, if you didn't fly with somebody, if you're flying by yourself, it is, I mean, it's standard operating procedure to put your plugs in, to pull your book up, and your posture is that this is my bubble. Don't you dare invade my bubble. However, when we cut ourselves off from the world, we cut ourselves off from the random, beautiful moments that the world might have to offer us when we're least expecting it. So, instead of putting in both earplugs, maybe put only one in so that you're still approachable.

Speaker 1: 17:45

I tend to think that God has so many more of these experiences for us than we experience because we're not open to them. We don't allow ourselves to be open to the beauty of randomness, the beauty of just where in the world did this come from? Because I still think back with fondness about how this talk that I had with these two individuals who were, you know about you know, probably 20 years older than me how encouraging it was for me for the next season of my life, how encouraging it was for me for the next season of my life, and just how spot on the moment was. It was just completely beautiful. And I want to encourage you and I want to coach you to not be so involved and so wrapped up in what you're doing and what you're experiencing that you're not open to those unexpectedly, insanely beautiful moments that life has to offer, because you never know that somebody may come and speak into your life in such a way that it alters you, that it changes where you thought you were headed and it puts you on the pathway that you were supposed to be on. You just don't know, you don't know.

Speaker 1: 19:14

So the next time you're flying or you're in a restaurant or you're walking somewhere, don't cut yourself off, but just be open, because you never know how the next experience or interaction that you have, how it might alter you. So just to hit on these three things again. Number one take up all of your space. Number two don't be in a rush to get to the destination. Enjoy the journey to get there. And number three get there. And number three don't I forgot how I worded it, but essentially be open to the random encounter or to the random meeting, because you never know how it's going to affect or impact your life.

Speaker 1: 20:03

Three things that I've learned from flying this summer and how they can affect your mindset, starting today, and I hope that they do. I'd love for you to send us a fan mail to let me know which one of these three things stuck out the most to you. Send us a fan mail, send us an email to thepetpodcast at gmailcom. Hit me up at underscore JBSpeaks on Instagram. I would love to know. I would love to know. I'd love to know which one of these three things stands out the most to you. Also, if this podcast is hitting you in your sweet spot, if you're loving what we're giving you every week, leave us a five star review where you listen to podcasts. Let us know that we're having an impact in your life, and also be sure to come back next week where we start, where we talk about purpose, which is a big thing.

Speaker 1: 20:56

Purpose Hmm, I think it should be good. That'll be episode 75 of Pep Talk. But as for episode 74, y'all know how we like to end it Keep it live, keep it light and keep it peppy. Y'all know what this is. End it, keep it live, keep it light and keep it peppy. Y'all know what this is. It's Pep Talk. I'm your boy, coach J, and we will see you next week. Y'all be blessed, peace.