🐔 Chickens at 30,000 Feet: A Speaker’s Tale of Travel, Doubt, and Destination

The adventure was supposed to begin smoothly on May 6. Fly to Boston, grab dinner at Legal Sea Foods during our layover, then head to Amsterdam for a week of keynotes and vacation.

But as Mike Tyson once said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”

My punch? A flock of chickens—anxiety, doubt, and frustration—all squawking at 30,000 feet.

Our flight to Boston got delayed. Then delayed again. The gate agent shrugged and said, “Yeah, you don’t want to fly through the East Coast this time of year.” Oh. Good to know now.

Our connection to Amsterdam was toast. I asked if our bags would make it on a new route. “We’ll reroute them,” he said. Not exactly reassuring. “Can you get us seats together?” I asked. “No, that’s out of our control. Ask the gate agent in Minneapolis.”

So we ate in Cincinnati (good, but not Legal Sea Foods), flew to Minneapolis, and sprinted to the next gate—too late to talk to anyone.

Beth and Tom sat together. I was across the plane… in a middle seat. In front of a kid with Olympic-level seat-kicking stamina. I gave the dad a polite-but-not-really-polite, “Can you get him to stop?”

And that’s when the chickens started squawking.

🐔 The Chicken Chorus

“Middle seat? Great.”

“You’ll have to crawl over strangers to use the restroom.”

“Beth and Tom are together—what if they need you?”

The chorus continued for seven hours.

I don’t sleep on planes. This flight was no exception. By the time we landed in Amsterdam, I was physically fried and mentally scrambled.

The chickens didn’t stop.

“Why are we doing this? You could speak virtually. You could stay local. Why deal with this crap?”

🇳🇱 The Walk That Helped

Wednesday, we walked through Utrecht to shake the jet lag. Beth and I held hands as we wandered past canals and through leafy parks.

It was quiet. It was beautiful.

The chickens? Still murmuring—but softer now.

🎤 The Moment That Made It Worthwhile

On Thursday, I delivered a keynote to a room full of incredible people. We shared stories. We laughed. We connected. Some of those folks? I’ll stay in touch with them for life.

Friday, we went to The Hague. Lunch at a sidewalk café. Just me, Beth, and Tom. Great food. A really nice beer. (The best beer was still to come—Belgium was next.)

And as I sat there, it hit me.

This is why I put up with the delays, the middle seats, the airport sprints.

Beth looked up and said something that landed harder than jet lag:

“They say it’s the journey, not the destination. I think they’re wrong. It’s the destination that makes the journey worthwhile.”

That was the moment the chickens finally shut the cluck up.

And the destinations kept delivering.

Before the trip was over, we visited the Royal Art Museum in Antwerp, explored the Antwerp Zoo, and ate at some incredible restaurants—paired with the world’s best beer.

At every stop, we met people who reminded us that the world is full of kindness, stories, and shared laughs—if you’re willing to go find them.

🎯 Why It’s Still Worth It

Travel isn’t always glamorous. It’s delayed flights and legroom designed for toddlers.

But it’s also sidewalk cafes. Laughter with family. Audiences that fill your soul long after the lights go down.

The chickens say, “Why bother?”

But the truth is simple: The right destination makes the journey worth every squawk.