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It’s taken a while. Many, many years actually. But I’ve finally gotten to a place where I can enjoy myself while I’m away from the office on business. I’m talking about the occasions where I’m staying at an amazing locale, or engaged in one of those “business” trips that while required, seem primarily like pleasure to those who stay behind. It’s a good thing, because my travel schedule the past couple of months has been brutal, but softened by the places I’ve been visiting and staying so there’s no need to feel sorry for me.

From mid-March to the end of April here was my schedule.

I started by going to San Francisco for a AAAA’s Forum Meeting. We stayed at the Campton Place Hotel for our two day meeting and while there were lucky enough to visit two of the country’s hottest advertising (or interactive) agencies: AKQA and Butler Shine Stern & Partners. It was a great trip from a learning standpoint, and a chance to see inside two agencies I admire.

Right after that was a personal trip (Spring Break with the family) to St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. We stayed in a villa managed by Caribbean Villas called Hawksbill. The villa was awesome and we had a great time visiting with friends that traveled with us. We ended up spending much of our time at the beach at the local Westin. Our villas overlooked the resort and it was just minutes away. While I absolutely have no guilt about vacationing with my family, this trip was worth mentioning as it happened in the middle of a bunch of somewhat cush business trips.

Immediately upon returning from St. John, I took off for Jacksonville (FL) to visit one of the franchise locations of one of our newest clients: Freedom Boat Club. While this trip involved staying at a very average hotel for two nights, it was on the ocean, and we ended up spending some time out on one of our client’s boats to get a firsthand feel for the experience. That didn’t suck.

I was back home for just a few days, and then it was back to Florida, this time to Naples for the AAAA’s 2007 Management Conference which took place at the Ritz-Carlton. Unfortunately, this year’s conference’s content wasn’t as helpful as in year’s past, but it did give me some time to contemplate Barefoot and where we’re going. I came back convinced we’re on the right path, but I did identify a couple of key opportunities, so the trip was time well spent.

The next trip was to the American Express Publishing Luxury Summit 2007. This is my second year attending the Luxury Summit. It is a great opportunity to spend time with some of the preeminent brands and services that consumers rocket for in their “Pursuit of Happiness,” and this year it was held at The Breakers in West Palm Beach. My wife Becca attended this conference with me as it took place over our anniversary weekend. Great conference. Great learnings. And for the most part a great location.

Back home, and then off to NYC a few days later for a quick trip in and out.

This post did have a point when I started, and if it seemed to evolve into a personal travelogue from an insufferable travel snob, bear with me for just a few more seconds.

The point is that in the past I would have felt guilty about any one of these trips, let alone all of them back to back in a relatively short timeframe. Yet these were all valuable business trips (including Spring Break actually) where I was either strengthening my understanding of our clients, meeting potential clients, or gaining insight into where we should be moving Barefoot to stay a step or two ahead of the rest of the agency world.

So how did I shake that guilt? First off, I realized that when other Barefooters are out on the road on cool projects, I don’t begrudge them joy, I’m happy for them. We’ve recently had team members coordinating conferences in Hawaii, shooting videos with Forrest Griffin in Vegas, attending SXSW in Austin, and attending the Miller Distributor Conference in Vegas. I’m happy for them. I know it has a legit business purpose, and I truly hope they’re enjoying themselves while they’re there (ummm, not too much though).

Realizing that I was happy for others in similar situations was probably the epiphany for me, but to be honest, I’ve also just come to grips with the fact that people are going to think what they’re going to think no matter what I do. So I do what I know is right for Barefoot, and have stopped worrying what others might think.

Net I spent the month of April traveling, enjoying myself, relaxing where possible, but working hard when duty called.

I’m about 1/4th of the way through Daniel Gilbert’s interesting read, “Stumbling on Happiness.” I just read about people who are diagnosed with alexithymia. These unfortunate folk are unable to know or express how they are feeling (even though their brains respond to certain emotional stimuli they same way yours or mine does). Ask an alexithymic what they are feeling and you’re likely to hear something like, “Not a thing.” Ask how they are feeling and you will hear something like, “Beats me.” I had no idea such a condition even existed. The thought of someone being happy yet not really knowing it is both mind-boggling and heart-breaking. I’m feeling pretty happy now — life is very good here at Barefoot, it’s Friday and the sun is shining. And I’m oh so glad that I can tell you about it.

This Wall Street Journal article definitely caught my eye. And it opens with a pretty provocative thought. “We may have life and liberty. But the pursuit of happiness isn’t going so well.”

The gist of the article is that while we may (as a country) be richer than ever, we are no happier than we were 30 years ago. The author says the key problem is that we aren’t very good at figuring out what makes us happier. I’ve highlighted in previous posts that I think happiness is a state of mind. You can be happier if you decide to be happier, but I also believe that part of being happy is “the pursuit,” not the arrival. That’s why the things that make Barefooters happy by and large are things that are either constantly changing (technology, fashion, etc.), or experiences that you can continue to collect as you move through life (travel, outsider art, etc.).

So perhaps it is true that once you have everything you’ve been pursuing, your happiness may plateau and even go into decline.

The lesson? Pick things that will always keep you growing and going.

Conversely, the author of the Wall Street Journal article, Jonathan Clements, shares that experts think we’re not happy due to two factors. First, we’re not “Built to be happy.” We’re designed to survive and reproduce. Second, “we’re bad at forecasting.” We don’t accurately project what will make us happier. I’m not sure I agree.

I’m happy. I would not attribute my happiness to being built different than anyone else (other than rounder perhaps), and I would not say I’m a better forecaster. Perhaps I’m just lucky, but I think it’s because I’ve discovered the things in life that bring me joy, and I pursue them. More importantly, I’ve decided to be happy, and I think that is the most important thing of all.

This will be quick. As you’ve read in my blog and others from Barefoot, we have positioned ourselves in a space that we call “Marketing The Pursuit of Happiness.” We talk about Rocketing and Trading Up and how that impacts the many different products and services available to you and me.
Well, I also know that I’ve confused a lot of people with my Golden Egg…the item I rocket for. But I think that Ben Stein, of all people, will help clarify it for you right now. I came across an article he wrote titled The Luxury of Financial Security. Let me know what you think.