Today I want to talk about comfort zones…and how good it is to step out of them. I apologize for missing blog Friday last week and will do my best to make it up with this post. You see, we were doing some extensive traveling last week. With so much to take in and many places to visit, I couldn’t find time to organize my thoughts. Finally, on this Monday, I can recap our travels with you and share some photos from out adventure. 

Of all our visits, New York proved most interesting. After sitting on the tarmac for more than four hours, missing our first meeting time and nearly sweating to death in an aluminum tube during a lighting storm, one could say that our New York trip had started off on a bad foot. We could have traveled to Paris in the time it took us to get to the Big Apple. I know what you’re thinking. I could’ve written fifty blogs during that time. Yes, I could have if I wasn’t a confirmed plane-narcoleptic. Something about a window seat and stale air makes me pass out the minute I click my seatbelt. And while the boss-man bit through his finger nails because of our time crunch, I was anesthetized for the entire trip, barely waking as the plane crept over Long Island. I’m blessed, what can I say.

A visit to Manhattan, no matter how short, has so much to offer persons in our industry. There exists a creative alchemy in New York unlike anywhere else and the energy of the city seemed to wash over me like a baptism. We had come for one night and for one purpose only, yet found the opportunities to see old friends, try new things, and absorb culture different from our norms. These types of experiences-the imagery overload of Times Square, the wafting smells of Magnolia Bakery, and the steering-wheel-sized pretzels at The Standard Grill’s biergarten- are the kind that shape future client projects. Beyond our successful meetings with very interesting people, just being there was worth the journey. 

I returned from our business trip renewed and ready to take on our next client challenge. Taking ourselves out of our comfort zones (literally during our flight delay) proved to be one of the best things we could possibly do to enhance our creative zone.  I end this blog with a photo I snapped of this great American city, and a wish for everyone to enjoy a safe and happy Independence Day holiday weekend.

- Mowalla Chicago