Travel Day Recovery Volunteering

Mike Posner shares how he transformed a frustrating travel day into something meaningful through service.

"I had this horrible travel day. The day before wasn't good, I didn't sleep, and we had to drive 3 hours to the airport in Colorado. There was an accident on I-70, we got stuck in a traffic jam, and we were in the car for 7 hours. Missed the flight. I was feeling sorry for myself.

Then I remembered I was on a Zoom call in Tony Robbins' conference about time and scheduling efficiency. In one of the breakout sessions, a participant said 'When you're having a bad day, ask yourself what could I do to make this a great day.'

It flashed back in my head while I was in that car. I said 'Okay, this is a bad day - check. What can I do to make this a great day?' I thought if I could use the fact that I'm having a bad day to do something nice for others, that would be really cool.

I called my assistant and said 'Look, we have to spend the night in Denver tonight. Can you find me a place where I can just go volunteer - not with money, actually show up and serve?' She found me this establishment for people getting off drugs where they could live and get meals while finding a job and training.

I showed up to serve food. I was still tired, physically had a headache, but I was proud. I used my suffering as an excuse to do something good for someone else. I turned my suffering into service and connection. That day was one of the best days of my year, without a doubt. I went to bed proud and had so much energy."