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I have a riddle for you!

April 29, 2008

There are 4 people on a boat. Two of them decide to jump overboard.
How many people are there on the boat?

The answer is 4!

constitutional riddle

Just making a decision does not constitute change. Until those 2 people actually jump overboard into the water, there are and will be 4 people on the boat.

Now this all may seem stupid to you, but let me tell you how I got to this observation.

Every day I spent my very early morning hours on scanning through dozens of subscriptions to Travel and Tourism Newsletters and Updates looking for material that could be of importance to Zebrabot and the island of St. Maarten • Saint Martin. And when I say dozens, I mean dozens. Travel Weekly, EturboNews, Travel Zoo, Trip Advisor, Travel Mole, Resorts of the World, Frommer’s, Playgrounds of the World, SNC Destinations are just a few of them.

In an overzealous moment about a year ago, I subscribed to all their newsletters and updates, just to be informed about what’s going on in the world of travel. And granted I picked up an article or two that was informative, especially in the air and cruise sectors. Yet overtime I came to get focused on all the articles and announcements featuring promises and plans and decisions from so many leading “authorities and players” in the field, so readily dispersed in press releases and news conferences. I also noticed that a great many of these plans and decisions, so lavishly displayed as answers and strategies, are never turned into action. They’re just fluff!

Perhaps it’s a bit the reflection of the times we live in. We promise and we plan, but if we don’t follow through with action, no one really cares anymore. Having spent more than 35 years in the field of marketing and advertising I understand the need to get your brandname in the publicity every time you get the chance. The appearance has become as important as the action itself. After 22 years in the Caribbean however I understand even better that tourism is mostly politics. You promise and promise until you get a seat in the boat and from there on you keep announcing that you will jump into the water and effect real change. But in the end you will not take that plunge, because there is dry comfort and security to that seat in the boat.

And now 22 years after first reading the book, I do finally understand the foreword in the Herman Wouk novel “Don’t Stop the Carnival”. It’s about “the more things change, the more they remain the same”. If you don’t know what I mean, I suggest you look it up and understand that action creates changes, not the mere decision. The decision is just fluff.

Today It’s Carnival on St.Maarten. For the first time the Grand Parade is not on Queen’s Birthday (April 30). I guess that’s change. Regretfully I’m not there this year for the first time in many years. But I’m looking forward to our own version of annual Carnival here on Amelia Island with the coming Shrimpfestival next weekend. More than 100,000 visitors are expected. The island is the birthplace of modern shrimping and I’ve decided to enroll in the festivities. I will let you know if my decision will turn into action, or that I will choose the quiet comfort of a boat on the water, watching events unfold from a distance. Remember, a decision is a waste of time, without the action to follow through.

Here are some quotes inspired by Herman Wouk’s “don’t stop the Carnival”

Written by stringdude · Filed Under Festivities 

Comments

3 Responses to “I have a riddle for you!”

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    [...] I have a riddle for you!There are 4 people on a boat. Two of them decide to jump overboard. How many people are there on the boat? The answer is 4! Just making a decision does not constitute change. Until those 2 people actually jump overboard into the water, … [...]

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