But what I’ll never forget are the toilet seats.

For several years I traveled back and forth from Miami to Havana to execute corporate incentive trips and multi-day industry meetings. I learned 8 billion life lessons because of Cuba.

Here are the top 5:

1. Trust that when things don’t go according to plan, you will know how to fix it.

2. Digital disconnection is critical to your well-being.

3. No is not an answer.

4. Happiness is a choice.

5. Simplify your life.

I’m going on a tangent about #3.

My boss at the time, Scott (of whom I am forever in awe due to his wisdom, humor, curiosity and empathetic spirit) had landed a HUGE contract with a HUGE company to pull off an absolutely, over-the-top event that quite literally took over the city of Havana.

It felt like everyone in town knew about it. Local drivers with the nicest antique cars were hired to zip our clients along the breezy malecon. Imagine the beauty of an eye-catching rainbow of colorful American classics as they chugged aside the glistening Havana Bay, tops down, Cuban salsa blasting from rickety speakers. Passengers in the back seat squealing with delight, ladies holding on dearly to their oversized hats and men laughing uncontrollably at fulfilling their dreams of cruising through Havana in a cherry red ‘67 Chevy running on soda bottles and Russian engines.

Flirtatious street performers were paid to belt out romantic ballads at the entrances of the city’s top tourist sites. The Cuban Orchestra performed a private concert in a Gothic Catholic church on one of the main squares.

An enormous food hall was designed inside a converted warehouse, where clients could sample Cuban dishes and cool off with mojitos in the midst of April’s oppressive humidity. A farewell party was held on the rooftop of the exquisite Kempinski Hotel, offering sweeping views of the imposing Capitol building (bigger than the one in DC by 1 meter!!) next to which the striking golden sun dropped slowly into the horizon. 

All of this in a day.

Yes, you heard me right. This entire experience lasted a mere 8 hours, and took over a year (maybe more?) of planning.

The fact that Scott pulled this off impressed me beyond measure.

But what I’ll never forget are the toilet seats.

If you’ve been to Latin America, you’re probably aware that a toilet seat isn’t a guarantee. ‘Tis the land of the “hover”. A place where one must work those thighs and let it rip without allowing your bottom to grace the bacteria infested seat below you.

This was indeed the case at the warehouse-turned-temporary food hall, the likes of which Cuba had never seen until that moment.

There were 6 toilet stalls for women and somewhere around 3 for men. Each toilet was bare bones, as expected. Well, let me rephrase. As I expected. In a country like Cuba, I was happy enough if the toilet functioned. 

But to the client, this wasn’t acceptable. They were NOT about that hover.

Scott told me we had to find toilet seats. By tomorrow.

I said no.

Cuba is NOT the kind of place where you can “run out and buy a razor at the corner store” if you forgot to pack one. No no no. If you left your bathing suit at home, wear black undies. No deodorant? Stay at the hotel. Every single product in Cuba is highly regulated and material items are not available in abundance.

I couldn’t imagine a scenario of any kind that would render us successful in procuring freaking toilet seats.

But “no” was not the answer.

We had to find a way.

AND WE DID. 

To be honest, I don’t even remember how. I mentally blocked out the trauma. Did we borrow them from another venue? Did we manage to track down the only toilet seat manufacturer in all of Cuba? Did someone happen to have a surplus of toilet seats in their backyard?

All I know is the accomplishment took a team, a lot of innovation, and a LOT of will. By the next day, any client that needed to do their business during that food hall experience slid his or her bottom comfortably onto a cool, smooth, recently-acquired toilet seat.

And that was that. Did the client thank us? No, heavens no. The client had no idea (nor cared) what we went through to accomplish that task.

Acknowledgement wasn’t necessary though. You might never know what true pride feels like until you discover a pile of unused toilet seats in Cuba. What was most important was the lesson I learned: NO is simply not an answer. Every single possibility, no matter how extreme, must first be exhausted. At which point, you pivot toward an alternative. 

There are times that NO seems appropriate. I’m sick as a dog so no, I can’t go to the party. That pilot looks like he’s 15 years old so no, I’m not getting on that plane. I’m highly allergic to shrimp so no, I won’t be ordering that dish.

STILL! There are alternatives. Maybe I can’t go to the party so instead I’ll have a soup-and-tea party in bed while binging on Succession. The pilot doesn’t look old enough to fly the plane so I’ll turn this adventure into a road trip. I won’t order that shrimp dish but I will order the lobster instead, especially if you’re paying.

My point is, no matter the request, it’s always a yes. The question is how. If you follow anything about “manifestation” (now a bit overused and cliche), then you know that you actually don’t even have to worryabout the how. Because once you commit to yes, your creative brain will kick in and figure it out. 

I can prove it.

1. Write 10 goals you want to accomplish within the next year.

2. Choose the goal that will impact your life the most.

3. Write 20 (or more!) of any of the following: REASONS to achieve the goal, WAYS to achieve the goal, BENEFITS of achieving the goal.

4. Use these 20 reasons, ways or benefits to achieve the goal!

I learned this from Brian Tracy and I have to say, it’s an excellent exercise. I’m doing it for everything and really surprised at how many of my answers seem to come out of left field yet make so much damn sense.

With love,

Bethany