Miss Palestine in Phuket, Thailand (November 8, 2025)

One of the greatest things about international travel is the unbelievable opportunity to meet people — including celebrities and influencers — from all over the world. Most recently, I ended up on the same flight as Nadeen Ayoub, a.k.a. “Miss Palestine”.

In all the airports in all the countries in all the world. Miss Palestine!

The link goes to Nadeen Ayoub’s own background on how she became Miss Palestine and is now competing this month for Miss Universe. You might also be interested in her Instagram account with more than one million followers, or a recent article in the NY Post about, The mysterious case of how a Canadian in Dubai became ‘Miss Palestine’ — and will compete in the Miss Universe pageant.

By the way, the Miss Universe pageant is happening right here in Thailand on Friday, November 21st (and, in case you were interested, it’s happening in Impact Challenger Hall, Pak Kret, Nonthaburi, Thailand near Bangkok).

Queue the Eminem 8-mile theme song, Lose Yourself:

Look, if you had one shot or one opportunity / To seize everything you ever wanted in one moment / Would you capture it or just let it slip?

Think about this the next time you see someone famous. The first time I noticed Nadeen Ayoub, I was boarding the plane with my family. Then I saw her again waiting for her luggage. I asked her if it would be okay if we took a picture together. She agreed.

As I was setting up for a selfie she suggested we ask somone to take it

Here’s the thing. Everyone around Nadeen Ayoub noticed her. She’s a model. She’s wearing her pageantry ribbon. She’s representing Palestine at a time when this country is the most war torn and facing ongoing tragic and horrific genocide. She has a clear message and she wants to share it with the world. And yet most keep to themselves. Most stay to their corners and prefer not to engage. Why?

After our picture, I thanked her for the work she was doing; how I appreciated her efforts to keep the people of Palestine front and center and to speak into a different and brighter future. I would have liked to have talked more, but Elena and Violet came back from the bathroom and our bags showed up on the carousel. So that was it. Short and sweet.

Taking Time to Acknowledge People

This isn’t the first time, nor the last that I will do this. Over the course of my life, I’ve had the opportunity to speak with and acknowledge Kelsey Grammer (near Central Park), Michael Keaton (visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art), Natalie Portman (hanging out with friends on skateboards), Tony Hawk (who married someone from my High School and attended my 10th year high school reunion), and countless CEOs, bestselling authors and executive celebrities at various functions and events (see my LinkedIn profile for details).

This isn’t a “aren’t I great because of all the celebrities and influencers I’ve met” statement. It’s meant to encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and connect with the people who have touched your heart in some meaningful way along your life’s journey.

Creator of Bojack Horseman, Raphael Bob-Waksberg’s 2019 Book

At our last hotel in Bangkok, there was a “Free Library Book Exchange” where you could dump the books you’re no longer reading and pick up one someone else released. This is the one I recently picked up, Someone Who Will Love You In All Your Damaged Glory, by Raphael Bob-Waksberg’s (creator of Bojack Horseman) who I hope to meet.

Many, many funny and imaginative short stories in this book while weaving in some life hacks and insights. Like this one:

The thing about death is that it’s terrifying and overwhelming and it can happen at any moment. And when we’re confronted with death we can either be cowardly or we can be brave, but either way we’re going to die, so …

And I thought about how, actually, if you wanted to, you could say the same thing about life. That life is terrifying and overwhelming and it can happen at any moment. And when you’re confronted with life you can either be cowardly or you can be brave, but either way you’re going to live. So you might as well be brave.

Amen to that.

And “being brave” isn’t as hard as it may appear. Had Miss Palestine rejected me, so what? Who is that more a reflection on? Me, the one who wishes to acknowledge her and help spread her message of love, hope and a vision for a future where there’s less hatred, fear and evil?

Do I care what other people around her think of me? That’s a big one. I certainly used to. But the moment I embraced the truth that “What other people think of me is NONE OF MY BUSINESS.” I was free and have been ever since. Sure, sometimes I forget and lock myself up in a mental prison of “what ifs” but as soon as I remember the truth, I simply open the unlocked door in my mind and walk away free.

Besides, it sure beats sitting around “being bored” in the airport

And now my family and I are in Phuket.

Why Phuket? Because of one person I can’t wait to meet in real life: Claire Dilly (or, a better link for her is on Facebook). Seriously, there’s no other reason for all of us to be here in this part of Thailand. Sure, it’s beautiful, but there are many beautiful parts of Thailand where we can stay. But to be in the country and not spend time with Claire Dilly, that would just feel wrong.

Who is Claire Dilly?

I began my journey with Positive Intelligence in 2019 and became the Chief Coaching Officer. We soon saw the need for a solid community manager who could support the growing needs of our (then) fledgling coach community. Even with just a few hundred coaches, the conversations (and questions) where many. It was clear, we needed someone who was both a coach and a strong community manager.

Claire was one of our early hires and my only reservation was her timezone. My first questions were: Where is Phuket, Thailand exactly? Are you really 12 hours ahead of Eastern Time (15 hours ahead of Pacific Time???) How could this possibly work?

Claire is one of those people that once you met you find that you’ll do just about anything for. Despite having well qualified candidates who lived in the US (read: same time zone), we addressed the working hours concerns and set up a “night owl” schedule which, to this day, I still can’t believe. She would be on zoom calls starting at midnight and sometimes 1 am her time (ending at 2am). I couldn’t do it. I’d be a wreck, but she’d sleep in the next day and be fine with it. Who knew that insomnia could also be a superpower!?!

Feeling “Welcomed” to Phuket Airport before our 2 hour drive south

Next, we are picked up by our driver to make our way down to our Airbnb. Had our flight been on time, this would have taken about an hour, but with the 2 hour delay of our flight, we are now getting right into rush hour traffic. Thankfully our Airbnb host is gracious enough to understand and stick around while we work it all out.

Anyone ready to party in a 2 hour taxi ride down south? Let’s roll!

And so we head on out. And I was going to leave you with this really great quote (which I’ll share in a moment), but I made one really big mistake this first night we arrived in Phuket. I was able to get Amazon Prime working on the “Smart” TV at the place we’re staying in and there was what looked like a sparkling water in the refrigerator.

I zeroed in on the word “Sparkling” and missed the word “Energy.”

So, at 10pm, I had what turned out to be a Thailand version of a Redbull. Scratch that. I’ve had many a Redbull in my lifetime. This was like having multiple Redbulls (as in like 6). Coffee has never kept me up like this one small innocent looking “Citrus Fruity” and “0% Sugar” drink kept me awake — for another 4 hours until 2am when it finally wore off.

I tried multiple times to go to bed. 11pm, 12am, 1am and finally at 2am I started drifting and falling asleep. Such a small “mistake” with an outsized penalty on my sleep pattern. Next time I’ll read the label more closely and take out Google Translate just to be sure. This wasn’t a caffeinated beverage — this was more like drinking cocaine in a can.

I don’t know about Collagen, but Vitamin E and Zinc have never messed with my sleep before so I’m sure there are more ingredients that are not actively being promoted on the front label. Lesson learned.

Transform Ordinary Moments

…into extraordinary opportunities for growth and joy. All by simply wearing the lense of gratitude. Neat, huh?

Have an extraordinary day!