Training from Inside an Airplane, Financial Literacy, and A Little Girl's Watchful Eye

Nope, you did not just read the title for a bestselling novel: though I think it might be a super fun read.

What do you do when your flight home is delayed and it's time for you to log on to conduct a masterclass?

You do it anyway, and this time, from INSIDE AN AIRPLANE!

I was set to come home from a short trip to meet with my extended family, and my flight had been oddly delayed multiple times. This was a super short flight, so it was especially annoying that it got delayed. I was supposed to be back home with half hour to spare before the #TrainingTuesday masterclass - but as luck would have it, my flight was now set to take off 20 minutes before Training Tuesday began. Dawn and Vaishnavi were already prepared, being the brilliant women they are, but I cobbled up a note quickly to let them know that I was not going to make it in time.

I grumbled all the way to get myself a steaming mug of tea to cry into, because what's a Training Tuesday that I cannot spend with all of you? Just as I was about to order my tea, an announcement sounded, saying that my flight was going to take off after ANOTHER delay of 35 minutes, and that they were going to start boarding soon.

I logged into Zoom, and gave Dawn and Vaish the good news, and raised the flag that if I got cut out, they would have to carry on. Dawn set up the music and folks started coming in. The queue had begun to form, as folks began boarding. I held out my boarding pass, swung my backpack onto my front and propped my phone on the top of my backpack like a makeshift shelf. Thankfully, I was off video: Imagine all of you having to see my chubby chin and nostrils while I speak!

Just as the music faded, it was my turn in the queue. I began speaking, holding out my boarding pass to a very bemused flight attendant who checked the pass and let me, well, pass (not a day for smart word play, sorry). As I trudged along, inviting those on the call to check in with emojis, and then began speaking about financial literacy, I found my seat, put my bag up in the compartment overhead, sat down, fastened my seatbelt, and continued training. The seat next to me was empty, but in a few minutes, a little girl came in - I think she was about 11 - and her mum sat from across her in the parallel row. She looked at me curiously, drinking in some very early stage insights on financial literacy.

As I was nearing the midpoint, the flight attendants had begun offering instructions for the flight, including the safety instructions. They nodded at me twice in the hope that I'd finish my call, but well, we had four slides to go! The little girl by my side silently became my teammate. She gestured to me to bend over to complete the call, because a flight attendant was going to walk by and a phone still running might have put me in trouble. I bent down and continued speaking in a low voice, as my partner in crime kept vigil.

I reached the last slide, and it was time for the community connect. At that precise moment, the flight had begun taxiing, back out into the runway.

I thought a batch of amazing women on Zoom had a basic financial literacy skills lesson. Turns out, the little girl beside me also did, because asked if I could tell her how she could keep the money in her piggy bank safe. The impact I'm reporting today also includes the little girl :-)

Want to check out this very adventure filled module? Head over to the trainings section and sign up for the module on Financial Literacy. I can't WAIT to read your assignments :)