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August 26, 2025 49 mins

Episode 51 – Beyond Burnout: Rewriting Success in Events, Travel, and Hospitality with Mike Messeroff

The events, travel, and hospitality industries are built on curating joy for others—but what happens when the professionals behind the experiences run out of joy themselves?

In this episode, we sit down with Mike Messeroff, a former JetBlue leader turned transformational coach, who has walked away from corporate perks and global adventures only to discover the real key to thriving: presence, clarity, and self-hospitality.

From managing partnerships at JetBlue Vacations to pouring cocktails in Breckenridge, Mike’s career journey reveals the hidden cost of “selling fun” while quietly burning out. Today, he helps executives, event planners, and hospitality leaders rewrite the script by treating themselves like their most honored guests.

We explore:

  • Why burnout is baked into the “programming” of events and hospitality professionals

  • How mindfulness and micro-moments of presence can transform leadership on high-stress event days

  • The difference between chasing fun and finding freedom in your career

  • Why self-hospitality isn’t fluff—it’s the foundation for long-term success

If you’ve ever wondered why the perks of the job don’t always equal fulfillment, or how to recalibrate without walking away from the industry you love, this conversation offers a practical blueprint for change.  Learn more about Mike's mission at www.self-hospitality.com

🎧 Listen now on www.tttpod.com, Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Follow us @Tix2TravelPod on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook for more insights at the intersection of travel, ticketing, and live experiences.

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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome back to Tickets to Travel, to Business of Travel Experiences, and I'm your host, Mario DeWine. And today we take a pause. Ever had the moment in your career when the best part of your day was the walk you took at lunch? For years, I thought burnout was just part of the job. Like most of us in the travel, ticketing, events and hospitality world, I was trained to grind.

(00:01):
Smile on the outside. Always chasing the next deal, the next event, the next promotion. We tell ourselves it's fun because we're selling fun, but somewhere along the way we forget to extend the same hospitality to ourselves. Today's guest, Mike Mess, Roth gets it. Because he's lived it From launching JetBlue Vacations to pouring cocktails in Breckenridge to building a transformational coaching practice rooted in mindfulness and presence, Mike's journey is a wake up call for anyone stuck in the hustle, wondering why success still fills empty.
This episode is for the event pros, the airline marketers, the hotel executives. The festival producers and every vibe curator out there who's mastered how to deliver great experiences for others while quietly neglecting their own wellbeing. Mike just doesn't offer wellness fluff. He brings a clear, actionable blueprint for leaders who want to recalibrate, recharge, and actually enjoy the career.
They've worked so hard to build. So if you've ever felt like you're running on fumes in the most exciting industry on earth, pause with us for this conversation. It might just shift your entire outlook. Follow us on all the socials at Tick two Travel Pod on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook, and listen to our episodes@www.tttpod.com.
Or anywhere you get your podcast because tickets to Travel starts now.
Welcome to Tickets to Travel, the Business of Travel Experiences. I'm your host, Mario Bwin, and today we're here with Mike Raf, who's actually tuning in or actually seeing us. Today from beautiful Costa Rica. Is that right? That's right, Mario. And the reason why we're talking today, and I thought it was a very important conversation, is that the work that you're doing, but more, more or less, we come from the same place, man, you were in the fatality world for many, many years.
Tell me a little bit about your background. I grew up in
New York and was raised in that environment of hustle ground, always working to the future, always trying to be better or get someplace else, and it didn't work for me. I don't think it works for a lot of people. I didn't realize that right away. It took me decades of, of grinding and just trying to be a success or trying to make something of myself.
Only to realize that everything I was looking for I already had, and success is not something we acquire, but something that we actually cultivate within ourselves and then share with the world.
What you said resonated with me because during those early days, we were tasked to be the best, right? Because also you're starting out in a career that.
Most people are coveted. Oh man, you work in travel. But that means a lot of different things. And I say to people, I'm like, I'm not a travel agent. You know, I don't get to do all the cool stuff that you see or or you think that you would get as a travel agent, because I'm an online travel professional, which means the store never closes.
Your whole life becomes that lifestyle. Of trying to get deal done so that you can move the needle for the company. And I was very burnt out I think after the first few years, and I didn't realize it because I was having so much fun, quote unquote, right, because we work in hospitality, you get to go see cool hotels, you get to go to and cool trips, go to conference.
But at the end of the day, it was taking a toll on my own mental health in that I never felt like, yeah, I was doing a lot of work, but I was also trying to get ahead, go up the ladder a bit. But at the same time, I wasn't really fulfilled. So fast forward my, you know, now I have, uh, decided over the last three years become a consultant.
So I use my knowledge to help other connect the dots faster and get to those goals faster from a strategic level. So I think you probably had the same type of situation because you worked at JetBlue or you worked at hotels.
You said something. Oh, just so amazing. It's like. I was burnt out, but I didn't realize it.
That's exactly my story. Where I worked for JetBlue, I was their first intern and I left 10 years later at the end of my twenties as their manager of business development, which if you're gonna have a corporate job, I was running the relationships with hotels.com and with, uh, world Travel Home, and I had Hertz as a part, and we started JetBlue Vacations, or JetBlue Getaways, it was called.
And it was great perks. It was great money. It was, I was treated really well. It was a good company. I just, in my heart, I knew that there was something more for me. I always say that I was getting a tap and the tap was the best part of my day. Going to work in Forest Hills Queen was my walk at lunch, and that was a problem.
I was just like, why is this the case? I'd take a really long lunch because I really enjoyed it. I'd find a beautiful park and just enjoy the trees and the burrs, and I knew there was more, it wasn't enough for me to to leave or to do something about it until my wife came home one day and she was in publishing, so she wasn't treated as well as I was.
She was promised her a promotion and she said, her boss said, you earned it and this was the third time this happened. You've earned your promotion, but we just don't have the budget. So she came home that day. She's like, I'm, I'm out. Like I want to quit. I wanna sell all our stuff. We had a beautiful apartment overlooking the Hudson River in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, and right near the Intrepid.
It was gorgeous and I had to think about it 15, 20 minutes and I was like, yeah, let's do it. We sold all our stuff. We moved to St. John in the Virgin Islands. I learned how to bartend and I took that skill with me for a year in the Caribbean and then moved to Australia for a year, bartended and traveled all over that country.
Same thing for New Zealand. For about five months, we traveled to Hawaii, Indonesia. Fiji ultimately ended up in the beautiful Rocky Mountains in Breckenridge, Colorado. So on that theme of like chasing fun, I was sure as hell having a lot of fun. I like to say it was so good that it was able to keep me distracted for years.
From dealing with kind of the issues that surfaced when I was in Breckenridge. So Breckenridge was supposed to be for one ski season. We ended up living there for, but three years into Breck. I was the manager of a beautiful bar in one of the best restaurants in town. It was a great steakhouse called The Briar Rose, and my best friend Dave, was the gm.

(00:22):
I'm there with my awesome wife, my amazing dog. I'm skiing. Skiing, oh, in the Rockies every day. A hundred days a season. Every day of the season. I was on that mountain. And I was at the lowest point in my life, I was more depressed than I had ever been. More depressed than when I was in an office building in bars, hills, queens.
And to me that was the visceral, it wasn't a tap, it was a shake from the universe in the form of panic attack, full blown depression, deep, dark anxiety. And it made me finally say. What's going on here? I've done everything that I think or that I thought most people would want to do. Quit the corporate grind, travel the world, have a ton of fun.
And it wasn't the answer. I was still searching, I was still unhappy. And I realized, 'cause I was trying to find happiness out there, I never went in here. And that's where everything changed in my life. I actually had a, a therapist who was into mindfulness and she taught me, uh, just about the concept of being present.
And then I discovered the Headspace app and started meditating. And honestly, Mario, within a week, my life transformed
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Within days, I was starting to become a different person and just look at my thoughts differently and just flow through my day differently, and I didn't leave bartending for another two years, but everything just started getting better and better. When I stop chasing fun and realizing that fun doesn't equal freedom.
Freedom equals fun. But I wasn't free. I was still a prisoner to my programming. I was a prisoner of societal conditioning the way that I was raised that that culture of I'll feel good tomorrow, I'll celebrate tomorrow at the end of this shift, at the end of the week, at the next vacation, or how most people live.
I'll be happy when I retire. And I just really call bullshit on that. I say retirement is one of the biggest myths that we've ever been sold. We're not just supposed to like our work, we're supposed to love it because there's no such thing as work-life balance either. There's just life and we spend so much time working that we have to love what we do.
So I stopped chasing fun, and I started chasing freedom. It's not even chasing, I started finding freedom within me. And a lot of it was just taking a break from the noisy world and taking a break from the noise in between my ears. 'cause the more you, you slow down, the more you realize. Your mind is really not your friend.
It's usually really negative, really busy, very repetitive. And once I started changing that, people would just ask me, they would just say, what are you doing? Like you used to be a miserable prick. And I was, I almost lost my marriage. I mean, I wasn't present. I wasn't really kind. I wasn't a nice person, and I changed dramatically really quickly.
And I would just start telling people like over a cup of coffee and 30 minute conversations would turn into two, three hours and they would leave feeling amazing. I would leave feeling amazing. And I just said, there's something more here. Just sharing what's worked for me in my life. And that's what I moved into coaching and ultimately started coaching.
People in the industry that I love so much, the industry that I grew up in. I grew up in restaurants. I worked for an airline. I spent my entire career in hospitality. I even started an event. This I, I ran events in Breckenridge and I promoted events and nightlife and just sharing with this industry has been just so fulfilling.
So that's how I got to this realization. It's just happiness is. It's cliche, but it's not out there. It's, there's inner work that's involved. It's not hard. I think that's the other thing I love telling people. It's not hard. It takes a few minutes a day of just being present and meditating and even learning what that means.
It's not sitting in lotus position or flying to the Himalayas and becoming a mon. It's really easy. It's just practicing your focus for a few minutes a day, which gives you control over your emotions and your thoughts and how you wanna show up in the world, and you start getting more clarity about what's really important to you.
Yeah, that's how I got to what I'm doing today and building this community for hospitality leaders to stop grinding and start living and. Exhale and feel seen and heard and supported.
I think it's all very rel relevant. You know, you said a word, uh, that always gets me a little worked up. It's programming.
Mm-hmm. So programming is interesting because that's the culmination of all the different things that we're exposed to as humans. So when you look at it from a hospitality or travel professional perspective or events professional perspective, I think a lot of people will struggle with that programming because like you said earlier, we're in the business of fun.
No, we're not you manufacturer. We're not making shoes in China. We're not doing anything that's hurting the world per se. We're selling fun where. I think if some people were to listen. Yeah, but you know what, like your wife who's in publishing, she was probably like, Mike, what? What are you talking about?
You, you get to go free cruises. Yeah, you get, you get a, every time free flights, the free flight,

(00:43):
free car rentals, free,
free hotels, free cruises. You get all of this stuff. So I think hospitality professionals in particular probably carry a little bit of guilt around that programming, Hey, we're selling fun, but we're also trying to achieve, and there's a bit of ego that's associated to that.
Is this something that you've run into when you're talking to travel executives, hospitality executives, that they're, they just have a sense of guilt around this idea that we chose this industry to work in and we're supposed to be selling fun, but then again, it's really mental health situation that everyone has to deal with.
Have you experienced any,
every single client I'm in, myself included. I always say that I had to quit my travel job to travel the world. Which I think is wild like that. I don't think that needs to be the case. I think there needs to be, you know, this goes back to programming and why we get two weeks off a year and we're usually like given a hard time for even taking that time.
Instead of encouraging travel and see the world and bring that culture back to your work. But I can talk about that for a while. I want to stay on point about this guilt because everyone I work with says I should be happy. I have every reason to be happy. You know, I have the great job. Most of them have partners and kids and cars and maybe boats and vacation homes, and a lot of the people I work with, there's no coincidence they are at the top rung of the ladder.
Because it took that for them to realize that's not where it is. They actually had to reach the top to say, I'm at the top. It's not all it's cracked up to be. I'm still searching for something. I still feel like a donkey with a carrot hanging in front of my face, just chasing something that's not here yet.
What am I doing wrong? And I just tell him like, there's no mistakes. You're not doing anything wrong, and you needed to get to this point of saying, okay, it's not for me. It's not skiing every day and skiing's my favorite sport. It's one of my favorite things to do. And I was utterly depressed skiing every day of the season.
So that just goes back to helping people unwind their conditioning and their programming and just saying, it doesn't matter what you're doing, it doesn't matter where you're doing it. I was on all these amazing beaches throughout my travels, you know, just doing some amazing things and having so much fun, but I was empty inside.
If you feel like there's more to life, there is. It's just that simple. We're, our purpose here on Earth is to enjoy our lives and to share from that place of joy. But it's not just having fun, which is what we're talking about. It's actually there's some inner work involved. There's some knowing who you are, why you are, why you exist, what you are.
Having that north star, that clarity of where you're going, what your life is about, and again, remembering that we're in this business of hospitality. And I love this industry because everyone's, they're we're great people with huge hearts, and we want to sell fun and we wanna show people a good time, but we completely forget to show ourselves the same sense of hospitality and care that you would share with your most.
Honored guests. You are the most honored guest, and that's why so much of my work, I call self hospitality, treating yourself like you treat others. And when you do that, this again, back to the programming is a 180. You are flipping the script. I'm gonna treat myself good after I take care of everyone else, all my colleagues, my staff, my guests, my family, my friends.
Then I'll do whatever I need to do to feel good. But you can't give away what you don't have. So if you're not full of joy. And peace and presence, and you're trying to give that to other, that's why you feel empty and burnt out. So you have to take that time to fill it up. And again, it's not just go take a vacation and do something
fun.
You actually just said it. Uh, that's what I was thinking is that we are trained, literally trained to be this way. And obviously there are certain types of people who gravitate to this industry. You know, whether, you know, you're an events professional, you're a travel person, whatever, you're, you're trained to treat a guest, a fan, whomever, a certain way.
But you never really look introspectively in terms of, oh, I don't really apply the training to myself. And so it's almost holding a mirror up and saying, Hey, listen. You've taken a few decades of training and you're at the top of your game, but if you were to shine that or turn the mirror towards yourself and and do the same thing, would you have that same level of service for yourself?
What do
you think? Really? You don't have to ask 99 out of a hundred or ask a hundred people. 99 will be like. No, I talk like to myself. I talk like my worst enemy I took. I talk worse to myself than my worst enemy. I'm not even close to an honored guest in my life or a sacred guest man for events and meeting professionals and people who are giving the experiences.
It's all about the people behind the experience. You could have two identical tours and you have an amazing tour guide who loves his life and loves his job and loves what he's doing. And you're gonna remember that experience and you're gonna want to come back and see that place again. And I've been thinking a lot about, and some of their needs, and a lot of times I think we're kind of creating an escape and travel is looked at as an escape, and I don't like that.
I don't think we should be taking. Well, even the word vacation means you're vacating your life. It shouldn't be an escape. It should be almost like an extension of life or something that they could bring back with them into their life. Like they were so moved by the music festival or from just the, the tour they took or whatever the experience was, that it actually changes them.
And that's what travel and, and learning about other cultures is all about. But again, looking at the mirror analogy, which I love is. Are you treating yourself that way? And if you were, don't take my advice for it. 'cause words don't teach. Just try it for a few days. Be a little kinder to yourself. Don't just jump outta bed or check your email.

(01:04):
Spend a little time on you raising your energy, your vibrations. And then go give the tour or have a full day of meetings. Prepare for your, your events, which I mean events one of the most stress, stressful o occupations I think you could have. You're working towards this date. There's all these factors.
If you are not bringing a sense of calm and peace, how is anyone else gonna feel around you in your presence?
But what I was thinking about was exactly what you were getting at is the events professionals, because I've had the unique opportunity of working. On the online distribution side, much like what you were doing at JetBlue, but also from an experiences perspective where you're contracting the hotel and then you're working with event professionals to, like you said, schedule the path to get to that event.
And then once you're there, it's even more stressful. 'cause now you have, right, it's very similar to a restaurant shift. I likened it to that. Much more drawn out and a lot more revenue and a lot more stress, I would say. It's like if you had one restaurant shift every year and you had to nail it. Exactly.
That's, you get it. But I, I, those event professionals are very interesting people to me. They're, they're super type. Mm-hmm. They're very organized. They're always accounting. They're always the, I always call them the I gotcha people, right? Because they're like, you forgot about that one thing. I gotcha. You forgot that one thing.
I love that in a section of the planning, and so they're master planners type A individuals, but they also have this facade of just being super professional. So whether that's internal with someone like me who's adjacent to the project, or to a fan or a guest or a tech who's, who's going to be performing.
They just have this very high level external professional that they exude, but I've gotten to know, know a few of them, and they're the most self-critical people. Oh, you know, or they're just always beating themselves up because they mm-hmm. Miss that one piece or that one guest wasn't happy. And maybe there's some parallels there to hospitality people in general, depending on the level.
But how do you tell someone who is that type of events person? That one, again, they're selling fun. So they're the, the envy of all their friends, right? They get to hang out with the talent. They get to go to cool places. But they are definitely stressed out. What are some things that you would suggest to them to add to their toolkit to cope with that voice that's constantly in their heads about how they're not doing a good job when they clearly are?
I think the main thing is for those kinds of people, which is most kinds of corporate professionals are like that to some degree, at least at the beginning. You have to realize it's not about you and it's not for, you're not doing all of this for you. You're actually being selfish, and even I use that word with a little hesitation because I think it's misconstrued a lot, but you're taking time for yourself so that you could deliver a better event and so that you could show up for the talent, the guests, your colleagues, everyone, the way that you want to.
If you could reframe it as, okay, I need to take 30 minutes today. It's the busiest day. This is the event day. This is what we've been working for. I don't have 30 minutes. Every 10 minutes I have a block of something. Schedule 30 minutes for yourself, because it's not for you. It's for everyone else that you're gonna touch that day.
It's literally the only way that you could show up the way that you know that you want to, the way that you know that you can. So just reframe it in your head. It's like, all right, I'm doing this for them. That's the greatest tip because. Again, I could talk all day about meditation and practicing gratitude and getting out in nature and taking deep breaths and all the tools.
If you don't know why and if you can't feel that, like I'm gonna start this day on my phone in bed checking email if you can't feel how terrible that feels, versus I'm gonna spend a few minutes in silence. I'm gonna light a candle, I'm gonna take a walk, I'm gonna rub my dog's belly. I'm gonna have a long breakfast.
Do something that just makes me feel good. Can't you feel that when I say that? I, I feel that and it just, talking about it makes me feel better. Imagine actually doing it
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And then you're like, all right, I got this busy day. Let's go. I'm ready. I'm full of energy.
I'm full of life. I'm full of love. I'm full of joy, and I'm gonna give it to everyone I see. Instead of just task. Masks are strict. We gotta hit every checklist. You're still gonna do all of that. You're just gonna enjoy the ride. You're gonna enjoy the journey so much more. And after all. What the hell is this all about?
I think one thing that you said that was interesting to me was that it's not really the traditional meditation, like sitting in a, in the position with your legs crossed doing this. So explain that because there is chaos that event day, right? Like where do you find a bit of peace and. What is the idea of meditation to focus you so that if it is a, a stressful event day, or you're headed to a business meeting, or you're on a site inspection mm-hmm.
And you're still feeling a little bit stressed out, how do you equate meditation to a real life situation where you've gotta fit it in for,
well, it's interesting you said, how do you use meditation to focus you? That's exactly what meditation is. It's if anyone goes to the gym and you do reps and you're building your muscles, meditation is going to the gym for your mind to train it in focus.

(01:25):
We spend 24 hours a day, except maybe when we're sleeping, practicing distraction. So if you could spend three or five minutes in the morning practicing focus, so you are actually closing your eyes, you're focusing usually on your breath, and then what always happens is you get distracted. You notice it.
And you bring it back to your breath, that's a win. That's not a loss. Every time you do that, you're making new connections in your brain that allow you to be more focused. You become a better listener. You become more responsive, less reactive. So a lot of this work is preventative, like you're doing it ahead of time so that during your stressful day you're just not rattled, like you're not shaken as much.
And you could also as a practical tool, like you could have affirmations or mantras or write something at the top of your journal or your notebook that says, this is what I signed up for. Have fun today, or enjoy this. Or it's supposed to feel like this. It's like, I think so often we sign up for these jobs that are high stress.
And then we explain about it. Instead of saying, no, this is exactly what my job is. I'm here as a problem solver. Everyone's supposed to come at me when things go wrong. So if you could remember that, whether it's something like, I call it mindful reminders, like you're setting a reminder in your phone or you have a bracelet or you have a post-it note or you have something that's just, that brings you back to presence.
Another great one is really in the middle of the day, just one conscious breath. Just really just take a deep breath. You could hold it for just a few moments and just feel your body full. Maybe sip it a little more, and then let it go. When I say let it go, let it all go, and then you're like, okay, let's go.
That took what? 15 seconds, 10 seconds. It just resets your nervous system, regulates your emotions. It reminds you of what's important. You could just say, I'm gonna take a breath and look around. I'm gonna enjoy my cup of coffee. You just find these little micro moments of peace in the chaos. So the chaos is a little less chaotic.
That's all. It's not, this isn't gonna change the inherent nature of the work or of the industry. It's gonna change you. How you show up in the shit storm as this economist balanced, peaceful being, and people are gonna really gravitate to you if you could show up like that. That's what attraction is. It has nothing to do with physical appearance.
It's an energy. It's like, Hey, like we're gonna talk to Mario about this because. He never loses his shit. Like he's always got a cool head. He's always good. That's what we're here for. We're here to solve problems. So it's, uh, I'd say it's like 75, 80% preventative. You gotta do the meditation in the morning or go for the walk or rub your dog's belly or have a breakfast, have a cup of coffee.
Don't rush through these things. Don't get on your technology right away. And then throughout your day as things get a little chaotic. Take a deep breath. Remember your mantra, your mindful reminder if you can get outside. I know it's not always possible, but if you can just to be like, oh yeah, like this is life.
This is what it's about. This isn't a dress rehearsal. I, if I'm not enjoying today, I'm not guaranteed tomorrow away. 'cause
I'm back to the original question, which is about programming. I think people are programmed to think this is what the. What you're supposed to look like when you're meditating, right?
You're supposed to go and sit in a quiet place, close your eyes and do all this, but that, what that does is the programming goes back to that person who's very, their mind is running a hundred miles an hour all the time, and they're like, I don't have time to do, there's, there's a
say. I always tell everyone, if you should always meditate for five minutes or more every morning, but if your mind races and you're very, very busy, you should meditate for 20 minutes.
You need more. You really do. So do you think there's that traditional meditation that's important, but it's three minutes, it's five minutes. If you can't take that for yourself, you really have to look in the mirror and say why? You have to look at your schedule and say why it's not fair to all these people that I have obligations to and responsibilities for if I'm not doing that.
That's the traditional meditation in the morning. But then throughout your day, it's just practicing mindfulness. It's just coming back to the breath, coming back to the present moment, coming back to the coffee that you're drinking or the conversation that you're having. But all of that is so much e if you get out ahead of it every morning, and that's where five minutes of meditation or getting a journal and just few lines of gratitude like today.
I am grateful for today. I appreciate. The breath in my lungs and my dogs and my beautiful partner or spouse who are just the house I live in, the bed that I'm laying in. It's energy, it's vibrations, and you bring that into the chaos. And the chaos isn't as chaotic as it once. Seems,
yeah. It's just ironic, right?
This is a, an entire industry of people who curate vibes. Very well said. Yeah. So they curate vibes, but they're not really conscious of how they're being, I guess, just not being fair to themselves to, to contribute to those vibes. That's right. It's important. This is important work that you're doing, Mike, and that's why I wanted you to come on the podcast because I think you, we can truly help.
A lot of professionals in this world by just bringing more awareness to it. And so that's all it is. Yeah. And you've done this with a few professionals in the past, and I, I think because of your specialty around hospitality and travel and events and things of that nature. What does a session, how does the process work?
How does someone get started? How does it, how do you progress through it? Do you have a, a certain methodology that you use? Um, obviously it's not as simple as, Hey, just take five minutes. There's a lot of education that goes along with that. If I were a executive or someone who's in this industries who's really looking for some help, how does it work with Mike Misra?
Yeah, thanks for asking. It's so much fun. It's my own journey. It really is. I only coach people based on my own experience and what's worked for me, and I've been doing it for years and I'm doing it at the highest levels of leadership. So I know that it works. I know that if the person is ready, which usually means that they're at, they're low, like whatever, we all have different levels of a bottom.

(01:46):
But you have to say, this is as low as I, I want, I don't need to get lower. I don't need the taps to become nudges, to become shakes, because it's just alarms from your inner being saying, Hey, like your soul has moved on, but your body's still here. It's time to, it's time to catch up and until you listen.
To the nudges and the taps, it's going to be alarms and shakes. So as long as the person is ready, meaning committed to transforming my life, I'm committed to looking at life differently and feeling differently, and we're gonna have a great time and it's gonna work. It's a 10 week program. I break it down into three phases and it's very simple.
It's presence, clarity, and embodiment. And the way that I like to describe this is imagine that you're trying to start a fire, like you're out in the woods and you're building a fire presence Is. Realizing that, holy shit, it's a really windy day. It's actually a storm. You ever try lighting a fire in a windstorm?
It's impossible. So the first thing we do is calm the storm and calm the wind, calm the waters, however you wanna look at it. Like we're just calming down all the thoughts. We're reversing a lot of the programming. I'm teaching people to stop caring what anyone else thinks. What other people have told them is right and wrong, or the correct way to do things.
What your neighbors are doing, your competitors are doing. It really is about it. Learning how to trust your inner competence, your guidance system, your intuition, so the winds die down and then you'll realize there's actually an ember there. I didn't even have to light it. There's always an ember there, but when the wind dies down, the fire could start to grow.
That's when we get into clarity, which is all introspection, and it's really to stick with the analogy. It's like, oh shit, there's a lot of dead wood or soggy wetwood. I'm gonna put like good wood on it. I'm gonna learn the things that bring my energy down, cut that shit out, and I'm gonna learn what raises my energy up and add it into my life.
And it's not big things. It's more time with your dog, walks with your wife. These are real things that my clients end up doing. I don't tell them to do it. They're like, Hey, I just started going on evening walks with my wife. It's my favorite thing to do now where I take my dog for a walk in the morning.
I never did that. At least not like a real walk, maybe a five minute walk around the block and they're going for real walks, really enjoying themselves. And then the final phase of embodiment, it really is teaching people about the law of attraction. And it what that fanning the flame really like growing your flame.
So it's so big that it's just, you can't help but share it with others. And Law of Attraction just states that whatever I put out there, I get back. So you start to get real careful with the thoughts that you're thinking, the words that you're saying. You become very intentional with your life and you just start living as the version of the person you wanna be.
That's embodiment. You embody the 2.0 version. Of yourself. You just start living like it. And when you start living like it first, instead of waiting for everything else to fall into place, which never works, it's a precarious house of cards. We try to get everything else to line up around us. You start cultivating that within.
Everything around you starts to change Your life literally starts to your dream. Life starts to manifest, starts to come to you because you become the vortex of creation. You become the magnet because you're burning so bright. You don't have the windstorm, you don't have the wet logs anymore. You're adding like seasoned oak wood that's gonna burn bright.
It's not hard. It's uncomfortable because all change is uncomfortable. There's gonna be that voice that's saying, what are we doing here? This isn't for you. And, and I teach people, but that voice is exactly what's holding them back in life. And I teach them to trust this voice instead of this voice. It's living from a place of heart instead of head.
And I'm telling you, there's a reason my program's called the transformation. You asked for my system. This system is called the Inner Evolution Method. I sometimes like to call it an inner revolution, and it's just changing what's inside to change everything outside of you. Now, the truth is because this is real high level leadership coaching, I only work with one or two people at a time.
That's why I'm launching this community. It's not going to be my full coaching program per se. But it's gonna be exactly what I teach. It's gonna teach presence. I'm gonna teach clarity. I'm gonna teach embodiment in little three to five bite-sized audio clips. I'm gonna foster a sense of community. I just wanna share it.
Like I know that this stuff work, and I would just wanna share it with as many people as I possibly can. That's why I'm doing all these different things and workshops, and life's supposed to be really enjoyable like it's supposed to be. A fun journey, you know, and I'm using that word fun a little carefully too.
It's not just travel or the vacations. It's a sense of joy when you wake up. It's a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. And there's specific tools and techniques that I teach for that. It's not just saying, Hey, feel good at the end of your day. I teach people how to do that. And it takes a little focus, a little bit of of attention, a little bit of dedication.
But what's the alternative? Being a donkey with a carrot in front of your face your whole life, waiting to eat that carrot. And most people die and never have had a taste. Really. It's really sad. And the world, you're in it, it's a noisy, it could be really negative place. You can't look to the world to provide this to you.
You're you. You have to be the sort of peace and joy and presence, and the only way to do that is to cultivate it within yourself. So it's an inner evolution, an inner revolution. It's a transformation that happens within. And something else I always like to share is. Life is always gonna be uncomfortable.
Oh, there, there's a choice though. We get to choose our discomfort. Is it the discomfort that's moving you closer to your dream or is it dis the discomfort of your inner being saying, Hey, like you're stuck. That's really uncomfortable. So it's kind of like you're, the caterpillar crawling around in the dirt and it's like, ah, this sucks, this is uncomfortable.
I'm a little bug in the dirt. I feel like I should, I don't know. I wanna build this cocoon, but it's scary. I'm gonna lock myself in this darkness and claustrophobia, and I'm melting down my body, and I don't want to do that. That's uncomfortable. But staying here is uncomfortable. And if I stay here tomorrow, I'll be here next year, I'll be here.
If I choose a different discomfort tomorrow, or maybe in a few days, I'm gonna be a butterfly. So choose your discomfort wisely.

(02:07):
Yeah. I think you said something earlier that was interesting to me in that it's like being discomfort. Experiencing discomfort if it's going, if it's building towards your dream or.
I guess more or less your purpose. I liken it to, over the last three years I've been a consultant. I've done this po a lot of people are like, man, you, you seem very happy, Mario. Will you ever get another job? And I think about that a lot because there's all these opportunities that come up and I, I say, yeah, I would, if it helped me further my purpose, if it helped me, even if I know it's gonna be uncomfortable, there's, I know there's gonna be goals to achieve and there's gonna be challenges, but I almost.
Miss those type of challenges because it's that extra experience that'll be gained, right? That'll get me closer and closer to that purpose. And so the question, the, the answer is always, maybe we'll see how it all, if it all makes sense within that particular time period. 'cause I think. A lot of people will sit back, say, I would love to just pick up and move to Breckenridge or Costa Rica, but I need money, Mario and Mike.
I need that. And I don't think you're saying that. I think what you're saying is you can find happiness and focus and purpose in your regular life without I, I guess letting it spin outta control where it just consumes you. So am I. Am I warm there?
Does that make sense? That's my story. I did that. I moved to Breckenridge, Colorado, one of the most beautiful ski towns on earth and fell into the deepest depression of my life.
I'm a walking testament to, it's not out there. Wherever you go, there you are. So if you don't like yourself, if you don't love yourself, I know it sounds cheesy, but again, like a sacred guest in your life, you treat yourself like a, like an honored guest. If you don't do that, it's always gonna be miserable.
Most of the people I work with in corporate America don't quit their jobs. Some do. Most of them just realized like, holy shit, I had everything under my nose this whole time. What was I doing? What was I making all that fuss about? Yeah, it was right here. It was right here. And. Something really amazing that you said was that because you're so clear on your purpose, I call that your North star.
When opportunities come to you, you could just say, does that, no, it doesn't. Next. Oh, that. That could be cool. It's uncomfortable, but it's getting me closer to the ultimate dream. Now, I don't want you to be tied to the North Star. You have a North Star, so you could live in the present moment and say, and wake up every day and say.
My life's on track. I'm moving in the right direction. Things are going great for me. It's like, uh, part of my morning affirmations are, I'm rewarded for stepping outta my comfort zone. That's it for adding value to the world and stepping out of the my comfort zone. They go hand in hand. And when your life becomes about service and serving others, and we're all in hospitality, we're serving others.
When it truly becomes about like giving, like really from a deep place, then it's you get yourself out of the way, and then it's easier to do those things that are uncomfortable because. It's really not about you. It's about how could I be a better leader? How could I be of service? How could I, how may I serve today?
How may I serve the world? How may I serve this client? How may I serve this guest even it requires me to shed some layers or shed something that's no longer serving me. And then the more you do it, then that becomes fun. Like then that becomes the habit. You're like, the complacency actually becomes uncomfortable.
Where most of us are programmed into complacency and our little tiny minds, our egos wanna want to keep us there. Small, safe, protected, but when you start living a different way. You actually crave that and then when life is like stagnant and stuck, it's like, oh, hell no. I gotta shake things up again.
This is too easy. One of my greatest mentors, Wayne Dyer, he was offered tenure as a professor in his mid thirties. Every professor wants tenure. It's guaranteed work and guaranteed pay for life. And he turned it down and he said, no, what am I gonna live the next 60 years over and over again? Or am I gonna really live these 60 years and do something different every year and every day and try something new?
So it's just, it's 'cause he had an inner calling. He's like. I'm not here to do the same thing and over and over again, I'm here to grow. I'm here to expand. I'm here to change the world, and we all are in our own ways. So once you start embracing discomfort more, that becomes your natural way of being.
And I think that is a great time to drop the microphone.
Ed, I think you've gotten your message out, Mike, to hopefully we just crossed over 110,000 loads. So amazing. Congratulations. No, I appreciate that. No, that's, I think this is part of it, right, is you said there's many different things that kind of contribute to a purpose, and I think one of mine and yours is just to educate.
And just understand that our voices could carry and, and create awareness for others to figure out what they wanna do, and especially in these industries of hospitality and travel events. So I appreciate the time, man. Same
to you. And I just wanna say energy and vibrations are so important to, I could tell that's why you're successful and I could tell that's why life's good for you is because I just pick up on this.
Joyful energy. You're enjoying what you're doing. It feels like you're present. For me, it's just, it's a beautiful thing. It makes me wanna hang out with you. It makes me wanna spend more time with you, and I'm sure it's the same for your clients who wanna work with you. And the listeners who are listening to this podcast, the only way we could teach is by the power of our example.
And it almost doesn't matter so much what you say, Mario. It's just I want to be in your presence. Like it's a great vibe, it's a great energy. So whatever you're doing. Keep doing it, and it's been awesome talking to you, man. I, I really appreciate it. I hope this isn't the end. Likewise.
Oh, no, of course not, man.

(02:28):
Of course not. No, I appreciate the kind words as, 'cause you're exactly right. I mean, that's the, I think that's the big difference is I've went through so many different startup situations, so many different leadership things, and every company you work for is a different vibe, right? Like. Either you have to go and align with that particular vibe, or you bring in a different dynamic.
Right? Create a new vibe. Right. So yes. I think, you know from which is leadership. Leadership, leadership, exactly. You gotta lead. That's exactly what I've tried to do over the last 10, 15 years, is that you create, I was talking to a billionaire essentially a few weeks back, and I said to him like, what type of culture do you want to create at your company?
At least in a sales capacity. He goes, whatever you're doing. Yeah. That see? Yep. He goes, that is up to you how you create that. And I said, oh, I had never thought about that. Or at least I'd never been in a company where usually there's already template of how you align yourself with people, and that's where the politics and all these different things come out of.
But like in those situations where they're like, and it's come across my desk a few times over the last few years, Hey, no, we want you to go and drive this, this kind of culture and this type of vibration and this culture of accountability, but not so much like a, you gotta get this done. It's not the same type of thing that maybe we came with self accountability.
It's the same thing. Yeah, it's the same.
It's the same thing. Yeah. It's just saying. Think about who are the, the worst, most draining people to be around. People who don't like themselves. Right. They're always complaining. They're never happy. They're, there's always something bad going on. It's your responsibility, self responsibility to feel good, to enjoy your life.
Thank you so much for your time. My pleasure, Mario. And that's a wrap on today's episode, an honest, insightful look at what it really means to thrive in the hospitality industry. If you're an executive or leader feeling the weight of nonstop expectations, Mike Messer off offers more than just advice. He offers transformation.
From presence to purpose. His coaching is tailored for professionals who've spent years curating joy for others and are finally ready to find it for themselves. To learn more about Mike's Coaching programs and upcoming community launch, head over to mike messer off.com. That's Mike, M-E-S-S-E-R-O-F f.com.
You'll find resources. Testimonials and a clear path to working with someone who's been exactly where you are. As always, follow us on all the socials at Tick two Travel Pod, and remember to subscribe to the podcast wherever you get your podcast. Apple, Spotify, you name it. And remember, every ticket is a ticket to travel.
Be good to yourselves, everyone. Attention travel and ticketing innovators. Whether you're a startup disrupting the industry, or an established company ready to take your distribution strategy to the next level. Expo Travel is your ultimate partner in online travel and ticketing distribution. We specialize in helping businesses of all sizes optimize their operations, expand their reach, and unlock new revenue streams.
And for startups looking to grow, we partnered with Top Venture Capital syndicates to help you secure the funding you need to turn bold ideas into thriving businesses, from refining businesses to scaling operations and raising capital. Expo Travel is here to drive your success. Visit Expo Travel today.
That's XPO travel.com for a consultation, and let's transform the way the world travels. One innovation at a time. Expo travel because the future of travel and ticketing starts with you.
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