You’re not burned out. You’re disconnected.

This episode cuts through the noise of trendy “mindfulness hacks” and dives deep into something far more useful: how to actually wake up in your life, your job, and your head.

Dr. Shalini Bahl is a former marketing professor with a PhD, a top-tier publication record, and the courage to walk away from it all. What made her trade career accolades for meditation cushions? It wasn’t a TED Talk or a productivity book. It was pain, disillusionment, and a shamanic journey that rewired her identity from the inside out.

But this isn’t just a self-help story. It’s a roadmap.

We unpack:

• Why most people are living on autopilot (and how to stop)

• The real cost of ignoring your emotions—and how to build a daily practice that doesn’t feel like fluff

• How to deal with your inner critic, even when it sounds like your mom, your boss, or your high school rival

• How to bring presence into high-pressure environments (yes, even a 200-cover steakhouse)

• The science behind ego depletion and why willpower isn’t your problem

• What to do when you feel shame about the work you do (and why your job doesn’t define your worth)
  

If you’ve ever felt stuck—like you’re performing your life instead of living it—this conversation is your invitation to stop outsourcing your peace.

You don’t need to go to Costa Rica or get a certification. You just need to pay attention.

Link to her website HERE.

Service starts now.

I talk to people in and around the service industry space, and people that I wish I could have heard from when I was coming up in restaurants. Altogether I am trying to make sense of this wild, beautiful mess of a life, and help others that are feeling similarly confused and/or lost. You can find more of my work at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠my blog⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and all my social links are at the bottom of that page.

Classic Episodes You May Like:

-#3:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠My 1st and Most Powerful Conversation with Shane Alexander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

-#10:⁠Nat Harry, cocktail expert!⁠

As always, I’m just here taking notes, trying to figure out what it all means.

Cheers

What if the best wine class you ever took wasn’t about wine at all? What if it was really about friendship, redemption, and whether you can really come back from rock bottom?

This week’s guest is my old friend Brian, someone I studied wine with, worked late nights alongside, and haven’t seen in over a decade. In this episode, we reconnect to trace the wild paths we’ve both taken since Santa Fe: from sommelier certifications and fine dining highs to addiction, collapse, and the quiet work of rebuilding a life.

We talk about what it’s like to fall out of love with the industry, find your way back, and what hospitality really means when you’re not drinking the product anymore.

This one’s raw, funny, honest—and filled with moments I didn’t see coming.

🧠 Expect to Learn:

• How a wine class in Santa Fe kickstarted two careers (and saved one life)

• What addiction in the service industry really looks like—and why it's more common than you think

• Why some of the best bartenders burn out, and how some make it back

• The real cost of being the “most sought-after” person in town

• How catering gigs and spirituality can help rebuild a life

• Why mentorship matters—and what separates a good bartender from a great one

• How to tell if the party’s still fun… or if the party’s running you

• Why Santa Fe might be one of the best (and most dangerous) places to learn this craft

• Whether you can still love the industry when you're not drinking

Links:

-Carlos Castaneda

Service starts now.

I talk to people in and around the service industry space, and people that I wish I could have heard from when I was coming up in restaurants. Altogether I am trying to make sense of this wild, beautiful mess of a life, and help others that are feeling similarly confused and/or lost. You can find more of my work at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠my blog⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and all my social links are at the bottom of that page.

Classic Episodes You May Like:

-#3:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠My 1st and Most Powerful Conversation with Shane Alexander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

-#10:Nat Harry, cocktail expert!

As always, I’m just here taking notes, trying to figure out what it all means.

Cheers

What do pharmacy school, cookbooks, and Polynesian pop culture have in common?

Today’s guest, Tiki Lindy, connects those dots and a dozen more. From her early days bartending in the South to becoming one of the leading voices in the modern Tiki scene, Lindy has carved out a space all her own: equal parts chef, scholar, and cocktail alchemist.

We talk Tiki, not the Instagram hashtag, but the messy, misunderstood, intoxicating cultural wave that blends anthropology, rum, escapism, and spice. She's a cookbook author, rum nerd, science geek, and a deep thinker.

Expect to learn:

• Why "Tiki" drinks aren't what you think they are, they’re so much more

• How those Dan Dan noodles helped inspire a cookbook

• The right way to introduce whiskey drinkers to rum

• • Whether or not a hot dog is a sandwich (yes, seriously)

  
  

  Some Links Mentioned in the episode:

  • Saturn Cocktail. Try not to have too many!
  • Trader Vic's
  • Navy Strength
  • Nutcracker Old Fashioned
  • Arizona Tiki Oasis
  • Agiorgitiko Wine
  • Link to her website, where you can find all her books.

  
  

• And yes, we talk about that delicious looking Old Fashioned, and why she keeps her best recipes close to the chest…

  This episode is a deep dive for anyone who’s ever poured a drink, geeked out on ingredients, or just wanted to know how the Tiki world actually works.

  Service starts now.

  
  

  I talk to people in and around the service industry space, and people that I wish I could have heard from when I was coming up in restaurants. Altogether I am trying to make sense of this wild, beautiful mess of a life, and help others that are feeling similarly confused and/or lost. You can find more of my work at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠my blog⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and all my social links are at the bottom of that page.

  
  

  Classic Episodes You May Like:

  -#3:⁠⁠⁠⁠My 1st and Most Powerful Conversation with Shane Alexander⁠⁠⁠⁠

  
  

  As always, I’m just here taking notes, trying to figure out what it all means.

  Cheers