Embrace the Lessons From Your Past

Welcome to the Jody Mayberry Show. And last episode, you remember we had the wonderful guest, Barry Jacobson. Well, he joined us to talk about creating luxury experiences, and now he is back because that's how we do it when we have a guest. We have that guest return to ask me three questions. These questions are not prompted by me. They're not planted by me, not encouraged by me. I have no idea what Barry is about to ask me, but I do know I

am thrilled to have him back on the show. Welcome, Barry. Hi, Jody. Thanks for, having me back. And and, now I get to put you on the hot seat and give you three questions that, you know, after watching and listening to you or on your podcast, I just know you're gonna hit these questions right out of the park. Well, we will find out. We'll find out. Well, I'm glad you were willing to play along and come back and ask. So what

is your first question, Barry? So, Jody, after, all the years knowing you and all the various types of, role you've played in your life, I was wondering,

what advice would you give your younger self? I think I would say do it sooner. I've taken some big swings. I've done some incredible things. But I I look back, and there are several points where I probably knew two years earlier. It's probably time to move on and do something else. But yet, it took me two years to push myself off the cliff. So that's it. Do it sooner. And I became a a park ranger. I was a financial analyst at a commercial bank, and I probably knew a couple

years before I left, it was time to go. And even when I left being a park ranger, I knew it was time to go and I hung on for a couple years because being a park ranger is awesome. So I just think when you're young and you can take big risks, just do it sooner. I love that because, I'm always talking about risks. And you know what? If you take it and it doesn't work out, you can always go back and find that next window that's gonna open and you do something different. So I I love

that answer. Okay. Question number two. Who was your mentor when you were growing up? When I was growing up, it's probably my granny. You know, I grew up in Illinois. And in

the Midwest, it's not uncommon for granny to be your or a grandmother to be the center of the family. And for me, granny was the center of everything. The extended family all went to her, and I just adored my granny. And she could be grouchy sometimes, but she was just wonderful. I learned a lot about life from granny. And then, eventually, to expand beyond that, when I discovered hockey, then who you look up to changes a little bit. In in particular, there was one

player, Kelly Chase. He played for the Peoria Riverman, went on to play for the St. Louis Blues, and and he he's who I looked up to, met him when I was in grade school, thought it was so cool to go to the Riverman games and then get to talk to the players after. And I just thought Kelly Chase was was the best. So he was probably the first non family member role model that I had. And you probably looked at up to him,

because he probably had a great work ethic just like you. He cared about the effort that he put out every single day on the ice. Right? And so, yeah, just like me, I have those, my mom is my mentor, obviously, but so many others that you can look at and try to emulate their work ethic. And, you know, my dad was, you know, up every morning at 05:00 in the morning off to work. So he was a mentor, but truly, you find people in your life everywhere that you can

learn from. So I love that answer. Well, I'm glad that you I'm glad that you mentioned the work ethic side of it because I feel like often we look up to sports stars for the fact that they're stars and they play whatever sport you like. But you can get a lot more out of looking up to a a sports star, an athlete, because it took so much to get to where they are. And if you can understand how and why and figure out their story and what they overcame,

there's just so much there that you can draw from. So I'm glad that you mentioned the work ethic part of it. Yeah. And imagine imagine his parents waking up at, you know, 03:00 in the morning and getting him to the ice by 04:30 or 04:00 in the morning. I know hockey, and I I know the effort it takes. And then going through I've see guys that are playing hockey at 11:00 at night just so they can get ice time. So it's crazy. So, yes, work ethic

is important, and and I'm a true believer in that. So last question, Jody, and this comes from my background in, you know, guest experience and memorable experiences. So tell me about, if you can, and this might take a little searching in your head, you know, what was a memorable experience that you had that stuck in your mind from a service, whether it was renting a

car or traveling on an airplane or dining in a restaurant, or it may be something completely different than that. Tell me about a memorable thing that happened to you and your family or you yourself that stuck in your mind and said, wow. That was great guest service. It's interesting because I think when you ask about service, for many people, an example that comes to mind

usually is bad service. That's kind of what we've come accustomed to now is, oh, service isn't great, but we remember the really bad ones, and we remember the really good ones. And I've had just some delightful customer experience stories. I can even think of this is often when people ask questions. The answer I give may not be the answer I would give ten minutes after I answer it because I just go with what comes to mind. And this is one that you will likely know well, the spirit of

it, not the exact experience. But we were at Disneyland when my kids were little, and my daughter started not feeling well. And she felt like her heart was racing, and she felt really hot. And we were like, well, we this something could be going on. And of all the times I've been at a on Disney property, this is the only time we've ever had to visit the medical facility that's on property.

And I had no idea what it would go like, and I just felt like they were so good to my daughter because this was scary for her, but also to understand. I felt like there was so much empathy for them to realize, okay. They're here on vacation. Our purpose is to make sure they have the best vacation of their lives. Although, I didn't fully grasp that that was Disney's purpose at the time, but I feel it. And looking back, I can see what they were doing.

But to have the empathy to understand, okay, they're here for the best vacation of their life. Their daughter feeling sick clearly does not contribute to that. So what can we do to make it better? And just in such an what could have been an awkward or a scary situation and everything turned out fine with my daughter. But the way they cared for her, the way they understood, gosh, this is a disruption to their vacation and they don't know how things are gonna turn out. I just felt

like that was wonderful. You can point to so many great experiences at Disney, but that one was one of my favorites because it's an experience you hope you never have dealing with the medical team at Disney. But I'm glad I did because I got to experience that. Okay. Even in that situation, they are taking care of you. They are trying their best to make sure you still have a great vacation even though you're seeing a doctor, physician's assistant, whatever.

And I thought that was just wonderful that that experience turned out that way. Yeah. I believe that that's, you know, sometimes people ask me, what's the really great attraction at Disney that is underrated? And I always say transportation. But now I'm thinking about the nursing areas, the nurses' areas at each

park. It is special. And whether it's giving you a Mickey Mouse band aid or getting you that electrolyte that you need, especially in Central Florida when people do become ill because of the heat, and they they care about you, and they get you rested, and they they know that the rest of the family is concerned about you like you were concerned about your daughter. That's another, you know, attraction, if you will, at Disney that not many people are have to use.

But when you do need it, it is extraordinarily Disney, and it's also a caring location where you won't find that in a lot of places. No. You won't. And Barry called it an attraction, which is kind of funny. And it's just an attraction that you can get a fast pass to if if you want it. Yeah. But last time we talked, last episode, you said luxury is the absence of worry. And, boy, I would say the medical team, the

nurses station, they strive for that. They strive to take away your worry of whatever situation that you're going through. And I don't know if you ever thought of of the nurses station as luxury, Barry, but now that I've learned about luxury from you, I would say it is a luxury experience.

Absolutely. They're taking your cares away. And and, just like you said, their purpose is to ensure that you have the greatest vacation of your life. And part of that is making sure that you're cared for and you're well, so you can enjoy those parks and those resorts. So, Jody, that great answers to the questions. I I'm like you. Ten minutes after somebody asked me

something, I say, oh, I should have answered it this way. But, you know, because true to our nature, we have all these, stories from our history and whether it's work or in life that allow us to, kind of, go back in the little brain that we have and and search and get all these great stories that help people understand our perspective. So thanks again, Jody, for having me on. Well, I'm glad you came back, and these episodes are so fun for me because I don't know

what's coming. And I just I've told myself, don't look for the right answer, perfect answer. Whatever comes to mind first, that's what you talk about. And I never know I never know what's coming, so it's always interesting to see where the conversation goes. And you you took us to some to some fun places, Barry. Well, thanks, Jody. Next time we get together, we'll talk about the tuna fish story. Now you've left everyone hanging, and

they're gonna be ready for it. And remind us, Barry, where can we find out more about you and what you're up to? It's, barryjacobsonconsulting.com. That's my website, and, you'll find all kinds of information in there about me working with, various companies and also, my speaking, opportunities for organizations. Alright. Thank you, Barry, and thank you for listening to the Jody Mayberry Show. He still wears park ranger pants. It's Sugar Jay.