2018 ISPA CONFERENCE & EXPO
MONDAY’S GENERAL SESSION
SEPTEMBER 24, 2018
SHAWN
ACHOR
DON’T WORRY,
BE HAPPY
THE ENERGY WAS PALPABLE
AS NEARLY 2,000 SPA
PROFESSIONALS—representing day
spas, resort spas, vendors, consultants
and more—convened in the Phoenix
Convention Center Monday morning for
the first General Session of the 2018
ISPA Conference & Expo.
First-time ISPA Chairman Garrett
Mersberger took the stage to formally
welcome everyone to Phoenix after
attendees watched a crowdsourced
video showing the weekend-long
buildup to the start of Conference.
Mersberger highlighted everything new
30
PULSE
■
November 2018
The Opening of the Expo and
How to Achieve True Happiness
with Shawn Achor
for the 2018 Conference and previewed
the topics of the next two days’ General
Sessions. He also told the audience a bit
about himself—his career, his time in
ISPA, his mad Photoshop skills—and
encouraged everyone to get more
involved with ISPA.
Mersberger introduced the family of
Lori Hutchinson, winner of the 2018
ISPA Visionary Award, who remarked
on the influence, business acumen and
generosity of the late Lori.
KEYNOTE: SHAWN ACHOR
An expert on the science of happiness,
Shawn Achor began Conference on a
high note with a practical and inspiring
keynote on what we all can do to be
happy and reach our potential. The first
step towards happiness, Achor said,
was to understand what it was: “the joy
you feel moving towards your potential.”
Happiness—not to be confused with
pleasure—is a choice that we make, and
can be achieved by connecting ourselves
with those around us. Only ten percent
of happiness can be predicted by
outside factors; ninety percent is deter-
mined by how you process the world
around you.