Airport Lounge Talk And The Real Work Life Balance

What if “work-life balance” isn’t the goal… and never was?

In this episode of Just An Epic Life, we’re recording from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport (Terminal 4) on a travel day—heading to Houston, then Galveston, for a cruise.

But this isn’t just a travel episode.

It’s a real look at what it actually means to build a life where work and life aren’t separate anymore.

We kick things off inside the Chase Sapphire Lounge, comparing it to the traditional airline lounge experience like the Admiral’s Club—breaking down what actually matters when you travel often (food quality, space, amenities, and overall experience). If you’ve ever wondered whether premium lounges are worth it… this is a real-world perspective.

From there, we get into the bigger conversation.

We talk about:

•  Why traditional work-life balance doesn’t fit our lifestyle 
•  Working while traveling (and why we choose to) 
•  The freedom of building a business that moves with you 
•  The tension of staying connected vs being fully present 
•  Setting expectations with clients when you’re “off the grid” 
•  How our past careers shaped the way we work today 
•  Creating a life where you don’t need to escape your reality 

This is our fourth summer living this version of life—and it looks nothing like it used to.

More flexibility.
 More travel.
 More presence with our kids.

…but also more responsibility, more intention, and a different kind of discipline.

We also talk about:

•  Travel logistics from Phoenix to Houston to a cruise 
•  What it feels like to potentially be unreachable for days at sea 
•  And how we’ve built systems so life and business keep moving—even when we don’t 

If you’ve ever wondered:
 👉 “How do they travel so much?”
 👉 “How do you run businesses and still be present with your family?”
 👉 “Is this kind of lifestyle actually realistic?”

This episode gives you a real, unfiltered look.

Because the goal isn’t balance.

It’s integration.

And building a life you don’t need a vacation from.

Recorded 6/26/25

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome back to another episode of the Just an Epic Life Podcast.

SPEAKER_01 0:07

We are Well, hello and welcome to a travel day.

SPEAKER_00 0:10

I feel like you're gonna be too quiet.

SPEAKER_01 0:12

I'm probably not. I guarantee I'm not.

SPEAKER_00 0:14

You sure?

SPEAKER_01 0:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 0:15

Because we're in such a strange environment.

SPEAKER_01 0:17

I know, we're in Terminal 4 in Sky Harbor, uh near gate D11, which is the southwest end of Terminal 4, and we are not southwest. This is weird. We are in America, we are American Airlines people, and uh we're we're over here because they have the Chase Sapphire Lounge. And in case you're watching on YouTube or one of our video, yeah, and I feel like I I like my Admirals Club, and I'm just gonna be honest here, like the Sapphire Lounge is bomb. It has top shelf beer, wine, alcohols, cocktails, uh, for no additional charge. And um the food is the food is so much better than American Airlines lounge food. Yeah, and there's so many gluten-free options where American Airlines doesn't have that. Uh and so we try number 380.

SPEAKER_00 1:12

You're gonna hear a lot of a DC one, Charlie One.

Why The Sapphire Lounge Wins

SPEAKER_01 1:16

Charlie One looking for uh something. Sorry about that movie.

SPEAKER_00 1:20

It's what you get when you're podcasting on the US Jasmine and we're super excited.

SPEAKER_01 1:30

I'm not sure how much you're gonna hear that, so we're just gonna hang out and listen to whatever they're saying.

SPEAKER_00 1:35

So we've done some priority pass lounges, which are actually better still, I think, than most.

Houston Then Galveston Cruise Plans

SPEAKER_01 1:42

The Admiral Lounge is great because the the link the people at the front will take care of you and help you understand if your flight's delayed or anything like that. Um, but as far as food goes and and cocktail options and even soda, they're Pepsi. Not a Coke. This is a Coke. Here, yes, yeah, no, this is Coke here, yeah. Yeah, so, anyways, so we're traveling today and uh we're headed to Houston.

SPEAKER_00 2:08

Houston, the international airport. So that way we can get over to Galveston to then get on a carnival cruise ship. Yeah, oh yeah, we're gonna totally podcast from there, so it'll be great.

SPEAKER_01 2:20

Yeah, it's gonna be so fun. It's it's just a different adventure. Nick's never been to this end of this terminal because it's new, right?

SPEAKER_00 2:27

Yeah, well, this is new, absolutely. I mean, this is the southwest part of Terminal Four that's new, and we've already been American, we've always been American Airlines people, so this is just I walk through and like, what is this?

SPEAKER_01 2:40

Yeah, it's so fun. It's so fun.

SPEAKER_00 2:41

So it looks like somewhere else.

SPEAKER_01 2:43

Yeah, it does look like somewhere else. It absolutely doesn't look like a Phoenix thing. So, anyways, uh, what are we gonna talk about?

SPEAKER_00 2:49

So we were talking about earlier how this is the beginning of my well, not beginning, this is the fourth summer. This is the fourth summer since leaving education, yeah. And the fourth summer of this new version of life.

SPEAKER_01 3:01

And what do you think?

SPEAKER_00 3:03

It's awesome. Yeah, it's awesome. I loved my time teaching, and this is awesome. Um, this is just a function, a fun way to have freedom. I'm working a lot more. I've never worked this much in the month of June. This was a lot.

Cruise Wi Fi And Being Unreachable

SPEAKER_01 3:22

Yes, but you worked so much more in your like July's and August and September's October's. And don't get me started on when there was Teach Me Idol and and Pops concerts and things like that. Like you lived on campus. I feel like you we definitely get to see more of you. I think you're more present. I am so aware of how much living we are actually doing and teaching our children, right? Like so many people, and if you're one of them, great, I get it. And yet, like so many people work their life, and we are figuring out how to do a balance of working and life. It's funny, I was with uh my naughty today because she's staying at mom and dad's, right? And so um she she says, We're talking about leaving, and I said, Well, we're actually taking a late flight because I want to be able to work tomorrow morning, and if we take tomorrow morning's flight, we are going to be in the air from like eight, and we won't even land until three, and I will have lost all this time, and so I would work, and she starts laughing, she's like, You're always working, you're always working, and I'm not. I feel like I definitely take time to be present. Like this cruise, for example, has four C days, and I'm a little I I keep telling people I have anxiety, which by the way, I don't have anxiety, but I have the this energy because I'm like four days potentially where I'm not paying for the Wi-Fi package because it was so shoddy last time, and I could be completely out of the pocket.

SPEAKER_00 4:45

Because when we're at our ports of call, ports of entry, whatever we call it, yeah, there's there's self-service. Yeah, like we've been in these parts of the world, and you know, you have free access for like one or two days, and then you have to pay for additional days. That's fine, we're willing to pay for that for us to check email. Being out at sea, away from cell phone service, away from email, because the Wi-Fi is going to be uh strange.

SPEAKER_01 5:14

Right, because I'm not used to being out of the pocket. Like I am connected to my cell phone at a high level. I I um one of the best ways to help my clients feel valued is with a response time, a quick one. And it's definitely gonna be a little bit different. And I've had to tell some of my clients, hey, you won't hear from me, and you might hear from dads. So it's it's definitely gonna be a different adventure.

SPEAKER_00 5:37

So and the people I talk to, I'm like, hey, if you're if you're choosing to list your home with the daughter-dad team, our absence will not affect you. The team is there, the team is great, they'll take care of you. If you're accepting our cash offer, I'll be back on July 7th.

SPEAKER_01 5:52

Yeah, and you had somebody who wasn't happy with it.

SPEAKER_00 5:54

Bam! She's like, Who do I get to talk to? I said, I will be your point person, I'll be back July 7th.

Work Culture Habits That Stick

SPEAKER_01 5:59

Also, I think it's funny that you've said that. This is the most you've ever worked in June because we were gone for five days, six days, five nights, and you didn't spend a lot of time working.

SPEAKER_00 6:09

Well, but if we look at today, yeah, like the Uber was ordered for 3 45 p.m. I shut down my computer at 2 55 and like we didn't roll out of bed until I slept through the alarm.

SPEAKER_01 6:22

This doesn't happen very often, but apparently.

SPEAKER_00 6:24

Dude, the alarm's going off and she's just laying there. I'm like, first of all, I'm like, is she dead? And then like, no, she's just tired. Uh and then just I just stared.

SPEAKER_01 6:32

I waited for her to just open her eyes and like, and I was not, apparently, I was like, out. So I will say the last three nights, the only three nights that we had before we left for this vacation, we were in bed at like somewhere between 12 and 1, which is not my MO. My MO is 100% nine, big 10 at the latest. So uh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:53

So in my education days, I wouldn't work in June.

SPEAKER_01 6:58

Correct.

SPEAKER_00 6:59

And then the last three, well, f the first summer, I think.

SPEAKER_01 7:03

You did not work until like October.

SPEAKER_00 7:05

So this is only my third summer of working in this new job. And this one I've been I've been doing, working and doing.

SPEAKER_01 7:13

What what's been your favorite part so far?

SPEAKER_00 7:17

Yeah. Uh the flexibility to work from most places.

SPEAKER_01 7:26

It's a blessing and a curse.

unknown 7:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:29

I mean, because most people they get they go on a vacation, one of their few vacations, and they're completely unplugged. We go and you know, an hour and a half each morning we're working.

SPEAKER_01 7:42

Well, and I set that up early on, right? Like my team was talking about how I used to take all of June off. And and one of my team members was like, Yeah, you worked until like 10 o'clock because we would you would flood us with emails, and then you'd be available to us, but we took care of everything else, and that's exactly how it was. So I created that culture early on, and the family knew that. Like the kids were not bothered by the fact that I worked until 10 because they were like, I'm sleeping or watching cartoons or whatever it was.

SPEAKER_00 8:08

And that even carries on to your team culture now. You you you huddle, you gather, you work, you push, and then you work independently. Yeah, you're a very you're available for each other, but you're working on culture, working on what the most important things for like a gap of like two and a half hours, just make sure it's not our children. It's not our children, it's one of our contractors.

SPEAKER_01 8:30

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00 8:31

Uh so I mean utilizing those morning times, those powerful times.

SPEAKER_01 8:36

Yeah. Well, and understanding those are important. Okay, all right.

SPEAKER_00 8:39

What's your favorite part about this?

SPEAKER_01 8:41

Okay. I I like the honey and home. So, like we wear oh yeah, yeah, today today. Yeah, so we wear branded things. And in fact, Nixon branded stuff right now, even though it's the fun brand, right? Like it's the one that we're still playing with. Um, but the like that mobile home guy shirt and the daughter dad, like when that clothing comes off, we're home. We're husband and wife. And so, like today, you took you come in and you Yeah, I shut down the computer.

SPEAKER_00 9:10

I'm like, yes. And the I always say, Honey, I'm home, as I'm, you know, taking off my shirt and putting on a non-branded shirt. Yeah, I go into the bedroom or the bathroom, wherever she was. And I don't even say honey, I'm home. I just take off the shirt, I throw it in the air because a vacation nick is here.

SPEAKER_01 9:29

Yeah, but then you went to the channel.

SPEAKER_00 9:32

I needed to walk out, so I'm like, I need to put a shirt on. I pick up a shirt, I put the shirt on, and I walk out, and I'm like, wait. Halfway down the stairs. I'm I'm back in my work shirt, and I turn around and I said, Something's wrong.

SPEAKER_01 9:43

And you're like, what did you do? Yeah, he ruined it, he ruined it.

SPEAKER_00 9:46

So I'm like, I put on the wrong shirt. So I went in, took that shirt off, screw it up again, uh, and then just put on a t-shirt.

SPEAKER_01 9:54

Well, but I think that has taught our children too, right? They they understand that they are busy with their own lives, and so I feel like they they know that when they come home, some like last night, Liliana came home from practice at almost nine o'clock and she hadn't finished packing. And I said, Hey, you need a pack, because I made Isaiah pack because Isaiah needed help sometimes, he needs to be pushed to get his stuff done. So I said to Liliana, I said, You need to pack, and she's like, I'm hungry. And so she knew that she was still in work mode and that she would pack later.

SPEAKER_00 10:26

So uh yeah, it's uh And it helps with our communication, they see what we're wearing we're wearing and they know how to talk to us. Correct, yeah. Just like I mean, if I was working in the classroom, they wouldn't call me up and say, Hey dad, where's this?

SPEAKER_01 10:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:41

So I mean, same thing. They might text and then wait for me to respond.

SPEAKER_01 10:46

Yeah, but I think also the flexibility, like I said to you, your job is getting in the way of my traveling. And now Isaiah and Liliana's extracurriculars are getting in the way of my traveling, but overall that's okay. You and I can still travel. So I think those two things are what's really cool.

SPEAKER_00 11:02

Yeah.

unknown 11:03

Cool.

SPEAKER_00 11:04

Let's close that up for now because who knows if it's good audio quality or not. Yeah, I think it's we'll do some more recording.

SPEAKER_01 11:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:10

Uh and until next time.

SPEAKER_01 11:11

Enjoy an epic life.

SPEAKER_00 11:13

Yeah, yeah.