The 2026 TAA ONE Conference closed on a high note with a keynote that was equal parts inspiring, entertaining, and deeply reflective, and also included a walk down musical memory lane. Jesse Itzler, serial entrepreneur, endurance athlete, and master storyteller, took the stage and delivered something more than a business talk. He delivered a philosophy for how to live, lead, and build something meaningful. His message wasn’t about tactics or trends. It was about mindset and what happens when you truly commit to something.
Entrepreneurship Starts Before You’re Ready
Itzler’s story doesn’t follow a straight line. Before building and selling companies like Marquis Jet and Zico Coconut Water, he was a rapper, a songwriter, and even filled in for singer Vanilla Ice! He slept on 18 different couches between the ages of 18 and 22 while trying to figure out his path, shared many of the failures he encountered along the way, and touched on the role each played in shaping where he is today. While he did claim he failed often, with more than ten business ideas not working out the way he planned, several finally did.
For Itzler he shared, that’s the point. “Entrepreneurs either create something new that never existed,”, “or take something that exists and make it better.” That mindset, of starting before you’re ready and learning through action, was a recurring theme throughout his talk.
One of the most defining moments in Itzler’s journey came when he was invited onto a private jet at age 27. That experience shifted his perspective from what he described as seeing the world in black and white to suddenly seeing it in color. At that point, he didn’t have experience in aviation and he didn’t own a plane, but he had a vision. So he built Marquis Jet, a fractional jet ownership company, and six years later, sold it to Warren Buffett for $5B.
The Moment That Changed Everything
The takeaway wasn’t about jets. It was about proximity. Put yourself in rooms where bigger things are happening, and your thinking will expand to match it.
Business Isn’t Just Financial. It’s Spiritual.
One of the most powerful ideas Itzler shared was that business has two sides: The financial side and the spiritual side. The financial side is obvious and includes revenue, growth and valuation. But the spiritual side? That’s how you treat people. It’s your generosity, your integrity, and the energy you bring to your customers and team.
“If you have a billion dollars and your spirit is zero,” Jesse said, “you have zero. Because one billion times zero is zero.” In a room full of operators, executives, and leaders, that landed. Because at the end of the day, people don’t just respond to products or services, they respond to soul.
Relationships Are the Real Business
Itzler reinforced this idea through a story about landing his first Marquis Jet client. He didn’t rely on ads or a pitch deck. He put himself in the right environment which happened to be at a TED Talk Conference he technically didn’t have access to. So, he got creative and bought out all the muffins in a nearby coffee shop where attendees gathered during downtime and breaks, creating his own opportunity to connect. Conference goers stopped into the shop for a latte and muffin, and when the barista explained the muffins were sold out, Jesse stepped in with a solution, a muffin.
That first relationship turned into his first client. But what happened next mattered more. On his client’s first flight with Marquis Jets, he carried the client’s luggage, researched doctors for the client’s family, and even made dinner reservations during their trip. “Business can be transactional,” he said, “but relationships can’t be.” That level of care and effort is what separates good businesses from unforgettable ones.
Mindset Is Everything
Throughout his talk, Itzler kept coming back to one word: mindset. Not in a vague, motivational way but in a disciplined, actionable way. He recalls telling his Marquis Jet business partner “We’re millionaires, we just haven’t been paid yet,” and shared three rules he learned from a Navy SEAL during an endurance challenge:
- Never give your pain a voice (and only speak positive affirmations)
- Never stop or give up (don’t “die in the chair”)
- Express gratitude consistently (verbalize the things you are grateful for)
These aren’t just rules for endurance races. They’re rules for business, leadership, and life too. “The words you speak matter,” he said. “The words your kids speak matter.” What you say, especially when things are hard, shapes what happens next.
Empty the Tank
One of the most memorable ideas from Jesse’s session was simple: If you’re going to do something—empty the tank. Itzler described finishing endurance races so depleted he needed a wheelchair afterward. Because for him, it’s not about winning. It’s about giving everything you have.
That same philosophy applies to business. When you fully commit and pour your soul into something, you remove regret from the equation.
A Reality Check on Time
Itzler also challenged the audience to think differently about time. Out of 8,700 hours in a year, we spend 4,500 hours working and 1,500 hours on screens. That leaves only about 25% of our time as truly ours. So the question becomes: what are you doing with it? Because the most common regret among the wealthy isn’t failing to achieve more. It’s sacrificing what mattered most (family, friends and time) to get there.
The Final Takeaway: Build a Life, Not Just a Career
As the closing keynote, Itzler’s message was the perfect sendoff: Yes, push harder. Yes, think bigger. Yes, take chances. But don’t lose sight of why you’re doing it. At the end of the day, success isn’t just about what you build, it’s about how you build it, who you build it with, and whether you can look back knowing you gave it everything. Because when you empty the tank, there’s nothing left to regret.