How would you like to start the day with a time-out for yourself… at a work conference? After fresh juice, berries and health bars, you roll out a yoga mat and begin to stretch beneath the golden sun, breathe in a pure desert breeze while face-to-face with Scottsdale’s stunning Camelback Mountain, on the rooftop the kitsch Hotel Valley Ho? That’s what we got to do when we brought Mind, Body, Spirit(s) to Arizona Cocktail Week.My two partners in MBS are Dushan Zaric, a principal owner at Employees Only and 86 Co. spirits, and Patricia Richards, formerly Bar Manager at the Wynn in Las Vegas, and currently working on a degree in Chinese medicine. The three of us are now in our 40s, and have a couple of decades of the bar world under our belts so we know, first-hand, how integral balance is to a long career.Now in its 4^th year, AZCW saw an explosion in attendees from other parts of the U.S.A., which says a lot for the quality of the event as well as interest in the Southwest bar community. And, looking up from chaturanga during Mind, Body, Spirit(s), it was really gratifying to see fellow liquor industry professionals from San Francisco, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and beyond.Our program consists of about 30 minutes of movement followed by an hour of talks regarding physical, mental / emotional health, and balancing a demanding career with self-care. It is so easy to get swept up in the work hard – play hard lifestyle of the bar business that a lot of younger folks burn out, develop addictions, encounter health problems, die or leave the industry all-together. While not “preachy” (we’ve all been there, done that), the message is that this is an industry with lots of long-term opportunities for a dazzling career… if you can make it in the long haul.Of course, Mind, Body, Spirit(s) could not be free to bartenders without the support of our sponsors. We were so grateful to have Perfect Puree yoga mats, Driscoll’s fresh berries, Juby True pressed juices and huge support from Belvedere vodka. Claire Warner, the Head of Spirit Creation at Belvedere, is also dedicated to balance and launched Drink, Eat, Live on facebook, which many of us have joined. Seeing her photos form Morocco, India, Dubai, London, and beyond, as she keeps up with a grueling travel schedule and maintains running 5k (3 miles) per day is inspiring, and further proof that setting a solid plan in motion breeds success, on all levels.We launched MBS at Tales of the Cocktail in 2014 with three mornings of events. This year, we will expand to four mornings atop the Hotel Monteleone. We are in it to win it, long term booze biz. Are you?