Transcript: Episode 144: Book in the Cloud

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[00:00:00] Susan Barry: This is Top Floor episode 144. You can find the show notes at topfloorpodcast.com/episode/144. 

[00:00:13] Narrator: Welcome to Top Floor with Susan Barry. This weekly podcast ride up to the top floor features tangible tips and excellent stories from the experts and characters who elevate hospitality. And now your host and elevator operator, Susan Barry.

[00:00:32] Susan Barry: Welcome to the show. Corey Mortensen comes by his passion for travel, honestly, born to a flight attendant mom and pilot dad and raised in both Minnesota and Arizona after a job on Wake Island, which is a remote speck in the Pacific ocean. Corey soothed his wanderlust with occasional jaunts away from his next position as a project manager for an architecture firm.

[00:01:02] With the profits from selling a house that he flipped, Corey set out on what would become a two year journey around the world. Which he has written about in three absolutely fascinating books. We're going to focus on the most recent one today, Embracing Bewilderment and talk about how a trip to Iceland ended in Hong Kong. But before we do, we need to answer the call button.

Call button rings

[00:01:32] Susan Barry: The emergency call button is our hotline for hospitality professionals with burning questions. If you would like to submit a question, you can call or text me at 850-404-9630. Today's question was submitted by Sylvia. Here is what Sylvia has to say. I'm planning a two month backpacking trip to Europe this summer after graduation. Which things are important to plan in advance and which things are better to wing it? Could not be a more perfect question for you, Corey. What do you think? 

[00:02:11] Cory Mortensen: You know, my wife and I just got back from Amsterdam and Paris on Sunday. So just have been in Europe, I will say, um, and I've made this mistake. If you're planning on traveling around the country, I highly advise you get your train tickets settled and make sure and make sure you do that because when those trains fill up, it's very difficult to get around.

[00:02:37] So that's number one. My number one thing would be, um, the trains from there. I think you can kind of figure it out. I think there's enough hostels and hotels if you need to, if you have the money to kind of upgrade to, um, to a hotel, but there's plenty of hostels. Um, I don't think you're ever gonna kind of run out of beds in that situation.

[00:02:55] If you have a tent and you can camp in camping spots, there's Europeans love camping and they're more like a KOA campsite. They're more of a park and plop, but what we used to call them Boy Scouts, but, um, they're really, they're really great. They have showers and, and, um, and access to, uh, to, uh, laundry and all that. So I would number one, get the train tickets. 

[00:03:17] Susan Barry: That's so funny. I've had that problem before where, because you, I think as an American, you just sort of think like a train is like a subway and it's on demand. Do you know what I mean? And to find a sold out train, I remember being like, I'm sorry, what? A sold out train. Are you kidding? So I'm glad you brought that up because I have a trip coming up and we need to think about the train tickets.

[00:03:41] This first part of our conversation is usually about someone's career. And you've certainly had an interesting one, but until you write a book about it, the Wake Island to AutoCAD to Chinese heart monitor career pipeline, I'm going to stick to travel today. You're essentially a professional traveler anyway, and I'm curious if there was a trip like maybe in your childhood or early adulthood that made you feel some type of way, like changed you or really set this passion for travel a flame and made you, you know, so thirsty to do more. 

[00:04:24] Cory Mortensen: You know, I don't know if there was one thing. I think it was, A little bit how we were brought up when growing up in Minnesota, we finally moved to Arizona, the typical transition there. And, um, most of the family was still in grandma's and grandpa's were still up in Minnesota. So dad being a pilot, we were able to go up to Minneapolis in the summertime all the time.

[00:04:47] So there was this bit of traveling, dad when he would come back from a trip like to go on road trips. So there was that. Um, my mom would like to take us to the east coast. So we did a venture around Newport, Connecticut. So it just kind of, it felt like that's what you're supposed to do. Right? And, and as I got older, my grandmother had this, she had this very special way of, uh, of, of motivating. I felt it was a special way of motivating.

[00:05:15] She would say something to the effect of, I had a cousin, Becky, who was about my age and she'd say, you know, Becky just went hang gliding. And then she would just leave it there. Like what have you done? So then I was like, well, I have to go do something like hang gliding So I'd go parachute. You know, Becky was living on the beach in Costa Rica for a month, learning how to surf. Oh, okay. Well, I get it. Uh, then I need to go. So there was, there was that too. And then, you know, it just kind of grew into part of my personality, I think. 

[00:05:43] Susan Barry: Got it. That, uh, grandma pitting the cousins against each other is pretty hilarious to be honest with you. In Embracing Bewilderment, and you talked about this with your advice to Sylvia too, you camped a bunch in, like, random fields in Iceland and the UK and Eastern Europe. Do you think that someone, I guess you do, that someone could still travel the way that you did, like just camping in random fields or have things changed too much?

[00:06:15] Cory Mortensen: You know, I, I, having just been in Europe, I, um, we were in the cities more so, so I didn't. I wasn't traveling the same way. It was more of like a comfort travel. I would maybe say, but I would say, yes, like, in Iceland and Europe and in the UK, I separate those only because of Brexit. But, um, there's a philosophy. I don't know if it's a law or, um. Uh, it's, it's something that's accepted as called Every Man's Right or Right to Roam. So, uh, like when I hiked the Pennine way in Scotland to England, it's, it's, it's kind of an Appalachian trail type thing, but it's, but it goes through a whole bunch of private properties and the trip.

[00:06:58] So when you're going, you're actually going over these, um, These stone walls and they've designed the stone wall. So there's steps in them so you can walk over them. I think that's a really neat idea. I can't imagine trekking through somebody's private property here in Montana without getting shot at. Um, in Iceland. I don't know if that was allowed. I just know that I didn't have a lot of money and Iceland was really expensive. And so at any time I could pitch my tent and, uh, that wasn't like obvious, like right in the middle of a field or, or off the road. Um, I did, and I never did ever, ever said anything. 

[00:07:33] Susan Barry: Not just like pitching a tent anywhere you see one. Alaska has that, um, sort of right to ramble or right to camp thing too, that you don't have to go to a designated campsite. You can just pull off the road and, you know, camp on the side of the road or whatever. I learned about that when I was there last summer and I remember thinking that was so crazy.

[00:07:53] And then when I read your book, I'm like, “Oh, okay. This is a lot of places. What did I know?” Um, there was a particular thing that you talked about in the book that struck a chord with me. It had to do with the types of pictures you were taking on your trip. And you referred to like photographing old doors, but then to taking pictures of people hanging up their laundry. And you drew a contrast between with what would happen if somebody was doing that in the US. So like, you know, somebody walks into my backyard and takes a picture of me while I'm gardening or whatever. I would flip out. I would not prefer that. Right. Can you say more about that? And I don't know. What's your take on it now?

[00:08:39] Cory Mortensen: You know, I, I still, I find it to be one of the oddest, uh, forms of entitlement I think travelers take. Um, and it's not just us Americans. I'm talking all travelers. Uh, but it's such an odd. I don't know why it's came to me when I was making this photo of this kid in the courtyard, but I was like. It's such an odd thing.

[00:09:02] Like, I understand if you're in Cusco and the mom, you know, the little girl's got her llama and she's all dressed up as in her Kichwa garb and all that, but then that's, you know, they're doing that to make money. And I understand, okay, fine, fair game. That's, that's the point. But yeah, I mean, I'm thinking, I was talking to my wife, Kate, and I'm like, man, if I was taking care of my nieces and they were all playing in the front yard and somebody pulled up and just started making photos of them, I might not like, you know, it would be hard for me not to maybe interact with that person.

[00:09:34] Susan Barry: I also think there's like entitlement's a good word. It's almost a little bit patronizing or even xenophobic. Like, Oh, this culture is so different and so weird. Like it centers your own experience versus just taking it in as you know, people live differently. Or I don't know if I'm explaining that well, do you know what I mean?

[00:09:57] Cory Mortensen: Oh, absolutely. I mean, I think that's the part of it. I mean, it's like, It's even looking at a door. I mean, like, we make pictures of doors. It's just a door. I mean, it's just an old door or different color door, you know, but yeah, I think there's this, like, you know, yeah, I think you're right there. And in a way, it can be opposite. Like, it can be anthropological or your. You know, you're looking at this culture and how they, you know, their attire is maybe or something like that. Like, you know, Ecuador is one of those places where I can't stand. I can't stop looking at the women with their polo hats and their colorful outfits. Um, but I don't think I sit there and focus and send pictures on, you know, make pictures of them.

[00:10:37] I think that would be. I think that would be rude now. And as I get older, I think it's more rude. And I hate my picture taken anyway, so I wouldn't want a stranger taking mine. So, um, yeah, as I get older, I think it's less, if I find somebody quite charming, like I was full disclosure, we went to Paris Swift last week. And so there was a lot of Swifties. So these two women came up and they wanted to take a picture with me because I had my Swiftie shirt on. That was fun. Right? Like, I don't, I'd like to think I wasn't like, so unusually looking that they wanted to take one.  

[00:11:10] Susan Barry: Right. They weren't like, look at this big, dumb American. They were like, Oh, this guy's wearing a Swifty t-shirt. That's cool. I mean, yeah, 

[00:11:14] Cory Mortensen: I mean, yeah, yeah, yeah. Look at the old guy with the Swifty t-shirt. 

[00:11:18] Susan Barry: One of the things that you, that happened to you a lot in the travels that you described in embracing bewilderment is making friends on the road, sort of traveling together, doing things together and then parting ways. And I've had the same experience where you like bond and have so much fun with someone on a trip. It's easy to make friends when you're traveling. It feels like, but then it's really hard to stay friends with them or to stay in touch. Why do you think that is? Why is it easy? And then why is it hard? 

[00:11:53] Cory Mortensen: I think it's easy because you're, you already have a common interest, which is travel. So there's no, like, you're sitting at the bar. There's a person next to you. You want to chat them up and you got to like, Oh, what do you like to do? You already know this person likes to travel. So you've already got that in common. And so right away you have this, you know, where, where have you been recently? Or what did you do? Or what is some, you have an easy way in for a conversation. And. And podcasts are perfect example of this. The number one thing we like to talk about is ourselves. So once you get somebody talking about their travels and all that, you're kind of in the door and relationships on the roof are sort of the same way, because it's like, I remember joking once I said, you know, I know this person for two years and they are two days that I met in Bolivia and they know more about me than my best friend does at home because I don't ever have to see them again and they become sort of some sort of like, uh, uh, kind of a psychiatrist because now you can talk about things, you could share things that you would never share with people, you know, because you know that they will never see you again and you'll never see them again.

[00:12:58] And that stuff just, but it's out there and it's freeing for you. Now it's easier to stay in touch with people because of social media, and you might not be like always liking their last post. And maybe there's going to be some jealousy because they're still traveling and you're working, you know, or vice versa. Um, I have some friends that I still, I don't engage with them on social media, but I enjoy seeing what they're up to. And when I've written these books, a couple of them were mentioned in them and they reached out to me. And so it'd been 20 years and they bought the book, they read it. And they're like, Oh, I remember these stories. Thank you for writing this. And so in that way, it was, that's fun. But you know, at the end of the day, I did have a short relationship with a, with a woman. And I remember talking to her about like, what happens when we stop traveling? Like, what does real life look like? And she's like, this isn't real life. And a relationship never worked out. But I was like, I thought that was so interesting that the way she looked at it, she's like, it's not real life. That's. why we have a relationship.  

[00:14:02] Susan Barry: It's like a camp boyfriend or a girlfriend. Like you, whoever you meet at summer camp, that's your boyfriend for a week and you're head over heels. And then you go home and you're like, uh, nevermind. 

[00:14:14] Cory Mortensen: And when we were young, we would write letters. Remember we had those? 

[00:14:18] Susan Barry: Yes! That's why we didn't stay in touch. Cause it was a pain in the ass to write all these dang letters. What do you think are some differences? that you've observed between people who are well-traveled and people who are not well-traveled. Are there observable differences? 

[00:14:37] Cory Mortensen: You know, I don't know. I don't know if you could sit at a hostel in the courtyard and watch everybody and say that person's traveled a lot. That person has no experience. I don't think it's a thing. I think it's when you start engaging them and they start saying things, you realize maybe the innocence or the or the maturity level of them.

[00:15:03] Um, I remember talking to this guy, Peter, he is an aboriginal from Australia. And we were working at a hostel and there was this young kid there and he was the sweetest guy, super nice kid traveled. He's just started traveling. He's 20 years old. And, but the way he looked at everything in life was like, Oh, like, look at this, look at how this cup is made. You know what I mean? He was just amazed by everything. And Peter, I remember looking at me saying, he's a new soul. Like this is his first journey on the planet. The rest of us are older souls, you know? And I thought, wow, that's an interesting way. So to answer that question, it's like, there are old souls who are new travelers and there's, and there's experienced travelers who are new souls.

[00:15:46] And I think that, that, you know, there it's, it's hard to determine, but when you're with them, I think, I think there's, there's the people that really just drive me nuts where they just can't, don't accept that they're the visitor into the culture and they expect the culture to, or that group, that society, wherever they are to cater to their standards. That drives me nuts. And that I would say would be an, uh, unexperienced traveler. And those are the ones I just sometimes want to interject, then I think better of it. 

[00:16:20] Susan Barry: Yes, I would add to that the people who express an inordinate amount of fear about foreign cities. Like we were taking a trip to Mexico City and someone was like, Oh, but isn't it very dangerous there? Like, I live in Atlanta, Georgia. This is a huge city. Like they're no different. It's not, you know, it's not like you cross the border and all of a sudden everyone has a machine gun. Am I being silly? I don't know. 

[00:16:55] Cory Mortensen: No, no. I actually had a conversation with somebody. I don't know where it was, but I asked them if they had been to the United States. And there, and they were like, no way, like you guys just shoot each other, like randomly walking down the street because that's what they see on the news. We don't ever see how wonderful and pleasant Mexico City is on the news. We only hear about the cartel, you know, and kidnappings and drugs. You go to Mexico City and it's amazing city.

[00:17:23] Right. But, but other people's perspective of our country is the same. Why would you go to the United States? They shoot people in churches and synagogues and hospitals and everywhere, you know, it's that that's their perspective. So I get it. I get it, but. You got to look behind it. 

[00:17:41] Susan Barry: We like to make sure that our listeners come away from every episode of Top Floor with some practical, tangible tips to try either in their businesses or in their personal lives, or in this case in their travels. talked a little bit about danger and travelers are so often warned about being robbed and like there's all this equipment you can buy to hide your money and keep from being pick pocketed. And yet you, Corey, often just left your things in the care of strangers or like ate food from a random farmer that you had met 15 minutes before. So how much of that was youthful indiscretion? I'm kidding. What, but what is your take on the relative importance of relying on the kindness of strangers versus sort of the safety first, like be in lockdown all the time? 

[00:18:39] Cory Mortensen: Yeah, that's a good question. I mean, you have to use common sense. I, I believe when I'm traveling, I look at people and I think they're good people. I mean, people I'm going to encounter, there's, you'll know, if you come across somebody who's trying to wrong you, you know, I mean, just like you did notice it, if you're walking down the street in Atlanta at a certain time, and you, you might have an uneasy feeling about certain people that are coming your way. And you decided to take a left or a right, or maybe whatever. And I, you know, when you leave the border of a country that your common sense doesn't stay at home, you still have it.

[00:19:17] Susan Barry: That’s the whole quote of this episode, that's the most profound statement so far. 

[00:19:23] Cory Mortensen: Maybe they do. I've seen people in Cancun, but, um. But you know, I, I would, I still do that. I, I still, um, I'm going to the Philippines and next two summers from now to visit some friends and I'm chomping at the bit to have a bicycle and just bike and, and get some street food and, you know, sing karaoke with complete strangers. I still will do that. My wife's a little bit more reserved, but she's willing to do it.

[00:19:52] And I mean. Yeah, and people will help you too. I mean, don't so be sold. Uh, what's the word I'm looking for? Don't be so arrogant, I guess, to think that you're so important that somebody wants to harm you. Right? Um, so, yeah, I don't know if I answered the question correctly. I hope I did. 

[00:20:16] Susan Barry: Basically, eat all of the stew from the random strangers and get on with your life.

[00:20:23] Cory Mortensen: Yeah. Yeah. You might feel queasy on occasion, but yeah. Don't say I, I won't, I won't lie. I mean, I did, I did have some times where I, uh, did find myself quite sick eating non-pasteurized cheese and in Peru, but it was so fantastic. I kept eating it. 

[00:20:41] Susan Barry: I'm curious about the relationship between your journal and the books that you wrote. You started writing books in 2020, which was about 18, 19 years after kind of the action and the books takes place. So when you were traveling, were you taking notes in a journal with the idea that you were going to write about this later? Or was it just sort of something, a practice that you had, and then you were able to refer to them? Did it help? Did it hurt? Did you read back on stuff and be like, Oh my God, I can't believe that happened. You're like, tell me about it. 

[00:21:19] Cory Mortensen: Yeah. So I, when I, when I was in my early twenties, I had a motorcycle and I would try to put on 15,000 miles a summer and just drive around the country, sleeping wherever. And, you know, I thought I was Jack Kerouac and, uh, and, um, and I wrote about, I just wrote things. I just, you know, I thought it was poetic. I thought it was really smart. And, and, um, but I never looked back at it. I just did it as kind of a release and kind of a, it's like, I don't know if a painter, when a painter paints, if they sit there and stare at their work after it's been done.

[00:21:53] I, I don't know, but like, I'm not. I don't go back and read stuff like that. Um, I, I do. I think part of the reason why I don't do it is because when I read it, then I'll disappoint myself on how terrible of a philosopher that I think I am. And I've come across a lot of that before. So, um, so then when I started writing it for on this travel, it wasn't so much. It was, it wasn't, I had no intention to write the books. There was, there was absolutely no intention. It was just to kind of, um, kind of like put my head at ease. Like what did I accomplish today? And because when you're traveling, there's, I find it, I find traveling hard in that I think we're all designed to be, um, uh, doing something like, uh, be productive.

[00:22:41] And when you're traveling, you're not really a productive person. You're, you're kind of a taker and observer. And so when I write, it allows me to kind of tell myself, what did I do that day? And it could have been like feeding a stray dog. I don't know, whatever it was, I did something like, did I accomplish anything good today? And so that's kind of what why I would write the journals and then my cousin kept on telling me she wanted me to write a book. So then I wrote the book.

[00:23:08] Susan Barry: Is this Becky? Did she write one first?

[00:23:11] Cory Mortensen: No, Becky had not. Grandma, I beat her. Um, but what was, what was funny is I wrote the book and I bought an iPad at the time. And I bought the iPad for the sole purpose to write the book because I had no reason to have an iPad. And I had written the whole thing, the whole draft, 28 chapters, whatever it was at the time. And I was on a trip to Europe, left the iPad on the plane. Ugh, devastated. So fast forward a handful of years later, I sold my business. The company that bought it issued me an iPad. And, uh, I opened it, logged into my Gmail account and boom, the book was there. And that's when I learned about the cloud. 

[00:23:52] Susan Barry: Wow. 

[00:23:53] Cory Mortensen: So I got it back. I was like, Oh my gosh, this is fantastic. So then I was like, I'm going to finish this now. Like this is meant to be written.

[00:23:59] Susan Barry: Yes. Your grandma sent it back to you. That's what I think happened.  

[00:24:04] Cory Mortensen: Well, I like that. That's right. Yeah. Very much like that. 

[00:24:06] Susan Barry: Yes. Okay. So we're about the same age. I think we have very similar sense of humor, at least based on your writing. But then you slip in things like, “I'm fascinated with ancient aliens,” which I'm just not sure if I should take seriously or as a joke. So this is your chance. Give me your quick rap on the alien thing. 

[00:24:30] Cory Mortensen: Totally man. This is very serious and I almost need a glass of scotch because this we could talk for hours. I, I would you, when you wander this planet and you see, like - you can see here, I'm excited now. So when you wander this planet, you see all this ancient architecture, these ancient structures, and you see how they're connected in ways that are so incredible. How did the Mayan create a geoglyph or petroglyph that looks just like a, I mean, almost identical to a petroglyph in, in, and that's found in, uh, in Southeast Asia. That's also found in Egypt. How did this happen? How were the pyramids designed so similarly? How was Angkor Wat laid out exactly as the constellation of Draco?

[00:25:18] It's just astonishing to me that either we were so smart of people and then somehow became stupid with our devices, or there has to be some exterior forces working here to help. How did they move these stones and carve them so perfectly in ink, you know, in, in Machu Picchu? It's just mind blowing. So yeah, I could go on about it, but I am fascinated by aliens and I think they kind of helped us out. 

[00:25:54] Susan Barry: Fantastic. Alright, we're leaving the aliens behind. We've reached the fortune telling portion of our show. So now you're going to predict the future and then we will come back and see if you were right. What is a prediction you have about solo travel? 

[00:26:12] Cory Mortensen: It's always going to be out there. I mean, as younger kids, younger generations, Uh, explore, you know, it, it, it always happened. I, I think what people would be surprised to learn is how many people travel solo. I mean, I really do like, I, it was astonishing to me, quite honestly, I remember in South Central America somewhere. And I met this woman, she was from Sweden and she had been traveling by herself for a few months. And I, I was just, I, I had to talk to her. I said, how, how safe do you feel? And, and do you have any issues? I think this is a very, uh, very male dominated society here. And, and her response was whenever I get off a bus, I just yell, I am not your friend. And everybody thinks I'm the crazy white, the crazy white woman.

[00:27:03] And then they leave me alone. And, uh, I just thought that was humorous, but yeah, she, she said that she had never had any problems. I mean, there's, you know, there's, there's, there's cultural things sometimes, um, that women still can't do in certain cultures that men can do. But, um, there's really nothing you can do about that. I mean, it's just a cultural thing. Um, many women can't go into a mosque, you know, it's just not going to happen. So, um, but yeah, I think it's going to, I think it's just going to continue. I don't think there's going to be any changes. I think people who have wanderlust will have wanderlust. 

[00:27:36] Susan Barry: If you could wave a magic wand and create a new product or new service that caters to the solo traveler and it does not need to be realistic, what would that be?

[00:27:49] Cory Mortensen: This is, this is kind of actually a simple thing. Um, the passport is one of the coolest things out there, right? Cause we'd love looking at our passport. I love looking at my passport than I more than I like looking at my journals because I like to see where I've been. And in a way it is a journal, right? It's a journal of all the places you've been to. But if I could make my magic wand and I would eliminate borders, free to roam the world. I get that there's going to be some. Impossibilities on that, but I've, I've traveled with so many people that couldn't get across the border because of their nationality or whatever and it's just silly. It's just, it's an imaginary line and imagine on a piece of paper. And if I could make that all go away, I would. 

[00:28:35] Susan Barry: Definitely not realistic. What is next for you? Hopefully more books. 

[00:28:43] Cory Mortensen: Yeah. I'm currently writing two books. Um, one is, uh, about, uh, starting my company and then the ups and downs and then selling it. And the following book is, well, the last summer I, I rode my bicycle from Canada to Mexico on the Pacific coast highway. So I'm writing that book. And then, and that's going to be a little bit like the first book I wrote, The Boot and the Bee only from, um, A 53 year old's viewpoint of life and importance. I've lost some friends along the way. So, you know, kind of tie that all in, my dad passed away. So there'll be a lot of stuff about just kind of life and reflecting and hopefully touches and reaches out to people. If anything, it'll be therapeutic. And then the next one is when my wife and I, we sold everything and went to South America for two years, so.

[00:29:34] Susan Barry: I'm so happy to know that I have three more books to look forward to. Okay, folks, before we tell Cory goodbye, we are going to head down to the loading dock where all of the best stories get told

[00:29:50] Elevator voice: Going down. 

[00:29:52] Susan Barry: Cory, what is a story you would only tell me on a loading dock? All of your stories are wild. So I'm really struggling to know what your loading doc story is going to be. 

[00:30:04] Cory Mortensen: You know, I don't, I hope it's loading dock worthy, but this is not something I like to tell everybody. Cause it's kind of silly. It's kind of goofy. So my Kate and I went to Paris for our honeymoon and you know, when you're traveling, sometimes you don't want to go out. So you sit at home, you open your laptop and you download a movie. Right? And so at that time, we knew all about torrents, which was new to me. And so we were downloading all these movies while in Europe.

[00:30:34] Well, there was all these Russian kind of pornography things that were kind of feeding through on the, on the, you know, the little bits of data. So every once in a while I'd turn on my computer and it'd be all this like, um, bugs and what do they call it? Like, uh, uh, viruses and stuff like this. And it was my work computer. So anyway, after two weeks or three weeks a week, I get back in my computer at this point, I couldn't turn it on without seeing, you know, uh, naked whateverness. And, uh, and so I remember I just went to my it guy and I gave him my computer. I said, my computer's full of Russian porn and I've been in Europe. Please fix it. And he just looked at me and said, uh huh. Right. And then he just gave me a new computer. 

[00:31:16] Susan Barry: Oh my God. I cannot imagine. Were you still, did you still own the company then? Or were you…?  

[00:31:23] Cory Mortensen: No, this was the company that bought my company. 

[00:31:25] Susan Barry: Oh!

[00:31:26] Cory Mortensen: Yeah. So yeah, but you know what, there's this, there's a point in your life where you're just like, listen, I was in Europe. I was legally downloading movies. I got some viruses. 

[00:31:35] Susan Barry: It happens.

[00:31:37] Cory Mortensen: Before I, before I plug it into the entire network of our company, maybe we should fix it. 

[00:31:42] Susan Barry: Yes. Yes, indeed. Cory Mortensen. Thank you so much for being here and thank you for your excellent book. I know that our listeners are chomping at the bit to buy it. So we'll put that link in the show notes. And I really appreciate you riding up to the top floor. 

[00:31:59] Cory Mortensen: Awesome. It's been a great ride. Appreciate it. 

[00:32:03] Susan Barry: Thanks so much for listening. You can find the show notes at topfloorpodcast.com/episode/144. Jonathan Albano is our editor, producer, and all around genius. He even wrote and performed our theme song with vocals by Cameron Albano. You can subscribe to Top Floor on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen. And your rating or review will go a long way in helping us give you more of what you like. 

[00:32:38] Narrator: Thanks for listening to the Top Floor Podcast at www.topfloorpodcast.com. Have a hospitality marketing question? Reach us at 850-404-9630 to be featured in a future episode.