I caught Melanie Curtis at ACES 2026 in Minneapolis after her keynote, and this conversation goes way beyond “what does skydiving have to do with tech?” Melanie walks through how she went from traditional corporate track to professional skydiver, coach, and full‑time keynote speaker, and how that journey reshaped how she thinks about fear, risk, and reaching the edges of our potential. We dig into what it really takes to prepare for a world record jump: years of skill‑building, coaching, repetition, systems, and mental discipline so you can perform when it counts. Along the way, we map those same ideas directly back to MSP life—landing clients, handling outages, leading teams, dealing with rejection, and learning to detach from outcomes so you can show up as a better leader for your staff and your customers. Chapters 00:25 Opening at ACES Conference 02:26 Skydiving Meets Business 03:44 From Overachiever to Diver 06:27 The First Jump Changes Everything 07:08 Speaking Career Takes Off 10:53 Cat Comedy and Serious Goals 12:24 Audience Questions and Relevance 13:36 World Record Preparation Secrets 18:08 Where to Find Melanie === Guest: Melanie Curtis – Keynote Speaker & Coach Website: https://melaniecurtis.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melaniecurtis11 === Shout-outs Justin Esgar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinesgar ACES Conference: https://acesconf.com === SPONSORS: Livestream Partner, ThreatLocker: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/threatlocker Technology Partner, NetAlly: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/netally/ Technology Partner: Bvoip: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/bvoip Travel Partner: TruGrid: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/trugrid Digital Partner, Designer Ready: http://itbusinesspodcast.com/designerready === SHOW MUSIC: Item Title: Upbeat & Fun Sports Rock Logo Item URL: https://elements.envato.com/upbeat-fun-sports-rock-logo-CSR3UET Author Username: AlexanderRufire Item License Code: 7X9F52DNML === Connect with Uncle Marv🌐 Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/🎙 Host: Marvin Bee🛒 Uncle Marv’s Amazon Store (gear & tools I recommend): https://amzn.to/3EiyKoZ☕ Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/itbusinesspodcastIf you found value in this episode, share it with another MSP, IT provider, or tech entrepreneur. Your support helps keep practical, no-nonsense IT business conversations coming every week.

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