Creative Mornings Palm Beach - Travis Thomas
In this Creative Mornings Palm Beach talk, improviser and founder of Live Yes And, Travis Thomas shares his personal journey from a post‑9/11 spiritual‑website role to a two‑decade career teaching improv to corporations, sports teams, and individuals. He explains the core “Yes, And” mindset—acceptance (Yes) followed by building (And)—and expands it with his “Live Yes, And” mantra, arguing that progress requires saying yes to reality, even when you don’t like it. Thomas illustrates the concept with anecdotes from working with IMG Academy, the U‑17 U.S. soccer team, MLB clubs, and the University of Georgia football program, as well as a shameless plug for his local improv troupe and his book 3 Words for Getting Unstuck: Live Yes, And. The talk becomes highly interactive: volunteers practice Yes‑And scenes, co‑create an imaginary car, negotiate a rope‑crossing game, and role‑play a mock interview with a fictional BASE‑jumping expert. Throughout, Thomas stresses that collaboration thrives when participants treat each other as partners rather than competitors, turning “competition” into win‑win outcomes. He ties the philosophy to a recent local tragedy, urging the audience to channel the Yes‑And mindset to respond constructively as a community. The session ends with a call to action: use the Yes‑And approach to turn adversity into collective action.
Chapters
Oh yeah, he's got it.
He's got it.
He's got it.
Oh, nice. Yes.
Oh, he's out.
There we go. Yes. Yes. Oh, yes. Yes.
Oh, yes.
Ah.
All right.
Thank you, sir.
Appreciate it.
Let me get these. Let me get these. Put these over here. Good.
Welcome, everyone. How we doing? All right.
Yes.
It's my new favorite way. I'm supposed to stay over here. It's my new favorite way to start any presentation without having to say a word and knowing that we are all natural improvisers. Right. So I improvise for a living. I took performing on a stage to kicking screens and going into organizations, sports teams, and individuals and helping them discover their inner brilliance through a commitment to purpose, authenticity, and life-transforming collaboration. That's what my company, Live Yes and, is all about. I live by the motto, you cannot progress until you say yes, which I'm thinking about a lot the last 2 days, like a lot of us are. 2001, I was in Boston working for a website called spirituality.com. Great website. Don't worry about looking it up. It doesn't exist anymore. And we did a series of spiritual speakers after 9/11, like immediately after 9/11. And we were talking to the religious editor for Publishers Weekly magazine. And people were texting in their questions. The comedy talk shows at night were still dark. They hadn't come back after 9/11. And someone asked the question, when is it okay to laugh again? And she responded that laughter is the voice of human triumph. And so, in the wake of the last 36 hours, 48 hours, It's not that we shouldn't be laughing. It's that we need to be laughing because laughing says that we cannot be beaten. And so we need comedy. We need laughter. We need joy to combat the evil in the world. We need to live yes, and. And that's what we're going to focus on here today. So I'm going to have fun with you guys, even if I get a little bit emotional along the way. So I'm going to power through slides, and then if someone hits the table and it's out, it doesn't matter because the slides will be done. So I live in Jupiter. I've got 3 wonderful kids. This is my wife. My wife and 2 boys are over there. Just look for the blonde in the room. Our daughter jumped on a plane this morning to go to a leadership conference out in Colorado, so she couldn't be here. And then the real pride and joy of the family is that guy right there. So I have an improv group here in Jupiter that I've co-created back in 2003, which is crazy. We perform monthly up in Jupiter. We're called the Jove Comedy Experience. This is a massive shameless plug because we have been performing for 14 years. I'm going to tell you, we're the coolest improv show going, but none of you guys know about us. None of you know about us because this is like the coolest room of people that I've ever seen and none of you have ever been to our show.
All right?
So a week from tomorrow, February 24th, 7 PM in Jupiter. Your asses better be at the show or I'm coming back to the March event pissed.
Where in Jupiter?
The Performing Arts Academy of Jupiter, right off Indiantown Road in Jupiter. Performing Arts Academy of Jupiter, 7 o'clock next 24th. Sorry for the shameless plug, Yulia. All right. So I do a lot of speaking. I go into companies. I've had the chance to speak all over the country at events, conferences, and doing a lot of corporate training. For 2 years, I worked at IMG Academy over in Sarasota. I worked with some of the best athletes in the world as a leadership coach. I got to work with the Under-17 Boys National Team for 2 years, which for me was like the best part of my work because I'm a soccer freak. I played college soccer. So working with those guys on leadership and improvisation was a dream come true. I've gotten to work with the Chicago Cubs the last 2 years, the Red Sox, the Toronto Blue Jays. And the last 2 years, University of Georgia football. If there's any Bulldog fans in here—
Boo!
Sorry. Sorry. If Florida, Florida State, or Miami calls me, I'll go— if they'll pay me, I'll go to them too. All right? And then I'm also— when I'm in town, I'm the performance specialist for my son's soccer club up in Stuart. That's him right there. His hair's about the same length over there. And on a monthly basis, I work with the parents, coaches, and players on the mental skills and leadership skills to perform at a high level. And so I do all this because I fell in love with improvisation. 20 years ago, I took my first improv class and I fell in love with improvisation. I have a book. I've got some copies here if anyone's interested. You can find me after the talk. It's called 3 Words for Getting Unstuck: Live Yes, And. And I think we're raffling off a few of them too. So curiosity killed the cat. I tried to research Where that whole thing came from, it's not real definitive. Shakespeare, of course, had a part in it. But there was no like real clear message of like, well, why did curiosity kill the cat? That's really stupid. That tells us to never risk and stay in a box and never try anything. So all I can figure is that the mouse is the one that came up with curiosity killed the cat. 'Cause the mouse just wants the cat to know, hey, Don't stick your head in that hole. You don't want to know what's in there. And so when we think about curiosity, and a lot of us sitting here, this group less so than the rest of the world, a lot of people, we stay in our boxes and we are afraid to take risks because we're afraid of what might happen. We're afraid of failing. We're afraid of fear. We're afraid of looking stupid. We're afraid of not making the same paycheck that we're making right now with that job that we get a paycheck every other week and it's kind of comfortable, but we go to bed at night not really satisfied with life. Curiosity didn't kill the cat. Curiosity gave the cat a life. Actually gave him 9 of them. Right? That's why he's curious, because he gets to live it over and over again. So my company, my organization is called Live Yes And. Live Yes And is— or actually, Yes And is the basis of improvisation. I didn't create Yes And. I added the live in front of it because it's become my mantra for life. And when I took my first improv class 20 years ago, I had a corporate job, I was newly married, and within the first 2 classes, light bulbs were going off. And I said, there's something going on here. And this is a lot bigger than just being on a stage. And I love performing. I went through the training center and I became a cast member in the theater. and I've been performing for the past 20 years, but I've been living this mantra of yes, and ever since. And that's why I go into organizations and sports teams and why I do individual coaching is to help organizations, individuals, and cultures live with the spirit of yes, and. One of our favorite improvisational quotes is, leap and the net will appear. I believe it's an African proverb. Leap And the net will appear. Living yes, and allows you to leap and know that the net will appear. The net will appear not always the way that you think it's going to appear, but it will appear. And as a result, you are going to live an authentic, genuine, and exciting life. And you're going to fail miserably throughout. And you're going to get better, and you're going to fail again, and you get better, and you fail again. But here's the thing. And I'm gonna go to the next slide so I can talk in front of this. So yes, and improvisationally. Yes equals acceptance. If I'm doing a scene with you— actually, Sean, you're on your phone. Jump up with me. All right.
Thank you.
Sean. That's okay. Sean, we're gonna do a scene real quick. And whatever I say to you, you just have to say yes, and and then build off of it. And whatever you say, I say yes, and. So yes is acceptance. And is you responding to my idea. So we'll do something simple like, oh, Sean, I can't wait for this weekend. Yes, and I can't wait to see you this weekend. Yes, and you and I, we're going to go try out for the Miami Dolphins. Yes, and I'm not going to make the team. Yes, and because you're going to be the coach. Yes, and I agree with you because you've got an inside connection. Yes, and I'm having an affair with the owner's wife.
Yes.
That's good right there, Sean. Yes! Give Sean a round of applause. So, from a performance standpoint, yes is acceptance. Whatever Sean says, I'm saying yes to it. Whatever I say, he's saying yes to it. The and is now not only going to say yes. Yes is acceptance. And is your response that builds off of the idea. Sean doesn't own the idea. I don't own the idea. We own it together because we are telling it together. There's no reasons to ask questions because we're making it up. There's no reasons to say no because we're making it up. Why would I say no to someone if we're making it up on the spot? So as long as Sean and I are in complete agreement that whatever he says, I have his back, and whatever I say, he has my back, now we can play. We can collaborate because we've built trust and respect and we know the rules. The rule is no matter what I do, you got my back, and no matter what I do, you got my back. And we actually— there's a mantra in improvisation. Whenever I step out on stage, my goal is to make my partner look like a genius. Guess what his goal is?
To make you look like a genius.
To make me look like a genius. So am I focused on me? No, I'm focused on Sean because I got to make him look good. Is Sean focused on him? No, he's focused on me because he's got to make me look good. And anyone else that comes in on the stage, what's their job? It's to make us look good, and we're trying to make them look good. So take that off the stage for a second and bring that into your marriage. Your goal is not for your needs to be taken care of, it's to take care of your spouse's needs, and she or he is trying to take care of your needs. Think about that as a parent. Think about that as a manager. Think about that as an employee on any team that you work on. My job is not to prove to the boss how talented I am, My job is to create relationships with everyone that I work with to show how great they are, and they're trying to do the same thing to me. So guess what? Now we don't do this in meetings. We do this because we're all trying to collaborate and create something bigger than I can create just on my own limited talent. It's 4, 5, 6, 12, 20 brains collaborating instead of 20 individual brains trying to convince the other 19 that they're smarter than you. That is the power of yes and. Give me 4 volunteers. 4 volunteers just to jump up here real quick. Come on, you guys are creatives. Get up here.
4.
Time is limited. Come on up. Awesome. We've got—
Nathan.
Nathan, here. Stand here, Nathan. All right.
We've got— Chloe.
Chloe, stand next to Nathan. We've got Portia right here. 4 or 5 is fine. Come on up. Come on up. Yes. Yes. Yes. Awesome. You guys stand side by side. You guys are a team. You guys are a concept team. You guys are an innovative team. So what you guys are creating— we know that we're in the Tesla world, but you guys are creating a car that has never been created before. Someone's going to say, I think the car should have this. And someone's going to go, yes, and it should have this. And someone else is going to go, yes, and it should have this. You're going to build off of each other's ideas. 30 seconds. Give us the car that's never been created before.
Go. This car should have 4 headlights. We need to see through everything now.
Yes, and it should definitely work in space. And it should fly.
Yes, it should fly upside down.
And it should have an espresso machine inside.
Have to work underwater too.
Yeah, uh, it has to be exactly like the James Bond underwater to amphibian view. I like it.
Yes, yes. And it cannot take any gasoline. This needs to be completely solar powered. And it takes 3 people to drive.
Record your own karaoke, karaoke brings it back to you. And it should have an eject button. What's the name of the car?
The Roadmaster. The Roadmaster. The 4200.
The 4200 Roadmaster.
XC.
XC. Awesome. Give him a round of applause. Yes, yes, yes. Thank you, sir. Great job. Great job. Thank you. Well done. Well done, Chloe. Awesome. It's really, really simple. It's really simple. And all of you who are being skeptical going, no, it wouldn't work in my environment.
No.
Yeah, it would. If you did it, it would. If you showed up that way, it would. Collaboration happens at the speed of now. When you take away the opportunity to debate— and again, healthy discourse, yes— when you take away the constant need to debate, look what we created in 30 seconds. I'm pretty sure that's how the iPhone was created, by the way. A bunch of guys going, it needs a calculator and we need to take pictures of food. And we didn't need any of that stuff before the phone. And it doesn't even need to make phone calls. It doesn't matter. We'll be texting. Right? A bunch of geniuses in a room just saying, yes, and, yes, and, yes, and, yes, and. But we don't always yes, and. It's really hard. And so it's really simple, the reason that we don't. And I'm just going to tell you why. Give me 4 volunteers super quick. 4 volunteers. This is a line. It's a cord. All right, we got Sean. I love Sean's back again. All right, Sean needs a partner. Sean needs a partner and we've got Rich. Rich, you're going to be on this side of the line. Sean, you two are facing each other. Boom. And we need— we've got Tyler. Tyler, you're going to stand on this side and Tyler needs a partner. Awesome, right here.
Yes?
Do we have it? Oh, I'm sorry. All right, excellent. You hang out for a second, Alex. I might need you.
All right.
So come over here. You are?
Kelly.
Kelly. All right, Kelly. So you two are partners, you two are partners. Go ahead and shake hands with your partner. Say, howdy, partner.
Howdy, partner.
Say, partner, you look so good today.
Howdy, you do too.
Say, wow, can we take a selfie after this and send it to all of our friends?
Selfie.
Say, you are the best partner ever.
You are the best partner ever.
Awesome.
All right.
So for the next 20 seconds, I just want you to focus on your partner and you on your partner. Don't get distracted with each other's beauty. This is a really pretty group up here, isn't it?
All right.
So what's going to happen? Is per— sorry? So you guys on this side, you're trying to get your partner to come to your side, to cross the cord or rope, cross the rope and come to your side, right? So you want her over here, but you want her on your side. So you want to get her on your side of the rope. You can't physically grab them. All right? I've got a few lawsuits out right now. You can't pick up the cord and put it over them and say, aha, you're on my side. You've only got 20 seconds to get them to your side. Makes sense. Twenty seconds. On your mark, get set, go. Oh, the food. It's always greener on this side. That's greener where you water it on Sean's side. Yes. Oh, I freeze, freeze, freeze, freeze. We got a lot of negotiating here that's not working. All right, you guys have a seat. Where's Alex? Alex, come back. Have a seat. Yes, you guys failed miserably. Yes, you failed miserably. Alex, hold on real quick. Of course, everyone fails. Don't worry about it. Listen, Alex, you and I are partners, right?
Yes.
What do I say? Hey, partner.
How you doing?
Hey, partner, you look good today. We're going to take a selfie after. You and me, we are partners, Alex. I'm going to do little, very little talking, Alex. I want you on my side, you want me on your side. What do we do?
Get right in the middle.
Get right in the middle? Okay, so let's like straddle it like this. Awesome. This is an improvement, right? Right? What do we call this though? Compromise.
Compromise.
Who's with me if you think compromises suck? Compromises suck. All right, go back to your side, Alex. All right, but it's better. Compromising is better. No, Alex!
What are you doing?
We're not done. We're not done. All right, I like where you started though. You're like, let's go to the middle. What else can we do? Give me another idea.
You carry me?
You carry you? Look at me. I'm not carrying you. How about this, Alex? How about you come to my side? I go to your side.
Okay.
One, two, three, go.
Boom. Let's do it.
We'll high five as we cross. One, two, three, go.
Boom.
I'm an eighties guy. You want to moonwalk as we do it?
Nice.
Nice, look at that. Even heck, Alex, I'll come hang out with you for a while and go, oh my gosh, that's your perspective? You're crazy. Hey, come over to my side. Look at my perspective. I'm crazy. Awesome, you came to my side, I came to your side. All right, freeze. What do we think about that opportunity?
A lot better.
All right, what happened? Did he get everything he needed?
Yeah.
You're saying no. He got everything he needed. What was his goal? To get me to his side. What was my goal? To get him to my side. Did I have to give up anything for him to come to my side?
No.
It was never a what?
Compromise.
Another C-O-M-P?
Competition.
It was never a competition. Alex, thank you so much. You rock. Awesome. Give Alex a round of applause. The reason living yes and in relationships is so difficult is because that was never a competition. Yet all of us in here treated it that way. What did I call you guys over and over again? Your partner, your partner, shake hands with your partner, compliment your partner, be nice to your partner, partner, partner, partner. I never said winner or loser. I never said prize money. All I said was you want to get your partner to your side, they want to get you to their side, and we're like, haha, my side's better. You guys actually didn't pull out the money, but usually people Start sprinkling it over here. I had one manager say to his assistant, come over here if you know what's good for you. And he was serious. And she went—
Oh.
Imagine that work environment. So, we have to be really careful. The reason collaboration is so difficult is because we are hardwired by our stupid, sick culture that everything is a competition. And it's not. That is a win-win. We can find win-wins in almost every aspect of life. I'm a huge sports guy, right? The scoreboard is the competition. Everything else is a win-win. How we treat each other, how we use each other to get better, that is the win-win. But we need to show up open-minded to find the win-win. If we don't, we will turn everything into a competition even when it's not a competition. Which is like 95% of our life is not competition, but we're showing up going, I'm not going to listen to you unless you listen to me. And so we stand on our side and we hunker down and we go, Republicans are idiots, Democrats are idiots, and we don't do anything about it. Because neither one of us is willing to go across to the other side and say, hey, why do you feel so passionately about the way that you feel? And I go, oh, empathically, oh, I get it a little bit. Your dad was an asshole, whatever.
Right?
Will you come over to my side and go, oh, I get it now. You're not from this country. You have totally different values. Of course we think differently. So how can we find a way to collaborate with one another? That is yes, and. Yes, and. Yes, and. Yes, and. We need more yes, and relationships in organizations. We've got plenty that are doing this all the time. And this is what happens when it's possible. Last volunteer of the session, and this is how I'm finishing. One more volunteer.
Come on.
Hi.
Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on.
It's safe with me. Yes, come on up. All right. Awesome. Give him a round of applause.
Ian.
Ian. My best friend growing up was Ian, so this already makes me feel good, Ian. And you've got the best mustache in the house. This is fantastic. Ian, give me a topic that maybe you have interest in, but you know nothing about.
Base jumping.
Base jumping. All right. Totally fascinated. Do you know anything about it except you just jump off of something high, right? Yeah, that's about it. Awesome. Ian, for the next few minutes, we're on Creative Mornings TV Palm Beach. For the next few minutes, you are going to tell everyone about BASE jumping because you are the world's leading expert on BASE jumping. All right?
Okay.
Know this though, I have your back. I am here. I'm the color guy. I am going to yes and everything that you say to make you look brilliant. So you cannot say anything stupid because I've got your back. The only thing I can't work with is you not saying anything. So as long as you say something, I've got your back and we're gonna make it look brilliant.
Okay.
Make sense? All right, are we good? Here's my makeup. My makeup feels in the— oh, we're back in 3, 2, 1. Excellent. Camera over here. Welcome back everyone to Creative Mornings Palm Beach. I am so excited. This is a man, he is a legend. He only goes by one name, as if he's Brazilian. His name is Ian. And we all know him as the world's leading expert on based Ian, welcome to Creative Mornings TV. Thanks so much for having me. Ian, you're in town because you're getting ready for a big jump. Tell us what you're jumping off of. That's right, I'm jumping off the highest point in Florida. It's Mount Trashmore. Yes! This weekend, be out there Saturday at 5 PM. He's jumping off Mount Trashmore, which is, which is actually taller than the Empire State Building. That's very true. A lot of people did not realize that. Now Ian, you fell in love with BASE jumping at a very young age. You were 4. 4. 4 years old. And you grew up in a high-rise apartment. Yes, I did. You grew up in a high-rise apartment. Second tallest location in Florida.
Yes.
And something happened. You were being babysat.
I was.
And the babysitter wasn't paying attention. You climbed up on a— It was a ladder, actually. It was a ladder. It was a ladder. And you got to the top and you thought to yourself— Hey, diapers can fly, right?
Yes.
So you took off your diaper.
Yes.
Held it overhead and Geronimo.
Yep.
Geronimo. And at that moment, your parents came busting in. They were watching on the nanny cam.
Mm-hmm.
And they saw that and they said, you have a gift. So they decided at 4 to send you across the world to—
Europe.
Europe. Europe.
He—
listen, he's in protection right now, so he can't be very specific about what part of Europe. So we sent you over to Europe, which we know is the base jumping capital of the world. And you studied under the master. Tell us the master's name.
Guido.
Guido. Master Guido. I think it was Italy. All right. So he was with Guido. And you actually wrote in your book, which is under everyone's chair, Ian's book, Guido gave you a mantra for BASE jumping, which is the title of the book. Ian, the mantra is? Jump.
Jump.
It was short. It was a short motto. It was a really short motto. And Ian, we are so grateful to have you here. We're going to be out Saturday, tomorrow, to be at your BASE jumping festivities. Thanks so much for your time, Ian.
Thanks.
Awesome. Here, stay here for a second.
All right.
So how do you feel? Like I could jump off anything.
All right.
I like that. Usually people are nervous, right? But he totally crushed it, right?
Yeah.
He totally crushed it. Ian and I could go on the road as an improv show and we'd be like, oh, those guys are really good, because Ian crushed it. And so, A, Ian's really, really good, but what we tried to set up was a relationship. And the relationship— this whole thing is based on what is the relationship. The relationship is, Ian, my goal is to make you look good. I've got your back. Whatever you say, I'm here for you. Let's just go crush it, Ian, because I've got your back. That is what a yes and mindset does, and that is what a yes and culture and environment creates. People that feel safe, authentic to take risks, to take fail, not because they'll be made to look fool of or to be thought of as less of, as people going, no, I got your back. Mistake? Boom, let's turn it into gold, right? That's why the best companies and the best sports teams and the best individuals continue to thrive and thrive and thrive because they're just there making each other look good. Ian, thanks so much.
Of course. Thank you. Awesome.
So the last thing I want to leave you with is the reason I call my organization Live Yes, And. Again, I didn't create Yes, And. But the live part is how all of us have the opportunity to live. You don't need to take an improv class. You never need to step up on stage to improvise your life. All you have to simply do is live Yes, And. And I like to say this. You don't have to like what is happening, but you have to say yes to it.
Yes. Yes.
Yes is acceptance. You don't have to like that you get sick, but you have to say yes to it. You don't have to like that maybe your marriage is falling apart, but you have to say yes to it. We don't have to like the tragedy that happened, but we have to say yes to it because we cannot progress until we say yes. Until we accept that what is happening to us and in the world is happening, we're in denial of it. So what we then choose is, yes, this is happening, And if I were to respond to this on purpose, your purpose, what I call your yes, your excellent self, if you were to respond to everything that life gives you from your excellent self, your purpose, what can't you do? What can't you overcome?
Every obstacle.
Every obstacle, you just yes and it. And so we have this horrific thing happen 2 days ago, and I come here, and this is why this group exists. I don't know if we knew this at the beginning, but Creative Mornings, these communities exist because of what happened 2 days ago, because it's a community of brilliant people coming together and saying, yes, and we're not gonna let that happen again. And we're gonna effing do something about it because we can and we have to and we will. We're not gonna be victims. We're not gonna say no, but. We're gonna look at it and say, what can I contribute to this to yes, and it? So I come to you humbly today. I come to you open-hearted. I come to you receptive because I come to this group of people who is more brilliant than probably any other group of people I've ever been in and to say— What's your name? Let's come together. Let's use our skill set. And let's yes-and the hell out of this tragedy. And let's do something about it. Thanks, everybody.
