Grammy-nominated artist John Ondrasik – also known by his stage name of Five For Fighting – treated attendees at ISPA’s 26th annual Conference & Expo in Las Vegas earlier this month to a unique, intimate musical talk and performance.

Ondrasik spoke about life lessons he’s learned over his career as a singer and songwriter, and found common ground between spa and music.

“Like music, a spa is someplace to go for escape,” said Ondrasik. “It’s a place you for for a transformative experience – a place you go to feel better coming out than when you went in.”

Ondrasik said like musicians, spa directors and operators must ask themselves how to cope with change without losing their identities.

“How do you change just enough to stay current, but stay true to the person who got you on the map in the first place?” he asked.

He explored several themes, including the idea that sometimes little things can become big things.

Ondrasik detailed how he wrote his hit song, ‘Superman,’ in just 45 minutes, but that it was the culmination of thousands of songs he’d written before that hadn’t become hits.

He talked about the importance of listening, the importance of storytelling – and the importance of failing.

“Failure is the key to success,” he said. “If we’re not failing some of the time, we’re not pushing the limits.”

Ondrasik punctuated his points by singing and playing the piano, using several hit songs to illustrate his points – including one he’d written by really listening to something his then four-year-old daughter said on the telephone.

He urged audience members to trust their gut as they take on new challenges.

“When you trust your gut and it doesn’t go well, that’s okay,” he explained. “But when you don’t trust your gut and it doesn’t go well, that’s what keeps you up at night.”

Ondrasik also received this year’s ISPA Alex Szekely Humanitarian Award, which is named in honour of the late spa pioneer Alex Szekely. It is designed to recognise an individual who acts as a respected contributor to overall wellbeing, encouraging the renewal of mind, body and spirit.

The award was presented to Ondrasik on stage at the event by Szekely’s mother, Deborah Szekely, co-founder of the iconic Rancho La Puerta in Mexico.