Ep 4: Nightlife as Spirituality
Ariel Palitz is a nightlife veteran, entrepreneur, global consultant, and the first Nightlife Mayor for NYC
In this Substack:
An introduction to this 30 minute podcast
My deeper analysis as a coach on why Ariel is so aligned and thriving
Meet Ariel…
Ariel Palitz, nightlife veteran, entrepreneur, and former NYC Nightlife Mayor, grew up on the Upper East Side of Manhattan with little parental guidance. She found herself drawn from a young age to the freedom of nightlife, because it made her feel alive. From early experimentation in public relations and music, to running her own nightclub Sutra for ten years on the corner of 1st and 1st (a location known by many as “the center of the universe”), to ending up in the city’s Mayor’s office as their founding director of of Nightlife, Ariel’s journey as been anything but expected. Today she consults internationally on topics at the intersection of hospitality and nightlife.
On this episode of Character, Arielle joins me to talk about:
Growing up in a New York household that was glamorous but disconnected, and learning to rely on her own inner compass
Discovering the honest energy of nightlife as a place of freedom and self-expression from a young age
How she stays connected to herself through meditation, creativity, and joy-centered practices
Why experimenting with different jobs and industries was essential to finding where she truly fit
The leap from working in PR to opening her own nightclub and later shaping NYC’s nightlife policy
Lessons on trusting flow, protecting your peace, and the spiritual side of nightlife
3 Coaching Lessons From My Conversation with Ariel
Lesson 1: Ariel uses her comfort and joy as a gauge
“I’ve never designed my life. I’ve literally just followed the flow of my life and followed the signs of what made sense for me and used my comfort and joy as a gauge of whether or not I belong there.”
The way Ariel navigates her life is what I took me years to understand and what I’ve built an entire coaching practice around: using your emotions as your compass. Once you’re connected here, you always have a map.
Because she grew up without much parental guidance, she learned to rely on her own compass as a gauge from a young age. This has allowed her to leave things with peace, because she knows another chapter is coming. This has allowed her to jump from one project to another in a way that you couldn’t predict. This has allowed her to tap into the universal flow that’s available to each of us, if we tune into and trust our emotions.
Lesson 2: Ariel cultivates her own spirituality by intentionally practicing faith and trust
“It’s a practice, a daily practice to have faith and trust and to choose not to worry and to choose to have peace and to protect your peace and to find again the magic and the cool things of life. Like we just met in that party in the Hamptons and now we’re here. It’s a really magical world, you know.”
Spirituality is part of a healthy diet. Choosing to trust in the timing of your life, what unexpectedly sparks joy, to stay present and look for the magical moments is how you stay in an expanded emotional state despite uncertainty. Ariel has spent an lifetime practicing these habits and belief structures and it’s why she’s created such cool things.
Lesson 3: Ariel intentionally works on keeping her vibration high
If I’m sad or if I’m worried or if I’m losing faith or if I’m scared, then my vibration is low. And you have to keep a high vibration in order to, you know, go with the flow of the energy in your life… I know that if I meditate for 20 minutes and I breathe and I just don’t think and I consciously raise my vibe… and also being giving and helping and doing things outside of yourself raises your vibration… and then if there’s something you want to do you have to match your vibration like my life doesn’t make sense otherwise like why would I be like some Upper East Side Jewish kid you know in a private school winding up you know running an old school reggae Latin 80s hip-hop nightclub in the East Village for 10 years and then winding up in the mayor’s office for five years and now curating and being doing lobbying and consulting and global government speaking. There is no design. There is no sense to it. You couldn’t plan it.
This work isn’t one and done. It requires daily practice, scanning your body, noticing your mental state and processing what needs to be released in order to change your frequency. Ariel uses meditation, contributing to others, and activities like pottery, swimming, movement in all shapes to help her reset and align her frequency to future she wants to call in.
Inspired and want this for yourself?
I help people create energizing careers they love.
I do this by helping them connect to themselves, trust themselves, and build a network around them to guide them and open doors.
You can learn more about my philosophy by downloading my *free* Career Fulfillment Playbook.
Or by taking my *free* strengths test, The Flow Zone Assessment.
Or check out my 3 month group coaching program, The Career Studio.
Surround yourself with a group of others committed to creating fulfilling careers that support their lifestyle priorities. Through a mix of 1x1 and Group coaching you release long-held blocks creating fear, insecurity, and confusion and build your confidence and self-trust from the inside out.
You leave clear on your most aligned next step, and in momentum to making it happen.