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Morris Misel, global futurist and keynote speaker, travels solo on the conference circuit across six continents.

A guiding light through the ‘tunnel of uncertainty’

Business Futurist and Keynote Speaker Morris Misel (who is based in Melbourne, Australia), is passionate about ‘future equity’ and the idea that everyone deserves the chance to see a future and move toward it. “That comes from my own family’s refugee past, which taught me early that what really matters is being able to picture tomorrow, even when the present feels impossible,” Morris tells The Solo Traveller. “A lot of the pro bono work I’ve done – whether with people living with disability, in-prison chaplaincy, or through crisis street counselling – comes back to that same need.”

“When people can’t see a tomorrow, they get caught in a tunnel of uncertainty that narrows their choices, imagination, and even their sense of self-worth. Helping someone believe there is a future, and that they can shape it, even in difficult times, feels like some of the most important work I do alongside everything else. I spend my time looking at what’s changing in the world and helping people and companies prepare for it. Travel is my research lab as much as it is my job, and a lot of my life is the conference circuit, airports, hotels, venues, repeat.”

Are there habits or rituals that keep you grounded, healthy, and well when you're travelling?

The only way it works is that I’ve built a system. A carry-on bag is my travelling office and wardrobe rolled into one – stage clothes, travel clothes, toiletries, laptop, passports, clickers, and microphones. Everything always in the same spot. I can reach in anywhere in the world and know exactly where it is. It sounds small, but it’s the difference between chaos and calm.

I also unpack as soon as I arrive. I hang the few clothes I’ve got, iron them, make sure my stage gear is ready. It makes me feel less temporary, less transient. A calm mind focused on my presentation and the audience is everything, and those little rituals are how I create it.

I walk as soon as I land, no matter how long the flight. It clears my head and helps me adjust. I avoid eating in my hotel room if I can, even grabbing something small outside feels better.

In hotels I’ll usually ask for a higher floor, away from lifts if possible, and ideally a corner room with a view. Having something to look out at makes me feel less boxed in, and I’ve learned that if the room setup isn’t right,

“I walk as soon as I land, no matter how long the flight. It clears my head and helps me adjust. I avoid eating in my hotel room if I can, even grabbing something small outside feels better.”

it can throw me off. I’m not shy about asking to change if it’s going to impact my rest or focus it’s not about being picky, it’s just about creating the calm I need to do my job well.

And after a big keynote, the quiet can actually be a blessing. I can crash early if I’ve got a dawn start or sit and rehearse the talk in my head. Quite often I’ll wake up early the morning of a gig and rebuild a few slides because something’s just clicked or I’ve seen something local or new worth weaving in. That space on the road is where a lot of my best thinking and updates come from.

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Morris delivering a keynote to a packed audience – part of the rhythm of life on the road.

How do you balance the demands of work with the opportunities for personal exploration?

I don’t really separate them. Exploration for me is just noticing. It might be a walk through a neighbourhood that isn’t in any guidebook or sitting in a café and watching how people live. That’s often more valuable to me than sightseeing because it tells me how the world is actually shifting.

When my kids were younger, I had rules about time away. Two nights, three days max, for local gigs, if I could manage it. I’d Skype with them every night to catch up and do homework. That way, when I got home, I could slip straight back into family life without it feeling like I’d missed a beat. I never missed school concerts, sports events or teacher meetings, if something clashed, I just didn’t take the booking. That discipline made it easier to be on the road, because I knew I was still anchored at home.

What are the greatest advantages of travelling for work on your own?

When I’m alone I notice more how people move around, how they eat, how they live, how technology and change just slips into daily life. Those details stick with me and often shape how I think about the future. Also, the pace, rhythm and movement of being on the road alone is very different. When I’m on my own, I’m a road warrior, always moving, always busy, always with a purpose. It’s a very self-contained existence, but that’s what makes it possible to thrive and achieve on the road. And there’s the flexibility. If I want an early night, I can. If I want to stay up, or wake up early to tweak a keynote, I can.

“When I’m on my own, I’m a road warrior, always moving, always busy, always with a purpose. It’s a very self-contained existence, but that’s what makes it possible to thrive and achieve on the road.”

… and the challenges?

The silence after the noise. You can spend all day on stage or in meetings and then suddenly you’re in a quiet hotel room. Sometimes it’s lonely, sometimes it’s exactly what I need. Over the years I’ve come to think of it as a second life, the rhythm of airports, lounges, and empty rooms. Strange, but it’s become familiar.

Is there a city or destination that surprised you, either personally or professionally?

Varanasi in India. I thought I was ready. I wasn’t. It’s overwhelming, confronting, and beautiful all at once. Standing by the river, watching the rituals, you feel out of place and completely present at the same time. That trip stayed with me. Travel isn’t always comfortable and that’s often when it teaches me the most.

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(Left): In Varanasi, India, a destination that reshaped my perspective, confronting and beautiful all at once; and one of my small travel rituals is photographing my hotel room door so I never forget the number. A little hack that makes life on the road easier.

What is one item you never travel without?

Noise-cancelling headphones. They create a little bubble wherever I am.

How has solo travel for work changed your perspective on your personal and professional life?

It’s made me more intentional. On the road, I see how people really live. At home, I try to be all in no half measures. Mostly, it’s made me grateful. I get to see the world through so many eyes, cultures and places, and I’m better for it. My work is better for it. I don’t take that for granted for a second. Travel makes what I do possible, and it’s shaped who I am. There are hard bits, but I wouldn’t trade it.