Funny motivational speaker
In the 1980s, a friend asked if I would help him MC at a new comedy club. He’d do a one-weekend shift of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and I would do the next weekend.
We got $20 a night and free alcohol. My job was to warm up the audience with 15 minutes of comedy and do in-between comedy acts and introduce professional comedians.
The problem? I had never done stand up comedy. Sure, my friends thought I was hilarious during our weekend outings, but my stage experience came solely from acting in high school, college, and theatre productions. I didn’t know how to write or perform stand-up comedy.
I said, “Yes.”
It was awful, awkward, and not funny. The audience, lubricated by alcohol, would yell, “Get to the point!” “Just shut up and strip.” Nonetheless, I stuck with it, performing every other weekend for almost two years.
With time and experience, I got better. That stand-up gig forced me to write new material. During my time off, I started looking for stories in everyday experiences. Years later, that weekend of MC comedy experience led me to my career as a motivational speaker today.
Saying “yes” has added color and texture to my life. I said yes when I moved to Norway, yes to learning Norwegian, yes to starting a business while there. I taught myself to crochet and play guitar. Recently I’ve been learning kettlebell exercises. I recently signed up for a beginning watercolor class and am learning Spanish via a phone app. Who knows if I will be like doing the watercolor painting or if I will ever speak Spanish, but I want to try.
I’ve also failed and continue to fail. Years ago tried selling radio ads and business signs but never sold a thing. I tried downhill skiing; it took me three hours to make it down the green slope while people jeered at me from the ski lift. I once auditioned to be the weather girl at our small local tv station; they not only turned me away, they claimed I had a lisp. During a resistance band exercise class, I snapped myself in the face and fell to the floor. I’ve ripped out thirty attempts to crochet a sweater. But I keep trying.
We live in an abundant world with hundreds of opportunities to try new experiences, to learn new things.
Say, “yes.”
Sure, you may end up running into a tree, but you may also end up finding a new career or a hobby that you love.
Don’t worry about success or failure; instead, view each unique experience as an opportunity to add texture and color to the tapestry of your life.
Say “yes.”
