Second chapters are often interesting and far different from our first chapter. The first time I walked onstage to perform standup comedy was May 6, 1989. I was terrified and incidentally, I was also terrible in my first outing. Regardless, I was hooked and continued to perform as many times as I could at the local open mic night. I would love to say success came quickly—it didn’t. It took a long time being very bad before I got “kinda” good. After working diligently and never giving up, I was asked to become the house MC at a local club and although I wasn’t crazy about the idea, I did it. Why? Unlimited stage time. I would get to go onstage every single night the club was open. I knew by getting the opportunity for more stage time I would improve and so, my hosting career began.
Then, that little thing called fate stepped in and I was approached by three close friends to join them in a comedy experiment called Four Day Weekend, a completely improvised comedy show inspired by audience suggestions. I wasn’t an improvisor, and I couldn’t really see how I would fit into this show equation, so my first instinct was to say “no.” Fortunately, I had really persistent friends.
“We don’t want you to improvise in the show. We want you to host it,” they said to me.
For the second time, I was asked to host a show and for the second time, I didn’t really want to (I hadn’t quite learned the concept of “Yes, And” yet). My insistent friends wouldn’t take “no” for an answer and our inaugural show commenced on February 28, 1997. Little did I know then, I would continue hosting Four Day Weekend for 23 years and the experience would forever change my life (for the better!). I worked with wonderful friends and met interesting people from all walks of life.
About six years into the show’s run, in 2003, my friend and show producer, Massoum Mirzaei, reached out to me and asked if I could host a corporate show for him in the Bahamas for a company called First Horizon Home Loans. His current host was double booked and couldn’t get out of the other show and Massoum was in a pinch.
“How would you like to go to the Bahamas?” Massoum asked.
Part Deux
After being asked to host a show for the third time I finally understood the answer to a possible opportunity is always “Yes!” This was my first foray into hosting corporate functions. I wasn’t entirely sure what was in store for me, but I was smart enough to know that hosting is hosting. I understood my job was to make the people onstage look good, keep things light, fun and moving along, and leave the audience with a memorable experience.
My first corporate gig in the Bahamas for First Horizon was a blast. I was pleasantly surprised by how much fun I had. On top of being in a great location, I was treated so well by everyone and incidentally, the point of contact and client for this show was a man named Tim Kirchner, who would become a friend for life (eventually Tim left home mortgages and became a professor at TCU’s Neeley School of business). To this day, we still stay in contact.
After this first show, several more corporate shows followed and what I discovered was, I really loved hosting corporate events. The people are always kind, I get to travel to amazing locations, and have some of the most memorable experiences anyone could ever wish for. Along the way, I have had the opportunity to work with people from government, sports, Hollywood, tech, and have been lucky enough to meet lifelong friends while experiencing things I never would have had I said “no” to hosting events.
When I stepped away from Four Day Weekend in 2021, I knew that I wanted to continue hosting corporate events. I wasn’t retiring, I was shifting my focus to a different area of my career. What a blessing it has been to continue to work hosting events with companies such as AT&T, Caliber Home Loans, Lockheed Martin, Trimble Transportation, and Wabash (to name a few). I still get to “scratch that itch” and get onstage to perform and travel the world doing it. I know how incredibly blessed I am.
I will always be thankful to my friend, Massoum, for opening this door for me. My life changed in ways I can little describe, and my worldview broadened as I never anticipated.
What does all this teach us? Say “Yes” to possibility. Even if you might not see exactly where an opportunity may lead you, the word “Yes” opens the doorway to untapped potential. By saying “Yes” to hosting my life changed for the better. I couldn’t see the big picture at the time, but that little inkling of faith was the catalyst for the second chapter of my career…and we all need a second chapter.
To learn more go to www.davidahearn.com.