I remember it like it was yesterday—May 6, 1989—I was about to prepare to perform stand-up comedy for the very first time. It has been a dream of mine since I was a young boy to stand onstage and make people laugh, and on this night, that dream would commence. Little did I know it would take me on a journey that I could have never imagined.
I would co-found an improvisational comedy show called Four Day Weekend that would become an unlikely hit, selling out shows all over the country, performing for two U.S. presidents, delivering a “Yes, And” keynote address to the U.S. Congress, performing a USO show for the troops overseas, writing a best-selling book, and even winning a lifetime achievement award for entrepreneurship. Yes, that made me feel old…but in a good way. It was in that moment that I knew it was time to pass on what I had learned.
All of this became possible because I believed in a dream, and I wouldn’t quit until I had given everything I could to make that dream a reality.
But on May 6, 1989, I was scared. I had no idea how I was going to walk on that stage and attempt to do comedy. My brother stood by me that night and encouraged me to overcome my fear and walk up there and give it my all.
“You’re going to do great,” he said, even though I knew deep in my heart that even he didn’t believe that. He said it because he knew how important this was to me and he knew that if I didn’t take the chance in that moment I never would.
35 years later my brother is gone. No longer is he the voice that encourages me that I can do anything I put my mind to. 35 years later, the theater that I founded in downtown Fort Worth closed its doors and relocated after management decided not to renew the lease. This seemed so incredibly prescient at this stage of my life. Although, I had left the show 4 years prior I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic that so many chapters are closing at this time in my life.
My daughter graduated from high school and is off to college in the fall. My sons are well into adulthood with relationships of their own and Adi and I are left with that hard to adapt to “empty nest syndrome.”
The last 35 years have been quite the ride. I began my comedy career, started a business and then a family, watched my kids grow up, and then watched as they began to have their own dreams that they wanted to pursue. I always tell them that you can achieve anything thing you want as long as you hold that passion in your heart. As long as you understand your ”why” you will always find a way to make things work out in your favor.
A chapter isn’t closing, an entire book is. Looking back, I feel so blessed to have had all the experiences that I’ve had. Mostly, I’m excited about what’s ahead. My goal is to find a way to take everything I’ve learned along the way and teach it to people so that they too can make their dreams a reality.
I believe the first step to achieving any dream is saying “yes” to that dream. Even when self-doubt arises, it’s critically important to have that belief in your “yes” and that “yes” must be more powerful than your negative self-talk. It’s important to note that on the path to achieving your dreams you will be met with obstacles.
At times, these obstacles will seem impossible to overcome, and this is where having a healthy sense of humor and playfulness will come in handy. The key is to find joy even in the obstacles because let’s face it, if it were easy, it wouldn’t be as fulfilling. There were so many times when people told us our comedy show would fail. There were so many times when we were told that we weren’t good enough and we needed to leave this dream to the people who were qualified.
I’m here to tell you, use that talk as fuel to be better, stronger, faster than the people who try to discourage you from pursuing your dreams. In reality, when people tell you that you can’t do something what they are really saying is they don’t believe they can do it—and they are right—they most likely couldn’t do it because they believe they couldn’t. As my father always used to tell, “Believe you can do something or believe you can’t, either way you are right.”
Don’t let them discourage you. Stay strong in the face of criticism and allow your passion to fuel your success.
I know you have dreams. I know you have things that you have always wanted to do, goals you wanted to achieve, and this message found you today to remind you of a very important fact—life is short. Time is going to pass anyway so take this moment and say “yes” to your dreams. Take the first step to becoming all you were meant to become. Your future self will thank you.
I write this today with you in mind. I have been where you are and I know that if you just have the courage to try that thing that seems impossible, to take that step that seems so overwhelming—I know that if you take that step magic awaits on the other side. You just have to take the first step.
Don’t look down. Jump!
P.S. I’m proud to announce I have just finished production on Stand Up! And Speak, a nine-module online course designed to teach the tenets of the improvisational technique, “Yes, And” to develop into a better public speaker. I’d love for you to click below to check it out.