Comedy as a Metaphor for “Life’s a Journey Not a Destination” (and why I want to F&$! Oprah)

This week’s radio show topic was “Life’s a Journey, Not a Destination” and we had several callers and guests on which made for an interesting show.

We started by talking about college and going in as a freshman with certain expectations and goals but not getting the results we expected which is probably more typical for a college student than not. For my co-host and fellow comedian John Wellington, it was switching majors a few times but for me it was getting kicked out of Bowling Green State University when I finished the first semester with a stellar 1.0 GPA while majoring in naps and Nintendo (yes, the original Nintendo…you can have your life like video games youngins, Tecmo Bowl is THE GAME).

Jeff Weber, who runs an investing website at jjjinvesting dot com along with many other interests and talents like being an expert at weird medical conditions called in to share his experience of going to Hong Kong and finding his wife where he least expected to and of course I congratulated him on finding an Asian bride.

I brought up a great quote that I thought was so relevant to our topic from Reba McEntire when she was on Oprah’s Master Class which was:

"I don’t think there's ever been a point in my career where I've said, 'I've made it.' What does that mean, 'I've made it?' Made it to what? If you say, 'I've made it.' then are you finished? I don't want to be finished. I don't want to quit."

I feel very much the same and tied it to the ridiculous concept of retirement. I think retirement is for miserable people who can’t wait for life as they know it to be over. “I’ll start my life and do what I want when I’m 70”, that’s a bunch of bullshit if you ask me. Again, waiting and expecting some end game, goal or result that may never happen. Hell, you could be dead by the time retirement ever comes.

Then, that whole thing reminded me of how I find Oprah sexually attractive and how she is number one on that list my wife and I keep of celebrities we are allowed to have sex with if we ever have the opportunity. My first choice was “Asians” but my wife told me I had to pick an actual individual so Oprah it is (that’s why I’m jealous of Jeff and his Hong Kongean bride). That led into how if Oprah hears this show somehow she would send Dr. Phil to whack me and I warned Oprah that I would Crane kick Dr. Phil in his big walrus head so she better send Nate Berkus. A little off track and topic but that’s ok.

We finished the show with comedians Michael Ivey, @Jim Tews, John Wellington and I discussing how comedy is a good metaphor for “Life’s a Journey, Not a Destination”. It ended up being a metaphor on different levels when you consider the creative process and the business of comedy separately. Jim talked about the business side when he shared his experience of finally getting into the prestigious Montreal Just for Laughs festival last year after 5 or 6 previous auditions that weren’t successful. For those that don’t know, Montreal is a very big deal in terms of industry exposure and Jim admitted he may have built it up in his mind as a “final destination” of sorts or at least a major stepping stone to opportunities that he felt were the end game for him instead of just enjoying that festival as a “moment” and one of the many major mile markers of life’s journey. We also discussed how the creative process itself mirrors the topic in the sense that we can’t just love the polished finished product of a joke, bit or act, we must love the entire process from coming up with the premise, writing the first draft, rehearsing, trying it out and bombing, editing, trying it again and so on. If we didn’t love that whole journey, we couldn’t do what we do (or wouldn’t do it for long).

Think about your own situation, are you just working hard so that you can get to that next promotion, the next raise or the next level or are you enjoying the entire process, loving each moment?

Think of everything in your life as an “interesting experience”, don’t think in terms of “good” or “bad”, those are just labels we create to put on things anyhow and more importantly reflect and take the learnings that you need from each of those experiences and look forward to the next one.

I’ll leave you with a quote from Walter Hagen: “You're only here for a short visit. Don't hurry. Don't worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.”

I love you all,

Dave