3 Takeaways From Stand-Up Comedians
Every field of work has an ocean of value to reveal to us. I’ve always felt strongly about this idea, and this is primarily why we strive to have people from various lines and careers on the podcast.
One of my favorite fields — and I suspect it’s widely loved by all — happens to be stand-up. Despite its humorous front, stand-up comedy always comes from a place of observation and deep reflection, often with sharp commentary. In a line so heavily based on breaking the norms and stepping outside the box, my conversation with Papa CJ brought up some great points about what we can all learn from stand-up.
1. Express, don’t repress yourself
In a culture where teachers have always told us ‘this is the answer, learn it by heart’, comedians take up the space to think for themselves. Papa CJ talks about how stand-up is an outward expression of an inward journey, which rings very true. If you’re up on the stage, talking about what you genuinely feel, you’ll automatically draw in an audience that believes in what you’re saying. Filtering out those who don’t understand you is a bonus, but the biggest motivator is knowing that you have chosen to take a stand and stick by it.
2. Grow in the dark
Another brilliant idea Papa CJ mentions is the concept of ‘growing in the dark’. What does this mean? When you’re yet to find your stage and waiting for your moment, do your best to experiment and play around. The minute you step into the limelight, the fear of trying something new and failing weakens your resolve to creativity. You might find yourself shrinking back and playing safe. The originality of thought and expression are great but knowing that you might not get a second chance if you screw up in front of a vast audience means you need to grow in the dark — experiment, experiment, experiment.
3. Evolve beyond boxes
One of the things Papa CJ does warn against is falling prey to the old mentality of pandering to your audience. If you get caught up in only toeing the lines that others expect you to, you could be a slave to external validation. That’s the point at which even the most creative field will start to feel like a boring desk job because you’re doing what someone else wants at the end of the day. If you have the potential to grow beyond that, why hold yourself down in these boxes? Evolution is a thing of beauty, and it all comes from an open mind.
Many of these are ideas we encounter briefly in our daily lives but sitting down to dwell on them was an eye-opening experience. Papa CJ came through with many other brilliant takes, all of which you can find on our podcast here.
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