I am inspired by children today. So many fear for their future while I am ready to give them the world now.

When I travel, I am surrounded by those fearing getting lost. Meanwhile I have endless unforgettable experiences and memories of minutia most tourists never see.

In an improv scene, too many, often so called experts in YES AND…, treat unexpected as scary and bad. Their goto reaction is defensive. They protect their ego with judgment. The result is predictable and unremarkable.

I challenge all to flip the script.

Sadly… Fight or flight is normal. The judgment is normal. The fear of the unknown is normal. The wall is normal.

But what if you approached every new experience like a five year old on Christmas morning. You don’t know what is in each box or gift bag (the presents from us lazy uncles lol). But every tear of wrapping paper potentially unveils a new toy, or star wars socks, or a piece of chocolate.

At some point we grow up…. 😔

We claim we grow up. We get to middle school. Every changes. We start having new things, external and internal. We have hair in New places. We have new urges. New hunters.

We also experience new rejections. We finally get brave enough to say “I LIKE YOU” and folks laugh. Or we read in class, message up, and folks laugh.

We start to realize the adults are not as perfect as we thought. We start to be cynical about our world. We learn the “truth” about the tooth fairy, Santa, and the Easter Bunny. (Forgive my Irish Catholic upbringing. Insert childhood lies they tell you 😆).

We stop dreaming…

Again, sadly, far too many “grow up”. The parents and adults have been yelling GROW UP for years. Every time we laughed, or cried, or expressed anger, GROW UP. Right before reading PETER PAN, the sanitized version that celebrates the boy that NEVER grew up.

What if the true a secret to joy, happiness and unlocking you deepest creativity and intelligence is reverting back to your 5yo self?

What if we could go back to bouncing off walls, and just keep going?

What we could fall down on the floor, and just get right back up, and keep on living?

What if, instead of having that THIS IS SCARY / THIS IS HARD reaction, that first impulse breath reverting to fight or flight, to mundane and minutia, and we said I’VE GOT THIS or I CAN FIGURE THIS OUT?

Don’t Panic!!!

The more I teach improv to kids and adults, the more I hear my Uncle Vinny’s words DON’T PANIC.

This was a running gag. My uncle would joke with the kids. He joked with his own, the nieces, the nephews, and eventually his grandkids.

When I teach a game as simple as ZIP ZAP ZUP I get a few gasps of THIS IS HARD. It’s not. And moments later every one understands, it’s easy. We laugh. Perhaps we laugh because of how silly we were fearing impending doom.

What if we skipped to I CAN DO THIS OR FIGURE IT OUT from the get go. Imagine the years of therapy and $$$ saved from such a simple concept.

Instead, I see the negative gut reaction. It’s not always obvious fear. Often the fear and insecurity is shielded with ego and arrogance. The calm cool collected exterior is covering your judgmental thoughts (or so you think).

Those of us trained to listen with our eyes see past the walls. It’s easier to reach the obviously shy and scared. The arrogant and egotistical have build walls so high and thick, they don’t listen. They think they know everything. It takes them longer to get to YES AND… Sadly some never get there.

Here’s the thing. That wall may protect you. And you find success. You can survive an entire life that way. But you are always at arms length. You will always fall short of you greatest potential.

Instead. When we let the walls down, the risk of pain is greater. But so is the reward of becoming your best self, and discovering the best the world has to offer.

Lastly, understand we all are the products of nature AND nurture. The older we get the harder it is to pivot. Every choice either opens doors or leaves our options limited. But it is never to late to make different choices.

YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR STORY

My #1 Rule is HAVE FUN but NEVER at another’s expense!

1. If I am not having fun, I need to change something. I love my job 90% of the time. The older I get, the smarter I get about saying “no thanks” to folks. Looking for slave labor? You don’t appreciate artists? Their money is no good here.
2. I get to hire folks I can stand being in a car with driving hours to and from gigs. I choose my family every day. Not always blood. I surround my self with awesomeness.
3. When I do things that help others have fun I get rewarded in the most unexpected ways.
4. Live a life of service, not servitude. Having an impact (service) is more rewarding get than any dollar or thing. But I never become a doormat for the ungrateful (servitude).
5. You get what you give. Not everyone gives back, but when you lead with a smile, most folks smile back. When you lead with the golden rule, many return the favor.
6. Give everyone a short pier. If they choose to go for long walks without you, let them. You can’t save everyone.
7. Don’t shut the door because someone failed you. The longer you let them live rent-free in your head, the longer it will be before a far better tenant can move in!

YOU have more choices than you realize, so approach every situation like a five year old. Listen with wide eyes. You armed with wisdom of age. Remove ego and insecurity from the equation. Tear down those walls. Live YOUR life one choice at a time. And always remember to…

HAVE FUN!