Doing a comedy set was terrifying. Here's why I did it.
For 10 years, I told anyone who would listen that I was going to do comedy someday.
I didn't know how.
I didn't know when.
I didn't know where.
All I knew was why.
I love to make people laugh.
But, I was terrified of it.
That happens sometimes when you run from something you care about a lot. The longer you run, the bigger the fear gets. Your desire to do the thing grows larger but the fear always outpaces it, mutating at a rate that's even faster than your hope.
The more I talked about doing it, the scarier it seemed. The more I avoided actually doing it, the more difficult it seemed. The more I dreamed about doing it, the more complicated it seemed.
Finally, I decided to try. Ten years felt like long enough to wait.
It was not easy. I spent months and months working on the material. I did dry runs with live audiences and stood there awkwardly as jokes that worked in my head bombed on stage.
Finally, the night of the show arrived and I waited in the green room.
I speak at 50 different events every year and always feel a little bit of nervous excitement, but that night was different. Ten minutes before I went on, a fresh wave of panic washed over me and I honestly thought to myself, "I could get out this back door and run away before anyone noticed." I had a vision of myself sprinting down 8th avenue in Nashville, running from the thing I'd run from so many times.
Instead, when they called my name, I walked through that door and up onto the smallest stage I've ever been on.
The set wasn't perfect. There are things I'd change if I had the opportunity to do it again. Some parts were messier than I would have liked, but I didn't care.
I did it.
I checked that item off a ten-year someday list.
And I learned something.
I wish I had done it sooner.
That feeling is not uniquely mine. Almost everyone I've ever helped with goals had that same feeling. When you finally do something you are afraid of you always wish you had done it sooner.
Today is a good day to discover that for yourself.
It's January 1st.
It's a great season to try something you've been running from.
Maybe you want to write a book.
Maybe you want to run a half marathon.
Maybe you want to finally declutter your life.
Maybe you want to lose ten pounds.
I don't know what you're running from, it could be one of a million things, but I do know something.
It's been long enough.
If you're ready, and I think you are, I dare you to give the Finish Course a try. Sometimes when we don't know where to begin, the thing we need the most is a plan.
I created one based on my #1 Wall Street Journal Bestseller "Finish" that has helped tens of thousands of people just like you. The course is 30 super helpful, encouraging and most importantly, practical videos that will teach you how to finish the things you care about so much. It includes a custom checklist and a huge workbook with a ton of activities to help you make real progress on your goal. (And this week it's for sale at the lowest price we'll do all year.)
Telling people I was going to do comedy someday was fun, it honestly was. They'd pat me on the back and cheer me on, not knowing that I hadn't actually done anything.
I said, "Someday" so often that I forgot something simple, I have the power to turn someday into today. You do, too.
Fear might be getting real loud right now, so let me repeat that.
You have the power to turn someday into today.
It's true, even if you don't believe it just yet.
YOU HAVE THE POWER TO TURN SOMEDAY INTO TODAY
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Talking about my dream was fun, actually finishing it though? That was a whole lot better.
Quit running. Start doing. Let me show you how. Sign up for the Finish Course today.
Jon
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