Live a Life Worth Commenting On

Somebody once said, "Live a life worth commenting on." I'm sure he said it twice, or even more, because that's a pretty fantastic group of words, and they should be flaunted about at least a dozen times per decade.

This idea has stuck with me for quite sometime. You may be asking yourself, What exactly does it mean to live a life worth commenting on? Don't we all do that naturally? Who's to say my life isn't already worth commenting on?I've accomplished a lot and I've worked hard and I'm an adult and wah, wah, wah! Please, don't throw a fit. Perhaps you have lived a fascinating and adventurous life, thus far.

However, I believe this quote speaks to creative people: filmmakers, writers, comedians, storytellers, architects, painters, sculptors, etc… People who, in order to create interesting and original material, must step outside of their comfort zone. Take risks. Say yes to what you would normally say "I'm not really up for it." to. Enter a pie eating contest, switch religions, take a spontaneous trip to Guatemala and play soccer with some children after you help them build their new school (Warning: do not do all of those things together in that order).

Guatamalan soccer

A lot of creative people struggle to find their "voice" and their place in this world. I believe that if you're consciously searching for it, you'll never find it. You just have to do things.

I've been a stand-up comedian for 4-years now, and people often ask me, "How do you come up with your material?" I never know how to respond to this question. It's not a conscious decision, I don't rack my brain thinking about how to find the next joke, I just live my life and the funny presents itself. Life is funny. Life is full of art.

But in order to see the art, you have to keep moving. A reason Hemingway wrote great war novels was because he went to war (don't go to war).

I wouldn't recommend war but I would recommend, perhaps, a beard.

One reason Ansel Adams took great photos was because he visited beautiful Indian Reservations and National Parks and loved what he saw (do go to National Parks - they're lovely and totally not war).

The shot is nice. But it's really the beard.

Just a few months ago, I began interning at Odyssey Creative. To be honest, before I started I was a point in my life in which I had very little direction. I was working at a restaurant that I hated, I was going to school "just to go", and I was really struggling as a comedian.

When the opportunity was presented to me, I said yes. After only a few months working with Marc, Nicole, Emmy, Jim, and everyone else, I felt like a part of something. I began to see that, if I hadn't said yes to the internship, I wouldn't be as happy and comfortable with myself creatively as I am now. Just as easily as I said yes I could have turned it down.

It's important to do new things. To add change in your life. Basically, if life gives you lemons, quit making lemonade. That's so boring… Next time, maybe make lemon squares? Or if you wanna go crazy, lemon meringue pie… Even though I hate that pie, at least it's different.

Gross!

-Nick