Book 297 - A Year of Magical Learning

Reflection Title: Find More People That Love the Same Things You Do!

Book – A Very Punchable Face: A Memoir by Colin Jost

Book Description:

If there’s one trait that makes someone well suited to comedy, it’s being able to take a punch—metaphorically and, occasionally, physically.

You’ll also discover things about Jost that will surprise and confuse you, like how Jimmy Buffett saved his life, how Czech teenagers attacked him with potato salad, how an insect laid eggs inside his legs, and how he competed in a twenty-five-man match at WrestleMania (and almost won). You'll go behind the scenes at SNL and Weekend Update (where he's written some of the most memorable sketches and jokes of the past fifteen years). And you’ll experience the life of a touring stand-up comedian—from performing in rural college cafeterias at noon to opening for Dave Chappelle at Radio City Music Hall.

For every accomplishment (hosting the Emmys), there is a setback (hosting the Emmys). And for every absurd moment (watching paramedics give CPR to a raccoon), there is an honest, emotional one (recounting his mother’s experience on the scene of the Twin Towers’ collapse on 9/11). Told with a healthy dose of self-deprecation, A Very Punchable Face reveals the brilliant mind behind some of the dumbest sketches on television, and lays bare the heart and humor of a hardworking guy—with a face you can’t help but want to punch.

Reflection:

My wife, Felicia, and I have definitely found our groove lately of books we can consume together in the form of comedian / writers memoir’s. We’ve been on a roll recently with a string of homeruns featuring Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime, Seth Rogan’s Yearbook, Shonda Rhimes’ A Year of Yes, and now wrapping up Colin Jost’s A Very Punchable Face. We just started our next one called You Can’t Touch My Hair by the comedian Phoebe Robinson, and we are already enjoying the hell out of that one as well.

We’ve really hit our stride and it feels awesome to find a genre that we both equally enjoy every time we listen. We’ve tried nonfiction and Felicia gets bored. We’ve tried fiction and I get bored. We both like to laugh, learn a little, and we both like to effortlessly consume stories of people’s lives…Comedian Memoirs it is!

I personally love memoirs so much because of all the learning you can absorb from the author’s talking about their life and wisdom they’ve accrued over the years. It is the perfect way to just sit back and let someone tell their life story uninterrupted and how they would like it to be heard. There are very few chances in life where you can literally sit for hours without speaking as you let someone babble on about their life story. Personally speaking, memoirs are the only way that I’ve found that this is possible for me to achieve. I wish I could do it face to face, but I know I can’t go that long without speaking a word. However, when you shut up and listen, you often get the best lessons in life.

As I was listening to Colin’s journey to become the head writer at SNL (Saturday Night Life), he dropped a truth bomb on me that resonated very deeply. He said that he often gets asked the question, “What would be your best advice for someone that wants to become a professional comedy writer?” Colin’s answer was brilliant, he said “Find More People That Love Comedy as Much as You Do!”.

He is so right!

If you’ve been lucky enough to find your something that naturally brings out all of your values and makes your work meaningful, that is beautiful! Meaningful work will take you a long way, but it can’t take you all the way. Even work that is deeply meaningful will eventually mean nothing if you have no one else to share it with.

Remember, I don’t care who you are, NO HUMAN CAN DO IT ALONE!

You will get nowhere fast in this world if that is your plan.

Colin’s comment makes me think about where I’d be in my journey without Trieu and Emilia. Without Emilia guiding me on this journey and helping me every day, I know that I’d be still stuck at square one and sitting firmly in the rubble of the atomic blast that rocked my world. Without Trieu, this journey would have been far less fun or fulfilling. Those two love living a life of values just as much as I do. They never get tired of that life and their passion, energy, participation, and contribution keeps me going and makes this whole thing that much more valuable.

Through our combined work, the 3 of us continue to draw in more and more people to our mission that are just as passionate as we are about living a purpose driven life of values. Those new additions collectively add just a little more tinder into the fire pit and the flame grows higher, stronger, and more powerful.

When you combine meaningful work with meaningful relationships, the universe feels complete and in a state of harmony. When the universe is happy, then great things are sure to follow.

Question: Are you seeking out others that care about what you care about?

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Links:

What is The Year of Magical Learning? An Introduction

YOML Podcast Discussion - Coming Soon

YOML Bookstore - A Very Punchable Face: A Memoir by Colin Jost