A virtual watering hole for entrepreneurs, vagabonds & other restless souls

I struggled with the lock.

Wiggle. Wiggle.

A little to the left, a little to the right. And… Bingo!

I wrapped my left hand around the door knob, as I gently pushed the door open with my right hand. I walked into the empty room. It was f*cking freezing! I couldn’t believe they left the fan on again. I vigorously rubbed my shoulders before pulling down on the stubborn overhead chord.

I purposefully walked to the right, before stopping in front of “that thing.” I methodically moved my hands in a measured, folding-like manner for several seconds, before abruptly stopping to yell “I DON’T KNOW WHAT I’M DOING!”

Laughter ensued. From myself. From the audience. And undoubtedly from the improv gods looking down on me.

It was just another Monday night in Improv 202. But on this particular night, the focus was space work (aka pretending your interacting with real objects in your imaginary environment). And the newness and “made-up” complexity of it was making me feel like a TOTAL beginner all over again!

If you’re a recovering perfectionist like me, you know how ridiculously frustrating learning anything new can be. On the one hand, we like to learn. No, I take that back. We LIVE to learn! Experiencing new things is highly addictive and 100 percent necessary to our long-term sense of satisfaction & well being.

To witness the intricacies of Madagascan glass bean farming. To feel the delicious textures & comprehend the subtle complexities of colorful, hand-woven saris. To smell the bitter burn of Spanish olives being cured into oil.

But… on the logical, slave-driving hand, we HATE to learn. Because it makes us feel inadequate, if only temporarily. This is part of why I began taking lessons in improvisational comedy last fall – to become more comfortable with taking risks (and failing).

The other reason? I have a terrible affinity for acting like a complete lunatic for no good reason at all… AND I’ve always been a bit of a performer at heart =)
 

FACT: Some of Hollywood’s Most Hilarious got their start doing improv comedy:

 
Amy Poehler
Tina Fey
Steve Carrell
Seth Rogen
Will Ferrell
Bill Murray
Eddie Murphy

I’ve had so much fun taking these classes, and have found SO many of the lessons learned to be applicable to life (and business), that I decided to do something special. This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Shana Merlin, my improv mentor and the owner of Merlin Works, for Free Your Being TV!

Shana shared a lot of gems, including the time she got smacked in the head with a beer can during her worst performance ever. We also talked about why improv is such an extraordinary tool for anyone who is interested in living an extraordinary life. And we covered the 4 rules of being the type of person people want to play with (or do business with). Hint: It’s EPIC.
 

Check-out the interview in the video below:

Merlin Works will begin another round of classes March 17th. To find out more CLICK HERE.

Thanks for watching!

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