This past week, I had 3 rehearsals, 2 sketch shows, and 1 improv show. 2 of those shows were in one night (a 9pm sketch show at Second City and then a Midnight show again at Second City). The week before that, I had 1 rehearsal, 2 sketch shows, and 3 improv shows, one of which was in Cleveland, OH for the Big Little Comedy Festival. On my calendar, I’ve got my next two months booked out with shows, festivals, and rehearsals. All of this while maintaining a 9-5 job Monday-Friday. Who cares, right? Why am I saying this? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not bragging nor am I complaining. I’m just providing a jumping off point for the purpose of this post. The point being: No matter who you are, no matter where you, and no matter what you’re doing in life, you can never stop working. In other words, don’t stop hustling. Too many times people achieve something and they think, “That’s it. I got what I wanted. I’m done here.” They’re not right and they’re not wrong. They did, in fact, accomplish what they set out to accomplish and God bless them. However, why did their journey end there? It shouldn’t have, but it did for some reason. That’s because they got comfortable. They’re satisfied. The pursuit stops because they got what they wanted and they didn’t have any plans for what happens next. If you ask me, these are the one-hit wonders. These are the people you hear about for a short period of time and then they disappear while others sit around saying, “You remember that guy/girl? What happened to them? Let’s get shots. ”
Have time for a quick story? Okay cool. In high school, my senior year, I was ranked #1 in the state in wrestling. The state of Illinois is no joke when it comes to wrestling as it is one of the toughest states in the country. With that in mind, I not only got comfortable, but I got cocky. “I’m #1. No one can beat me” I thought. I’m sure you can imagine where this is going. I was wrong. Very wrong. And it cost me. I didn’t work as hard as I did to get to that point because I was comfortable. I had more losses that season that I had in any other year. My combined high school wrestling record was 117-11 and 5 of those losses occurred that season. The second I thought I was untouchable, somebody came along and literally threw me right off my pedestal. That was a life lesson that I learned the hard way. I wish I could go back in time Terminator-style and kick my own ass, but the lesson I learned from that experience will stay with me forever. Mainly, confidence vs cockiness and the necessity to keep working no matter what.
Just because you land a role or get put on a team, it doesn’t mean you’re finished. In fact, it means you’re just getting started. You can never stop WANTING. You must always be looking forward. Sure, embrace the moment and appreciate the success you’ve attained, but don’t’ LIVE in it. Don’t get comfortable. I remember reading a book once about Michael Jordan and his work ethic. I remember it saying something along the lines that the day after the Bulls won the NBA championship, he was back in the gym. I’m sure at the time other members on the team thought he was crazy. Looking back, the results speak for themselves. He was one of the greatest basketball players/athletes of all time, and that’s because he never stopped working. He was always looking forward. That pretty much applies to every successful person you know. There are people that we look up to and they stay on top because they are always working. I’m not saying don’t’ be happy after you’ve accomplished something. That’s not at all the case. Just don’t live in it. You got what you wanted, smile about it for a little bit, and then think about what you want next. That’s what makes the difference between being a one-hit wonder and being a multi-Grammy winner. You get the metaphor. You get the point.
In the future, 20 years from now, maybe when you’re retired from doing whatever you’ve been doing, you can stop to look back at all you’ve accomplished and you’ll know it’s because you never stopped working. Then you can live in it. Until then, never let up and never get comfortable. You can look back and know you were always the first one in and the last one out. When you accomplished one of your goals, you still had 3 more to check off the list. It’s all about WHAT’S NEXT? That’s what keeps life exciting. That’s what keeps it a pursuit. An adventure. That’s how you stay motivated, competitive, and how, if you’re at the top of the heap, you STAY on the top of the heap. You never know what’s going to happen when you’re constantly looking forward and shooting for the stars.
If there’s anything to take away from this post, it’s the importance of consistently asking yourself, “WHAT’S NEXT?” You can be happy with what you’ve accomplished, but you need to always be looking forward in order to keep the machine running. Otherwise, you’re just that guy or girl people are talking about at the bar saying, “Where are they now?”
