How I learned everything from Improv

People either enjoy improv or it makes them nervous.

Those who enjoy it love the thrill of watching performers work without a net and the excitement of magic happening right before their eyes. Those who do not enjoy improv usually feel that way because, in my humble opinion, they most likely have never experienced really good improv; because really good improv is spontaneous, captivating, amazing, and usually hilarious. There came a moment in my long career as an improviser when it occurred to me that this is what life is supposed to be like also.

Truth be told, I had that thought early in my career, however I did not have a clue as to how to take the rules of improv and apply them to my ‘real’ life. What I was willing to do on stage, I was not willing to do on the stage of life.  So I slogged through my life, refusing to be in the moment, resisting life as it was unfolding and making the same mistakes over and over again.

Oddly enough, it was only after I had stopped performing and began using my improvising skills to help others that I realized the real gift that improvisation had given me – it taught me how to live. Life at its best is spontaneous, captivating, amazing, and hilarious. It is filled with endless possibilities; our first job is to learn to see them.

Endless Possibilities: How I learned everything from Improv is the new theme of this blog. I’ll be sharing with you insights and lessons from my many years loving, performing, and teaching improvisation. You’ll discover how, with a little more awareness, you can learn to trust your instincts, listen with your whole body, open to your creative self, build on the ideas of others, and have more fun. And of course, I’ll be sharing how all this has business applications as well.

So enjoy!  And email me your thoughts.