8 Life Lessons I’ve Learnt By Being An Amateur Stand-Up Comedian [Funny]

From colleges to cafes, weddings to bars, stand-up comedians are everywhere, to make you laugh inevitably. It has become a strong business. Every time I go to a bar or a café, there is an open mic. I am living in a ‘Stand Up Comedy’ Era. I am a wannabe stand-up comedian. I tried my hands on it, fumbled, laughed upon, hesitated, spoke up again, punched the joke, improvised and this is what I learnt.

Fear is Necessary.

The most interesting life lesson is that fear is required to propel our amateur attribute and transform that into a confident element. Stage Fear is obvious for any newcomer like me. The positive fearfulness will indeed take your guts to tackle the unsolvable problem. Keep your fear intact, save it and use it when required.

Equilibrium is Required.

I try to keep the balance of spitting out my script and communicating with the audience. My job is to merge both. It’s similar to our ‘Work-Life’ balance. Maintain the equilibrium and you are through.

Frustration Grows.

When they don’t laugh at my joke, it’s worst. I become anxious and the further performance comes under huge pressure. The frustration is constantly building inside me until the next joke makes a laughable impact on the audience. Isn’t it same with life? I hold my exasperation, I defeat it.

A proper recipe.

I don’t go on the stage and speak out anything. I make a script with the necessary punch lines accompanied with the right timing. A proper mixture of all the sufficient ingredients of life makes it worth living.

Improvisation matters.

The performer ought to know this. I should improvise. I didn’t know it at first. Spontaneity is undeniably the creative side of a standup comedian. If the script doesn’t work, what remains is your skill ‘without preparation’. In life, we aren’t always prepared for any unseen and unknown obstacles that hit us.

Make The Mood.

I warm up the crowd by asking them silly questions. I hear their answers, cook something and serve the spontaneous dish. It wouldn’t taste delicious but it would suffice. I try to make the room temperature breathable. It’s imperative in any part of our lives to be moody if we are embarking on a particular thing or it will go mood less and mindless.

Just for Fun

They laugh more on what they relate to their lives. If I become more intellectual, they forget to laugh. They paid for jokes, not for a training session. Similarly, when I do something in my personal and professional life, it doesn’t need to necessarily relate to anything. It is just for fun. No reason, no logic.

Satisfaction.

Standup comedy is one of the thriving eras of our time. The talented people are doing great. I, as a performer, feel contended. I am bored of my same job, but can’t leave it; I am expecting the environment around me as I wish, but it’s unachievable; I want the wicked daily soap to be banished, but I can’t do anything about it; I want to laugh out loud till the last breath of my life, is there anything I should do about it? I don’t know; I am a layman, I just don’t want to be fluctuating; I want to be steadfast about it. It all comes to this factor. Satisfaction.

Why Office Culture Plays A Crucial Role?

Whether it is about the brand image and impression over your investors or about employees’ retention, the office culture of any business plays a crucial role in determining various factors. It is also true that the office culture also related itself with the productivity of the employees which is another reason why investments on building an office that is more than just a cubicle have become important these days.

A lot of start-ups have become a major attraction to the youth because of their unavoidable nice office culture along with perks like booze and food on fixed days. While this may not appeal to the older generation, the younger generation would look up to it for sure.

1. Employee retention: Apart from being one of the giants another added advantage that makes employees swoon over google and Facebook to work is their quirky office culture. The 9-5 job can be tiring and turns out to be mundane after a period of time. Setting up a work culture that not just asks you to work but sees that you are having fun in work as well.

2. Attracts social media: With numerous publication houses mushrooming over the internet being in the news gives you an exposure to the larger audience. A cool work culture generates a buzz in this publication and without a doubt, they end up generating curiosity between young pools of talents.

Some of the companies keep “fun Fridays” or “beer days” or establishes board games in the areas to make the employees feel encouraged and light.

3. Attracts youth: While such office culture may not impress mid aged people but a lot of youngsters are looking at such culture that sets the trend of work that is fun as well. The company requires experienced employees at the same time they also require fresh and raw talents that young population possesses.

4. Positive word mouth: This goes without a saying that a happy employee would talk good about the organization even after leaving it. A lot of us rely on reviews when it comes to choosing a company or rather anything. A good office culture which takes care of the employees and attempts to keep up the fun never fails to generate a negative word of mouth.

5. Interactions: On numerous occasions, employees don’t even know who is working in the other department. On the contrary, a friendly work culture gives them much needed opportunities to interact and learn more. This also turns out to be beneficial in the long run for the organization itself. The more the interaction takes place the lighter the environment becomes giving the employee space to breathe and work better.

Investing into a creation of a unique office culture might require a clear thought without a doubt but with the dimensions of work changing in these times, it is ideal to pick up and reshape the work culture accordingly. A tinge of creativity is certainly what all the office culture must start looking up.

This article was originally published at https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/284168

Quarantine: Amazing time for you to do something that you’ve always wanted to do

Such is the hustle and bustle of life, that we are often left with no time to express our passion. Apart from the work that we do in the office, a considerable amount of time is wasted in traveling to and from work. As millennials, we have been a part of this culture for far too long to even realize the harm that it is doing to us.

Perhaps for the first time in our lives, we are free from pressure. The pressure of excelling in extra-curricular activities while ensuring that our academics are not hampered. The pressure of doing well in competitive exams to land the best college seats. The rat race of landing oneself a dream job and excelling in it.

Today, in the midst of quarantine, we find ourselves with a lot of time to retrospect on our lives. This also leaves us with ample time to work on something that we have always wanted. Here is how you can productively use this time.

Art & Craft

As a generation, we are people who like to show off our skills in social media. While the older generation may look down upon it as something narcissistic, I feel that competition brings out the best in an individual. So, make the most of this free time to indulge in artistic activities.

Now, there are two sets of people. The first are those who are good painters, sketchers, and artists. For them, this is a golden opportunity to create something beautiful and show them off to the world. The second lot is those who haven’t given much of a thought to art in the past but want to explore their creative side during these quarantine days.

Videos like this will give you a headstart into this field and, who knows? By the time you come out of the quarantine, you may well have found your true calling.

Reading

This may sound like something from ‘Baba Adam ka Zamana’, the fact is that this hobby has evolved with the times (only we haven’t paid much heed to it). During this quarantine, Amazon is giving several of its bestsellers for free on Kindle. The best part? You do not even have to own a Kindle for this! Download the Kindle app from PlayStore or AppStore and login with your Amazon credentials.

https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/best-free-books-for-kindle/

What are you waiting for? Log on and usher in a good habit.

Meditate

Another primitive skill that is of particular importance to people of this generation. In the hustle and bustle of life, we get so wrapped up in the heart of things that our body and mind often give up. This is the reason for the alarming rise in the cases of anxiety and depression among millennials.

One of the best ways to prepare our body for the stressful post-quarantine days would be by learning the art of meditation.

These virtually guided meditation sessions will help you make it a regular habit. Not only will this calm your mind, but it will also lead you to a more productive version of yourself.

Take up a new hobby

I am sure there is some hobby that you would have secretly dreamt of pursuing. For some, this may be calligraphy whereas for others it may be knitting. If you feel that you are locked up alone in your room with no one to support you in these ventures, think again!

If you want to treat your taste-buds while in quarantine, there is no better way than taking to cooking or baking. With home delivery of essential commodities in most Indian towns and cities, procuring the raw materials will be an easy task. Post that, YouTube is a good teacher. You know that right?

Professional upskilling

Unlike the past generations, we do not get anything easy. From competing to get a job, we are on a constant journey of outdoing our peers and getting promotions. In such a scenario, the quarantine may be the best time to master all those professional skills that you always wanted to but fell short of time. Multiple platforms like Coursera, Udemy, and Upgrad offer professional certifications that can be taken from the comfort of your homes.

Thus, as you see, the quarantine is more than just a few days of sitting back and relaxing. If utilized properly, this will help you rediscover yourself and break free from the monotonicity of everyday life. For as they say, sometimes you need to disconnect from the world to reconnect with yourself.

Here’s wishing you the very best in this journey and a happy and fruitful quarantine.