Toby Martini

As you go through your day, any time you experience something “bad,” ask yourself how much of that negative experience comes from your attitude and how much from the situation itself.

In many cases, the attitude shapes the experience. Take control of your attitude and your reactions to experiences.

Don’t let the circumstance dictate your mood or your actions.

You get to be in charge of your own body, thoughts and emotions.

Here’s an example: Have you ever been excited, happy, and going through your day with joy, and all of a sudden, someone says just “The Wrong Thing” and now you’re mad?

The person said whatever they said, and it may have been mean, or spiteful, or whatever it was that irked you. But, if you let that change your mood and attitude about life, you’ve given that person a lot of power over you.

This is what started it all, people!

When I was 6, I got this book, The King Who Rained, and I LOVED it! Ever since then, I’ve spent a LOT of time listening for, when people talk, how can I “take it wrong”? What else could a word mean in that sentence?

It’s also a piece of homework that I give to everyone that comes through any of my programs. Look for homonyms, words that sound like other words, and also the same word that may have another meaning.

Mary was anxious to get married. But, John was anxious about getting married.

This a great place to start mining for Improv goodness. AND, for comedy in general.

It’s not just for being able to throw out a one-liner or, heaven forbid, a bad pun. But, it’s a chance for you to give your brain some exercise; to think in a way that you normally do not. And, research has shown that doing mental gymnastics helps people stave off dementia and Alzheimer’s. So, keep that in mind.

Do this exercise! Watch for way’s to “take something wrong” and make yourself giggle. Once you become facile with it, maybe you can start saying them out loud to people. (And they’ll think you’re funny.)

Perhaps when someone says that they “have reservations about your project,” you can ask if that will be a “table for one”?

That might not be the best joke ever, but in the spur of the moment, you would make people near you chuckle, lighten the, mood, and give yourself a moment to think about how you will now decide to deal with the naysayer, too.

Have fun… always!

Bonus Trivia:
This book was written by Herman Munster from The Munsters!

CONFESSION:

I haven’t watched the news for the past ten years. I don’t read the newspaper either because I don’t want or need to know about all the bad stuff happening around the globe. My life is about creating good stuff.

Do I miss big things? Never. Somehow I stay current to the major happenings in the world. If something grabs me, I can always jump on the net and delve into it.

I do quite fine without the daily reports of the murders, robberies, and accidents that have happened in my town, my country and around the world. I don’t want to know the details and horrors of all that.

It’s not that I am naive and gleefully walking through life ignoring that bad things happen, BUT… the world is filled with both good and bad. And while it is important to be informed about something that might be a danger or have impact on me and mine, I don’t need to be constantly wallowing in the world’s misery.

I want to see the beauty, surround myself with joy, and laugh and enjoy my family, friends, and life!

I know that my life is more joyful, and happier since I quit being deluged with the constant stream of bad news. Who wouldn’t want that?

Eliminate the news media from your life
for the next 30 days and see what I mean.

I look back over my last 10 posts and notice something interesting… I love exclamations! Six posts have !!, two have ??, and that leaves two that are just titles.

That’s probably a fair ratio for how I write in emails and how I talk, too.

What could that mean?

I’m pretty sure it just means that I’m enthusaistic and energetic.

How about you? You should check on your communications. Are you enthusaistic when you talk to people about your business, your family, your life?

It’s a big part of Improv. Scenes and shows are better when they’re high energy. Of course, they can’t ALL be high energy, but we sure do have a high percentage that lean that way.

And why is that? Because high energy equals fun. You never see a depressed person walking full-tilt. And besides Steven Wright, you don’t see morose comedians.

My recommendation for you: Walk faster this week and use more exclamations in your speech and your writing.

HAVE FUN!
(It’s way more fun than not having fun!)

I love this speech!
To be completely honest, at first I was a bit annoyed by his voice and his repetition.

But then, a couple of days after first watching it, I heard his voice in my head.
And then again.
And again.

And now, I think it’s genius!

This is the whole speech with intro and all.
I think the very juiciest bit starts at 16:59 right up till the end. It’s 3 or so minutes of excelsior motivation!

If you don’t have time for the whole thing, please jump to that point and be prepared to hear him talking to you for the coming weeks!

Validation is a great little movie.

Think about how the world would be if more people came at life with this man’s attitude and generosity. Just the first couple of minutes makes the point.

It’s a great little film and has inspired me to be even more present to people’s greatness, wherever, whenever, and whatever the circumstance!

The Improv rules here?
Be Present. Be Positive!
(And Commit massively.)

Are you getting enough Play in your life?

Play is the juice of life. Without play, life would be a dreary drudge.

Comedy, fiction, games, movies, friends, music, love all add the zest, zing, and joy into our days.

And yet, somehow we get all caught up in making money, and buying things, and keeping our jobs. Work becomes a chore and it really doesn’t have to be.

We spend so much time in working and learning new ways to be efficient and productive, that we neglect to add joy and fun into our day.

Now, with that ugly picture painted… what are You going to do about it?

Write down your five favorite fun, exciting, energizing things that you love to do.

Now go and make sure you work those things in this week, all five. (And if you really like it and want to, do some of them twice!)

What would your life look like if you got to do your Top 5 fun things every week?
Really, every week!

I read an article today called “Am I addicted to fear?” by David Neagle
http://www.davidneagle.com/neaglecode33

Here’s the important excerpt:

Many people have a common misunderstanding that once they hit a certain point in their business; everything suddenly becomes a bed of roses.

The truth is that every time you change, adapt and grow, you experience fear. It’s a natural part of the process. Remember, your ego sees growth and change as a threat, and therefore creates the illusion of fear to keep you exactly where you are.

As an entrepreneur, you MUST get comfortable being uncomfortable.

So the MOST important thing to remember as you’re going through the terror barrier each time, is that whatever you focus on will grow.

If you give energy to the fear by trying to fight it or figure it out, you will manifest reasons to feel fearful. If you focus on the success, you will manifest opportunities to be successful.

See that line in the middle? That’s my thing! I teach people how to be Comfortable Being Uncomfortable.

AND, I was listening to a webinar with Carol Roth (business advisor and author) and Pam Slim (business coach and author) yesterday. Guess what Carol said at least twice? “You just have to get comfortable being uncomfortable.”

So, what does it all mean??
It means that I am not alone in thinking that this is an insanely valuable skill!

Do you realize how powerful it would be if you could train your brain to keep moving forward in situations where fear would normally stop you?

Wouldn’t it be cool if you could learn that and have an amazing, laugh-filled time doing it??

I know a way…

Watched Kat Koppett at TEDxAlbany today.

It was very weird because she used so many of my own words, put together in the same ways. I swear she stole my notes. (Not really!) More like, great minds think alike.

Either way, you can watch this video to get an idea of this whole Improv for Business thing. My spin is slightly different in that I’m funnier and I lean more into how You can use these skills in your life every day.

Kat Koppett at TEDxAlbany

You do improvise everyday. Get better at it!

What would our world look like if more people started projects, made a ruckus, and took risks? — Seth Godin

While it doesn’t exaclty say so, Seth Godin’s new book Poke the Box is pretty much about Improvisation.

Go get Poke the Box and enjoy the read. But more importantly, be more inventive, more innovative, take more risks!

All the good stuff in life happens when people try new things and reach farther than they thought they could.

Have fun! Make stuff up! Poke the Box!