So you want to be a comedian

Whenever I watch a comedy show, I always find it particularly fascinating to think about what it must’ve taken for the comedian to be on that stage.

As light-hearted a profession as it may seem, it’s not exactly for the faint of heart. For every comedian you see on stage, there are hundreds if not thousands of aspiring performers who didn’t make it to that point.

And when you think about what a performer has to do to ascend in the profession, this may not be all that surprising:

You’ve got get up on stage in front of a bunch of strangers, share a set of jokes, and be on the receiving end of everything from deafening laughter, to total silence, to even boos from the crowd at times.

Afterwards, you take the feedback, tweak your set, and do it all over again.

And again, and again, and again.

Hundreds if not thousands of times.

There is something incredibly admirable about the fact that the top performers in this field don’t quit after the first punch, or the 100th, or even the 1000th.

They stick around and remain determined — perhaps even more determined with each punch — to hone their craft.

Now think for a moment: there are probably thousands of people with the potential to be amazing comics that the world will never know about because they quit too soon.

Whether it’s comedy or something else you’re trying to be exceptional at, you’re going to have to contend with the same Shakespearean-sounding dilemma:

To quit or not to quit.

To stick around and roll with the punches, or to seek out seemingly greener pastures.

The truth is one answer is not obviously better than the other, and really only you can make the determination of what is best for you.

But it’s also true to say that sometimes the only way to find out if you’re on the cusp of being great at something is to be willing to be the outlier — to stick with something for longer than most people are willing to.