Changing Your Environment Leads to New Open Doors.

I decided to look back on my career since leaving college. My career has largely been a road with numerous dips and sharp turns without a clear direction until I stumbled into comedy and entertainment. One might look at this as a negative but I prefer to look at things differently. You can see how my mindset and my life changed as I changed directions and left my comfort zone. My comfort zone was Florida. Now I'm in Las Vegas, NV.

I have nothing against Florida. We are a beautiful state and many people go there for tourism and hospitality or to retire after finding success. The rent is fairly cheap depending on where you are and we have plenty of college football teams and tourist traps like Miami and Disneyworld, but if you love paradise then you fall in love with a life of splurging and luxury instead of growing. After college, I still didn't know I had severe ADHD and also a drinking problem and horrific acne which I had suffered with for most of my life since no doctors wanted to prescribe me the Accutane for whatever reason. I lived with my parents for cheap rent and tried to get a job in media/communications and digital marketing but couldn't find anyone willing to give me a shot. Eventually I was stuck in sales where despite my best efforts I just didn't have a knack for it and I took some freelance jobs that were temporary in digital marketing but nothing really clicked so I decided to change. I took a job as a political canvasser and worked in Montana, Virginia, Ohio, Texas and Washington State for a variety of campaigns. I eventually got very good at talking to people at doors and was on numerous campaigns and really learned the ins and outs of campaigns, where the data comes from and why opinions on social media are largely meaningless if you aren't trying to make a connection with a voter.

Afterwards, I wanted to go into a position where I would essentially stay in one city and did a work from home political research job in Las Vegas, Nevada but largely found my interest was performing stand up comedy and creating my own material that would resonate with audiences after going to several open mics and then winning some guest spots at the LA Comedy Club. This opened more doors for me as I was able to translate my experiences, fears and issues into a set that would resonate well with audiences. I've been able to perform on booked shows in Los Angeles, Burbank, Van Nuys, and Phoenix, Arizona. It was cool to be on a show where comedians like Renee Percy, Whitney Cummings, and Jimmy Diore all made appearances. I also had an awesome opportunity to push my boundaries as a performer with the Down and Dirty Show on Fremont St hosted by Joe Caliz, an incredible comedian from Texas. The show is hosted by Tom Garland who also recently was featured in a documentary called Headstrong starring Rob Van Dam. At the show, I participated in several roast battles. Some I won and some I lost, but they were great experiences.

I would never have thought I could push myself like this if I hadn't made the jump and decided to try new things. Changing your environment and the people that you surround yourself with can truly make or break your life.