Overcoming Procrastination: Read this now or you never will

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Writers Block? Overcome Procrastination Now

Overcoming procrastination is possible! I’m a total procrastinator, yet, I have published five books, written TED talks for myself, and others, and run my home-based business where I’ve developed an online speaker and comedy workshop. 

And further more, I got this blog done!

You’re probably thinking that, “That doesn’t sound like a procrastinator.” You want proof of what a nut job I am?

Here’s a video of a day in the life of a writer (me) struggling to write a new speech where I keep looking for ideas in the refrigerator which has the same stuff in it as it had in it when I looked 5 minutes ago. Squirrel!

Why Do People Procrastinate?

According to Oregon State University, there are Six Reason why people procrastinate. 

#1 "But I Don't Know How"

When I was teaching standup, so many comics didn’t do any advance work because if they didn’t get laughs, they could cop-out by saying, “I didn’t work on this.” Nobody likes to feel dumb. In my comedy and speaking webinars, the attendees who do their homework and put themselves out there, get better. Just ask past comedy student, Seth Rogen.

#2 "This Stuff Is Just Plain Boring"

I was complaining about all the boring database work I have to do to promote my new book "The Message of You Journal" to my buddy film director, Cathryn Michon. Meanwhile, Cathryn commiserated because although, she got to write, starred in and direct her movie "Muffin Top: A Love Story," rather than spending her time drinking Champagne from a crystal Tiffany flute, she spent her time re-linking audio files, color correcting, and searching for corrupt pixels. As she said, "People don’t realize that 90% of having a dream job is boring, grueling, grunge work.” Take our dreams... please!

#3 "I Don't Feel Like Doing It"

If you want until you’re motivated to do something, you’re going to die waiting for that burst of inspiration. Getting tasks done is like married sex: you make an appointment, start doing it even when you don’t feel like it, and then your both surprise yourself that things got rolling.

#4 "But What If I Can't Cut It?"

Fear of failure is another reason people procrastinate. I remember when I was teaching comedy, that there was a student whose cell phone went off right before it was his turn to go onstage. He would shout, “My wife has an emergency!” But, the third time, his wife gave birth within a month, we were on to him. In my online Comedy Workshop, generally, the people who show up are the ones who succeed.

#5 "You Can't Make Me"

Many times, my internal voice sounds like my mother saying, “Do your homework, NOW!” And my rebellious reaction, “NO!” We baby boomers were the protesting generation. I can just see us in Assisted Living being pushed to the bathroom going, “Hell no; we won’t go!” Oh look, you already went... in your pants. 

Here’s the thing, if you are a procrastinator, there are workarounds to overcoming procrastination:

ADMIT IT

As in all first steps, you have to admit that you are a procrastinator. If your first thought right now is, I’ll admit this "later” rather than, “Now,” you are a procrastinator. I remember listening to Jane Fonda interview in the '80s where she called herself “Lazy.” Mind you, at the time she was a movie star, teaching workout classes, raising a family, as well as putting out exercise DVD series. Once you admit it, then you can accept fixes.

GET APPS

Turn to a power greater than yourself – an APP! Yes, there is an app for that and here are some good time management tools. According to LifeHacker.com here are the Top 15 Time Management Apps and Tools 

HIRE A BOSS

So now, even though, you have a list of time management tools, if you are like me, you “Dismiss” those annoying reminders on your iPhone telling you to do something. So, hire a boss via TaskRabbit .I tried hiring a Virtual assistant and that was a disaster. So, when I was writing a book, I hired someone whose sole job it was to sit next to me on the couch and not allow me to get up and wake me up when I fell asleep. That book is "The Comedy Bible" and has sold more than 500,000 copies.

STOP WORKING

I know, this is a weird tip. Avoid procrastination by procrastinating. Yesterday, I was beating myself up because I couldn’t get anything done. So, I just got out of the house, walked my dogs on Venice Beach, had some frozen Yoghurt, went shopping, and had a lovely cocktail. And the next day, I got stuff done, as I wrote this blog.  Sometimes, you have to give yourself space to let your brain relax.  Beating yourself up is never a way to overcome procrastination.

The good news is that you’re not alone. There are millions of us avoiding stuff and many of us are successful. We all need help and that’s why I created the ultimate Stop Procrastination tool,  The Message of You Website where we can all empower each other and overcome procrastination.

Outlaw immigrants? Then No Baklava for Trump!

Stop hypocrisy by living by the laws you make

 

Our Congress refuses to pass laws on gun control as they voted down 4 bills today.

While everyone is talking about Orlando, I am thinking of another state, Ohio. In a few weeks, Republicans will flock there but although Ohio is an open carry state, no guns will be allowed at the convention. Right out of the gate, Donald Trump talked about the wall he would build if elected and in fact, he has already built one for himself.  His wall of high security at Trump Tower, his bodyguards, his private jets means he doesn't have to be in around crazy people who have assault rifles, but the rest of us do.

There certainly wasn't a wall of protection around anyone who died from a bullet in a movie theater, a high school, a church, a college campus, or, most recently, a nightclub.

Sobbing along with others in my Venice Beach community, we listened as they read the 49 names of the mostly gay Latinos gunned down in Orlando. We hugged each other and recommitted to the fight to end easy access to assault rifles that allow a mentally ill person to shoot hundreds in minutes.

I was sure that this would be the event that pushed our leaders to do something to stop this gun insanity. Instead, I hear I hear Donald Trump’s solution is building walls and preventing immigrants from entering this country.

You know the Golden Rule? Treat others as you would want to be treated? I have a new one. The people who make the laws have to live by the laws they create.

Strange as they say that everyone carrying guns makes us safer. Following that logic, concealed weapons SHOULD be allowed at their convention. They want them in schools, then why not at their convention or, for that matter, in Congress?

Similarly those who refuse to raise the minimum wage should be paid like the employees at Walmart. And we all know that the clerks work a hell of lot harder than our Congress people.

They don’t like Obamacare? Cancel their free medical insurance provided by taxpayers and let them try to get insurance with a preexisting condition.

You don’t support Black Lives Matter, minorities or gays? Then you can listen only to white people music. That’s right, bop along to an accordion solo. And, have a straight person do your hair (I’m sure that’s the explanation for Donald’s “every day is a bad hair day”).

You want to build walls that keep out immigrants? Then you don’t get to eat Greek or Ethiopian food, delicious Korean-Mexican short-rib tacos or amazing Pasta Fogioli at that new Italian restaurant direct from Naples. Enjoy your can of SpaghettiOs.

Let the lawmakers live with the consequences of the laws they support. Maybe that will teach them the contributions foreigners have made to our culture, and they might be more open to building bridges, not walls.

Sign the Petition: "Ban Assault Weapons Now" 

What do you think? Please add your comments.

Getting Depression to Move Out and You Move On

Part 4 in a 4 part series on Depression

View others in this series:
Part 1: "Are Comedians More Depressed?"
Part 2: "When Depression Visits and Stays"
Part 3: "Do We Have Any Control Over Depression?"

Mr. D. was firmly planted in my being, but I was determined to unseat him.

Since I started writing about depression I’ve been inundated with well-wishers giving me solutions, including: meditation, MDMA, exercise, various TED talks, and moving to join a cult. I do appreciate the intent behind all my readers, and since exercise didn’t involve packing for a trip to be in a cult, I put on my Target tights, gathered my dogs and went out for a jog, moving slowly enough so that someone on crutches could whiz past me. I kept going, waiting for a runner’s high. It never came. But, something else happened that changed everything.

I ran past a man walking his dog and my dog’s leash got tangled around his leg. He bellowed at me, “God damn it!”

The force of his anger shocked me. It was excessive. All that was going on was two leashes getting involved. I quickly untangled mine, apologizing, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” over and over again.
Glaring at me with hateful eyes, he kept yelling, “God damn you!”

I hadn’t run more than half a block before I ducked into an alley and collapsed in a puddle of tears. We all have our limits. Both the external world and my inner world were conspiring and yelling at me. But, this time, I recognized those angry eyes. I also noted the voice was familiar. It belonged to my father, drunk and screaming at 6-year-old me for spilling milk at the dinner table, “God damn it! You are worthless, worthless.” In that moment, I found out who Mr. D was.

Sobbing, I continued to sit in the alley. This was no movie star cry. It was ugly and heaving. I thought about my father, about all the angry old people, and that horrible angry man. As a child, I wasn’t allowed to cry. Now I could let it all out. I comforted myself by wrapping my arms around my torso. My dogs caught on and licked my face. Somehow I felt lighter when I got up. I was feeling again.
I continued my jog around the golf course. In the distance, I saw the angry man walking towards me. My inclination was to go another way, but an inner voice challenged that, asking, “Why change where you are going?” It was a voice I hadn’t heard in a long time. Kind. Strong. Reasonable. It was the voice I heard when doing standup comedy, the one I used to make sure that the hecklers in the audience didn’t have the final say. It was the voice that had my back, the one I could count on now to deal with the angry man.

With my head held high, I looked directly at him and said, “Have a good day.” Saying this simple positive phrase was a triumph. I didn’t let him turn me angry. I realized that his anger had nothing to do with me, and my sadness had nothing to do with him. And in that moment, the course of my personal emotional history shifted. People do and can trigger the past, but it has nothing to do with who I truly am in the present. And today, in this this expression of positivity, another angry person didn’t get to have the final word.

That night, I woke up while it was still dark, stunned to discover the voice that had been telling me I didn’t deserve to live was gone. Mr. D had left the building, replaced by the voice of quiet. I could hear and enjoy the quiet snoring of my beloved dogs. The birds welcoming the dawn. And I was pleased to again feel a sense of peace, something that had been eluding me for a long time.

It’s now my 3-month anniversary of celebrating life. My energy has returned. Mr. D has come back, but it’s temporary lodging and he no longer hangs around for long. I uploaded an app that tracks moods that helps keep Mr D at bay. I’ve stopped being ashamed of depression because I understand how much it has given me. Depression has escalated my power of empathy. It’s magnified my inner strength. It’s made me accept that life is not a series happy events, but rather it’s a series of disappointments where we learn how to transform messes to successes. Happiness is not delivered free of charge, but realized.

Regardless of which voice is in my head at any moment, I’m grateful that I am again able to feel something. Anything – sadness, anger, fatigue and joy. Mostly, I appreciate feeling love: the love coming from my friends, family, my dogs, and you, the readers who write me with your own stories.

Do We Have Any Control Over Depression?

When doing good deeds for others makes you feel even worse...

Part 3 in a 4 part series on Depression. View others in this series:

Part 1: Are Comedians More Depressed?

Part 2: When Depression Visits and Stays

Are we able to control depression? 
My readers might have noticed the huge gap between Part 2 and 3 of this series on my “winning the fight against depression.” After all, I had my happy ending totally mapped out when writing about it, which triggered a return visit from Dr. D. Maybe because I live in California, I likened it to the aftershock that inevitably happens shortly after you’ve returned all your tchotchkes to the shelf when you’re convinced an earthquake has ended. Or, as they like to say in Hollywood, I had a sequel.

I thought I was done writing about it, but when I was speaking at a Toastmaster event in Las Vegas, a woman came over and let me know how surprised she was that someone she perceived as being successful and funny dealt with the same condition she had. She thanked me and said, “Because you wrote about yours, I’m stopped being secretive about mine. And that’s helped.”




That made me think I might be on to something. Is this the new “coming out?” It might be harder to



admit to being depressed than being gay. Depression hasn’t acquired any cache. There are gay role models, stars, musicians. Gays get parades. There are no Zoloft-sponsored Depressed Pride Days.

Some of you have suggested I look into childhood trauma to see if there’s a connection. I want to let you know: I have had therapy, EMDR, primal scream, exercised and cut out sugar. I took Landmark training, Quested, did Burning Man, took drugs and stopped taking them. When all that failed, I wondered if I was too self-absorbed and considered doing charity work. Maybe Mr. D would leave me alone if I were more of a do-gooder. I pictured how my new friends would create a ripple effect of happiness in my life as they gushed with gratitude. When my energy returned, I might even be able to write a book titled, “Curing Depression by Giving.”

I rushed to volunteer to deliver meals to those who couldn’t get to 7-Eleven. I got my schedule, loaded up the car with meals that looked like the bottom of a shoe with runny baby poop on top. No matter, these poor, elderly people, living on meager funds in a tiny apartment were pleased to have company, regardless of the quality of the food. I would be the person to change their lives.

On my first delivery I double checked the address as I couldn’t possibly be delivering meals to this luxury high rise, right on the beach in Santa Monica. I buzzed the video intercom and was escorted by a security guard through marble floored hallways, past the indoor and outdoor swimming pools, the exercise room with a TV on every treadmill, to the apartment on the 14th floor. When I knocked on the door, I heard a man yell, “God damn it, who is there?”

“It’s your meal delivery,” I said, trying to keep my voice cheery.

“God damn it, just open the door!”

Opening the door, I saw the most exquisite view of the Santa Monica Bay. But that was overshadowed by a ghastly stench and a disturbing amount of clutter, so much that the door opened only part way as it was blocked by stacks of newspapers, magazines, and take-out containers. A disembodied voice from the next room screamed, “Just leave the food in the tray and leave, God damn it.”

Nervous, I put the meal on top of a magazine with Nixon on the cover, and closed the door. OK… no cookies. No WWII stories. The next place would be better. In a Venice home, a long haired, Baby Boomer in tie-dyed screamed at me for not having a plastic bag to put the meal into. As he slammed the door in my face, I was the one apologizing.

My third stop was to a woman also living in squalor, but she seemed nice. There was no yelling. I tried to start a conversation and she said she was about to watch a TV show. On the screen I saw the DirecTV logo bouncing about. “Do you want me to turn it to a program?” I offered.

“No, I like watching this,” she replied.

I returned home even more depressed. From what I saw, getting older is like pouring Miracle Grow on one’s defects. Was this a glimpse into my own future? When does saving stuff turn into hoarding?

I found the answer and it is in the final blog of this series. Stay tuned and please post your dealings with Mr. D in the comments.

Sign up for Judy’s online free comedy workshops here.

Depression: When Depression Visits and Stays

This is Part 2 in a 3 part series on Depression

Read part 1 here: Are Comedians more Depressed?

If you’re like me, you may have met someone on vacation and said, “If you are ever in my town, you must stay with me.” Then, this person shows up on your doorstep and you regret it. You’re stuck with them. At breakfast. At dinner. Hanging out in your space. You have an intruder sucking your energy, occupying your time, and making you listen to their unending disapproval.

That was how I experienced depression. Mr. D entered my life and, like an unwelcomed guest, wouldn’t leave. I lived with him in misery for three months until the day his sorry ass left. My energy returned and I’m no longer exhausting my resources dealing with an alien who’d taken over my life.

I became aware that he had left when I woke up in the middle of the night, and the voice that would tell me various ways of killing myself was silenced. I didn’t have to hear about whether hanging or jumping was a better way to go. It was quiet. The change was profound. It was as if the angriest family member had just packed up and taken off.

With depression gone, I was able to feel. Whether sad, angry or happy, I’m grateful to be feeling again. I can read in the newspaper about people being murdered and feel sad, but that’s different from depressed. I feel happy about the small stuff, even just finding my keys. I have extreme joy hearing birds sing, walking the Venice Canals with my dogs, and I don’t fall apart if I say “Hi” to someone and get no response. That doesn’t go into the column of “Reasons not to Live.” My thrust is to live and to make a difference. Mr. D had been heckling me for three months and I’m glad he’s gone.

When depressed, it was exhausting to try to appear normal. I had to outshout the voice telling me that everything I was doing was wrong. Adding to the mess was my sense that everyone I encountered knew I was depressed and was judging me. The maid I passed in a hotel hallway knew. Audience members listing to my jokes knew. The DMV clerk knew.

When I forced myself to go out with friends, like a battered woman not wanting others to see my internal bruises, I was acting. I pretended that I wasn’t suffering from Mr. D, my own abusive man. I would try to follow their jokes and laugh when it was appropriate even though it was a chore. Laughing and smiling had become strenuous, aerobic exercises. Faking joy – when I didn’t have a molecule of it - was grueling.

One of the hard aspects of being depressed is having people ask, “What happened?” I caught on that it was better not to admit it, but before that I’d make up a fake reason.

“Well, you know I got divorced… last year.” That satisfied them. But the answer could also have been, “It’s March, it’s sunny, it’s rainy.” Depression sometimes just arrives without a reason.

In addition to being exhausting, Mr. D provoked guilt. I believed I was responsible for inviting him in. And I felt shame that I was not strong enough to evict him.

One month into rooming with Mr. D, my therapist suggested sending me to a psychiatrist to put me on meds. I know they help a lot of people, but they felt wrong for me. I don’t like meds. I worried how they might affect the one gift God has given me - creativity – and I didn’t want to take any chances. So, I asked my therapist for time for me to try to get Mr. D. to leave, promising to try harder to make it happen.

Reading that exercise and music help, I jogged while listening to upbeat music. Jogging when depressed is like running as the TinMan, with lead as feet carrying a boulder on your back. I ran 5Ks, got home and waited for that so-called runner’s high with an inner voice congratulating me, “You did it!” But, no Nike ad ending. Mr. D was still in my head, saying that I hadn’t run far enough.

Next step was my idea to hang with people who were more depressed than I was. This was a different take on the assumption that hanging out with people who were fatter than I was would make me look thinner. I’m here to tell you that none of these works.

Things got worse before they got better.

Final Part of this series next week.

Thinking About Hiring a Virtual Assistant? Read This!

As I’ve been spending hour after hour doing office work, I’m reminded of comic Gary Muleteer’s great line: “Do you ever just feel like peeing on the incoming mail?”

Yes! If I had the right equipment, I just might.

All of us creative types know that when we get to perform, it’s a joy. But too much of our time is taken up with soul sucking hours in front of a computer—answering emails, trying to remove weird things from websites and even weirder things from credit reports, getting distracted by checking auctions on eBay, and reading blogs we either forget or wish we’d written ourselves. “Entrepreneur” is a French word that translates to “I work in my underwear.” I’m working at breakfast. I’m working all the freakin’ time.

Then, voila! A month ago a friend suggested I hire a Virtual Assistant. My very own VA!

“What a great idea,” I thought. I could hire someone in some far away time zone, so when I wake up, all my office work will be finished. It will be a dream come true. The hell with a prince, I found myself singing, “Someday my VA will come!”

The only problem was my friend refused to share her VA, so I had to find my own. Like everything else, that turned into a full time job. I posted on Elance, Skype interviewed people from everywhere with a variety of backgrounds, ran credit reports, and finally found someone who spoke English. Only then was I able to take a shower and get dressed.

Our first session was difficult; her baby wouldn’t stop crying. But, she was able to nurse and type all at the same time—that’s pretty impressive, if you ask me. (But perhaps we should have turned off the video feed, which would have meant I could have stayed in my underwear!)

The next step was training her. She had to catch onto my style, become familiar with my computer programs, and start answering emails. That too took a full month of training. While I was busy showing her the ropes, everything was piling up. That meant I had to get up at 5 AM to get work done before training my VA. I knew it would be worth it once she took over.

Alas, the day came where I could finally be free to focus on the fun, creative part. My VA would take care of the bills, write contracts, and all the other nonsensical busy work I found myself consumed by. This was the first day of the rest of my life and I rushed to my computer, excited to see my empty inbox, only to find there were tons of emails waiting for me. On our next Skype call, my VA told me that she had an anxiety attack and had to take off. This was the first I was hearing about the condition. I understood and suggested Xanax. Then I reviewed the tasks, told her to give it a go, and did something I hadn’t done in 6 months: I went to a movie.

The next morning, my inbox was overwhelmed with triple the usual content. Contracts had not been prepared, and my VA stood me up at what was to be our Skype meeting.

All she had to do was walk from her bedroom to her desk. How can you possibly be late for that? There was no conceivable excuse. She couldn’t say, “I tried to reach you.” After all I can be texted, faxed, Skyped, tweeted, voxed, facebooked, and emailed. It’s not as if we’d been communicating through the Psychic Network.

This was a mess…virtually. Two days later, I got an email saying she had had to help her mother with an estate sale and she would see me later that day. That didn’t happen. So, instead of getting my work done, I got a fully trained woman who’s out there in the world with all my passwords. Lucky me.

Now, where did I put that Xanax?

Aerobic Laughing: A New Weight Loss Plan

Congratulations to Caitlyn Jenner. 

Looking at the upcoming Vanity Fair cover, I admired her courage to come out of shame and emerge as the person she was meant to be. We have all read about Bruce Jenner’s decades of living in a body that didn’t match who he knew himself to be. 

On some level, I can relate to that. With the risk of sounding shallow, I have had my own body image struggles and can identify with Caitlyn. I know this is far different from being transgender, but how often I have looked in the mirror and seen a stranger with belly fat and stretch marks. And, like my dogs, I, too, have nipples on my stomach. Inside was a skinny, glamorous woman, but nobody else was getting to see her.

Source: Courtesy of Cathryn Michon

One of the problems was my weight. It was always hard to shed those pounds. It only got worse after I turned 50, as my metabolism seemed to have taken an early retirement. I now have to jog five miles just to work off a tic-tac I ate in the 90’s. The only things that fit from my earlier years are my earrings. Like Vegas, what goes on in my body—stays in my body. 

I’d tried every diet, every pill, even Overeaters Anonymous—which doesn’t make sense—what’s so anonymous about it? You’re fat and everyone knows it. A lot of things didn’t work, but what finally did was laughing. The same techniques I used on stage as a standup comic proved to be fat fighters. Humor turned out to be the new secret weight loss method. You can literally laugh off your pounds.  

It’s no joke (excuse the pun)—laughing has been shown to boost your immune system and reduce both stress and physical pain. It also lowers your blood sugar levels. Dr. Helen Pilcher, a neuroscientist AND a comic (no, she doesn’t go by the name Shecky Pilcher), has found that laughing for one hour can burn up to 100 calories. And you don’t have to squeeze into spandex to laugh.

As soon as I stopped beating myself up about my body and started approaching food with a sense of humor, I lightened up—literally.

Here are a few steps to help you feel more confident, happier, and healthier:

1. Poke fun at your fat. When someone asked, “How are you?” instead of feeling ashamed of being overweight, I’d joke about it. “I’m only fifteen pounds away from what it says on my driver’s license.” Self-mocking is better than anything else for taking the heaviness out of the issue. 

2. Gain power over temptation. When you laugh at something, you have power over it. So rather than reach for that cookie, I take a picture of it. I put it on my phone. Let anyone show me a picture of a grandchild and I'll say, “I’ll show you something sweet.”

3. Have snappy comebacks for your inner heckler. As a standup comic, I know how to deal with drunk, abusive hecklers. But when it came to that nasty, defiant voice inside my head, I was never so quick. I let it cut into my confidence and would give up on dieting. Now, I pull a Donald Trump and tell the under-miner, “Hey, you’re fired!” I replaced that critical voice with a more upbeat, “Hey gorgeous, you’re going to be bikini-ready. You’re on the John Oliver, Jon Stewart, Amy Schumer Diet.”  You won’t, but if you should want to cheat on the diet, you can slip in a few moments of morose brooding. 

25 Websites to Help You Make More Money in Between Gigs

Yesterday, over 100 million dollars was made by people without a job. How did they do it? They had something to share. Remember in grade school when you shared your sandwich with the kid next to you? Well, there are now websites that hook you up with those who want what you have (apartments, cars, theater tickets, spouses, you name it), making helping others profitable. You can earn money if you have spare time, a spare room, or a spare tire.  

Now, when I travel, I stay with delightful people in their homes, use their neighbors’ car, and call on Uber to take me to the airport.  I also make money on the home I’ve vacated, renting it out through a service that does that sort of thing. I’ve gone from spending money on vacation to making money on vacation. I even found a great graphic designer on Elance.com and found my book editor from her Craigslist ad.

So, if your Kickstarter campaign didn’t turn your venture into Google, if you’ve aged out of the workplace, or you’re waiting for your big break, here are some ways you can take advantage of the new sharing economy. 

1. Airbnb out a room—Yes, ‘Airbnb’ is now used as a verb, just like Google. If you live in or near a desirable location (you can lie about your age and your weight, but this is harder) and have an extra room (or don't mind sleeping on the couch) you can earn around $100 a night hosting travelers. Minus some fees, that brings in something like 35K a year! (Also check out: Misterbnb (a gay-friendly take on Airbnb), VacationRentals, and VRBO). 

2. Walk a dog. According to Rover.com (ready to be your best friend), you can make $40 a day by dog-sitting. Take in two dogs and do the math. If you commit to 4 days a week, that comes to almost $17K a year. (Other ideas: DogVacay, Care.com, and Fetch! Pet Care). 

3. Do you look cute in a chauffeur’s hat? Drive people around. If you’ve got a full house, you may want to get out for a few hours and go for a drive. Why not get paid for it? Uber drivers who work just a few hours a night, five nights a week earn over $26K a year. (Check out Lyft and SideCar, as well).

4. Sell stuff on eBay. We all have shoes we no longer wear, sweaters we’re sick of, a fondue set or Turkish coffee maker we never use. There are folks willing to buy just about anything. Got a hobby? If not, get one, and then start monetizing it on sites like eBay, Amazon, Craigslist, Etsy, and Threadflip. Even the most unlikely hobby can fatten up your bank account. Someone I know fixes old watches and then sells them on eBay, bringing in up to $100 a week. I know another guy that made $20K one year by reselling paint-by-number kits. (Hint: People love old crap. The kitschier, the better. Earn some green for that spring clean). 

5. Help someone. Lend a helping hand and TaskRabbit will put some cash in it. This site outsources people’s errands (grocery shopping, housekeeping, repairs, etc). The user lists a task and others post bids. What you earn depends on the task, but even just a few errands a week could bring in $15K a year. FancyHands and Craigslist offer a similar deal. If you're great with kids, check out Care.com and SitterCity (I know someone who charges $25 an hour—IN CASH!) If you're interested in branding and advertisement, Gigwalk is a cool way to get paid for helping companies do market research.

6. Can you write? Are you tech-savvy? Got an hour or two to spare? Become a freelancer and earn money for your skills, without even leaving the couch (or putting on pants!) Sites such as oDesk, Elance, PeoplePerHour, Freelancer and Guru list 100,000+ jobs every month within a wide range of job categories. The best part is its flexibility: long-term, short-term, pay-by-hour, pay-by-project—there's something for literally everyone. How much you make depends on the kind of work you're doing, but even writing up a short blurb for a website can earn you $50 or more. 

Now, SHARE this with your friends and followers so they, too, can cash in on the SHARING economy!

Using Entrepreneur Skills to Outwit Traffic

What sucks the life out of me is LA traffic. The 405 Fwy is now literary 4 or 5 MPH. So, I'm sharing with you a creative way around it.

Traffic upset may seem strange for someone, such as myself, who works out of their house. There’s not much gridlock between my bedroom and my office, one of the perks of my being an entrepreneur. I’m not sure, but I think "Entrepreneur" is a French word that translates to “one who works in underwear.” The point is, as a speaker, writer, and comic, I don’t go out much except to the airport. 

But last Friday, I made a date to meet up with a friend at my favorite restaurant on the Westside of LA -- Season’s 52. This should only take 10 minutes, but, no, this time I was in my car for a full HOUR. Apparently, where I live in Venice, California, has become the second most popular tourist destination in Southern California after Disneyland. I don’t know why people are choosing to bike along the ocean, visit marijuana stores, and look at homeless people when they could be having breakfast with Goofy. At least, the amusement park is gracious enough to put up signs reading, “From here you have a 3-month wait.” The California Highway Patrol isn’t as considerate, leaving me to discover the seasons would change before I reached my destination.

Being stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic was making me nuts. Although it was a nice change of pace to have people swearing at me in languages I don’t know, at my age, I resent unproductive time. My frustration inspired an idea -- a way I would no longer get stuck in traffic, pay hefty valet parking fees (plus tip), and turn the trip into fun.  

My new love is called REDDIE. I bought an electric scooter! It’s not the Grandma old person scooter. It’s one that you charge up, then stand on, rev it up by kick starting, and zip to where you want to go. I keep it in my car and when the traffic starts to get to me, I park, unfold the scooter and wheeee!!!!  I’m a kid again. Problem solved.

I’m looking for financing as I want to set up a REDDIE-selling stand on the 405 Freeway, which should actually be called “The parking lot between L.A. and the San Fernando Valley." Instead of road rage, Angelinos will all be in better spirits. My next hurdle: what to do about bike helmet hair. 

How Being Funny Can Save You Money

Having a sense of humor can save you money. I learned that while working as a comic. Open mic nights aren’t as good for fattening up your bank account, which can truly be a sad joke. Self-made millionaires have said (not to me personally) that dramatically cutting expenses increases one’s income. I’ve found out that when you make someone laugh, they feel positively toward you and are more likely to have your back and make cuts in your favor... Read more.. 

Creativity is Messy: 5 Tips to Being an Original Thinker

In business we hear: “Think OUTSIDE of the BOX.” What many don’t understand is that the road to original ideas is not a direct route. Getting to ‘outside of the box’ cannot be navigated by a GPS. It’s off the grid, like traveling on a dirt road, taking detours, and hoping you’ll know you’re at the right place when you’ve arrived.  

This is a critical piece of information for ANYONE who wants to do a TED talk, a corporate speech or even write a book that is FULL OF ORIGINAL IDEAS.

I got a call from someone, who wanted speaking coaching after he had seen his accountant friend, and one of my former clients, speak.  He was surprised and impressed that his straight-laced friend got laughs, tears, and a standing ovation. Did I mention that he’s a CPA? Now, he wanted the same thing – to speak and have an audience fall in love with him. I took him on.

At our first meeting, he left disappointed as he thought his entire speech would come together at that first meeting.  After we ended the hour Skype session with some rough ideas, he asked, “Is this working?”

What ISN’T working – with more work – WILL.  Be suspicious of things that are too good to be true. Newsflash: It takes MORE than “7 Days to Write your Best Seller,” way more than “5 Hours to Lose Weight” and it may NEVER happen that you “Find God and Peace over Breakfast.”

If you are to create something that will blow people’s socks off, you have to put in TIME and accept that the creative process is MESSY.

The journey to SUCCESS is littered with trial and error. The first pass is like putting on your underwear. Nobody has to see it unless you want them to. Once you’re covered, you get to address the next layer. The fun begins when you cut, improve and refine. Failing is a friendly tool, letting you know something needs to be fixed. We have to be willing to toss out material the way we get rid of other trash. Did I just lose the HOARDERS?

Look at it this way: A baby takes 9 months, and that doesn’t include your 5 years of diets, bad choices, and that Jack Daniels, “Let’s do shooters!” year.

As Michelangelo said, “In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.”  I would have advised him to take another pass at those sentences, lose some of the words and maybe get it down to, “I get rid of what’s there that’s not needed.” Too bad Michelangelo wasn’t my client; I could have made him a success.

I urge clients NOT TO RUSH, but to give themselves room and time to find the story that will motivate, a message that will inspire, and jokes to keep everyone awake. What matters most is NOT the idea, but HOW you present it.

My job as a coach is to help you find your never-existed-before-in-time idea, explore it and turn it on its head to see it from all angles while you hold onto your faith in yourself and in your message.

When you put in the right amount of work, it WILL appear to have been effortless.

Here are 5 simple tips to help you become a better writer:

1. Try writing at 4 AM. It's easier to write when your critic is asleep. You will have access to the hidden gold in your subconscious.

2. Write inappropriate stuff. There will be time to edit and censor yourself, but filtering out ideas in the beginning will also filter out the gold. 

3. If you get stuck – write lists starting with the Top 10 Reasons Writing Sucks. Lists are not just for David Letterman.

4. Cover your computer screen while you write. Not seeing what you are writing will keep you from judging it as you go.

5. Set your iPhone timer and keep writing until it goes off. The difference between pros and amateurs is that the pros keep going even when they don’t want to. 

Can We Do-Over Our Stupid Mistakes?

We all mess up sometimes—a meeting falls flat, you lose your temper with a co-worker or step on the gas instead of the brake and smash into someone’s house. Well, some mistakes are bigger than others…

So much of my life has been fretting over stupid things I've said and done. We all say things occasionally we wish we could take back right afterwards – if only life had an ‘undo’ menu option like Microsoft Word does.

But, lately, I've been fretting over things I DIDN'T say.

I was recently in Texas with a client at a dinner of eight people, when they started talking about football. One person commented, "Did you hear that Michael Sam, the defensive lineman from Missouri, said that he is gay?"

One of the guests, a Pastor, said, "Well, some people make bad moral choices."

In the moment, several things went through my head to do and say, including throwing down my napkin in anger and saying, "I'll wait in the car, since I don't want to eat with homophobes."

But it was very cold outside. The moment passed. And I said nothing.

The next day, I did my speech, politely smiled at the Pastor and went home –  but I couldn't let go of the situation and what I didn't say. My inaction turned to self-hatred; it's not too pleasant to think of yourself as a coward.

I needed a DO-OVER.

That's when I realized that very often, we all have a chance to fix our mistakes and we don't need to get stuck in a negative story. And thinking about it more, I realized that speaking with hate isn't effective or healing. And so, I emailed him, telling him about my dilemma, and how I wondered if he had people in his congregation who were gay, or who had gay children. I offered to talk about the topic with him, so that he could better serve his congregation.

Whether or not he takes me up on my offer is a moot point. What I realized is that there is usually an opportunity for a do-over for our behavior. Sometimes a simple action, an apology, or a conversation can rid us of embarrassment, or worse, a feeling of self-hatred.

Whether you are a salesperson who lost an account or an employee who just told off the boss, don’t start looking at the want ads yet. If you play your cards right, you, too, can get a do-over using something as simple as your sense of humor. Laughter breaks tension, changes the mood and creates an opening for a second chance. A little light-hearted self-deprecating humor makes you appear more human and likeable.

DO-OVER TIPS
I offer these four tips on how to get a do-over at work:

1. When caught, admit the mistake immediately.
If your mistake is obvious, rather than pretending it didn’t happen, diminishing its importance or defending it, admit fault without excuses and ask for the chance to rectify it. Lying about it will probably get you in more hot water than the mistake itself.

If you have already made a mistake, don’t make another one by lying—“I didn’t know that was company policy.” “I didn’t say that.” It will come back to haunt you. You don’t want to be left with a story that ends in “Officegate,” have to wear a security ankle bracelet preventing you from decorating cakes on your TV show or have Oprah really mad at you for lying in your book.

A good boss knows everyone makes mistakes, and a trustworthy employee fesses up.

2. Exaggerate your mistake.
What? Shouldn’t I make my mistake smaller? No! Take your boss’ words out of his or her mouth and exaggerate your mistake. For instance, if your mistake cost your boss a few hundred dollars, try saying, “What a huge mistake I made. I’m worse than Michael Jackson’s plastic surgeon. This is not good. You shouldn’t have people like me working for you.”

But don’t go overboard looking for a laugh. Be sincere. Taking an exaggerated view of your mistake will very often prompt your boss to put it in a more realistic perspective. “Well, what you did wasn’t that bad. If you just do this…” And the boss may even tell you how to correct the problem.

3. Do a preemptive strike.
When you know your boss is going to find out about your mistake, figure out a solution—your do-over—and then march in and say to your boss, “Boy I really screwed up. It’s a good thing I haven’t totally lost my brains because I figured out how to fix it.”

Then tell the boss what your do-over is. Catching your mistake before the boss finds out prevents him or her from having time to think about how stupid you really are.

4. Keep your sense of humor.
This happened to me and is where the power of humor can help you. A prospective corporate client, Chubb Insurance, asked me to write a proposal of how my corporate comedy training would work for the company. I erroneously thought the prospect was a weight loss company and wrote my proposal accordingly. The response was, “I can see by your proposal that you are a complete idiot.” 

Well, it wasn’t exactly that harsh, but it was something to that extent. So, rather than defending myself or making excuses, I used a comedy technique—validate and exaggerate. It sounded something like this. “You are so right about that. And you are so smart—you figured out I was an idiot in three minutes. It usually takes people three months to figure that out about me.”

She laughed, which broke the tension and gave me some time to figure out how I was going to fix my mistake. “Now that my internet connection is back up, let me do some research about your company. I’m sure I can rise from idiot to mildly stupid.” Not only did I end up getting the job, but she referred me to other divisions of Chubb.

Keeping your sense of humor will help you keep your job.