WELCOME TO A STAND UP LIFE

Hello, my name is Colin. And this is A Stand Up Life, the online project of a stand-up comedian, speaker and remarkably imperfect human being.

Before I was a comedian, I was a coward. Not on the surface, of course. I hid it pretty well. But most of my decisions were made out of fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of failure. Fear of rejection. But I was not, apparently, afraid of looking awesome.

I thought becoming an adult would fix my fear problem, but it didn’t. Fear was always with me. And over time, my life came to consist almost entirely of things I longed to do but was too afraid to attempt. Years of listening to my self-doubt resulted in a small, deeply uninspiring life. I struggled with chronic depression, I was terribly self-critical, and above all I was directionless. Adrift. Uncertain of what I might be good at and unsure of what I might become.

And then, without really understanding the significance of doing so, I faced my biggest and most frightening dream. I tried stand-up comedy. Although I had no way of knowing it at the time, that one small simple decision was about to change the entire direction of my life.

I started doing stand-up comedy because I wanted to figure out how to be funny. I never guessed I would discover how to be fearless.

For me, comedy became a quest for originality… for excellence… to be a person with something to say. I found a pursuit that demands confidence, one that is all about handling failure, taking risks, striving for excellence, relating to others, creating one’s best work, becoming more productive, developing discipline, practicing humility, and constantly evolving. For me, comedy has become a way to talk about, and come to understand, exactly what it takes to change. To grow. To become more like the person I want to be.

And almost two years later, I have performed comedy for over 5,000 people. I have written hours and hours of stand-up material, released my own comedy album, and been the keynote speaker at several high school conferences. And I created this website.

A Stand Up Life is a place where I explore the profound within the world of comedy. But it’s not written just to convince people to try stand-up. It’s written for people who want to become the best versions of themselves. I am going to do my utmost to convince you that all it might take is a step. To feel fear, but to act anyway.

I think that all of us are affected by fear. By doubt. By difficulty. I know I am. There are many things in our lives that feel impossible and unchangeable, and when we think about them we are quickly overwhelmed. But what if that stopped being good enough? What if, in any way that we are tempted to stay down, we started choosing instead to stand up?

There are lots of areas of life that confuse, or discourage, or overwhelm us. Could we view these obstacles in our path as opportunities for growth? What would things look like six months or a year from now, when we look back and discover we have become strong in an area we simply figured we would always be weak? It could be COURAGE. Or HEALTH, or MONEY, or PRODUCTIVITY, or RELATIONSHIPS.

This is the story of my journey, but it’s written for you. To encourage you to pursue whatever frightening dream lies ahead of you. Because you are not alone.

I am out there too, standing on stages, in front of strangers, trying to make them laugh. And in the process, challenging myself to face my fear, and to grow strong in whatever way I am weak. Each show I do, I am laying it on the line in the hopes of writing a better story with my life. The stage is a frightening, fascinating place to stand, and I tell the stories of those experiences in SHOWS.

And that’s not all. Along the way I have met many remarkable people who are facing their fears, putting themselves out there… in their own lives and in their own ways, standing up. You can meet them in STORIES.

I hope we can take this trip together, towards becoming the best version of ourselves. I hope we can become… more. More healthy, more productive, more confident, more accomplished, more fulfilled, more alive.

I hope we can be brave, and become the people we are supposed to be, instead of the people who, when faced with fear, simply stay in the shadows.

I hope that we, when faced daily with the temptation to stay down, will instead stand up.

Welcome to A Stand Up Life.