Clear Eyes. Full Heart. Can't Lose.

3 Tips for Stand-Up Comedy (Comedy Mindhacks #81)

I’ve been rewatching the old TV show Friday Night Lights lately. I love going back to old shows like this. For me, they’re not only nostalgic, they’re just better. I can’t tell you many times I’ve rewatched every season of shows like Malcolm in the Middle, The Office, The Wonder Years, and Freaks and Geeks.

The one thing that most people probably remember from Friday Night Lights is the team’s slogan: “Clear Eyes. Full Heart. Can’t Lose.” That’s stuck with me over the years. This time, however, as I watched Coach Taylor and his players repeat it, I realized that’s not just relevant to football, it’s also relevant to comedy. “Clear Eyes. Full Heart. Can’t Lose.” That’s exactly what stand-up requires from anyone serious about making it work.

I’ve written before about the role of “active noticing,” in comedy. It’s the act of having your eyes open and seeing things clearly. It’s see details just below the threshold of everyone’s perception, the things that are universally familiar to us all, but aren’t necessarily noted by your everyone. I’ve trained myself as a scholar, preacher, educator, and comedian to constantly stay aware and be on alert. When I write jokes, they flow from my active noticing.

And when I help other comedians punch up their jokes, as I do twice a week on my Messed-Up to Set-Ups podcast, I notice things they weren’t seeing in their own material. That’s possible because life gives us all experiences, but our blinders limit us to the details of them. So, when I’m standing outside someone else’s story, my experiences let me see more or see from different angles. I was recently helping a comedian punch up a joke he was stuck on and even gave him marketing ideas based on what I saw in his material. That flows from active noticing.

Here’s an example from my own life. I had a friend recently tell me about joining the military and getting deployed. When he came home, he was telling me about how, when they were leaving the foreign country, out of 15,000 troops boarding planes to leave, he was the last one on. He asked me, “What are the odds of that, Michael?” I said, “About 1 in 15,000.” Then I tagged it with, “They should’ve taught you math while you were over there.” He thought the remarkable thing was being last, but I saw the math joke he handed me. That’s what active noticing looks like in practice. That’s “Clear Eyes.”

And “Full Heart”? Well, in my view, if you’re going to go anywhere in stand-up, you really have to be passionate about comedy, obsessed even. I blog daily, run a podcast, do interviews, handle social media, watch comedy, read comedy materials, create content daily, book shows, and perform. I’m always doing it because, for the most part, it fuels me and it’s lifegiving.

I realize that goes beyond what most people mean when they say passion. But I’ve learned that the obsessive routine makes me better, and when I don’t do it for a day, I often miss it. Louis C.K. spent 15 years stuck as a nobody comedian with a crappy set before adopting a brutally effective form of deliberate practice. Just several years later, he became one of Comedy Central’s 100 funniest stand-ups.

So yeah, “Full Heart” means showing up when I’m tired, when logic says take a break, and embracing the work that might drain other people but somehow gives me life. Sometimes, of course, I get tired. But most of the time this work is refreshing rather than draining. That’s how I know I’m in the right place doing the right thing.

And “Can’t Lose”? Well, if I define my goals and what success is for me and stay in my lane, I can’t lose. This doesn’t mean I won’t fail or face brutal setbacks. I’ve had people belittle me and mock me, even from the stage. More seasoned comedians have berated me, from the stage, trying to weed me out. It didn’t work.

Instead of letting them derail me, it only made my resolve stronger. A comedian recently reinforced to me the importance of never responding to criticism from others. He’s right. So, I let silence convert the hate into motivation. That’s right in line with the old saying I often think about: “Never accept criticism from someone you wouldn’t seek advice from.” That filter helps me determine what feedback actually matters.

In my view, “Can’t Lose” means failure can’t derail my focus because I’m committed to the long game. I’ve had rough nights and they didn’t stop me because I defined what success means on my own terms. I’m going to do things my way, whether that’s blogging daily, podcasting, writing, teaching comedy, or any of the other things other comedians tell me won’t really work. And if they do work for me, great. If not, fine. But I’m doing it my way, and no one else gets to determine my destiny.

“Clear Eyes. Full Hearts. Can’t Lose.” is a great mantra to have in my back pocket as something to lean into when I need it. In a nutshell: Clear eyes means I see the comedy others miss. Full heart means I stay obsessed when others quit. Can’t lose means I define success on my terms. When all three are working together, chances are I’m building something that lasts.

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