My America's Got Talent Audition Experience

I imagine that spending the majority of your life in your "Comfort Zone" is similar to always doing it missionary style. I mean sure it's easy but it's basic and it might not be as enjoyable as trying something that takes a little more effort and imagination. 

Being uncomfortable is my comfort zone and that might make some uncomfortable.  I'm very fortunate to have a wife that enjoys being uncomfortable and enjoys this ride we call life with me. Last Tuesday I decided to do something that was completely out of my element. I auditioned for America's Got Talent in Boise. 

The night before the auditions I was sitting at the table and I saw a post on Facebook that read, "Are you auditioning for America's Got Talent in Boise tomorrow?"

At that time I didn't have a talent but I knew I was going to audition. I told my wife that we were going to Boise because I just registered to audition for America's Got Talent. Her response was, "Ok, what are you going to do?"

After pondering for a few seconds I decided I was going to be a stand up comic. I love writing and felt I could write something funny. Before I knew it I had a 90 second comedy routine that I felt was good enough. 

The next day we took off to Boise and I practiced for three and a half hours on the drive there. My wife listened to my routine the whole way and timed me to the point where we gave me a few seconds to spare. As we were pulling in to Taco Bell Arena I was shocked at how many cars were there and then it hit me. 

What the hell am I doing here? I started forgetting my routine and all of a sudden those butterflies in my stomach turned into indigestion. As soon as we parked I jumped out of the vehicle and threw up in a trash can that was placed outside where I conveniently parked. 

 I guess I didn't expect to see so many people, but then again it is a nationally televised talent show that was holding auditions. So what was I expecting? We start heading into the building and find that the line goes all the way outside and it was going to be about a two to three hour wait before I could even audition. 

As we are standing in line the guy behind me is playing his guitar. He sounded amazing and I over heard him saying that he writes his own music and has been playing his whole life. As I start talking to everyone I realized they have all been doing their talents for years and here I was about three hours into mine.

At first I was ashamed to even say what I was doing and that I had only been doing it for about three hours. My only audience consisted of my wife and two kids who were sleeping on the drive up. I was almost next in line for the registration desk when we hear a woman belt out, "This girl on fire!" and it sounded like Alicia Keys was in the building. 

I finally started opening up when people asked me what my act was. When I told them I was a comedian the reactions I got were what I expected. "Oh tell me a joke." 

The hard part about doing a comedy routine is that it's not singing or playing an instrument. I can't just start playing something and have people recognize the song and say, "Wow, that was good," or "Wow, I love that song."

Perhaps the hardest part about doing a comedy routine, at least for me, is the fact that I had never done one before. So of course I chose not to do my routine in front of these eager strangers. 

When I finally completed the registration process I felt relieved and took my seat in the holding area. As I was sitting there a nice woman, who looked like she could have played linebacker for Boise State, stopped by to pick up her stuff. 

She had just finished auditioning and she mentioned she was a comedian. She also mentioned that she was transgender and was born a man. So that explained her linebacker-like build. She/He was very pleasant and even offered to perform some of her/his jokes which were funny and about her/his transgenderness. 

It was like She/He was sent to me by someone upstairs to calm my nerves and remind me that life is truly like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get and if you don't like it, change it. 

Shortly after she leaves they call my set of numbers and my group of about 20 performers were sent off to a waiting room to audition. As I sat there I met several singers and parents of singers. They were shocked to hear that I was doing a comedy routine because comedians never win. 

They were even more shocked to hear that I have never performed in front of an audience. Many of them have taken many vocal classes or have years of experience performing in front of large crowds. I immediately felt like I had perhaps bitten off more than I could chew. 

Finally, the lady in charge calls out the first three performer numbers that will be auditioning in front of the producer. I was one of them. We get into the room and there is only five people in the room. The Producer, a security guard, a rapper, a magician and his dad and me.

Of course I was called to audition first. Aside from a little stutter I felt like I did my job. Everyone laughed and thought it was funny. I then had to go back and watch the other two acts. The magician was awkward because we could see everything he was doing because we were behind him. It ruined the magic. The rapper, well he was just really awkward. The music was too loud and you couldn't really hear what he was rapping about. I'm pretty sure I heard something about Pikachu or something. 

After we were finished they told us if we made it we would hear from them in three weeks. As I'm waiting to see if I made it or not I still question what I was thinking even doing it. The experience was a once in a lifetime thing and it makes a great story. I just hope that story isn't finished.

I've never been afraid to try and I've never been afraid to fail. I've failed many times and each failure has provided me with a valuable lesson. I believe that we as a human race could be much more advanced and better off if it wasn't for fear of failure or fear of trying. 

There are so many amazing things that we are capable of and there are so many people out there who have great talents that can change the world. Unfortunately we may never hear about them or see their talents change the world because of fear. 

For those who read this I hope I can encourage you to try something that you've been afraid to try before. When you don't try you limit yourself to one possibility. If you try you open up many different possibilities and outcomes that may never have been possible if you hadn't tried in the first place. 

Challenge Yourself to Achieve Your Dreams

I take everyday of my life as a learning opportunity. With each day and new experience I pick up something new and learn something that I can use later on in my life. I've learned more from my own failures than I have from my own successes. I've learned from watching others fail, but I've learned more by watching other people succeed.

As individuals all we can really do is try to become better each day. We must realize that all of us have the potential within to become something great, but we can't reach our potential without hard work and dedication. I read an article today that talked about President John F. Kennedy.

He challenged the nation to commit itself to achieve the goal of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth.

In this article he was quoted as saying, " In a very real sense, it will not be one man going to the Moon; it will be an entire nation. For all of us must work to put him there."

President Kennedy also said, " We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard. Because that challenge is one we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone and one we intend to win."

My favorite quote of the whole article was when he said, "Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction."

This really made me sit back and reflect on my own life. As we all know nothing in life comes easy and life isn't exactly scripted or how we planned it, but it's that way for a reason.

We are where we are in life because of the bad decisions we've made and because of the good decisions we've made. Both the good and the bad have brought us to this moment, but that doesn't mean that our lives are set in stone because of what we've already decided.

More good and bad decisions have yet to be made and they will greatly influence where we go and what we'll be doing in the next decade and further on. It's never too late to reach your dreams or achieve what you wanted in life, but you can't do it without purpose or direction.

If we want to be somewhere in ten or twenty years we have to look back at our decisions and learn from them. We also have to prepare ourselves for more mistakes and failures and accept those as positive learning experiences. They must be looked at as part of the process and path to our destination.

We can't always settle for the easy way just because it is convenient or because you feel it is the only choice you have. Everyone in life has options and opportunities; they just have to be created by the individual.

President Kennedy was right when he said we have to challenge ourselves and we have to win. We can't keep postponing our dreams or goals.

Once again don't be afraid to fail or make mistakes because those failures and mistakes will only teach you more and will make you stronger. Learn from other people's failures, but more importantly learn from their successes. Find someone in your life or in your career field that you see as a success and learn from them.

Anyone has the ability to achieve anything they want to, but it has to start with them believing in themselves. If the dream is worth it; then so are the sweat and tears that go into it. Giving up should never be an option because with every failure you are one step closer to success.

So today challenge yourself to reach your dream or reach a goal that you may have. Don't do it because it's easy; do it because it is hard. More importantly do it because it's what you want and because it's worth it.

Accidentally Smart

Life Without My Cell Phone

I've been without a phone since Sunday. It's been a terrible experience. I don't ever know what day it is anymore because I can no longer check my phone.

Life has been tough. How am I supposed to know what Charlie Sheen is up to if I can't see his Tweets on Twitter? How can I like all the funny, sarcastic and motivational status updates on Facebook if my phone is not by my side?

To make things worse, I never know what the weather is like anymore. I actually have to go outside to see if it's sunny, cold or if it's raining. I never know what time it is either so don't bother asking me.

I used to be so smart when I had my phone. I could answer any question I was asked. I was a Google or Bing search away from anything. When I couldn't find an answer I knew Cha Cha would send me an answer and if I was desperate enough I could pay KBG $.99 to get the answer.

Now I feel like I don't know anything. I can no longer answer questions like, " I wonder how tall those mountains are?" or " Do you think I could chug a whole gallon of chocolate milk?" If I can't answer those questions then what can I answer?

One of the worst things about not having a phone is that I can no longer listen to music. Sure I have a radio in my car and a stereo at home, but who even uses those anymore?  I'm new school, I'm not down with the old school stuff.

I get lost way too often when I drive now. My navigation used to lead me anywhere, but now I struggle just getting to my office. I drove four hours the other day trying to find the nearest KFC.

To make things worse every time I see something crazy, I can no longer take a picture or video. So nobody will believe me anymore.

The other day I saw two unicorns being chased by Bigfoot, but no one will ever believe that. If I had my phone I would have been able to catch nature at it's finest. All I have is the mental pictures in my head. It was a glorious moment. That bad part is I can't even tell you what day it was, what time it happened or how to get there again.

I used to have an app for everything, now I have nothing. I'm getting hungry so that probably means it's almost noon. Hope I can find a good place to eat.

Accidentally Smart