Frustrated Part 2: Get Real in the Present

In my last post, part one, I said when you're frustrated with where you are in terms of your career, you can simply look back to see how far you've come and give yourself credit...really feel a sense of accomplishment.

To move forward, you need to honestly assess reality in the present.

How long have you been in the business? 

They say it takes at least five years in comedy before you discover your comedic voice, and ten years before you really hit your stride.  If you've been doing comedy for four years and you're frustrated, you need to be realistic about the time you've put into your chosen profession.

Really, no matter how long you've been in the business of comedy, there are always people who've been doing it longer than you (and many haven't had your level of success).

In a previous blog post, Wisdom equals age plus experience (and intelligence), I mentioned Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers where he says it takes 10,000 hours of doing something to be an expert, or master.  I also mentioned that Starbucks reportedly makes even a part-timer train for thirty (30) hours before letting them serve a cup of coffee to a customer.

So, let's do some quick math:  If you did a five minute set (normal for a guest, open mic or showcase spot) every day for a full year that would only equal the thirty hours of training Starbucks gives their staff.

Being booked every day doesn't happen, but let's say you get that five minute spot every Friday and Saturday night for a year.  That comes to a little more than eight hours.  That's ONE WORK DAY in the real world.  Eight hours?!?!  And you think you should already be headlining?

Now, if you did a forty-five minute headlining spot every day, it would still take you thirty-six and a half years to reach 10,000 hours!!!

You wouldn't live long enough to reach 10,000 hours if you worked two shows (Friday and Saturday) every week.

Obviously, the more hours you put in the better you get.  So, of course, it becomes a game of getting on stage as much as possible.  And on your way to mastery is where you will build your career and make some, hopefully huge, strides.

I hope this math didn't further frustrate you; rather, I hope it instilled in you a sense of realism, and I hope it inspired you.

Let me give you an example, that I feel ties in Part 1, where I tell you not to be frustrated with your fellow comics' successes, and this post, Part 2, getting real about how much time you've put in this business.

By pure happenstance, I've had the pleasure of working with Vic Dibitetto more than most comics that he's not purposely working with (he's formed a sort of modern day rat pack with Tommy Gooch and Fred Rubino - great guys, funny as Hell).

If you don't know of Vic, he's the Bread & Milk YouTube guy.  Posted in February, 2013, the video went viral in minutes, got the attention of TV and radio news outlets and now has almost 12,000,000 views today.

"Bread & Milk" - Vic Dibitetto

From the video's popularity, Vic started getting more gigs.  Gigs started selling out.  Vic was officially becoming a draw in the area.  He could also command more money for gigs.  Things were starting to happen for Vic.

Then, almost a year later, Vic's video rant about Justin Bieber went viral.  To this day, it has almost 2 million views.

At some point, I believe he was asked to be a guest on one of the nationally syndicated daytime talk shows like The View or The Talk.  He now has a regular weekly segment on 95.5 WPLJ in NYC, the biggest media market in the world.  And, he was personally called by Kevin James to be in the Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 movie.

That's all great, and hopefully it only continues upward and onward for Vic.

But here's what you may not know about Vic:

• Vic has been a working comic since the 80's, honing his craft at the legendary Pips in Brooklyn.  Vic shared the stage with the likes of Andrew "Dice" Clay well before the Dice Man was a known comic.
• Vic has a day job driving a school bus for NYC on Staten Island.  Weeknight gigs mean limited sleep.  Even a week-long gig in AC means he has to get home after the show so he can drive the bus the next day.  Vegas gigs?  Only during school vacation time.
• Vic has been posting his "vignettes" online, almost daily, for years prior to the success of "Bread & Milk."  In fact, the video went viral, coincidentally, just a day or two after Vic posted a rant of how many videos he's put up to no avail, but a video of the baby waking up in the car seat to it's favorite song went viral.
• The part in the Kevin James movie didn't come until almost a full year after "Bread & Milk" went viral.

Bottom line: Vic has been doing his damnedest to get to those 10,000 hours and is just now starting to see the fruits of his labor (to reference a previous post about how comics treat each other, Hell of Nice Guy, he's also one of the nicest comics I've met).

But, can you imagine if Vic quit the business at ANY time before "Bread & Milk" went viral?  He's been a comedian for about thirty years, and, according to him, never seemed to catch a break.  Who wouldn't have thought about quitting at any time along the way?

"Most people give up just when they're about to achieve success. They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game one foot from a winning touchdown."

- Ross Perot

There's an old adage:  there are no overnight successes.  To the vast majority of the public, Vic stormed onto the scene with "Bread & Milk."  In reality, his "overnight" was thirty years in the making.

So, when looking at your career, have you put in your 10,000 hours?  Have you put in nearly the amount of time of someone like Vic Dibitetto?  Or, are you closer to the Starbucks training time?

Be real with yourself.  Get grounded in reality, in the present.  Then you can powerfully move forward!

In Part 3, we'll discuss powerfully moving forward.  As I said at the end of Part 1, look back for inspiration and look ahead for motivation.

Don't forget to look at the present for realization. 

Click here for Part 3: Planning for the Future