Comedian Michael Jr. On How Giving Changes Everything (Video)

Comedian Michael Junior describes how the idea of “giving” through his work changed everything for him.

Special thanks to ilikegiving.com.

Transcript

"People ask me all the time, 'Michael, what was your big break?'" (Flash to Michael's appearances on Jay Leno and other television shows.)

“The big break was at a club, and right before I got on stage, I had a change in mindset about comedy. Normally when a comedian gets on stage, he wants to get laughs from people. And I felt a little shift take place, where I felt like I was to go up there and give them an opportunity to laugh. Now I'm not looking to take. I'm looking for an opportunity to give. This changed everything.”

“Most comedy, most jokes, are a set up, and then a punchline.”

“I understand that me doing comedy and doing all of these TV shows and making people laugh is really just a set up. My punch line is to make laughter commonplace in uncommon places. My punch line is to make laughter commonplace in uncommon places.”

“We go to Colorado, to a place... [where] They take care of children who have been abused by their parents. And this grandmother explains to me that her grandson is being abused by his mom. He’s so afraid of his mom that everywhere he goes, he wears a Spiderman costume. So I get on stage, sitting right up front [I see] Spiderman. I started doing comedy, and people start laughing, slowly but surely. Probably about twenty-five minutes into it I hear a voice...And this little boy pulls off his mask. And it was one of the most powerful moments in my entire comedy career.”

“If we could just stop asking the question ‘What can I get for myself?’ and start asking ‘What can I give from myself?’ I think people would learn that you don’t have to be a comedian to deliver a punchline.”

This video appears as an illustration of generosity in "Generosity is Not Optional (2 Corinthians 8:1-9)" in 2 Corinthians and Work at www.theologyofwork.org.