Writing a memoir obviously brings back the details of many memories. Today I remember Ray combs.
I can’t remember the guy who taught the comedy writing class, he was a great guy and near the end of our class he had a good friend of his who was a working comedian come talk to us. Hi name was Ray Combs. Wow this guy was inspiring. This was 1986 and at the time he was getting paid great money to be the warm up act for numerous TV shows. He talked about coming to L.A from Ohio to make it in stand-up. He had to work odd jobs by day and perform at open mics at night. He slept in his car until he could make enough money to have his family join him in L.A. Man Ray Combs was so inspiring. He was very energetic and upbeat. He stayed after our class to talk with us. There was only about 10 of us in the class so we had some great personal conversations with Ray. Our final class was at the L.A. Cabaret which was a comedy club on Ventura Blvd between White Oak and Balboa. Everyone in the class did a 10 minute set, and Ray Combs came and closed the show. He was fantastic, he killed it of course. Ray Combs said he liked my set and told me I should continue in my comedy pursuits. In 1987 he landed a great supporting role in the movie “Overboard” with Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. One year later in 1998 he was picked as the new Host of Family Feud. He held that job until he was fired in 1994 to make room for the return of Richard Dawson. He was in a serious car accident in 1995 leaving him partially paralyzed for a time. He regained his ability to walk but was in constant pain. He got divorced and was hospitalized after trying to kill himself with prescription medication. In 1996 Ray Combs was found dead in his Glendale Ca home. He had hung himself. It’s hard to grasp how this man I met in 1986 who was so vivacious and talented with a great career would be dead 10 years later at the age of 40

Hard to believe it’s been over twenty five years since I got hooked on personal development and self motivation. In whatever I do or attempt to achieve, I know it’s more important what we become instead of what we get. We should celebrate are accomplishments and goals that we achieve, but we should be conscious as to who we are becoming in achieving our goals. We have countless Robin Williams examples on what happens when we are successful on the outside, but in our minds we are failing on the inside. Robin Williams was loved by millions of people he hadn’t even met, yet took his own life to escape the internal pain. Because he brought so much joy and laughter for so many years to so many people he was loved and adored. Failing to bring joy and laughter to himself must have been part of his downfall. More money than he could spend, and adored by millions and he killed himself. We have to learn from this and make sure we are taking care of ourselves internally, that we are conscious of our life fulfillment. Ted Turner’s dad committed suicide. Ted Turner set a goal of ending world hunger, because he wanted to set a goal that he could never achieve. He saw that his dad achieved all of his goals, and yet he committed suicide. Probably not a bad idea to set some goals that will be lifelong endeavors. When we do achieve goals, we should take time to savor our accomplishments and immediately set a new course. We can’t achieve to be happy. We have to choose to be happy now, and then we can happily achieve.

Changing Direction

I have been focusing on my writing and producing. I have done a couple standup comedy performances of late.  I have lost my drive for doing standup. All of my comedian buddies say that I will get it back, that it is in my blood to do standup. Hanging around comedy clubs, and telling dick jokes at 2 am to a crowd of 6, isn’t fun anymore. I love acting, and as I keep repeating, I just can’t tolerate the traffic. I am enjoying writing, and self publishing. I still study and read all things personal development, psychology and motivation. It fits together with my newly discovered passion for playing tennis. I am slowly changing the web site, to gear it toward an author theme. Now that in my head I have backed off the standup, seems more opportunities to perform are put in front of me, not sure why that is happening. My wife and I recently went to a Tony Robbins live event here in Los Angeles. We had a super amazing time, and that will be the subject of my next post.

What a great night performing with Dwayne Gill and Kharum Sheik. All of us retired cops and stand-up comedians. All except Dwayne Gill who is still serving as a Michigan State Trooper. It was a sold-out crowd at Bonnie Castle in Alexandria Bay New York. This is a fundraiser I have been a part of for the past three years. All proceeds benefit the River Hospital Wellness program. Troopers Assisting Troops. New York State Troopers take veterans suffering from PTSD out on fishing trips. I have been stepping down my stand-up comedy performances in trade for time writing, and pursuing a motivational speaking career along with acting and producing. After a night like tonight, and getting so much positive feedback on my performance, it’s tough not to get fired back up for performing more stand-up comedy. I’m always trying to do it all, which makes many of my endeavors suffer a little. It was great to have family, friends and my most wonderful wife in the audience. Can’t thank the River Hospital Wellness team enough for they do to make this event a success.

I am overwhelmed by the response from the people who have recently purchased my public speaking book. I have had several people who have now started their speaking careers by buying the book and taking action. Several have joined Toastmasters and have already given their first club talk. That is just amazing. Proud to see people educated themselves and then take actions on what they have learned.  This has certainly inspired and motivated to get back to writing the next book. I have two in the works and a memoir. Public Speaking is one of those careers that can be very fun, and very lucrative. There are thousands of meetings and events held all over the country, and the world for that matter who desire speakers for their events. Yes, there are celebrity speakers that are going to be more in demand than someone just starting out. But not every meeting or event is going to have the fifty to one hundred thousand dollars these celebrity speakers command. But with just a little experience, great marketing tools, and the ability to hustle, you can start commanding two to three thousand dollars as a new speaker. So I am looking forward to mentoring more public speakers.