How To Fail Like A Superstar

The 5 surprising benefits nobody talks about

You never know what you’ll get when you visit a comedy club. Sometimes you laugh so hard you lose control of your bladder. Other performances feel like you’re sitting through a rendition of the tax code.

A comic knows when he’s blowing it; a silent audience is a reliable indicator. How did this comic handle his failure?

It was our first trip to a comedy club in a decade. We enjoyed two of the acts. But one of them delivered an unfortunate unfunny performance. This comedian was blessed with a forgiving audience. Every so often you’d hear a pity chuckle; a laugh so obviously forced it sounded like a cough.

He tried hard, maybe too hard. His jokes could have been funny, but he was nervous, often mumbling the punchline. At other times, he’d tap the top of the microphone with his palms for several seconds. It produced a loud popping sound uncomfortable for those of us seated near the speakers.

There was one awful moment I thought he’d flee the stage in tears. But he fought through and finished his act. He exhaled, dropped his shoulders, and bowed slightly as he flashed a remorseful smile.

He won our applause after he praised us for being a forgiving audience. His act fell short, but he powered through it and failed like a superstar.

Not necessarily on stage but in life. Everyone gets on stage to perform. Your stage could be a ball field, a blog, a conference room, or a theater. It’s wherever you compete or display your work for others to judge. That’s your stage.

How you compose yourself and act towards others at your worst says a lot about you as a person. Nobody will congratulate a winner for behaving with class and dignity. But we revere the defeated who muster the self-restraint to show class in defeat.

In theory, it’s simple. Don’t throw a tantrum. Don’t give up because things aren’t going your way. Don’t blame anyone else for your failure. If competing against someone else, congratulate them on a well-fought competition.

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