{"id":4105,"date":"2024-08-11T19:50:42","date_gmt":"2024-08-12T02:50:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/?p=4105"},"modified":"2024-08-11T19:50:44","modified_gmt":"2024-08-12T02:50:44","slug":"chasing-the-bar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/chasing-the-bar\/","title":{"rendered":"Chasing the bar"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-attachment-id=\"4106\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/chasing-the-bar\/blog-26\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/blog1.jpg?fit=2000%2C1125&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2000,1125\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.5&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 13 Pro&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;5.7&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;32&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.016129032258065&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;blog&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"blog\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/blog1.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/blog1.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4106\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/blog1.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/blog1.jpg?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/blog1.jpg?w=2000&amp;ssl=1 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I was in San Francisco. A scrappy underdog performing on the streets. Suddenly, I found myself starring in my own theater show with rave reviews and the respect of the performers I idolized. My face was on a billboard. My name was in a theme song. After my show, I would taxi across town to headline in another show. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I was still the underdog. I was still the young performer who had a long way to go. I didn&#8217;t know where I had to go. I didn&#8217;t see this identity fading away, but a little bit&#8230; I noticed I needed a little more ambition. So, the move to Los Angeles &#8211; the entertainment capital of the world. I would surely be surrounded by great stage entertainers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I immediately performed in a show with Emmy winning celebrity comedians. Entered a one-man-show competition. The competition was scored by the audiences. I had no friends in LA and the audience was just friends of perfomers. Somehow I tied for first by other peoples&#8217; friends voting! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I got bummed out. I lost my identity. I know in retrospect, this might look goofy &#8211; i felt I was at the top. I lost my underdog identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I started working on creating a show about propaganda. Creatively got a job at a marketing company to study marketing and propaganda. My disappointment with my success in performing made me consider sticking with the marketing job &#8221;til retirement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The World Busker Festival called. It was the biggest street performer festival in the world and they didn&#8217;t really call anyone. I was invited to perform. I was Eeyore about it and I went. So ungrateful. Christchurch, New Zealand was a paradise especially for a street performer. People were giving me dinner, taking me a bee farm, giving me clothes, cheering, paying me. The performers were incredible. Beyond what i thought was possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I quit my marketing job before I got on the plane home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two things happened at that time of transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>I realized the bar is always higher<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>I remembered being the underdog was never the point of being an entertainer. I wanted to raise the bar for everyone else<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These are the lessons I keep learning. I keep humbling myself and taking on the resposibility to be better than everyone. Do more than anything that&#8217;s being done. It enlivens me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Take action: Think of one hero you&#8217;ve surpassed. Breath that in. Set that as your identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I was in San Francisco. A scrappy underdog performing on the streets. Suddenly, I found myself starring in my own theater show with rave reviews and the respect of the performers I idolized. My face was on a billboard. My name was in a theme song. After my show, I would taxi across town to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":4106,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10158666434799935_26707174888":"","twitter_aToyMjM4MTQzMDs=_22381430":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc33gc-14d","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3208,"url":"https:\/\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/easy-force\/","url_meta":{"origin":4105,"position":0},"title":"Easy Force","author":"scot","date":"December 2, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"There are a lot of dishes I can cook well. When my friend invited me to bring some food to a party, the dish I brought was some complex thing I had never cooked before. This is a drive I find myself having often. I have the opportunity to share\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/pexels-alex-fu-4011182.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/pexels-alex-fu-4011182.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/pexels-alex-fu-4011182.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/pexels-alex-fu-4011182.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/pexels-alex-fu-4011182.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1608,"url":"https:\/\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/collaborate-more-on-entertainment\/","url_meta":{"origin":4105,"position":1},"title":"Collaborate More on Entertainment","author":"scot","date":"September 7, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Only half of you need to hear this...collaborate! The other half need to hold on to their voice. This is the balancing act of specificity we all play. I love a strong voice, I love powerful personalities and daring creative choices. That's why I was extremely solo in my pursuits\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/peach.jpg?fit=1200%2C796&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/peach.jpg?fit=1200%2C796&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/peach.jpg?fit=1200%2C796&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/peach.jpg?fit=1200%2C796&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/peach.jpg?fit=1200%2C796&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4602,"url":"https:\/\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/reality-competition-shows-can-launch-your-act-or-burn-it\/","url_meta":{"origin":4105,"position":2},"title":"Reality competition shows can launch your act\u2014or burn it","author":"scot","date":"May 24, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"It sounds like a big opportunity... sometimes it is. I've helped with casting for these companies I've been on a lot of TV shows and helped other performers get on a lot of tv and film stuff. Exposure is the trade they\u2019re offering Most people go on these shows chasing\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","block_context":{"text":"With 1 comment","link":"https:\/\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/reality-competition-shows-can-launch-your-act-or-burn-it\/#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image.png?fit=700%2C200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image.png?fit=700%2C200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image.png?fit=700%2C200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image.png?fit=700%2C200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1876,"url":"https:\/\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/entertainment-popularity-as-a-tool\/","url_meta":{"origin":4105,"position":3},"title":"Entertainment Popularity as a Tool","author":"scot","date":"October 28, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I didn't prioritize being popular in school. I drew pictures, was a jackass, and programmed computers. I'm glad I did all that stuff, but it might have been strategic to work on popularity a little more. Popular kids... Got better gradesGot away with more thingsGot cooler jobs (at least at\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/train.jpg?fit=1200%2C719&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/train.jpg?fit=1200%2C719&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/train.jpg?fit=1200%2C719&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/train.jpg?fit=1200%2C719&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/train.jpg?fit=1200%2C719&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3321,"url":"https:\/\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/billy-the-mimes-workspace\/","url_meta":{"origin":4105,"position":4},"title":"Billy The Mime&#8217;s Workspace","author":"scot","date":"June 24, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I will not divulge the secret identity of the man behind Billy The Mime, but this dude is good! You might have seen Billy in his successful Hollywood shows or at Edinburgh Fringe or opening for Penn & Teller or in the movie The Aristocrats. He's hilarious, awesome, and precise.\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","block_context":{"text":"With 1 comment","link":"https:\/\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/billy-the-mimes-workspace\/#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/bilol.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/bilol.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/bilol.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/bilol.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/bilol.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3057,"url":"https:\/\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/why-i-kept-my-lineups-secret\/","url_meta":{"origin":4105,"position":5},"title":"Why I Kept My Lineups Secret","author":"scot","date":"October 19, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"We didn't publicize lineups or special appearances. We had a weekly show and we wanted to sell out every week. We succeeded. Brand The main reason to not promote the lineups was for building a brand. We wanted a show that people trusted. The message was, \"No matter what week\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/something.jpg?fit=1200%2C727&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/something.jpg?fit=1200%2C727&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/something.jpg?fit=1200%2C727&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/something.jpg?fit=1200%2C727&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/something.jpg?fit=1200%2C727&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/blog1.jpg?fit=2000%2C1125&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4105"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4105\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4107,"href":"https:\/\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4105\/revisions\/4107"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scot.fun\/damentals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}