How to Keep Your Ego in Check: Become a Comedian

If you struggle with having a large ego, and think you might be too big for your own britches, I have some advice for you: become a stand-up comedian.

There’s an old joke that is all too real.

A beautiful woman approaches a comedian after a show, and says, “OMG, I just wanted to tell you how funny you were. You really made my night. I just broke up with my boyfriend, and I’ve been depressed, but you really cheered me up, and I wanted to thank you.”

She then turns to leave, causing the comedian to ask, “Where are you going?”

And she responds, “Oh, there’s a band at the bar across the street. I’m gonna go screw the singer.”

As Rodney Dangerfield knew: comedians get no respect.

I cannot tell you the number of times the story I tell in this video has happened to me.

One of my favorite ones took place at a comedy club called Laugh Lines, in Madison, Wisconsin.

Jimmy Pardo was the headlining comedian, a man named Pete Carboni was the feature act, and I was the lowly host.

After the show, the three of us were standing together with a fourth person; a friend of Pete’s, I believe.

A drunk customer stumbled over to us, looked at Jimmy and said, “You were great!”

He then turned to Pete and said, “I like you, too!”

He then turned to Pete’s friend, semi-frowned, and said, “You were alright.”

And then he turned, looked at me like he’d never seen me before, said nothing, and walked away.

That’s right, the man who hadn’t even been on stage that night was “alright,” and me, the host, got nothing.

Still makes me laugh to this day.

I don’t know that alcohol is entirely to blame for people’s inability to recognize off stage someone they just saw under a spotlight—the woman in this story seemed sober as can be—but I bet it usually plays a role in things.

Either way, if you want to go from believing you’re a God, to becoming a peasant within seconds, try your hand at stand-up comedy.

Your ego could use the check.