Ikigai Thought for Today: Do the Things Dummy
A real-life example of doing the things we always say we want to do.
Audio narration by David Marlow
Fourteen years ago, life changes – including losing a friend to suicide – prompted me to start doing the things I’d always talked about but never did. I didn’t realize then that this was an Ikigai approach to life if ever there was one.
It started with ice fishing (which you can read about later)…
When I noticed an announcement for an upcoming Jeff Dunham show in February, I knew it would be another opportunity to ‘do the things.’ Dunham, a well-known comedian and ventriloquist, is someone my wife and daughter Helaina absolutely love.
While I enjoy his humor, they're the raving fans-when we watch his shows on TV, I can barely hear the jokes over their laughter.
I mentioned the show to Helaina, suggesting she and her mom get tickets. As we discussed it further, she wanted me to join in the experience. I was deep in writing my book at the time, with every day needed to meet my deadline.
Looking at the mid-August show date, I realized it would be perfect timing for a post-book celebration, since my manuscript was due to the editor by August 1st.
The more we talked about it the more exciting it sounded and my son-in-law asked if he could join as well.
The tickets went on sale at 10 AM. Helaina logged on early and waited. At precisely 10:00:01, she clicked select-but all tickets were already gone. Playing a hunch, she kept checking.
About fifteen minutes later, four seats together in the fourth-row center appeared, and she grabbed them immediately.
When she called to tell us about her ticket-buying adventure, she added a surprise: “Dad, you'll never guess why they sold out so quickly. He's going to film the performance as a Christmas Special!”
My wife’s MS means we always have to factor accessibility into any plans we make and those couldn’t have gone smoother. The historic Pabst Theater is across the street from an easy-access parking garage and a fabulous restaurant. All of which eased my wife’s concerns and set us up for a fun evening.
The Safe House Restaurant is spy-themed with hidden access. It’s a fun place to go anytime and the perfect pre-show destination.
You need a password to enter, which Helaina and my son-in-law Jack knew but playfully kept from Alicia and me.
Without the password, you have to ‘prove’ you're not a spy by performing a silly task. I had to pretend to be a fisherman while Alicia played a fish I needed to ‘reel in.’
Our performance was broadcast live throughout the restaurant via hidden camera, and when we entered moments later, we were greeted by applauding diners and saw ourselves replaying on the screens-explaining the mystery of their welcome.
We'd discussed wearing Santa hats but initially thought better of it. Thankfully, Alicia brought them anyway, and after dinner decided to go all in and wear them during the show.
Yes, we got some looks crossing the street to the theater – it was August after all, sunny and warm, nowhere near Christmas. The hats made it easy to spot us in the special though; you can see us, four Santa hats in a row, in the photo above.
As we entered the theater, crew members collected ‘Christmas questions’ for Dunham to answer after the performance, possibly using them in the special.
While the others passed, I thought, why not? I wrote out…
Who is your favorite Wiseman?
…and signed it with Jack’s name.
Sure enough, that question was drawn and he called out to Jack in the audience leading to a marvelous conversation. His answer by the way was…
Joe Rogan
Which of course got exactly the big laugh you’d expect.
Many more such fun little things happened along the way too numerous to mention. The final one of course was we were clearly visible in the special. They wisely zoomed passed me on the aisle shot and focused on my wife and daughter laughing hysterically at the jokes.
Before I started ‘doing the things,’ I might have talked myself out of even trying to make this happen. Instead, I embraced it, and everything came together effortlessly.
While I can't promise you'll have this level of fortune when you start doing things instead of just talking about them, I can promise your life and the lives of those around you will be richer for it.
Quest well.
Yep, doing it makes the difference. That’s the ikigai way!
Such a beautiful reminder to aim for our deadlines, but remember the balance of what it is that truly matters (your family)