John Mulaney on Resilience

Excerpt from the You made it Weird podcast with Pete Holmes.

 John Mulaney:
I have this picture of Bobby Kennedy. He's sitting on a stairwell, it's from 1964. He's sitting on stairs in a suit, holding his speech. He's about to give a speech at the '64 Democratic convention. His brother, the president, was assassinated in '63. He's barely been seen. The new president, Linden Johnson, hates Bobby Kennedy. Doesn't want him to steal his thunder during the convention, so he pushes his speech time to a shitty time. Also has his room bugged to find out if he's talking about him. And didn't give him a green room, hence why Bobby Kennedy is sitting on the step. 

So the photo is just him sitting there and I think about it a lot like..... You know, you can go through the worst thing in the world and then people can still treat you with great unkindness. But he didn't evaporate. He sat there, he waited, he's humiliated by the president, his brother died only a few months ago. 
And he went out, he gave his speech and he got a nineteen minute standing ovation when he came out. He could not start the speech because of a nineteen minute standing ovation. But I look at that photo and I'm like.. You will not disintegrate. You can survive things. You can take a lot.

Popular posts from this blog

The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle (2018)

Image
TL;DR: Great cultures are built on Safety, shared Vulnerability, and an established Purpose In the self-help space, these things come up again and again: Safety, Purpose, Meaning. Whether in looking at leadership, or to an individual's path to success, happiness, well-being, the literature seems pretty set on what it sees upon as the standards. And this book falls in line with those standards. This book was great. Daniel Coyle is a great storyteller. When you can blend abstract ideas with concrete examples, and get a good balance, it gets digested much easier. This book reads pretty easily too. It seemed to be built to be simple and structured.
Read more

what ever happens, I'm happy now.

and i'm now 24. I'm still young enough to mess up and make up for lost time, but old enough to know not to. I try and look back at what my past 24 years has been. That's easier nowadays, i think. To look back, i n this day and age of social media.  Especially if you've documented every few days of what's happening with you.   But as they say, it's only the bright sides you see on social media. Which I believe is mostly true.  I think I've learned more importantly, that life isn't always the bright sides. Because really, it's not. Yes, to look on the bright side as a focus is a good thing. But to expect everything to be that is not. We will never have everything we want. There will always be failures. There will be disappointments. There will be bad days. But the idea is to never stop trying. because, what else is there? I think i'm more aware now than when I was younger. But i also think i don't know as much as when I would be olde...
Read more

In the Mood for Love (2000 - Hong Kong)

I can't remember now how many times I've seen In the mood for love. "If there's an extra ticket, would you go with me?"  Again, at missed connections. i think it's a bigger tragedy than unrequited love. A missed connection suggests that, a love could have flourished. both people want it, but for whichever reason, the connection never quite contacted. Looking deeper into the last few scenes. Mr. Chow, decides to leave for Singapore. Leaves a message for Mrs. Chan. "If there's an extra ticket, would you go with me?" Mrs. Chan, goes to their old hotel room and finds she's too late. 3 years later in Singapore, Mrs. Chan goes into Mr. Chow's apartment, looks at the room and phones Mr. Chow. She connects. He answers. She doesn't talk.  Why? Why doesnt she answer? She spent that whole time looking for Mr. Chow. We'll never know why. Sayang! 3 years later, Mrs. Chan returns to their old apartmen...
Read more