If you want something...
Chill out.
If you want something, it doesn’t have to happen right away.
Brendan McDonald, longtime producer of WTF with Marc Maron said this in a behind-the-scenes episode he and Marc recorded that talked about the previous episode, where then-president Barack Obama stopped by to chat.
McDonald dropped this bit of wisdom as he and Maron walked through the long and winding timeline that unfolded between when the White House initially showed interest and when Obama actually sat down in Maron’s garage. Needless to say, it was well worth the wait.
McDonald followed up with some useful advice on what you should do while waiting for that something-you-want to arrive.
Keep the work up.
These two short phrases have stuck around in my brain over the years and popped up again in the last 48 hours. I’ve been attempting to get a particular guest on my live show and have felt stuck, as there’s no clear way to reach this person. They’re a niche celebrity to a niche group of rabid fans and, understandably, value their privacy.
Yesterday, I fell into a bit of a disappointment vortex, convinced that my efforts were ultimately going to be in vain. That this person was out of my league and out of my reach.
But today, three people I respect and admire contacted me out of the blue to tell me that they had just bought my book, liked my book, or were at least happy to hear that I have a book. One of these was a previous guest for whom I have a great deal of admiration (and who I never thought would say yes), and another was an old friend with whom I’d had a bit of a falling out years ago and thought I’d never hear from again.
Not a bad day, really.
So, I’ll keep trying, respectfully and humbly, to catch this elusive new guest’s attention. But in the meantime, I’ll keep the work up. I’ll keep trying to do my best writing and host the best live shows I can. So that, when the time comes that the Universe brings this guest and I together, it will be well worth the wait.
Live show from Disney World on Friday! See y’all then.
❤️
Adam