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“I NEVER Want People to TURN Their MINDS OFF!” – Jerrod Carmichael – Top 10 Rules


I don’t like mindless content I’ve never
liked it I like to think about what I’m
watching what I’m taking in what I’m
listening to
yeah humor has always been a important
part of my life like since like middle
school
hello believe nation it’s Evan my one
word is believe and I believe in people
more than they believe in themselves and
my sincere hope is that if you see in
yourself what I see in you you’ll be
able to change the planet so to help you
on your journey today we’re going to
learn from stand-up comedian and actor
Jarrod Carmichael
a good last name and my take on its top
ten rules success
rule number one is our personal favorite
and I’d love to know which one you guys
like the best also as you’re watching if
you hear something that really resonates
with you please leave it down in the
comments below I put quotes around it so
other people can be inspired by it as
well and if you leave it within the
first couple hours of this video going
live you have a chance to win one of two
daily prizes
I don’t like mindless content I’ve never
liked it I like to think about what I’m
watching what I’m taking in what I’m
listening to so like even music I can’t
listen to music that doesn’t challenge
me in any way and I never could so it’s
just kind of Who I am as a person I
guess embedded in my DNA to just really
want to feel something figure something
out you know and not you know just tell
jokes for the sake of telling jokes I
don’t like to say things that at least
can be meaningful and people I know that
I’m doing my job when I see someone like
react other than just the left actually
give me a reaction and it’s not always
just turning as much as it’s just like
I’ll not like people shaking their head
with comedy a lot of times it’s just
become this court jester type thing
where everyone just you know go says the
craziest brash is most outlandish absurd
silly thing and it means nothing and I
don’t want to say things that don’t mean
anything
do you like sort of putting the audience
in a scenario where they could turn on
you and then it’s more work for you as
artists to kind of make sure that they
don’t yeah yeah it’s it’s more work it’s
more exciting and it’s more fulfilling
when did you notice that like oh I can
do this and I can I can turn a phrase or
make people laugh at something that they
didn’t see before
eighth grade was really big oh yeah yeah
it was an important time for me you know
just having this teacher that you know
encouraged me to read a lot and
dependently and to question everything
gather information I remember one time
he started doing these class debates and
there was this article remember exactly
was in the article but it was about a
man that committed a crime but he had
like a somewhat righteous cause for
doing it I remember those days but he
was dividing up the class and like who
agreed with this guy and thought that he
was justified in doing
and who disagreed and I remember he said
who think he wasn’t justified the entire
class except me raise their hand really
and they were like well who agrees with
the guy and I raised my hand and then we
argue for like 25 minutes I remember it
being the most fun time I’ve ever had in
class ever had in school in it the most
to me and I just remember holding my own
against you know like 20 other students
that sounds strangely akin to stand up
because it’s one guy with a whole sort
of audience that you have to sort of win
over yeah exactly and I think that one
experience that single experience
informed so much of like you know my
life or humor more than more than any
individual experience I can think of
it must have also been notable that you
were the only person that took an
opposing viewpoint yeah and it was
natural and that’s kind of a rule for
stand up for me so is that never be
contrarian for the sake of you know like
you know it always have a truthful
intention behind what you say because
that’s what people will connect with you
know and that’s what will give license
to you know I think people’s attention
people will actually give you their time
if they know that it’s coming from an
honest place and they it’s really a
thought or a motion that you want to
work out you know I think that people
respond to that what did you know that
this is sort of what you’re calling one
um you know I when I was depressed
wearing it at a shoe store got to do
something oh are you a funny salesman
yeah yeah humor has always been an
important part of my life like since
like middle school but you’re selling
tennis shoes some finishes you but you
you use it for anything you know you use
it for whatever you’re working on you
meet women that one yeah that’s though
that was my way in yeah yeah you’re
their feet I never really met girls at
the shoe store you read of that
everywhere else but humor was the most
important most important thing you talk
about gentrification and how it’s
affecting folks it’s not that is funny
if that is real that makes
laughs yeah you know what I mean and
that’s the kind of smart intelligent
comedy that I feel like you guys are
writing on this show that you’re
touching on like realize issues
we’re laughing because we’re laughing at
ourselves people connect with truth more
than anything you know especially I mean
we live in a time where we’re just
talking with so many reality shows and
so many things where people see reality
and they live in it in their
entertainment so much that when if you
turn on a sitcom and people are just
saying these crazy things that you know
isn’t real life then you have nothing to
truly respond to oh that’s why I can’t
watch a lot of the old sitcoms unless
I’m just trying to escape and go dumb
yeah yeah Wow
I don’t want people to with anything I
never want people to turn their minds
off you know like it’s like all of the
art that I love my favorite artists my
favorite rappers my favorite make me
think and make me question things and I
have to listen again and I have to watch
again and so I just want to contribute
to that and with with the show and would
stand up or anything you’d explore an
apathy or at least sort of your fear of
not feeling enough for the feelings
about not feeling in this special shot
just a few days after the election did
it feel kind of dangerous or like you
were walking a thin line because I will
say when I was watching it there was
something about like that was one of the
most dangerous things that I felt I had
seen a comedian do in a long time and it
wouldn’t have been that dangerous yeah
go but there was something about you
walking that rope and trying to make
this approachable for people and make
them relate to you and understand you
and not turn on you yeah very which is
the fun part of it yeah that’s where
it’s fun you know of me the best what
comedy is its most fun and I think you
know can be at its best where it’s
someone exploring an unpopular thought
or emotion on stage and and you know I
like the tree audience members like the
adults that they are and we can have a
discussion and you can completely
disagree with me you can feel the
opposite of how I feel and still listen
and still understand and still my job is
to articulate my point you know and and
I just try not circulate my point and
hopefully you laugh at the end or at
least feel something do you think that
there’s a line that people should or
shouldn’t cross or do you think that
that line itself is just like well is it
funny and do you have an original
thought and if you don’t then there’s
probably a line for you you should have
a intention you know the line is is
where your intention is if your
intention is to just say some crazy into
a microphone there’s like maybe you
shouldn’t have a microphone they are
just going to say the most absurd thing
in the world and you’re going to get mad
and what it like no but if your
intention is to explore a thought then
there is no line how did you develop
your stand-up act it’s just kind of
doing it I just jumped in I didn’t know
I’m from North Carolina my start at in
LA because I just wanted to go to the
comedy Senate up in that sense oh you
are that’s where the heart of an athlete
is where I just wanted to see your the
Jordan of comedy is what you’re saying
god bless you yes NBC is in a place of
redevelopment which is kind of why I was
attracted to NBC in the first place it
was an only pitch to NBC because I was
only going to sell it to NBC because I
was making a show for NBC Wow you know
and and partly it’s just attend people
yeah yeah and I did you know a better
deal with Universal because I was like
yet they think can’t you know pitched
other places but I knew NBC would be
first and that’s the only place I was
going to do it so I was at you
understand the show is a realization of
a lifelong dream of yours yeah I always
wanted to show on NBC that was kind of a
yeah I ought to get what age I think I
was like 11 to 12 I used to tell my
brother him uh my family I wanted to
show on NBC because a lot of my favorite
shows were on there everything from I
watch television with my parents or
watch
cheers and The Cosby Show and you watch
you know a different world and you watch
Seinfeld and we watch all these things
and I was like well I want to be on that
first Prince’s on that you know and and
that was kind of the goal I wanted
Thursday nights at 8:00 but
you know you know Wednesdays at 9:00 is
fun you know weird you have it all Larry
when you’re making a decision to discuss
a specific issue social or political or
whatever it may be what’s going is your
are you building a story around that
issue or is the issue happen
authentically through the story you want
to tell the begin with um a lot of times
I mean it is based on a on discussions
arguments you know topics that I talk
about with my friends that I talk about
my family and then we just explore it
honestly you know and ask questions and
explore curiosity and and that’s it
never the illusion of edge you know it
because if you’re going to pick these
topics it’s like well I like speaking to
adults and I have adult conversation
like the best version that I know how to
have like given the format and again
just being as real as possible like
night there’s there isn’t a message
there’s no message I’m not trying to get
I’m not trying to convince you one way
or another I’m just trying to have an
honest conversation and be funny
kudos is that that’s really it because I
don’t want to step into a pulpit you
know you know a lot of Arts is starting
to reflect that and it’s more
aspirational than real and I don’t want
to be that I’ll have a cause that I’m
champion I’ll have a and then we’re
going to do know just what a funny
showbiz is not lying to you where you
get your thoughts inspiration when you
do stand-up I kind of mind that and not
kind of cheat on the Carmichael show uh
it they all kind of come together
because like a lot of times if you if
you look at my stand-up a lot of times
you you’ll hear a lot of those things in
the show like it just kind of bleeds
into because it’s all perspective so as
long as I feel strongly about something
I could use it for whatever I’m working
on um with stand-up a lot of times it’s
the thought that I’m running from the
most like the thing that I’m a little
nervous about a little hesitant about
and those are the things that that
excite me and usually are the most
fulfilling things to do once they
what makes you nervous um nothing really
it’s not that it makes me nervous as
much as that I know that it’s a
tightrope you know like just to get this
thought out it’s going to be kind of
difficult you know those are the things
that they it gets me excited I’m never
really nervous but but it’s like the
things that are going to be hard to
repeat because I’m trying to make it
hard for you to come back here and
repeat later
so Cosby well you’re already very
excited I want to start by saying that I
met Bill Cosby and he was very nice to
me to me obviously I can’t speak for
about 55 women who may have had a less
than enjoyable experience with the cause
but it was very nice to me I went to his
house good we had tea I don’t remember
much after the – I’m kidding obviously
it was not drugged and raped by Bill
Cosby but we did I don’t know I emailed
them I emailed them I wanted to reach
out because you guys being so mean to
him didn’t write anything in the body of
email only wrote in the subject line I
did you wanna know what I wrote no I
wrote a my nigga you good that’s what I
wrote the flesh out I don’t know if he’s
going to response I don’t know if you
check his email he does
can we talk about how how difficult it
is for me to solve Bill Cosby thing a
lot of you may not relate maybe he
wasn’t your favorite comic maybe you
don’t do comedy but for me was it was a
you know important person in my life you
know a an inspiration if you will and
it’s hard you know
sorry I’m you know it’s not that I’m not
making any excuses at all you know like
what I let them give my mom headache
medication of course not but but it’s
hard watching your hero fall from grace
sorry really is mean for me this whole
Bill Cosby thing is like it’s like
watching Superman rescue a boy from a
burning building and then immediately
molest that boy you know leaving me to
emotionally wait be good with the bad I
want to see the good in them I want to
see the good in everybody you know I try
and take what I call the best friend
perspective you know or even if someone
did something evil wrong I try and see
together yeah like a best friend like
even at Hitler’s funeral
there was still some dude who had to get
up there in speed and it was hard for
him society just hating Hitler he knows
that Hitler was his best friend he tried
to find nice things to say I could stand
up there his speech over the coffin
angry reporters look what can you say
about the guy you know I know a lot of
you hated him
I get it but you don’t understand like
he helped pay for my daughter’s breaks
this man he was a good dude he was a
good dude okay I know the whole
Holocaust thing but he used to make
these quesadillas man and and trust me
you haven’t had a quesadilla but you had
a Hitler quesadillas there were some
people
thank you guys so much for watching I
made this video because Malik Jordan
asked me to if there’s someone you like
me to profile in their future top ten
please check out the link down in the
description below and you can cast your
vote on who we should do next I also
want to give a quick shout out to Becky
seesaw thank you so much for picking up
a copy of my book your one word and
posting the Twitter about it as well I
really really really appreciate the
support and I’m so glad that you enjoyed
the read thank you guys again for
watching I believe in you I hope you
continue to believe in yourself and
whatever your one word is much love I’ll
see you soon
surrounding yourself with like-minded
people all my friends I’m the thing that
I feel luckiest with is like the group
of people that I’m around I really have
excellent friends who like care about
like making things and creating and like
don’t get caught up in trivial things
that won’t matter tomorrow like we don’t
get caught up in things that don’t
matter tomorrow don’t get me wrong we
like new experiences and we like you
know having fun but we like work I mean
I was at my office uh with friends until
6:00 this morning five or six this
morning just like just where and it’s a
little Saturday yeah this context yeah
on Saturday night my attire said it I
don’t go out really like a you know like
do too much like a you know every now
and then but for the most part like just
work and my friends think like that do
you find it difficult to tell some of
these stories that you want to tell me a
lot of time you’re given there’s always
like I think of emotion which like I’m
using here boom there we go there’s
always a thing or two that falls out you
know that you’re excited about that you
know how you really wish this point or
joke or whatever could make it in but of
what 21:50 whatever the amount that we
get is tripping okay it’s running around
45 21:45 yeah do something wrong I think
something small okay I’m happy it’s a
fun obstacle run right around that
trying to capture everything that you
want to say in that amount of time
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