Don’t Be Afraid To Fail – Be Afraid Not To Try. It’s something I want my children to remember. I’ve been scared to death numerous times in my life to try something new, but I knew if I didn’t try them I might not reach my goals. Like the time I ended up on a professional dance audition without realizing it. … More on that later.
When I was young I had a lot of dreams for my future. I was like most kids. I would dream of being a veterinarian, a superhero, a rock star, a magician, a television star or countless other things. I soon realized learning how to fly with a cape on my back wasn’t going to happen. I also realized I was allergic to just about every animal so being a veterinarian was out of the question, too.
I loved making people laugh and amazing them with magic tricks so that’s where my focus stayed from the age of 6 years old or so. I’d do shows out of my bedroom window for the neighborhood children. Some were older than me, others were my age and others were younger.
There would always be a knock at my bedroom window from a kid wanting to know when the next show was and there were many.
From showing them magic tricks, telling them jokes, doing a puppet show or just acting goofy, I’d do anything to make them laugh. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be making people happy and laugh for a living over 40 years later.
Realizing I needed to make money along the way until my entertainment and speaking career could support me, I got a job at a local hospital that my dad worked at when I was 16. I figured it would just be for the summer, but I ended up leaving there when I was 23. Sometimes things take longer to go as planned. 🙂
I took professional clown classes and magic classes starting at age 16, too. I’d do paid shows when I wasn’t scheduled to work at the hospital and even take sick days, vacation days or personal days if the shows paid more than my hospital job.
I worked in three different departments in the hospital during my years there. The last department I worked in was radiology. One of the nuclear medicine technicians mentioned that her brother was Tigger at Disney World in Orlando, FL. I thought that was the coolest thing ever.
I’d been hired by the hospital to play the Easter Bunny and at one point was even hired to dress like a chicken for a local chicken restaurant and pass out fliers at events. Once again, anything to make people smile and laugh. I saw this Tigger connection as my way out of the hospital and into show business full-time. I inquired more on how he got the job and she put me in tough with the one and only Tigger.
To make a long story short I found out through my co-worker’s brother that there were auditions coming up and I booked my ticket to Florida. I had a headshot of myself as well as photos of me as the Easter Bunny at a hospital event. In my mind I was just what they were looking for. They needed me! I just knew it!
I went to the Magic Kingdom and found Tigger. It was incredibly hot and I soon realized being in a hot costume in 100 degree weather wasn’t a good career choice for me.
I told people I was going down to try out to be a character and like it anymore or not, I was going to go through with the audition. If I commit to something, I try my best to follow through.
So here I arrived the day of the audition. I was a balding, heavy, 22 or so year old wearing a purple / pink-ish button up short sleeved shirt, white pants and white tennis shoes. I followed the signs for the audition, got there and then it hit me like a ton of bricks. … It was a dance audition! Tigger failed to mention that!
Until that day the most I ever danced was doing the Chicken Dance or the Hokey Pokey at one of my sister’s weddings.
As I entered the large rehearsal studio I noticed 100-200 or so others wanting the same jobs.
The only different was they were all fit, in full workout / dance type outfits and had more experience than I did.
They were stretching and warming up and looking at me with a sense of wonder in their eyes. Their wonder was wondering how was this balding chubby guy going to dance better than they could.
There I stood with my photos with me dressed as a freaking bunny rabbit in my hands watching these dancers ready to have a dance off with …. ME! If I bent over to stretch I’m sure my pants would have split and I would have lost a button or two on my shirt because I was (and still am) overweight.
Nobody knew my name yet and I could have easily walked out. They wouldn’t have missed me. A woman behind the counter woke me out of my stunned daze with a “Can I help you?”. “Yes”, I said “I’m here for the audition!”. She looked a bit surprised, but signed me up.
After what seemed like an eternity later we were all called into one end of a very long dance rehearsal room. There were mirrors all down the walls so you could see how well you were dancing or in my case I could watch the upcoming train wreck coming down the tracks.
There was a table for the judges that were going to select the people that would move forward to their dreams or be booted out the door they came into with a broken heart.
Some of the Disney choreographers stood in front and had us all line up in 2 or three rows all the way down the long dance hall.
They started to play music and had all of us follow along to the dance moves. We did various dance moves along with them until it was one entire routine to that song. It wasn’t that hard to follow along dancing as I watched them. If they raised their right hand, I raised mine. That was easy. I’m sure I wasn’t the best in the line, but I wasn’t as horrible as I thought I’d be.
After going over the dance moves over and over until we should have had it all down pat they had everyone go back to one side and sit down. They then explained they wanted to see everyone go through the entire song and dance routine one at a time.
Yes, they wanted us to go one at a time in front of the judges and everyone auditioning. After explaining this the person in charge looked at me, pointed at me and said “Let’s start with YOU!”. Out of a room full of dancers she wanted me to go first! I think she was just being nice and putting me out of my misery early. I was the slow wounded baby antelope in a jungle full of hungry fit lions.
It was time for me to take one for the team and be the sacrifice for the Disney Dance Gods.
I stood up with a room full of dancers watching me and walked to the starting point and they started the music. At that very point I instantly forgot 90% of the dance moves. I knew I had to dance from one end of the long room to the other. I knew that nobody other than the person in charge new my name and would never remember me.
So what did I do? I gave the judges and other dancers a dance show they won’t soon forget. I made up moves, waved my arms around, wiggled my hips, wiggled my hands and feet, twirled around and probably did other things for the entire length of that room.
I probably looked like a fish on a dock wiggling for its life trying to get back in the water.
Those that judged me just by my looks and thought there wasn’t any way I could be a professional dancer were proven right. Just like I did when I was 6 years old, I made them laugh and gave them a show they won’t soon forget.
I was left with a “Don’t call us, we’ll call you.” and I was back in my rental car headed for their airport. Now 27 or so years later I still burst out laughing from time to time just thinking about that experience. Don’t Be Afraid To Fail – Be Afraid Not To Try.
As long as trying something new won’t harm you or anyone else or is illegal … try it! Life is so short. Dance like nobody’s watching … even if 200 dancers and a panel of industry judges are watching. Just like the final words my Grandma Rivers said to me “Whatever you do in life, have fun!”.
This dancing failure led to other successes. If I landed the Disney job I would have never gone to Japan to do shows and met the woman that would become my wife. I could probably have never had kids.
If I got the Disney job I wouldn’t have done other things that turned into television bookings, corporate motivational speaking engagements and other things. It wasn’t a fail it was a good try. It was an experience that most people never have. It’s a story I’ll be telling my grandchildren someday and it’s one I wanted to tell you.
I hope it made you laugh or at least smile as you pictured me wiggling around in front of a room full of dancers as I did my best to dance for the entire song and length of the room. If I made you smile or laugh I did my job, just like the 6 year old me at my bedroom window.
Now whatever you do in life ….. HAVE FUN!!!