Speaker 1Shut up and sit down. Welcome to Being On Stage, the only podcast that gives you motivation, inspiration, and confidence to be better on stage. No matter how you entertain, sing, dance, band, comedian, public speaking, emcee, drag, burlesque, performance art, or street performer, this is the show for you.
Speaker 2Hey Rockstars, Reggie Dawson here, host of the Being On Stage podcast, and can I say wow and thank you to all the new listeners everywhere. Thank you so much. Listen, if you have not done so already, can you please go into iTunes, drop a five-star rating on this podcast, and hey, leave me a comment while you're at it. Let me know what you think. So I want to tell you a little something about what happened to me this weekend. The title of the podcast gives it away slightly, but the story. I think you'll find interesting. So most of you know, I've performed a lot ever since I was 12 years old. I've done a couple of different odd variety acts. You know, I've done my thing of dance. You know, I was on a puppet team at my church. I did band in high school. I tried my hand at theater. I've done lip sync version of a theater show, if that makes sense. And then, of course, you know, I performed a lot of lip sync art and performance art and production styles. You know, I've performed with a number of entertainers all across the country and locally as well. And I was a house name at one of the local venues here for years and years and years. Worked with most of the local performers, most of the local lip sync artists, drag queens, drag kings, burlesque performers, exotic performers, things like that. And over time, you know, I just kind of grew out of the nightlife. And I. You know, my family moved back. I have a daughter. You know, she's 14. Not really. Shouldn't really be doing the clubbing thing all the time with a 14-year-old. So I wanted to have more of a daytime lifestyle. So I gave it up a little bit. And it kind of came and bit me in the butt on Friday night. I went out with a friend after work. You know, I get off work at like 9, 930, 10. Depends on the stuff I need to get done. So I went out. You know, we decided we were going to go out for a drink. See a drag show. So we went out to the old spot. And, well, the same place, but it's been like purchased and redone a couple of times over. But it's the same place. The same people go. It's all the same. So we decided to go have a couple of drinks, you know. So I'm, you know, pretty, I mean, you know, I'm drinking, let's just say. And one of the performers that I used to work with, you know, she's up there. She's doing her thing. And I'm not name dropping. And listen, truthfully, I'm not even mad. I just. I think this is great. This is a great story to make into a podcast to kind of prove a point. And this is what I do. You know, I talk about performing. I talk about being a better performer, engaging more with your audience, having more confidence, more drive, more motivation, more growth. And that's kind of that's my that's my spiel. That's my thing. I coach performers to just do more performing, if you will. So we're there. You know, the show's going on. And this is probably one of the first times I've gone out there in a little while. And I was talking to her before the show. I was talking to the performer for the show. And she's asking me some questions. You know, she asked me a little bit about the podcast thing. By the way, if anyone calls it a thing, just don't even give them the time of day. They're not really interested. They're just making small tack or they're trying to make a dig at you. Truthfully, that's how I kind of how I feel. It's not a thing. OK, it's not a podcast thing. It's not a being on stage thing. It's not a singing thing. It's not a guitar thing. It's not a dancing thing. It's not a juggling thing. It's not an acrobat thing. It's not an aerial silk thing. It's not a thing. OK, it's a passion. It's an art. It's a performance. It's my life. You know, like, let's let's be real in terms of what I'm talking about in this story. Yeah. So she's asking me about my podcast thing, my being on stage thing. And I bought into it. I bit. I made the mistake, you know. So we're chatting. And I'm letting her know, oh, yeah, it's going great, blah, blah, blah. Group's going good. I have a Facebook group, by the way. I do a live video every Wednesday. Beingonstage.com slash group will get you there. So anyways, I'm sitting there and we're chatting for a bit. And then, you know, show starts. She goes off, does her thing on stage. As the show's rounding out and I'm like, you know, I've been drinking the entire time. And this is about an hour long show. As the show's ending, this performer starts to talk. And just kind of, like, engage and make small talk with the audience. And listen, the end of the show, by the way, is not the time to make small talk with the audience. Like, that needs to be done in the middle or the beginning. Not the end. Get all the talking, everything out of the way. The end, when it's the end, it's the end. Like, just end it. Anyways, so as she's wrapping up and she's talking and everything, I believe she was trying to make a point about what she's doing being art. Um, or something, I guess. I'm not sure what the point was, but one of the first things out of her mouth was, Reggie, I'm going to quote what was said. Reggie, over there, he's been doing his being on stage thing for a while now. And I asked him, when was the last time you performed? He said, last year. Ha! He needs to just stop. End quote. Mind you. This is on a microphone in a club venue that I used to frequent and be a house name at in front of the entire audience as the show's ending. Everyone's paying attention because they're ready to dance and drink. And it just, it, wow. Like, I was absolutely floored by what was, and my wife's right next to me. And I mean, I wish I would have gotten a picture of my face because I swear to God, I went, just stone-faced, hardened, like, I probably looked like I could have killed somebody. And I'm not, listen, I'm not, I'm not that guy. I'm not making threats. Like, don't, like, call the NSA or something and have them, like, hack my podcast, okay? All I'm saying is, my face could, probably looked as if I was ready to kill somebody. Yeah, I was, I was publicly humiliated and torn down. Now, I mean, the backstory. The backstory is, listen, I have not physically stepped onto a stage since October of last year, 2018. However, keeping in mind, you know, I do videos, I do this podcast, plus I'm coaching performers now. I'm taking what I learned and what I did and what I continue to learn and, and, and see in other performers, I'm taking that and I'm giving it out as power and motivation and inspiration to keep people going. Like, this is my performance now. My, my coaching and my podcast is my performing. This is my new stage, if you will. So, yeah, I haven't stepped on a stage since October, but I stepped on so many stages in the 12 years that I did perform. It was insane. The point of this whole thing is, and I'm not trying to defend myself, like, listen, I don't, I don't need to defend myself. You know why? I love what I do. I love this podcast. I love helping performers. I know that I'm making a difference because I get those emails and I get those DMs, you know, I get them. I see them. I respond to them. So I know that I'm making a difference. I know that I'm connecting with people. I know that I have at least helped three or four people. Why? They've told me so. I don't need to defend myself. I don't need, I'm not tooting my own horn, guys. Like, this is not me, like, going on the defensive. I'm not going to defend myself. I'm not going to defend myself here. Okay? But this happens to everybody, every single performer. I don't care who you are. I don't care what you do on stage. Again, this podcast, not bias. It's whatever you do, do your thing. As long as you're on stage, you're entertaining people, you're connecting, and you're moving forward, more power to you. I love all performers equally. This happens. As a performer, you are going to be torn down and have some of the most hard times. You are going to have some of the most hurtful things said to you. I mentioned it on a podcast. I think, I don't remember if it was the last one or the one before that, but I mentioned on another podcast that I follow this guy on Instagram, and he was told that his magic sucks and he should kill himself. What? Like, the things that people say. So, people, listen, can I level with you? You want to believe, and I want to believe, that everybody that you know and that knows you supports you. And that may seem 100% true, but no matter what, somehow, somewhere, someone is going to come out of left field and knock you outside the head with some terrible, hurtful comments and, like, just tearing you, ripping you down. It may be to your face. It may be publicly on a microphone. It may come to you from a third party. But when it happens, you're going to, listen, you're going to feel hurt. You're going to feel disappointed. You're going to be angry. 100% you're going to be angry oh I was pissed most importantly you're going to be left questioning if they were right and that's what happened to me you know I was left questioning you know what maybe she was right maybe I should stop maybe I shouldn't be coaching performers now that was only for an instance because my wife is like huge huge into this don't pay attention to other people stuff so she snapped me right out of it you know she's like why why are you giving this time why are you giving why why is this even making an impact on you that's kind of what she said she has her own way of speaking to me I paraphrase but that's pretty much what she said and listen these people are going to come at you with everything they have they're going to try to tear you down and rip you apart and make you feel like you cannot should not and have no business moving forward why they do it honestly I'll never know and truthfully we don't even have the time to get into it but it rarely has something to do with them being unhappy with themselves or whatever the point here is it's going to happen but their comments and these people they only have power if you let them have power I think it was Eleanor Roosevelt that said something along those lines people can only make you fear feel inferior if you let them these people can only hurt you if you let them hurt you now I had a manager she's really kooky she was kind of like overbearing but great manager taught me so so so so many things okay one of the things she taught me was her favorite animal was a duck okay and I know I know yes quack quack duck I know it's just go with me here okay and anytime you would ask her you know what's your favorite animal or anytime she would tell you hey ask me what my favorite animal is you know it was it was you'd have to be in the conversation so you'd ask her okay well hey peg what's your favorite animal she'd say a duck you say why a duck and she would say have you ever noticed what happens to the water on a duck when he comes up out of the water and I'm like what ducks come out of the water and she said yeah you know when he dives down to to get food or whatever and when he comes up like he's maybe he's bathing himself whatever when he comes up what happens to the water I said I don't know she goes well think about it think about when you see a duck with water what happens to the water and she said I said I said it just kind of I guess it just rolls off she goes exactly like water off a duck's back that's how you have to treat the situation when people are coming at you and tearing you down and treating you like crap because listen I'm going to tell you something that maybe you've never heard before and and maybe this is the first time you've heard it and listen I'm I'm telling you this 100 percent I believe in you I believe in your talent and I believe that you belong on stage and anybody who says differently does not deserve your energy period believe in yourself I said this last podcast the greatest power you have is the belief in yourself truthfully 100 so when these people come at you and they tear you down and they try to rip you apart and they try to knock you down from cloud nine and destroy what it is you love to do hold tight to what you love to do and keep on doing it that's the best reaction you can have 100 literally turn the other cheek that's what my mom used to say turn the other cheek reg turn the other cheek when people bully you or pick on you turn the other cheek and you know what I did I did a lot of turning the other cheek when I was a kid and I'll tell you 90 of the time it worked there was one time I ended up with shaving cream all over my backpack at the same time they also had to clean up my backpack in the presence of the dean so you do the math the point is turn the other cheek walk away let it go these things that people say to tear you down and bring you down it's not worth it it's not worth wasting your energy and truthfully it's not worth putting off your dream because of this you know you're gonna spend so much time dwelling on something that someone else said who truthfully these people are not worth it they're not worth it people probably have no qualifications to judge you as a performer anyways you're gonna take time and value what they say and take the time away from pushing for your dream no my friend we push forward we don't look at the people on the sidelines we look at what's in front of us and then we chase it that's what a performer does that's what you do keep on shining
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