Kenny Mikey

Transcript

I'm going to do something a little different tonight. Against the advice that I have been given by professionals about how to start this moment. Because I know that I should drop y'all into a point in my life that has changed everything. And then we relive that moment together. And right now I can hear the people at Speaker Slam going, But I'm going to do it anyway. All right. I want to create that moment tonight. I want to do it with you together, and things are probably going to go horribly wrong.

And I might look completely ridiculous. But that's a chance I'm willing to take. Because the story is tonight. So, Toronto, are you with me? I have spent my whole life going in the opposite direction of everyone around me. I don't just take the road less traveled. I go barreling blindly through the woods with my arms waving wildly in the air. When I was in high school, uh my teacher actually said, "So, we're so proud that at our school, uh about 82% of the kids that go to college go to the University of Madison, Wisconsin, right here."

And I immediately was like, "I'm not doing that." I did go to college. Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Clown College. Yes, that is a thing. And before you judge me about that, let me tell you that something about Clown College you need to know, [sighs] they don't teach you how to paint faces, make balloon animals, and stand motionless in the woods terrifying people. They expect you to know all that before you get there. What they do teach you is how to be yourself loud and proud.

How to go towards embarrassment, and how to fail on purpose. Basically, I I'm funny by slipping and falling, and what that does is it makes you feel like failure is survivable. Man, you know, I think so often people don't take the road less traveled, not because it's hard, but because they're afraid to look ridiculous and they don't want to be judged. Not caring about being judged is kind of my superpower. Not caring about being judged has allowed me to take risks in my life that have paid off so well.

[sighs] Well, sometimes your superpower can also be your kryptonite. And the one person that I loved more than anyone else, when I thought that she judged me, it almost destroyed me. My wife, Jill, was my best friend. She's the one that got me more than anyone else. She loved my loudness and proudness. But after 20 years of marriage, for some reason in my head I was convinced that she no longer thought that my uniqueness was charming. And I thought that so much that I left.

I thought that she didn't love me anymore. I left. For 2 years, I traveled across the country in a van by myself. Until one lonely night, one long road in Texas. Man, the air conditioning was broken in the car and it was a record heatwave. I was exhausted. I was dehydrated. I was delirious. And I thought I was going to die. So, I called my wife to say goodbye. And that woman talked to me on the phone FOR 5 HOURS. AND SHE TOLD ME FOR like the millionth time that she never stopped loving me.

And somewhere between heatstroke and heartache, I finally believed her. And then she flew out to be by my side and we drove home together. You know, she was never judging me. I was just judging myself. Have you guys ever thought that someone was judging you? I mean, to be honest, probably. It's happening to me right now in this contest with actual judges. [sighs] when I have let myself be affected by judgment, I've lost nearly everything so many times. But when I let myself go ahead and not be affected by it, it has allowed me to take risks in my life that have led me to do amazing things.

The road less traveled is not about bravery. It is about doing something ridiculous, being yourself to others and to yourself. So big that you live a life that you love. And that is a risk worth taking. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Transcript generated from the recording and lightly cleaned. Some names and wording may differ from the spoken speech.