Laugh or Death with Paul Osincup | Humor, Resilience, Humanity

This week on Laugh or Death, I'm taking you behind the scenes of another speaking trip — this time to Orlando for the Veterinary Dental Forum.

And this one did not exactly go according to plan.

I was scheduled to lead a four-hour workshop on humor and happiness and was told to expect somewhere around 30–40 people. I planned the whole thing around a smaller, interactive group…and then I walked into a ballroom built for 500 or 600 people.

Oh, and eventually about 160–180 people showed up.

So, roughly five times what I was expecting. Cool. No pressure. 😂

In this vlog, I bring you along for the whole trip: the emergency CVS run for presentation supplies, hauling a carry-on mostly full of books, my traditional night-before overthinking session, seeing the room for the first time, and figuring out how to completely adjust a workshop on the fly.

One of the things I'm constantly thinking about when I speak is the balance between entertainment and actual takeaway value. I absolutely believe there's value in people working in stressful professions getting an hour to laugh, relax, and have fun. But I also want them to leave with something they can actually use.

Apparently we succeeded on the laughing part because at one point our room got so loud that the conference session next door started cheering back at us. 😂

We had accidentally started a ballroom cheer war at a veterinary dentistry conference.

But the most meaningful part of this trip happened after I was done speaking.

A couple of people came up afterward and got emotional talking about how much the session affected them. Later at the hotel, I met Carol, who told me part of the workshop really hit home for her — specifically the idea of living a life that's true to yourself instead of constantly doing what everyone else expects from you.

So naturally, I asked a woman who had just told me she was emotional if she wanted to immediately appear on my podcast.

She said yes. 😂

We talked about caring for everybody else, making space for your own happiness, coming out of your shell, and giving yourself permission to actually live your life.

And somewhere in that conversation, she ended up reminding me why I do what I do.

My job is usually to get other people thinking differently about their lives. But every once in a while, somebody in the audience turns around and does the same thing for me.

It was a good reminder to keep leaning into this work, trust the message, and remember that sometimes the thing you're doing really does reach somebody who needs it.

Links:

FREE GIFT! Download the Fun Over Funny Guide For Leaders! https://www.paulosincup.com/freegift

If you enjoyed this episode and want to build your own humor habit, make sure to follow the podcast and share it with someone who could use a little more levity in their life.

To learn more about Paul's work, book him for speaking engagements, or explore the science behind humor and resilience, visit: 👉 https://www.paulosincup.com You can also dive deeper into the tools discussed in this episode in Paul's book: 👉 The Humor Habit: https://www.paulosincup.com/thehumorhabit

All Links For Paul: https://stan.store/PaulOsincup

Episode Minute-By-Minute:

• 00:00 – Behind the Scenes at an Orlando Vet Conference
• 01:00 – Emergency Presentation Supplies at CVS 😂
• 02:00 – My Carry-On Is Basically Just Books
• 03:00 – The Night-Before Speaking Overthink
• 04:00 – Entertainment vs. Giving People Something Useful
• 06:00 – Preparing for a Four-Hour Workshop
• 07:00 – This Room Is NOT What I Expected
• 08:00 – Time to Change the Plan
• 09:00 – Every Speaker's Worst Nightmare 😂
• 10:00 – Five Times More People Showed Up
• 11:00 – How I Adjusted the Workshop on the Fly
• 12:00 – Getting a Serious Crowd to Loosen Up
• 13:00 – We Got So Loud the Ballroom Next Door Responded 😂
• 14:00 – Our Happiness Session Started a Cheer War
• 15:00 – What I'd Do Differently Next Time
• 16:00 – Why Speaking to Veterinary Professionals Means So Much to Me
• 17:00 – The Conversation That Stuck With Me
• 18:00 – Meet Carol: "That Part Hit Home"
• 19:00 – When You're Always Taking Care of Everybody Else
• 20:00 – Why In-Person Conferences Still Matter
• 21:00 – Giving Yourself Permission to Be Yourself
• 22:00 – "This Is the Year of Why Not"
• 23:00 – The Audience Reminded Me Why I Do This
• 24:00 – Believe in Your Own Message
• 25:00 – Final Thoughts From Orlando

This episode is a little different you're coming with me behind the scenes of a last-minute comedy show.

A couple days before this, I got asked to perform at Pine Creek Lodge and open for the comedy band Wolves of Glendale. So instead of doing a normal studio episode, I brought the camera along and turned the whole night into a little Laugh or Death vlog.

My friend and fellow comedian Leah Tiscione joined me, and before the show we got into what actually goes through a comedian's head right before getting onstage: panic, set lists, cheat sheets, remembering your opener, trying new jokes, and figuring out where to hide the material you're not totally sure about yet.

We also talk about why five minutes of comedy can sometimes feel harder than twenty, how much the room changes the way you perform, why I'd genuinely rather perform in front of 10,000 strangers than 10 people I know, and why the best cure I know for stage nerves is simply getting more stage time.

Then we actually do the show and come back afterward to break down what worked, what didn't, and the strange experience of sometimes leaving the stage knowing exactly how every joke landed — while other nights feel like a complete blackout.

The biggest takeaway for me came later that night.

The venue wasn't perfect for comedy. The crowd was spread out. I wasn't getting the perfect footage I usually want for clips. And somehow, because I stopped worrying so much about the outcome, I ended up being more present and having a lot more fun.

I was watching people laugh, interacting with the crowd, and enjoying performing simply because I love doing it.

It felt like for the love of the game.

So come hang out backstage with us, watch two comedians overthink everything, and see what a real comedy night looks like when you only get a couple days' notice.

Hit play now!

Life is hard. We should laugh harder.

Links:

FREE GIFT! Download the Fun Over Funny Guide For Leaders! https://www.paulosincup.com/freegift

If you enjoyed this episode and want to build your own humor habit, make sure to follow the podcast and share it with someone who could use a little more levity in their life.

To learn more about Paul's work, book him for speaking engagements, or explore the science behind humor and resilience, visit: 👉 https://www.paulosincup.com You can also dive deeper into the tools discussed in this episode in Paul's book: 👉 The Humor Habit

All Links For Paul: https://stan.store/PaulOsincup

Guest Socials & Website:

https://www.instagram.com/secretcrayon/

Episode Minute-By-Minute:

• 00:00 – Welcome to a Last-Minute Comedy Show
• 00:45 – The Outdoor Venue & Why Comedy Needs a Close Crowd
• 01:30 – Meet Comedian Leah Tiscione
• 02:00 – What Comedians Feel Right Before Going Onstage
• 03:00 – Leah's "Emotional Support Paper"
• 04:00 – Why the First Two Minutes Matter So Much
• 05:00 – Where to Put New Material in Your Set
• 06:00 – Is 5 Minutes Harder Than 20 Minutes?
• 07:00 – Stop Wasting Time and Get to the Joke
• 08:00 – Should You Talk to the Crowd First?
• 09:00 – Why Audiences Need to Feel Like You're in Control
• 10:00 – How Did the Show Actually Go?
• 11:00 – Leah Catches Her Parents Not Laughing 😂
• 12:00 – Why I'd Rather Perform for 10,000 Strangers
• 13:00 – How Comedy Takes Over Your Entire Day
• 14:00 – Why More Stage Time Makes You Less Nervous
• 15:00 – The Best Way to Get Better at Public Speaking
• 16:00 – Karaoke Might Actually Be Stage Training
• 17:00 – We Invent "Kara-Jokey" 😂
• 18:00 – I Hope AI Steals My Jokes Someday
• 19:00 – Why Comedians Obsess After a Show
• 20:00 – The Jokes That Worked Tonight
• 21:00 – When a Reliable Joke Completely Dies
• 22:00 – The Crowd Changes Everything
• 23:00 – Why a Bad Show Makes You Question Your Entire Life
• 24:00 – The Part Nobody Sees After the Show
• 25:00 – Performing for the Love of the Game
• 26:00 – Learning to Enjoy the Process Instead of the Outcome
• 27:00 – Until Next Time

What happens when the thing that makes your job harder also becomes part of what makes your comedy unforgettable?

This week on Laugh or Death, I'm hanging out with my friend and very funny comedian Noah Crow.

Noah has a stutter, which creates a pretty unusual challenge when your chosen profession is…talking into a microphone in front of strangers. Some days his stutter is barely noticeable. Other days it can get bad enough that he has to seriously consider whether he should perform at all. And in one of the strangest twists, there are even nights when he has to exaggerate or fake his own stutter because the jokes he wrote about it won't make sense otherwise. Transcript Transcript

We talk about what it's like when audiences laugh before Noah has even told a joke, why people sometimes mistake a stutter for nervousness, and how he learned to use those uncomfortable moments instead of running from them.

We also get into the craft of stand-up: finding your closer, writing jokes about the city you're performing in, why crushing your first open mic might actually be terrible for you, and the bizarre path that took Noah from young Shrek to stand-up comedian.

But one of my favorite parts of the conversation is when Noah talks about the people with stutters who approach him after shows and tell him that watching him perform makes them feel more comfortable being themselves. One interaction hit him so hard that he found himself crying on the way to work the next day and realizing, "I can't stop now." Transcript

We also somehow cover assless European sailor underwear, a Nashville stranger asking Noah for "a dollar or three," and one of the worst possible ways to ask someone what country they're from.

So, a normal episode.

In this episode:

• Living and performing with a stutter
• Why Noah sometimes has to fake his own disability
• Being laughed at before you've even told the joke
• Turning uncomfortable audience moments into comedy
• The comedian who inspired Noah to try stand-up
• Why Noah started performing at 18
• Chasing his mom's laugh
• How to know when you've found your closing joke
• Writing location-specific stand-up material
• What disability representation means when you're actually great at the craft
• Why people with stutters have approached Noah after shows
• Comedy, resilience, and learning not to hide
• Noah's upcoming one-man show, Sprinkler

🎙️ Episode 37: Laughing Through Disability with Comedian Noah Crow

Subscribe to Laugh or Death for conversations about comedy, humor, resilience, and getting through being human without taking yourself too seriously.

Life is hard. We should laugh harder.

Links:

FREE GIFT! Download the Fun Over Funny Guide For Leaders! https://www.paulosincup.com/freegift

If you enjoyed this episode and want to build your own humor habit, make sure to follow the podcast and share it with someone who could use a little more levity in their life.

To learn more about Paul's work, book him for speaking engagements, or explore the science behind humor and resilience, visit: 👉 https://www.paulosincup.com You can also dive deeper into the tools discussed in this episode in Paul's book: 👉 The Humor Habit

All Links For Paul: https://stan.store/PaulOsincup

Guest Socials & Website:

https://www.instagram.com/mrnoahcrow/

Episode Minute-By-Minute:

• 00:00 – Meet Comedian Noah Crow
• 01:00 – The Underwear Modeling Story 😂
• 02:40 – "The Stutter Is Just Part of Your Act, Right?"
• 04:00 – When Noah Has to Fake His Own Stutter
• 05:00 – How Much His Stutter Can Change Day to Day
• 07:00 – The Comedian Who Made Noah Think "I Could Do This"
• 09:00 – Why People Laugh Before He's Told a Joke
• 12:00 – Turning Awkward Audience Reactions Into Comedy
• 13:00 – Noah's Favorite Stuttering Joke
• 15:00 – How Comedians Know They've Found Their Closer
• 17:00 – Getting Life Advice From a Stranger in Nashville
• 19:00 – Why Local Jokes Hit Harder
• 21:00 – Doing Stand-Up With a Disability
• 22:00 – Noah's First Open Mic at 18
• 23:00 – Chasing His Mom's Laugh
• 26:00 – Why Doing Okay Your First Time Can Be Dangerous
• 27:00 – The Moment Noah Realized His Comedy Was Helping People
• 29:00 – Being Great at Stand-Up, Stutter or No Stutter
• 31:00 – The Worst Possible Way to Ask "Where Are You From?" 😂
• 32:00 – Has Comedy Made Noah More Resilient?
• 33:00 – Why People With Stutters Shouldn't Feel Like They Have to Hide
• 35:00 – When People Think the Stutter Is Fake
• 37:00 – Noah's One-Man Show: Sprinkler

What does a motivational speaker do when he's not feeling motivated?

Today, I'm still in my pajamas, I'm tired, I recently got rejected from a comedy contest I was excited about, and my brain has already used that one rejection to question virtually every decision I've ever made.

So naturally, I turned on a microphone.

In this solo episode of Laugh or Death, I'm talking about rational optimism—a way of being hopeful without pretending everything is great.

Because optimism doesn't mean ignoring disappointment, rejection, frustration, or all the things that suck. Sometimes it means acknowledging exactly how you feel and then asking:

What can I actually do to make this situation a little better?

I share an exercise I use with audiences that shows just how easy it is for our brains to focus on what's wrong, why words like "always" and "never" can send us into a spiral, and a framework from Martin Seligman's Learned Optimism that helps me challenge the stories my brain starts telling after something doesn't go my way. Transcript

We also get into the difference between being a thermometer and a thermostat.

A thermometer tells you the temperature:

"This sucks."

"I'm disappointed."

"I'm not motivated."

A thermostat acknowledges the temperature—and then does something to change it, even if it's only by one degree.

That's what rational optimism looks like to me.

In this episode:

• What happens when the motivational speaker isn't motivated
• Why negativity comes so easily to some of us
• The optimism exercise I use with live audiences
• Why staying positive actually takes effort
• Optimism vs. pessimism vs. "realism"
• What I mean by rational optimism
• How rejection can turn into a much bigger story in your head
• Why "always" and "never" are red flags for me
• The adversity → belief → consequence framework
• How to dispute your own negative thinking
• Using your actual track record as evidence
• Why creativity comes in waves
• Thermometer vs. thermostat thinking
• Finding your next best move when you're in a funk

🎙️ Episode 36: How to Be a Rational Optimist, Even If It Sounds Awful

Subscribe to Laugh or Death for conversations about humor, resilience, comedy, and how to get through being human without taking yourself too seriously.

Life is hard. We should laugh harder.

FREE GIFT! Download the Fun Over Funny Guide For Leaders! https://www.paulosincup.com/freegift

If you enjoyed this episode and want to build your own humor habit, make sure to follow the podcast and share it with someone who could use a little more levity in their life.

To learn more about Paul's work, book him for speaking engagements, or explore the science behind humor and resilience, visit: 👉 https://www.paulosincup.com You can also dive deeper into the tools discussed in this episode in Paul's book: 👉 The Humor Habit

All Links For Paul: https://stan.store/PaulOsincup

Episode Minute-By-Minute:

00:00 – What Happens When a Motivational Speaker Isn't Motivated? 01:00 – Why I'm Not Naturally Positive All the Time 02:00 – The Positive vs. Negative Experiment I Use With Audiences 03:00 – Why Negativity Is So Much Easier for Some of Us 04:00 – Staying Positive Takes Effort 05:00 – Optimists, Pessimists & "Realists" 06:00 – Why Our Brains Look for What's Wrong 07:00 – What Is Rational Optimism? 08:00 – The Rejection That Put Me in a Funk 09:00 – When "I'm in a Rut" Becomes "I'll Never Be Good Again" 10:00 – Learned Optimism & Learned Helplessness 11:00 – Adversity, Belief & Consequence 13:00 – How Negative Beliefs Kill Motivation 14:00 – Dispute the Story Your Brain Is Telling You 15:00 – Use Your Own Track Record as Evidence 16:00 – Creativity Comes in Waves 17:00 – Be a Thermostat, Not Just a Thermometer 18:00 – What's Your Next Best Move?

What can improv comedy teach you about failure, trust, relationships, presence, and becoming a better human?

Quite a bit, apparently.

This week on Laugh or Death, I'm sitting down with Annie and Levin O'Connor, owners of Last Best Comedy Club in Bozeman, Montana. Between them, they have more than 50 years of experience performing and teaching improv—and they've also built a comedy community that has become incredibly important in my own life.

We talk about why improv is basically practice for failing without freaking out, why you shouldn't wait around for the perfect idea, and what happens when you learn to trust that the people around you have your back.

We also get into how improv teaches you to read a room, why sometimes the best thing a performer can do is acknowledge that something feels weird, and how those same skills can help with uncomfortable conversations in real life.

Then things get surprisingly existential.

Annie and Levin explain what it's like to spend decades creating an art form that disappears as soon as the show ends—and why that impermanence can actually teach you to appreciate the moment you're in.

Or, as we realize during the conversation:

These are the good old days right now.

We also talk about why Last Best isn't ultimately just about comedy. It's about creating a place where people can make friends, take risks, be themselves, and belong.

In this episode:

• What improv teaches you about failure
• Why you shouldn't wait for the perfect idea
• How "I've got your back" changes collaboration
• Why Paul returned to improv
• Can improv make you a better spouse, friend, or parent?
• How improv builds empathy and awareness
• Why comedians need to commit to the bit
• What to do when you lose an audience
• Why saying the awkward thing out loud often helps
• Improv and uncomfortable conversations
• Why the best improv disappears
• Learning to recognize the "good old days" while you're in them
• Why live, human comedy still matters
• Comedy as a tool for community and belonging
• What Annie, Levin, and Paul are saying "yes" to next
• Why Paul is finally saying yes to being a comedian

🎙️ Subscribe to Laugh or Death for conversations about comedy, humor, resilience, and practical ways to laugh more and take yourself a little less seriously.

Life is hard. We should laugh harder.

Links:

FREE GIFT! Download the Fun Over Funny Guide For Leaders! https://www.paulosincup.com/freegift

If you enjoyed this episode and want to build your own humor habit, make sure to follow the podcast and share it with someone who could use a little more levity in their life.

To learn more about Paul's work, book him for speaking engagements, or explore the science behind humor and resilience, visit: 👉 https://www.paulosincup.com You can also dive deeper into the tools discussed in this episode in Paul's book: 👉 The Humor Habit

All Links For Paul: https://stan.store/PaulOsincup

Episode Minute-By-Minute:

• 00:00 – Meet Annie & Levin O'Connor of Last Best Comedy
• 05:00 – Why Their Comedy Club Has No Drink Minimum
• 06:00 – What Improv Teaches You About Failure
• 07:00 – Stop Waiting for the Perfect Idea
• 09:00 – Why Paul Started Doing Improv
• 12:00 – Does Improv Make You a Better Person… or More Annoying?
• 14:00 – Anything Can Be Funny If Everyone Plays Along
• 16:00 – The Empathy Superpower of Improv
• 20:00 – Your Stage Persona Isn't Your Real Personality
• 22:00 – Commit to the Bit
• 25:00 – What to Do When You Lose the Audience
• 28:00 – Say What's Actually Happening in the Room
• 30:00 – Why Uncomfortable Conversations Make Life Better
• 34:00 – The Strange Beauty of an Art Form That Disappears
• 36:00 – These Are the Good Old Days Right Now
• 39:00 – The Audience Is Part of the Performance
• 42:00 – Why Live, Human Comedy Matters
• 43:00 – Comedy Is Really About Belonging
• 46:00 – Stop Trying to Force the Funny
• 47:00 – What Are You Saying Yes To?

Ever wonder how people actually learn to do impressions?

I've been doing voices since I was a kid—making faces in the mirror, mimicking people on TV, talking to myself, and generally behaving like someone my parents probably should have been slightly concerned about.

In this episode of Laugh or Death, I'm breaking down how I actually approach impressions.

Not just performing them—how I find the voice.

We get into the words, sounds, cadence, facial expressions, tongue placement, throat position, breathing, and physical mannerisms that help me get into different characters and celebrity impressions. And yes, at one point Kermit the Frog becomes an important part of learning Arnold Schwarzenegger.

You're welcome.

But this episode is also about something bigger.

For years, I didn't lean into impressions much onstage because I was a perfectionist and worried they weren't "real" comedy. Eventually I realized they were one of the things audiences remembered most about my performances.

So we're also talking about why the weird part of yourself that you've been trying to hide might actually be the thing that makes you stand out.

In this episode:

• How I started doing impressions as a kid
• Why I avoided doing voices onstage for years
• The word or phrase trick I use to unlock an impression
• How I approach voices like Seth Rogen and Arnold Schwarzenegger
• Why Matthew McConaughey is more than "all right, all right, all right"
• How your tongue, throat, breath, and face change a voice
• Chewbacca, Adam Sandler, Tracy Morgan, Jennifer Coolidge, Blink-182 and more
• Why an impression doesn't have to be perfect to be funny
• How perfectionism can make you hide your best material
• Why the weird thing about you might actually be your advantage

The older I get, the more I think we should stop removing the interesting parts of ourselves just to appear more normal.

Maybe your weirdness isn't a bug. Maybe it's a feature.

🎙️ Subscribe to Laugh or Death for practical ways to develop your sense of humor, laugh more, and take yourself a little less seriously.

Life is hard. We might as well get better at laughing through it.

FREE GIFT! Download the Fun Over Funny Guide For Leaders! https://www.paulosincup.com/freegift

If you enjoyed this episode and want to build your own humor habit, make sure to follow the podcast and share it with someone who could use a little more levity in their life.

To learn more about Paul's work, book him for speaking engagements, or explore the science behind humor and resilience, visit: 👉 https://www.paulosincup.com You can also dive deeper into the tools discussed in this episode in Paul's book: 👉 The Humor Habit

All Links For Paul: https://stan.store/PaulOsincup

00:00 – Why I've Been Doing Weird Voices My Whole Life 02:20 – Stop Hiding the Weird Parts of Yourself 03:30 – The Impressions I Grew Up Doing 06:25 – How I Actually Learn an Impression 07:00 – How to Do Seth Rogen 08:10 – Arnold Schwarzenegger Starts With Kermit the Frog 09:55 – How I Get Into a Donald Trump Impression 11:40 – Breaking Down Barack Obama's Voice & Cadence 12:50 – How to Do Matthew McConaughey 14:35 – Chewbacca, Shaggy & Using Your Tongue for Voices 16:20 – Tracy Morgan + the Hardest Impression to Breathe Through 18:10 – How to Do Adam Sandler 19:20 – Breaking Down Bernie Sanders 21:05 – Jennifer Coolidge = Kermit + Something Else 😂 22:15 – The Easiest Blink-182 Impression 22:50 – Your Weirdness Might Be Your Best Feature

What happens when a guy who wasn't raised around horses becomes a horse veterinarian... and then decides to become a stand-up comedian?

You get Matt Evans.

Matt is an equine veterinarian, stand-up comedian, and author of Chomping at the Bit: How I Became a Horse Vet Beyond All Common Sense. In this episode of Laugh or Death, we talk about what veterinary medicine and comedy have surprisingly taught him about imposter syndrome, learning new things, handling stressful moments, and finding joy while you're still figuring everything out.

Matt shares what it was like becoming a horse vet when he wasn't actually a "horse person," why learning to laugh at painful experiences changed the way he handles stress, and why comedy may actually be harder to master than veterinary medicine.

We also get into the strange similarities between medicine and stand-up, how humor helped Matt deal with anxiety, compassion fatigue, and imposter syndrome, and why learning how to learn can make almost any new pursuit feel possible.

And somewhere along the way we discuss horse castration, retirement-home hecklers, bald-guy grooming problems, colonoscopy jokes, and things about bulls I genuinely did not need to know.

So, a very educational episode.

In this episode:

• Why Matt became an equine veterinarian despite not growing up around horses
• The imposter syndrome that followed him into veterinary medicine
• How humor can change the way we experience stressful situations
• What horses can teach us about human emotion and laughter
• Why becoming good at something means getting comfortable being bad at it first
• The surprising similarities between veterinary medicine and stand-up comedy
• How Matt found comedy and eventually started performing
• Why humor became a tool for dealing with anxiety and compassion fatigue
• Learning to see yourself as the main character in a comedy instead of a drama
• Why you don't need to have everything figured out to enjoy the journey

Matt's book, Chomping at the Bit: How I Became a Horse Vet Beyond All Common Sense, is available now. You can also find his comedy, book, and artwork at MattEvansComic.com.

🎙️ Subscribe to Laugh or Death for conversations about comedy, the science of humor, and practical ways to laugh more, stress less, and find more levity in everyday life.

Life is hard. We might as well get better at laughing through it.

Links:

FREE GIFT! Download the Fun Over Funny Guide For Leaders! https://www.paulosincup.com/freegift

If you enjoyed this episode and want to build your own humor habit, make sure to follow the podcast and share it with someone who could use a little more levity in their life.

To learn more about Paul's work, book him for speaking engagements, or explore the science behind humor and resilience, visit: 👉 https://www.paulosincup.com You can also dive deeper into the tools discussed in this episode in Paul's book: 👉 The Humor Habit

All Links For Paul: https://stan.store/PaulOsincup

Guest Socials & Website:

Guest: Dr. Matt Evans

Website: mattevanscomic.com Social media: @‌mattevanscomic

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-evans-13b1273b5/

Order his book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Chomping-at-the-Bit/Matt-Evans/9798895655955

Episode Minute-By-Minute:

00:00 – Meet the Horse Vet Who Became a Comedian 02:00 – The Weirdest Way to Know Summer Is Coming 04:00 – Becoming a Horse Vet "Beyond All Common Sense" 06:00 – When You're Definitely Not a Horse Person 08:00 – Bald Guys Writing Jokes About Hair 10:00 – The Imposter Syndrome Was Real 12:00 – Learning to Fake It as a Horse Vet 15:00 – Can Horses Tell When You're Nervous? 17:00 – How Humor Helps in Stressful Moments 18:00 – "What Did You Do Wrong Now, Matt?" 19:00 – The Most Brutal Heckle From a Retirement Home 21:00 – Learning to Laugh Before the Crisis Is Over 23:00 – Colonoscopy Jokes, Obviously 25:00 – The Tiny Trick That Makes a Joke Funnier 26:00 – What's Harder: Comedy or Veterinary Medicine? 28:00 – Once You Learn How to Learn, Everything Changes 30:00 – The More You Know, the Less You Know 32:00 – Why Getting Good Requires Being Bad for a While 33:00 – Things I Never Needed to Know About Bulls 😂 35:00 – You Don't Have to Have It All Figured Out 36:00 – What If Your Life Is a Comedy, Not a Drama? 38:00 – Why Veterinarians Need Humor 39:00 – How Comedy Helped Matt Through Imposter Syndrome 41:00 – You Worked Really Hard to Feel This Bad 😂

What happens when you write a joke, the internet steals it, turns it into a meme... and eventually the President of the United States shares it?

Apparently, you have a minor identity crisis.

In this episode of Laugh or Death, I'm introducing a new recurring series called From Shit to Bit, where I break down how one of my jokes went from a dumb idea to an actual comedy bit.

And we're starting with a joke I've been performing for more than a year:

"Canada geese will now be called Donald's Ducks."

I'll take you behind the scenes of how I wrote the original Trump renaming bit, why punchlines like MAGA Meat Sticks, Republican Rat Dog, Elon Island Iced Tea and Donald's Ducks made the cut, and how performing the material live helped me discover which joke should close the bit.

Then things got weird.

I reposted Donald's Ducks when Trump's renaming antics returned to the news. It took off on Threads, people started turning it into memes and AI videos, and eventually President Trump shared a video using my punchline.

Cool?

Absolutely.

Except now my joke is so widespread that if I perform it onstage, people might think I stole it from the internet.

So we're talking about joke writing, going viral, joke ownership, the weird shelf life of comedy, and what happens when something you create stops belonging to you.

Welcome to From Shit to Bit.

🎙️ Subscribe to Laugh or Death for more comedy, behind-the-scenes joke writing, humor science, and practical ways to find more funny in everyday life.

Links:

FREE GIFT! Download the Fun Over Funny Guide For Leaders! https://www.paulosincup.com/freegift

If you enjoyed this episode and want to build your own humor habit, make sure to follow the podcast and share it with someone who could use a little more levity in their life.

To learn more about Paul's work, book him for speaking engagements, or explore the science behind humor and resilience, visit: 👉 https://www.paulosincup.com You can also dive deeper into the tools discussed in this episode in Paul's book: 👉 The Humor Habit

All Links For Paul: https://stan.store/PaulOsincup

Episode Minute-By-Minute

• 00:00 – The President Shared My Joke
• 01:00 – Introducing "From Shit to Bit"
• 02:00 – Where the Joke Started
• 03:00 – The Original Trump Renaming Bit
• 05:00 – How I Actually Wrote the Jokes
• 07:00 – How "Donald's Ducks" Happened
• 08:00 – Testing the Joke on Stage
• 09:00 – Why I Moved the Biggest Laugh to the End
• 10:00 – The Joke Comes Back From the Dead
• 11:00 – Donald's Ducks Goes Viral
• 12:00 – The Internet Steals My Punchline
• 13:00 – The President Shares My Joke
• 14:00 – Can I Even Tell This Joke Anymore?
• 16:00 – Do I Want Credit or Do I Let It Go?
• 17:00 – The Problem With Posting Comedy Online
• 19:00 – When Your Art Escapes You
• 20:00 – Mr. President, I've Got More Jokes

Think you're just "not a funny person"? Good news: being funny is a skill you can actually practice.

In this solo episode of Laugh or Death, keynote speaker, comedian, and The Humor Habit author Paul Osincup breaks down three simple comedy techniques comedians use to find humor in everyday life: comparison, exaggeration, and the comic triple (rule of three).

Paul doesn't just explain the techniques—he shows how he's used each one to write actual jokes, including material about couples therapy, stressful work meetings, dog training, being short, and more.

You'll learn how to take an ordinary observation and ask "What is this like?", use ridiculous exaggeration to turn frustration into humor, create laughs by establishing and breaking patterns, and structure a joke so you don't accidentally step on your own punchline.

And these tools aren't only for stand-up comedy.

Learning to look at frustrating, awkward, and stressful moments through a comedic lens can help you find perspective and bring more levity into everyday life.

You don't have to be the class clown. You don't need to have a naturally funny personality.

You might just need to start looking at life like a comedian.

🎙️ Subscribe to Laugh or Death for new episodes every Wednesday about humor, resilience, positive psychology, and finding more levity in everyday life.

FREE GIFT! Download the Fun Over Funny Guide For Leaders! https://www.paulosincup.com/freegift

If you enjoyed this episode and want to build your own humor habit, make sure to follow the podcast and share it with someone who could use a little more levity in their life.

To learn more about Paul's work, book him for speaking engagements, or explore the science behind humor and resilience, visit: 👉 https://www.paulosincup.com You can also dive deeper into the tools discussed in this episode in Paul's book: 👉 The Humor Habit

All Links For Paul: https://stan.store/PaulOsincup

Episode Minute-By-Minute:

• 00:00 – Can You Actually Learn to Be Funny?
• 02:00 – The 3 Comedy Tools Anyone Can Learn
• 02:30 – Comedy Tool #1: Comparison
• 05:00 – Finding Humor in Everyday Frustrations
• 07:30 – Comedy Tool #2: Exaggeration
• 11:00 – How Exaggeration Can Reduce Stress
• 13:00 – Comedy Tool #3: The Comic Triple
• 14:00 – Why the Rule of Three Makes Us Laugh
• 16:00 – Put the Funniest Part Last
• 17:30 – Using Humor in Presentations
• 19:00 – Putting All 3 Comedy Tools Together
• 21:00 – Start Looking at Life Like a Comedian

What if the thing interrupting your perfectly planned day is actually the part you'll remember?

We spend a lot of time trying to optimize our lives—our workouts, morning routines, productivity, habits, and even our happiness. But somewhere between checking the boxes and getting to the next thing, it's pretty easy to optimize the joy right out of life.

In this mini episode of Laugh or Death, Paul Osincup shares what happened when his dog, Hopper, started interrupting his yoga routine with wrestling, tickle fights, and absolutely no respect for personal space.

What started as an annoyance became 10 minutes Paul now deliberately protects—a chance to be ridiculous, laugh like a kid, get out of his overthinking mind, and take what he calls a "vacation from your serious self."

It's a reminder that enjoying your life doesn't always require a big vacation or perfectly planned weekend. Sometimes it's 10 minutes in the middle of an ordinary day. Sometimes it means letting yourself be weird. And sometimes the interruption isn't getting in the way of your life.

Sometimes the interruption is the life.

If you're constantly trying to be more productive, build better habits, or get through your daily routine as efficiently as possible, this mini episode might make you ask a different question:

Am I actually enjoying any of this?

🎙️ This is a mini moment from Laugh or Death. Listen to the full episode for more on humor, happiness, habits, and finding more joy in everyday life.

#Happiness #PersonalGrowth #Productivity #Humor #Mindset #HealthyHabits #LaughOrDeath