Remarkable work 35 years later

Watching above, you’ll see an act on the tonight show from 1984. It’s Michael Davis, he’s a juggler and comedian.

His skit is entirely outside the box thinking. His comedy is delivered well.

Thinking about the time it took to come up with this routine, and work on the juggling skills, it was certainly a significant investment. To be able to juggle that well, while talking and delivering with the proper timing and tone is quite a skill.

What makes this remarkable?

• Audience: He’s on The Tonight Show, so his audience is people looking to be entertained. It appears he did just that.
• Style: I’ve never seen anyone juggle and do comedy. He also has a dead pan delivery. Together, he’s created his own style.
• Pricing: Free, at least for the audience tuning in at home.
• Generosity: If this is his free segment, it seems generous. I wonder what his paid show was like?
• Scarcity: Again, I’ve never seen anyone else juggle and do comedy at the same time. His shows probably have limited seating.
• Network Effects: He’s on TV. While he doesn’t have strong network effects built in to the act, and it was at a time when it was less likely, certainly his act is funny enough that a wife may call her husband in the room after a minute or two so that he can watch.
• Innovation/Uniqueness: See style and scarcity above.
• Courage: Juggling live while telling jokes certainly adds to the pressure cooker on TV. I would say it was courageous.
• Execution: I think he did a great job. Even his one failure was made out to be part of the act.

P.S. If you would like to learn more about how to be remarkable, check out my longer format writing here.