Speaker 1: Hey, brain stuff listeners. Instead of a normal episode, today,
Speaker 1: we're back with a preview from the new season of
Speaker 1: the podcast On the Job. We've teamed up with them
Speaker 1: to bring you a few samples of what they do,
Speaker 1: which is engaged with professionals from all kinds of businesses
Speaker 1: about what they do from long haul trucking to emergency response.
Speaker 1: Through these stories, the team tries to help explain and
Speaker 1: explore different aspects of what working means in our world today.
Speaker 1: They're sponsoring us to run these samples. I think it's
Speaker 1: a good fit because it's a look into how different
Speaker 1: jobs work. They're sponsoring us to run these samples. I
Speaker 1: think it's a good fit because it's a look into
Speaker 1: how different jobs work. Today's episode is about a cruise
Speaker 1: ship comedian who came to comedy on the high Seas
Speaker 1: by way of computer programming and a lifelong dream. We'll
Speaker 1: feature some previews of future episodes in the future, though.
Speaker 1: If you want to hear more or explore their previous
Speaker 1: six seasons, you can find On the Job from Express
Speaker 1: Employment Services wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 2: My favorite port is the Galveston, Texas Port. It's always
Speaker 2: a good time with those people. If Texas are by
Speaker 2: fire the most fun people, that's Rob Little.
Speaker 3: He's a stand up comedian, and somewhat miraculously, he's been
Speaker 3: doing comedy professionally for a whopping twenty five years, and
Speaker 3: one of the main keys to rob success is that
Speaker 3: he is tapped into a lucrative gig that not only
Speaker 3: keeps him employed, but allows him to live a life
Speaker 3: that most of us can only dream of, or at
Speaker 3: the very least save up for all year to live
Speaker 3: for just a few days, because one of Rob's main
Speaker 3: gigs is to perform his sets on cruise ships. But
Speaker 3: before we go aboard, let's take a look back at
Speaker 3: the meandering road that eventually led Rob down to Port.
Speaker 2: My hometown is Ping County, Michigan, where the cheese capital
Speaker 2: of Michigan ever rays like I thought it was Wisconsin
Speaker 2: of Michigan, I said.
Speaker 3: And while a dairytown in the Upper Midwest might seem
Speaker 3: like an unlikely place to begin a life in comedy,
Speaker 3: Rob's Michigan roots play heavily into his eventual success, and
Speaker 3: it all started, as he remembers, on a family vacation
Speaker 3: to Michigan's Mackinaw Island.
Speaker 2: My parents were watching HBO late at night. They thought
Speaker 2: we were asleep, and they were watching George Carland, and
Speaker 2: I just remember them laughing so hard that I was like,
Speaker 2: that's what I want to do when I grow up.
Speaker 3: He knew then and there, while eavesdropping on his parents' laughter,
Speaker 3: that he wanted to be a stand up comedian. But
Speaker 3: as committed to this life plan as Rob was, he
Speaker 3: still got that Midwestern pragmatism, so he understood that this
Speaker 3: was a dream that would take some time to realize,
Speaker 3: which meant that he'd have to take some other jobs
Speaker 3: in the meanwhile to pay the bills.
Speaker 2: I worked at McDonald's. Old people are rough on you
Speaker 2: in the morning. Now if they don't get their senior coffee,
Speaker 2: they're pulling their teeth out.
Speaker 3: Many people believe that to make a dream come true,
Speaker 3: you first have to manifest it. We're told to say
Speaker 3: our life goal is out loud or write them down.
Speaker 2: And even in my senior book, when you're graduating, we
Speaker 2: had to make predictions. And my prediction was I'm go
Speaker 2: go to college, get my computer degree, and then I'm
Speaker 2: going to be the best comedian I can be. My
Speaker 2: first jime out of college, I was worked for GM
Speaker 2: and then I worked at kmart headquarters and I did
Speaker 2: kmart dot com and.
Speaker 3: With steady money coming in from computer programming, Rob moved
Speaker 3: to Detroit to actively pursue comedy.
Speaker 2: And I was at a bar one night and I
Speaker 2: saw these passes in the window and it was for
Speaker 2: an open mic night, and I was like what. I
Speaker 2: grabbed all the passes and I went up to the bartender.
Speaker 2: I goes, there's a comedy club and he's like, right there,
Speaker 2: it's literally connected to the building.
Speaker 1: I'm like what.
Speaker 2: I ended up living at that club. After that, I
Speaker 2: set out a company wide email telling people they should
Speaker 2: quit their jobs and follow their dreams. I'm going to
Speaker 2: be a stand up comedian. Here's my website. They wouldn't
Speaker 2: let me quit my IBM boss let me take a
Speaker 2: leave of absence. And the week after he did that,
Speaker 2: the Detroit Free Press named me Michigan's best up and
Speaker 2: coming comedian. And I sent him that and he goes, oh,
Speaker 2: you're not coming back, are you? I goes, I wasn't
Speaker 2: coming back if they need me worse up and coming comedian.
Speaker 3: So and from there Rob was off to the races,
Speaker 3: and then one day his agent suggested he apply for
Speaker 3: cruise ships, and Rob thought cruise.
Speaker 2: Ships it wasn't even on my radar. I just love it.
Speaker 2: I literally just passed twenty five years to I've been
Speaker 2: doing it correct.
Speaker 3: Wow.
Speaker 2: Thanks.
Speaker 3: So, the next time you're on a cruise and you
Speaker 3: want to laugh and also see a guy living out
Speaker 3: his dreams a dream that he came up with way
Speaker 3: back when he was five years old, just look for
Speaker 3: the bald white guy. Or better yet, check out Rob's
Speaker 3: itinerary and tour dates on his website roblittle dot com.
Speaker 3: When's your next cruise ship out?
Speaker 2: I actually go on and one next week on a
Speaker 2: celebrity cruise.
Speaker 3: And you have no clue where you're going.
Speaker 2: Now that you say that, I don't.
Speaker 3: From the job, I'm Avery Thompson.
Speaker 4: A strong work ethic, takes pride in a job well done.
Speaker 4: This is the kind of person you need. Express Employment
Speaker 4: professionals can help because in good times or bad, we
Speaker 4: understand how critical it is to manage your business for
Speaker 4: today with the right workforce. We offer hiring solutions to
Speaker 4: fit changing demands. Express knows Jobs. Get to know Express,
Speaker 4: Go to Express prom to find a location near you.