Happy Accidents summary

Before forming Four Day Weekend, most of the group’s members worked at a comedy club in Texas. They found some success there, but the club’s owner was greedy and controlling; behind the scenes, things soon turned toxic.

Performers stopped supporting each other and retreated inward in an effort to build themselves up. As a result, the improv rarely worked. For the future members of Four Day Weekend, this negative scenario provided a powerful lesson: there really is strength in numbers.

There’s no way around it – risks can be a little scary, no matter who you are. But if you really want to achieve something, the single most important thing you can do is step outside your comfort zone and get the ball rolling.

Now, this goes against the natural inclination toward the prevent defense – the fear of putting yourself out there because you don’t want to look stupid. But sticking with that inclination means missing a lot of opportunities.

If the members of Four Day Weekend hadn’t pushed themselves to achieve their collective vision, none of their success would have transpired. But they truly believed in their comedy show – long before anyone else did – and that belief helped them to persevere when times got tough.

The troupe’s first show sold out, but it was mostly due to attendance by family and friends. Over the next few months, they’d often only sell a fifth of the tickets. Despite being broke, Four Day Weekend reinvested any money they did make back into the group. It was their way of requesting success – combining their intentions with a deep-seated belief in themselves in order to make their goals materialize. Their philosophy was to persevere, always request success, and strive to swing the balance in their favor.

In the investment world, everyone knows that “maximizing returns” is the goal – basically, earning back as much as possible relative to what you’ve invested. But what about maximizing more than just money? What about prioritizing the way we make people feel just as much?

That’s what Return on Improvisation is all about.

Improvisation relies on adapting to situations in order to change them for the better. Adaptation is an important skill in all areas of life, in fact – just look at NBA star Michael Jordan. Early on in his career, Jordan was criticized for his less-than-stellar defensive record. But rather than getting angry, he turned the criticism into an opportunity for self-improvement and became one of the best defenders in the league.

Jordan knew, just as Four Day Weekend did, that a crisis might be a happy accident in disguise.

So you’ve requested success. You’ve turned crises into opportunities through the power of “Yes, and.” You’ve learned to adapt as new situations present themselves, and you’ve practiced return on improvisation.

Now what?