Nearly one year ago last night, I finished a book by Chris Gethard called Lose Well.

I’d never heard of Chris, minus the constant recommendations from our loyal podcast listener Bobby over the years. There are a lot of good motivational nuggets in the book, but my biggest takeaway was that if you want to achieve your dreams, you can’t half-ass it. I was caught in a job that had become more coding than creative over a few years, and I could feel all my dreams slipping away as I lost bandwidth and motivation to grow my creative side.

I took Chris’s message to heart, and developed something we called “Plan B” around the house. Basically, I’d devote this year to sharpening my skills, then take off and try to do my own thing again. It’s been a crazy year filled with improv classes, writing, producing, and planning.

Last night, I got to attend a night of shows at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade theater, featuring two of Chris’s collaborators, Connor Ratliff and Shannon O’Neill. It closed the loop on the last year of frustration, anticipation, and excitement.

I’m getting ready to launch my “community theater of the internet” Do Anything Media in February. I would have never done it if it hadn’t been for Bobby’s recommendation, which led me to Chris’s book, which led me to building a business that will allow me to pursue my passions as I help other creative people pursue their dreams. NYC has been a blast this week, and last night meant a lot to me, personally. Soon, I’ll be back in Orlando, hunched over a computer writing, planning, and producing. But last night? Last night was exactly the sort of thing I imagined when Chris got me asking “What if…?” last December.