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Fresh Ideas, Real Stories, and a Lot of Laughs

Insights on laughter, leadership, and team culture direct from our founder

September 19, 2024

Laughter Here, Laughter There, Laughter Everywhere!

What a whirlwind few weeks with the LOC crew! Apparently people love to kick off the fall with laughter and connection. First I traveled to San Francisco for the annual Dartmouth Entrepreneur Forum to share the Laugh

September 5, 2024

Happy Healthy Aging Month

I’ll kick this one off with a confession. I’ve lived in Los Angeles for almost 30 years and yet I still look forward to reading the Sunday New York Times. There are plenty of reasons to attack any newspaper at this point. Journalistic integrity is challenging in highly charged times. Which is exactly what made Sunday’s piece “Why is the Loneliness Epidemic So Hard to Cure?” so gosh darn compelling.

August 30, 2024

What Can We Learn from Empty Nesters?

Yesterday a dear friend of mine sent me the link to a video of Brooke Shields crying. Not because I feel so connected to her since I also auditioned for The Blue Lagoon at 14. I didn’t get it. No, my friend sent it over because Ms. Shields is so unapologetically bereft in the wake of her daughters going to college. Two of them have flown the coop leaving her an official “empty nester.” I still have a son at home, but Amy and I grew up together and although I’m crying yet, she knows I will be soon.

August 20, 2024

The Elephant - and the Donkey - In the Room

Laughter On Call - to quote my friends in 12 Step programs - “has no opinion on outside issues.” Our laughter is intentionally non-partisan. Given the current political climate my sense is that 75 days before this Presidential election, after watching the two parties’ conventions, it’s pretty clear that affiliative humor isn’t in anyone’s playbook.

August 15, 2024

Keeping A Vacation State of Mind

Eek! Mid-August, how did we get here? For that matter, how did we get to 2024? I still think 1984 was twenty years ago, max. But here we are and as summer wraps up I had some insights about vacation. Something I’m not ve

August 8, 2024

FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT FOR GOOD THOUGHTS

“Levity is a mind-set,” said Naomi Bagdonas, a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business who advises executives on leading with humor and humanity. “It’s looking for reasons to be delighted rather than disappointed in the world around you.”

July 31, 2024

Mental Health & Laughter for the Gold

Simone Biles is probably a little busy, but if ever there was the perfect spokesperson for Laughter On Call, it would be this gymnastics GOAT. Not just for her unmatched talent and skill, but also for being a beaming example of what is possible if you put your mental health first. On top of all of this, she’s a dedicated fan of laughter! Here’s a delightful edited clip of her doing just that. Despite the critics and all she has experienced, in an interview for Sportskeeda, when asked by her mother why she laughs so much, Simone responded, "Because life is fun and you should build memories and I build memories by laughing."

July 24, 2024

Happy Self-Care Day!

July is a big month for Laughter On Call! Last week we turned six and today is one of our favorite holidays. International Self-Care Day. July 24th! According to the UK based Self-Care Foundation (SF), the date was chosen to underscore their belief that we should be engaging in self-care 24/7. Gotta love a lofty goal! SF has broken self care down to seven essential pillars. You can check them out here. I was batting a thousand on these until I got to “risk- avoidance.” Oops! Comedian/entrepreneurs, we’re not exactly known for dodging risk!

July 10, 2024

6 Years Already?

Newsflash: Timing is big in comedy. Having an instinct for it is pretty key for landing a joke. Understanding timing is also one of the great people skills. It affects all kinds of interactions from marriage, to senior c

July 3, 2024

When the Laughter Stops, Bring in the Humanity

People often ask me to tell them a specific moment with a senior where Laughter On Call really made a difference. The answer I give is never the one they are expecting. It’s never the image of a woman laughing so hard sh

June 27, 2024

The Stages of Life in a Pixar Universe

The combination of the dramatic success of Inside Out 2 and the crushing news of Gena Rowlands’ Alzheimer’s has me thinking about the evolution of feelings as we mature.

June 20, 2024

SOLIDARITY = INCLUSION

It’s Pride Month which is what inspired Laughter On Call to invite a few experts to talk about creating a feeling of belonging for all people at our webinar today (Thursday, 6/20).