Music & Laughter: Fast Track to Happiness
Frank Fitzpatrick 10/19/2018
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It’s a few days after my graduation from the University of Michigan, and I’m squeezing the remainder of my life possessions into my blue Honda station wagon, preparing for the cross-country drive to Los Angeles. I have accepted a job in the heart of the Hollywood Entertainment business at the legendary Studio 55, a stone’s throw from Paramount Studios front gate.
I push the last box through the back window, and take pause to say my last goodbyes. I look my father, a pediatrician in my hometown Detroit, square in the eyes and confess, “Dad, there is a part of me that feels I should be dedicating my life to something more meaningful, like you have as a doctor – to healing people.”
Doc Fitz, as the community called him, quickly reassures me with his blue-eyed Irish smile, “What you are doing is important. One of the things people need most is the joy and laughter that come from music and great stories. Those are powerful medicines; you will be healing people.”
I recalled this story – almost 35 years after that big move, when we received Best Narrative Film award at the Pan African Film Festival for our upcoming comedy, Love Jacked. Directed and written by long time friends and collaborators, Alfons and Rob Adetuyi, Love Jacked is a sentimental, and really fun, romantic comedy in the spirit of Father of the Bride meets Coming to America.
Throughout my career I have had the opportunity to work with many incredibly talented filmmakers and comedians – from Ivan Reitman & Danny DeVito (Twins); to Garry Shandling & Judd Apatow (The Larry Sanders Show); to Eric Idle and Jonathan Lynn (Nuns On the Run); to David Zucker (The Scary Movie franchise), Chris Tucker (Friday), and Bernie Mac (Soul Men). From the raw & raucous to romantic & sentimental, I have witnessed the joy they brought to the audiences around the globe through their brilliant alchemy of humor.
I have to admit that I didn’t always appreciate the deeper value of humor, or of creating the soundtracks for hit comedies, while I was in the midst of it. As a Hollywood Creative meets Social Entrepreneur, longing to make my social contributions through films and music, I always aspired to work on those Oscar-worthy dramas – the ones with serious storylines and deep moral lessons. In hindsight, I have finally come to realize the valuable contributions I have helped create by offering audiences great music and a chance to laugh a little, or a lot.
Philosopher Bertrand Russell once said: “Laughter is the most inexpensive wonder drug. Laughter is a universal medicine.” Beyond providing an escape from the daily grind, well-made comedies, especially those with deeply moving stories, can give us an opportunity to revisit our own challenges and relationships with more lightness, compassion and acceptance.
Neuroscientists, medical researchers, and positive psychologists who have studied the benefits of laughter on a number of conditions – from depression, to insomnia to heart disease, affirm Russell’s claim.
I guess Dad was right. Next to love, what the world can always use more of is a healing dose of Joy. And I can think of very few fast tracks to joy that can outdo Music and Laughter.
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About the Author
Frank Fitzpatrick is a Creative Visioneer, Engagement Expert and High-Performance Coach on the Faculty of Singularity University’s Exponential Medicine.
To connect, go to FrankFitzpatrick.com
To learn more about working 1-on1 with Frank, go to BeyondPerformance.Life
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