The first three Parts are discussed ways of interacting with comedy. Now it's time to jump in.
START JOKING AROUND. Keep a notebook with you at all times. During or after you've gone to see live comedy, start letting the jokes wash over you, flow through and around you. Start letting comedy be part of your dialogue with yourself. You should be listening to so much comedy that instead of waking up and hearing that critic voice saying, "Why did you go to bed so late? Why did you drink so much? Why are you so lame and stupid?" you should be hearing a voice that says, "You know what's weird about when you go to bed late? You get pissed off at yourself in the morning. It's like you're two different people living in the same body. I'm my own Odd Couple. 'Shut up Felix. That's not nice, Oscar.'" That's how it should sound in your head from now on. If it's not sounding like that, you're not listening to enough comedy.
ACTION: Start monitoring your thoughts. Write them down. Write anything down that frustrates or annoys you. Write things down you think are funny or incongruent. Write down bits of conversation you overhear or have that make you laugh. Keep a notebook by the bed, in the bathroom, in the car. Write it all down, especially when you think, "I'll remember that one--I don't need to write it down."
Up next: A really juicy comedy secret.
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