Michael Kosta is a standup comic, host of "The Daily Show," host of his own podcast, "Tennis Anyone," and author. His new book, "Lucky Loser: Adventures in Tennis and Comedy," is available now. www.michaelkosta.com Save $20 on your first subscription of AG1 at drinkag1.com/joerogan Visit LifeLock.com/JOEROGAN to save up to 40% off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: How did Michael Kosta transition from tennis to comedy?
Chapter 2: What can we learn from Jon Stewart's approach to comedy?
What's the essence? I will read it. Also, you know what keeps freaking me out? There's a shooting star above my head. Yeah, there is.
Every now and then one will fly above your head. That's so cool.
What's the essence? The war of art. That makes it sound like it's a struggle to create art.
Yeah, it's the struggle against resistance, which is procrastination, which is this thing that we all do before we actually write, which is so weird. Because I love... when I'm actually locked in and great ideas are coming. It's one of the best feelings in the world.
It's like somehow or another you're pulling these ideas out of nowhere and then it's your job to take this seed and try to go plant it on stage and try to water it and try to, over the course of many months, it'll become a great bit. And they just only come if you sit there. They only come if you sit there. And what he is saying is that you have to treat it like you're a professional.
And you have to decide at 8 a.m. I will show up and I will be there for three hours. I will shut my phone off. I will lock in. This is what I do because I am a professional. And you literally make a prayer to the muse. You offer yourself to the muse. You say, I'm here to work. I'm here to gather ideas. I'm here to be creative and be open. And you treat it that way.
Whether or not the muse is real or not, that's kind of, you can get hung up on that. But if you treat it like it's real, it works, which is really crazy.
I love that, and I don't do that. Early in my comedy career, I would go to the coffee shop at this time and start typing. And I had all these, and I remember Tommy at the comedy store, he would say, every time I see you, you have new bits. And I would go, yeah, because I'm going, and now what's crazy, life has gotten crazier.
I don't make time for myself to do that, but I need to honor the muse, man.
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Chapter 3: How do comedians develop their material?
He's just waiting. Waiting for his chance.
Look at that record.
Right here.
Unbelievable.
When you got that kind of power, that is so crazy.
That's crazy. It's hard for me to even wrap my head around.
See if they show it in the replay, because he hits him on the forehead, which is so crazy. Just before that. Watch this. Right there. Just before it, Jamie. Okay, here it is. Watch this. He hits him on the forehead, man.
Not punching.
So he's just waiting. He's just waiting. He's just pawing at him with his left hand. And bang!
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Chapter 4: What are the challenges of maintaining creativity?
I have so much respect for these athletes, and I'm also – I can't be far enough away from it.
Want to see it go wrong? I want to show you the flying knee go wrong. Pull up Fedor Emelianenko versus – Oh, Andrei Orlovsky, I'm sorry.
You want to see a flying knee go wrong?
Yeah, Andrei Orlovsky, Fedor Milianenko. So this is... Andrei Orlovsky was actually winning this fight, and he actually was kind of tuning Fedor up, and he was hitting him with some big shots, and he got a little crazy. And he leapt in with a flying knee and got flatlined.
Well, that's what I'm... That's... This is what you would do. That's what I was thinking. This is what I would do. No, but I was thinking this is a vulnerable position. You don't want to be in the air.
True. So he's fighting the guy with the bald head. That's Fedor Emelianenko, who's a legend. So watch Arlovsky. He catches him with the kick.
He's feeling cocky. Tries to fly. Boom.
Oh, shit. Flatlined. But he's fighting, and Fedor, that's literally the greatest heavyweight of all time. If not one of the greatest, like, there's the argument that he's the greatest. So he catches him on the chin as he's leaping in. Like, perfect punch. So the guy with the beard thought... He thought he was vulnerable. He was beating his ass a little bit. And he made a mistake.
And he tried to come in cocky with a flying knee, and he got clipped on the jaw.
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