The Zack Arnold Podcast Overcoming a Dark Past (and Managing the Voices In Your Head) to Become Successful In Hollywood | with Christopher Titus
“With my life story, I could ask for any antidepressant I want and they would prescribe it to me. Instead, I chose to be an antidepressant.”
- Christopher Titus
Christopher Titus is quite simply one of the best and funniest comics working today. In addition to having ten stand-up comedy specials to his name he’s also an actor, a writer, a director, and producer of TV series, feature films, and he also produces his own daily podcast featuring his infamous “Armageddon Updates.”
Though his list of credits and accomplishments may not show it, Christopher Titus has every reason to be a failure. He was raised in what he calls "total chaos" by "a mentally ill genius" who was his bi-polar and schizophrenic mom and an "alcoholic, hardworking badass" who was his dad. He was a D/F student, ran away from home at age 12, and was on a first name basis with the sheriff. Despite the numerous hardships in his earlier years, Titus has taken what most would use as excuses and flipped them around to become his superpowers.
In short, Titus has built an incredibly successful career…on his failures.
This conversation is a deep dive into what it took for Titus to get to where he is today and succeed in Hollywood. And after throwing him on the ‘hot seat’, he makes it public what the next step in his career will be (and when it will happen). If you’re familiar with Titus, it’s probably no surprise that he holds NOTHING back in this conversation. If you struggle to succeed due to the voices in your head or a dark past that overshadows your present, this episode will flip your mindset and give you a whole new perspective on how to approach your life.
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Here's What You'll Learn:
- How Zack & Titus met in Tony Horton's backyard (and the life-changing benefits of challenging each other every Sunday)
- What is The List?
- Why I immediately didn't like Titus upon watching his comedy, and the 5 min YouTube video that totally changed my mind
- How Lily Tomlin almost made Titus give up comedy completely
- What he means by "growing a tumor on my soul".
- The huge risk he took in his comedy act that changed his career
- KEY TAKEAWAY: Authenticity is the key to success.
- How Titus transformed the voices in his head to achieve his goals.
- How a personal development course led him to create his own tv series
- The value of naming the critic in your head
- KEY TAKEAWAY: Positive people in your life help you see what you can’t.
- What Titus views as the worst drugs in the world
- LESSON LEARNED: Sometimes the bad answer is the answer you need.
- The epic story of how Titus’ sitcom got canceled.
- KEY TAKEAWAY: Find out what you're good at and apply it to every aspect of your life.
- KEY TAKEAWAY: Pick the impossible thing.
Useful Resources Mentioned:
Christopher Titus - The Word Retard - Voice in My Head
Christopher Titus • Norman Rockwell Is Bleeding • Full Special - YouTube
Watch Special Unit | Prime Video
Landmark Forum - Landmark Course Syllabus and Landmark Forum details.
Christopher Titus | Titus Podcast
Christopher Titus | Tour Dates
Continue to Listen & Learn
Ep06: Defining Your Purpose and Living Large | with Tony Horton
Ep60: Getting 1% Better Every Single Day | with Westley Silvestri, ANW
Ep49: Mastering The Mental Game of Focus | with Kevin Bull, ANW
Ep115: How to Be So Thorough You Can’t Be Denied | with James Wilcox, ACE
Ep132: How to Pursue Fulfilling Work and Find Your ‘Calling’ | with Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar
Ep105: Ramit Sethi on Forging The Path Towards Your Own ‘Rich Life’
Ep162: Stop Waiting For Permission to Make Sh*t Happen | with Mark Gantt
Guest Bio:
Christopher Titus
Employing what he’s labeled “hard funny,” Christopher Titus is a comedian who has released seven ninety-minute albums in as many years. He has six one-hour comedy specials currently running on Comedy Central, and his seventh special, Born With a Defect, spent four weeks on the Billboard Top Ten Comedy Chart.
Inspired by such greats as Woody Allen, Steve Martin, and Cosby, who wrote, directed, produced and performed, Titus has sold ideas to NBC, ABC, FOX and Comedy Central.
Aside from being a comic he is also an actor, writer, director, producer and a podcaster.
Show Credits:
This episode was edited by Curtis Fritsch, and the show notes were prepared by Debby Germino and published by Glen McNiel.
The original music in the opening and closing of the show is courtesy of Joe Trapanese (who is quite possibly one of the most talented composers on the face of the planet).
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-zack-arnold-podcast/exclusive-content