Can happiness really be learned? Nighttime Benders caught up with comedian, comedy producer and self-proclaimed positive psychology nerd Anthony Poponi to find out. We talk about building a happier life, the lessons behind his new memoir, and the show he’s bringing to Oregon Spirit Distillers.
By day, Poponi is a keynote speaker helping organizations create more positive workplace cultures. By night, he’s a comedy show producer, largely because it’s the only way to get the comedians he wants to see onto a stage. As the founder of Humore.us Productions and the author of the new memoir, “Never Tony Please,” Poponi blends humor and insight in a way that’s both entertaining and surprisingly thought-provoking.
A few excerpts from our chat, abridged for print:
Julia Reed Nichols: Explain the inspiration behind the photo on the cover.
Anthony Poponi: I grew up in New Jersey with a name like Anthony Poponi. For the longest period of my life, I was like, I’m just avoiding Tony. Anthony is professional. But there’s an element of: what if I had stayed in New Jersey at 17 and never left? And who would the worst version of that person be? Somebody living in Northeast Philly, late on child support payments, having a Pontiac Firebird, aspiring to be the assistant manager at a Best Buy. I’m not trying to punch down — it’s punching down on me, because I came from that.
JRN: This is your second book. What made you want to write it?
AP: The first book is “The Little Book of Workplace Happiness.” The second is a comedic memoir — silly and serious stories from my life. Each chapter finishes with an introspective question back to the reader, and there’s a toolbox where you can scan a QR code and grab activities that come back to positive psychology.
JRN: You call yourself a happiness expert. What does happiness mean to you?
AP: Look at life as an opportunity to explore the moments in between. You step on stage and do something powerful, and then 20 minutes later you’re back to normal. Can you be content in that moment? We get lost thinking the pursuit of happiness is the pursuit of elation and joy all the time. The human brain always wants us to strive forward, and we can lose sight of the fact that what we have going on now can be really good and really rich. Finding a way to be grateful for that while you strive forward is the big, complex mess of it all.
JRN: What’s your North Star?
AP: I work with a business coach, and she asked, what’s the one thing you’d point toward that would be a signal for arrival? I said, one day I want to make Oprah laugh. It’s not that you actually have to sell out the venue; it’s a recognition of the arrival of the skills you’ve built.
JRN: You said you did 31 comedy shows last year and paid your mortgage.
AP: People are like, wow. I should clarify: I paid my mortgage one time last year with all that money. Don’t do the math. But some of it is the thing you want to do versus the thing you have to do.
Catch Poponi on Oct. 23 at Oregon Spirit Distillers for “The Crazy Happy Silly Funny Nerdy Show,” a comedy-focused variety show he curates and hosts, a mix of stand-up, storytelling, improv, live music, rare talents and game shows, spotlighting community members with something fun to share. His memoir is on Amazon; everything else lives at tonypoponi.com.
Hear the full episode at: bendsource.com/bend-source-podcasts/
The Crazy Happy Silly Funny Nerdy Show: A Comedy-Focused Variety Show
Fri., Oct. 23, 7-9pm
Oregon Spirit Distillers
740 NE 1st St., Bend
Tickets at BendTicket
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