2026 and Beyond: Comedy Goals

​Reflecting on your year is very important in comedy and the arts. You have to take an inventory of the type of gigs you had, the jokes you told, and way you moved through the year and ask if you want to repeat that or change it up. Because the saddest thing in the world is a comic desperately holding onto a thing afraid its their only way to get stage time. What I've found in my life is once you let something go, you can usually expect something to replace it. It might not be what you wanted, but in the words of the Rolling Stones, "you might not get what you want, but if you try sometimes you'll get what you need." 

Rethink Your Jokes 
Jerry Seinfeld loves perfecting the act. He writes a lot but he wants to keep jokes for a long time to know he's going on stage with tried and true material. Other comics go more topical and change it up every couple years, burn the material on a special, and move on. Both are fine depending on where you are in your career. I do a lot of 30-45 minute sets on the road and need set jokes to have to fill time and know the response. I also play a lot with crowd work and working on local bits to make the crowd at least feel like everything is off the top of my head. 

But there are a few jokes this year that have finally ran the light. A have a couple dating jokes that just don't get the pop anymore. And there are a few reasons.

One, my relationship with the women in those jokes changed a lot, creating a new tone in my voice when talking about them. Even I sensed my boredom talking about them. Plus, my jokes were written forty pounds ago, so I look different now and the guy who went through those awful dates isn't the same dude writing this article today. 

So I lost a good six to seven minutes of jokes this year, on top of a few month to month jokes about movies like Sinners that just doesn't work after their time in the zeitgeist runs away. I'll tell you, when I see comics telling jokes from 2018 because they were brilliant then and hack now, my heart folds up inside of me. 

Don't be afraid to throw out the jokes that ran the light (metaphorically speaking), and start the process of creating new jokes that are even better. I recently watched Mark Normand and Sam Morril interview Jerry Seinfeld on the podcast We Might Be Drunk and Normand talked about watching old bits to remind and reteach himself how to write great bits. The best bit I ever wrote is my "Do I Have Down Syndrome?" closer (On my Dry Bar Special on YouTube), and I never really topped that, but I'm still trying.   

Focus on the Business Side of Show Business
Don't be afraid to know and appreciate your worth. If you're still in year 1-3, take all the gigs and do anything that provides you with stage time. But if you're in years 4-6, try to think about what you enjoy most and make that the goal for 2026. 

I have a few rules 11 years in:

1. I have to get paid (unless I decide there is value outside of that)
2. I don't travel in dangerous conditions (snow in winter)
3. I don't host shows I'm not producing (Why would I be the face of a show where the producer makes awful choices?)
4. I don't want restrictions outside of actual reasons (example: Don't swear at a church show)
5. I don't rebook comics who become difficult (I think that's self explanatory)

But these are business decisions. I'll gladly do comedy all over the country, and 23 states later, I have. But shows need to make sense or I'm going to become bitter. Bar shows, hole in the wall nights out, drunken hecklers, etc. just aren't fun anymore. Fighting the crowd watching sports games isn't a "challenge" anymore. It's a waste of time. For others, it's important to get those reps in. You'll thank yourself for those shows later on. But today, I want to enjoy my experiences and get paid for them. 

Often, bookers and comics will say, "Why do you want to get paid for ten minutes?" My response is an old Picasso line.

Picasso was at a cafe and a woman asked him to doodle something on a napkin. He obliged and said, "One hundred dollars, please." Shocked, the lady said, "It took you thirty seconds for that," to which the famous painter said, "No, it took me thirty years to draw that in thirty seconds." 

Never be afraid to say no to a gig because it's not worth the money or time after a certain time. I have said to people, "Other shows have paid me X for these jokes, so it would unfair if you only paid me Y for the same show." Steal that line if you want. 

Shape Goals You Can Reach and Almost Reach 
I'm a big believer in having set goals you can control. You can't control if a booker wants to put you up. But you can control how many times you reach out to them through email. You have to think smarter, not just push harder.

Maybe a goal for you is to post a clip of stand up a week. Maybe it's to attend an open mic every Tuesday at The Improv. Maybe it's to write five new jokes a day. Those are actual quantitative goals that have clear metrics to judge success by. 

Saying things like, "I want to make $100,000 this year in comedy" or "I want to be funnier" is a great goal, but are you set up to do that? Do you have the bookers and fellow comics to reach out to? If not, then the goal is to figure out how many shows at $500-$1500 you can book and then how many shirts or bumper stickers you can sell to offset the lack of show pay. Maybe you try to monetized through Instagram by posting more. Maybe you focus more on corporate shows or church shows that pay well for one nighters. Maybe you build out a great website to loo more professional. Everyone is at a different place in the journey. Look at your GPS and see what the next stop is. 

When I was in college, my speech teacher asked us to solve a problem in society. Our example was solving homelessness. Everyone just blurted out, "Build more homes." But the professor said, "Do you think people are homeless on the streets because they don't have a place? Or do they lack money?"

We all sat stunned. Homeless people wouldn't be able to afford the newly bought homes, making building new homes an invalid solution. But if there we more rehab centers, job training courses, and free education programs, they'd be able to get the skills they need to create an income to get an apartment and then set new housing goals. 

Making more money in comedy or being better isn't just "get more gigs" - it's about focusing on building material and networking that opens doors to paying gigs and finding crowds you connect with. That might take all year, but if 2026 was dedicated to building a wildly successful 2027, then its worth the time put in. 

Final Thoughts
This is last newsletter of 2025. I wrote approximately 50 newsletters this year. That's roughly 60,000 words. As the clock ticks and tocks toward 12:01am, I am reminded this year had a lot of blessings, but also a lot of personal letdowns. 

I can't control everything in my life, and yet, I learned I can control my attitude and actions. As can you. You might feel like everything sucks right now or you might think everything is amazing. You might feel stuck in the middle. You might be one break away. But you can always pivot. You can always take a break. You can always ramp up your writing, emailing, and performing. 

This year I performed in 100 shows, down from last year. But I wrote a lot, including numerous new bits and five screenplays that I'll be pitching to producer friends with connections. I had to pivot my day job responsibilities to get health insurance back. I did a lot to create new opportunities and still meet my "adult" responsibilities.

​I'm not a fan of "new year new me" lines. You're still you. And time is a social construct. So before you just throw silly cliches around, step back, make a plan, and create a 2026 you can use to build your comedy career towards the stepping stones that are important to you.