Authenticity, Uncertainty, and a Whole Lot of George Carlin

“Why do you reference George Carlin so often?”

Someone asked me that recently.

Sure, he was a brilliant comedian, writer, and public speaker, a beacon of uncomfortable truth. But for me, it goes deeper than admiration or hero worship. George became one of the main motivators for my entire career journey.

Before skills became the professional currency they are now, I was a radio personality trying to master my craft, wanting to improve bit by bit, to show up fully, and to make every story, every segment feel authentic.

But my secret weapon?

It was George.

For a year and a half, I commuted two hours a day to my radio job. Ten hours a week. And guess who kept me company?

Not music.

George.

Yes, I needed a comforting voice… but it was also one that challenged me to get better. He pushed me to think, question everything, rework, strip things down, and rebuild them with more intention.

What stuck with me most was this: George would perform a full special, then throw away all his material and start fresh. Liberating. Terrifying. Inspiring.

I remember telling a friend, “I know I have some good skills, but I need to build more. If I just keep starting fresh, maybe I’ll finally feel satisfied.”

The idea wasn’t polished at the time. But it slowly evolved into this personal motto:

“Move out of my comfort zone. Tear it all down. Apply what I’ve learned. And build myself back up…better, stronger, more honest.”

I won’t romanticize the path I took.

From radio broadcasting
→ to private education
→ to SaaS
→ to marketing
→ to corporate training
→ and back to SaaS again

All while establishing myself as an independent voice-over artist, building podcasts, brands, and content on the side to keep learning.

It was draining. Often uncomfortable. But always exciting.

I kept observing, immersing myself in the work, and processing new outputs. Like George, I also started writing down my thoughts or recording them as audio pieces and began categorizing and indexing these ideas.

So, I threw myself into something new every time, not because I had to but because I wanted to grow.

Eventually, that learning turned into experience:
✔️ 8 years in training and content creation
✔️ Over a decade of writing, voicing, and producing content
✔️ Building and monetizing brands from scratch
✔️ Demos and training delivered to many Fortune 100 companies

I’m not sharing this to impress anyone.

Honestly, I’m not great at talking about myself, and I hate the idea of sounding boastful.

But, it’s important for me to acknowledge that this idea, this deeply personal experiment of stacking skills and staying true to my voice, worked. It took well over a decade, but I’ve finally reached a point where I feel like I’ve hit the prime of my professional life.

And who do I always tip my cap to?

George.

I’m not competing with him. I couldn’t even if I tried.

I’m not trying to be him either; we’re different humans, even if we share many of the same philosophies and observations.

I just wanted to embrace the challenge of starting fresh, over and over again, while staying authentic.

And that’s what I’ll keep doing.