Meet Adam Cozens

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Adam Cozens. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Adam below.

Hi Adam, thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.

I think my optimism comes from falling on my face so many times that I’ve developed a strong appreciation for the taste of concrete. It is so much harder to grow creatively, or as a human when everything’s going great. You need to fail. Failure isn’t the enemy. Failure is such a key component to anyone aspiring for long-term success. That applies to any field, but particularly as a creative. Comfort early on is poison for creativity. The best stuff tends to happen when you take a big swing, miss completely, and then realize, “Oh, that sucked. But – it really wasn’t as bad as I THOUGHT it would be. I guess I can try again.” That doesn’t mean you are supposed to ENJOY those moments. Why would you? Those moments stink. But rebounding from those hard situations and the failures and trying again fosters a spirit of resiliency which, for me, opens the door to optimism.

Failure can serve as a life coach of sorts. Every time something I’m working on bombs, whether it’s a joke, a show pitch, a meme, whatever – I try to ask myself, “Alright, what was the lesson here?” Sometimes the next attempt still doesn’t work. Sometimes it goes even worse than the first time! OOPS! Laugh it off. Dust yourself off, and when you are ready, dive right back into the chaos, taking the lessons you learned with you. That’s where my optimism comes from. The idea that mistakes don’t define you, they refine you. It’s knowing that even if things don’t work out like I expected, there is still room to grow and improve.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

My name is Adam Cozens. I’m a husband, father of two wonderful girls in addition to being an 18 year stand up comedian and comedy writer. I serve as a writer, director and showrunner for some very fun and inventive children’s television programs. I serve as a marketing manager for a very cool company. I am also the creator and curator of the hyper-local Instagram account Memes of Glendora (@MemesofGlendora) which pokes fun at events and happenings in the San Gabriel Valley.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

-Being able to celebrate others successes. This one did not come come easy for me early on. It took a little time. Jealousy can get the best of any of us and I was no better. When you are coming up in any competitive field, there is a certain element of “Why them and not me?” And for some, that can be fueling. They use that energy to better themselves. But it wasn’t for me. Through my life I have learned to celebrate others wins and not take their hard work as a slight against me. Most of the time, at least.

-Having a wide cache of cultural references. I’m far from the first person to make this observation, but the rise of streaming and the break-up of so many bygone media offerings of the past has led to less and less shared entertainment experiences. Shared cultural references, whether it was from the punchline from a short-lived sitcom or a weird news-story that got kicked around in the pulpy early 90’s, those shared references have helped shape and connect so many relationships through my life and career.

-The ability to laugh at myself and my failures. Taking yourself too seriously is a path to failure. Laugh at yourself. It’ll help others to do it too.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

I really enjoy “Love Does” by Bob Goff. Its a memoir of sorts, telling the story of a life well-lived, saying yes to things that might be safer to turn down and allowing room for thoughtful silliness. Lots of tales of taking whimsy by the hand and just enjoying what all is out there. Life is a beautiful thing. It can be hard and relentless and there are challenging seasons and sometimes those seasons feel like they’ll never end. But they do. So take time to appreciate what you are learning in those hard times and how they might one day shape you and those around you for the better.

I also like “Anatomy of an Illness” by Norman Cousins. It explores the relationship between laughter and healing and how our body very much WANTS to be happy. Our body yearns to laugh. That cathartic release of endorphins. Laughing is not just a good time, it is important for our physical health as well. So go get a doctors note and check out a local comedy show. Your body will thank you.

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