I honestly think this might be one of the most important comedy teaching slides I’ve ever created. Not because the joke is brilliant… …but because it finally shows WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS in a veteran comedian’s brain while creating a joke. And yes… I now think “creating” is a better word than “writing.” Because this process is: * exploring * associating * following thoughts * trusting the subconscious * connecting dots * escalating ideas * and following the funny wherever it leads So the other night I was driving and I said I am going to write a bit about the first thing I see. Bits are all I think about because it allows me to go on a journey or down the rabbit hole. Then I drove past Costco. I know very pedestrian, but I saw that as a challenge. This Costco bit started with: 👉 “I drove past Costco.” That’s it. Then I used what I call: 👉 The Rabbit Hole Method 👉 Use Soft Eyes to see the Funny 👉 Then Follow the Funny Where it Takes you. And I let the journey happen. Capturing everything along the way but not worrying about actually writing a joke. This is also the bare bones version of the bit. Before I’d ever bring it to the stage I’d continue building it, punching it up, adding tags, act outs, transitions and more layers. But for TEACHING… I wanted to strip it down so students could finally SEE the process. It took me 17 years of doing 300 shows a year to fully rewire my brain to think this way and I learned from some of the greatest comedians to ever do it. The interesting thing? They all do this. They just never put it on a slide. So I felt like I had to. Would genuinely love to know if this helps you rethink joke writing, creativity or comedy in general.