I received an email from a YouTube morning show called Good Mythical Morning. I’d never heard of it. They were interested in having me come on the show to be interviewed. My first thought – will they make fun of me? Of us? Of cuddling?

I watched a few episodes and was immediately impressed with the production values  – beautiful sets, ridiculously thought-out pranks, costumes, excellent sound and two super-talented guys as hosts. The tone was irreverent, upbeat and absurd.

Yeah, they could easily make fun of us.

Let’s Negotiate

I told them that I was really interested but wanted to know the approach they had in mind. They began the process of scheduling me and I said it again – it depends on what you’d like to do and the tone of it.

A few mornings later I had the idea for a “bit” that I could do with the hosts that I thought would be hilarious, fit in with the format of the show and wouldn’t trash our budding industry. I called It “Cuddle Olympics.” I asked if they’d like to hear about it. No response. It’s possible, I figured, that they’re not used to getting creative ideas pitched to them by their guests.

They scheduled a call with me and pitched their idea – to see if our cuddle poses could calm the hosts after being put in a stressful situation. I pitched one aspect of my Cuddle Olympics idea: to have the hosts try to competitively guess our cuddle poses just by what the poses are called. The creative team ultimately chose to do both bits. I was psyched.

What It Was Like

I arrived to the sound stage on a Monday morning and was blown away by the number of production staff, the beautiful set and the plushly decorated  “green room” I was put in while I waited. They gave me a bag of swag including their new book, socks and a gorgeous black mug with their cool logo. I was nervous/excited.

They told me it was time to get started and ushered me to the set. There were cameras, lights, a fancy teleprompter and a hive of busy production professionals doing their thing. That’s when I saw it. As I sat on the couch waiting for the hosts to arrive, I read what was written on the teleprompter. It was what the hosts were going to say when introducing me and Cuddle Sanctuary:

Nowadays you can make anything into a profession – like a professional pet therapist or a professional pet couple’s therapist or a professional pet couple’s therapist’s therapist…

My spirits sank with a thud. “This was a mistake,” I told myself. “I’m a clown to them,” I realized. “I”m about to be made a fool of.” Thank goodness the shooting didn’t start at that moment.

So Serious

I sat there and had an inner talk with myself. The heaviness that I was feeling wasn’t going to help anyone. It wouldn’t help me. It wouldn’t help the show. And it wouldn’t help anyone out there watching.

“Jean, forget your precious brand, forget your ego, your image of yourself and your rigid idea of what’s acceptable and what’s not. Surrender your seriousness and tap into your inner jester. This ride is already in motion, so try, sweetheart, just try to have fun.”

The Result?

I left the set that day feeling happy. I felt downright comedic. I had a feeling that what we shot was going to be really good. It was going to be hilarious. I think I killed.

The videos came out last week. So far there are more than 5,300 comments. A lot of them sound like this:

Good Mythical Morning

The videos have been viewed over a million times, and Cuddle Sanctuary’s Instragram following has increased by several hundred. (And more people have signed up for my consent webinar today.) But perhaps what’s most important is that there are a lot of people out there (maybe thousands!)  who had never heard of the concept of professional cuddling and who now have a favorable association with it.

I surrendered and got the best result I could hope for.

I surrendered and had more fun.

Can You Let Go?

Let’s try this now. Is there anything in your life that you’re holding too preciously? Do you find yourself feeling rigid, humorless and sort of miserable about it? I invite you to let it go.

Good Mythical Morning

Perhaps more often, we can take ourselves a smidge less seriously and witness more happiness and success flow into our lives.

Show me the Darn Videos!

Okay, okay you don’t have to yell. : – )

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