Apple PodcastsSpotifyPodchaserStitcherOvercastPocketCastsAcastiHeartRadioSoundCloud

John Garrett [00:00:00]:
Hey, this is John Garrett. I’m passionate about making work more human, especially in this age of AI. I don’t just host this podcast. I also help organizations put people first. Through my keynote speaking, coaching, and What’s Your “And”?™ implementation programs. To learn more or to connect with me on LinkedIn or Instagram, I invite you to join the movement www.whatsyourand.com. Now let’s jump into this week’s conversation.

Catherine Mattis [00:00:21]:
Hi, this is Cat Mattis and when I’m not making people laugh, I’m listening to John Garrett on What’s Your “And”?.

John Garrett [00:00:33]:
Welcome to episode 709 of What’s Your “And”?. This is John Garrett and each Wednesday I interview a professional who just like me, is known for a hobby or a passion or an interest outside of work. And to put it another way, it’s encouraging people to find their and those things above and beyond your technical skills are the things that actually differentiate you when you’re at work. It’s the answer to the question of who else are you beyond the job title. And if you like what this show is about, be sure to check out the award-winning, best-selling book on Amazon, Indigo, Barnes and Noble Bookshop, a few other websites. All the links are@whatsyourand.com the book goes more in depth with the research behind why these outside-of-work passions are so crucial to your corporate culture. And I can’t say how much it means that everyone’s reading it and writing such great reviews on Amazon. Thank you so much for those and more importantly, changing the cultures where they work because of it.

John Garrett [00:01:28]:
And if you want me to read it to you, that’s right, this voice reading the book, look for What’s Your “And”? on Audible or wherever you get your audiobooks. And please don’t forget to hit subscribe to the podcast. You don’t miss any of the future episodes. I love sharing such interesting stories each and every week and this week is no different with my guest, Cat Mattis. She’s a staff accountant at LVBW out of Buffalo, New York and now she’s with me here today. Cat, thanks so much for taking time to be with me on What’s Your “And”?.

Catherine Mattis [00:01:55]:
Thank you so much, John. Happy to be here.

John Garrett [00:01:57]:
Yeah, this is gonna be fun. Two comedians talking comedy. So like let’s do it. This is gonna be awesome. But I have some rapid-fire questions. Get to know Cat out of the gate here. Maybe an easy one. Favorite color?

Catherine Mattis [00:02:07]:
Blue.

John Garrett [00:02:09]:
Blue. Yeah. Mine too. Solid. Yeah. Safe. How about a least favorite color?

Catherine Mattis [00:02:13]:
I don’t have one that feels mean.

John Garrett [00:02:15]:
To me in case they’re listening. You don’t want them to be offended. Right? There you go. There you go. Are you more of an early bird or a night owl?

Catherine Mattis [00:02:22]:
I’m a night owl, but I would give anything to be an early bird.

John Garrett [00:02:27]:
Right? Yeah. Well, it’s handy when you’re doing comedy to be up late. How about a favorite actor or an actress?

Catherine Mattis [00:02:34]:
Anna Kendrick. I just listened to her audiobook too, and she’s incredible. She’s lived an amazing life.

John Garrett [00:02:40]:
Very cool. That’s awesome. Yeah, that’s a good one. I don’t get that one too often. That’s awesome. Yeah. How about pineapple on a pizza? Is that a yes or a no?

Catherine Mattis [00:02:47]:
That’s a yes to me. And you’ll be shocked. But I like pineapple and banana peppers.

John Garrett [00:02:51]:
Oh, interesting.

Catherine Mattis [00:02:52]:
Sweet and that spicy. Nice.

John Garrett [00:02:55]:
Nice. All right, how about puzzles? Sudoku crossword jigsaw puzzle? Wordle. I don’t know what else.

Catherine Mattis [00:03:00]:
I do the New York Times mini crossword. That’s the only one I have time and attention span for.

John Garrett [00:03:06]:
Yeah, there you go. Right? And attention span. That’s awesome. I didn’t realize they were doing minis now.

Catherine Mattis [00:03:12]:
They just started charging for them. But yeah, they do mini crosswords. They only take about one to five minutes, depending on the difficulty.

John Garrett [00:03:20]:
All right, there we go. So they’re for people like you and me. There we go. Nice. How about Star wars or Star Trek?

Catherine Mattis [00:03:26]:
Star Wars. I’ve never been into Star Trek, but I’ve heard it’s really good.

John Garrett [00:03:31]:
Right. In case the colors are listening and they want to now.

Catherine Mattis [00:03:35]:
Trustees are hardcore fans. I don’t want to offend anyone there.

John Garrett [00:03:38]:
Yeah, no, they really are. How about computer? More PC or a Mac?

Catherine Mattis [00:03:42]:
I have a PC, but in college I was a Mac, so I’ve shifted because I will never own a Mac because they’re so expensive.

John Garrett [00:03:50]:
Ah, there you go. Right, right. How about ice cream? You go in a cup or in a cone.

Catherine Mattis [00:03:54]:
Usually a cone. Depends on my mood. It’s a big decision for me.

John Garrett [00:03:58]:
Well, you know, it is. Sometimes you can sweet talk them into in the cup with the cone on top, but you got to be good at that. How about a favorite cartoon as a kid?

Catherine Mattis [00:04:07]:
Power Rangers. I haven’t watched it in so many years, but that was my listening. Or watching them on Saturday mornings. I would hope that that would come on back when there was cable.

John Garrett [00:04:18]:
Yeah, yeah, there you go. Back when there was cable. That’s hilarious. Are you more diamonds or pearls?

Catherine Mattis [00:04:26]:
I’m more Diamonds, pearls. It just. It seems too elegant for me.

John Garrett [00:04:31]:
Oh, okay. All right. All right, fair. How about since you have the accounting background, balance sheet or income statement?

Catherine Mattis [00:04:38]:
I have a balance sheet. I love when the numbers equal out. That makes me so happy. At the end of the day, then.

John Garrett [00:04:45]:
You know you’re done because it’s like, oh, they’re the same. Done. All right, let’s go home. All right. Do you have a favorite number?

Catherine Mattis [00:04:52]:
888.

John Garrett [00:04:54]:
Okay. Is there a reason?

Catherine Mattis [00:04:55]:
Not really. I’m on this devil numbers kicks or. You know how, like, 666 is a number, But I was like, what about. I don’t even know how to explain it. It just seems cool. It seems even. It seems like three infinity signs next to each other. I don’t know.

John Garrett [00:05:11]:
Oh, there you go. Okay. I like it. I mean, because I was like, well, why not eight eights? I mean, like, why stop at three? Like, you know, like, maybe next time. Like, it’s a. Well, that’s a lot to say. Like, you’re like, now you’re saying my password. Quit talking.

John Garrett [00:05:25]:
But, like, that’s. How about a favorite season? Summer, winter, spring, or fall?

Catherine Mattis [00:05:30]:
Gotta be fall. Fall is the best time of year, that’s for sure.

John Garrett [00:05:33]:
Two more. Toilet paper roll, you go over or under?

Catherine Mattis [00:05:39]:
I go over. That’s the right way to do it.

John Garrett [00:05:41]:
That’s the right way. Okay. There you go. And the last one. Favorite thing you have or the favorite thing you own?

Catherine Mattis [00:05:48]:
I would say it’s my electric teapot. I drink tea all day, every day, and I couldn’t live without it.

John Garrett [00:05:54]:
Okay, is it a special brand or is it.

Catherine Mattis [00:05:56]:
I have no idea. And if there’s any words on it, I don’t pay attention. So you’re making me rethink that. Gonna go home and read my teapot.

John Garrett [00:06:07]:
That’s important. And it makes tea super fast, so that’s what’s really great. You’re efficient. So, yeah. So let’s jump into comedy. And how did that get started?

Catherine Mattis [00:06:16]:
I started comedy because my close friend Stephanie, she brought me out to a comedy show. I saw people do it, and it was nothing like I imagined. The local scene is. I don’t want to say bad, but I do want to say the local scene can be pretty bad. There’s a lot of people trying it out and workshopping jokes. So it’s a lot of funny but very talented people. But it gave me the impression of, oh, wait, I could do that. So I did.

Catherine Mattis [00:06:46]:
We went to an open Mic later that week and gave out stand up comedy. And honestly, it was difficult because I’ve always had a fear of public speaking, but I’ve always been funny, so I wanted to get up there and share my jokes.

John Garrett [00:07:02]:
That’s fantastic. I love that so much. And you know, when, when people are new at comedy, like, you don’t understand, like, how hard it is and, you know, compared to the people that you see on TV or, you know, the big ones that you see in a theater or whatever, you know, like. But you never get to see their first time on stage. It takes a lot of work to get there. Even if you are funny, even if you can write good jokes, you still have to present it in a way that the audience goes along with. And so what was that first time on stage? Where, where was that?

Catherine Mattis [00:07:30]:
It was at this place in Rochester, New York called Player Zone. A video game, Ant Bar. And six people were in the audience and this one girl was laughing really hard. I now call her a friend, but I found out that she laughs when people are bombing because of how awkward. I’m glad I didn’t know that when we first met because I was like, oh, she finds my jokes funny. I should go and talked to her. And became friends. Now I know that everyone.

Catherine Mattis [00:08:02]:
I started doing comedy in Rochester. Everyone is so supportive. Every single person in the room has bombed. So they know, they still give you advice, they give you a pat on the back. It is the local scenes I found in Rochester, Buffalo and Syracuse, New York are incredibly supportive of new people starting out.

John Garrett [00:08:22]:
I mean, we’ve all been there. And if you haven’t bombed, then you haven’t tried, you know, and it takes so much more guts to even just get up there and give it a go than the critic. That’s, you know, the whole man in the arena quote from Teddy Roosevelt. I love that so much of just, you know, like, unless you’ve done it, then shut your mouth. Like you don’t even know. You don’t even know. And so kudos to you for not only just giving it a go, but now, I mean, you’ve been on stage quite a bit since then.

Catherine Mattis [00:08:51]:
Yeah. And I do have to say about the man in the arena quote, that was actually my phone background for a while because I needed that motivation on a daily basis. I needed to look at that and be like, I want to be covered in blood, sweat and tears. This is what I want. But now I’ve performed all over the state, all the way from stages in Buffalo, New York. Like, Buffalo comedy Collection down to New Lebanon, New York, which is the exact opposite of the state. There’s a place called Eminem Tap to groom that. I performed that for the Good Karma Comedy Festival.

Catherine Mattis [00:09:26]:
And all the way at the bottom. My favorite club is the Leg Lounge in Waverly, New York, and that’s where I had a show a few months ago, and I got to open for Liz Mealy.

John Garrett [00:09:37]:
Oh, very cool. Oh, I know Liz from when I was in New York. Nice. It’s such a wild trip to just think back to that first time you did it just because you were like, well, I’m funny. I could be as not funny as these people to now, like, getting paid and traveling across the state to open for people that. That you see. And that’s really fantastic. That’s awesome.

John Garrett [00:09:56]:
So do you have, like, a most fun show that comes to mind?

Catherine Mattis [00:09:59]:
The most fun show I’ve done was performing at A Celebration of Life. I got contacted by a woman who had lost her father, and they were having a few months after he died, so there was no funeral. His dying wish was asking that you eat the best steak of your life. So very great guy. His Celebration of Life party was the big Lebowski themed, and it was in a backyard. There was a barn. There was alcohol. There was amazing food.

Catherine Mattis [00:10:32]:
So that is where I brought a few of my friends, and we performed on a trailer, and that just showed me how important comedy was to them, how important it was to take a minute to laugh and enjoy life while you have it.

John Garrett [00:10:47]:
Yeah, very much so. I mean, it’s all we have, you know, and it’s such a weird thing, too, where, you know, you just say words, and strangers collectively immediately decide within milliseconds to laugh. It’s just. It’s such a weird concept to me. Every time I, you know, have done it or even when I’m speaking now and people laugh. It’s still such a weird. Cool, but weird thing where it’s like, man, this is so odd that just. I’m not even telling you to laugh.

John Garrett [00:11:13]:
You’re just doing it.

Catherine Mattis [00:11:14]:
It’s crazy. I even have this joke. I told it at the comedy show I was on this weekend where I say I stop eating fast food. And for once, someone actually said, why?

John Garrett [00:11:29]:
That’s hysterical. Yeah. And I mean, you just never know when the audience, what they’re going to do, how they’re going to act, how they’re going to react. You know, you just have to be ready for all the things, and you don’t really learn how to react from your side until you’ve done it so many times, you know, and like, I had the good fortune of working with Louie Anderson at go to Mound, and he just said the difference between the new comedian and, you know, maybe me at the time, and then me and Louis is, you know, the new comedian said the joke 10 times, I’ve said it a thousand times, and Louis said it 10,000 times, you know, so it’s just that confidence of repetitions and being on stage and just, you know, being more comfortable and do you feel like that’s the case now compared to that first time where you’re just like, hey, I know what I’m doing more?

Catherine Mattis [00:12:14]:
No, I still don’t feel comfortable on stage. We’ll get there.

John Garrett [00:12:20]:
No, no, it just takes some time. But, you know, you’ve. You’ve seen some things and you’ve had some Echlers. You’ve had all the. And heckling. Is anyone listening? That’s not part of the show. So stop in case you think that that’s what comedy. No, that’s not what comedy is.

John Garrett [00:12:32]:
So do not do that. Stop that, you know, type of thing. But I love how when we talked a bit ago of, like, how important it was for you to have something outside of work. Can you tell. Share that story with. With everybody and. Because I think it’s really profound of why, whether it’s comedy or something else, it mattered for you to have, you know, in hobbies and interests outside of accounting.

Catherine Mattis [00:12:53]:
I heard this when I was younger that in Japanese culture, people were so when they lost their job. So I just knew growing up that I needed to have something, a part of myself especially. I found out during college I needed something more than just a job because as much as my dad preached to me growing up that you’re going to find an amazing job as soon as you get out of college, and you’re never going to want to leave, and as long as you work hard, you’re going to keep that job and be able to buy a house. All these things that younger millennials were promised were no longer able to get those necessarily. So it. Seeing the shift in work culture made me realize if I get laid off from my job, I don’t want to go through an identity crisis. I want to take the time outside of work to find out who I am. And if I could say one thing about comedy that’s been amazing for myself is that I found my voice.

Catherine Mattis [00:13:49]:
I found out who I truly am.

John Garrett [00:13:51]:
I mean, that’s super powerful because, I mean, there’s a Lot of people that go through life never knowing, they just become the identity of who they think they’re supposed to be or whatever their job or their degree says that are. And then that’s who I am. But that’s. That’s not who you are. That’s what you do. You know, who you are is a multidimensional, bigger, badder thing. And so it’s. It’s really cool that.

John Garrett [00:14:13]:
That you discovered that and are pursuing it, you know, and as long as comedy brings you joy, it’s comedy. And then, you know, maybe, you know, 10 years from now, it might be something else, who knows? Or also something else. You know, it’s. It doesn’t have to be just one thing. It’s. That’s why this show is what’s your. And, you know, you’re an accountant and a comedian. It’s not.

John Garrett [00:14:30]:
Or what’s your. Or. And like, you know, you can only be one or the other. No, no. You’re all the things. And so do you feel like the comedy. There’s a skill set that allows. That plays into your work at all, or, you know, in the accounting world.

Catherine Mattis [00:14:46]:
I took that question in two different ways when you asked it, because one is, yes, the skills I’m learning in comedy are paying off in my job. Like I said, finding my voice, knowing who I am, and actually being a fun person to hang out with. I’m sure people at my employer really appreciate that. So I was thinking about this beforehand, that it has really helped me with resiliency. I receive a lot of feedback in audit work, so every single time I hand in a financial statement, it’s covered in red, at least sometimes getting read, a lot of mistakes, there’s a lot of adjustments. So receiving that feedback and taking it as this person cares about me and wants me to get better at this is such an important skill. And it’s the skill that I developed when I was. I was in my first gross battle and I was getting booed on stage knowing that person doesn’t care about me and they just want to hear something funny.

Catherine Mattis [00:15:44]:
So when someone does care about me and actually wants me to do better, it means a lot. And I take whatever they say, I filter it out, and I try to do better and become a better person, a better accountant and a better comedian.

John Garrett [00:15:57]:
I love that. Yeah, because, I mean, it’s. It’s pretty hard to top telling a joke and no one laughing like, that’s. That’s about as brutal as it get. I mean, I guess worse would be saying, I Love you to someone and then just, like, walking away. Like, that would probably be the only thing that would be worse. But it’s. It’s on par with that, where you’re bearing your soul.

John Garrett [00:16:15]:
Like, I legit think this is hilarious. And no one. Just me. Okay. All right. That’s a brutal blow. You know, I mean. I mean, it just strips your ego down to, you know, nothing.

John Garrett [00:16:26]:
So to have that happen, you’re like, well, I mean, a couple, you know, red marks on a. On a financial statement, whatevs. Like, we can. We can live past this, you know, type of thing. But like you said, I mean, the resiliency and the being a fun person to be around and, you know, just finding your voice and the confidence, I mean, you know, that’s. That’s a huge thing that. That plays out at work. And at no point, I’m sure, you know, did your dad say, hey, go do comedy because it’s going to make you better at your job.

John Garrett [00:16:51]:
Or no one in school, you know, none of your teachers, none of your professors, you know, like, none of that, you know, type of thing. But it clearly does. It makes you better at what you do.

Catherine Mattis [00:16:58]:
The second way I took that question was that also, I got good at comedy because I practiced, because I wrote jokes every day, because I keep a notebook for every single thing I find funny or it might be funny. I texted friends. I work on that skill, and I work out my writing abilities. That’s how I became good at writing jokes. And I think that’s a lot of that’s misunderstood about why I’m doing comedy. I am naturally funny, and that’s lucky. But I also work really hard to be good at what I do on stage.

John Garrett [00:17:34]:
Yeah. Because, I mean, being naturally funny doesn’t always play out when you’re by yourself on a stage, you know, Like, I mean, I’ve seen so many people come in, you know, on those open mics their first time, and, you know, they bring 20 friends and, oh, this is the funniest. This is our funniest friend. And he’s so funny. She’s so funny. Whatever. And then just get up and just. Just eat it hard, you know, just bombs, like.

John Garrett [00:17:53]:
And you’re like. Like, you know, because you don’t have your friends to bounce off of, or it’s a different thing, you know, or maybe there’s improv, you know, that’s a different skill. And also funny. There’s sketch, you know, like Saturday Night Live and all that stuff, you know, that’s a different funny. So you know, it’s just finding out how to use your funny in a way. And so yes, we do have a leg up because naturally funny. But then yeah, it’s work. I mean it’s a skill set.

John Garrett [00:18:17]:
I mean, you know, it’s, it’s just not. You just walk in and here it is. And I mean everybody, all the greats were also naturally funny but had to work at it. You know, it’s a different, different muscle, that’s for sure. And so is this something you talk about at work? Do people know about this side of you?

Catherine Mattis [00:18:32]:
They know. It did come out in my interview that I do stand up comedy as well. So there was no hiding it. I look at it as a strength, but I don’t bring all of my humor to work. I do filter that out very well on these jokes are okay. I never make the first Jo in a work setting. I wait for someone else to make a joke because I did accidentally let it slip to a client about being a stand up comedian. And the first question I always get asked is what kind of jokes do you do? Because mine is very clean.

Catherine Mattis [00:19:09]:
It’s corporate comedy. It is just that feel good. I’m always positive. I give out compliments for fun. I will just look at someone in the audience and be like, you look beautiful today. That sometimes gets a laugh. But it genuinely, that is my style of comedy. So I’m not afraid to share that in the world.

Catherine Mattis [00:19:27]:
And I think I am lucky that that is the route that I’m taking where I do have some friends, they don’t tell their employers about comedy.

John Garrett [00:19:36]:
But no one said, you know, you’re fired or you can’t work on us as an auditor or anything like that. From when you shared that you do comedy, it’s probably the opposite where it’s there were follow up questions and people were genuinely curious about that side.

Catherine Mattis [00:19:48]:
Yeah, I do appreciate I work for a firm that celebrates our differences. I know I was afraid going into the workforce and I recently finished my mba. So when I was interviewing I didn’t mention it in every single place. But the reason I took this job with LVBW is because I could tell that that was celebrated here. That was something that people would enjoy. And having a personality is a really good thing, especially when it comes to building relationships with clients because it’s becoming harder and harder to become memorable.

John Garrett [00:20:23]:
Absolutely. I agree 100% on that because there’s a lot of good accountants and good auditors, but not always good auditors that are also human beings and show that side of themselves, whether it’s your hobby or passion or personality or whatever, that’s your differentiator. You’re not memorizing the most accounting laws or FASB’s or whatever. Isn’t your differentiator, especially now that there’s AI and the Internet, so, you know, anybody can get those answers quickly. That’s for sure. And you say that, you know, at the firm, they, they celebrate. This is. In what ways do they encourage, you know, people to have an.

John Garrett [00:21:00]:
And. And share an.

Catherine Mattis [00:21:01]:
And I guess just a normal conversation I have. Every single person I’ve talked to at this firm, I’ve had an enjoyable conversation with. We do team bonding. We went bowling the other day, and they set me up with a mentor that talks about what I’m doing outside of work. So just building myself as a person along with building my knowledge base as a professional is really focused on here.

John Garrett [00:21:30]:
That’s fantastic. And it should be just. It is just how it is here and that the mentor asks you about these things and cares about these things. That’s it. I mean, it doesn’t have to be a huge overhaul, you know, giant program, expensive. No, it’s just. I care about you, Cat, as a person. How’s life? Like, how’s these other things that are beyond accounting? How are those things? You know, that’s.

John Garrett [00:21:53]:
That’s that easy. And, and how much do you feel like it matters that leadership cares and that they create this environment, or how much is it on the individual to just, you know, I don’t care where I work. I’m going to start with my peers and just be a human and share that side.

Catherine Mattis [00:22:09]:
It matters so much. Me personally, I stay motivated because I know there are people at my job going to check on me. I know there’s someone here that I could ask about their weekend and have a good conversation with. It makes me happy to come into the office every morning.

John Garrett [00:22:25]:
I mean, it’s literally that simple. I mean, it is. You know, how great is that? To be able to say it makes me happy to come into the office each morning. That’s pretty, pretty profound, you know, like, oh, wow. Not everybody can say that, especially in.

Catherine Mattis [00:22:37]:
This time where everyone wants to work remotely. We still have people at this firm that do work remotely, but every time we hop on a phone call, it’s, hey, how are you doing? Okay, now let’s talk about the problem. Let’s put out this fire. It’s just good to have that rapport already built by the company just taking one hour out of their time. To have a cupcake for a birthday, or like I said, go bowling, Something like that.

John Garrett [00:23:04]:
And was there ever a part of you that was like, oh, I shouldn’t. I shouldn’t share the comedy side or the other sides of who I am because it has nothing to do with my job. There’s not a charge code for these things type of mentality.

Catherine Mattis [00:23:17]:
Yeah, there is definitely that part of me that thinks, hey, maybe I shouldn’t tell everyone I meet. But I have done so much networking, whether it’s online through LinkedIn or meeting people in person through organizations or chamber events, that the only way I’m going to become a healthy professional is if I share every part of me. I can’t hold back. And necessarily I don’t want to because I don’t want to waste that energy that I could be putting into producing better work on hiding myself or having to take like five extra minutes because I’m not being honest with the person in front of me.

John Garrett [00:23:54]:
That’s pretty fantastic right there. Yeah. Because it’s all energy, whether you’re using it to hold yourself back or using it to hide yourself, or you’re using it to propel yourself forward and become better at life in all the dimensions of who you are. That’s really fantastic. Catherine or Cat, my apologies, we got formal there for a quick second, but do you have any words of encouragement to anyone listening that feels like they have a hobby but no one cares because it has nothing to do with their work?

Catherine Mattis [00:24:22]:
It’s funny because I’m saying all these things, but the comedy part of me wants to make a joke here.

John Garrett [00:24:29]:
Right.

Catherine Mattis [00:24:30]:
I do find it very hard to be serious, so you’re catching me at a good moment. But you have to live your life. You don’t have to live it with everyone around you. So maybe if you have to hide yourself, you’re not surrounded by the right people.

John Garrett [00:24:45]:
Right. And find the right people and be at the right place. And there are organizations out there that do appreciate you, like where you’re at now. And that’s so fantastic and encouraging to hear that this isn’t just a Harvard case study make believe bubble world. It’s a real thing and it matters and it makes a difference. That’s so awesome. Well, it’s only fair since I rudely peppered you with questions at the beginning, that we turn the tables and make this the Cat Mattis podcast. So thanks for having me on.

John Garrett [00:25:13]:
I’m in the hot seat, so whatever questions you want to ask me, I’m all yours.

Catherine Mattis [00:25:16]:
Okay. Let Me get into character. All right, John Garrett, thank you so much for being on the Cat Mattis podcast today.

John Garrett [00:25:25]:
This is a dream come true. I have self actualized, I’m at the top.

Catherine Mattis [00:25:29]:
All right, well, here’s a rapid fire question to start off with. What’s worse for you? Sending an email to the wrong guy or bombing on stage?

John Garrett [00:25:40]:
I think probably sending the email just because I’ve bombed enough to where like I’m dead inside so it doesn’t matter anymore. And also getting character to be a guest on your show. So I figured that would be appropriate for a Cat Mattis podcast answer.

Catherine Mattis [00:25:57]:
My huge audience base appreciates your comments very much. Multiple choice question here. We had to eat one for the rest of your life. You can eat other stuff, but you can only pick one. Would you pick mozzarella sticks, tater tots or nachos?

John Garrett [00:26:12]:
And them going, tater tots, they’re pretty fantastic. They’re not out there enough. They’re not like mozzarella sticks you can find nachos you can get at sports event. Like, I mean, but tater tots, they’re not out there very much and they should be.

Catherine Mattis [00:26:25]:
I agree with that.

John Garrett [00:26:26]:
I think we should start a campaign. I think this is where it starts. Right here.

Catherine Mattis [00:26:30]:
Yes. Yeah, good choice. Because then you can dip it in all the kinds of sauce too. And it’s just, it’s a good.

John Garrett [00:26:37]:
Right? It works for everything. Like, I mean, even if you had marinara with your cheese sticks, it’s like, well, yeah, I’ll dip it in that. Whatever, you know, it’s still good, you know, but cheese sticks in. Yeah, you got to be particular with what you’re doing. So, yeah, Tater tots all day.

Catherine Mattis [00:26:51]:
What’s your go to Pump up song before going on stage for a keynote speech or recording a podcast?

John Garrett [00:26:58]:
All the Small Things by Blink182 because the music right at the beginning, it’s good enough where I’m going to be on stage in that 20 seconds and it just hits it right from the top. And that was always my intro song when I was doing comedy and it is now when I’m speaking. Plus, fun fact in the lyrics of that song. It says, “work sucks, I know,” So that’s a little Easter egg if you know the. So then you’re like, oh, that’s. Oh, wow, look at that.

John Garrett [00:27:23]:
But work doesn’t have to suck. And that’s really what I do now. And the work that I do is to make it not suck, basically.

Catherine Mattis [00:27:29]:
Definitely. I feel like all the 90s kids like me hear that song and instant nostalgia happens, too.

John Garrett [00:27:35]:
Yeah. Oh, yeah. It’s a great song. I mean, it is. I mean, you can’t debate it. I mean, now, whether or not it’s deep musically or it doesn’t have to be, you know, like, it’s just. It just needs to be what it is, and it hits a point and there you go. So I love it.

Catherine Mattis [00:27:50]:
I’ll finish up with one question, which is similar to when you asked me what’s one piece of advice you would give your younger self?

John Garrett [00:27:57]:
Wow. Like, hours and hours of advice. But your show isn’t that long, so. But I would say, yeah, I mean, just basically, like, just don’t hold back. I mean, you know, don’t play small. Don’t get in your own way. I mean, you’re. It’s okay to be good at.

John Garrett [00:28:14]:
Said a lot of things. Go be good, you know, like, don’t hold back, basically, is what I would say. So hopefully that helps someone listening that you matter and all the parts of you matter. Don’t feel like you have to hide those and put them away or, you know, take them out. When after I retire, it’s like, no, no, they matter now. And they’re all with you and they’re all the good parts and the bad parts. Like, hug them all. Like, you know, you’re all the parts.

John Garrett [00:28:41]:
So embrace them.

Catherine Mattis [00:28:41]:
Well, thank you. You helped me already, John.

John Garrett [00:28:44]:
Hey, look at that. Look at that. Well, thank you so much, Cat, for being a part of What’s Your “And”?. And this was so much fun.

Catherine Mattis [00:28:50]:
Yeah, thank you.

John Garrett [00:28:54]:
And everybody listening, if you want to see some pictures of Cat on stage or connect with her on social media, be sure to go to www.whatsyourand.com. You can check out her clips on Instagram as well. They’re fantastic. And while you’re on the page, please click the big button and do the anonymous research search survey about corporate culture. And don’t forget to read the book. So thanks again for subscribing on Apple Podcasts or whatever app you use and for sharing this with your friends so they get the message that we’re all trying to spread that who you are is so much more than what you do.