Perspective: From My Experience at The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in Minnesota.

How life events impact you is based upon the meaning you give the events. We are in control of how we define what happens to us, and around us, based upon our attitude. Here is a story to shed some light on this perspective. This experience was born during my visit to see The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Live form the Super Bowl in Minneapolis, MN.

The temperature was 4-degrees, and the wind chill was a factor, driving temperatures well below zero. My wife, Mandy, and I were standing in a line outside of the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, MN. The frozen concrete below our lightly insulated boots was suffocating the warmth from our toes. What on earth were we doing? We were amongst thousands of other Falpal’s waiting to claim our tickets to see the LIVE Super Bowl Show.

Rewind for a minute… Gain Some Perspective

To understand the full perspective of this explanation, I must disclose a brief history leading up to this moment. The month before, I happened to flip on the news when the anchor shared that Fallon tickets would be up for grabs the next morning, but I would have to prepare in order to even have a shot at going. First, I was required to build out a solid 1iota account online, this was the registration agency handling the distribution of tickets. This process took a couple hours. The next day, I was waiting feverishly for the clock to strike 10:30a. Clock turned and I burned through the ticket submission process. I had a choice to make, do I attempt to acquire tickets to the live show or the rehearsal. By all means, I was going for the live show. Within two minutes the show was sold out, but I made the list! Two weeks went by, with an intense amount of anticipation, finally, I received the ticket approval email. I was confirmed for two tickets. The email congratulated me and through a few additional emails, they built up excitement. My wife and I were thrilled!

To the Show, We Go

The day of the show, we had a babysitter lined up for our 5 children. My wife and I leap into the car at noon with excitement. For the next hour and a half, during the drive to Minneapolis from Saint Cloud, my wife and I shared our favorite Jimmy Fallon memories. We were prepared to make this night a day-long event because on the email from the Tonight Show, it expressed that our tickets would be waiting for pickup between 12:00 and 5:00p. Any unclaimed tickets after 5:00p would be distributed to the waitlist. With plenty of time to park, walk, stand in line, and register, there we were by 2:00p in the bitter cold amongst the masses…

The New Yorker with a Stache

Around the building we went. By 4:00p, we could see the ticket box, shivering within reach of the doors, out steps a man. This man was well dressed in a dapper gray suit, his hair perfectly kept to match his mustache. With a deep New York accent, the inevitable words spilled from his lips, “Sorry everyone, but the show is sold out. There are no more tickets.” Standing there like Frosty and the gang, the box office was closed. “No more tickets?” we thought. Mandy and I were heart-broken. All the anticipation and excitement, and the show was sold out. Mandy still had to move through the parting sea of disappointed people just to be sure there was not a ticket with her name on it. The clerk at the front did express that we could take a voucher and if 126 ticketed individuals did not come back for the show we would be in. Just as we were to leave, the man with the mustache’s voice filled the room. “If any of you want to go to the monologue rehearsal, we will give you premium seats to attend.” I was ready to leave town, but my wife convinced me to stay. “We might as well go and see him, we are here.” She said. We accepted the man’s invitation. At the rehearsal entrance, ironically another line outside, there were negative vibes all around us. People complained and shared hate toward the show. They shared frustration and I was absorbing it all.

The Three Ladies That Changed My Perspective

The theatre doors open and in we go, a single file line was formed as we were escorted to the front of the stage. We were seated right in the middle of the theatre three rows back from the stage. The attendance was intimate, maybe 400 of the 2,700 seats were full. My wife on my left and three enthusiastic ladies on my right. This stranger on my right leans over as she accidently slaps me in the face with the sleeve of her coat, “Aren’t you thrilled to be here?” and just as I was about to say, “Yeah, but…” She slams down into her seat, looks at me and shouts, “We are going to see Jimmy!!” Prior to the show, these gals did not have tickets, they came hungry for whatever would be served to them. These ladies were excited. That was my defining moment, I turned to my wife and she had a big smile on her face and she said, “this will be fun.” They all were right. It was our perspective of the day. Here I was about to see a legend in person and I wasn’t even willing to take it in. At that moment, I changed my mindset. I was going to make it count!

The Iconic Curtain Opens

The staging was amazing, there were several staff members around, when out onto stage a gentleman greets and briefs us with what we were about to experience. He wanted to be sure we made the rehearsal feel legitimate, our role was to scream and be enthusiastic. If that was our role, then make it known, my wife and I brought the show. Steve Higgins enters stage left and takes his place, the iconic blue curtain present, “Here he is, the star of the show, Jimmy Fallon!” announces Higgins. Mandy, Myself, and the three ladies to my right go nuts! What a blast, we were there, it was happening, and it was fantastic. Jimmy shared several hilarious monologue jokes, pages of jokes that were never even aired, and we laughed. I witnessed how seriously he takes his job, everything he did was done with purposeful intention. He wanted the show to be just right. This wasn’t something we would see from a live show. Amongst the closing applause, Jimmy was about to leave the stage, Mandy and I rose to our feet cheering. Jimmy Fallon looked at the two of us and smiled to recognize our appreciation. Well, maybe it was a light that flashed him in the eyes. Either way, it was a fantastic experience. Mandy and I finished our evening with dinner and we were back home in time to see the show on NBC. It was a good show, but it sure was nice to be able to go to bed immediately after.

It’s a Perspective, a Mindset, an Attitude

How life events impact you is based upon the meaning you give the events. We are in control of how we define what happens to us, and around us, based upon our attitude. What is a challenge to one person, is an opportunity to another. Like those three ladies on my right, had of we been given an email to see the monologue, we would have adjusted our perspective. This is merely one example of all that life has to throw at us. The speed of opportunity, excitement and anticipation is great, so long as it is throttled by our attitude.

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