Welcome to the Why Not Today podcast, where we celebrate courage, determination, and the
power of saying, why not today?
I'm your host, Leslie Cain, and in each episode, we dive into inspiring stories of individuals
who have taken bold steps, face their fears, and embrace the possibility of today.
From entrepreneurs, artists, dreamers, and doers, we explore the moments when they said,
enough waiting, why not today?
Join me as we uncover the heartwarming, the audacious, and the transformative, whether
it's pursuing a lifelong passion, overcoming obstacles, or simply choosing joy, or guest
share their journey and inspire us all.
I started this podcast in honor of my father, Patrick Cain, who often did say, why not today?
And remember, you're just one decision away from changing your life.
And welcome, Courtney.
Courtney is my guest today, and a new friend of mine.
So I'm excited to have her on the podcast today.
And I always talk about where we connect and where we met.
So I went to a rest and chamber event that Northwest Federal Credit Union sponsored, and
she was there and just loved your energy.
And I've been paying attention, and I just, my last podcast episode talked about my why
not today scavenger hunt.
And I'm really paying attention to the people that I meet in their energy.
And so Met Courtney connected, and then it was funny, I was talking to my sister, and
she was like, oh, I met this person, Courtney, and she's doing this and that.
And then another friend of mine, Karen, told me about she met this person, Courtney.
And so it's just kind of fun just to see all of a sudden the connections.
And like, you don't live in our backyard at rest, and you're in DC, which, you know, not
that far, but it's not here.
And I think we are teasing you, like, I think I sent you an email about I heard you're coming
to network night, and I know you don't have a car, so I'm picking up the metro.
I'm not stalking you, it's just my sister.
Between the two of us, we know so many people.
So it's fun to have you here, have you as a new friend.
And I think I mentioned you look in your mannerisms and so much are like my friend, Julia, who
did stop stand up comedy.
So I've got to connect you guys because you'd be fast friends.
Yes, I would love to.
And I just have to say that was my first ever rest in chamber event.
And it was a phenomenal event on women's leadership.
It was fantastic.
And I met all of the people you mentioned, plus others, and I feel so embraced by the
rest in community.
I love it.
In fact, I'm spending most of my week in rest.
Yesterday, I will be there today for lunch with Karen.
I will be there tomorrow for the networking and I will be at your luncheon on Thursday.
So I just love, love what I've found out there.
So it's great.
Well, yeah, well, if you need a ride from the metro on Thursday, I won't keep your phone
there.
Wednesday, let me know.
So Courtney, let's get to know you.
Tell us a little about who Courtney is and a fast, a fun fact about you.
Okay, who am I?
Let's see.
Well, I'm an adventurer by nature and very curious person.
I have spent most of my career in international development working around the world in amazing
places and I've been to over 100 countries.
What's your favorite?
Do you have a favorite?
I do not have a favorite because every place is so different and I think what I love often
most is the surprise of falling in love with a place that you don't think you'll fall in
love with.
Like when I first went to China, I kind of went for a school class, a business school
class and I kind of forced myself to go because I didn't think I would really like it.
I don't know what I had in mind and I completely fell in love with China.
I was just there for three weeks and I got back to business school, started taking Mandarin
and went back and studied in Beijing for a semester and ended up working quite a bit
in China at a later date.
So most of my career in international development across multiple sectors, many geographies
and it's just been quite a journey and I've made some changes.
I left my last sort of big executive nonprofit job at the German Marshall Fund to start my
consulting company Laughing Matters to unleash the power of thunder.
We're going to talk about that in a minute.
Yeah, so we won't go into that and I'm also an executive recruiter but I'm just an adventurer
and I consider myself a global citizen who really cares about making the world a better
place.
Love that.
And I would say then we'll talk about this later as my dad but yeah, a lot like my dad's
philosophies.
One fun fact.
Oh yeah, fun fact.
A fun fact is that I have taught a trainer of trainers of aerobics instructors in Cure
in the song.
Okay, that is kind of fun.
Well, you have that in common with Karen.
I don't know if you know that.
I do not know that.
Okay, so you have to ask her about it.
She used to teach water aerobics.
I've been doing aerobics for 15 years.
I paid for my post-college url trip on aerobics money.
Yeah, that's funny.
Yeah, she used to and another fun connection we'll pull back together at the end.
So yay.
And I don't know, can you hear the banging above me?
No, not at all.
I live in a concrete building and they're doing construction.
So this is where I wish I was editing, but I don't know how I'd get rid of that.
So I'm glad you can't hear it.
Okay, so what is courage mean to you, Courtney?
I've been thinking about this and I think for me personally, courage is about taking
a leap into the unknown and trying something that you don't know what to expect that you
may or may not succeed or you may not enjoy.
Okay, so true, but we got to be courageous and I think you with your travels worldwide,
it takes courage to go to all those places and trying new places.
Did you often travel with a group or by yourself?
Both.
So I've done a lot of both and I've traveled a lot on my own also for pleasure.
Yeah, and I think that is a skill and that takes courage that a lot of people wouldn't
do that.
Yes.
But you know, I've done the same thing and love it.
I remember one time I was going to the beach and a friend was supposed to go and backed
out the last minute.
I'm like, wait a minute, I'm single.
I live by myself.
And I travel for business by myself.
Right.
Like, why can't I go on vacation by myself?
I'm like, you know, it was kind of pleasurable and nice that, you know, I could eat ice cream
for dinner or read a book when I wanted or there was nobody else's agenda.
Exactly.
A lot of fun and you never, you, I feel like when you travel alone, you are more because
you're alone, you're more open to meeting people that you otherwise might not meet or
having experiences.
My nephew who will be 30 this month or next month.
He, when COVID happened, he decided that he didn't want to live here in a virtual, he
worked virtually, business wise, he could work remote.
And so he moved to San Diego and literally bought a surfboard before bed.
And so, and he's been traveling all by himself a lot.
I think even before then he went to Europe, he just booked a flight and he says he just
goes to a bar and has dinner and meets new friends and has just met great friends.
I think, yeah, you're forced to learn to meet people.
Yeah.
You know, being one of six kids I remember going on vacation and my parents are like,
you guys never make other friends.
I'm like, we didn't have to, we had our own little posse.
Right.
So I said so many of us.
So something said to that.
So, all right, so you've had lots of jobs, but you've started something on your own and
that's really what is my sweet spot for women these days is that we're being bold and being
courageous and like, you know what, I want to do something for me.
So was there a moment where you decided, and I'm calling it my why not say moment where
you knew that it was time to make a change or you want to start this business or it was
like over time or was there just that one moment where you remember where you were, what
you were doing that in like, enough is enough.
Like let's do this.
Yeah, that's, that's an interesting question.
I think it had been, you know, over time and really the whole laughing matters thing came
to me over time.
And it was a why not today kind of moment when I decided I was going to try stand up comedy
at all.
So I was in London, I had just left Holland and a large international development organization
and I was trying to figure out my next steps and I had somebody had told me once, I think
you should perform.
So I was in London, I was like, well, I'm looking for a job, but I might as well, I don't know,
let's take some stand up classes.
So I just did and I signed up that very day and really fell in love with it and started
then already thinking about my gosh, when you go to comedy school, all these things
that you're learning about what does a persona mean?
How do you control the energy in a room and take the mic and how do you deliver a setup
punch and all of that is so relevant to business pitches.
And then I started studying about the humor and laughter and all the power of humor and
laughter and connecting people innovation, motivation, all these things and realizing
how powerful it is for leaders and teams and organizations.
So I had this kind of stuff brewing in my, my mind and I got to a point at my job.
Where I felt like, you know what, I've done what I can do here and sort of my work here
is done and things are running smoothly.
So this is a moment where I can leave and let's just start this thing.
Now I didn't know then that the pandemic was going to happen.
As none of us in that a little, you know, forward thinking that you didn't, you were
looking at other options before we all started looking at other options.
That's true.
So yeah, I think with that, it had been brewing and I'm actually in a process of really bringing
it back.
I kind of took some other jobs in between that and done some other things and now I'm
really refocused on laughing matters.
And it is, it's really, really scary.
Especially because I feel like, you know, the concept itself is really sexy and people
are like, yes, I love that idea.
And then it's like, yeah, but what would I be actually paying you to do?
So getting over that step is so it feels risky, but I also feel like there's, there are a
few things I'm more passionate about.
Yeah, and I think it's scary when we're passionate about something and we don't quite know the
journey I've interviewed so many people on this podcast that started here and ended up
here.
Right.
It's just those why not today steps like, okay, what do I have to do today to move the
ball and what do I, and then what's the next thing and I've had to do this with the podcast
and growing this one, I say business is like, you know, my first episode, I had no idea
what I was doing.
Right.
I was like, I'm just going to do it and then the next week I like added something else
and, you know, keep adding things to my tool belt and learning because, you know, when
you're running another business or working for somebody else, it's hard to have the time
to put into that.
Right.
Now, I don't know about you, but it's fun and you're enjoying it.
It's something new.
And so you want to play there more than the other job that's paying you.
Exactly.
But at some point you do need, we need to make that leap.
And I did that 25 years ago where I was working full time and started another side hustle.
And it was much more fun and much more exciting and had not replaced my income, but I'm like,
you know what, I know I can do this.
And worst case, I'll just get another job.
Right.
Everything fell in place and then six months later, my dad had a major stroke and I was
able to do that and I didn't have to ask permission to take time off or do anything that I was
able to just make that leap.
But it is a leap and it is scary.
And what I love what you were just saying about like, you know, I didn't know when I,
what I was doing when I started doing podcasts, so you just kind of start doing it.
And I think one of the things that's, that's always hard is don't let the perfect be the
enemy of the good or don't let the perfect be the enemy of the doing.
Exactly.
And one of the things you learn and stand up is like part of the process of getting a
good joke is telling it poorly and then reworking it and flopping it.
And so, and then redoing.
And I feel I always find myself in that like, I really want to do this like a three minute
interview of somebody, but how do I do it?
Well, you got to just do it.
And so I admire what you were saying and it's, it's always hard just to get out there and
do it and then the next one will be better and the next one will be better.
Yeah, I found I work really well with the deadline.
And then backwards.
So like I'll plan something and put a date.
So the first podcast episode was purposely on March 5th, which was the day my, it was
my dad's birthday and the day he passed away.
So I'm like, there can't be a better day to start this podcast.
Right.
And then literally I recorded the first episode like it three or four on the day before.
Wow.
You know, but it was just like, I didn't want to do it.
Like I'm one of these people that I'm a last minute girl, but it's always stirring, you
know, and thinking and then, you know, writing the paper.
I was always the night before in school, but it came fast because I was thinking about
it.
Right.
So yeah, it's taking those pieces and just like, okay, what are the things that you need
to do?
And, and, you know, I'm doing some masterminds and some coaching and I built it out and I'm
like, okay, now I got to find the people.
But sometimes you got to find the people and then like, okay, now I got to figure this
out, which I did too, you know.
Yeah.
So it definitely takes courage, but I can tell you from being on the other side, it's
so worth it.
Yeah.
So let's talk.
So exactly what is your vision and your idea for your laughing matter?
So have you done, worked with companies yet with this or is it just?
I have done some work with companies.
I did an engagement with the Special Olympics.
They were having their international retreat where they were bringing in some of their
athlete leaders and their other teams from around the globe and putting them, getting
them together with their teams at the head office here.
And so I facilitated the whole day of that retreat and brought in various different tools
of humor and laughter.
One of the goals for them was for the teams to get to know each other, but to know each
other both personally and also to have an appreciation and understanding of what the
other teams did.
And so it was a great way to bring in some of the tools of laughing matters.
We did some exercises around people's persona and team personas.
I had them do a joke telling contest, which was really fun.
And that was such a great experience because it was both international people from various
different cultures, lots of people from different backgrounds in terms of their expertise, and
a lot of different disabilities and levels of intellectual ability.
So it was great and so much fun.
I've also done a similar activity with We Connect International where they brought people
from 60 of their country, their country leaders.
So that was a group of 60 global entrepreneurs coming together to really work through their
strategy for the next year.
I've done a workshop with conflict negotiation negotiators.
It was a group of practitioners.
And that was amazing because some of the stories they have to tell about how they've used humor
in negotiation.
And some of them were literally hostages in hostile countries and how humor came to bear
on those situations.
So I have done some work with another, I did some individual coaching with a senior leader
in the shipping industry on her presentations.
So I have done that.
And what I've also started doing recently is building up a sample workshop to start giving
to potential clients and groups of potential clients so they can see what it looks like
in reality.
And so talking about deadlines, I've set myself, I had my test audiences.
So I had deadlines for each of those.
And now I'm ready to move that into a next phase of starting to share that with potential
client groups.
So I know what you're doing is so important now that we need laughter, we need fun, we
need community.
And that's one thing I'm passionate about is I think after COVID, we all, you know, COVID,
I don't know about you, but I was out networking, meeting, doing a million things, always busy.
And then COVID happened and we had to go in.
And but then we had to double down.
Like I had to recreate a completely new business.
We had so many people.
And so, and we had, we just went into survival mode.
We stopped dreaming.
We stopped, you know, goal setting, we just were in survival.
Like let me get through today.
And you know, I don't know about you, but we were stuck on the TV like, okay, what's
the governor going to say we can do this week?
And so it was day by day, week by week.
And then we came out of it.
I mean, we're still seeing ramblocations and, but somebody else listening to a podcast one
time, like we never took time to grieve the life that we left behind.
Oh, that's so interesting.
And we've never taken time to memorialize it.
Like there isn't a COVID anniversary or, I mean, a COVID Memorial Day, but we never
grieve.
So we just double down.
And now I think people are coming out and going, okay, this is not, this is not what
I want to do.
I want to do this.
And, and being, I know me personally, I'm purposeful of who I'm around and what I'm doing.
Is it filling my cup and has it given me energy?
Like I'm not going to spend time with people just because you never know where it might
go.
You know, I'm really being purposeful and working on that community and fun.
We did with the why not today connects.
I started the luncheon, which are going to be our guest speaker in August.
I'm super excited about that.
And I started that to connect people and build community, not to stand up and give an elevator
speech, but authentic relationships.
And we did last week, we did our first kind of fun event.
We did a why not today summer camp for adults.
And oh my gosh, it was so much fun.
Everybody had such a great time.
It was fun to watch.
And I've seen this at the lunch.
People coming together, not knowing each other, but finding those connections, building those
friendships.
And there's one woman who was the sponsor and she's like, she's amazing.
You never know, but she's in her 80s, early 80s.
And her hairdresser that she had for years, years retired.
I mean, simple thing.
One of the women there is a hairdresser.
She's like, oh my gosh, I needed to come to meet you.
But we're open to those things and taking time for fun and humor and doing different things
and getting out of our comfort zones.
And this is funny talking about coming back to rest at a meeting with Karen.
So Karen got me out of my comfort zone on Sunday night.
I'm having lunch with her today.
And that's what you said.
So you have to ask her about our concert we went to.
So she reached out to me on Sunday to go to Wolf Trap.
So people listening globally, it's an outdoor amphitheater place.
Well, she's like, do you want to go?
And I'm always up for it.
You know what?
Enjoying life.
And sure, I'll go.
Well, it was National Symphony Orchestra.
So I'm like, okay, that's cool.
Well, it was with Naz.
I had no idea who Naz is.
Do you know who Naz is?
Okay, no idea what I was walking into.
So those listening don't know who Naz is.
Naz is a hip hop artist, pretty famous.
So he was performing his first album with National Symphony Orchestra.
Oh my gosh.
It was really cool.
Now I was not familiar with him and didn't know any music.
And we had really good seats.
It was hard to hear, but it was cool to just watch.
I was people watching big time.
People in the audience, who was one girl that's been seeing his concerts, she was seven.
Wow.
And knew every word, but watching the orchestra perform the conductor, it was just kind of
cool.
So it was one of those things, you know, would I've paid for it?
Probably not.
You know, would I've pursued it?
But I'm so glad I did that I think we need to get out of our comfort zone and try new
things and make our brain think different thoughts.
That yeah, I'm going to do a podcast episode on this that I was just listening to a podcast
and talked about how can we make our life more exciting?
We do the same things.
Like you're making your life more exciting now playing in Reston.
I know.
You know, and it's things to look forward to.
And you know, we get in a rut.
We go for the same walk.
We go to the same restaurants.
And we work at the same job.
But what can we do to shake it up and do exciting things and try new things?
Yeah.
No, it's amazing.
And I think to your point about having fun and just getting together for the sake of
getting together.
But I think, you know, what I love about the science behind humor and laughter is that
laughter.
There's a comedian from the 1930s, Victor Borga, and he calls laughter that it's the shortest
distance between two people.
And, you know, it actually physiologically does actually connect us because of the various
different hormones it's releasing.
And so it's a way that we naturally build a relationship.
And if you notice laughter is contagious, right, because like you're sitting in the lecture
hall, right, and somebody next to you laughs and you don't have, there's no shared joke.
You don't know why they're laughing.
And then all of a sudden you can't, you start laughing.
And then the moment you look at each other, you're both laughing.
And now you have this strange connection with this person over nothing other than just having
sure to laugh.
And both laughter and humor totally open our brains to think in completely different ways
and new ways and open connections because they use all the different parts of our brain.
And so, and just they know that, for instance, something like 88% of people say they're not
engaged at work.
And we know that and 53% of American adults, something like that, say that they don't find
happiness on a regular basis.
And that is one of my major passions.
Like I was on a leadership call and they talked about people, especially, you know, we're
living in the DC area, that people have countdown clocks on their desk down to retirement.
And that just broke my heart.
Like I, you know, I've worked for myself for more than I have it.
And I've created a life that is full of fun and adventure and excitement.
But so many people, they hate their jobs.
And I'm just like, it just breaks my heart.
Yeah, and it's crazy, like just from a business perspective on the flip side of that, we know
that businesses that where people are happy, their profitability is way higher, like 38%
higher.
So just changing that.
And they, I mean, there's just the statistics go on and on staff retention, everything,
people's health, less sick days, safer workplaces.
It's amazing what a little humor and laughter and fun can do for everything, our health,
our business, our productivity.
And I think embrace that with everything happening people, the conversations we're having and
what we're doing with the workplace, the so many people working virtually and we're missing
that.
I mean, when I worked, we had fun.
Like I remember one day we, my boss, it was a Friday afternoon, he got grabbed a whole
bunch of solo cups and made a putt putt golf place around the office.
We played putt putt golf in the office.
Right.
Basketball, we'd go out to lunch and yeah, we had some cocktails, but we made it fun.
And we worked hard, but it was fun.
And this podcast I just listened to about adding excitement, you need to check it out.
But they talked about the workplace, having people switch departments for a short amount
of time.
Right.
Something new.
One of my mentors shared with me one time, it's really hard to get excited about something
you've done before.
Oh, interesting.
And they even talked about vacations.
Like the first 40 some hours of vacation is the best.
And as every day it goes down.
Because it's the first time you saw the ocean, the first time you went out to have this drink
by the ocean, the first time.
And they said even more exciting is not your first day of vacation, but the day before you
leave for vacation.
Oh, interesting.
The anticipation.
And they said, you know, so figuring out how you can maybe do more short trips.
Even talk about your house, your kitchen.
Right.
How boring and you're like, you look at somebody else's kitchen.
And they said, go away for a couple of days and come back and it adds a little sparkle
to it.
You know, it's interesting because I find just like the littlest things in my house,
like I'll do a new little vase with something in it and put it somewhere.
And just that tiny thing changes the whole way I feel about it.
Or just moving something around.
Yeah.
So so many things.
Yeah.
And I think you are so needed in the workplace and we need to share your message and let
people know that you're available.
And.
Yes, I am.
And one thing I can say that I guarantee is that if you work with me, you and your team
will laugh.
And I also, if we go this route, but everybody will write and tell their own joke.
And it's a really fun experience.
Well, I'm excited to have you as our guest for the lunch.
So before we go, how to encourage somebody else to be courageous to do the thing to laugh
and have fun to start a job, pursue their passion.
Yeah, I feel like your whole company name, it's the why not today.
I feel like it's always, I always have to remind myself that it's never the things
I do that I regret having done.
It's only the things that I don't do that I wish I had maybe done later.
And so I think about it like just, I mean, silly things like this morning, I'm trying
to talk about trying something new.
I'm doing kickboxing.
So I was waking up this morning and I was like, oh, I don't want to get up and go.
But then once you're there and it was so much fun.
And you know, it's never the night that I going to do open mics.
It's a long night and it's a slog.
And I never regret getting up and going and doing it, but I'll do often think, oh, I wish
I'd gone last night.
And so I think that you just when you're thinking about why not today.
Do it.
Why not just.
Why not?
Well, it's interesting.
I taught water roots for 13 years.
Yeah.
And I started taking the class and I'm on all or nothing girl, like I would go work out
at the gym and then not be able to move for a week because I did too much.
So when I started going to a class, I'm like, I'm committed to once a week.
And then by and within six months, I was signed up to teach.
And so, but I always just tell the people in the class, I'm like, okay, and it has to
do with anything.
When you get up in the morning, you don't feel like doing it like kickboxing didn't feel
like getting up.
I always say, okay, when you put your head on the pillow tonight, how would you feel
if you did it?
Or if you didn't.
So if you did it, you came back, you feel great and you feel amazing all day, right?
Yeah.
You didn't do it.
You beat yourself up all flip a day.
I should have gone.
Why didn't I go?
I missed out.
This would have been fun.
And so just do it.
Do you know who Daniel Pink is?
No.
Okay.
So he is an author.
He's actually from D. He lives in D.C.
Written several books, one being on regrets.
And I read the book right before I started the podcast and exactly what you said.
He's like, we never regret the things we did or regret the things we didn't do.
And he started an op ed partnership with the Washington Post called why not?
Yeah.
Big questions like why not pay teachers $100,000 a year?
His newest one was why not have all roads you can't make left hand turns only right hand
turns.
Because of traffic and believe it or not, UPS I read recently did a study and about
that and they stopped.
UPS drivers you'll notice will never go left.
They always go right.
Oh, interesting.
Increase your time.
So hold the time that we can go on.
Well, so, but so I was trying to connect back to my dad and you're like, I didn't know
you dad.
How can we possibly do that?
So he was all about having fun, living life sounds like you are definitely was a traveler
and he definitely cared about the community.
But I think the fun connection is you connecting with Karen.
So you can she can tell you all kinds of stories.
So Karen, who we keep mentioning was friends with my dad and knew my dad long before I knew
her.
And it's funny.
She worked for the rest in chamber years ago and one of the first people she met was
my dad who was a character and the logo is he had an eye patch on handlebar mustache.
So she tells a story of she had a receptionist there.
The receptionist buzzed her whispering.
There's some man here with an eye patch and her handlebar mustache and smoking a pipe.
This was years ago.
And so he comes in as his jeans, his flip the lops.
Like what can I do to help you?
And then Alicia, my sister actually worked for Karen.
So we can go full circle and then go back to that water or the aerobics thing.
She taught aerobics and one of my friends from high school found out she taught with
taught with her knew her.
And then the same person worked for my dad.
So all the criss-cross connections is just fun and crazy.
And you just never doubt.
You never know.
So, well, thank you for your wisdom, your courage.
So where's the best place for people to find you, Courtney?
You can find me on LinkedIn.
Just go to Courtney Pickard on LinkedIn.
And that's a very easy way to connect with me directly.
And you can also find us at laughing-matters.com.
Okay.
And I will share all that in the show notes.
Okay.
So thank you for being our guests and thank you.
I'm glad that this was so much fun.
I really enjoyed it.
Yeah.
So thank you everybody for joining us on this inspiring journey.
Remember, every day is an opportunity to take actions, chase your dreams and make a difference.
So why not today?
And of course you can find out all about why not today on the whynottodaypodcast.com.
You can subscribe, share, keep pushing forward.
And until next time, stay motivated and keep making things happen.
And as I always say, why not today?
Thanks to Courtney.
Thank you so much.