302: Let Go The Need To Be Liked With Rhett Thompson

Rhett Thompson is a comedian based in Miami, Florida. Born and bred in a lower working/upper poverty level neighborhood in Akron Ohio, she credits her Japanese mother’s strength, tenacity, and love of Black culture for her fish-out-of-water survival skills and dark humor.

Rhett never knew where she belong. Growing up, she always wanted to fit in but her surroundings made her feel like she was an imposter. She did everything she could to live from the expectation of others. When a friend asked her one day why she needed to be liked, that is when Rhett started looking at herself and realized she was more than enough and stop seeking approval from other. Check out her episode to listen to her story.

Bio

Rhett Thompson is a comedian.

Cultural Background

Rhett is of Japanese and African American descent.

Favorite Self Confidence Quote

I will study and get ready and perhaps some day my chance will come.

Definition of Self Confidence

Self confidence is living life on your terms, with the understanding that there is no one else on earth quite like you, so why push yourself to be like everyone else? Stop begging to be part of someone else’s party. Have your own and make them beg for the secret exclusive elusive code to join yours.

Her Life Before the Discovery of Self Confidence

Rhett just wanted to fit in, especially when she was growing up. She was too Asian to be Black and too Black to be Asian. She wanted to belong to a group, without question or conditionals. Rhett has been in situations on both sides of the spectrum where folks try to make her feel like she is some fraud or imposter, like her experience should be discounted. So to avoid that feeling, Rhett tried to live what other people’s ideals of what she should be.

The “AHA” Moment

Rhett’s AHA moment is intertwined with finding her comedic voice. She had a conversation with a friend from back home who is not a comedian. He liked hearing about the inner workings of the comedy scenes as I knew it — controversies over who got booked where, arguments over material, etc. One day he blurted out, “Why do you need to be liked?” That question threw her off.

Rhett is an entertainer, of course she wants to be liked. But what he was getting at was as a person of color with a career in a conservative corporate environment, a lot of times you find yourself as the lone minority in the room, you are not going to be liked right off the bat, point blank. But you still have to soldier on. Rhett realized she needed to live like she didn’t care who liked her, or thought she was “not enough” or “too much”. Rhett has to keep pressing on and hope they get with the program. And if not, that’s their loss.

Her Life After the Discovery of Self Confidence

Rhett still has moments of doubt and insecurity. But then they pass. She knows that she has talent, and it’s her job to use those talents to make the world a more tolerable place to live.

The One Self Confidence Tip For the Listener

Rome wasn’t built in a day, Picasso’s very first sketch ever in life wasn’t a masterpiece. Our society puts too much emphasis on the final product instead of the steps to make that product. It’s important to recognize that we are all on an individual journey, and it’s important to understand we should ENJOY that journey.