Most people wouldn't be too excited to be up at 6:00 AM for work on a Saturday, and that includes me, but today is different. I'm on my way down to catch the ferry to do two shows in Nantucket today. I'll be performing at the Nantucket Atheneum, a library rich with historical importance for the abolitionist and suffrage movement.
The best client interactions are the ones where both you and the client are excited. When Leslie Malcolm, Department Head for the Weezie Library for Children, reached out to me in September and said she wanted to host my new Minecraft Madness program, I was super pumped. To sweeten the deal, she booked me for two programs and agreed to put me up overnight in Nantucket. Lucky Duck am I!
Last night we had dinner with great friends Elyse and Don. Elyse suggested a book title to me specifically because I happily suffer from "wanderlust" (as do they). Thinking about it this morning I realized what a nice compliment it was.
Travel was the bedrock of my 20s. During that time, I lived in four different areas of the world, all distinct and new to me, and each shaped my life. AmeriCorps taught me how to be a leader. Teaching English in South Korea tested my fortitude. Australia inspired me to become Jungle Jim. And Boston was where my wife (and happiness) waited for me.
When I founded Jungle Jim's, my goal was not to travel through performance, though the desire never left. As my career has evolved, I focused inward on my favorite kind of performance: Library Programming.
What's really cool now is that in the last year and a half I've traveled to all of the states in New England for library work as well as South Carolina. Martha's Vineyard hosted me for their July 4th celebration. We actually just submitted a proposal to do library programs in Hawaii - don't know how that'll turn out, but I'm optimistic!
So today I'll be visiting Nantucket for the first time, offering 2 popular library programs, and getting to entertain kids who live on an island in the Atlantic. I feel very lucky for the experience. Isn't that why we do what we do? For awesome experiences? That's why I'm here!
It's cold in Nantucket!
Random Jungle Jim Fact: Jim has performed on 4 different continents in 9 different time zones.