We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Danielle Arce a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Danielle, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I took a risk with my comedy career when I went through a divorce in my early 30s. It was fairly devastating, but it forced me to become a phoenix and rise up from the ashes and shine. I went through such a dark period during that time personally, that it made me briefly question what exactly it was that I was doing with my life. Ultimately, it was my tenacity and overall determination and perseverance to better myself as a human being that lead me to the wonderful point I am today. I know that I still have a long way to go, and not only am I okay with it, but I am completely willing to put in the work and continue to be my most authentic self throughout the process.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a stand-up comedian. I’ve been in stand-up since 2011, and I have since performed all over the US and overseas. I thoroughly love making people laugh and have a great time with my silly stories, jokes, and view points. My job is to make people escape for a bit, and just be able to relax and enjoy themselves. What sets me apart from others is my story and my comedic style. I am very proud to say that I have performed for the US Military overseas, in Camp Fuji & Yokosuka, Japan, that I have headlined in Tokyo, and that I have performed & headlined all over the country, including Hawaii. I think the main thing that I’d like for followers and fans to know is, there is nothing I enjoy more than the sound of laughter, and I hope they will enjoy my silly array jokes about my strict Latin upbringing, my unique current home & family life, being a new mom, marriage & s*x, and more. I really love being very vulnerable and personal in my shows, and I am definitely very unapologetically myself.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Just one story?! I have several! Sheesh. I’ve been through some major obstacles in my life since I’ve started my stand-up career, from divorce to messy dating life to becoming a new mom, and more. I suppose my divorce from my first marriage had the biggest negative impact at the time it occurred, but it was really a blessing in disguise, as now I feel I am starting to truly live my best life, and I am grateful I went through those very dark times. My first marriage ended rather abruptly, when I started to realize that my ex was not entirely happy with our marriage and his life, overall. There is a lot more to it, but I don’t want to get into details to avoid unnecessary drama and such. But, I will say this, he was the breadwinner in the relationship. He didn’t want me to have a full-time, “regular” job at the time so I could focus on my comedy career. Back then, I was making a lot less than I am now. When we separated, and he filed for divorce, certain actions were made and I was upset about for a while, including leaving me without any alimony. When I left, I didn’t have a car, a bed, nor a computer. All three of these things are necessary for life today, and I was completely without and left to restart my life in my early 30s. I went through some very dark times, mentally, physically, and financially for a while after that. Slowly but surely, I was able to rebuild my life with a new job, a computer, a car, and a bed. I could have easily raised a white flag and ran home to my parents to live with them (which was a fleeting thought I had a few times), but I didn’t. I kept going for the sake of my career and sanity, overall. And today, I am happy to say that I don’t need a full-time job to maintain, and I happily live in a wonderful little house with my loving family (husband, toddler, and great stepkids). Going through that struggle really was a slap in the face for me, and forced me to truly take a good look at myself, inside and out. I knew exactly what I wanted, I knew what I needed to do, and I put in the work. I went through therapy, a lot of inner healing and self work, and I kept grinding. I am beyond grateful for my tenacity and ability to see my flaws and do my very best to work on them. Now, I am so much more confident in my career, my life, and myself as a person. I like myself now. So, that’s pretty nice.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I’d say that my biggest lesson in everything was, stop caring about what other people think, do what is truly best for myself, and LET GO OF MY EGO. My ego was the reason I was holding myself back from so much. I was mentally blocking myself from enjoying any fruits of my labor, and I was too focused on worrying about what my peers and audiences thought about me. I was worried about being the perfect spouse, a likeable peer and comedian, etc. Once I put in the work, like, fully let go and put in the work, all of that eventually melted away. Don’t get me wrong, I do want my audiences/followers/fans to enjoy my work, and I want to be a great spouse, but I know that I just need to be myself, be happy with being myself, and know that being my true self is more than good enough. I am grateful to have learned this lesson, and no matter where my career takes me, I know that I am honestly doing my best while being my most authentic, silly, loud, awkward yet confident self.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.daniellearce.com
• Instagram: @DanielleArceComedy
• Facebook: @DanielleArceComedy
• Youtube: @DanielleArceComedy
• Other: TikTok: @DanielleArceComedy

Image Credits
Jim Cambridge Nick Larson Photography Max Brandt