We were lucky to catch up with Genevieve Joy recently and have shared our conversation below.
Genevieve, appreciate you joining us today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?
I am. I believe that life is pretty much all made up. You show up on this ball that’s revolving around another ball and there are some laws, like gravity and karma and other than that the only thing that matters is what matters to you. I love people, I love entertaining people, I am passionate about story telling and bringing humor and a sense of perspective to the downtrodden. Would my own life be simpler and more convenient if I had a steady paycheck and knew what each day was going to look like? Sure, but I’ve never been interested in simplicity or convenience. I’ve chosen to live for something bigger than myself and that’s the trade-off.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
For those who don’t know me, I’m a professional comedienne (yes I realize it’s old fashioned to spell it the girly way but I am both old fashioned and girly… cancel me if you don’t like it). I am also an actress (too many plays to name, as for movies you might recognize me from Garry Marshall’s last film Mothers Day… I played a comic, to figure); author (I co-wrote a book with my mother, of all people, called Kiss Me, Swami: the spiritual education of a beauty queen- it’s great); playwright (written several plays that have been produced in LA and Edinburgh UK); podcaster (It’s called Just Genevieve.. listen and give me five stars!); film-maker (My short ‘The Hook Up’ won a bunch of awards last year, that was pretty cool, not gonna lie); and as of June 2024, a new thought minister (if you don’t know what that is, look up science of mind and learn for yourself, it’s quite incredible).
As for how I got here… I suppose it started when I announced to my family upon finishing school that I wanted to be an actress. My dad told me he’d support the decision IF I promised to try stand up comedy. I thought it was a bizarre request, I never saw myself as funny. But apparently, he did and so did everyone else! I don’t think I was very good in the beginning, but contrary to what people think, comics are, for the most part beautiful human beings who want to see each other find their voice and do well. I was given a tremendous amount of support and encouragement from the community, and I’m incredibly grateful. Sure, there are the egomaniacs who are only in it for their own validation- but people like that exist everywhere, and most of them don’t last very long anyway. It’s kind of a running joke that comics are like the bottom of the barrel in the arts world. We don’t get awards, we barely make any money.. and that’s shitty on a level, but at the end of the day, what happens in those marginal moments on stage is it’s own reward, so great that it’s hard to care about any of that other stuff.
When you stand in front of a crowd of anywhere from six to a thousand people, strangers from all walks of life, laughing and connecting over the same thing- and know you DID that… it just does something to your heart, I can’t describe it any other way. So much goes on in this world that we can’t control. Life deals people such hard blows and you just never know what’s going on with someone. When I step in front of a microphone, I don’t know who tried to kill themself that morning and their friend said ‘I’m dragging you to a comedy club.’ That may sound extreme, but it’s the god’s honest truth. So with all that in mind, tell me what in the world is more beautiful than the sight and the sound of people genuinely enjoying themselves? There a sanctity in it. And I’m just so grateful any time that I get to be part of it.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
What I want to do more than anything is validate, inspire, and uplift others. The artists and entertainers I looked up to as a child profoundly shaped my perspective on life and gave me tools to cope with the challenges in front of me. When I was feeling sad, lonely, disconnected, whatever… you know who pulled me through it? Madonna, mostly. I never met her; she has no idea who I am. And she’s a completely different kind of artist than I am and probably a hundred thousand times more talented and hard-working, but that’s a given. My point is I can remember as a little girl, on the worst of days, telling myself if this world could make Madonna, then it was a good place to be. Why wouldn’t I want to return that favor to humanity if I can?
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
Oh god, yes. I urge everyone to get to know the work of Ralph Waldo Emerson- one of the great modern philosophers and leaders of New Thought, and Ernest Holmes, the founder of Religious Science. I don’t want to get into what it is because we’ll be here all day, but it’s absolutely magical. My mentor on this journey, Dr. James Mellon is another incredible person to learn from, you can see him speak every week at globaltruthcenter.org
And if this stuff is too heady or flowery for you, I’m also a huge fan of Tony Robbins. He’s a genius at delivering truth in a way that’s digestible and entertaining as anything.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.genevievejoy.com
- Instagram: @catfightj0y
- Twitter: @catfightjoy
- Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/just-genevieve-podcast/id1440565977