We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ron Placone. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ron below.
Ron , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?
Yes. Definitely. I think of the concept of happiness quite often, actually. What does it mean to be truly happy? That’s a question that philosophers have pondered for centuries and there have been countless books about it so I’m not about to wax-philosophy on it too much here but the short of it is that I think about the concept regularly and each time I reach the same conclusion: Yes, I’m happy. Happiness isn’t always easy, nor does it always mean that you’re smiling all day every day. It certainly doesn’t mean you don’t have hardships, or moments where you don’t feel happy. I of course have moments where I feel defeated or deflated, but I know that there’s going to be another day and I keep pushing forward. I love my wife and our cat, I love our condo and our neighborhood, I love my family and my friends, and I love what I get to do with my life creatively. While the world definitely has its struggles and drawbacks especially these days, I look around me and see all those things worth pushing on for. So I’m happy.
Being a creative is not without its negatives. Finances aren’t always where you’d like them to be, and nothing’s secure. But, I enjoy the rush of it all and wouldn’t trade it for anything. At this point, it’s who I am.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Ron Placone. I’m a comedian, writer and content creator. I started as a road comic, then I worked primarily in the podcasting/YouTube space, and now I’m branching more into scripted and this year I released a pilot webisode, a short vertical film and I’m in post-production on my first feature.
My pilot is called Loner and it can be viewed online via my YouTube channel. It’s about a guy who goes through the 2020 quarantine with the knowledge that he could be incredibly wealthy had he invested in his ex-girlfriend’s business idea when she asked him to. All the time alone has given him much time for self-discovery.
My movie is called Left At Wall and it is a comedy loosely based on the Gamestop/RobinHood stock incident that happened in 2021. It’s told through the lens of a two feuding brothers. Think the Big Short meets High Fidelity.
My vertical film is called Frank Azurri and it’s a comedy about a guy who fancies himself the poet laureate of his neighborhood and he makes and illegally sells Melloncello for a living. It’s also about climate change. It’ll make sense when ya watch it.
In addition to stand-up comedy, I do a historic interpretation of Lucian the Satirist, a writer from 125 AD.
I also have a cat-comic called Lucy & Ron. I guess I have an affinity for projects that start with ‘L’. Speaking of my cat, Lucy. She appears in all of my projects.
Finally, I have a new podcast series coming out called 1000. It’s a quest where I attempt to interview 1000 different people who have piqued my interest in some way.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I wish I had sharpened my skills on filmmaking earlier. I’m still not very tech savvy though I’ve come very far from where I started. I should’ve taken a film class in college, or multiple film classes. I guess I never saw myself wanting to participate in that form of storytelling and always thought I’d exclusively be a live performer, but when I made the decision to move to LA in 2016 that wasn’t the case anymore. Now that I’ve directed and produced a few things, I’ve made a million mistakes to learn from. I know that I will make millions more, but each time I get better.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
I’m a big fan of the For The Interested newsletter and the I Want To Know podcast, both products of Josh Spector. I’ve been following him for years and taking his advice has helped my career immensely.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ronplacone.com
- Instagram: RonPlacone
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/RonPlaconeComedy
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ron-placone
- Twitter: @RonPlacone
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/RonPlacone
Image Credits
Big Click Energy