Jo Koy OPENS UP About Mental Health & Turning His Pain Into Purpose
Lewis Howes talks with comedian Jo Koy about his 37-year grind from open mics to arena shows, covering mental resilience, childhood trauma, and unconditional commitment to the craft.
The gist
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Jo Koy says to drop the word 'hope' and instead assume your work will succeed, keeping focus on effort rather than outside validation.
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He took every gig no matter how small, including 4-hour drives for $40 shows, because being present opened doors to bigger breaks.
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Koy studied Comedy Central specials with a notebook, timing applause breaks and analyzing cadence to understand technique before finding his own voice.
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Even after selling out arenas, he still prints and hands out 10,000 flyers, believing visibility compounds and humility keeps growth going.
"Comedy Central said they were going to do a New Year's Eve marathon and it started at like 8 in the morning and they were going to keep going until midnight and I literally woke up and I watched standup."
▶ Play at 47:02What they recommend · 2 picks
"After I read that, I literally went to Kinko's and taught myself how to make a flyer."
"Comedy Central said they were going to do a New Year's Eve marathon and it started at like 8 in the morning and they were going to keep going until midnight and I literally woke..."
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