Lander Tee shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Good morning Lander, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What do you think others are secretly struggling with—but never say?
I think many people are struggling with feeling truly connected with others nowadays. I mean truly connected, the connection that will make people fully trust another person and be free to be themselves. Especially, we live in a world where most people have a side they want others to know, and most of us are afraid that others will not like the “true” version of ourselves. So, having that connection where there’s nothing in between two hearts can be a struggle.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am a stand-up comedian. I have been doing comedy for the past six years. It’s been a fun journey, and I never wanted to stop doing comedy. I spent six years figuring out what is funny and what makes it a good joke, which is probably what many comedians would do. Now, I am trying to find a connection between my jokes and everyone’s life. I want to make my audience feel that I am talking about them. I want to help everyone who has experienced a similar situation laugh about it.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I think this is an exciting question because I am always the kind of person who never wants to listen to what I “have to be”. I grew up in the traditional Chinese culture. There are always expectations throughout our lives. When I was a kid, the expectation was “do not date, get a good grade, get into a good college”. Once I graduate, the expectation became “Get a Master’s degree, get married”. I find this funny because I wasn’t allowed to date until graduation and had to get married overnight. I did things at my own pace. During college, I started to realize how much I love working in the media and public speaking industry. So I have worked a lot on learning how to produce a video properly and participated in many public speaking contests. Then, I took a few years away from school, got a job that allowed me to work in media the whole time, and had to work on social media extra time to study how to become a comedian. Now, I am still trying to live a life that is true to myself instead of listening to the “expectations”.
What fear has held you back the most in your life?
My biggest fear is feeling lonely in a room full of people, which made me feel like I was a bit lazy and afraid of socializing. It’s good to go social, especially if we are working in this career and are trying to build connections with others. I’m better at socializing in big groups. I would be better at building connections through conversations and jokes, too.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
I’m not sure if this is what the industry tells itself, but I do feel like this is wrong in the Comedy world. I think if people call themselves a comedian, they have to be funny. I know comedy is a business, and I understand influence matters. I’ve seen people who try really hard to be internet famous and people who are good at sold-out shows. But that doesn’t mean they are funny. I know it’s important for the business to make money, but in the comedy world, to be a comedian, I think people should focus on their content rather than fame or money.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. When do you feel most at peace?
My mind always has tons of thoughts running through it. The only time I feel most at peace is when I go snorkeling. That’s one of the situations in which I will have to do nothing but focus. When I’m in water, I can focus on being a part of nature, and there’s nothing else that makes me feel as peaceful as that.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://landertee.github.io
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/landerteecomedy
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lander.tee
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@landertee
- Other: https://linktr.ee/landertee
