An Interview With Dr. Carla Marie Manly
Read your bible. If you think you don’t have time, look at a proverb a day. That literally takes five seconds. My favorite is “It is better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.”
Also, my wife hates this verse.
Growth is an essential part of life, both personally and professionally. Every day presents an opportunity to learn, evolve, and become better versions of ourselves. But how do we seize these opportunities? How do successful writers, leaders, and influencers ensure they are constantly growing and improving? What daily habits, practices, or mindsets contribute to their continual growth? In this interview series, we are talking to authors, leaders, influencers, and anyone who is an authority about “What We Can Do To Grow Every Day”. As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jeremy Nunes.
Jeremy Nunes is a standup comedian based out of Dawson, Illinois. He has a Dry Bar Comedy Special titled “Neighborhood SasqWatch” and an Amazon Prime special titled “Who’s with Me?!”
He wrote an Amazon best-selling humor book titled “You Can’t Write City Hall”, which re-tells his hilarious real-life experience of accidentally becoming mayor of his hometown.
Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us your “Origin Story”? Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I grew up in a small town called Dawson, Illinois, which is about a 15 minute drive east of Springfield, or about 30 by combine.
You may have heard of small towns that have only one stop light. Dawson has zero. It did have a stop light at one time, but someone stole it.
Can you tell us a bit about what you do professionally, and what brought you to this specific career path?
I had always wanted to do standup comedy, but had to build up the nerve to do that, and also decline a spot in the family business. My grandfather started the Dawson trailer park, then passed it on to my dad. My dad wanted to pass it on to me. I remember the day I told him I wanted to do standup comedy instead. I told him I could make just as much money doing comedy as I would in the trailer park business: tens of dollars.
Thank you for all that. Let’s now turn to the main focus of our discussion about Personal Growth. To make sure that we are all on the same page, let’s begin with a simple definition. What does “Personal Growth” mean to you?
Maintaining a goal to improve yourself, whether professionally, spiritually, physically, whatever, at least a tiny bit, every day.
Why do you believe that it’s important to commit to growing every day?
I know that other comedians are working hard every day. If I don’t keep up with them, I fall behind, and become the dollar store version of standup comedians.
What are the key upsides for those who mindfully engage in a journey of personal evolution?
Success in your profession, your journey, your personal life, everything.
For me, I want to have enough success that I am so wealthy that I no longer have to sneak candy into a movie theater.
When we stop evolving in intentional ways, what do you think are the biggest downsides?
I think that not only does your career struggle, but also your mental health. If your mental health struggles, aside from the seriousness that comes with that, you’ll also start to lose motivation to strive for success.
It’s almost like you’re in a hole that you can’t get out of. For me, that hole is debt to a guy known as “Big Vinnie.”
What specific practices, if any, do you have in place to ensure that you don’t become stagnant in life?
I carve out time every day, even if it’s just 15 minutes, to find some sort of improvement. My wife knows that my time is my time, unless of course she tells me to take the garbage out.
Is there any particular area of your life where you are most committed to growth (e.g., spiritually, professionally, socially, internally, relationally)?
I spend a lot of time seeking professional improvement. But I also don’t want that to overtake my family life. Just like the 15 minutes of professional time, my kids each get, at bare minimum, 15 minutes of uninterrupted playtime with me every night. It’s often more than that, but they are getting at least that every day.
They grow up fast, so I don’t want them to remember me as someone always working. Or for that matter, to remember me as someone who never works, like Tina in Accounting.
If you could offer five tips to readers on how to stimulate and perpetuate self-growth, what would they be?
1 . Schedule a specific time to get your work done. Turn off your phone to limit distractions.
2 . Only look and respond to emails at scheduled times. If not, you’ll often find yourself losing time by constantly arguing with someone through email, like Tina in Accounting.
3 . Read your bible. If you think you don’t have time, look at a proverb a day. That literally takes five seconds. My favorite is “It is better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.”
Also, my wife hates this verse.
4 . Pray, meditate, or whatever you need to do to find peace and calm. That’s not always easy with two little kids running around, but I do what I can.
5 . Don’t be like Tina in Accounting.
What advice would you give to someone who feels stuck and unsure of how to start their personal growth journey?
Get it going! It’s not going to happen for you until you start the process! Get motivated and go! The best novel started when the author wrote one word. The fastest marathon ever run started with one step. The best wife I ever had started with…ehh…let’s come back to that.
Are there any books, podcasts, or other resources that have significantly contributed to your personal growth?
I would recommend my book “You Can’t Write City Hall.” Just kidding. Actually I really enjoy the podcast “How I Built This.”
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Jeremy Nunes for President.
When my wife finds out I said that, she is not going to be happy.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can learn more about me at jeremynunes.com
My humor book is “You Can’t Write City Hall.”
I’m on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok. If you search my name, you’ll find me. Just don’t search for me on the local crime report page. Long story.
Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!
About The Interviewer: Dr. Carla Marie Manly — clinical psychologist, author, and advocate — is based in Sonoma County, California. In addition to her clinical practice focusing on relationships and personal transformation, Dr. Manly is deeply invested in her roles as podcaster and speaker. With a refreshingly direct and honest approach — plus a dose of humor — Dr. Manly enjoys supporting others in the ever-evolving journey of life. Her novel self-development paradigm builds resilience, emotional intelligence, and self-esteem. Highlighting the importance of loving connection, her work also focuses on helping others create deeply connected and satisfying intimate and social relationships. Working from a transformative model that honors the body-mind-spirit connection, Dr. Manly offers holistic relationship and wellness seminars around the world. An award-winning author, Dr. Manly’s books, The Joy of Imperfect Love, Date Smart, Joy from Fear, and Aging Joyfully highlight her empowering approach and profound expertise. Host of the captivating podcast, Imperfect Love, Dr. Manly offers uplifting guidance on navigating the messy road of life. Her expertise is also regularly cited in media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Forbes, Oprah, Newsweek, NBC, HuffPost, Reader’s Digest, Psychology Today, Parade, GQ, Women’s Health, Architectural Digest, Men’s Health, and more.
Growing Every Day: Comedian Jeremy Nunes On What We Can Do To Grow Every Day was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.