Relax, We're All Just Making This Stuff Up!: Using the tools of improvisation to cultivate more courage and joy in your life

What if I told you that you would be happier and more confident if you planned less and made stuff up more? The tools improvisers use to create wonderful—and often hilarious—scenes on stage are easily transferred off the stage and into real life. These tools have changed my life completely, and I want to share that with you. In this book, you’ll find some of our favorite improv exercises as well as real-life examples of how our students’ mind-sets and lives have grown and become ultimately fulfilling through practicing improvisation. This book was not written for natural-born performers, comedians, or people with “talent.” It’s for everyone, including introverts like you and me. (Yes, I’m an introvert at heart.) If we aren’t happy with our lives, not much else matters. I want to see you living the life you are meant to live, now. I want you to experience true happiness; and practicing improvisation is the most enjoyable, and fun, way to get there.

Amy Lisewski is the founder and artistic director of Finest City Improv. She has over twenty-five years of experience in business and the arts. She is a graduate of the Second City Conservatory and has trained with dozens of top improv teachers from all over the country. She travels the country as a Vistage speaker to demonstrate how leaders can use the principles of improvisation to improve their leadership skills. She loves the stage and seems to find one wherever she is. She is also a foster mother and an avid sailor, taking risks at home and at sea.