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The 6 Most Common Fears of Content Creators: Smash Them Today!
Fear motivates creatives to keep going, but too much is debilitating. Find a middle-ground.
At the start of his career, George Carlin followed the style of other top comedians like the Smothers Brothers and Johnny Carson.
After achieving modest success, he worried he was nothing more than a derivative entertainer instead of an artist. He knew the world already had a Johnny Carson and the Smothers Brothers.
Carlin exposed parts of his inner life that most people keep hidden. He introduced what many saw as offensive bits into his acts and his comedy album FM and AM, released in 1972.
At first, those close to Carlin couldn’t understand his darker, edgy, creative direction.
He told his then-wife Brenda, “I’m going to be the person on the outside that I’ve been on the inside my whole life.”
Some fans turned away from Carson, but he found a niche of fans who loved his new creative works. His comedy albums FM and AM and the follow-up Class Clown peaked at number 22 and 13 on the Billboard Charts, a career-high for Carlin.
In Class Clown, Carlin riffed on Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television, as an entertainer. He performed the bit on his live shows and the radio.
