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Thrown Off Script: Turn Interruptions Into Opportunities and Thrive in the Unexpected
“I got this,” you think. Until the unexpected happens and your plans are scrapped!
Let’s face it—life is unscripted! Plans change, phones ring, lasagna burns, people disappoint, and before you know it, you’re left wondering, What do I do now?
For many people, it could take days, months, or even years to feel “back on track” after one of life’s interruptions. That time is often spent wishing things were different, regretting choices and circumstances, and wondering if God even notices or cares.
This isn’t the way life has to be!
Author and professional improv comedian Mike Domeny (321 Improv) knows how it feels to deal with the unexpected on stage and in life. That’s why he has taken the principles that make improv work on stage, sprinkled them with his brand of quick humor, and paralleled them with life-giving truths from the Bible so you
Let’s face it—life is unscripted! Plans change, phones ring, lasagna burns, people disappoint, and before you know it, you’re left wondering, What do I do now?
For many people, it could take days, months, or even years to feel “back on track” after one of life’s interruptions. That time is often spent wishing things were different, regretting choices and circumstances, and wondering if God even notices or cares.
This isn’t the way life has to be!
Author and professional improv comedian Mike Domeny (321 Improv) knows how it feels to deal with the unexpected on stage and in life. That’s why he has taken the principles that make improv work on stage, sprinkled them with his brand of quick humor, and paralleled them with life-giving truths from the Bible so you
182 pages, Paperback
Published July 1, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 15, 2021
Wow! This is a great book. Easy to read, entertaining, and powerful. Things interrupt our lives. It is inevitable. How we respond determines the direction our lives go. He talks about 4 kinds of responses: Arguer, Agonizer, Avoider, and Analyzer. But then he shows us how to break out of those and become an Improviser. Love this book.
November 16, 2022
I first met Mike at an Igniting Souls Conference in 2021 (#ISC21 ). He was one of the speakers and he spoke on this book. I was really impressed by his presentation and I purchased his audiobook that weekend.
We all know how life gets in the way, though and it wasn't until 11/22 before I was able to listen to it. God has his perfect timing and, of course, this was the perfect timing for me to listen to Mike's book. First, I am in a book club and his book fit exactly with what I needed for one of the topics for this month. Second, this topic was exactly what I needed for what I am going through in my life right now.
I won't bore you with my life history--that would take a while, and you can read the book later--but let's just say that interruptions had really gotten the best of me before now, and I had been questioning my life and how God was seemingly not showing up for me. Mike's book showed me how I was viewing things all wrong. I was viewing life with interruptions, when really these interruptions were life itself. I just needed to refocus my thoughts on how to view things and maybe life would start to make sense. I lost a lot in the past decade and now it was time to start getting it back. Mike had the steps and I was ready to take them.
Mike is an improv actor and he used his experience to show how life is just like standing on a stage in an improv situation. Life IS improv. Improv is not knowing what's going to happen next. Isn't that exactly what life is all about? You're thrown for a loop and expected to respond in a particular way. Everybody's watching. Are you going to fail? Or are you going to live up to other people's expectations? Sounds like improv to me. His connecting the two was perfect in every way and I loved his book. I would give it 10 stars if I could. By the way, he explains it so much better than I just did.
With Thrown Off Script, Mike took stories of Jesus from the Bible and, not only made them come alive by explaining them in layman's terms, but he gave them a modern "spin" that made them really relatable. He brought Jesus out of the first century and into the 21st century using improv as a basis. His explanations were thorough and entertaining. I listened eagerly to each chapter, and was a little disappointed when I got to the end, but only because there was no more to listen to.
I wholeheartedly recommend this book/audiobook. I'll be listening again in the near future!
We all know how life gets in the way, though and it wasn't until 11/22 before I was able to listen to it. God has his perfect timing and, of course, this was the perfect timing for me to listen to Mike's book. First, I am in a book club and his book fit exactly with what I needed for one of the topics for this month. Second, this topic was exactly what I needed for what I am going through in my life right now.
I won't bore you with my life history--that would take a while, and you can read the book later--but let's just say that interruptions had really gotten the best of me before now, and I had been questioning my life and how God was seemingly not showing up for me. Mike's book showed me how I was viewing things all wrong. I was viewing life with interruptions, when really these interruptions were life itself. I just needed to refocus my thoughts on how to view things and maybe life would start to make sense. I lost a lot in the past decade and now it was time to start getting it back. Mike had the steps and I was ready to take them.
Mike is an improv actor and he used his experience to show how life is just like standing on a stage in an improv situation. Life IS improv. Improv is not knowing what's going to happen next. Isn't that exactly what life is all about? You're thrown for a loop and expected to respond in a particular way. Everybody's watching. Are you going to fail? Or are you going to live up to other people's expectations? Sounds like improv to me. His connecting the two was perfect in every way and I loved his book. I would give it 10 stars if I could. By the way, he explains it so much better than I just did.
With Thrown Off Script, Mike took stories of Jesus from the Bible and, not only made them come alive by explaining them in layman's terms, but he gave them a modern "spin" that made them really relatable. He brought Jesus out of the first century and into the 21st century using improv as a basis. His explanations were thorough and entertaining. I listened eagerly to each chapter, and was a little disappointed when I got to the end, but only because there was no more to listen to.
I wholeheartedly recommend this book/audiobook. I'll be listening again in the near future!
July 6, 2020
The irony here is that it isn't like the author set out with the intention of releasing this book in a year that quite honestly sounds like an off-the-rails improv comedy skit to any human who is crawling out from under their rock and has asked about current events. So...timely? ✔
Thrown Off Script weaves humor, God, and Improv 101 into a quick and enjoyable read that provides a path for navigating the unexpected turns in the road ahead. I read it in one sitting and laughed the entire time and then was left with some very provocative thoughts swirling around in my head. Honestly, it was exactly the thing I needed right now and it will find its home on that one super eclectic shelf in my house filled with frequently revisited books that serve to remind me of something important in one aspect of my life or another.
Also, for the record: I am an Agonizer by nature.
Thrown Off Script weaves humor, God, and Improv 101 into a quick and enjoyable read that provides a path for navigating the unexpected turns in the road ahead. I read it in one sitting and laughed the entire time and then was left with some very provocative thoughts swirling around in my head. Honestly, it was exactly the thing I needed right now and it will find its home on that one super eclectic shelf in my house filled with frequently revisited books that serve to remind me of something important in one aspect of my life or another.
Also, for the record: I am an Agonizer by nature.
December 29, 2020
Filled with excellent reminders, quite a few laughs, and “wow” *re-read* moments, this is a read that will put a smile on your face multiple times while teaching you to shift your perspective and stay faithful in every season.
August 29, 2020
"Keep the scene in the present"
Stay in the present. Don't get stuck clinging to the "better" past, regretting the past, fantasizing about a "better" future or worrying about the future. The author applies skills to be a successful improv comedian to all of life. For instance, by responding with "yes, and...", accepting a new reality by turning interruptions into opportunities. Practical examples and techniques are explained to take on the roles of:
* relationship-builder
* problem-solver
* pace-setter
* truth-teller
* action-taker
* all-giver
As with other author-read books, the audio edition reveals the passion and original intent of the text. The two "commercial interruptions" are particularly entertaining.
Stay in the present. Don't get stuck clinging to the "better" past, regretting the past, fantasizing about a "better" future or worrying about the future. The author applies skills to be a successful improv comedian to all of life. For instance, by responding with "yes, and...", accepting a new reality by turning interruptions into opportunities. Practical examples and techniques are explained to take on the roles of:
* relationship-builder
* problem-solver
* pace-setter
* truth-teller
* action-taker
* all-giver
As with other author-read books, the audio edition reveals the passion and original intent of the text. The two "commercial interruptions" are particularly entertaining.
August 1, 2021
Second time through and I loved it even more - the audiobook is really compelling, fun, and convicting. So grateful for this book!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews