Channeling Lucille Ball

Stunning!

Hey, you. Is life looking a little grey? A little same-old-same-old humdrum? No smiles to be found?

Boo, what you need is a little mojo injection. A shot of something fun and brilliant. Some sweet inspiration to charge up your juice–but without costing you too much perspiration.

Here’s your answer for the blah blah blahs.  I’ve done the research, you just have to dive into the goodness.

Just what you needed? I know! You’re welcome! Here’s how to make it happen today.

Today’s Icon of Inspiration: The Glorious Lucille Ball

Who? What? Huh?: I know you know who Lucille Ball is. I love Lucy, and so do you. If she were still living, she would have turned 100 this month. We lost her in ’89, but what an amazing life she had. One of the most influential and prolific radio, television and movie actresses of her time, she was an Emmy winner, was bestowed with several lifetime achievement awards, and was a powerful television studio executive during the formative years of the media. In fact, she is credited with tons of innovations, including the creation of the concepts of a “re-run.” And damn, was she funny.

Why she’s good medicine: Lucy made things happen. When executives were reluctant to feature a mixed culture marriage, she tested the concept on the road to show the powers that be that audiences loved Lucy and Desi.  And Lucy knew long before medical studies were released that laughter is essential to health and happiness. She took comedy and audience experiences seriously and supported others in the field. It could not have been easy for a woman to triumph in that field decades ago–it certainly isn’t easy even now.  But most importantly, the shows! The chocolate factory, Vitametavegamin, the cuckoo clock, the champagne. So much wonderfulness in one dame.

Pretty racy for the 50s. Yum!

Easy Steps to Release Your Inner Lucy

1. Make a mess.  Lucy was a master of physical comedy, and especially of the stress release we get even from watching tomatoes and pie fly and all manners of muddy messes. Get dirty for the fun of it. Squirt a pie shell full of whipped cream and plant it on someone’s kisser. Or on your own face as you place a pie on the dining room table for dessert. Just have extra whipped cream handy because that kind of fun is contagious.

2. Fake it. Some of Lucy’s best scenes came from her willingness to bluff her way into everything from dancing like a Geisha to performing at Ricky’s club to perming her own hair. Stay away from home perms, but otherwise, channel Lucy and put yourself into new endeavors. The worse thing that can happen is you give yourself something to laugh about later.

3. Just watch her damned shows. Easy as whipped cream pie. Tons of video clips share some of the funniest scenes, or get entire series to follow Lucy from fiesty young mom to single woman running her own scene. Dance with her, eat chocolate with her–and you might even find yourself inspired to run a history-making business like the real Lucille Ball’s Desilu Studios. Or just have some champagne and laugh. Nothing wrong with aiming low like that.

What’s your favorite Lucy clip? Or are you too drunk on Vegametamitamix already to type it out?