Keep Going: How one comedian almost had it all

On this episode of Keep Going, I talked with Dan White—comedian, writer, and self-described "improv pervert"—about failure, creative perseverance, and that time he came this close to being Jake from State Farm.

Dan is one of the funniest people on Twitter, and I brought him on because, frankly, I needed some joy in my life. But as it turns out, his story is as much about resilience as it is about humor. We dug into what it's like to chase success in a creative field, deal with setbacks, and somehow keep pushing forward even when the world (or a national focus group) tells you no.

Failure, but Make It Funny

Dan’s journey started in competitive sports, running track in high school and college. In that world, success is easy to measure—you either ran faster than the next guy, or you didn’t. But in comedy and acting, there’s no clear metric. You can crush an audition and still not get the part. You can write a brilliant joke and watch someone else go viral for something worse.

His biggest almost moment? He was one of the final contenders to be the new Jake from State Farm—a gig that would have been life-changing financially. He nailed the audition, had an inside connection, and waited through the holidays thinking maybe, just maybe, this was his big break. Then, in January, the email came: "Not gonna be this one. Good luck."

The worst part? State Farm did a focus group, and apparently, America overwhelmingly preferred the guy who got the role. Imagine losing out on millions and having it publicly confirmed that the entire country thought you just weren’t quite right.

If that wasn’t brutal enough, years later, a friend casually mentioned that the guy who landed the gig was also a massive ladies' man in college. Just one more reminder that life isn't fair.