“There’s this comedy conference in Las Vegas. They have speakers, panels, experts, sessions, breakouts, think tanks and the like,” says Seinfeld. “If I was organizing that event I would make it much simpler. I’d get everyone into the same room on the first day and then drop this banner down that says – JUST WORK. Then I’d send everyone home.”
In 1976 Jerry Seinfeld toured every stand up bar in New York. There was no comedy circuit. There was no money. Twice a night, for 20 minutes, seven days a week, for 18 solid months - he would do his routine. Not a single day off. He jogged to stay fit. He spent his off hours taking his own advice. He constantly wrote and revised bits. He simply loved it and made a name for himself.
In 1981 he had his shot on The Tonight Show - the Olympics of comedy. Five minutes to make his career. In preparation, he delivered his 5 minute set 200 times, to 200 different audiences. He continued to exercise and eat right. Those five minutes indeed launched his career from an club audiences to a television audience of 10 million to a massive fortune of fame and wealth.
Seinfeld says it’s not just about being funny. That’s not enough. It’s essential to be a writer. You have to demonstrate your uniqueness. At the beginning he wasn’t focused on a career. He was fascinated by taking things apart, whether it was cars in his youth or everyday things – like the concept of cotton balls. Women like them. Men don’t. Why?
Jerry Seinfeld can spend an hour to take an eight-word line down to five. Three months of doing a joke is not enough. It takes six months for a joke to be truly funny. He sees stand up comedy as a dialogue. You say something. The audiences responds. How they react. How they laugh. How long they laugh.
You must explore and define yourself. Figure out who you are and express it well. You must write your own stuff. (Note. Jay Leno has 20 writers on staff. Each episode of The Tonight Show, 20 writers each come up with 100 relevant jokes. From the 2,000 jokes, Leno picks 30 of his favorite and tries to put his spin on it.)
Don’t be mean just to get a laugh. Tell the truth. Look at the world in a way others haven’t thought of and they will be entertained.
On the riskiness of stand up comedy, Jerry Seinfeld has this to say, “The only security you have is the precision you have with honoring the rules. If you want to walk the tight rope, that’s what it takes.”
You know the rules. Dare to step out and risk being great.
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NY Times bestselling author, Vince Poscente, is the founder of Libretto Publishing and has written five bookstranslated into more than twenty languages. He writes about harnessing the speed of change, the way to reach BIG GOALS in less time, accelerating potential of human capital, how to get out of your own way and best of all, instant impact with lasting influence.
