“The Right Way Is The Hard Way” | Jerry Seinfeld

Sign Up for "Writing Examples" and Learn From The Best Writing of All Time: www.writingexamples.com
Jerry Seinfeld taught me more about writing than all my English teachers combined. People forget that comedians aren’t just jokesters - they’re writers. And with 10 Emmy Awards, 3 Golden Globes, and a TV show that’s generated over three billion in revenue, it’s safe to say that Jerry Seinfeld is a dang good one.
In this episode, I share the top ten writing lessons I’ve learned from Jerry Seinfeld over the years. You’ll learn five lessons on getting your work done, and five lessons on making your work great. And buckle up. After 50 years of refining his jokes on stage, Jerry deals out spiky writing advice like cards in a casino. If you’re ready to become a writer who stands out from the masses, then you’re in the right place. Happy listening.
SPEAKER LINKS:
Website: jerryseinfeld.com/
Twitter: / jerryseinfeld
Instagram: / jerryseinfeld
Article: www.newyorker.com/culture/the...
WRITE OF PASSAGE:
Want to learn more about the next class Write of Passage?
writeofpassage.com/weekly
PODCAST LINKS:
Website: writeofpassage.com/how-i-write
KZbin: / @davidperellchannel
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSbo...
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00:00 Intro
00:04:00 Embrace the Difficulty of Writing
00:06:50 There’s No Such Thing as Writer’s Block
00:11:25 Don’t Break the Chain
00:13:25 Distraction is the Enemy
00:18:15 Fail Doing Exactly What You Want to Do
00:22:30 Seinfeld Op-Ed
00:25:00 Writing Examples
00:25:15 The Work Never Stops
00:29:30 Talk Through Your Ideas and Get Feedback
00:35:20 Don’t Write and Edit at the Same Time
00:38:45 Not Everybody’s Going to Like it and That’s the Point
00:44:00 Dosage
ABOUT THE HOST:
I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible.

[@DavidPerellChannel]

Jerry Seinfeld was offered $110 million to make one more season of his show, but he said no. Why? Dosage. Even the best things get boring when they drag on for too long. Seinfeld says: "Leave the audience wanting more." Here are his rules for comedy: 1. Talent wins: "Get good at something. That’s it. Everything else is bullshit.” 2. Embrace the difficulty of writing: The problem with writing isn’t that it’s hard. The problem is that people want it to be easy, so they run away when it gets difficult. 3. Seinfeld's writing routine: Full focus, no distractions, do it every day. 4. Want to crush your creative spirit? Aim to make something that everybody will like. 5. "If you're efficient, you're doing it the wrong way. The right way is the hard way." 6. The work never stops: Good comedians are always looking for jokes. 7. Coming up with new ideas is important, editing is important, but it's important that you don't try to do both at the same time. 8. Cut the distractions when you write. No Twitter, no Instagram, no texting, no email. Seinfeld says: “You can’t do anything else. You don’t have to write, but you can’t do anything else.” 9. Distraction is the enemy. It's not just getting distracted during writing sessions that crushes productivity. It's building a distracting life that kills people. Seinfeld skipped the admin work, skipped the speaking opportunities, and skipped all the schmoozing that famous people get into. 10. Forget about your audience: The fountain of creativity cannot flow when the judgmental eye of your audience is top of mind as you're creating. 11. Write a lot, publish a little. 12. Never stop focusing on the craft: Seinfeld says that in most TV shows, the writers spend roughly half their time working on the show and the other half dealing with nonsense. But Seinfeld and Larry David spent 99% of their time writing. Just the two of them. With the door closed. That's just a taste. There's so much more in the video below. It's a 45-minute distillation of Seinfeld's writing process. Unlike most How I Write episodes, this one is a monologue, not an interview.

[@WEALTHYMINDPINOY]

Thank you for sharing this. 😎🙏🏻

[@RoseyReadsAndWrites]

My favorite part of the Jason Fried interview was when you guys geeked out over the founder letters. Nerd out anytime! I’m in.

[@freebiebean9986]

I’m three minutes in and I want to say- “get good at something” and the focus on quality work-you’ve grabbed my attention with how good the first three minutes are.

[@HotBreathPod]

We’ve interviewed hundreds of comedians about comedy and this is gold. Thanks David!

[@MORPH-tl2jx]

Haaaawwwwwttttt Breath!!!

[@HotBreathPod]

@@MORPH-tl2jx ayyyy thanks comedy fam!

Thank you David!

[@Arne_Boeses]

I would love to see your analysis/ breakdown on the Succession writing. Maybe you get a few of them in a room. Everywhere people talk about Succession they talk about the writing.

[@markberryman]

This is brilliant. How brilliant? I am saving it and will watch it again... most likely more than once because I want to absorb all of it.

[@Tyron1-il5js]

This was excellent. Lit my fire.

[@vbmokaya]

Every day David drops a new video I go to my best friend and thank him for introducing me to David about 4 years ago. David changes my life every day with his passion for writing and sharing his philosophy with the world.

[@RoseyReadsAndWrites]

Thanks for an amazing breakdown.

[@iAmWriting247]

Love Jerry! Watching now!

[@TirrellKajder]

Fantastic job!

[@dennisdolan7250]

Out standing👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 wish you had “bored” me w his process😎

[@fastbobby504]

The advice given here is applicable to everyone who wants to be successful at whatever they are good at. Simple rules for success driven people: 1. Get good at something. 2. Be disciplined, just like you state in this video. The difference between people like Seinfeld and most of us is that he wanted success at all cost and sacrificed to achieve it. Most of us want it, but not at the expense of other things in life. Like you say, the distractions. Love this video!

[@davidaltizer]

I'm not a writer at all and this is super inspiring. Great content.

[@joryiansmith]

I pray Jerry sits down with you so you both can dig deeper to help aspiring writers, comedians, and really anyone struggling to get better at the craft they hold dear. Both of you are zeroed in on cutting through the BS lots of charlatans spout, and get into what matters, and what can actually help people not tomorrow, but today.

[@shrobana_mukherjee]

Hey David , I found your channel few days ago and instantly it became my favourite❤. I'm just starting out as a writer & I've a dilemma . I've watched some of your podcasts and I can see 2 categories of writers - 1) Who are avid readers themselves, prioritised input more than output. Ex- Ted Gioia, Steven Pressfield etc. 2) Who focused more on virality of content , marketing, hooks etc. Ex - Sam Parr, Steph Smith, Shaan Puri etc. My question is if someone aims for long term & quality content , what are your suggestions for them? And , if there's a middle path, how to navigate through this?

[@daniel_najar]

"Writing is hard"

[@SamBassComedy]

Yeah, you just described a comedian's life. Most of our life is spent in solitude

[@jubben331]

I wonder how many interview requests from Mr. Perel are hiding in Seinfeld's inbox😊

[@upper9052]

No clue why I was recommended this, BUT IM GLAD I WAS! Great video

[@Arjmm]

Seinfeld sucks. His comedy are complete dross.