“Is this anything?” That’s the title Jerry Seinfeld used to turn five decades of his legal pads filled with handwritten jokes into a book. “‘Is this anything?’ is what every comedian says to every other comedian about any new bit they want to try,” he writes.
On the surface, the book is hysterical. I not only laughed out loud on numerous occasions but ended up reading a fair portion of it aloud to others so they could join in the humor. Seinfeld is one funny guy.
But the real lesson of the book is the work that goes into making it look easy. Seinfeld has been writing – and re-writing – his jokes for over five decades. He does not use writers, opting instead to craft every line of his material himself. After choosing to end his wildly-successful show, Seinfeld saw Chris Rock perform and realized he wanted to reinvigorate his own stand-up comedy routine and return to performing live — but he had no material. “So, it’s back to tiny clubs with flimsy stuff, night after night, month after month,” he writes. This is post-Seinfeld Jerry Seinfeld, trying out new jokes in small venues, just to get it right.
Too often, we look at others who have “made it” and think that they climbed the mountain with innate talent or lucky breaks when, more likely, they have achieved their success due to grit and hard work. Even Seinfeld knows that everything he writes isn’t golden so he asks: “is this anything?” and tries it out before modifying the words, the delivery, or the sequencing.
Adopt your own version of putting something rough out there in the world and let the universe help you ascertain whether it’s anything or not.
Source: Is This Anything? by Jerry Seinfeld, Simon & Schuster, 2020
