Jerry Seinfeld

Quotes are word for word from the source.

• Consumer susceptibility

  “It is amazing what people will believe. I mean, I've watched these infomercials late at night: if it gets late enough, the products start to look good to me.”

  Our noteJerry reflects on how late-night advertising influences consumer perception.

• Testing material

  “When you're crafting an act, you need to see how that material works in front of each different type of situation.”

  Our noteJerry discusses the process of refining a comedy act.

• Format decision

  “I just didn't think that you could sustain that for 90 minutes. I thought maybe you could do it for 30 minutes. And that's how it became a TV series.”

  Our noteJerry explains why Seinfeld became a sitcom instead of a special.

• Desperation breeds innovation

  “when you're struggling, bad ideas start to sound like good ideas. And crazy ideas start to sound like sane ideas! And that's what happened in Season 4, is a lot of crazy ideas started to make sense.”

  Our noteJerry talks about how struggling for new ideas led to creative breakthroughs.

• Customer satisfaction focus

  “Our job is not for us to enjoy it. Our job is to make sure they enjoy it, and that's what we did”

  Our noteJerry reflects on the work ethic behind his television show.

• Handling success pressure

  “When it's your name on the goddamn show... the pressure is-- it's intense! And then, the show got successful, and everybody expected each week to be even better than the last, and it was a lot of pressure.”

  Our noteJerry reflects on the stress of maintaining a hit television show.

• Professionalism in craft

  “I would say that I am 90% serious in my day. Comedy is no joke.”

  Our noteJerry explains the serious effort required to produce comedy.

• Energy in sales

  “If you want to be funny, you've got to have energy. Energy sells jokes. All sales requires energy, but stand-up is a hard sell.”

  Our noteJerry compares performing comedy to a difficult sales process.

• Money and passion

  “If you really want to make money, never make a decision based on money. 'Cause if you make-- if you chase money, you're gonna get less of it.”

  Our noteJerry shares his philosophy on how to achieve financial success in the arts.

• Writing for success

  “Learning to be a writer is the delta of success and failure in comedy.”

  Our noteJerry emphasizes the importance of writing skills in his profession.

• Self reliance

  “The best advice I ever got was from Rodney Dangerfield, who when I asked him a question about something in comedy, just looked at me for a second and then went, "You'll figure it out.”

  Our noteJerry recalls the most impactful advice he received from a veteran.