The Brilliance of Jerry Seinfeld

The stage following Jerry's performance last night.  My seats were not close enough to get a decent picture of Jerry himself :)

The stage following Jerry's performance last night. My seats were not close enough to get a decent picture of Jerry himself 🙂

written by john c ashworth

I had the privilege and the honor last night to see Jerry Seinfeld perform at Overture Hall here in Madison, WI.  After years of watching the first runs, and now the re-runs with my kids of his hit show, I must say I was gushing.  I laughed harder and longer that I have in a long time, maybe ever.  He was not only funny, but intelligent, insightful and able somehow, as always to take every day experiences that are funny at their core, and craft them into a performance that leaves you completely inspired by his gift.  His brilliance.

One of his many brilliant bits last night was on the Pop-Tart.  Below is a link to a video I found a couple years ago on the New York Times about how he writes his jokes, and specifically how he was going about his work on this Pop-Tart bit at the time.  It was a real treat to see the finished product last night.  The experience also got me thinking...

Jerry indicated last night that he has been performing since the age of 21.  He is 60 now.  Almost 40 years of work on his craft.  Amazing!  During his encore last night, he answered a question I'm sure many of us have.   "Why is he still doing this?"  A now 60-year old man with plenty of success, three children and a wife at home, traveling the country on tour performing his act.  "Because I love it!" He said.

His love for his craft is evident in every inch of his performance.  Discussing everything from Pop-Tarts to marrage, to those rediculous advertisements on television for Viagra, The Purple Pill, and Cialis.  Stuff that we know somehow is stupid and funny at its core, but that Jerry brings to life with his comical insights and explanations of their pure obsurdity.  How did it come to be, for example, that when we finally invented the ability to dial back a phone call that came to us where someone hung up before we could find out who it was, that the number they chose was *69?  "Didn't ANY of you (at the phone company) go to Junior High?   Or, even better, where did the idea of 5-hour energy come from?  As Jerry put it, "5 hours is just a weird amount of time.  Who is working 1-6 PM every day?"

The video below is a brief insight into Seinfeld's brilliance and into what it means to be truly passionate about your work as a human being.  If you're not able to find this in your current work, and in your current path of life, then I believe the only question left today is...

"What are you waiting for?"

-John

Here's the video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itWxXyCfW5s

PS  Here's one more highlight...

"So I turned 60 recently, and I love it.  I love being 60!  And you know, a lot of people make a Bucket List when they turn 60.  Not me.  I changed the B to an F and I was done with it."

About the Author
John Ashworth is an empathetic sales leader with an incredibly diverse background as a salesman, business consultant, marketing maniac, writer, Dad and full time Bohemian Athlete. aka Johnny Renaissance.

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