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Jerry Seinfeld's 200-Round Practice Routine · The Daily Writer

• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Daily Rider Podcast, where we bring you tips and inspiration each day to help you build habits for writing success.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: For more resources, including your free Daily Rider Starter Kit, visit Daily RiderLife.com.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: Years before he was known as the star of the beloved sitcom Seinfeld, Jerry Seinfeld was a successful stand-up comedian.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: Now, for comedians of his era in the 1970s and 1980s, the golden key to success was appearing on The Tonight Show, which was hosted by Johnny Carson.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Carson ruled the late night airwaves for 30 years.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: He was the most important kingmaker in American culture.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: And if you were invited to do a five-minute comedy set on the Tonight Show, and Johnny liked you afterwards, your career was set.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: So in 1981, Jerry Seinfeld was scheduled for his first appearance on the Tonight Show.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: A few years later, he reflected on the experience when he sat down for an interview with Larry Wilde, a comedian and author.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: Larry asked, How did you prepare for that?
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: Then Seinfeld deadpanned rigorously.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: Then he continued.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: He said, Every comedian knows that his first appearance on the Tonight Show is his Olympics, his World Series, and his Super Bowl all rolled into one.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: This is his chance to become an A player, the A team.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: Then Seinfeld went on to explain that as soon as he constructed his five-minute set of material, he practiced it relentlessly.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: In the weeks before his Tonight Show appearance, he would go from club to club performing it.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: He would do it up to five or six times a night.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: And Seinfeld said that he probably rehearsed that single five-minute set 200 times during that period to make sure that it was perfect.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: It was an opportunity that he was not going to blow.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: And in fact, he made the most of that appearance because Seinfeld then later became one of the most famous comedians in America, even before the enormous success of his hit Seinfeld TV show.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: And all because he saw an opportunity that he was not going to waste, he put in the reps, he did the work, and it paid off in spades.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: Here's today's question.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: When you consider the success that you want to achieve and the opportunities that you want to have as a writer, how many reps are you willing to put in in order to be the best?
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: Just as a side note, if you'd like to listen to Larry Wilde's full interview with Jerry Seinfeld, you can do so by listening to the album Jerry Seinfeld on Comedy on Spotify.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening, and I'll see you tomorrow.