Before & Laughter by Jimmy Carr

Author:Jimmy Carr [Carr, Jimmy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Quercus Editions Ltd
Published: 2021-08-20T08:00:40+00:00

It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled. – Mark Twain

What is the unpredictable thing you could do? You have no idea what you’re capable of because no one does. I had no idea and I like to think I’m insightful as fuck.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

BE YOURSELF –

EVERYONE ELSE IS ALREADY TAKEN

PEOPLE PLEASING, PEOPLE PLEASE

It’s better to be hated for what you are than loved for what you are not.

— André Gide (now I don’t know the guy but I love him)

Lots of people refuse their edge. You’ve seen it happen. A beautiful actress who wants to be taken seriously, a powerful politician who wants to be likeable, a stand-up comedian who thinks he’s a therapist – crazy shit like that.

I remember as a teenager desperately wanting to get off with a girl who just didn’t find me attractive. Why did I waste my time trying to change her mind? Go where you’re wanted; look for a little bit of encouragement. You’re somebody’s idea of perfect.

‘Don’t take it personally’ is a great expression. I mean, how could you not? It’s a rejection of you. So yeah, take it personally – but don’t dwell on it.

How the world sees you and how you see yourself should work in tandem. A little bit of ego, how I see myself and a little care of what other people think. I see myself as a comedian, the world sees me as a comedian, ergo, we’re all in agreement. Hooray.

Comedians find their crowd and cater to it, they know to play to their audience. You’re not for everyone. The opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s indifference. I’d rather get a reaction, even negative, than nothing. If you’re yourself not everyone will like it, but neither will you get indifference. People either want tea or coffee; what no one wants is a weird mix of the two.

It’s heartbreaking for people as needy as stand-up comedians to learn you can’t please everyone. I used to be a people-pleaser, but people don’t like people-pleasers, so I stopped.

Someone somewhere out there thinks I’m a cunt – right now, they’re thinking it – it’s like an eternal flame. I could go onto Twitter at any hour, night or day, and someone is saying it.

Focus on the crowd that love you and build on that love. Let the haters hate, they’re fine. Please don’t spend your life trying to win people over. The result of pleasing everyone is bland: plain pasta and white bread.

Do you remember the kids you went to school with? Not your friends, not the ones you hated, remember the other ones? No, you fucking don’t.

Don’t try and sell yourself, be yourself and wait for demand.

THE GOOD IS THE ENEMY OF THE BEST

If there was to be a Mount Rushmore of comedy, the four greatest comedians of all time etched in stone, you could debate who the other three are, but Richard Pryor’s place is guaranteed. He’s on that mountain.

When Pryor was twenty-three and

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