The magical combo that fueled Chris Rock's early standup

The conflicting ideas you need to hold in your head at the same time.

You need to hold conflicting ideas in your head – you’re great…but also you suck – at the same time.

Here’s Chris Rock reflecting on his early years in comedy:

“I had this great combination of big ego and low self-esteem,” he says. “And the ego gets you out onstage, but the low self-esteem is the thing that makes you practice so much because you don’t believe in yourself at all. You think you’re a total fucking fraud — and you don’t think anybody could love you for being you, so you have to be good at this thing.”

A related idea from Bruce Springsteen, from his keynote speech at the SXSW conference years ago:

So rumble, young musicians, rumble. Open your ears and open your hearts. Don’t take yourself too seriously, and take yourself as seriously as death itself. Don’t worry. Worry your ass off. Have unclad confidence, but doubt. It keeps you awake and alert. Believe you are the baddest ass in town—and you suck! It keeps you honest. Be able to keep two completely contradictory ideals alive and well inside of your heart and head at all times. If it doesn’t drive you crazy, it will make you strong. And stay hard, stay hungry and stay alive. And when you walk on stage tonight to bring the noise, treat it like it’s all we have—and then remember it’s only rock ‘n’ roll.

Both those quotes mentioned By Gary Gulman in this Good One podcast with Jesse David Fox, author of the new Comedy Book.

Review of the book in the Guardian:

Fox argues that comedy should be taken seriously, and make use of metrics beyond good or bad. Instead, audiences should judge standup on qualities that help it succeed as an art form, such as vulnerability, openness and the ability to connect with an audience beyond just being funny.