The 2002 documentary, Comedian, is a visceral glimpse into the perils of the creative process. It follows Jerry Seinfeld, who, having conquered the world of comedy with his eponymous sitcom, had decided to start over. He got rid of all the jokes he ever told, and re-started from scratch, doing stand-up bits at small comedy clubs every night, in the hopes of developing enough material for a brand new television special.

And it’s brutal in the beginning. In a particularly illuminating scene, he’s trying out new material at the Gotham Comedy Club when he suddenly loses the train of thought, smack in the middle of the routine. He plainly confesses, “What was it about??? I didn’t even want to say what I just said… that’s the ugly part!”

Sensing desperation — and not particularly amused by what was certainly not a fully-developed routine — a heckler went in for the kill: “Is this your first gig??” she shouted from a table just stage left.

Seinfeld’s response nailed it. He looked right at her, and admitted shamelessly, “This is how comedians develop material…” and after a pause, added, “and as you can see, it’s quite painful.”

What struck me is how no one — not even a legend like Seinfeld — is immune to the brutal reality of the early stages of the creative process. Gravity affects cannon balls and grains of sand alike. But here’s the thing: innovators know where they want to get (to a truly spectacular, breakthrough outcome), and they know that the only way to refine the breakthrough-in-the-rough is to submit it to the cold light of day, and to the brutal process of getting feedback, long before it feels “ready for prime time.”

As Reid Hoffman has famously said, “If you're not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you've launched too late.”

The sad irony is that folks who aren’t willing to be endure the embarrassment of the failures that accompany the innovation process rarely arrive at the proud moment of the breakthrough. You’ve got to be willing to put yourself out there.

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