- Yeah.

- I can say that one thing with confidence.

15,000 people laughing at your jokes.

That's kind of an amazing feeling.

I want to do a better show

every time I'm on stage.

Do a set tonight,

and I ain't wastin any time.

I got a list of stuff I want to try.

I want to make sure that this set

makes me better.

There's a huge challenge in not having your old act.

But I think you rise to the occasion.

This movie is unreleasable. (laughter)

You have wasted my money.

Well geez, it's only this.

And I'm like, well that's more money

than my dad made in his life.

Anytime you see me do an event

where some stranger says something to me,

it's me.

I say out loud, I'll never do the same hour in a year.

And then inside, I'm going

oh geez, - Oh god, why did I say that?

- Why did I say that?

You get to be on Earth.

First of all, oh my god, (audience laughter)

what a location.

- He's an American comedian,

actor, writer, director, and producer.

He's the creator, star, and executive producer

of FX's series, Louie.

He's considered one of the greatest standup comedians

of all time.

He's Louis C.K.,

and here are his Top 10 Rules for Success.

- I never keep trying what ...

Like standup is always the standby for me.

Like that's what I do.

- The meal ticket.

- That's, yeah. - Yeah.

- That's what I am.

I'm a comic. I'm a comedian.

So anything else I do,

it's like if I make a movie,

I would never say I'm a film maker.

I would never call myself that.

I'm a comedian who made a movie,

you know? - Right.

- I'm definitely a comedian.

- Yeah. - I can say that one thing

with confidence.

But so I've tried T.V.,

and I try it and it doesn't work

and then I go back to comedy.

And if something I'm doing as a standup

leads me back to like,

hey this might be a show,

then I'll try.

I'll try anything that I think might be good.

I don't care about like,

well I failed at it before.

You know what I mean?

Who cares?

Try it again.

I mean there's always a reason - I love that philosophy.

- Well also - Well you were ...

- The first time I did a pilot,

the very first time I got a deal to do

a pilot for a sitcom, - Yeah.

- I wrote it and they really liked it

and it got close, and then they said

we're not going to make the pilot.

- That was Saint Louie?

- No, it was before that. - Oh.

It was a whole other thing.

And then, I wrote Saint Louie with this other guy

and they made the pilot.

We got to shoot a pilot.

It was so exciting.

And I shot a pilot

and then they said, "we're not going to make the show."

All right.

Third time around,

made a pilot,

and got one season of Lucky Louie on the air.

And then that's all they wanted.

There's a limit to everything.

You can't think everything's just going to be

everything forever.

- Yeah.

- That was the limit of that one.

I did one season.

Okay.

And now I've done Louie, and it's gone three seasons.

So I got a little further each time.

I pushed the ball a little further ahead each time.

I mean, not doing something cause it didn't work

would be like if you're a quarterback

and you go the line of scrimmage at the 25

or wherever the guy ran it to

and you hand the ball off and the guy pushes it eight yards

and you're like, well we didn't score a touchdown,

so I'll go home.

- You know? - Right.

- I mean, there's no point.

- But at the same time, - You keep pushing.

15,000 people laughing at your jokes,

that's kind of an amazing feeling.

But also having them sit there looking at you listening

is really great too.

But I always see,

I've done it three times now

and it was the same every time

that they're all laughing,

the show's going great,

but what I see are there's at least,

in 15,000 people, there's like

a thousand disappointed people.

(audience laughter)

There's like a thousand people - No.

- And they're dotted.

I see 'em all. - You see them ...

- I see 'em still today.

But during the show, I see them,

just guys going like, ehh ... - Yeah.

(audience laughter)

- Those are the ones that you really see.

Everyone's going, yay!

And I'm just,

ah, I'm sorry buddy. - You're certain that you're

reading their disappointment accurately?

- Absolutely.

(audience laughter)

I'm 100% sure.

- Well, I'm not sure that's true,

but I share the feeling.

I know that ...

Hell, I know it here tonight.

(audience laughter)

- Well the more people you reach

and the more people that see you,

the more people are going to think that you suck.

That's just the law of mathematics.

- Yes, but - You can't please everybody.

- Let me explain it to you this way.

- Yeah. - If, in fact, that's true,

why would those people go to the trouble of

ordering the tickets online and showing up?

- Cause they're just miserable (beep)

(audience laughter) - I don't know.

I don't know, they just like to go to ...

That's not their fault.

- Well no, okay.

- It's not their fault.

I don't know, they heard I was good.

- Case closed.

- They heard I was good.

Well it's not about not killing,

it's about doing the best show that you can do

and it's about staying at the edge of your ...

I want to do a better show every time I'm on stage.

I mean, part of it is that I want what I do

to keep getting better.

Unless you think you're the best comedian

that ever could poss- like, you're a

perfect crystalline diamond of a comedian

that couldn't possibly be improved upon,

every molecule has been compressed together

to the point there's no air in it.

- [Host] Right, right.

- You're a black hole of a comic that can't,

there's just no room for improvement.

You know, you've folded the samurai sword a thousand times

and just can't fold anymore. - [Host] (laughing)

No.

So you got to keep trying.

I mean, I think a lot of people in show business

and comedy even, especially,

are very lazy and they just sort of think

that you just get up there

and then you wait for your manager to get you a better one.

A better shot.

But it's something you got to really,

to me,

I mean for me, I just want to keep working at it.

I wouldn't like it if I stopped trying really hard.

It isn't a neurosis, like oh geez, I hope they like me.

It's this is what I do,

I got to do it really well.

- So when did you get to the point where ...

You know, struggling to get better,

make a living,

figure out how to deal with hecklers,

like a million things to,

all right, I'm good at this,

now I'm going to try to be great at this.

- Well that was when I saw him do that,

that was a big deal.

I was writing for T.V. then,

so I was a little more - Spread out.

- Focused on that. - Yeah.

- But I started going back out to clubs again

and then my life changed in its own way.

I had kids and I grew up also.

So I just,

you know, everybody grows up at a different time.

- Yeah.

- I grew up when I had kids

and started really thinking about standup.

When I had kids, it made a big difference for me

cause when I went out to do a set,

it wasn't a social event.

It was until that point,

you just go to the Comedy Cellar,

have a falafel at the comedy table,

- [Host] Yeah.

- Run down and do your set,

bull (beep) with some comics.

It was a lot of wasting time.

- Yeah. - And it didn't really matter

how the set was, that was just the job.

I'm just going to go on and do my time,

tell the same jokes,

maybe do one new joke.

But now it's like, I've got kids

and getting out of the house is a big deal.

- Yeah. - I can do a set tonight

and I ain't wastin any time.

I got a list of stuff I want to try.

I want to make sure that this set makes me better.

I started to think every set I do

has to make me a better comic.

There's a huge challenge in not having your old act.

But I think you rise to the occasion.

And you don't rise to the occasion

if you don't put the void there.

But ...

- What is - If you take away

your old material from yourself,

like one thing I started doing

when I was developing hours is

I'd take my closing bit and I'd open with it.

- Right.

- Just to (beep) with myself.

- Right, right - Just cause then

I have to follow my strongest bit.

- That's how he got good.

You see this attitude?

- I, you know ... - He's a tough guy.

- I've been watching him.

- Yeah. He's a tough guy.

- Well cause then the end of your act cauterizes.

It gets stronger just cause you don't have a choice.

(laughter) You know what I mean?

- Cauterizes. - So that's

why I started doing that.

You get rid of all your best weapons

and you have to, you know,

or else you're dead.

- [Host] But don't you think

sometimes - So they bring something

out of you. - [Host] When we discussed ...

- I wrote and directed Pootie Tang.

- But then didn't the studio lose faith in you during it?

- Yes, they sure did, yeah. - And they took you off

the film.

- Yes, they took me off the,

well I had already shot it

and it was during the editing process.