What is some good advice for people who want to break into comedy, but aren’t well connected? originally appeared on Quora, the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus.

You can make your own connections. Here’s the thing I’ve learned (or at least, the thing I think I’ve learned): You do need talent to make it in comedy, but you also need luck… and connections count as the luck part. So some people are just born lucky— their parents work in TV, or are otherwise well-connected— but generally, in most instances, they still have incredible talent. I know one brilliant comedy writer whose father was very connected, and I’m sure that helped, and he got his first “break” earlier than he might have gotten it otherwise— but he’s so amazingly funny and talented that he would have gotten it eventually.

So, one related bit of advice is to not give up too soon. I was very, very lucky that I got hired on The Colbert Report just before I turned 26. At the time, that felt like FOREVER, but in hindsight… it’s crazy that that happened! I was so young! I had no idea what the heck I was doing!

But getting into practical stuff… you can make your connections. Wherever you are, get involved in the comedy scene. At a minimum, you’ll get better at writing or performing. But— especially if you’re in New York or LA or Chicago— some of the people you meet will likely go on to work on shows or do other things. And then, as long as you were a complete and utter jerk to them… you’ve got a connection.

But you do have a better chance doing that if you’re in New York or in LA. Take classes at UCB, the Groundlings, go to open mics, become the Joker… there are millions of options.

But on the flip side, you can be very talented and just never get your break. Or— you have other life events that distract you (I went through a couple of those myself shortly after leaving the Colbert Report). But the important thing is that you get back up and keep doing stuff. Because the worst thing that can happen is you finally get your break, and the person says, “So what have you done recently?,” and you don’t have an answer. And then you have to become the Joker. (Look, I don’t know, I haven’t seen it yet because I’ve been too busy working on You’re Not a Monster, but I’ve seen Scorsese’s The King of Comedy so I’m extrapolating here.)

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