
In this episode of Digital Social Hour, Sean Kelly sits down with Zaya Younan for a raw conversation about money, politics, AI, California, Iran, discipline, wealth, and the future of America. Zaya breaks down why he believes high interest rates are crushing the middle class, why homelessness is getting worse, and why politicians keep talking while real people keep suffering. Then the conversation goes deeper. He explains why AI could create one of the biggest job disruptions in history, why phones may be controlling people more than they realize, and why future wars may not be fought by soldiers, but by technology, cyberattacks, drones, and defense systems. They also get into California’s decline, billionaire taxes, the truth about building wealth, why lottery winners often lose everything, and why money only works when you’ve built the discipline to manage it. This one gets intense. From America’s economy to Iran’s unrest, from AI replacing jobs to the cost of success, Zaya...
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Zaya Yonah
With AI being so intelligent, AI is as bad and is being used more, more, more in country defense system. The future wars was not going to be fought by soldiers going against each other. It will be caused by nation using technology, military trucks driving in the street, finding protests, literally mowing them over like they're not human beings. When I saw that, I was frozen for hours.
Sean Kelly
Okay, guys, got him back on the show. We did so well the first time, man. Millions of views. We got Ziya, we got the cigars with us.
Zaya Yonah
Pleasure to be here. Yeah, hope the first time went very well.
Sean Kelly
Went very well. I learned a lot, man. You inspired a lot of people and you talk about real issues. Even though you're at a certain level, you keep it relatable.
Zaya Yonah
Well, I think it's important to talk about real issues also talk about how to solve them, what the solution is for these real issues. Right.
Sean Kelly
And what do you see right now as the big issues going on in America?
Zaya Yonah
Well, I think a couple of things in America, I think one of the biggest issue I see is economically that is not being addressed as much as it should be addressed and is a high interest rate. Right. Millions of people are losing their cars or losing their homes because the interest rate has kept very high even since new administration took place about a year and a half ago. And their monthly mortgage have gone up because they had adjustable rates, right? The monthly mortgage has gone up, their credit card rate has gone up. They were paying 17, 18% for credit card rate, now they're paying 25, 30% for credit card rate. Can you imagine that? 30%. The car payment over adjustable. And the car payment has gone up. The house, some of the house. 35% of all the home mortgages in the United States are adjustable. And who has these adjustable? Middle class people and lower income people. Right. So imagine they were adjustable. Interest has gone up as much as has gone up. It has a huge impact on them. And I wish the current administration, I know Trump's talking about it, but I think they should do something about it rather than keep talking about it. You know, politicians like to talk talk about things and they think we're stupid enough that we realize it's gonna be done. But that's not the case. They talk about it. Things never get done. And when they get done, they get done too late. And this is a one thing that I would hope the current administration takes it seriously. And starting tomorrow, putting some kind of cap on these interest rates and lowering that. So that's the issue. I see.
Sean Kelly
Well, Trump tried to do it with credit cards, right.
Zaya Yonah
He tried to cap, Trump mentioned it, but nothing has happened. People still pay high credit card interest rate, but credit card is one thing that the banks are America, it's amazing. And banks are getting money from Fed at 3, 4, 5%, right. And they're charging people 25, 30% on the credit card. Right. Trump mentioned it, but nothing has changed. You know, it will take some months, maybe years for it to be implemented, if it gets implemented. But. But bigger issue than that is the overall interest rate. If people buy homes right now they have to pay six, six and a half percent interest rate, right? And some people 35%. As I said, all of the mortgages in the United States have floating rate. And average rate for Those floating rate four years ago was 2.8%. Today is 6 and a half percent increase of 300%. Imagine for those America, American that have issue suddenly paying thousand dollars more a month and they unfortunately gonna end up losing their home. So the interest rate is one of the major economic issue that current administration should and must address it. Not tomorrow, next day, right now.
Sean Kelly
I hope so. You see the wealth gap getting even bigger then.
Zaya Yonah
Oh, much bigger. And it's amazing. They all talk about it, right? The world gap and all that, you know, and everything they're doing or everything they should be doing and they're not doing is actually increasing that world gap. Right? Risky as richer. And the middle class goes to a lower and the lower class goes to poverty. And that's one of the reasons the homelessness have increased so much in America is because interest rate is so high they can't pay their apartment, they can't pay their car, they can't buy enough food and they go live on the street. And shame on America for not addressing this issue as seriously as they should. And they should immediately.
Sean Kelly
Yeah, yeah. You've experienced all the classes, right? You've experienced lower class, middle class.
Zaya Yonah
Of course I did. Of course I did. But beside that, I'm American, I feel for people. It doesn't matter how I live. I don't usually think about how I live. I think about how everybody around me to live, right? Because I'm a human, I'm a man. I have to have compassionate, I have to feel about people, right? And it bothers me a lot. And Powell, Trump tried to fire him. He couldn't. But shame on Powell. Shame on Powell. Playing politics with American people. If you are a true American, you should resign tomorrow. If you don't, you are the biggest pick in the universe. That's What I have to say about.
Sean Kelly
You don't like Jerome Powell, huh?
Zaya Yonah
Well, it's not about Trump. It's a Powell, the Fed chairman. I'm talking about Fed Chairman Powell. Right?
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Zaya Yonah
Not Trump. Trump tried to convince him to reduce interest rate, but he's not doing it because he's a stubborn. Right. It's a political thing. Right. So shame on you. If you're man enough, if you're American, reduce the interest rate tomorrow. Give the American people the relief they need to have.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. Because it used to be Trump's first term interest rates were like 3, 4%, right?
Zaya Yonah
Yeah, absolutely. Two and a half percent. Three percent. And during Biden time, the interest rates are going up like crazy. And because he was doing tremendous amount of spending. Government spending. The government spending create inflation, not American spending. Remember, the biggest tranche of spending in the United States is government spending, not American spending. So the government was spending money like crazy. Right. Inflation got existed. Right. Who got punished? The American consumers. Right. Had government reduced their spending, this wouldn't have never happened in the first place.
Sean Kelly
Now, how much attention do you put into politics? Because it's probably affecting your businesses. Right.
Zaya Yonah
You know, it's affecting our businesses, affecting our family, affecting your neighbor and affecting America and globally. Right. And there are a lot of issues that are complicated. One is AI, which we can talk about later. Because AI right now and going forward is going to create the biggest unemployment that a history has ever seen. Globally. Wow. Globally.
Sean Kelly
More than the Great Depression.
Zaya Yonah
Absolutely, more than a Great Depression.
Sean Kelly
Holy crap.
Zaya Yonah
Because all of the people who are capitalists, they want to make a lot of money, they keep improving it. AI from being artificial intelligence is becoming into ti. True intelligence. Right. And everybody's using it. Right. For different purposes. And it will eliminate a lot of jobs. It will eliminate a lot, lot of employment. But we can talk about that later. But politics, first of all, I don't want to get into politics because I know audience have different view of it and thank God we live in America that each one of us could have a view, at least for ourselves. But thank God Trump became a president because I have seen he has done tremendous amount of work that has solved a lot of the problem in this country. And I know he tried to address the interest rate. If you remember, soon as he became a president, he had meeting with Powell, which is a Fed chairman. He asked him to start lowering the interest rate because inflation is going down. Right. But he didn't. But politics is a big problem. And unfortunately, global or national issues are very critical, complicated in ways and. And a lot of politicians, either they don't have a mental capability to solve this problem, or they have a hurdle they have to jump on because of the political beliefs. Right. And is making a lot of people suffer. And I feel uncomfortable about that. I tell you, honest to God, and I'm not saying this to be popular, because I already am, but you won't believe how often I have dinner at my house or in a restaurant and I think about all the other people that cannot eat that food.
Sean Kelly
Really.
Zaya Yonah
Honest to God, as a human, you have to feel that. Right. Otherwise you're not a human being. I feel that. And I. And what it pisses me off is that how easy is to solve that problem? How easy is to improve that problem? Right?
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Zaya Yonah
And yet people are not doing anything about it.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. It blows my mind because you see all these restaurants throw out their food at the end of the night. They throw it in the dumpster while there's people homeless. Doesn't make sense to me. You're already throwing it out. You might as well give it away, right?
Zaya Yonah
Exactly.
Sean Kelly
But they're not allowed to legally.
Zaya Yonah
They're not allowed to legally. Exactly. A government. I just leave it to the government to. Not only does not or doesn't know how to fix a problem, but also, if the system is working well, they break it apart because they hate efficiencies. Right. So it all lies in the politics.
Sean Kelly
Look how much money California got to try to fix homelessness made it worse.
Zaya Yonah
California took a lot of money, but they didn't spend it on homelessness. They wasted it on other pet projects that they had. California is the worst state in United States. California, the mayor and the governor seriously should be put behind the bars. Not only these guys permanently, permanently paralyzed the state, they're causing people leave the states. For the last three years, California has been losing population. And it's because of our stupid mayor and his stupid governor.
Sean Kelly
And now he's running for president.
Zaya Yonah
Oh, he will never be a president. He will never be a president. If America is dumb enough. Dumb enough to vote for Newsom to be a president, we deserve all of the problem that he's gonna generate for us.
Sean Kelly
You might have to run against him, man.
Zaya Yonah
Well, unfortunately, I wasn't. Unfortunately, I wasn't born in this country. I wish I was born in this country. I would have definitely be more outspoken into the system, trying to fix the system.
Sean Kelly
Yeah, yeah. You came here at 13. Yeah, yeah, we talked about that on the last show. Came here with nothing.
Zaya Yonah
Nothing. $25 in my pocket.
Sean Kelly
Crazy.
Zaya Yonah
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
Look what you built.
Zaya Yonah
Well, it is, I think is extraordinary, but also is ordinary if you follow a process, if you reconfigure yourself. Right. To get the best version of yourself out. And we talked about that in the last show, you know, and it's funny, since the last show, I got a lot of comments from people. But sometimes you have to repeat these things because the techniques are habit change, psychological change. You know, when you hit the bottom in life, right. When you have nothing to eat. And I've experienced that. Right. When you are a child, right. That you go days without eating. Sometimes you sleep in the environment that animals shouldn't sleep in those environment, you hit the rock bottom. And at that time a lot of lights turned on for the fortunate people that realize that. Right. And you start living your life differently and you start achieving things that you never thought you can achieve. It is possible. It is possible in this country. And each and every human being living in this country or anyplace else in the world can make that happen. But you have to be willing to sacrifice what it takes to get there.
Sean Kelly
American dream, right?
Zaya Yonah
Yep. It's there, has always been there, God willing, will always will be there. But American dream is a place in the mountain. You still have to climb that mountain. If you don't climb it, you're not gonna get there.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. You still gotta put in the work.
Zaya Yonah
Absolutely.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. You worked a lot in corporate life at first, right?
Zaya Yonah
I did. I worked since I was. I graduated when I was 19, I started working for General Motor, my first job. And I remember my first job, I used to be at the General Motor production facility plant, literally before anybody in my department was there. And at 5 o' clock, when everybody went home, I was the last person to leave. I would stay extra couple hours just to get.
Sean Kelly
And you didn't get paid extra for that?
Zaya Yonah
Absolutely not. You were on salary, you didn't get any pain. But remember, when you work hard and when you work long, the first eight hours, when you work for the company, you work for the company. But when you're there after the eight hours, you actually work for yourself. Because company isn't stupid. They see the effort you put in, they see the production you come up with. Right. And they reward you for it.
Sean Kelly
So you eventually were able to climb quicker than everyone else because you were.
Zaya Yonah
Absolutely. I mean, I mean, I grew up in German moto chain. At age of 27 as a president of Oldsmobile Division.
Sean Kelly
Wow. At 27. At 27, average age is probably like 40s.
Zaya Yonah
50s, which to this day, nobody has achieved that standard, you know, but it requires a lot of hard work. It requires a lot of sacrificing, it requires a lot of focusing. It requires reinventing yourself as much as it requires. Right. It's like an athlete, you know, Let me take a look at the athlete. You know, they work out, they exercise seven days a week. You know, they broke the record and then what do they do next? They try to break that record, then that record and that record. They never stop, pursue a perfection. You know, athletes demonstrate it very well. Right. So humans should do the same thing in their life.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. So you're constantly pursuing perfection.
Zaya Yonah
Absolutely. I mean, I get up every morning, I try to create a better version of myself, even at my age today. Right. And I try to be better at everything I do. I recognize if I make a mistake or if I do something not to the ultimate way of getting it done, and I try to fix it immediately. I'm a. I'm a student. I have always been a student. I listen, I learn, and I change whatever I need to change in order to be who I want to be.
Sean Kelly
Are you still making mistakes now?
Zaya Yonah
Absolutely. You learn more from mistakes than from accomplishments. Right. From accomplishment, you learn to do the same thing, more of it. Right. From the failure, from mistakes, you learn all of the things that you have been doing wrong. That affects you in many other ways. It will turn a line, it will expose you to your weaknesses and you are able to repair them. And result of that, result of that, your performance, your output increased significantly. So it's okay to make mistakes. Just make sure you learn from them.
Sean Kelly
That makes a lot of sense. That's why being comfortable is not the best thing, right?
Zaya Yonah
Oh, you should never be comfortable. I mean, the day you are comfortable is essentially, you have stopped living, right? You have stopped living. I don't take much vacation, to be honest with you. But when I do take a vacation here or there, if I receive an email, I'll respond to it immediately. If I get a war call, I'll take care of it immediately. How can I sit down, relax, I'm taking a vacation and there is a need of my attention and I'm not giving it right. But you get used to it. A lot of people say, well, I don't want to live like that. It's not that bad. Right. You get used to it. It becomes part of your life and it becomes actually enjoyable to do that. Because it's always enjoyable to be able to not only live a good life, be an Example to others, but teach them, impact them in the right way. That is really important.
Sean Kelly
Yeah, that's a good point. I do see a lot of slander on billionaires, on social media. I don't think they understand their perspective. People are like, why are these guys so rich? Why do they have all this money? Right.
Zaya Yonah
Well, I mean, there is a reason why they have that money. Obviously. They work for it in most cases. Right? In most cases, they work hard for it. They achieved it. Right. And you should actually celebrate that. You should actually celebrate that. Right. When I see a wealthy rich person, I always think about, man, what kind of difficult journey did this guy have? I know of the one I had, but what kind of difficult journey did he have? Right. And I emphasize on that person more because I know he did something typically a normal person would not want to do. Right?
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Zaya Yonah
And I have a lot of respect for that.
Sean Kelly
So do I. Yeah. I just see these comments. They don't understand. They're like, they could fix world hunger, but it's not that easy.
Zaya Yonah
Well, you can never fix something that people want to do it. Now you probably say, well, nobody wants to be hungry. Yeah. But if you get up in the morning, you don't wanna work, you don't wanna put an effort on, and you expect to have a full course dinner, it's not possible. Right. We all have to do what we are obligated to do, what we are willing to do. Right. So I think every nation in the world is very sensitive to the hunger. And if people just make the small effort. Right. If the people make small effort, if in order to do something toward that. It's difficult for me to believe we should have as big as problem we have today. People being hungry.
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Zaya Yonah
Right.
Sean Kelly
Millions. Yeah.
Zaya Yonah
Right. Not billions.
Sean Kelly
Billions.
Zaya Yonah
Billions. Absolutely. Absolutely. 1.1 billion people in the world. The world has 9.6 billion people. 1.1 billion people have experienced hunger in the world. I mean, look at the continent of Africa, the biggest continent in the world. Now, that's the area that people live in. Difficult environment. It's difficult for them to farm. It's difficult for them to live in a climate where they can be productive. That is a true shame. And that's the area that, for example, it requires someone to put some effort in trying to fix it. Right. And also in many other countries, India.
Sean Kelly
Right.
Zaya Yonah
India is also. It's funny, actually, Africa is one of the richest continent in the world. Right. Because there's so much minerals, gold, copper, steel, diamonds, and those are expensive these days.
Sean Kelly
Those are going Up a lot.
Zaya Yonah
Exactly. Africa is the biggest producer of gold in the world.
Sean Kelly
Wow.
Zaya Yonah
In the world.
Sean Kelly
So they should be crushing it over there.
Zaya Yonah
But the problem is most of that wealth goes to some politicians, some important people, and it doesn't get distributed to the rest of the society. And that's the problem with the politics is amazing. Politics is the biggest disease in the world. Politics and politician in majority. Not every politician. Of course they are. I perceive some of them worsen than wow. Because is limited to one person. These guys create problems to everybody. I mean, look at state of California is a very good example of it. Look at Los Angeles, right?
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Zaya Yonah
With all of the fire problems we had not long ago. And we just learned recently that the mayor was trying to tell people not to tell them all the issue that caused those problems. Well, absolutely. It was all over news, you know. And we have a governor. Right. That has destroyed the state. Totally destroyed the state. And this son of a bitch has a nerve to announce he's running for presidency. This is what I don't get.
Sean Kelly
He's done a lot of shady stuff. Slept with his best friend's wife.
Zaya Yonah
Allegedly his campaign manager. The guy. The guy who helped them be elected as a governor. He slept with his wife. And that's one thing we know. God knows what else he done. He's a pig. Newsom is a pig. I mean, you heard it from Zaya Yonah who lives in your state. You are one. And it's amazing. People still like him. And if he was running for governor but he can't anymore, they still will vote for him. They will still put him in that powerful position so he gives them more beating. It's amazing. People ask. All of these politicians are elected by us, Right. So when we complain about a politician, we should see how did he get there. We were at fault. Are we learning lesson from it?
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Zaya Yonah
Or we making the same mistake time after time again?
Sean Kelly
Well, Kylie's got a lot of people programmed. I think a lot of people brainwashed, influenced in a certain way of thinking.
Zaya Yonah
Exactly.
Sean Kelly
You know what I mean?
Zaya Yonah
Exactly. I totally agree with you.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. It's unfortunate because it's the most beautiful state. You got the best weather here, best food here. But the politics just destroy this.
Zaya Yonah
I'm telling you, for the first time in the history of the state, for the last three years has lost tremendous amount of population. People moving to Phoenix, people moving Florida, Houston.
Sean Kelly
Chamath was talking about this, the all in podcast. They said they lost like over $10 billion recently.
Zaya Yonah
Well, many big companies actually moved out too. So not only people are moving out.
Sean Kelly
Yeah, Elon Musk moved out. I mean that's one of the biggest companies in the world. Many other companies like you're still here though, right?
Zaya Yonah
Yeah, for now. For now.
Sean Kelly
Where are you going to move to, you think Texas?
Zaya Yonah
Well, I, I love, I love, I love Houston. I love Texas Houston and I love Florida. So debating which one I'm going to,
Sean Kelly
no state income tax.
Zaya Yonah
It's not that, it's just that it's just better place to live. You're not annoying. You know, I live in an area that I pay a lot of taxes for my real estate, right. The roads are all damaged, you know, you know how many times I have blown off tire in my car? Imagine as if I'm driving someplace like a third world country, right? So what happened to all my taxes, property taxes I pay? Right. You got incompetent structure, political organization that is expert in destroying things.
Sean Kelly
Do you feel safe walking around at night here?
Zaya Yonah
Absolutely not. Absolutely not.
Sean Kelly
Crazy, right?
Zaya Yonah
It's crazy. It's crazy. And I'm telling you this state will collapse unless they start making some fundamental changes in the way they're thinking and, and bring in leadership that truly care about the states and do something about it.
Sean Kelly
What's some actionable advice for people watching this to improve their lifestyle, you think?
Zaya Yonah
Well, I think on the, on the politics standpoint, if you're not happy with it, don't vote the same party, right? It's a simple thing. I hope you get that. And I think on basically individual, I think we live in a world that in general people want to have a better life, right? They see it, they want it, which is great, right? Wanting something is really powerful. I always worry about the person that he doesn't have much to eat, he doesn't have much place to sleep, but he's happy about it. That I don't understand, right? But if you want starts with you, if you want a change in your life, it starts with you as an individual, right? You have to change the way you are, the way you think, the way you work, how many hours you sleep, right? There is an effort that is required from you. If you do not want to give that effort, you will stay static and you will be always underperforming and you will not be happy with the way you're living. And what I don't understand, you feel all that and yet you are not doing anything about it. You know how often at work I wanted to eat lunch because I was hungry and stuff happened. I Skipped eating lunch because I had to take care of the problems. Right. Some people live. Some people think if you're a billionaire or millionaire, you have an easy life. We talked about this last time, right? Actually, you don't have an easy life. You have a more difficult life than an ordinary person. Right. At my age, I sleep four hours a day. Wow. I work 12, 14 hours a day. I work seven days a week. How many people do that? Right? And I do it not because I love it. I do it because I have to do it. Right. I created something, I want to make sure I manage it properly. And I'm going to do whatever it takes. You know how many times I want to eat breakfast, I couldn't. Same day I wanted to eat lunch because I didn't have breakfast, I couldn't. Same day I was looking forward going home to have a bigger dinner. I got home midnight and I didn't want to eat. So I'm a millionaire. But I slept hungry that day. So hunger again is a result of your action. Right? I could have eate something. Right. But I didn't because it was more important for me to work and focus on my stuff than grab a sandwich and chew on it.
Sean Kelly
Wow. You put the work before yourself.
Zaya Yonah
Yeah. And you'd be surprised. A lot of you guys blame all these rich people and all that. I don't know why.
Sean Kelly
It's the easy cop out.
Zaya Yonah
Yeah, it's an easy cop out. Right. And it's a weakness with you if you really, if you really make fun of these guys. But it's funny. You'd be surprised how many millionaires and billionaires skip breakfast and lunch and sometimes dinner because they didn't have enough time to get into it. Yeah, right. Last time in one of our show we said not all, but some of the rich people are the most miserable people in the world. Right? Because when you think money will solve all your problem, you are wrong.
Sean Kelly
Very wrong.
Zaya Yonah
Very wrong.
Sean Kelly
Elon Musk just tweeted about this, actually.
Zaya Yonah
How about that? So. So you know. And yet, you know, I was getting a lot of comments from you. Yes, you, I rather be miserable, but I want a million dollars. And some people say, if you're so miserable, why don't you give me some of your million dollars? Right? And I laugh at those comments. Right. It shows the weakness of people. Right? What they think. Right. How they think. Right. And if you want to be continue in the miserable environment you are, do nothing. But if you're fed up with it, do something about it. I promise you Your life will change.
Sean Kelly
Hundred percent. Yeah. If you gave someone a million dollars, they wouldn't be mentally ready for it. Look at all the lottery winners.
Zaya Yonah
Yeah. 70% lose it all. 70% of all the lottery. Lose it all and they go to bankruptcy.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. Just because you give someone a ton of money doesn't mean they're going to be able to do anything with it.
Zaya Yonah
You have to. In order to spend the money properly, you have to be able to make that money because you go to a difficult course of making money. Even for me, it's not easy to make money. You have to work very hard to make money. And when you go to that hardship. Hardship makes the hard man a hard woman. When you go to that hardship, you become hard, you become soft, you become, I'm sorry, hard and sophisticated. Sophisticated in knowing what it takes to make that money.
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Zaya Yonah
You know, and you spend it wisely and you enjoy it more because you make it. Right. But if someone. I'm glad I had to make every cent I have myself. I'm glad nobody gave me anything because I would have lost the joy of going to the journey.
Sean Kelly
So you didn't take investor money or any money like.
Zaya Yonah
No, I mean, initially it was all myself. I mean, what investors? Right. Initially. I mean, my entire enterprise has my name on it. Right. If it has your name on it means every money comes from you. Right. So no, it's my own money. And I did it all by myself. And I'm glad I did it by myself. And I'm glad I didn't win the lottery. I'm glad nobody gave me money. I'm glad nobody gave me anything because had they given it to me, I might not have been the person that I am today.
Sean Kelly
Very interesting. Because a lot of parents and people want to give. Right. They want to give money to their kids. And I don't know if that's the right approach.
Zaya Yonah
Well, I mean, first you have to show. Teach them responsibility. It's okay to give money to the kids, but before you give it to them, you have to make sure they are educated and they are trained what to do with that money. Right.
Sean Kelly
They need the mental side. You mentioned AI earlier, how you predict it will end. A lot of jobs, what are, what are some skills you recommend people to develop to counter that?
Zaya Yonah
Well, it is. There is nothing anymore that you can do to counter that.
Sean Kelly
Really?
Zaya Yonah
Oh, absolutely. Every day you wake up, AI has been upgraded to the level that you never thought it could get there the following day. Right. I know any I. For a long time 35 years ago we used to AI. We used to use AI SPC, statistical process control in our assembly line, in our automotive assembly line, right? But AI was and to this day is artificial intelligence. And the artificial intelligence means that AI by itself doesn't have a intelligence. It goes to the data center, it picks up all the data, it interpolates them and it gives you an answer. But we'll notice recently that AI has the ability to think, to compute, to design, because of all the software capability enhancement human did to make this machine and this machine, this software is becoming more powerful and powerful and powerful. And once I had a dream that there was one machine created by someone someplace that was managing how human things where machine becomes a master and human becomes a slave, right? Today lot of jobs transition to AI, right? Or 3i, which is true intelligence is happening much faster than we all anticipated, right? Because human is becoming lazy, wants to use easy way of getting information, right? But what they don't realize that AI or TI is taking the thinking process away from human when human thinks less because they could push the button and get the answer.
Sean Kelly
They've done studies on this already, right? They've done brain scans with people that use AI. They're using less percentage of the brain.
Zaya Yonah
And if that continues, right? It's like a muscle. If you don't work the muscle, it will deteriorate, right? And the brain is the biggest muscle in human body. And if you don't use that muscle, your head, your brain start deteriorating. But you know, funny thing is we can't stop this, right? Because people out there right now, they all want to get rich. They all want to develop the next software, they all want to develop a next version of AI. And AI is happening and people are going to use it. There's nothing we can do about it, right? So the solution is that people never depend on it. Dependency on anything except self development. It could be actually poison rather than a medicine.
Sean Kelly
I agree.
Zaya Yonah
So we should use this as much as we use a regular software, like as we used to use Google, right? Google was just searching for information, it puts it in front of us. We are the one that have to decide which one we want to use and how we want to use it. AI takes it to the next level, right? And AI is going to, it is already eliminating a lot of jobs. You know, lot of simple computation. Accounting is going to go away, legal is going to go away, drivers going to go away, social workers will go away. Everything that you can think about that requires a human thinking process could go away because machines will take over 100% and that is very scary. And we need to be very careful.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. It's crazy times we're in. My father used to drive around with a map. I drove around with the Apple maps. And now cars are driving themselves. Isn't that crazy? Well, all in one generation.
Zaya Yonah
Yeah. That's okay. That's okay. That's part of the technology, that's part, part of the improvement. But because you still think, right? I mean when you drive you think, but not as much as that complicated thinking as you would when you're working. Right. AI is a different animal. Okay. Self driving car is okay. It doesn't scare me. Right. And still there is a long way to go to make these self driving car efficient enough. They don't create, I mean they're creating a lot of accidents, a lot of people dying because the technology is not foolproof. But it will be foolproof. Give it a 4, 5, 6 years, it will be a foolproof, it will happen. Leave it to human. They will fix. A good human will fix any problem. That is right. But AI is completely different story. AI could, could eliminate authors writing a book.
Sean Kelly
Wow.
Zaya Yonah
You could sit on AI, give it a 5 minutes, 10 minutes input and you could say write a book about me. 40 pages. It will write it for you instantly, within the nanoseconds. Right. So those are the things that I'm very concerned about. Yeah.
Sean Kelly
Because you got a lot of employees. Right.
Zaya Yonah
And now we're talking about something else that we never talked before. And that is a security of the nations with AI being so intelligent. AI is, has been and is being used more, more more in country defense systems.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. Quantum.
Zaya Yonah
Quantum computing. Self driven missiles. Right. Paralyzing a nation grid, paralyzing a nation computing systems. It will be able. The future wars is not going to be fought by soldiers going against each other. It will be caused by nation using technology to completely handicap another nation overnight.
Sean Kelly
Agreed. Cyber attack.
Zaya Yonah
Cyber attack and everything else.
Sean Kelly
Drones.
Zaya Yonah
Right. And the dangerous things about this AI is if a person use AI. I'm having a problem with my husband. What should I do to solve it? Right. She thinks she's talking to a machine. Right. And the machine will give her some idea. What she doesn't realize that she's talking to her iPhone. It knows who that person is. And now AI knows Jennifer has a hard problem with her husband. Right. It was study done. Where a guy break into a store, right. And he says I break into store. I stole these things. I left some evidence. What can I do in order to do that, right?
Sean Kelly
It's funny.
Zaya Yonah
It's funny. It's happening all the time, right? So you have to be careful of giving all your information to that iPhone that you hold so dearly in your hand. You hold that iPhone more dearly in your hand than your father, your mother, your children. Let that son of a down sometimes and live a natural life that you were born to live. But as long as you hold that disease in your hand, that disease is taking your energy away from you. And then, yes, you can go to your Instagram and Facebook and see all that thing. But one time, you will. You will regret the fact you did that, because that machine will own you.
Sean Kelly
Controls.
Zaya Yonah
With the AI, suddenly, iPhone becoming a tool for you to utilize, that iPhone in your hand will manage the way human lives.
Sean Kelly
It already does, in my opinion, in many ways. Yeah. Subconsciously in the back office.
Zaya Yonah
But it would be so aggressive. It will come in front of us in the front office and it will actually do the interconnection between people.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. I mean, they're making glasses now, so I could see that crazy times are in. Yeah. People are on their phone. I think there's a new study. Eight hours a day is the average. Can you believe that?
Zaya Yonah
Oh, it's amazing. You see it everywhere. You go to the restaurant, you go to a restaurant, you see a mother and a husband and two kids. They're all on the iPhone. Right. Even in my household, when my children comes while we're preparing food or drink, everybody's looking at the iPhone and it's irritating. Right. First of all, you get a lot of radiation in it. Long time ago, Nokia did the study about Nokia Ericsson when they were big in cellular mode, that they put an egg and they put six cell phones around them, and they activate a cell phone for over 36 hours. And then the egg was sitting between. It was completely cooked. No, from radiation. Absolutely. Google it. Yeah, yeah. It was cooked from the magnetic field that cell phones generate. Have you ever thought about when you have the cell phone in your hand and you have it by your brain? Just think about this, all right? Listen to this before you start writing comments that don't make sense, right? You're not irritating me. You actually make me laugh at you. But listen to this. When you're holding a telephone by your head, right, and you're speaking from here to New York, from California to New York, and you're saying, hi, dad. And instantly, instantly, your dad, 3,4000 miles away can hear that high instantly. What power is it that it Transfer that communication so fast, instantly to the other person. You will think it's a big power, right?
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Zaya Yonah
Well, that power is right next to your ears, next to your head. Is there some kind of magnetic force? Is it some kind of molecular force? Is this some kind of electrical force? It's got to be something that takes my high dad from California all the way to New York. What is it? Whatever it is, whatever any of those aspect it is right is right next to your ears, right next to your brain. The power is so strong, it interferes with the natural frequency of micromolecular of your brain.
Sean Kelly
Oh yeah. I actually did a study on this. I got hooked to a brain scan while I called someone.
Zaya Yonah
And.
Sean Kelly
And it was bad, see? Yeah, it was really bad. We had a doctor doing it and we did a test with the phone right here. And then we put this anti EMF device nearby and it helped a little bit, but it's bad.
Zaya Yonah
Yeah. And that was for the short period of time.
Sean Kelly
That was a five minute call.
Zaya Yonah
Imagine, imagine when there's constantly your phone. Imagine when your kids, 12, 13, 14 years old, sitting in the car while you're driving them home and it's got that iPhone right here. And texting, Instagramming, Facebooking. Imagine the radio frequency from the communication or molecular frequency or magnetic frequency. Right. Whichever you want to call it. It doesn't go beyond that. Is right next to their stomach, right next to their body.
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Zaya Yonah
How would that create any interference with the molecular cell of your body?
Sean Kelly
I mean, look at all the mental health issues these days. People are sleeping with their phones next to their head.
Zaya Yonah
Oh, it's unbelievable. That is the worst thing you can do. Worst thing you can do. Right. And I hope some people start changing their habits.
Sean Kelly
Yeah, right. People are just glued to their devices, man. It's crazy.
Zaya Yonah
But I tell you, with all the craziness in the world, seriously, this is why I got hooked into smoking a cigar. Because it released the tension. Literally. It makes me feel comfortable. Right. Otherwise I would have gone crazy. You would have hear Zaya Jonas jumping from the building. Right.
Sean Kelly
I need to find a stress outlet because I started tracking my health with this oura ring. Have you heard of this?
Zaya Yonah
Yeah, of course I do. Yeah.
Sean Kelly
Stress six hours a day.
Zaya Yonah
Oh. I mean, you have a stressful job. But let me tell you something about the cigar and Google it before you start writing comments. Right. A cigar has two components to it, Right? The molecular component of nicotine, natural nicotine. I'm not talking about cigarette, I'm talking about cigars. Big difference between them. The molecular compound of a nicotine is CHN, C10H14N2. Right. The same molecular compound you find in a lot of healthy vegetables. Tomato, potato, eggplant, cauliflower, green pepper that we eat every day is healthy for you. Right. That compound is dialectic. So when you absorb it into your system, it dilates everything. Your artery, your organs. It allows the blood and oxygen flow more easily into your system. So it lubricates all your organ effectively, right?
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Zaya Yonah
It reduce inflammation in the body because inflammation in the body is created by lack of either blood or oxygen flow. Right. I mean, I've been smoking cigar for 40 years and I smoke seven, eight of these a day. Wow. Right. But remember, it has to be a good cigar. Not any cigar. Right. Because other cigars have all kinds of pesticides on it, chemicals on it. But El Septimo is the only natural cigar in the world because we created it that way because we wanted to create something that you can enjoy and yet is healthy for you.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. Michael Jordan used to smoke a lot of cigars.
Zaya Yonah
Michael Jordan. Now, Michael Jordan used to start smoking cigar before we come up with El Septimo. He used to smoke a lot of cumin cigars, which they have a lot of pesticides on it. But I think Michael. I hope Michael Jordan is smart enough now to switch to something healthy because you don't want to damage your body.
Sean Kelly
Michael, you're watching this?
Zaya Yonah
Yeah, of course he's watching Sean. I mean, hell, I'm watching his son follows the show.
Sean Kelly
Yeah, we're getting a lot of views now, man.
Zaya Yonah
Yeah, Good. Good job.
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Zaya Yonah
And thank you. Thank you for taking your time creating stress for yourself that you have to put that ring on your hand and doing, doing what you're doing to literally wake up America.
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Zaya Yonah
I mean, I think your show shouldn't be called Sean Kelly. It should be called Wake Up America. Wake Up America. Because that's what you're doing. You're trying to wake up America. Right?
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Zaya Yonah
Like, if somebody is in trans position and you're trying to shake him, say, man, wake up. You're not seeing the world the way you should be seeing it.
Sean Kelly
Thank you for that. Yeah. Because I love what I do. Actually, I was surprised when it said I was stressed six hours a day because I think as men, we just push through it, man. Like, we just love what we do.
Zaya Yonah
And I don't know, but it's amazing that you love what you do. But it's stressful because of the time constraints, the, the obstacles you have to go through that. Your body recorded it physically as a stress period.
Sean Kelly
Right.
Zaya Yonah
Of six hours.
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Zaya Yonah
Unbelievable.
Sean Kelly
Six a day. Yeah. I'd love to see your results.
Zaya Yonah
Probably 23 a day. Yeah.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. When you're not smoking cigars.
Zaya Yonah
Oh, absolutely. I think I should increase smoking a cigars.
Sean Kelly
What do you think of this new California billionaire tax they're proposing?
Zaya Yonah
Well, I think the problem of California is not going to be solved by milking billionaires for more money because California politicians are bunch of retard people. So imagine you give retards more money to create more damages. Right. You don't want to be doing it. Right. I think to tax people for the right reason or to tax wealthy people for the right reason is absolutely a good thing to do. Right. Because we live in this beautiful country and we all have to pay our fair share to protect and maintain this beautiful country for generation to come. Right. But we all know how bad politicians are in California and how much they have wasted money and how much they have burned money and how many billions of dollars out there missing that we still don't know how did they do and give these crazy California politicians more money is the stupidest things to do. Right? So billionaire tax for a good reason. For the good reason, I have no issue with it. But for the wrong reason, I have a big problem with it. For example, a couple years ago, California created mansions tax, mansion tax means in Los Angeles County. In Los Angeles, anybody who sells a building or a property above 5 million, they have to pay 5% of the net sale to California. And California was going to use that revenue that they got, revenue that they got to resolve the homeless issue. And this was about four years ago, three years ago they implemented this. And most recently they find out that that money went completely someplace different. Wow. It did not go at all to address the homelessness. Those guys tricked the voters. They lied to the voters. And the voters in California were stupid enough or vulnerable enough that they believed on it. They sign it and we give these crazy people more money to waste it and spend it on their pet project rather than a good cause of, of solving a homeless issue in America.
Sean Kelly
That's crazy. Five percent's insane.
Zaya Yonah
Five percent, can you imagine?
Sean Kelly
That's insane.
Zaya Yonah
Again, again, if you make more, you give more taxes, it's okay. Right? But as long as is used for the good reason, Right. Like California took all those billions of dollars from people and nobody knows what they did with it. Right. So that is a problem I have with that.
Sean Kelly
Yeah, yeah. Gavin Newsom has a $8 million house out here. Kamala Harris just bought an $8 million house in California.
Zaya Yonah
In Malibu. Yeah, in Malibu. Yeah. And you wonder where that money comes from, because when Kamala Harris was vice president, she didn't make that much money. Right?
Sean Kelly
Yeah. Gavin Newsom, 50 a year. Yeah, that doesn't add up.
Zaya Yonah
Yeah. Gavin Newsom actually has several houses and he has one houses in Palo Alto in Northern California of 17, 18 million. Oh, absolutely. Gavin Newsom is extremely wealthy. Why don't you go, all of you go to Chachi PT or Google Gavin Newsom, net worth. And you wonder how could a governor of a. Of a. Of a state like this have over $200 million in network.
Sean Kelly
She's worth over 200.
Zaya Yonah
$200 million. Google and check it.
Sean Kelly
And that's just what they verified. It could be even.
Zaya Yonah
Oh, absolutely, absolutely. Absolutely. Wow. Yeah. Yeah.
Sean Kelly
What do you think of all the stuff with Iran going on?
Zaya Yonah
Yeah. Now that really bothers me because the Media says over 20, 30,000 young people were killed in the last two months. But the report, the actual report from people on the ground says over 200,000 people have been killed. Matter of fact, there was a clip of a video on the Instagram that military trucks were going in the city, chasing people with trucks and running them over.
Sean Kelly
Wow.
Zaya Yonah
I've seen this with my own mice. So, couple months ago, Donald Trump announced that we're gonna go in there and we're gonna put a new government in place and we're gonna stop all this killing. And then a month later, he backed off of that. Donald, I think that's the biggest mistakes you made and you should have never done that. You made a promise. When you say you're gonna do something, do it, because you might forget about it. People don't. So I think United States and Israel should interfere, go to Iran, overthrow this regime that from the first day was a terrorist endorsed regime and put the proper leadership in place. And I think Shah's son, who lives in United States, has been living in United States is a perfect transition leader to go in that country and protect all these innocent people from dying in front of our eyes every second of the day.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. Because he captured Maduro and then kind of left the whole country in shambles, right?
Zaya Yonah
Yeah, well, he. Well, he set to people, we're going to take action and we're going to come there. He motivate, energized Iranian to go out in the street, protest and get killed. And then he changed his mind. That was the wrong thing you did. And you need to fix it. If you don't fix it, it will be one of the weakness of your presidency that people will talk about forever.
Sean Kelly
I like that.
Zaya Yonah
And I think if America, if Donald Trump does not have a nerve to go to Iran, do it, he should allow Israel to do it. I bet you Israel will go out there and will transition the new government in to create peace in the world. Because 62% of all the terrorists in Middle east are funded by Iranian Islamic government. And that needs to stop. Wow. It is a shame for so many innocent Iranian people to die every day. And the entire world is watching it and, and doing nothing about it. Shame on you, the world. We need to do something and we need to do it now. Sooner the better. And the name of the Iran should be changed from Iran to Persian.
Sean Kelly
Wow.
Zaya Yonah
Because that's where the history come from. History of sophistication, academic wealth, education. This Islamic leadership have turned this country into an unbelievable dangerous missile that could create wars in the future. So I am all for aggressive invasion of Iran and put the right government in place.
Sean Kelly
That's where you come from, right?
Zaya Yonah
I was born down there. And my heart goes to all of these young Iranian people that die day by day for nothing. I'm telling you, Sean, Google it. Military trucks driving in the street, finding protests, literally mowing them over like they're not human being. When I saw that, I was frozen for hours. Jeez, Trump, did you see that or not? And if you did do something about it, and if you didn't have someone show it to you, because if that doesn't make you do anything or something good for the humanity, that could be your downfall as a good president of the nation.
Sean Kelly
Yeah, I could see you're very passionate about it because you grew up there.
Zaya Yonah
Well, of course we should be passionate, but not because I grew up there. Actually, it's funny, right before we stop this, one of your own staff asked us to talk about that. And he's American. He's not Iranian. He's American. He's standing right in front of you. He asked us to talk about it. So he cares. He's bothered by it. He's bothered by injustice. So no, I think I am not because I'm Iranian. I'm bothered by the injustice that frankly, if it happens anywhere in the world. In Africa, they're killing Christians left and right. I've been the one that been speaking a lot about it. Innocent Christian in Africa are being killed, churches being burned.
Sean Kelly
That's in Sudan, right?
Zaya Yonah
Well, that's many other places. Many other places. There's a big transition in Africa for people that transitioning to be a Christian. Right. And they being killed. So now I don't just say that because I was born in Iran. I say that because I feel bad for what's happening out there.
Sean Kelly
Thank you for speaking up.
Zaya Yonah
Yeah, cool.
Sean Kelly
Well, Zaya, where can people. Can they buy these online yet or.
Zaya Yonah
Absolutely. Go to elseptimo.com you can buy these online and they're good for you. They're very healthy for you. They relax you. This is far better than smoking cigarette or any other cigars. El Septimo is a Rolls Royce of cigar industries. Much better than Cuban cigar, much better than Arturo Fonte, much better than Padron. So this is a cigar you need to smoke if you really care about your body and you truly understand the enjoyment and the pleasure of the taste and notes and aroma of this fine cigar.
Sean Kelly
Check them out, guys. We'll link it below in the description. I'll see you all next time. Peace. Thanks for staying all the way to the end, guys. Means a lot to me. If you could please leave a review on Apple that helps us climb the charts, it helps us get way more guests, and it helps us continue growing the podcast and the team. So it would mean a lot to me if you left the review on Apple or wherever else you're listening. Thanks so much.
Host: Sean Kelly
Guest: Zaya Younan
Date: June 6, 2026
This episode of the Digital Social Hour features entrepreneur Zaya Younan in a candid exploration of California's political and economic challenges, the broader pains in American society, the impact of AI on jobs and humanity, and lessons from Zaya’s own journey from poverty to success. Zaya offers unfiltered opinions on government incompetence, the future dangers of technology, self-improvement, wealth, and global injustices—especially in Iran.
Economic Strain on Middle and Lower Classes
"They talk about it. Things never get done. And when they get done, they get done too late. ... This is one thing that I would hope the current administration takes it seriously." ([01:36])
Critique of Fed Chair Jerome Powell and Political Gridlock
Wealth Gap and Homelessness
"Everything they should be doing and they're not doing is actually increasing that world gap. Rich get richer, and the middle class goes to a lower and the lower class goes to poverty." ([03:31])
California’s Failed Homelessness Policies
"California is the worst state in United States. California, the mayor and the governor seriously should be put behind the bars. Not only these guys permanently, permanently paralyzed the state, they're causing people leave the states." ([08:44])
Exodus from California
On Governor Newsom and Political Brainwashing
"If America is dumb enough to vote for Newsom to be a president, we deserve all of the problem that he's gonna generate for us." ([09:16])
Advice for Voters
"If you're not happy with it, don't vote the same party, right? Simple thing." ([21:22])
The American Dream and Self-Responsibility
"American dream is a place in the mountain. You still have to climb that mountain. If you don't climb it, you're not gonna get there." ([11:13])
Lessons from Corporate Life and Pursuing Perfection
"The day you are comfortable is essentially, you have stopped living." ([14:18])
On Wealth, Misconceptions, and Giving
Zaya critiques the popular resentment toward billionaires, emphasizing the unseen hardships and sacrifices:
"You learn more from mistakes than from accomplishments." ([13:39]) "Just because you give someone a ton of money doesn't mean they're going to be able to do anything with it." ([25:24])
He notes most lottery winners lose their wealth due to lack of preparation ([25:17]).
AI’s Impact on Employment and Human Cognition
"If you don't use that muscle, your head, your brain start deteriorating." ([29:12])
National Security Risks and Warfare
Privacy and Device Addiction
Violence and Oppression in Iran
"When I saw that, I was frozen for hours." ([47:26])
Call for US or Israeli Intervention
"Shame on you, the world. We need to do something and we need to do it now." ([46:17])
Broader Advocacy Against Global Injustice
Zaya’s tone is direct, impassioned, and unfiltered, often using strong language for emphasis. The dialogue alternates between deeply personal anecdotes, tough political critique, technical insights, and motivational advice.
This episode blends Zaya Younan’s blunt critique of California and national leadership, warnings about AI and technology’s double-edged sword, and timeless calls for personal responsibility, perseverance, and civic action. His immigrant success story underpins his views, highlighting both hard truths and the enduring potential of the American dream.