← Success Story with Scott D. Clary
Success Story with Scott D. Clary
Gary Vaynerchuk - Built $500M VaynerMedia | Stop Blaming Everyone Else for Your Failures
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- [00:00]
Gary Vaynerchuk
People on the other side right now don't believe me because they view me as successful and they think everything coming out of my mouth is because I am successful. And I know the reason I'm successful
- [00:08]
Scott Clary
is Gary Vaynerchuk, better known as Gary V. Transformed his family's wine business from a local shop into a $60 million E commerce success and then redefined what it means to build a brand in the digital age. He is a serial entrepreneur, a five time New York Times best selling author, and the chairman of Vayner X. I
- [00:27]
Gary Vaynerchuk
would argue that I did not use fear. I understood fear in a world where people currently are in their 50s, 60s and 70s don't realize that truth is the reason I was able to get to where I got to emotionally, not financially.
- [00:41]
Scott Clary
He co founded VaynerMedia and hosts one of the top business podcasts on the planet. Love him or challenge him, one thing is undeniable. Gary doesn't just talk about the future. He builds it.
- [00:51]
Gary Vaynerchuk
Every single person listening right now, you're treadmilling, you're walking the dog, you're in the car, you're like getting it. You're a bitch. Everything that is wrong in your life is your fault. Everyone here is capable. You could be a bitch and a complainer and a dweller and all your circle is a bunch of other bitches and complainers and you can get out. I somehow knew something that no one knows. I'm going to say this a secret. Do you know why I was canderous with myself always? Because,
- [01:24]
Scott Clary
Gary, what shaped you more? Is it where you came from or what you've built now? Where I came from, why so easy? Why is that the easy answer, where you came from?
- [01:38]
Gary Vaynerchuk
Because what I built allowed me that opportunity on the nuances and the actualities of where I came from. Right? Where I came from came first. That's the steel and the concrete. What I've built was a byproduct of that foundation. Maybe what I've built has been the chandelier I picked or the drapery or how I painted the room. But the building was built on the things I went through as a child. And that is the steel and the concrete of the building of my world.
- [02:12]
Scott Clary
You know, I was listening to a really good podcast you did with Moshe Popek, the guy who has 11 kids. He's in Miami as well. And you were talking a lot about fear. And, and I thought that was interesting because you used fear to drive you. And I want you to talk a little bit about why fear is so Important to you? Because I think that most people listen to the show. Fear is the one thing that stops them from doing what they want to do. They can listen to all the advice they get, all the YouTube videos, they listen to you. They listen to all the, the people that have done it before. But it's whatever you want to label it as, imposter syndrome, fear, whatever. There's a label that they've applied to themselves and it stops them from moving forward. So you coming from a childhood that had fear in it, how did you. I don't even know how to say it. Weaponize it to a degree. So it was useful for you.
- [03:00]
Gary Vaynerchuk
You know, it's funny the way you asked the question. I think a lot of people would think that where we're going is that classic, like, you know, I'm going to show them, or, you know, it's that when you take that poison and you, you become a bad guy actually, like, like you, Darth Vader and Obi Wan Kenobi, they're very close, but they came from very different places. I would argue that I did not use fear. I understood fear. I will tell you that my ability to understand fear was fake early in a world where people currently are in their 50s, 60s, and 70s and don't realize that truth is the reason I was able to get to where I got to. And I'm talking about emotionally, not financially. So, you know, in that interview, I talked a lot about a real fear of mine that I did not understand how to control, which was the fear of my parents dying. You know, I came from two parents who lost a parent very early. My mom lost her mom at 5. My dad lost his dad at 15. I had just come from the old country. People did not live. If you died at 60 in the Soviet Union, you had a long life death. My great grandfather, who was like my go to guy when we first came to America, passes away pretty quickly when we're here. I lived through that. So there's this death thing going on. And that is worth fearing. You know, it is worth fearing as we all sit here today, the death of the people you love the most. However, you're also fundamentally not in control of that when that is your framework as a child. All of a sudden, bad grades, losing a fight, having a girl not like you. And then as we get older, losing a job, losing money, having the neighbor have a better car than you, all of a sudden everything feels very small. And what happens is when everything feels very small day to day, except this monumental tragic event in one's life. Well, then life starts to feel very light. No shit. I was willing to bet the farm and give all my money to Facebook because if I had lost it as an investment in 2007, I. I would have been okay, because no one was dying if I lost my money on Facebook. And that's it, brother. You know, that's how I used it. I was so scared of it, the big thing, that it made everything else around me feel small. And then when I got to 18, it didn't happen. Right. I left the house to go to college, and I became a big boy. And, you know, even from 20 in my twenties, I still feared it. In my thirties, it started to subside. In my forties, it started to subside. And now I just turned 50. And honestly, I'm in house money now. You know, I'm in house money, boy. Like, I'm so grateful that, you know, my parents are with us and are, you know, they're young. I love. They had me young, so. But, like, I'm in house money, and so I'm chilling, you know, Like, I'm. I won, and now everything else is secondary, and so. And then, of course, you get older. You know, I have two children. What's worse than losing your parents? I don't even want to say it out loud. We all know what it is. And so you live life, you fall in love. All of a sudden, this person that used to be a stranger is put into the same category. You have siblings, like I did along the way. They're now put in the pet. In the same category as my parents. You have a best friend, you know, Brandon Warnecke is in that category now. I even. I get emotional about the thought of him. Like, I'm. It's. I'm feeling it right now, like, of his passing. You know, I secretly wish I died before him because I don't want to be there at that funeral. And so, you know, man, everything's so easy for me, Scotty. Like, you know, why am I a public figure? Because I can take the heat when people are like, gary's full of himself, or, fuck this guy, or he sucks or he's overrated. I'm like, there's nothing that. That is so minuscule. Like, I don't even, like, you know? But on the flip side, Scotty, there's something pretty profound goes to humility. I would argue the people that know me best know my true secret, which my confidence is not my superpower. It's my humility. In the same way That I don't hear them say, you stink, you suck, you're overrated, you're full of yourself. Is the same way that I don't hear people when they put in my comments, you're the goat. You're this. You gave me some. Or a nice human like you gave me some nice pleasantries before we started. Those are compliments and I don't think I'm better than because of those compliments. So you suck and you're the goat in my brain, in my soul transfer the same way. Which is zero. Like, thank you, thank you. Grateful for you're the goat and I'm sorry you feel that way. I hope everything's okay with you. When you say I'm a piece of shit, that is how my brain sees it. I think it has nothing to do with me.
- [08:11]
Scott Clary
Yeah, usually true.
- [08:13]
Gary Vaynerchuk
But I move on.
- [08:14]
Scott Clary
You had such a deep fear that it made all the other bullshit kind of irrelevant.
- [08:20]
Gary Vaynerchuk
Correct. And. And luckily my deep fear was worth fearing. My fear was not I'm not going to be famous one day. I have to go to Hollywood and be famous. My great fear was not I'm going to be a millionaire one day. I need to be a millionaire. You know, those were not my great fears.
- [08:39]
Scott Clary
So people, I don't think we'll, we'll generalize, which is not good, but we'll generalize. I don't think when people are trying to figure out their life and take action, they're worried about that. Everybody has that deep fear, but that's not the fear that's stopping them from taking action. So when people listen to you because you, I'm sure you experience this people, you'll, you'll meet somebody at a conference, they'll listen to you and then like five years later, they'll probably see at another conference and they haven't done anything yet. I'm sure some have done a lot, but some haven't done shit. Right?
- [09:09]
Gary Vaynerchuk
It's a story of my life. I am sitting in rarefied air because I moved first in social and I was who I was talent wise where I have affected a scary amount of people's lives. It is like the great joy of my life. On the flip side, it means that I've not been able to break through to many.
- [09:29]
Scott Clary
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- [13:08]
Gary Vaynerchuk
That one of two things are going to happen. Someone or something is going to come along and it's going to be the moment that changes your life. And you will go on offense, you will switch the light slit, or you will die a bitter 80 year old.
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Scott Clary
That's it.
- [13:21]
Gary Vaynerchuk
That's it. That's all I can say to someone right now who's listening, who's 43, who can feel in their tummy. There's more. They need to get divorced. They need to double down on their relationship. They need to fix their marriage. They need to start a business and quit a job. They need to get a promotion. They need to go tell their boss how they actually whatever these things are, right? There's a lot of parents right now realizing they're raising spoiled kids and the fear is to have the conversation to cut the kid off. There's a million things we all go through. Right Here is the answer. Either this podcast, what I'm saying right now, is going to make you do it. Something else is going to make you do it. A tragic event is going to make you do it. Something random and lighthearted is going to make you do it or nothing will happen. But if nothing happens, you will die more unhappy than you could have been. And the more you're not addressing it and the deeper that thing is, the more angry and lonely you will be.
- [14:20]
Scott Clary
That's tough, dude, because I think that a lot of people have to hit that rock bottom before they take action.
- [14:25]
Gary Vaynerchuk
I love rock bottom. I actually think I want to push more people to rock bottom. I actually think slightly hovering, like, I think more people need to drown. I think just having their mouth above water and that's their life forever is actually the problem. I prefer a rock bottom. How does a drug addict or an alcoholic switch it? They gotta get to rock bottom. I want people to get to rock bottom faster. I'll give you an example. One of the things I believe in, and I'll say it right now with the hope that this triggers action from someone. Is every single person listening right now? You're treadmilling, you're walking the dog. You're in the car. You're, like, getting it. Like, we got you. Because I feel like these. Scott's doing a great job. I do this a lot. Like, we're in it right now. We're in pocket. You're a bitch. Everything that is wrong in your life is your fault. The amount of people that are listening right now, Scott, that are straight complainers and they have enablers around them, their mommy, their spouse. They have enablers around them, Scott. Like. Like, I don't know. They're a bitch. And like, now people are triggered and like, Gary, what the fuck? Like, you don't get it. I had an abusive f. Like, everybody has adversities, but you're grown now. Like, you're 31. Like, when's it time to not blame mommy and daddy? Like, you don't like the politician. Like, in New. I live in New York. Like, people are like, oh, the mayor. I'm like, move. Move to Connecticut. Like, I don't know, like, you're in charge. Oh, like, you don't get it. I have a. I have a shitty husband. Separate. Well, Gary, you don't get it. Financially, I'm like, get a job. Like, like, it's. It's really interesting. And it may sound, like, hard. It might sound like out of touch or. Which is so not it. But fine, you want to go there. Another excuse, by the way, it might sound hard. Get it? Truth. But it's intoxicating. Scott, brother, so many people are struggling because they've given up the power to someone else. Their spouse, their boss, their parents, a politician. I mean, all these politicians, all they do is weaponize fear to keep you in the cage mentally and emotionally. My friends, everyone here is capable. Everyone here is capable. You could be a bitch and a complainer and a dweller and all your circle is a bunch of other bitches and complainers. And you can get out today like this might have just. Like I might have just poked your zit. And you're like, fuck it, today's the day. I hope, by the way, anybody who really knows me knows these last three minutes was only for that. Because I got nothing but love, nothing but warmth. I'm not trying to hurt feelings. I definitely don't think I'm better than. I'm coming from a place of desperation to shake someone who clearly nice isn't working. It's like kids, right? Like, nice, nice. Sometimes you got to spank the fuck out of your guy. And I know that's not popular these days and it's not loud anymore, but I have a funny feeling. Gen Xers and older who are listening right now, we know. We know why we are fucking capable. Because we got that little smack across the face when we disrespected. Now it's like a talk, or not even a talk. There's no consequences, no ramifications. Life is. Is got to be balanced. We got to be purple out here. There's too much blue.
- [17:47]
Scott Clary
That's the number one piece of hate that I get when I say. When I talk about agency, when I talk about ownership, when I talk about taking control of your own in your own life. That's. That's where I get the most hate online.
- [17:59]
Gary Vaynerchuk
But it's not hate. It's where you get the most exposed hurt. It's not hate, Scott. You're not getting hate. You're getting people to come out and expose their weaknesses.
- [18:10]
Scott Clary
You know, you're not getting. No, you're right.
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Gary Vaynerchuk
It's.
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Scott Clary
It's holding up a mirror 100%.
- [18:16]
Gary Vaynerchuk
I'm. I'm poking zits in these last five minutes out of such a good place. I'm busy, Scott. I really don't. I really shouldn't be doing this podcast. Real talk. I'm running a half a billion dollar revenue, not valuation. The. My companies are going to do over half a billion dollars this year. I have seven meaningful companies. I got a lot of work to do. I. I really shouldn't be doing this. What the fuck am I doing? The last four minutes I'm trying to fucking help someone because it makes me feel good because I was taught that way. And I love human beings. It's not hate. It's. You're exfoliating. Like, you're exfoliating people. Like, they're coming out, bro. The blackheads are coming out of the nose. They're just blackheads, like, in your nose. You're pinching it out, bro. You're pinching that. You're. What is that hot steam? And you pinch it and then the little shit comes out. The fucking oils or whatever fuck that shit is like. You're exposing. Has nothing to do with you. When you're talking about. You're accountable. Here's my point. If anyone on earth has ever made it, and I say made it by gotten to joy and potentially. And potentially financial success. Yeah, if anyone ever has made it, that looks like you, right? Well, then you have no excuse. If anyone who has been abducted, kidnapped, alcoholic father, beaten, mentally abused. If any person exists on earth that was able to get to the other side, empower, the greatest skill a human could have, forgiveness, to dig them out of the depths to go on to have joy and a great family and potentially even financial success, well, then I say there's an example. And now we have to talk about that because I get that you want to wallow in your mud, which allows you not to do anything hard. Scott, I could wallow. I got all sorts of shit. I love a good lazy. I did it all through school. I can. I can lay in bed all day. No bullshit. Scotty. Like, when I rest, I like a good lay in bed all day. You know, I get what it is. It just can't be my life. It needs to be the occasional gift.
- [20:38]
Scott Clary
You know what's. What's interesting is you are super candid. You. I mean, you're. You're living like the Kim Scott book. Like you. You. You are candid as. And I think that's what's so refreshing. And I think that wakes people up. And I think that people can. What?
- [20:54]
Gary Vaynerchuk
Publicly, Gary Vee's the most canderous motherfucker on earth. My kryptonite in my life. Everything personally and professionally that has not gone well in my first 50 years of life was my inability to be canderous to the people I liked the most.
- [21:07]
Scott Clary
But also with yourself. That's the. That's the thing I'm pulling out.
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Gary Vaynerchuk
Well, it was funny. I was candorous with myself in my 20s. It was a blind spot. I would blame a bad employee when I would fire them sloppily because I gave them no feedback. And it would just be this random out of left field firing. I would blame them because Ricky was working at the liquor store for two years. Lazy. I would give micro feedbacks. I would use passive aggressive comments, razzes. I would try to get there, but it was never direct. And then I would fire him and he'd be like, fuck you, dude.
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Scott Clary
What the fuck?
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Gary Vaynerchuk
Where's this coming from? And he would walk out and leave the store. And next several hours I'd be like, what a fucking ungrateful fucker. Like I fucking carried him for two years. I was overpaying him the whole time. He fucking was late. He wasn't good. It was in my 30s when I started being like, wait a minute, there's something brewing here, right? Like I'm contributing to this. And it was in my mid-40s where I had the. Oh, I can see it now. It is this candor. Oh, shit. When I'm on Scotty's podcast, I'm talking to the world. I'm not talking to anyone right now. I know I'm talking to everyone right now, and I'm talking to no one. But when I'm talking to an employee that's been with me for four years, or my cousin or my grandma or my dad or whatever, you know, like that candor was a real, real, real, real, real challenge. And now I'm on the other side and I'm like a five or six. Most of the attributes in life. I'm a nine or ten. Cause my mommy gave me that DNA and she parented it. And my circumstances were right. I was a one or two on candor to loved ones. I'm at a five or six right now, which has been game changing at my companies. And I'm hoping to get to seven or eight before I go into the ground. Because I know I'll never get the 10. I know it. That's how ingrained the DNA is. Or maybe I will, and maybe I'm shortchanging myself. But fuck, man, I'm empathetic when something's not hardwired or taught to you. Because my mom's not candorous and she's my North Star. And so, you know, I get the trait from her. I was parented in that way. Again, she's canderous in the macro, but not sometimes in the micro. And so that's life.
- [23:24]
Scott Clary
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- [26:30]
Gary Vaynerchuk
Can I tell you something? Yeah.
- [26:31]
Scott Clary
I was going to ask. I was going to ask, how do you get all three to 10 knowing that each level is more difficult?
- [26:37]
Gary Vaynerchuk
I somehow knew something that no one knows. I'm going to. I'm going to say it as a secret, right? Here we go. This is very interesting, Scott. Do you know why I was candorous with myself always? Because I know something that most people don't know. If you are not canderous to yourself, but you know it, right? Like you know it, but you try to disguise it, right? You are only tricking other losing players. So the reason I will. The reason I've been very canderous with myself is I've wanted to be a top 1% human winner. And I know that no one can trick me. And so that means that I know that I can't trick the 1% and everyone's living. The reason people aren't fully being candid with themselves is they either know it. This self dialogue. They're like, you suck at this. And you're like, no, but it's. You don't forget you're talking with yourself. So you actually know it's not about the candor within oneself. It's the wanting to posture and trick everyone else about your shortcoming. Got it, brother. How the fuck can you be not candorous with yourself when you're having the self dialogue? And you're like, hey, asshole, you suck at this. And you're like, no, asshole, let's trick everyone and try to make them understand we don't suck at this. But I knew because I was able to sniff out everybody because of my intuitive personal skills. That. And this became true in my 30s, 40s, and 50s when I started to get into rarefied air. The top 1% emotional winners on earth, you can't trick them anyway. So the only way you can win with them is by being truly authentic and canderous. Thus rendering me very early in my life, somewhere in my mid-30s, early-40s, being like, oh, shit, I'm keeping it 100 with me. Because when I'm in the room with the other 1 percenters, and I don't mean 1% financial, I mean 1% emotionally intelligent, I am going to be a hundred with them too, because I can't trick them anyway because I know how much equity people have lost with me by trying to trick me. That is the nuance, that's the curveball of this conversation. So very simply, what am I saying? Everyone, if you want to get more candorous with yourself, realize the following. If you think you're tricking someone or your inability to sweep under the rug with yourself because you want to trick everybody else about this issue, please know the following. The only people you're fooling are fools, and you're actually losing equity with the people you actually want to win with.
- [29:25]
Scott Clary
The faster. The faster you are operating at a hundred percent of yourself in this world, the happier, the more fulfilled you'll be. The faster you'll move in your business, your life, your relationship, everything.
- [29:36]
Gary Vaynerchuk
That's right, because here's what happens. You start to like yourself more. First, this new version of yourself starts to eliminate and attract. Bro, I love my circle and I love my outer circle and my next circle. What's the difference? My inner circle. The fucking homies. Girls and gals that are just about good life, meaning they don't give a fuck about anything that comes along with being me. Next circle, homies, Good, solid acquaintances to friends. But I know that they're really not about me all the way or about themselves. It's transactional. It's about, what can we do for each other professionally, emotionally. And that's, by the way, that doesn't bother me. Like, everyone's got, like. I'm like Saturn. I got multiple rings. Like, I don't. You know, there's some people that don't have a lot of friends because they need everything to be deep. I'm good with a lightweight acquaintance. I know a lot of people, like, whoa, Gary, relationships are meant to be deep. No, no. Deep relationships are meant to be deep and light. Relationships are made to Be light. And the more community you have, the happier you are. I love a good fudgeing acquaintance. I love a good every three year check in, friend.
- [30:47]
Scott Clary
Scotty, those are good. Those are good.
- [30:49]
Gary Vaynerchuk
Sometimes they're like little, like, you know, they're not the steak, but they're a little like summer mashed potatoes. Others are like a little moose bouche that the chef gives you. It's a little, a little crouton with a fucking mustard on top. Like there's all flavors out there.
- [31:03]
Scott Clary
What changed in 2026? Because I know that you 2025, you were building business, Gary, you were, you were building Vaynermedia and all the different, you know, you have a whole coat with a whole bunch of different companies underneath it. What's, what's the 2026 Gary?
- [31:19]
Gary Vaynerchuk
About leaning more into brand Gary Vaynerchuk again, Gary Vee. And leaning more into veefriends, my Pokemon, Marvel, Sesame street, and living a motto, which I only live like every seven or eight years. I'll come up with like a yearly motto. It's very rare for me to do stuff like this, but I have one this year which is called intentionality and Impact. I'm in being very intentional around my 10 businesses, my 50 executives that are kind of roaming, that are homies, that are like doing different things within my ecosystem. And I'm measuring everything on impact. So it's a very sports year. It's a very, It's a very. I'll use, I like sports, so I'll use it. It's a very like one of those psycho football head coaches that like sleeps office to 4 in the morning and like for the big game, like if the whole year is a week of a big playoff football game, I'm in the office watching film, talking to my players and my other coaches from seven in the morning to three in the morning, coming home, giving the family a kiss, sleeping for four hours and going back out. Like real intentionality strategy. And then I'm going to measure the results on impact. Like if my players are trying hard in practice on Thursday before the big game and they're trying hard and their best kid, but they dropped four passes like they may get benched. I can't measure on intent or loyalty or karma or vibes. Like I tend to like to measure on 2026 has to be around impact. And that's because I feel like I do that every five years or so. You know, since COVID it's been a different game for me. Different circumstances, million different variables. And I Don't know. I feel. And honestly, I'm just doing that because I intuitively feel I need it and I want it and I want it for my organization and my people and the ecosystem. And I'm excited about it. Feels natural and intuitive. And that's why I'm even doing this podcast, right? I haven't done a lot of shows, but I want to be more out there because Gary Vee, the brand, is the top of the funnel of all my people will listen to this podcast, rediscover or discover me or change their mind about me because I went deeper. It's not just one 30 second clip on social. Right, Scott. And that may lead to them showing up to my pickleball team's game in Central park this summer because they go down the rabbit hole of Gary. They learn about all the different things I do. And for them, taking their kids to a pickleball match in Central park is the joy and all the good stuff they get from me in the next nine months, that will be the thing. And like, I think about things like that.
- [33:53]
Scott Clary
So when you say, when you say you're measuring, you're measuring differently in 2026, you're measuring on impact as opposed to some of the other vibes, good feelings, whatever that list of things are. What, what does that actually mean though? Like, I mean, like, yes, you're top of funnel. You put yourself out there more, more podcasts, all. What does impact mean?
- [34:10]
Gary Vaynerchuk
I was talking to somebody on my team, on the Befriends team, who's been with me a long time talking about veefriends social media. And she said, xyz. Xyz. And I said, but it didn't get any views. That was it. And that's not an answer. That is a Gary Vee answer, but it's not a Gary Vaynerchuk answer to that person around this issue the last 12 months. And it is now, I gotcha. It's just a merit year because I know that person works 12 hours a day. I know that person is carrying the load of other people. And it goes to like, hey, if you want to succeed, you may have to hold the people underneath you accountable. I, at my best, motivate and create safety. I at my worst create entitlement because I'm a superhero. I protect everyone. If I'm doing the hunting and the gathering for everyone. I always say, tough to be hungry if you've been fed. I, at my worst, feed everyone financially and emotionally.
- [35:07]
Scott Clary
You know, you're very specific about how you want to make impact in 2026. I know you speak a lot now about AI. You speak about AI influencers, you speak about live shopping. I saw your setup that's just set up for live shopping streams. So I hear you're speaking about Substack a lot. I know you just did a partnership and an investment into Stanford. So there's a few key plays. Right? So I want to understand because you have a. You have a great ability to see shit way ahead of when the rest of the world sees shit. So I just mentioned a couple key things. We can go in a couple different directions. But out of those four things I just mentioned, what's the most exciting? Or pick one not the most exciting. Don't stack. Rank them but use because I now
- [35:56]
Gary Vaynerchuk
you primed everyone's pallets. Let me bounce around and go rapid fire so everyone gets their lick on what they heard from you. I'm pumped about Substack because I'm happy for writers. Even though substack is becoming more of an overall social network because they got video. The fact that people that write fiction and nonfiction or journalism can actually get people to pay them 199, 399, 699amonth that's now accepted. Not all content is free and look, people can make a living. They used to be a third tier writer at a magazine that wasn't giving them a chance. Now can be a personality on substack and keep all the economics for themselves. I'm intoxicated of this opportunity for writers. I am not one of those people. My writing comes from me talking and being turned into writing. Live Shopping There are millions of people trying to be famous influencers. Many of them do not have the ability or destiny does not have it in them for them. However they are destined and are capable of being salespeople. They are destined to be stars of the QVC meet social media era we're in which is live social shopping, TikTok shop, Twitch, whatnot, ebay live. We're in this incredible era of this next massive opportunity which is humans are stores and personalities and are selling in feed of these social media apps and these new standalone apps like whatnot. Huge opportunity. It is the side hustle, it is the career change. It is the empire that many people will build. They will sell stuff of their own or other brands stuff on social and build huge huge opportunities. Stan Store Investor Advisor it is a place to sell digital access or digital products. There are many people who have a million followers on Instagram but don't get brand Deals. They talk about cooking and they can make a $29 ebook, you know, cookbook on San store. Literally make posts on social, say go in my bio and buy the book and we'll change their life. I've like been blown away by in this Stan challenge I did last year for eight weeks that had never sold anything in their life, anything. And were able to sell digital products. That's hard. Or one on one meetings or whatever they want. So I recommend people checking out Stan's store. What was the fourth one?
- [38:13]
Scott Clary
Well, you talk about AI influencers and that's a big thing that people are worried about.
- [38:18]
Gary Vaynerchuk
Well, why would you worry about something that's an inevitable outcome? Like I don't know why people were scared about AI. Like we were scared about electricity made the world better. We were scared about cars and planes made the world better. We were scared about television, typewriters, the Internet, home computers, mobile devices. I know a lot of people are like, oh, but you don't get it. Gary made the world worse. No it didn't. You might have an ideology around, you know, like the good old days. Like the data supports what I'm saying, not what you're emotional about. Like do you know how many Scott, for everyone who's worried about like losing a brand deal because of an AI influencer, they're gonna have their mother live seven years later because an AI is gonna diagnose a cancer earlier than a human can. Like this is a ludicrous conversation. Yes, people are gonna lose their jobs. People lost their jobs when Google came out. There were 60,000 people selling yellow pages advertising that lost their jobs. I mean, you know, like, like, like when the tractor on farms was invented, almost everybody worked on a farm 150 years ago. What do you. Everyone's like, oh, now everyone's gonna be out of a job. No, no, we got better jobs. We built corporations, we built media companies, we built inventions. Like I don't understand what people think. You won't be in trouble. Like the person listening right now, you might be a 45 year old designer that works in Adobe that doesn't have a single creative idea in your life. And you take dictation from someone and you go in Photoshop and make it. And now that is being replaced by nano banana. Like yes, you might. But again, as this conversation started, you know, this is coming. So where does accountability and self reliance jump in? Like, you know, this is life. Like I like this. This is life. Like there's. We are all going to face adversities in the Macro and the micro. You might have a perfect life. Perfect life right now. And tonight your spouse is going to tell you that they went to the doctor and they've been terminally diagnosed. Now you have a very shitty life. This is life. This is why I have gratitude so much, Scott. Today's a good day. No one died.
- [40:37]
Scott Clary
It's a great day. It is a great day. No, I think that. So I think that people, they live in fear.
- [40:44]
Gary Vaynerchuk
There's a lot of people that don't know me that just said, easy for you to say. You won. No, no, I won because this is how I thought in my teens and 20s. Scott, you know who's interesting to interview? Not me. You should interview the people that knew me from 15 to 25. They'll give you the answers to the quiz. Because the people on the other side right now don't believe me. Because they view me as successful and they think everything coming out of my mouth is because I am successful. And I know the reason I'm successful is because everything coming out of my mouth was there before I was successful.
- [41:16]
Scott Clary
People look for every single reason as to why they're not where they want to be. And AI is just another excuse.
- [41:25]
Gary Vaynerchuk
Correct. And the answer is in such a very simple place in your fucking mirror. I got the answer for all of you right now. Every one of you. I got good news. And I have to do this to myself, too. So this is nothing I don't deploy against myself tonight and tomorrow morning. Look at that mug in the mirror. That's the one. That's your problem. That's the issue. And I know you're used to hearing it and it's cliche for a reason. It's out in the ether for a reason. It's called. It's fucking true. You are capable no matter what you think. Listen, if you're so bougie that you're used to your luxuries and you don't have the humility to take a step backwards to make yourself actually happen, who's happy? Whose fault is that? Like, if you don't have. If you have so much insecurity, AKA ego, that you can't trade in your BMW for a Toyota to get that extra hundred bucks a month or 200 or 300 in your lease back into your pocket so you can save for a year to then do the thing that you're saying you don't have the money for. Well, whose fucking fault is that? The government's?
- [42:35]
Scott Clary
It's just yours.
- [42:36]
Gary Vaynerchuk
It's just yours, Scott. Do you know how many people blame Trump for all their problems and then blame Biden for all their problems? And now we're blaming Trump again for all their problems. I have a huge company that analyzes the sentiment of everything being said on social media. Like Scott, do you know there's a 39 year old woman right now listening to this that blames everything on their mom. They're 39, Scott. Was it 22? Was it 18? Was it 25? Was it 30? Was it her 31st birthday? When was she supposed to take on the accountability? And meanwhile she's spending money on dumb shit. How about therapy? How about meditation? How about exercise? How about listening to podcasts like this? 24 Kudos for listening to this. Like, where is accountability in your ecosystem? I blame myself for shit that's logically not my fault. I'm going to say that slow. It's an important sentence. I blame myself for shit, circumstances, issues that logically are clearly not my fault. If the world judged it, they'd be like, no, no, Gary, why are you doing that? Sam was such a dick. Well, I didn't have to engage with Sam. I could have sniffed out Sam. Scott, do you know how many people say that? They get walked all over. I say nice guys finish first a lot. And I get so many people triggered by that. Fuck that, Gary. You have no idea. You're so delusional. I'm a nice guy. Get shit on. I'm like, you're not a nice guy. You're a manipulator. You're doing nice things with the expectation of someone doing something nice in return. Being nice and being kind and giving means without expectation.
- [44:15]
Scott Clary
Indeed is a success story, partner. Now, if you're hiring, Indeed is all you need. Let me give you an example. If I needed to hire a new editor for this show, I'd go to Indeed and be super specific. Not just can you edit audio. I'd say, I need someone who's edited a conversational podcast for at least three years, gets our style and knows our software. Someone who's done this before. And here's the thing, with Indeed sponsored jobs, I'd get people who fit that description. I'm not digging through resumes from people who've edited one YouTube video. I'm getting actual podcast editors who know what they're doing. People who've worked on shows like ours and can prove it. That's what makes a difference. You get people who actually are what you're looking for. According to Indeed data, sponsored jobs posted directly on indeed are 90% more likely to report a higher than non sponsored jobs and people are finding quality hires right now in the minute that I've been speaking to you. Companies like yours have made 27 hires on Indeed according to Indeed Data Worldwide. Spend more time interviewing candidates who check all the boxes. Less stress, less time and more results now with Indeed sponsored jobs and listeners of this show will get a 75 sponsored job credit to help you get your job the premium status it deserves@ Indeed.com Clary just go to Indeed.com Clary right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com Clary terms and conditions apply. Hiring do it the Right way with Indeed. HubSpot is a success story, partner. And if you're into this show, you're probably someone who likes learning from people, people who've actually done the thing. That's why I want to put Create like the Greats on your radar. It's a great show. It's hosted by Ross Simmons, part of the HubSpot Podcast Network. Ross breaks down some of the greatest creations and creators of all time. What they built, how they thought, the actual process behind it. And he's not just talking theory. He's been doing this stuff for over a decade. What I appreciate is that he makes it practical. Like how do you actually systematize creativity? So you're productive but you're not burning out. So if you like learning from history, understanding how great work gets made, and you want something that's easy to listen to, check it out. Listen to Create like the Greats wherever you get your podcasts. Do you think because you are the epitome of why I created this podcast, you're the epitome of tactical plus mindset. That's the goal, right? Do you think that your mindset and the things you talk about because you keep going back into it and leaning back into it and I gave you the floor and you could have gone into operator mode and talked about the most tactical substack AI but and you do but the question Scott I apologize
- [46:39]
Gary Vaynerchuk
for interrupting you everyone. Don't get mad at me, but I'm going to a moment. Scott I know they can all chatgpt it bro. How do I use substack? I'm a law ready let me help. I'm a I own a flower shop. I listen to Gary Vee on Scott Clark's podcast. He talked about substat. This is literally the prompt in audio form to chat GPT. I listened to Gary. I want to use substack to drive my Business. What are the five best tactics? The fucking tactics are worthless. Scotty. Why you're not doing the tactics is the interesting part. Why you don't have the discipline, why you don't have the habit. Scott. Me and my trainer just had such a great morning today. I wanted to go into the gym today with the same energy that you want someone to come to your house right now with a sword and cut your face off. And I woke up and I did not want to go and I was thinking about everything. I could text him, look at my throat weight. Like I listen, I'm a human. Like I'm like, you know, I fought and I got there and we did soft tissue and I'm working on reactivating my glute mead because my muscle detached from me at 18 when I hurt my back and trying to get my adductor in ql better. This is for all the trainers, everyone. I'm going through a great mission and all this. And like man, the joy I had. Leaving the gym this morning at 8 o' clock in the morning. Leaving the gym at 8 o' clock in the morning after being working last night to midnight because I'm in the trenches of crypto, Twitter building up veefriends, NFTs because NFTs are rising again. The greed era is over. We're in the collector era and all this stuff, right? And I know what it feels like to be lazy. I don't want to work on my health and wellness. I want to eat garbage and never work out. It is in me. It was how I was brought up. I don't want it, I hate it. And for the last 12 years I have fought daily to be better and it has profoundly been good for my life. I want people to do that around their self esteem versus their insecurities and I want them to do that around their work ethic and their business strategies and things of that nature. But the business strategies are declining in value, the mindset's increasing in value.
- [48:43]
Scott Clary
It's rare. It's very rare. That was the question. The question was what do you think has the most impact when you're measuring for impact? Is it the tactics, is it the strategies, is it the mindset? And I believe the same thing. You can google every single tactic on earth. Building a business is hard work, but it's not complicated. Everything you gotta do and there's people
- [49:07]
Gary Vaynerchuk
like me that you're right, I got some weird ass luck of pattern recognition and curiosity and yeah man, I do intuitively have a little bit of like I've got the gift. No different than Beyonce's got a Voice gift and LeBron's got a bass. I have a gift of taking very early information and kind of knowing how the checkers are gonna play out while everyone. How the chess moves, excuse me, are gonna play out while everyone's still figuring out if it's a game of checkers. I'm already into check made in chess. That is my great business skill. I'm very grateful for it and the fact that I'm intellectually. That I am intellectually generous. And by the way, I'm talking about me right now. There's a lot of people like me that we live in a 2026 world where you have characters like me that are running around, that can actually see around quote unquote corners, and then out of being perfectly parented by the best mother of all time, want to go out and give that information away for free at scale and are good at it. So it shows up in your feed.
- [50:12]
Scott Clary
What?
- [50:14]
Gary Vaynerchuk
The only thing that's left is your relationship with yourself, your relationship with yourself, how you feel about your Scott, I think I'm the best of all time. I'm acutely aware I'm not. But that's how I feel. And that's the starting point of me being kind to everyone else. Because you can't be kind to everyone else if you're not kind to yourself. No wonder everyone's a dick face. They hate themselves. But my question to all of you that just resonated with that is why? Because if you do not like yourself, I want to remind you that someone else put that in your mind.
- [50:47]
Scott Clary
That is not LinkedIn marketing solutions is a success story, partner. Now, you know what's brutal? Spending real money on ads that reach completely the wrong people, wrong industry, wrong seniority, wrong everything. And I've been there. You run a campaign, you spend the budget, and the results don't match because the audience was never right to begin with. LinkedIn ads fixes that. Their network has grown to over a billion professionals, including over 130 million decision makers. And the targeting is on a different level than anything else out there. We're talking job title, industry, company size, seniority, skills, company revenue. You can get super surgical with it. And that's exactly why LinkedIn generates the highest B2B return on ad spend of any major ad network. Not one of the highest. The highest. So if you're serious about reaching the right people who can actually say yes, this is where your budget belongs right now. Drop $250 on your first campaign and LinkedIn will give you $250 in credit for your next one. Go to LinkedIn.com ScottClary that's LinkedIn.com ScottClary Terms and conditions do apply. Framer is a success story partner. Now you could be a solopreneur, you could be an entrepreneur. You could be somebody just sitting at home who's trying to start a business out of their house. But you know the drill. You need good design to create a website to get your business off the ground. But good design is expensive and you can't afford to hire a designer for every single landing page social post. But you also can't afford to look amateur. And I've been there. You need to move fast, you need to look professional. But you also need to not blow your budget on five different tools. Framer already built the fastest way to publish beautiful production ready websites. And it's now redefining how we design for the web. With the recent launch of design pages, a free canvas based design tool, Framer is more than a site builder. It's a true all in one design platform. From social assets to campaign visuals, to vectors and icons, all the way to a live site. Framer is where ideas go live, start to finish. And the best part is it's actually free. Not a trial free. I'm talking unlimited projects, real vector tools, 3D transformations, everything you need without the nickel and diming. So if you're ready to design, iterate and publish all in one tool, start creating for free@framer.com design and make sure you use Code Success story for a free month of framer pro. That's framer.com design and use promo code success story framer.com design promo code success Story Rules and restrictions may apply. Gusto is a success story partner. Now look, I talk to business owners every single day and you know what I hear? Constantly. Scott I love running my business, but I hate dealing with payroll. And I get it. Nobody starts a company because they're excited about calculating tax withholdings and benefits administration. That's exactly why I use Gusto myself. And the smartest business owners use it as well. Gusto is online payroll and benefit software built for small business. It's all in one remote, friendly and incredibly easy to use. So you can pay, hire onboard and support your team from anywhere. Now here's what sold me. Unlimited payroll runs for one monthly price. No surprises, no hidden fees when you need to run that extra payroll and when you hit a tough HR situation and trust Me, you will. You get direct access to actual certified HR experts. Not a chatbot. Real people who know what they're talking about. Plus, they're the number one payroll software according to G2 for fall 2025, and over 400,000 small businesses already trust them. Gusto today@gusto.com success story and get three months free when you run your first payroll. That's three months free payroll@gusto.com success Story.
- [54:18]
Gary Vaynerchuk
Your true essence with you. And I am here to take that shit out of your mind.
- [54:22]
Scott Clary
You need zero validation from anyone else. But I think that that ties into something that a lot of people struggle with. I think they're always looking for outside validation.
- [54:32]
Gary Vaynerchuk
Yeah. I think I got so much validation from my mom and from the merit of results in business and sports that it became my framework.
- [54:38]
Scott Clary
Right.
- [54:39]
Gary Vaynerchuk
I had this loving parent, and then I was addicted to merit. All I cared about was business and sports. School's not merit, Scott. Class participation is subjective in 35% of some grades. Sports is merit. Miami lost last night. We're filming this right after the national championship. I have no idea when Scott's doing that. So for context, Miami University lost to Indiana.
- [55:06]
Scott Clary
I know. I'm in Miami.
- [55:09]
Gary Vaynerchuk
They lost. I know right now they had an incredible year and actually made a great run. But they lost in Indiana. Won. Right. Vayner X does $400 million in revenue. We have one of the biggest agencies independent in the world. People can say, gary Vee, you know this about me maybe because you're like, really in tune. People sometimes in my comments are like, what does this guy even do? Because they think I'm a motivational speaker.
- [55:34]
Scott Clary
I know this. I know. I know. I know what you do because I'm in the marketing world. But a lot of the people that my peers who know you have no idea.
- [55:42]
Gary Vaynerchuk
Correct. That's not subjective. When people are like, what does this guy do? All you do is yap, yap, yap. Okay. But I also do this. Then even deeper. Some of the biggest things I've ever done. I don't even talk. I was the co founder, co created the idea with Ben Leventhal of Resy, the restaurant app. I co created that even people that do research on me don't know that I started a wine brand called Empathy Wines that I sold for tens and tens and tens of millions of dollars to consolation brands. That is a huge success of a creator creating a brand. The thing that LOGAN Paul or Mr. Beast or others get a lot of accolades for. Most people don't even know that part of my story. I do many things. My sports agency is red hot. My restaurant group is red hot. I'm building the next fucking Pokemon in people's faces and they can't even see it. I'm one of the most successful authors. I'm one of the most compensated public speakers in the world. And most of all, I'm a nice guy. And guess what? Most people don't know that. And I'm okay with it, brother. It keeps me up. I can rant on it right now. When you bring it up as a context point. I'm saying all this to explain to people. I don't need the cheering. I need to see if I'm good or not. I'm curious, guys. I want to see if I can build all these. If I'm. Am I the greatest business juggler of all time or not? That's what I'm trying to figure out.
- [57:06]
Scott Clary
Why? Why are you trying to figure that out? Why have you. Because that's one thing that I didn't figure out. Why don't you go all in?
- [57:12]
Gary Vaynerchuk
Because it's fun. It's more fun. I'd rather make less money and be happy. I like it. It's joyful. I'm creative. I'm a little bit more creative. I'm a little hippie dippy. I'm a little bit more like fucking a nomad. I'm like, you know, I'm like one of these funny, fucking. I'm like, you know, like one of these funny people. I'm funny, bro. If I didn't have business, I'd be like a really interesting, like, gypsy kind of weird ass dude, long beard, talking about spirituality, like, I don't know. Because I'm an entrepreneur and I'm creative. That's it. It's fun. It's more fun for me to juggle 11 businesses. Three break and fail. Eight do well, but they make half the money. If I went all, you know this, Scott. If I went all in on VaynerMedia, it'd probably be doing 2.3 billion right now. I'd have a lot more money. But I don't. I didn't. I didn't want money when I didn't have it. The fuck do I want money now when I have it?
- [58:12]
Scott Clary
What do you say no to?
- [58:15]
Gary Vaynerchuk
I need to say no to a lot more. One of my great weaknesses is I'm obsessed with maybe skewing to yes. But I say no to, you know, I say no to people wanting to do anything during two things Right now in my life for sure. Sundays when the New York jets play or when my son has a basketball game, that is no, no, no, no. I say no to my teams when they're presenting information that means nothing. I say no to one hour meetings when I know they're 15 minutes. I say no to my leaders who are trying to deploy manipulation or politics on their teammates. I say no to the universe of people that are listening right now when they want to blame anybody but themselves.
- [59:09]
Scott Clary
What scares you now?
- [59:11]
Gary Vaynerchuk
The death of my family.
- [59:13]
Scott Clary
Still.
- [59:14]
Gary Vaynerchuk
Still nothing else. Literally nothing else. Nothing else is. Everything else is controllable. Gary, you scared of like a civil war in America? I'm like, no, bitch, I'll go to New Zealand. I don't know, like, like. And by the way, I can afford to go to New Zealand in a good way, but I have the mentality of going to Peru with a dollar. So now what? How do I lose, Scott? They freeze my assets here. Like, let's say like some weird civil revolution in America and they freeze my assets. One, I got a million buried in the backyard. Two, let's say I can't get to it because I gotta go now. I'll start from the beginning in Peru with my family. We'll go, we'll have a garden, it'll be nice out. Let's go. Like, who gives a fuck?
- [60:06]
Scott Clary
I love this. I love this idea. This is something that has made me able to take risks. The idea of like, who gives a shit if it fails, if worst case scenario happens, if everybody's alive, healthy, well, you wake up tomorrow, nothing else matters.
- [60:21]
Gary Vaynerchuk
I live in a world where like you start up, like you start a podcast in a year and be like, did you guys hear? Gary lost all his money, made five bad decisions. I guess everybody was right. I was a fan. I had him on the show four years ago. Like, I guess the guy was over his skis. Like he wasn't as good as we all thought. Like, why would I live my life on that? Who gives a shit? I'm going to live my life on tattletailing and gossip. The fuck are we in fourth grade, friends? We're not in fourth grade. I'm not worried about the whispers. And let me tell you, Scott, to adversity. If I could go through my childhood in the 80s and early 90s in New Jersey where grown ups, my friends, parents and teachers looked me dead in the face as a 9 year old, an 11 year old, a 14 year old, a 16 year old, and said, you are going to be A loser in this earth. If I could deal with that. Well, of course I can deal with everything now as a grown up. This is why adversity is good. They said I was going to be a loser because I got bad grades. Everyone, they couldn't see the charisma, they couldn't see the salesmanship, they couldn't see the competitiveness, they couldn't see the tenacity. Because that was the rules of society back then. And I think today we don't see the kindness. I think we all don't judge people enough by how kind they are. But I think those will be next generation winners. In fact, that comic book. I don't know if you do video, Scott.
- [61:41]
Scott Clary
We got a good YouTube. Put it up there. Kind warrior.
- [61:44]
Gary Vaynerchuk
I want every kid on earth to fall in love with this. Kindness is the ultimate strength. I'm like literally making like I'm living my truth. I'm like, I'm gonna make a feature film out of this, Scott. I'm gonna have everybody lined up at the Chinese Theater in la. I'm gonna make Kind Warrior Superman if it's the last thing I do. Why? Because kindness needs to be put on a pedestal. Not money, not followers, not check marks, not status, not handbags, not Mercedes, not private planes. Kindness, motherfucker. Who the fuck are you now? What do you have?
- [62:16]
Scott Clary
I feel like the world has lost a lot of kindness since COVID Yeah,
- [62:23]
Gary Vaynerchuk
and bro, it was good news. It's been happening because we become more materialistic. I love capitalism, I'm an entrepreneur. But extreme capitalism and technology I love. As we talked earlier, but we don't have respect for our elders anymore. We've lost civility. Politicians have become complete shitheads. They're like fucking teenagers. And parenting has not held accountability. We need more moms smacking their 14 year old son when they're disrespectful. A lot of things have happened. It's not one thing.
- [62:57]
Scott Clary
You know what? I need your last opinion on this because this is real. I feel like social media is the most powerful tool for good, but also for bad. And I think that social media is to blame for a lot of lack of kindness.
- [63:10]
Gary Vaynerchuk
I don't think so. I think it's the great exposer. It's an empty. There is no social media, Scott. There is no social media.
- [63:20]
Scott Clary
It's just people.
- [63:21]
Gary Vaynerchuk
Do you blame podcasts for ruining the world?
- [63:24]
Scott Clary
Never.
- [63:25]
Gary Vaynerchuk
Okay, guess what? There's a lot of podcasts that spew unlimited hate, brother. There is no social, there is no podcast. There's humans. Using social there's Hughes humans using podcasts. This is a parenting pandemic of the last 40 years. This is a mature empire issue. This is an entitlement issue. This is a self esteem and insecurity issue. And this is a lack of loving yourself issue which then shows your worst because then you start hating others because you started with yourself. We need to get to some real old school values and we need people that are in good places like myself spewing love and hope but practical optimism. I'm not out here on some delusional this is the secret. Everything's Kumbaya. You have to fucking work.