Karol Markowicz Show: How Can We Find Fulfillment Beyond Financial Success with Buck Sexton

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show - Episode Featuring the Karol Markowitz Show with Buck Sexton

Introduction

In this engaging episode of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, Buck Sexton joins host Karol Markowitz on her show to delve into meaningful discussions about finding fulfillment beyond financial success. Released on April 18, 2025, this episode offers listeners valuable insights into personal growth, meaningful living, and the challenges of modern society.

1. Celebrating a Milestone: The Carol Markowitz Show

Karol Markowitz begins by celebrating the first anniversary of her show, expressing gratitude to her listeners and the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Podcast Network. She reflects on the show's focus on personal development, advice, and non-political conversations, highlighting its success with "a million downloads a quarter" (02:41).

2. Welcoming Buck Sexton: A Repeat Guest

Buck Sexton, renowned for his role on The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, returns as a guest, marking his second appearance. Karol shares that his previous interview is a favorite among listeners, particularly his advice on better living (05:47). Buck expresses his honor at being the first guest and his enthusiasm for reconnecting.

3. Insights on Marriage and Relationships

The conversation kicks off with Buck sharing his experiences and insights into marriage. He emphasizes the importance of meaningful greetings and maintaining a warm, welcoming home environment. Buck recounts the valuable advice from the Catholic marriage preparation program, Pre-Cana, which he and his wife found instrumental in their long-lasting marriage of over 40 years (07:28).

Buck Sexton [07:13]: "The advice that I would relay was how you greet people really does matter. It sets the tone for the rest of the interaction."

4. Starting Crockett Coffee: A New Venture

Buck introduces his latest venture, Crockett Coffee, a company he co-owns with his brother and Clay. He discusses the challenges of sourcing quality beans and creating the perfect blend, highlighting the dedication that differentiates their product from mainstream options. Buck expresses pride in their mission to support heroes and first responders through their profits, aiming to donate $10 million annually to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation (10:45).

Buck Sexton [12:00]: "10% of the profits from Crockett goes to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. We want Crockett to be a $100 million company and send a $10 million check every year."

5. Advice to a 16-Year-Old Self: Embracing the Long View

Buck offers profound advice to his 16-year-old self, advocating for a long-term perspective on life. He urges young listeners to focus on personal growth and daily happiness rather than short-term achievements and societal pressures.

Buck Sexton [13:10]: "Take the long view when you're 16. Lay the pressure off yourself and enjoy each day."

He cautions against placing undue importance on popularity, academic rankings, and early financial success, emphasizing that these aspects often hold little significance in the grand scheme of life.

6. Concerns About Mass Delusion and Information Overload

Buck expresses deep concern about mass delusion—the phenomenon where large groups become convinced of falsehoods, leading to societal and political challenges. He cites the COVID-19 pandemic as a prime example of misinformation's detrimental effects.

Buck Sexton [29:20]: "I worry about groups of people becoming deeply convinced of things that are not only untrue but also divorced from reality. It’s the biggest threat we face."

Buck also discusses the impact of digital media on information dissemination, highlighting how technology can create alternate realities that influence public perception and behavior.

7. The Importance of Physical Books in the Digital Age

Transitioning to the role of information consumption, Buck advocates for the continued relevance of physical books. He shares anecdotes about searching for rare books and emphasizes the tactile and immersive experience that physical reading provides, contrasting it with the fleeting nature of digital information.

Buck Sexton [34:12]: "Books should be a part of the home. There is something about a physical book that is an unbeatable technology for what it is."

8. Practical Tips for Improving Life

Buck reinforces his earlier advice by emphasizing the simplicity of actionable tips that can significantly enhance daily living:

• Read Before Bed: Switching from scrolling on phones to reading helps improve sleep quality and mental well-being.

  Buck Sexton [35:51]: "Reading before bed instead of getting on your phone made a difference for many people."

• Remove the TV from the Bedroom: Creating a restful space by eliminating distractions promotes better sleep and personal relationships.

  Buck Sexton [37:28]: "Get the TV out of your bedroom. Don’t have a TV in your bedroom. It sets a better tone for your personal space."

• Wear Comfortable Footwear: Choosing shoes that support your feet can enhance mood and physical health.

  Buck Sexton [38:39]: "Comfortable footwear is life-changing. It saps your energy and puts you in a bad mood when uncomfortable."

Karol and Buck engage in a lighthearted debate over footwear, highlighting the balance between comfort and style in daily life.

Conclusion: Embracing Fulfillment Beyond Finances

The episode concludes with mutual appreciation between Karol and Buck, celebrating their collaborative efforts to promote personal growth and meaningful living. Buck’s insights encourage listeners to prioritize long-term happiness, personal relationships, and authentic living over transient financial success.

Notable Quotes

• Buck Sexton [13:10]: "Take the long view when you're 16. Lay the pressure off yourself and enjoy each day."

• Buck Sexton [29:20]: "I worry about groups of people becoming deeply convinced of things that are not only untrue but also divorced from reality."

• Buck Sexton [37:28]: "Get the TV out of your bedroom. Don’t have a TV in your bedroom. It sets a better tone for your personal space."

• Buck Sexton [38:39]: "Comfortable footwear is life-changing. It saps your energy and puts you in a bad mood when uncomfortable."

Final Thoughts

This episode of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show featuring Buck Sexton on the Carol Markowitz Show provides listeners with thoughtful perspectives on achieving fulfillment beyond financial metrics. Through personal anecdotes, practical advice, and insightful discussions, Buck Sexton inspires audiences to seek deeper meaning and happiness in their everyday lives.

Transcript

[Buck Sexton]

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[Carol Markowitz]

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[Carol Markowitz]

Hi and welcome back to the Carol Markowitz show on iheartradio. It's been a full year of the Carol Markowitz Show. I'm so happy and honored for every single listener. I'm also so grateful for iHeartRadio and for the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Podcast Network for giving me this opportunity. I didn't know if this show would work. It's not news of the day. It's not about politics. I described this podcast as asking political people non political questions, but it's also a show about living better, learning from other people, taking good advice. And look, some episodes do veer straight into politics and there's just no stopping them. A lot of people are just used to offering their opinion on what's going on and are confused when someone asks questions about them personally. I get that. So we do our best to keep things not quite politics focused, more personal here and just hope for the best. This show has been doing a million downloads a quarter and that is just wild to me. I've had people who have been listening to me since the first episode and always offer feedback. I really love that. I love hearing from listeners in general. I got a bunch of mail recently about the dating episodes. I love getting the questions and I also love getting the advice that people want to share. If you've got thoughts, drop me an email carolmarkowitzowmail.com K-A-R O L M A R K O W I C as in Charlie Z as in zebra S h o w mail.com for season two of the show, I've switched up some of the questions based on your suggestions. I actually switched up one question, dropped one question and kept one question. I'm no longer asking about our largest cultural problem, but more widely what the guest worries about. It could be personal or it could be cultural. I've dropped the question about whether the guest feels like they've made it. I've added a listener suggested question about advice the guest would give their 16 year old self and I've kept the last question asking the guests to offer a tip to improve the lives of our listeners. Lots of people said they found that one useful and I love being useful. I'm really looking forward to season two of the Carol Markowitz show with all of you. Thank you so much for listening. Coming up next, an interview with Buck Sexton, my very first repeat guest. He was also my very first ever guest on season one of this show. We'll hear from Buck Sexton after the break. Hi, and welcome back to the Carol Markowitz show on iheartradio. My guest today is Buck Sexton of the Clay and Buck show, and I'm so happy to have you on Buck.

[Buck Sexton]

Thank you, Carol. This is exciting. I'm very honored that I was the first guest, and now at the end of year one, I am back here. So at least I got. I was able to stay in the roster.

[Carol Markowitz]

That's right. I mean, big deal here. Yeah. You're kicking off season two of the Carol Markowitz show on the Clay. Travis and Buck Sexton podcast network. So I've loved last year. I've gotten to talk to so many interesting and cool people. I have to tell you that your interview was the one that gets mentioned to me the most, and we'll get to that later. It's the last question that I ask about better living, that so many people are like, you know, that interview with Buck Sexton, really? I started doing what he suggested, and again, I'll talk about it in a bit. But, yeah, people really enjoyed that. So love having you on. Also, when you were on a year ago, you were a newlywed. You've now, you know, been married for a long, long, long time. Any marriage insights for us?

[Buck Sexton]

I'm starting off. Wow. We're going right into it.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right into it. Yeah. You know, people love to hear about this kind of stuff.

[Buck Sexton]

Um, you know, honestly, the nothing about it has been a surprise to me. Uh, and I think part of it is everybody has the model for what they think marriage will be like that is just ingrained in their subconscious from their own parents.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right.

[Buck Sexton]

And, you know, maybe there's things to learn, not just things to emulate, but. Yeah. And I have parents who have been married now. Oh, my God, 40.

[Carol Markowitz]

Oh.

[Buck Sexton]

I'm trying to do the math in my head. 46 years, I think.

[Carol Markowitz]

And they are the cutest couple ever.

[Buck Sexton]

Thank you. But my parents were married a long time, so, you know, I had a sense of it from that. I would say that advice that I would relay that was pure marriage advice that I got early on in the whole process, was how you greet people really does matter. And. And it is memorable and sets the. Sets sort of the tone for the rest of the conversation or the rest of the interaction. But so, you know, when your spouse comes home or you come home to your spouse, it's a kiss, a hug, a hug and a kiss. I love you. I'm excited to see you. You know, what are we doing now, it's not sitting on the couch, like, not coming in on the phone, like, ah, you know, doing this, you know, whatever. Like, you come in, the greeting matters. And I, I find that, that. And we, and we both have a. You know, we, we agreed on that kind of early on, like when we talked about this and when we're getting married, we're like, wow, that's really good advice. We were given pre Cana, which is what Catholics do. I don't know if you know.

[Carol Markowitz]

No, I didn't know. Yeah, yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

It's sort of a Catholic marriage.

[Carol Markowitz]

No, I know about the. Yeah, right.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, yeah. But it's a Catholic marriage preparation component, you know, that you're supposed to do before you get married at church, as we did. And it was the. I. Some of the best advice that we got on it. So that's. That's very. That was really good. I mean, that really has put us in good stead. And I just, I don't know. I can't just overstate the benefits of it. And by the way, it's true for friends, too. You know, it's true for other people in your life when you see people. I mean, you don't have to like, hug and kiss everybody. That wouldn't be appropriate. But, yeah, great.

[Carol Markowitz]

I feel like you are. Yeah. Now that I'm thinking about it, you're always like, hey. And, you know, very, very war. And. Yeah, I always feel very welcomed by Buck Sexton.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, my family are huge. Like, my mom and dad argue over who's the bigger Carol Markowitz fan work. And so, you know, we are very excited. And our group of friends, Carol. It's like the celebrity has arrived and everybody. So it's very exciting.

[Carol Markowitz]

Such a lie. I think that that's really sweet, though. I'm a huge fan of all the Sextons. And actually, I wanted to talk to you about. You and your brother and Clay have started a coffee company. And I'm actually your coffee company's biggest fan. I really am. Go ahead.

[Buck Sexton]

Speaking right now. My. My manager, Craig, knew that I was going to be out in la, where I am right now, which I kind of have a weird backdrop. And he knew that I. I forgot to bring my own. I didn't bring my coffee bag, but he lives here, so he has it at his house. So he brought nice.com in for me. You drink it?

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, I love it. Well, so I think I've told you this, but I was a instant coffee drinker. It was just, it was like, no Coffee was good enough to, like, not just mix it in a cup and go on about my day. And I have become. And, you know, this is not sponsored in any way. I just. I love Crockett coffee. I think it's so good. And just. It's worth it to me to brew up a pot of it and get my day started with it. And I've just never felt like that about a coffee before. I've been like, it's fine, it's fine. But how much better is it than instant, really?

[Buck Sexton]

Mason searched for many months to find the right people to work with on the roasting and the. And the packaging side and sourcing the right beans and using the right blend. So he'll be very happy to hear this because I think people just think like, oh, you just find someone great. Is it hoarding coffee beans? Because obviously we don't, you know, have a. We don't have domestic coffee production in the US and that. No, it's actually really hard to find someone who's good, who wants to work with you. It's. That was the first part of the process. So I'm so glad we got a cracker coffee drinker. That makes sense.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, totally.

[Buck Sexton]

Can I tell you, it's been fascinating after a decade of being in the radio business as a talent who has to speak about products, now to be a product owner, I mean, co owner. And with Mason and trying to go at it from the other side of the table, it's like, right, you see a lot of, you know, you see. You obviously see things differently. You see the challenges of how you. You want to work with people, but you have to make sure that it's a business and not. You're not for sure, hobby.

[Carol Markowitz]

But part of it is having an alternative product to kind of the mainstream products that we assume are spending all of our cash on leftist causes. Right. That's definitely a component of this.

[Buck Sexton]

It's funny. I'm actually giving. I'm doing Bill Maher show tonight, and I'm giving. I mean, in my honorary. You know, it's not. I don't know if I'm allowed to share how much it is. It's not. I'm not a lot of money. It's a nice little check. I'm giving the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. I mean, I just. I think that they do such amazing work. And it's interesting to me because it's like a lot of people on the right like that charity. But to me, it is a totally American charity. It is not. It is not partisan in any way, but it helps heroes, first responders, military, their families, and 10% of the profits from Crockett goes to that. So we want Crockett to be $100 million company and be able to send a $10 million check. You know, we're amazing years from this. Yeah, we want to be able to send a $10 million check to tunnel the towers every year. I mean that's, that's like our vision, that's our goal.

[Carol Markowitz]

So one of the new questions that I have for season two of the Carol Markowitz show is and you know, I had listeners suggest the questions and then I picked my favorites. One question we'll stay from last season, but two new ones. The new question is, what advice would you give a 16 year old buck sexton to yourself at 16?

[Buck Sexton]

I think that the, the best advice that I could give to a 16 year old version. Well, so, so there's the advice that I would give myself.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, yourself, yourself.

[Buck Sexton]

And then there's the advice that I would give sort of 16 year olds more broadly because I'm a. I was, I was a little bit unusual for a 16 year old in some respects that may not be a shock to people familiar with me or my work or whatever, but. And maybe it's actually more, more one and the same. I think it'd be good for me to hear it, which is you just want to take a long view when you're 16. Along you. Right when, when you're 50. A long view is like, I don't know, like 20 years. 20 years, you know, you know, when you're my age, when you're in your 40s, it's like, you know, I'm middle aged. When you're 16, you want to take what you think of as the long view on just everything. Just everything that you possibly just the. I think the biggest trap.

[Carol Markowitz]

So tough to do. It's so hard at 16.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, but no one told me this. The biggest traps are you, are you popular at 16? Nobody cares. Are you considered smart at 16? Nobody cares. Are you considered, you know, good looking or attractive at 16? Like no one really cares. Until you get into your 20s and 30s, nothing is going to be meaningful to your life really. I'm talking about personal growth, style, achievement. Right. No one at 16 is doing the things that they will look back on their life and be like, oh yeah, like that was really amazing or that was really important. So I think you can. I think that I would tell myself and I would tell any 16 year old, let you Know, lay the pressure off yourself. Take the long. Taking the long view. I know it seems like it and it does require discipline and it takes, you know, some, some sort of foresight. But it also means you're not even going to remember this stuff right when it matters. Like you're not really who you are yet. And so just enjoy each day. Try to find what you like, try to get better. You know, calculus is bs. It doesn't matter. You know, like this is. But this.

[Carol Markowitz]

Teenagers listening. Do not listen to him. It's very important.

[Buck Sexton]

Listen to me. This is the point. If you're good at calculus and you want to be pushing in these directions, great, then that's an area for you. But you will not use some of these things in your life. So don't stress out. I'm not saying don't do your homework.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, it doesn't matter in any meaning. Kids put so much stress. I'll give you another one. Go to college. Where you want to go to college. I went to Amherst, which in some of the like college there's university rankings which is always like Harvard.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

And then there's college rankings. Amherst is routinely for the colleges a top five school. Some, you know, it's Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore. Those tend to be the ones that are kind of always trading off whatever. I wish I had gone somewhere else, honestly.

[Carol Markowitz]

Where do you wish you went?

[Buck Sexton]

Oh man, I probably would have. I mean I almost went to like Georgetown was the one that I was so close to. But here's the thing. I went where I thought it was more academically rigorous without even really knowing what that meant. Instead of what do I think I'm going to enjoy my time more and have. And it fits in with my conception of how I want to spend my day to day as an 18, 19, 20 year old. So look, I had a good time in Amherst. I'm not like, I'm not anti sure. But I just mean, you know, try to take the longer view. Understand that a lot of things that stress you out at 16 are truly meaningless.

[Carol Markowitz]

Were you hard on yourself when you were 16?

[Buck Sexton]

Oh, absolutely.

[Carol Markowitz]

This is coming across here. Okay. Yeah, I just, I'm not sure kids are hard on themselves anymore. I don't know that that's still. Maybe I don't have a. My oldest is 14. We know, we'll see what happens. But they seem like they, you know, self esteem is really stressed in schools. So they seem like they're doing okay.

[Buck Sexton]

That, I mean, so again, I was in school. What I mean, I Was we're going back over 30 years now that when I was 16, which makes me feel really old. Even though a lot of people watching this on video at least will be like, he looks like he's 25.

[Carol Markowitz]

You really do.

[Buck Sexton]

Which is, which is. I don't know what to say. I mean, it's, you know, I'm 40, going to be 43. But, but no, I mean, look, that's the thing. That's what I mean, though. Like, there's what I would give advice to myself versus what I would sort of how I would advise other people who are 16, but on the college front, for example, and I tell, you know, we have some great neighbors, Carrie and I do, where we live in, in Miami and become very friendly with them. And they've got kids who are, you know, 14, 16, around that age group. And the parents ask me because, I don't know, some people think I'm kind of wise. I know.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, you are.

[Buck Sexton]

Thank you. And they'll ask me things and, and I'll just say the. When I was in school, the ranking of your college was like, it's either you're going to go work at Goldman and make millions and have an awesome life and be, you know, just hugging your beautiful wife on the beach in Southampton and everything. Or not. Right. Based on where you go. What I've learned as I've become an adult who actually has seen life is, I mean, I know schmucks who went to Harvard, I know superstars who went to community college. Like, it's just not this. There's some rough sorting of academic ability that goes on, but it doesn't really. You're seeing this, by the way, with the huge surge in interest in SEC schools.

[Carol Markowitz]

Oh, yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

Don't tell Clay this, but like 20 years ago, if you were a good student in New York City, or I'm sure LA and some of the, you know, Boston, you were not going to an sec.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right.

[Buck Sexton]

If you went to an SEC school from New York, again, something went wrong. Yeah, you, you, you were, you were like a, you were like a screw up who wanted to drink a lot, party and go to. That was totally shifting. And now people are, you know, University of Florida is, is like an elite school.

[Carol Markowitz]

Oh, yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

It's hard to get sure. I don't even know.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, we hope our kids go to University of Florida.

[Buck Sexton]

Right. No, but you look at these schools in the Southeast, and I think that's just a function of people realizing, where do I want to be and get a good education? Not Just like, where do I fall on this list? I mean, one of the funniest things I could tell anybody who's like, what am I going to do with my life? And you know, how am I, you know, where am I going to go with this? Is of the people that I knew who were doing backflips because they got recruited to go work on Wall street when they were 22.

[Carol Markowitz]

Misery.

[Buck Sexton]

They hated it. And almost none of them lasted. Almost none of them lasted. Like, I mean, right?

[Carol Markowitz]

I mean, same thing for lawyers. I, you know, I know very few people who got into like the best law firms that they were so excited to go to and liked it and stayed. It just, it almost never happens.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah. I mean, you know, it's funny because I think back to this and it's so much about where people can make money at a young. Like, everyone wants to have money at a young age, but you have to also remember, like, money as a young single person is very, you know, you have very different needs and very different stresses. You know, I, I enjoyed myself in my 20s and I was making at the time what would be, what was basically like, I think the average American household income, which was like $40,000 a year. And you know, in New York City, that wasn't, you know, I was working for the government, right. That wasn't a lot of money at all. I had peers who were like, I just got a fifty thousand dollar bonus. I'm like, I just. My all my all. And so I had friends in my early twenties who were making. And a lot of them, by the way, not just like two who are making three, four times as much money as me right off the bat. And again, to my point about long term versus short term, nobody cares, right? Nobody cares. You're not, you're not.

[Carol Markowitz]

Like, how much were you making out of college?

[Buck Sexton]

Right, exactly. How much? College doesn't matter. You're not rich because you made 160 grand one year. Like, and this is your life. The other thing I've realized is this is excellent.

[Carol Markowitz]

This is really, I love all of this. Like.

[Buck Sexton]

Oh, really?

[Carol Markowitz]

Okay, keep going. Yeah, yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, as you can see, the other thing I realized is your goal and achievement obsession is a trap. A goal or an achievement that you want, whether it's to be rich or to be, you know, to have a great physique or to be super successful in your field. That is a guide for how you set up your day to day life. Your day to day life is everything, right? Meaning you want to be in a position where you are growing, where you are enjoying yourself, where you are challenged, but you are comfortable enough that you can have moments of happiness. And you want to set up that matrix of your day to day. And so this is kind of the anti. I want to go work it. I was going to say Lehman Brothers, but that was my day, right? People like, I want to go work at Lehman Brothers, but not so much. Yeah, not so much anymore. But, you know, okay, do you want to spend a few years of your 20s. For some people, the answer is yes. Do you want to spend a few years of your twenties legitimately working eighty hours a week gaining, by the way, for the women who did it that I knew, they all, of course, because you're at a desk and you're eating, like, crap Chinese takeout food, right? Like, you know, gaining weight, not getting sunlight, whatever, so you can, you know, make six figures when you're in your 20s. That's. Yeah, this stuff does not matter.

[Carol Markowitz]

We'll be right back with more from Buck Sexton. And it could all fall apart so fast. I mean, your Lehman example is a very good one. And we just watched Anchorman. Not Anchorman. We watched Talladega Nights with the kids recently. And the guy in the movie is like, I want to get in on this Halliburton stock. You know, it just. It could all end tomorrow. It doesn't. It doesn't last forever anyway. And, yeah, if you're. If you're living that way at 22, you're probably doing it wrong.

[Buck Sexton]

It's funny. You know, Carol, there was this, I really want to say, a year ago, there was this peak of these podcasts, and they were all, it's extra points if you have a British accent, right? That means you're smarter on a podcast. Like, I have a question to ask you. But they would have, you know, they would talk to all these different, you know, Alpha CEO guys when they would ask them. And this is true. I've heard that. I mean, I could think of, like, 10 different podcasts where there's been a version of this same moment. You know, they asked some guy who's made, you know, $500 million, 2 billion, whatever it is, right? Like astronomical riches, and run some huge company or built some huge company. They say, like, what. What do you think about? And what are you most proud of? And you know, you know what they all say?

[Carol Markowitz]

Family.

[Buck Sexton]

My family.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

And if they have a regret, you know what their regret is?

[Carol Markowitz]

Not enough time with my family.

[Buck Sexton]

To a man.

[Carol Markowitz]

And so it's so obvious.

[Buck Sexton]

It's so obvious. And this is great for people to hear though, because this is what I mean about your day to day. It's like, you know, I mean, I turned around the other day and I, and I told Carrie, who's my wife, or anyone in the audience who doesn't know, who's just wonderful. Thank you. She is really great. She's really great. And, and I, I turned over talking to something. I don't even know how it came up, but we found like some friend of mine or some guy I know, like just had, you know, just actually it's like a friend of a friend. And we were like, whoa, like that guy's, you know, I got, I didn't know he sold this company for like $300 million. And, and you know, he's got all these fancy cars and all these houses and everything. And I turn around, I was like, honestly, if, if, I swear to you, if we had a billion dollars tomorrow, I wouldn't get a different car.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right.

[Buck Sexton]

Happy with the car we live in.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, I wouldn't.

[Buck Sexton]

I would. Like there's like what, there is a level where.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah. Diminishing returns. Yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

You have what you need. And I mean, to me, it's just kind of funny when I hear people that have. And because again, this is about like the goal and the short term. Long term.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

You have this idea that, oh, if I get to. And this is what I mean by the goal, can become the enemy of what matters, which is your day to day life. I'm going to mortgage my 20s, 30s, and maybe even my 40s so that I can be a tech. A tech billionaire. Right. Like, let's say that's your mindset. And I don't know, but I've come across a lot of younger people who. That's clearly. And even more than that, by the way, it's. I want to be a YouTube star, right?

[Carol Markowitz]

Oh, yeah, that's the. Definitely the hot thing right now.

[Buck Sexton]

I want to make 20, 30. Well, okay. You know, you're going to spend a lot of time making content. You like making content. You're going to have people that don't like what you're doing. It's going to be frustrating. It's going to take years. You know, you're, you're also taking a risk of not, of not doing other things, learning other things. You have to take a, I think a broad spectrum view of what you're doing. But if that makes you miserable, even if you wake up at 40 or 45 and now you do have whatever it is. Like you do have the billion dollars of stock in the. Yeah. Lamborghini, you know, or you have the 10 million followers on YouTube or something. Were you happy to get there?

[Carol Markowitz]

Right.

[Buck Sexton]

Was it happiness?

[Carol Markowitz]

This is all so deep too. Like. Yeah, this is, you know, I, I think that you might not be. And I think people think that they automatically will be.

[Buck Sexton]

Yes, this. But this is what I mean by people create. I'll be happy when, you know, people call. I think people call like if Then thinking or when. If thinking or whatever. But it's, you know, if I get this, everything will be worth it.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

If I achieve the following thing, all the sacrifices. Look, to get places, you have to make sacrifices. Like, one of the things I tell people media now is if I knew how hard it would be to get to a place where I am happy and comfortable with my media career, when I started it, I probably would have gone and taken a job like McKinsey or something. You know what I mean? Like, I, I actually got on this, like, escalator. It was kind of like once you're on it, you're in it. You just kept going. But if I knew what it was actually going to require, you know, I mean, I've managed to make a career in conservative media. I've never been paid a dollar by Fox News in my life for.

[Carol Markowitz]

Pretty unusual.

[Buck Sexton]

That's fine. But. But, you know, but I just bring up, like, if you told me that when I started this journey, you're like, forget it.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right.

[Buck Sexton]

Would have been like, I'm never going to make a dollar from Fox ever.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

Like, they're never going to literally pay me as I'm not a contributor or. Oh, anything. I can't make a living doing this. Well, it turns out I can. But, you know, this is what I mean by. I liked even when stuff was crappy and I was doing a lot for free, this game that you and I are in, this which I actually think.

[Carol Markowitz]

Is kind of a thing of ours.

[Buck Sexton]

This thing that we do. I like it.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, you have.

[Buck Sexton]

Even in the days when I was getting abused at CNN on air, not because, you know, they're so good at arguing, but because, you know, it's just like, like chickens, you know, squawking at you all at once. It's a mess. I was like, yeah, but I like, this is the fight I want to be in. You know what I mean? Yeah, I think that's really. And it wasn't. If I take this abuse one day I'll have my own show. At CNN or something. It was just like, I like this right now and I think I'm good at it. And so I'm going to keep doing it.

[Carol Markowitz]

Totally.

[Buck Sexton]

I think that for younger people thinking about what they want to do, do that. It's not just about people say, pursue your passion. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Like, there are lots of things. There was a time when I was passionate about video games, but like how I make a living playing video games maybe.

[Carol Markowitz]

Although now you never know really. Somebody would watch you play video games. That's like a money making thing now. So.

[Buck Sexton]

But yeah, so that's my, my thing is, is if, if you really want to, want to be where you want to be in life. And I see this across all my friends, all my colleagues. What is your day to day? You know?

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

Do you enjoy it? Do you find it productive? Do you find it meaningful?

[Carol Markowitz]

So the second question of my.

[Buck Sexton]

That was only one question.

[Carol Markowitz]

No, no, that was one question. Okay. We got like, we got to get to like. That's right. My second, my second new question is what do you worry about? Which I think goes well with this because, you know, I think that you have to worry about something. And so what is it?

[Buck Sexton]

You mean as an individual or as.

[Carol Markowitz]

An individual, what do you, what does Buck Sexton worry about? And it could be anything. My question last season was what do you think is our largest cultural problem? So it could be cultural or it could be, you know, I don't know. I, I definitely worry about my kids or different, different things on different days.

[Buck Sexton]

But I, I worry about what I call mass delusion. So I worry about groups of people becoming deeply convinced of things and mobilized behind things that are not only untrue, but often anti. True or sort of divorced from reality. I think that is the biggest threat that human beings face. I think that is the biggest challenge that we have. And I mean, I could go through. I mean, I think all totalitarianisms, for example, are founded on delusional principles of universal control and absolute power, which is just. It's not. This is contrary to human nature. It's contrary to existence. Right. So all of the worst things involve large groups becoming certain that something is true when it is untrue. Covid, obviously is a huge example of that.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right. I was going to say, I think we just had a real good example of that not too long ago.

[Buck Sexton]

And, and I think that this is, this is what, what really concerns me because also the ability to shape perception now at scale, meaning, you know, hundreds of millions of People you couldn't even, you know. Yeah, there's like the printing press and then there's radio and then there's these ways that mass media have developed over the last hundred years. But what we're in now is we alternate an alternate reality of what is Public consensus can be constructed very rapidly and by the time people even realize what's going on, I think enormous damage can be done. I mean, I do think Covid was.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah. Scary.

[Buck Sexton]

A perfect example of that. But I think there are other examples of it too. I mean, I think that the, the narrative that Donald Trump is, is Hitler while we're doing it because it's so stupid. This is really, this is really bad. This is, it's bad because there are people who believe this stuff and they, that then they're kind of numb to all the other arguments, facts, data and, and discussion that I think can, you know, lead to.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right. We end up arguing, you know, let's get rid of the first Amendment. Because what if you say something positive about Donald Trump on social media, you know, they end up having to go down this rabbit hole where it has to support their delusion and that affects all of us. So.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah. And I think we are also all kind of becoming. I mean, I used to love, I mean I, you know, I, I did growing up, I read a lot, but I watched a lot of, particularly like HBO and like I love watching all. I watched all these action movies that were like made with small budgets and were not good. You know, like I was a Dolph Lundgren fan and I don't mean Rocky iv. I mean the stuff that like nobody saw is that the rushing showed up. Sweet. Sweet.

[Carol Markowitz]

No, I mean he plays the Russian.

[Buck Sexton]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Carol Markowitz]

Okay. That's all. I mean, I don't know.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, that is a thing that we used to watch in these bad movies where it's like a human but has like a chip in the brain and maybe some like metallic thing. And Terminator is obviously the biggest example of this. But like cyborg was a big thing in the 80s and 90s. We're all becoming these kind of human machine hybrids where our infer, like we have access to endless information but we're also constantly being influenced by what's really almost a second brain. Like you've never, you know, before if you wanted to find out a fact, if you want.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right. Go to your encyclopedia, go to your.

[Buck Sexton]

Encyclopedia Britannica and like, oh, like is that really though? Like is the three toed sloth really? But you know it's amazing on the one hand, but on the other hand that you, you have all this information access but you also are so reliant on these machines now that they are process. They are creating our version of reality.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah. In ways when somebody's like Googled something and then they're like, read a book. You know, you just know they just Learned this information 5 seconds ago. Like when you see Twitter, like everybody become, you know, experts on whatever the latest thing is. Like, oh, it's it. I've always known about this. This was like this. And the fact that you believe that is evidence that you're stupid. We see that all the time. And that is like their, their part. They think that that's part of them. Their Google process is the information that they have.

[Buck Sexton]

It's also amazing. I went to a bookstore here in LA looking for a, a hard to find book on Ivan or Yvonne Pavlov for writing. But anyway, they said they had it. They actually didn't because they, it was so rare. Like they hadn't even updated that. The one copy they had a long time ago was gone. So I'm like, of course. Right. Like, you know, I'm like, oh, I found it. But I went in there, it was, it was interesting. I'm a big fan of tactile books. Like physical hard copy.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

I think everyone should have them in their home. I think children should grow up reading still books. Not Kindles, not I read, that's fine. But you should have. Books should be a part of it. There is something about a physical. It is an unbeatable technology for what it is. In some ways, having having books occupy physical space, having, you know, the, the COVID design and having it in your hands and that experience of I am reading and it's not just screen screens is all fast screens is something else. I think it's really important. But it was funny being in this bookstore because I mean, I am in la, to be fair. I look around, I'm like, I'm looking at all these books, I'm like, has a white guy ever written a book?

[Carol Markowitz]

No.

[Buck Sexton]

Has there been a white male who has written a book? Because walking around this store, I don't think so.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right.

[Buck Sexton]

Not that interesting to me.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah. And the Pavlov book obviously was written by a white guy, but they don't have it anymore.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, there was that.

[Carol Markowitz]

So the last time you were on. I end all my shows with the question of leave my listeners with a tip for them to improve their lives. And your tip, it wasn't that groundbreaking tip, sorry to say that, but it was read before bed. I think that, I mean, I always read before bed. I kind of fell off of that a little bit when I got married. But I'm trying to get back to not scrolling before bed. But a lot of people wrote to me and said that it really did change things for them. Just the decision to read before bed instead of getting on your phone made a difference. So do you have a new tip for us? You want to end us with a new tip or do you want to reinforce the last one?

[Buck Sexton]

Well, I mean, I have to double down on the read before bed is a fabulous. And that actually, I do. That's where actually the Kindle for me. Because if you want to have the low light setting and everything, that's, you know, so there's a place. I love my Kindle. I'm not like anti it, but I just also believe in physical books and I believe that people should have a bookshelf in the home and that there should be books that they have both want to read and have read that are on that shelf and the children should be familiar with it. I did grow up surrounded by books and bookshelves in New York. So I think that was interesting or, you know, worthwhile for me. So I'll tell you this one, actually, man, I'm trying to pick. I have a few. I didn't go, by the way. I can't believe.

[Carol Markowitz]

Oh, I know. We were like, this is like 15 minutes over. But that's okay. That's okay.

[Buck Sexton]

No one really ever asked me my opinion on anything. So this is such a new thing. It's always just like, tell us what's going on in the news.

[Carol Markowitz]

I have to say that I get a lot of that here because I get people on and they're like ready to talk about Donald Trump or something. And then I'm like, so, you know, what kind of advice do you have for people? And they're like, wait me what? You know.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, it's funny because I would, I would actually love to like both share and exchange insights with people out there more broadly. But what I find is I actually get people who are, who are almost like taken aback by like, excuse me, like we. How is Trump going to be Palmel in this election? Like, stay focused, but like, I'm not allowed with some people.

[Carol Markowitz]

You come back anytime and you share all the thoughts that you have.

[Buck Sexton]

All right, so can I kind of, kind of cheat and give you a variant of the one I gave you last year and then A totally new one. So I'm kind of.

[Carol Markowitz]

It's your podcast network. You do whatever you want.

[Buck Sexton]

That's very kind of you. All right, so the one thing I would tack on, because this gets me heat and I'm not even going to explain. Get the TV out of your bedroom. Get the TV out of your bedroom. I'm not anti tv. I love great shows. That's fine. Get out of your bedroom, people. Good old. Like you're a newlywed. That's what I'm like. Well, you know what I mean.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, I know what you mean.

[Buck Sexton]

You know what I mean. Like, you know, but like what you mean. Get the TV out of your bedroom.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right?

[Buck Sexton]

Full stop. Don't argue with me. Just do it. Move it to another room. Don't have a TV in your bedroom. But the advice piece that I will give because I'm tacking that on to part one of the read before you go to bed. And you're going to disagree with me on this one, Carol.

[Carol Markowitz]

Oh, really?

[Buck Sexton]

Oh, I love that you're gonna, you're. I might, I might trigger Carol Markowitz on her own.

[Carol Markowitz]

Let's do it.

[Buck Sexton]

Comfortable footwear, it is, I mean, life changing. I. I do not understand men and women wearing shoes that hurt their feet. It saps your energy, it puts you in a bad mood. It, over the long term, it causes all kinds of foot distortions.

[Carol Markowitz]

Have you discussed this with Jesse Kelly? He's super into.

[Buck Sexton]

I love Jesse heels. This is where he is so wrong. He is. He is like, yeah, like a whole other stratosphere of wrong.

[Carol Markowitz]

He got into my car and I had flats, like in the passengers, you know, on the floor of the passenger seat. And he was like, flats. And I was like, no, no, Jesse, only for driving, because I love heels. I love hot shoes. I hear you. I really do. I wear sneakers sometimes. Running around, you know, during the day with my kids and stuff. But for nights out, I love hot shoes and you cannot stop me.

[Buck Sexton]

So, see, I mean, I can't convince Carol. But to the rest of you listening, there are. There are happy mediums. You want to have comfortable feet. The, I mean, one. One of my experiences in New York that I lived through so many times before I got married was I'd be on a date. And if it was going well, you know, you're at dinner. Usually the sort of the standard in New York is your dinner and then you get drinks afterwards because you could walk across the street or, you know, it's New York, you can write there. I mean, I know you know, this, but for people listen. And then it'd be like, like, can we take a taxi? And I'd be like, you, we're gonna go three blocks. Like, we're gonna take a teens. Three blocks.

[Carol Markowitz]

Okay, fair. You know, but I also, I have, like, shoes that I go out in that I know are gonna be sitting shoes. I. I'm not walking into three blocks. I'm not walking anywhere. I'm walking from the car to dinner where I'll be sitting and then I'll get back in the car when I know I have to walk a little bit. I have comfortable heels that I can walk in. And I have. And you know, I. Yes, I reject your whole premise here, Bun Sexton.

[Buck Sexton]

I knew you would. I knew she would. She has an amazing shoe collection. And I get it. And I'm, you know, and I know, especially with some of the women, but I mean, I see women walking around on these, like, these stilts that they have, and I sit and I'm like, I mean, look, I know it looks nice. There's an elegance to it. But okay, fine, if you're at like a, you know, if you're like a black tie gala or a wedding or something, I get it. But for me, fancy shoes is the way I feel about neckties. Only if I absolutely have to. Right.

[Carol Markowitz]

Only neckties, silly. But no shoes are. You know, we're going to bring, we're going to bring Jesse Kelly on to debate this with you and tell, you.

[Buck Sexton]

Tell that let lanky son of a gun, anytime he wants to have the shoe throw down, I'm here.

[Carol Markowitz]

He is Buck Sexton. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton show. Check them out every day. They're so amazing. You're awesome, Buck. Thank you so much for having, for coming on, for having this show on your network. I really appreciate you.

[Buck Sexton]

Congrats on the podcast, by the way. It is doing great.

[Carol Markowitz]

And I know you see my internal numbers.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, congratulations. A lot of people listen. Very good stuff.

[Carol Markowitz]

Thank you, Buck. Thank you. Thanks so much for joining us on the Carol Markowitz Show. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

[Buck Sexton]

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[Carol Markowitz]

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Carol Markowitz]

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[Carol Markowitz]

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