How to Start.

Summary

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Podcast Summary: "How to Start"

Podcast: The GaryVee Audio Experience
Host: Gary Vaynerchuk
Date: July 12, 2026

Episode Overview

In "How to Start," Gary Vaynerchuk delivers a rapid-fire, no-excuses manifesto for anyone looking to start creating and sharing content. Broadcasting from high above the Atlantic, Gary hammers on foundational principles: document instead of overthink, pick your lane, use the platforms natively, and above all, just start—messily if need be. The episode is part pep talk, part tactical playbook, urging creators and business owners to overcome inertia and execute relentlessly, regardless of topic or format.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Overcoming the Fear of Starting

• Gary empathizes with listeners' struggles to begin but calls them out on self-sabotage:
  • “You're stuck. You haven't started. Cause you're stuck. I think the fear of losing trumps the excitement of victory for so many people.” — Gary Vaynerchuk [01:32]
• He suggests clarity comes from doing, not endless planning or overanalyzing.

2. The WHW Framework: What, How, Where

• What: Choose what you want to talk about—your mission, your passions, your unique angle.
  • “Look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself, what do I want to do every day for the rest of my life? Do that and see.” — Gary Vaynerchuk [01:41]
• How: Decide the format (written, audio, video), play to your strengths:
  • “There are so many people in here that shouldn’t be producing video because that is not the best way they communicate.” [05:34]
• Where: Distribute your message on the platforms best suited to your audience and content style.

3. Platforms as Channels — Not Just Distribution

• Gary stresses not to just repost, but to storyteller natively for each platform (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube as the modern TV networks).
  • “Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram are ABC, NBC, and CBS. … How do I hustle and stop being a pussy and attack the world?” [08:59]

4. Content Creation: Document, Don’t Over-Create

• He encourages listeners to simply “document” rather than meticulously “create.”
  • “The key to content success is you've got to start documenting instead of creating. … The way all of you need to do this and how you actually start is by doing.” [00:07], [00:36]

5. Manifesto as a Starting Point

• Start with a “manifesto”—a piece of content that states your beliefs and intentions publicly.
  • “If somebody made a video eight years ago that I think fashion should be high, low ... they would have been like the queen or king of the vision.” [02:12]

6. Self-Awareness Above All

• When asked about hustle versus self-awareness, Gary’s stance is clear:
  • “Self-awareness. And it's not even close. When you know who you… Hustle’s sexier… but self-awareness is #1.” [03:43]
• He reiterates that understanding your strengths dictates your best content channel.

7. Patience and Macro Thinking

• Gary returns to one of his core beliefs: Patience and loving the process are essential.
  • “It’s macro patience. Macro patience. Deploy patience. You've got to deploy patience. You've got to love the process.” [05:28]
• Reminds listeners that results and growth take time.

8. Practicals: Pillar Content and Distribution

• Use “pillar” content (long-form) to create micro-content clips for multiple platforms.
• Distribution is just as critical as creation. Two main ways:
  • Networking: DM influencers or bloggers, offer value, and ask them to share your content, even if the conversion rate is low. “DM them, go in soft, bring value, rinse and repeat 2, 3, 4, 5,000 times.” [07:21]
  • Ads/Sponsorship: Use targeted ads on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or sponsor content in your niche.

9. Execution and Relentless Action

• Overcome analysis paralysis; take concrete steps (write blogs, record podcasts, post videos, message editors).
  • “Everybody’s talking and reading and nobody’s fucking doing. Start fucking executing.” [08:25]
• “147 views is better than zero. The fucking work. That's how you start.” [11:32]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Smurf it up. You can make $70,000 a year. Talking about the Smurfs, whether that's your mission or where you're at right now, your truth manifesto, tell me what you're thinking about it.” — Gary Vaynerchuk [01:54]
• “Set it up on a tripod or have a Drock. It's your nephew, your sister... But the way all of you need to do this and how you actually start is by doing.” [04:15]
• “Either you pay in Facebook ads, Instagram ads, sponsorship deals… Or you reach out to people that have audiences. ... Then see how you can bring them value.” [07:17]
• “When you’re the first explorer, you have to taste the berries, and hopefully, they’re not poisonous.” [08:10]
• “The way you're gonna make money online and by the way anywhere, is by grabbing it.” [09:36]
• “1 out of 347 will [respond]. But that's better than zero. Undervaluing just that. One view needs to be the right view.” [10:50]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00-01:25 — Opening ethos: Just start, document, ditch perfection.
• 01:32-03:18 — Facing the fear of starting, manifesto thinking, platform evolution.
• 03:43-04:15 — Self-awareness vs. hustle, encouragement to start any way possible.
• 05:20-07:02 — Content format advice (video, audio, writing), pillar content strategy.
• 07:21-08:10 — Dissecting distribution: DM hustle, influencer outreach, paid ads.
• 08:25-10:31 — Practical execution, pitching editors, targeting content, networking hacks.
• 11:00-12:43 — Final execution steps, the minimum viable start, you just need one view.

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Tone, Style, and Takeaways

• Gary delivers his message with trademark urgency, candor, and straightforward, often explicit encouragement, making this an energizing and no-BS guide for stuck creators.
• The episode is a practical manual with motivational fire, best summarized by Gary’s challenge: “Start fucking executing. … 147 views is better than zero. The fucking work. That's how you start.” [08:25], [11:32]

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Summary:
Gary Vaynerchuk’s “How to Start” is an action-packed push for every aspiring creator, brand, or entrepreneur bogged down by overthinking. The episode arms listeners with specific frameworks (WHW), mindset tools (self-awareness, patience), actionable tactics (native content, DMs, micro-content), and unfiltered energy. Above all, Gary emphasizes that there is no substitute for doing—and those who actually start and stick with it, however clumsy at first, are the ones who break through.

Transcript

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

There's no excuse for not talking to the world. It just doesn't have to be your thoughts and words every time. My friends, the key to content success is you've got to start documenting instead of creating. Let me tell you how. Just start. This is the GaryVee audio experience. Hey, guys, I know I look like the emperor from Star wars right now, but I'm very high in the air. Back from London, headed to New York City. I decided to do a video. So many of you are stuck and can't start. I broke it down into that what, how, and where. Right? Whw. Right. Like where? What are you gonna talk about? But the way all of you need to do this and how you actually start is by doing. You haven't done anything yet. You know, this whole fake it till you make it brings no value to anybody. You need to make something. And that thing is a manifesto. It's always been obvious to me. It's always been obvious what caused success, what I needed to do. You know, every time I watch content through the Internet or television. Watched Oprah the other night. Lizzie was watching, and I was working. She was interviewing George Lucas, and he was saying the same shit.

[Ad Voiceover]

We took it to all the studios, every single one of them, and nobody wanted it.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

So what'd you do?

[Ad Voiceover]

So I said, well, I'm not gonna give up now.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You're stuck. You haven't started. Cause you're stuck. I think the fear of losing trumps the excitement of victory for so many people. So here you go. What. What are you gonna talk about? What do you want to be known for? Look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself, what do I want to do every day for the rest of my life? Do that and see. What people need to understand is the way we communicate today is so different, and the platforms have been redefined. You want to be in health and fitness. You want to be in strategy. You want to be in social media. You want to be in sneakers. You want to be in coffee. You want to be in electronics. You want to be in fashion. You collect Smurfs. Smurf it up. You can make $70,000 a year. Talking about the Smurfs, whether that's your mission or where you're at right now, your truth manifesto, tell me what you're thinking about it. If somebody made a video eight years ago that I think fashion should be high, low. I think people should wear expensive stuff and inexpensive stuff in one wardrobe. They would have been like the queen or king of the vision of the fashion industry. Just by making a video predicting that Facebook acquires Instagram. It's like, Facebook's gonna buy Instagram. Four months later, it happens. So I was on Piers Morgan. This company's 550 days old. How the hell is it worth a billion dollars? And my opening line is, they stole it. And then I guess last year this time, right, Facebook bought WhatsApp for 18 billion. And every article, like the next day after the news came out is like, oh, wait a minute, they fucking stole Instagram. The how is there's only certain few ways to communicate in the world. Whether this is video form. Something extreme.

[Ad Voiceover]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Like just get on a train and go away for a week or something different. You have to break patterns. Whether this is audio form. Sitting here listening to my music list, and I'm starting to find a little clarity. Audio being a podcast.

[Sponsor Voiceover]

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[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You're an outspoken advocate for both hustle and self awareness. Yes, but if you had to put them in order, even if it's a 1A and 1B. Self awareness.

[Ad Disclaimer Voiceover]

Self awareness.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And it's not even close. When you know who you. Yes, when you know who you are. Hustle's sexier. Yeah, like it would have been cooler for, like, the people listening for me to say hustle. Cause it's cooler, right? Heck, you don't even do podcasts. Put the record on your phone and just speak your truth as I sit here right now writing this article. Or at least memoing it. Cause that's how I do it. Get in front of a camera, selfie style. You know, I'm old now, kids, so at 40, I've observed a lot. And I can tell you that optimism and positivity is a huge variable. Good morning, Instagram. It's me, Gary. Instead of a motivational quote or some sort of clip, just wanted to go camera to face. Just tell you how much I appreciate all of you guys. Your attention means the world to me. Set it up on a tripod or have a drock. It's your nephew, your sister, Nate. Give me this. Give me this real quick. Nathan the intern is here. Some of you you guys might remember him or you write it. But the way all of you need to do this and how you actually start is by doing. I create an obnoxious amount of content because of the strategy of how we do it. Don't do anything, just keep watching. Keep watching my stuff. Keep being entertained by my energy, keep being inspired. Don't do, don't fucking have dinner at 7 o' clock and drink two beers. Like when your strategy is right, you win. And so we have figured out that pillar content creates content underneath it at scale.

[Ad Voiceover]

Hey everybody.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Welcome to the first hashtag askgaryvee. I think it's the first one, but I actually do think I tried to do this once before. I feel like I've got the team now in place to actually do this more often. It's macro patience. Macro patience. Deploy patience. You've got to deploy patience. You've got to love the process. What's the ROI of social media? So I look at her and go, what's the ROI of your mother? There are so many people in here that shouldn't be producing video because that is not the best way they communicate. Only a decade ago if I was speaking here, all I would be talking about is blogging. Yet there are people in this room that are caught up by picture and video communication and, and they are tremendous writers and they don't realize that blogging or posting on medium or even my favorite little hack right now. If you're a good writer and you wanna build up a profile for your business or for yourself, I actually highly recommend you start blogging inside of Facebook and Instagram. I literally mean writing 7, 15, 25 sentences, 3, 4, 5 paragraphs word of written content within your feeds that, that people will absolutely consume. So that's number one and two, the what and how, right? Like how are you gonna do it and then where? Distribution. That's what you need to figure out next. And it's the hardest part for a lot of you. Hardest part is to start the next hardest. A lot of things are hard. Hard to start, hard to know what format to do it in. Audio, written, video. And then number three, how do you get people to see it? It all goes down in the dm. The key is providing other people more value. I just don't see people doing it. It blows me away. And it is absolutely, I want the

[Ad Voiceover]

full

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

and it is absolutely going down on Instagram DM influencers or you pay for it. Either you pay in Facebook ads, Instagram ads, sponsorship deals, YouTube pre rolls against people of Those interests, fashion, you know, food, wine, sneakers, technology.

[Ad Voiceover]

Or.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Or you reach out to people that have audiences. Search hashtags, click them, look at the account, then see how you can bring them value. DM them, go in soft, bring value, rinse and repeat 2, 3, 4, 5,000 times. So the thing Manny should do is go, Upper east side, looking good. This guy looks like a good picture. Hey, Gary. Instagram influencers right now, today for doers is the probably only behind Facebook ads, the single best arbitrage in marketing. And then you try and then you learn. When you're a pioneer, you have to taste it. There's no report, there's no white paper, there's no modeling mix metrics that are gonna teach you how that's gonna work. When you're the first explorer, you have to taste the berries, and hopefully they're not poisonous. We're living through this incredible era of, of massive opportunity, yet everybody's talking and reading and nobody's fucking doing. Start fucking executing. So what does that mean? That means you should write a medium blog post every week. Content, podcast, video, written quotes, pictures, and then tactics. What scares me quite a bit is that most of you, when you see these logos, you think of a piece of content that you make and you think of those five channels and more as places where you distribute it. Twitter and Facebook are tools. Twitter and Facebook are markers and crayons. They're a fax machine. These are not just distribution channels. These are channels where you have to natively storytell. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram are ABC, NBC and CBS. And what I've figured out for the last decade is how to make MASH and the Andy Griffin show and ER and Seinfeld. And my question is, how do I hustle and stop being a pussy and attack the world? I want to be where you are. I've got what's blocking you some, I don't know, other people's pov. Yes, that's the one, man. Good to see. Classic in its style. Wouldn't guess. Santa Rita Hills. Yes, that's a dig. Little snippy Snip. Please take a step back and think about how awesome it actually is. It is imperative that, that not only do you start thinking about your content strategy on these platforms for your business, Facebook targeting, I mean, like. I mean, that's it. Like, you can literally put your business address, run a mail, a radius around it, or Everybody in the 07081 zip code or the 08802 Asbury jersey in the house zip code, and everybody will see it in that zip code in that feed. It's a piece of cake. So if you talk about coffee, Google the word coffee and the word blog or coffee and media company and literally email every editor and writer of every coffee blog on the Internet. The way you're gonna make money online and by the way anywhere, is by grabbing it. So if I were you, I would do this. I would go to Google, I would type in beer. So I would click this one. Pubglasses.com I go to this site, I'd see what they have. I would find the phone number of this place. Here's a phone number, I'd pick it up.

[Ad Disclaimer Voiceover]

Hello.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Who would I speak to about you guys possibly advertising on my beer blog? That's me, the owner, Dean. Then search the hashtag coffee and go to every coffee influencer and coffee barista and coffee media site on Instagram and DM them and ask them to give awareness to this manifesto you just wrote. And 1 out of 347 will. But that's better than zero. Undervaluing just that. One view needs to be the right view. But it's one view is a humongous mistake.

[Ad Disclaimer Voiceover]

That's it.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

That's how you do it. Then what? That I'm willing to sit here right now and make this video hoping that one fucker, one fucker says, oh shit, yeah, like fuck it. Where it's written word. You look at the mediums, the LinkedIn, the WordPresses. You start a blog, right? Or you do it on your Facebook, or you do it on your Instagram. How? There's only really three core ways in the current Internet to really communicate to the world. The written word or video. What I'm doing right now, YouTube, Facebook, video, Instagram, one minute versions. Video is the other way we communicate. And number three, audio. The boom of podcasts. These are things that matter. What the fuck do you want to talk about? How are you going to communicate it? Written, audio or video? And how do you get people actually see it? This is where we showed you how to go into the dm, right? Or you've got to figure out how to use some money and use Facebook ads and target the people that you're trying to reach. Or Grinding Hustle, just literally emailing 700 to 1500 different blogs or media sites and saying, do you want to distribute my content? Somebody has a 14,000 person email newsletter about coffee news. Find that person and ask them. Just gotta ask and be smart. Jab, jabra, hook. Ask them what you can do for them. Because you want everybody to read this? Post it on Medium and hit up the editors of Medium who curate content. Post a link on it into Reddit. Right? Hit up the 4700 Coffee Influencers on YouTube and send them a message and ask them if they want to read it on their YouTube channel that has 147 views. 147 views is better than zero. The fucking work. That's how you start. Everybody. If you enjoyed this podcast, please go back and look at the prior episodes. They're loaded. I appreciate your attention and thanks for being part of this.

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[Gary Vaynerchuk]

See you later.