GaryVee's Thoughts on Standing Out, Validation, and the Importance of Patience

Summary

Summary of Episode: "GaryVee's Thoughts on Standing Out, Validation, and the Importance of Patience"

Podcast Information:

• Title: The GaryVee Audio Experience
• Host: Gary Vaynerchuk
• Episode Title: GaryVee's Thoughts on Standing Out, Validation, and the Importance of Patience
• Release Date: February 26, 2025

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1. Standing Out in the Age of AI and Social Media

Timestamp: [00:04 - 01:50]

Gary Vaynerchuk delves into the challenges creators and brands face in distinguishing themselves amidst the proliferation of AI-generated content. He emphasizes the importance of authenticity and sustainability in one's content strategy. According to Gary, standing out isn't merely about leveraging technology but also about delivering genuine value. He highlights the complexity of modern social media platforms, where creators must decide on formats like carousels, reels, in-feed posts, or stories, each requiring a unique approach.

Notable Quotes:

• “Standing out comes in knowing how to do it, but then also having something to provide.” [00:14]
• “Are you attractive? Are you thoughtful? Are you teaching what's your value? And value is subjective.” [00:46]

2. Debunking Myths in Social Media Marketing

Timestamp: [01:50 - 03:51]

Gary discusses his latest book, underscoring its depth and practical insights into social media marketing. He contrasts his approach with that of many "gurus" who offer superficial advice without substantial experience. Gary argues that effective social media marketing is both lucrative and complex, requiring a deep understanding and strategic implementation. He asserts that those who master these intricacies can achieve significant success, whether it's raising funds, winning elections, or scaling a business.

Notable Quotes:

• “Social media marketing is the most lucrative but most complex form of marketing today.” [02:19]
• “This isn't like happy Monday. This isn't like buy my coffee. This isn't like sign up for my master class. Like there's real, real depth of knowledge.” [02:35]

3. The Role of Curiosity

Timestamp: [03:51 - 04:34]

Gary emphasizes curiosity as a fundamental trait for personal and professional growth. He relates curiosity to asking critical questions that lead to learning and uncovering new opportunities. Gary advocates for nurturing curiosity, especially in children, to maintain creativity and drive. He shares his enthusiasm for a future children's book titled "Curious Crane," highlighting his belief in fostering inquisitiveness from a young age.

Notable Quotes:

• “Curiosity and creativity have been major pillars of my success.” [03:55]
• “If you're curious, you're asking why and how and when you're asking why, how, what if it leads to incredible opportunities of learning.” [03:55]

4. Re-defining Common Sayings: "Curiosity Killed the Cat" and "Nice Guys Finish Last"

Timestamp: [04:34 - 06:21]

In a candid discussion, Gary challenges popular proverbs that he believes misguide individuals. He critiques the sayings "Curiosity killed the cat" and "Nice guys finish last," arguing that they discourage essential traits like inquisitiveness and kindness. Gary redefines these phrases, attributing the former to irresponsibility and the latter to insecurity rather than inherent flaws in being curious or nice. He encourages listeners to embrace curiosity and genuine kindness without fear of negative stereotypes.

Notable Quotes:

• “Sloppiness killed the cat... Nice guys finish last. Those two sayings... are completely wrong.” [04:41]
• “Insecure guys who try to manipulate people by being nice only cause they're scared they finish last.” [04:59]

5. Embracing Failure

Timestamp: [06:21 - 08:36]

Gary shares his unique perspective on failure, viewing it as a natural and even cherished aspect of growth. He contrasts his relationship with failure—seeing it as light and a source of learning—with the common fear of failure that hinders many. Gary recounts personal missed investment opportunities, such as passing on Uber and Airbnb during their early stages, reflecting on them as significant failures. However, he frames these missed chances as motivation to continue taking risks and emphasizes the importance of not letting fear dictate decisions.

Notable Quotes:

• “I have a great relationship with my failures. I use them as learning opportunities.” [06:35]
• “I passed on investing in Uber twice... If I made my normal 50 or $25 investment, I would have made somewhere between 250 and $800 million. That's a failure.” [07:44]
• “Scared money doesn't make money.” [08:42]
• “Stop worrying about whether it gets one view or your boy text is and tells you you're corny as hell.” [08:16]

6. The Importance of Patience

Timestamp: [10:47 - 11:54]

Gary addresses the lack of patience in the younger generation, highlighting it as a critical factor for long-term success. He stresses that while trending slang and cultural shifts are transient, the virtue of patience remains timeless and essential. Gary advises young creators to prioritize developing their craft and maintaining patience over seeking immediate validation or gratification.

Notable Quotes:

• “Patience. The young generation needs to understand patience.” [10:47]
• “What really fucking matters, kids, is get your fucking patience right.” [11:11]

7. Motivation and Legacy

Timestamp: [11:35 - End]

Concluding the episode, Gary reveals that legacy drives his endeavors. He aspires to build a substantial empire while maintaining kindness and integrity. Gary rejects the notion that one must be ruthless to achieve success, advocating instead for a balanced approach where one can be both influential and compassionate. He underscores the importance of not falling prey to superficial validations and staying true to one's values.

Notable Quotes:

• “Legacy. You know, I'm trying to really like, show people that you can build an empire but still be a nice fucking dude and do right.” [11:45]
• “Nice guys finish last. I hate that fucking saying.” [11:54]
• “If you really want to make it, you got to look down on people. That shit's up.” [11:54]

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Conclusion:

In this episode, Gary Vaynerchuk provides profound insights into navigating the modern landscape of social media and personal development. He emphasizes authenticity, strategic content creation, and the importance of curiosity and patience. Gary also redefines common societal sayings to encourage a more thoughtful and resilient approach to success. By sharing personal anecdotes and advocating for a positive relationship with failure, he inspires listeners to pursue their ambitions with integrity and perseverance.

Transcript

[A]

This is the GaryVee audio experience.

[B]

With so many creators and brands using AI these days, it's never been easier to create social media content. So how can we stand out among the crowd without selling ourselves out?

[A]

Selling out, as you know, Terry, comes in different forms. What you and I in the streets of Jersey and Brooklyn think is selling out is different to somebody growing up on the Upper west side, right? So there's that. So I think if you're talking about being authentic and feeling good about yourself and having it sustainable, I think standing out is a very challenging game. It's why I wrote the book. I think one, we're in a place now where like the talent of the skill of making creative for social matters. It's not just posting anything. Like the thumbnail, the title, the first second of the video, the copy, which unit you decide to post on. So when you post on Instagram, are you doing a carousel? Are you doing a reel? Are you doing an in feed? Are you doing a story like this has become complex. And then you have to have something to say or something of interest or something of value. Are you attractive? Are you thoughtful? Are you teaching what's your value? And value is subjective. People are like, oh, that person sucks. Why do they have 3 million followers? Well, because they're super attractive or. Or because they're super funny or because they're cynical in a funny way. Or it might be that they know so much. Like the way I started was cause I knew so much about wine. That's just a super nichy narrow thing. And so being motivational, being thoughtful, being strategic, having a deep expertise. So standing out comes in knowing how to do it, but then also having something to provide.

[B]

One thing I appreciate you is about you is you. You learn it, you live it, then you teach it. However, there are a lot of. I'm using gurus and air quotes on social media who just like teach stuff they've never even done before. So I'm curious, in regards to your book, what are some myths about social media marketing that you debunk in your book?

[A]

You know, it's interesting. I'm not sure how much I'm debunking. What I'm doing is I'm going so detailed. Have you had a chance to read and. Or skim it yet or not yet? Which. Which is okay. I'm just curious.

[B]

Skimmed.

[A]

So, you know, being empathetic. They have a lot going on and it's a really nerdy book by my standards. And that's what I did. It's less that I debunked, it's more that I went so detailed that if you gave it the time to read it or listen to it and you understood like, oh shit, like this is like real stuff. This isn't like happy Monday. This isn't like buy my coffee. This isn't like sign up for my master class. Like there's real, real depth of knowledge. And so I think what I did, if you read it whole, I think people think you can hire your 24 year old niece to do your social media and everything's gonna be okay. And I think what I probably did was make a very compelling argument that social media marketing is the most lucrative but most complex form of marketing today. And those who figure it out will have very fruitful outcomes on whatever that is. Whether that's raising money for their nonprofit, whether that's winning the local mayoral race or whether that's selling a lot of their SaaS, you know, product on LinkedIn or whether that's becoming famous on TikTok and then living out their fantasies or being a good entrepreneur and getting business leads from it for your pizza shop or your direct to consumer sock brand. I'm proud of that depth and that breadth that I just described and that's what I did with the book.

[B]

Anything you can share about the importance of curiosity and how it can help people in life?

[A]

Oh, I mean, curiosity to me is one of the core ingredients. I mean I talked about in 12 and a half, like if you're curious, you're asking why and how and when you're asking why, how, what if it leads to incredible opportunities of learning and sometimes actual answers that have not been uncovered in the past, contextually in the time we live in. So, you know, Curious Crane is one of my favorite vee friends. I'm excited about writing a kid's book about Curious Crane one day. Cause I think curiosity being championed as a huge pillar, especially for children, to not lose that, because I think we have it as children, but then we get taught out of it. And for me, curiosity and creativity have been major pillars of my success.

[B]

Listen, that's the core of the book, man. So sounds like we're in the right direction.

[C]

Appreciate your support, brother.

[A]

Take care, brother.

[B]

Thank you for everything, man.

[A]

Stay well. It's funny, somebody said curiosity killed the cat and for me, I think sloppiness killed a cat. I hate that saying curiosity killed the cat. Cause it was almost like written to keep people in the box. I almost viewed curiosity killed the cat as a saying similar to the Way school is built to make workers for corporations by demonizing curiosity. I also think nice guys finished last. Those two sayings, curiosity killed a cat, nice guys finished last, are very, very, very fucked up sayings that are completely wrong. You know, sloppiness, overreaction, lack of thoughtfulness killed the cat, and nice guys finish last. No, no. Insecure guys who let people walk all over them finish last. We need to redefine both. Curiosity killed the cat and nice guys finish last. Insecure guys who try to manipulate people by being nice only cause they're scared they finish last. Sloppiness and lack of thoughtfulness and strategy and impatience killed the fucking cat, not fucking curiosity. Yo, everybody. Thank you so much for just jumping in real quick in the middle of this podcast. Thank you so much for listening to this episode. It would mean the world to me if you could leave a review for for this episode and I'm gonna get you back to your pod right now. Cause you don't need me talking about that. But I realize I'm lagging on getting the support of my podcast listeners, so reviewing this episode and overall would mean the world to me. Five star. Four star. Three star. Fuck it. Two star. One star. Honest feedback's fine. All right, back to the show.

[C]

Can I ask you one question?

[A]

Sure. Awesome.

[C]

So just describe what failure looks like to you and failure. And describe a time where you failed and how you rebounded from that failure. A spec moment event.

[A]

I have a very interesting relationship with failure. You know, what does failure look like? Something that didn't go the way I wanted it to go. However, it feels light to me. You know, it's funny. Yeah. It's like you just said, name a time. I mean, my life has been predominantly failing. Most people's life is predominantly failing. You know, this is this. I'm so happy. Thank you for asking this. This is a very important topic. I would argue that the majority of human beings on earth have the absolute wrong relationship with failure. They're fearing it. They worry about other people's opinions. I can tell you one thing about my failure. I surely don't give a shit what you guys think about my failure. It's my failure. I have a great relationship with my failures. I use them as learning opportunities. I use them as motivational opportunities. I use them as humbling moments which are incredibly valuable. I love failure. Micro failing. You know what I mean? If somebody's watching, like, no, no, you're failing. Of like, your business went out of business and you had to move out of your home. They're different. Ye. But I'm losing a lot and I don't have.

[C]

Do you have something that A moment you can point to?

[A]

Yeah. Let me give you one that's very hyperbolized. That could be very good for your clip. I passed on investing in Uber twice in the angel round, when literally it was one of my best friends in the world at the time. Travis was the founder, and I was investing in all sorts of random shit around that time. If I made my normal 50 or $25 investment, I would have made somewhere between 250 and $800 million. That's a failure. Failure. That's a massive failure.

[C]

Or a missed opportunity.

[A]

Yeah, that's semantics. Something. Yeah, yeah, that's the same.

[C]

Right?

[A]

Right. It's the same. Yeah, it's a failure. I have a million of those. I didn't reply to the Airbnb email to invest in that. That would have been. I, I. How about this one? How about all the failures I don't even know. How about all the meetings I could have taken that would have led to something? How about all the firings I should have made that would have led to something like life is only failing.

[C]

What did realizing the Uber opportunity, has that changed anything for you?

[A]

Yes. It reminded me that I need to live my life consistently. I believe scared money doesn't make money. And I had just bought an apartment and had less liquid than I was accustomed to, and that made me hold back. Scared money doesn't make money. My number one belief is people debate and think about shit and keep it on the shelf. There is zero. This goes back to the validation shit we just chopped up on. If y'all weren't so scared that your shit that you put out was received as corny, then all of you would put out shit all the time. And half of you would have what your dreams are actually validated and become true. So please, if you're watching this, if you guys decide to clip this up, stop worrying about whether it gets one view or your boy text is and tells you you're corny as hell. Start putting out your fucking ideas into the earth. Cause one fucking video can change your fucking life.

[C]

That's true. Cause look where I'm at right now.

[A]

Me too, bro. I wrote a book back in 2008, crush it. Told everybody this shit was gonna happen. Everybody said I was crazy. Everybody said nobody was gonna make money on YouTube. Think about how laughable that is for you kids that only grew up with that. People are fucking scared.

[C]

True.

[A]

This is why my Answer I'm valid. I'm not worried about if people think I'm. Fuck do you think I worry if somebody's laughing at me? Cause I didn't know the fucking. The second answer to your question. 0.0, motherfucker. You think I'm worried about your laughing? 0.0. But there's a big flip side. I'm on the point of my career because of how much paper I make, because who I am, followers, all the things I got going on, people cheer me. The key to not worrying about people making fun of you and booing you is also not getting gassed the fuck up when they cheer for you. When I see a youngster like your crew and you got a few minutes, the answer is yes. Cause I wanna help. I'm not getting high on my own fuckin supply and thinking I'm somebody and that I got no time for anyone. So if you're not gonna hear them boo, make sure you don't hear them cheer so you get gassed the fuck up on yourself, stay fucking humble and fucking put out good shit to the world.

[C]

True, true, true. What's up, Slayer? You could put me onto that. The young generation that doesn't even know about patience. Patience.

[A]

Patience.

[C]

That's sling.

[A]

That's real sling. You wanna talk about real sling? Yeah, patience. The young generation needs to understand patience. Yeah, that's the real fucking sling.

[C]

True, true, true.

[A]

You understand? Yeah, you can talk about anything you want, dynamics, fucking, whatever the proper lingo is of the moment. That is the slang that you fuck with. That's nice. That shit changes every 24 minutes on TikTok. What really fucking matters, kids, is get your fucking patience right. Stop worrying about validation from the fucking outside and get your shit right. And then everything you really want will actually fucking happen.

[C]

True, true, true. Okay, I like that.

[A]

You like that.

[C]

I like that.

[A]

That's all right, right?

[C]

Yeah. What motivates you, by the way?

[A]

Legacy. You know, I'm trying to really like, show people that you can build an empire but still be a nice fucking dude and do right.

[C]

All right?

[A]

You know what I mean? The more I get popular, the more people think it's good to like be nice too. Not like, oh, you got to be a real fucking gangster. Like, to build an empire, you gotta be an asshole. Sharp elbow. You know what really fucks me up? Nice guys finish last. I hate that fucking saying. I fucking hate that saying. Cause it tricks guys and girls into thinking they gotta be different to like, if you really want to make it, you got to look down on people. That shit's up.