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- [00:00]
A
Hey, everybody. Sitting on a plane right now, but pretty excited about this podcast. I think it's gonna hit for a lot of you. A lot of good themes about hunger and being fed, about making 50k a year, about people being mad about dumb shit. Anyway, get into it. Hope you enjoy it. Let me know if you liked it. Hit me up on social. This is the GaryVee audio experience.
- [00:21]
B
So, Gary, man, you've been a great friend. You're so generous with your time, with your relationships, with your emails. I mean, almost two decades now. You know, we grew up together kind of in this, the beginning of this, like, New York tech wave. Yes, right. And the social media wave. Yeah. You're now a mogul. So what the fuck happened? Like 20 years. Or take me even before that. Like what? You jumped on one of those, like, video game, like, Sonic the Hedgehog fucking. And all of us are like, walking on the sidewalk and you jumped on the ramp.
- [00:53]
A
And in some ways and in other ways, you know, and you know this. A lot of our friends, everyone took kind of different paths. It's so weird. We're getting together. I had a. I had some really long flights recently and I get a lot of work done on my flights, but these were like 20 hour flights. And so I got everything done and I had a little bit of time on my hand. And, you know, time on your hand can go anywhere. You can go into like TikTok and Instagram stream for nine hours. You can get into these weird, like Wikipedia. Now my new one is just weird prompt engineering on ChatGPT. I just start asking crazy questions like, what if the Roman Roman Empire was actually based on 19? Like, like, I just get into weird places.
- [01:34]
B
By the way, imagine a social network for prompts. Oh, I mean, like, show me your fucking props.
- [01:39]
A
I mean, there's so much coming. Oh, yeah, like Venmo. Yeah, I was an early. Venmo was one of my best New York investments. We, I. They sold too early, Tina. But nonetheless, in some ways, I went on that video game in the way of being known. Right. I decided amongst our group of many people running here that the personal brand was a moat, that it was misunderstood. And so in some ways I did that. What I was about to say was on that long flight, I looked up people that I have not Talked to in 10 years, like, people that were really growing up in the game here and just fun to see, like, where people went back to Uber. We were talking about, I don't know, I think we were talking about the. Before the pod started yeah. Ryan Graves. Like, it's just fun to see, like, different people. Fifteen years later, 20 years later, some people doubled down on their careers, some people pivoted, some people went into politics. Baratunde hit me up the other day. Another literally hadn't talked to him in seven or eight years. You know, he just literally texted me a day ago or three days ago where he went. He's like, I'm living out here now. People started families. A lot of. I mean, a lot of these kids, you know, we were. A lot of us were kids. I was married at the time, but, like, a lot of people were straight out of school, so families this and that and then. And then. Listen, financially, some of the people we came up with made uncomfortable amounts of money are some of the richest people in the world. And.
- [03:01]
B
And they still. They still answer our emails.
- [03:03]
A
Yeah, I mean, I think. I think that's right. And then there's people that are far less successful, that don't like money. And fame is not a variable of your humanity. It exposes your humanity. Money and fame don't change you. They expose you. Right. And so you know this. Like, there are people that are far more wealthy and far more famous that reply immediately. And then there's people four tiers below that don't reply because they think there's someone. And you actually don't even give a fuck if they reply or not. But they're high on their own supply. And so, you know, I like that high on their own supply very much. And I always laugh at that because a lot of those people are incredibly emotionally vulnerable, because if they're playing that game, a lot of those people have the tendencies that also start to have them decline, and then they're quick to ask for help when they were nowhere to be found to help anybody else. And listen, actually, I don't even judge those people. It's like you. I actually have a lot of empathy for those people. Those people have emotional things that they have to figure out around selfishness and. And fear and kindness.
- [04:03]
B
But ego.
- [04:04]
A
Yeah, ego. Look, ego is makeup for insecurity. The only people that have egos are people that are using that ego tendency to hide that they're scared. Ego players are pusses. When I see ego, I feel bad. I'm not mad at them. I'm like, oh, you're a dick. Or, like, masculine. I'm not like that. I'm like, oh, you're scared?
- [04:27]
B
Yeah, you're scared. You have compassion for them.
- [04:29]
A
I have deep compassion for the worst behavior. In our society, I really do. I think when you get thoughtful about this stuff, it's really easy to judge. But I promise everyone who's listening, and this is a fun kind of angle, we're starting this with people that do the you most hate for are hurting. You don't murder when you're in a good place. You don't domestic abuse because shit's popping and everything's great in your soul. You're hurting, you're in a bad place.
- [04:56]
B
That's right. You don't have inner peace and you're lashing out to try to protect, hide, survive.
- [05:03]
A
And most of all, it's all bully. Right. Like the book. Like now that we're all grown, everyone, like the kids that were bullies had fucked up sitches because they were so fucked up they didn't want you to strike first. So their animalistic moves were like, I'm going to fucking get you before you get me. Because if you come at me, I'm soft. Somewhere along the lines of middle school to high school, I realized, oh, wait, even though I wasn't physically big by any stretch, I was like, oh, wait, I'm stronger than everyone. I didn't realize it was cause of good parenting and Soviet, like humble immigrant upbringing. I didn't know why, but I knew straight up, brother, I fucking knew at 13, 14, 15 that I was stronger than everyone.
- [05:43]
B
You had that foundation.
- [05:45]
A
I knew that peer pressure wasn't tripping me. Like, I was surprised why I thought I was better than everyone while thinking I wasn't. But there was this level of like, I'm good and like, if these kids who I want to be, like, you want to be popular. But I could deal with getting punked. I could deal with not being invited to the like, if I didn't get invited to the party, I was like, their fucking loss.
- [06:09]
B
Right.
- [06:09]
A
And that's just not how most kids are. You're like devastated and trying to fit in.
- [06:13]
B
Yeah.
- [06:14]
A
And quickly I was like, this is good.
- [06:16]
B
Yeah.
- [06:16]
A
Right? And it's honestly, that's been it since.
- [06:21]
B
Where did that self confidence come from?
- [06:23]
A
The luck of the draw. Pure serendipity. And, and really, really, I'm very grateful for it. One is DNA. My mom is that person. My mom doesn't give a fuck. In like a crazy way.
- [06:35]
B
We should have had your mom on.
- [06:36]
A
By the way, on the record. And people know my dad's a little Tamara. Tamara Vaynerchuk. She's a very behind the scenes lady. My dad likes to go out in front a little bit. He did the wine videos with me. Sometimes pops up. But my mom. My mom blows me away. One, my mom lost her mom at five, and she grew up in the Soviet Union, and her dad spent many years in jail because there was so much political. It was the Soviet Union, you know, she had all the reasons to be the most cynical and angry and sad person. And she is literally the other side of the pillow. She's the most optimistic, open, caring. That's a gift. And I have that gift. Like, I'm wired to love people. I, like, sit here like, it's crazy how I feel about the four people I'm looking at right now that I don't know. There's a level of like, I want to love you and be your friend, and I'm here for you. That's always how I've been. So I just thought that's how it was. Now that I'm getting to the point in my life, I'm like, man, I'm living on some 0.001. Like, people don't love people the way I love people. And so that's just a luck of DNA. Then think about it. Then my mother, who's the primary person. Not even primary. The person who raised me until I was 14. Then I started to see my dad at the store and all that. She's reinforcing it because she's that too. So I had the natural DNA, and then the architect of me, my clay, is right. And then the clay maker is me. Yeah. So now I'm double. And then on top, if that wasn't already lucky enough, I get to be born into adversity. I get to be born in the Soviet Union. I get to come to America and have nothing. I get to grow up. My mom's the greatest, but she's frugal, so she's not buying me shit. Like, I. I was born hungry and then I wasn't fed, which made me double good at eating.
- [08:24]
B
What age was.
- [08:25]
A
Oh, that was good. I've never said that before. Can we clip?
- [08:27]
B
That was good.
- [08:27]
A
I was born hungry and then I wasn't fed, which may be double. Yeah, that was it.
- [08:32]
B
Yeah.
- [08:33]
A
By the way, if I was a rapper, it would be all top of the Dome shit. I would write nothing. Yeah, I was born hungry. I wasn't fed, which made me double hungry, which made me good at eating. That's who I am.
- [08:45]
B
That's dope.
- [08:45]
A
Damn, that is a real bar. I really wish I could rap, by the way.
- [08:48]
B
All right, pods, over, Drop the mic. So you know, how old were you?
- [08:52]
A
How old am I now? When I came over, I was three and a half.
- [08:54]
B
Okay.
- [08:55]
A
So I don't really remember the old country. It's crazy. I remember we went to Regal park in Queens. So I lived there the first couple years. And I grew up in Edison, New Jersey. I remember Queens. Heavy. Heavy.
- [09:06]
B
That's why you like Indians.
- [09:07]
A
I do.
- [09:08]
B
You know, Edison, New Jersey.
- [09:09]
A
That's exactly why I like Indians. Yeah. And I'm 49. Let me tell you my Indians story. I moved to Edison and I'm an immigrant. And this is like lower middle class. White, black, Chinese, no Indian yet, so it's lower. I grew up in Edison in the early 80s when it was lower middle class. And then there was like the wrong side of tracks, the projects, which was even below that. So it was very blue collar. Plumbers. My two. My two best friends. His dad was a. Like a junior plumber and the other dad was a. Was delivered Wonder Bread on a truck. This was blue collar life. But it was great diversity. There was first, second, and third and fourth grade was heavy. Black, Asian and white. All lower middle class. Then the summer of fifth grade. So I'm the immigrant, even though we had diversity. Asian. All the Asian kids that I went to school with at Edison, they were born.
- [10:02]
B
They were born here. They were born here.
- [10:03]
A
I'm the immigrant. And people like joke about it. Plus, Russia and America were like kind of fighting at the time, Cold War. So Nikolai Volkov. Like, I got punked a little bit a couple times. And then I walk into the first day of fifth grade and we have seven new students, all from India.
- [10:20]
B
Let's go.
- [10:20]
A
Five with the last name Patel. But not directly related. But not directly related. And here's what happened.
- [10:27]
B
This. This podcast is sponsored by The Patels.
- [10:30]
A
Literally five Patels.
- [10:32]
B
They own 50% of the hotels. The Patels.
- [10:34]
A
The Patels are like the mafia.
- [10:35]
B
Yeah.
- [10:36]
A
Five Patels in my class. None directly related. So that was interesting. That's fucking cool. And it's like, oh, that's like Smith. And like. So that was cool. And I befriended those Heavy. Not because of anything else. A. I like people. So I was that guy. I was mayor already. I was the fifth grade president. I also liked them because these wanted to make money. They were like, yo, what are we selling? I was like, that's my. These are my. The Patels. Like, we fucking sold shit. Lollipops, fucking band aids. Like, I don't fuck. Whatever the fuck.
- [11:03]
B
We could find two things, cheap as fuck, and then just Immigrant shit.
- [11:09]
A
Immigrant shit.
- [11:10]
B
Like, open up my drawer at home. But one full of ketchup packets. I know, but one full of fucking ketchup packets.
- [11:15]
A
Even today, brother, if my dad walks into a dungeon, my father today goes into Dunkin donuts and takes 800 napkins. I'm not even sure he's going there to offer the coffee. I think he just wants the free napkin.
- [11:27]
B
That's it, bro.
- [11:27]
A
He takes the whole fucking thing. I know what immigrant life is. So we were the same except for one thing. Yeah, those also got A's. I got these and Fs. Yeah, these would work with me and they'd still fucking get straight A's. So I grew up with a lot of Indian kids, especially in fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grade. And then I moved to Hunterdon County, N.J. out west and all that was the first time I saw people hunt and fish. And this was like rural, like, middle America. Shit. I moved. I was still in Jersey, but I was basically in Ohio. Yeah, these kids wrestled. These kids had fucking shotguns. These kids fucking hunted, fished. I could have been in Wyoming or. Fuck, I could have been in the middle of fucking nowhere, but still in Jersey. So then I got four years of that then because I didn't want to go to college because I wanted to work in my dad's store. But I knew my parents wanted me to go to college. Even though my mom wasn't a typical immigrant of, like, get good grades, she was still caught on, like, you have to go to college, otherwise you're a fucking loser. But she didn't know anything because we were immigrants and I was the oldest and she wasn't very social, so she didn't go see my teachers. She didn't know shit. My mom asks me about my college for the first time, really. February of my senior year, past the.
- [12:41]
B
Due date of the Satan.
- [12:42]
A
February of my. I'm like, three months later, I go, Mom, I didn't take the SATs. I'm not going to college. My mom is an angel. Angel. She smacks me and says, you're going to college and figure it out. And, like, that's why I always respected, my mom is an angel, but she is not a pushover. She's not these mothers that live today. None of this modern parenting, bro. I didn't even contemplate thinking about talking back to my mother because I thought she could feel it and she would fuck me up. Yeah, that's how much I couldn't. Contemplating. It's one of the great issues in our society. We are letting children disrespect their parents, which is why they're all disrespecting keyboard warrior troll fuckers in real life. Because their parents didn't set that respect. Like, I'm not willing to just push over a modern parent. Be like, yeah, baby. I'll be like, no, you suck. Right? Like, you gotta have the real talks with your kids.
- [13:34]
B
Right?
- [13:35]
A
So there's that. So then check this out. She smacks me. I'm scared fuckless. I'm like, I can't get into college. And then she turns around because I was like, okay, fine, I'll go to the community college locally. She literally turned around and was like, and don't make it a community college, because I'll be embarrassing. I'm like, fuck. This is a true story. This is a crazy story. In hindsight, I've never heard this before.
- [13:53]
B
This is great.
- [13:54]
A
Yeah. I say it once in a blue moon. A week or two later, very soon, maybe a month, but very soon later, I'm getting the mail one day after school, and there's a postcard that says, Mount Ida College. That's it. That's all it said. So it didn't say community college. It didn't say junior college. I'm like, yes. I turn around the postcard, I fill it out. This is how I got to college.
- [14:14]
B
Wow.
- [14:14]
A
I fill out Gary Vaynerchuk, the address. It didn't ask for anything else.
- [14:18]
B
Some good direct mail targeting.
- [14:19]
A
I literally put it in. It was good direct mail targeting. I lift, you know, the thing. You lift the thing to collect it. Three weeks later, I'm in homeroom, and my homeroom teacher says, Mrs. Ballantry. I think my guidance counselor like to see me. This is now April of my senior year.
- [14:34]
B
Yeah.
- [14:35]
A
I have never met my guidance counselor in my high school career. When I tell you I was off the reservation, I don't even know what the fuck I was thinking. I was just like, I'm selling baseball cards and I'm gonna work for my.
- [14:46]
B
Like, I'm selling wine yet. No.
- [14:48]
A
Kind of senior year, for sure. Not freshman. I'm talking about freshman year, where people, like, figuring out their life. I'm like, fuck this. I'm gonna sell shit.
- [14:55]
B
Yeah.
- [14:57]
A
I walk into the guidance counselor, she goes, Mr. Vaynerchuk, nice to meet you. We both kind of laugh. It was really clever. And she goes, so wait, you're going to college? And I go, Mount Ida accepted me. And she goes, I'll never forget this. She's sitting.
- [15:11]
B
She smacked you?
- [15:12]
A
No. But back then they would do it. She picks up a stapler and she goes, mount Ida would accept this stapler. So that's the college I went to. Let me tell you how this goes down.
- [15:25]
B
That's why you're a staple of social media.
- [15:27]
A
Thank you. No Internet. I just work the whole summer. No visit to the school. The first time I ever see where I'm going to college is the day I'm moving in to go to college. We drive up there. Now, remember, it's in Newton, Massachusetts. So actually in a very wealthy, very wealthy suburb of Boston. So I'm like, oh, this is nice. We go into the campus, the gate opens, we go into this little campus. 91% of the student body is on financial aid and is Hispanic and or black. And I'm not talking fucking HBCU, I'm talking my best friends for the next four years. Two of them were kicked out in the first 60 days of college. And I now dominate anytime I play spades or ceelo. And so I went from this crazy good diversity to then white, white, like you know, country, country bump to then four years of like straight out of Compton. And I always think about this. I'm like my default of loving people. But then environment's such a player. The, the luck that I got to be an immigrant life. Then this crazy. You should see my. I went to Martin Luther King elementary School. My second grade picture is crazy with the diversity. Black, white, even Indian at that point, even before the big immigration. Then this crazy like maga, like middle America, like white, like hunting, like Bubba, like fucking haystack, Walmart. And then fucking like hood, like not even, like, not even like the music I was listening to in high school, like I thought it was cool with like Snoop Dogg, I get to fucking Mount Ida. These kids are into fucking Scarface, ghetto boys, Bun B. Like I'm learning all sorts of masterpiece. Like before the Jay Z shit. Four years later, like I got into the fucking culture. And so I pop out at 22 and then I'm running a very high end wine store business that I'm building for my dad. And I go from all that. And I've never had any kind of money. And now all my time, 12 hours a day, 15 hours a day, is selling to fucking millionaires on fucking Wall Street. Buying fucking Le Chateau Lafitte like I used to when I was 16 years old, I thought if you owned any kind of Mercedes, I didn't know what class was. What if you had a Mercedes? You were the fucking richest person I've ever heard of. Yeah, so. So I had this track in the first 30 years of my life that had a ton of context. Many different people, very humble shit. I didn't even know where the Hamptons was. I grew up in New Jersey, and when Hampton's Vodka launched when I was 26, do you know Insane. What I'm about to tell you is I grew up in Jersey my whole life. I'm 26 years old. A salesman comes in to pitch Hampton's Vodka. It's this great bottle. I don't know if you've ever seen it. It's been. It's. I think it's still around, but it was hot for a few minutes. I look at him like, man, this is great packaging. I'm like, yeah, I think I'll buy because I'm the buyer of the store. I go, by the way, like, what. What's the Hamptons name come from? He goes, the Hamptons? I go, where's. Where is that? He goes, he laughed. And he's like. I could tell, like, pretty quickly. I wasn't joking.
- [18:35]
B
Yeah.
- [18:35]
A
I'm like, where's the Hamptons? He goes, no, bro. Like, the Hamptons, Long Island. I'm like, like. Because you got to remember, When I was 26, it was 2001, we didn't live on the Internet. Social media hadn't come. Like, if you. Like, I wasn't reading. I was fucking working 17 hours a day. Like, I didn't fuck, but. And I grew up fucking. Not in those circles. I didn't know the Upper east side and Rolex. I didn't fucking, you know, Lifestyles, Rich is Famous and MTV Cribs was, like, the closest thing you saw. Now, these kids. And I have empathy for the kids. The reason they're fucked up is in their feed. All they're seeing is 1% of 1% of 1% wealth and beauty. They're seeing fucking dudes making hundreds of million dollars hooking up with the hottest chicks in the world, and they're like, fuck, my life sucks. We didn't have that. I was like, I didn't even know where the fucking Hamptons was. Wasn't like, I was living in Kansas. I was in fucking Jersey, and had no clue that the Hamptons existed.
- [19:21]
B
Yeah.
- [19:22]
A
So, by the way, all of that.
- [19:24]
B
Is all of that until last year. Now we have a Hamptons house.
- [19:28]
A
Yeah, I think you knew. You knew of it before. And I think here's the fun part. By the way, this story now picks up around the time I met You. So I'm in this cocoon of the liquor store up until the day I start seeing you in 2006 seven at these meetups. Yeah, like, like that. I always think that the reason I had a different kind of career in tech and all this was I didn't, I came at it from a totally different place and I wasn't places.
- [19:54]
B
I wasn't like these four year cycles, all these different places, completely different demographics.
- [19:58]
A
And you know, this, the tech scene in New York in 2005, 6, 7, 8. You were either a developer straight nerd by the way, like these tech kids.
- [20:05]
B
Were nerds or fintech ad tech nerds. Yeah.
- [20:10]
A
I'm talking even Web 2.0 like you know, or like it was tech people.
- [20:14]
B
Like now tech is like I T. I T people.
- [20:16]
A
Correct. Or you were an Ivy League kid.
- [20:19]
B
Yeah, right.
- [20:20]
A
Like you were truly a Stanford Harvard Brown and you were like, kind of knew that this was coming and like, but it was just like. And that was a whole nother world for me. So yeah, that's been the story of my life a little bit. Yeah.
- [20:31]
B
I love it. And that self confidence is rooted from your parents but also from all these interactions and all these friend. These social circles.
- [20:40]
A
Yeah. And I think also I would tell you and I'm curious, hit me up on social if this resonates for you. I don't think I've said this much in my life. I think my self confidence comes from me knowing that I'm not trying to do anything bad to anyone. Does that make sense? Like when you were just talking, that was like what was on the tip of my tongue. I think my self confidence comes from I don't need your validation which is just a whole different fucking game. And I know that I'm genuinely not trying to do anything but good. So what do I have to worry about?
- [21:12]
B
Yeah, I just got goosebumps because you know it's true. Like I send you an email, you respond when somebody asks for something, you try to help without an ulterior motive, without something in, you know, without wanting something in response.
- [21:31]
A
I'll tell you why, brother. Thank you for saying that. I'll tell you why. I believe the definition of giving is giving without expectation. Yeah, people are willing to, people are willing to do shit for me all the time because they want something from me. I, you know, I appreciate that. I'm glad you can feel that on the other side of me, you know, listen, you know, I'm a businessman. I'm living life like I'm not scared to ask for something if. If something's. But there's never been in time in my life where I've done something for someone and being like, okay, yeah, now I'm going to hit him up and raise some capital. Or when I need him to promote, to be friends, like. Like, to me, that is actually one of the most disgusting acts of. To me, that's manipulation. That's not giving.
- [22:10]
B
That's quid pro quo.
- [22:11]
A
Yeah, bro, I hate that shit.
- [22:12]
B
Yeah, that's not authentic. Have you meditated before or, like, studied any Buddhism by any chance?
- [22:18]
A
So this is interesting is my profile. So the answer directly is not really, but my wife Mona does it every day. So many. I mean, now it's obviously, you know this. Like, it's obviously so deep in your culture, and now it's so westernized and so real and grounding and everything's happening. I got a really funny answer for you on this one. I do not actively do that. However, this is, like, fun to say out loud. I ask myself if I'm meditating at all times. As this has gotten popular in the last 10 years and as my content continues to be made and made and made and documented. It was stunning to me. Somewhere around 2009, 10, I started getting these emails, cold emails, you know, Gary Long. And I'd read it because back then, you remember, I replied to every tweet, every email. That was my whole thing from 2007-11. And like, I started seeing this term I'd never heard of called stoic. And I would always be like, they're like, gary, are you a stoic? Do you practice stoics? And I would always, like, be like. And you know, like, again, I educate. Because I was such a poor student, I educated myself through Google from 2001 to 2010. I would argue that my intelligence, my vocabulary, like, a lot of it comes from that, right? And so, like, I would get that email and I'd be straight up, like, what the fuck is stoicism? And I would Google it and I'd be like. And then like, that was the first time I saw something where I'm like, oh, shit, that does feel kind of. So I feel like I have tendencies of Buddha, of stoicism, of all these things. It is very much when I read about it, the principles interact with people that are deep in it. I'm like, I cross, you know, I cross over into a lot of those tendencies. But actively practicing, no, but when I said to you earlier, this is real. What time is it right now? It is 5:39, 5:39pm I will say. I don't want to hyperbolize it. I will say that I said to myself, not out loud to my brain, you know how you can talk to yourself right now? I've probably practiced verbally, practiced verbally today. I've probably said four times something to myself that is grounded in how deeply grateful I am about life. Four times today. Like, so I feel somewhere around the. So actually, let me get very deep. I think I've cracked it because I've been curious about this. My mom lost her mom at 5. And like I said, my dad lost his dad at 15. I just recently had an epiphany that the biggest song track of my life was the fear of my parents dying in my youth. It's been a really. This has been a real moment for me in the last year. I'm like, what the fuck? Now I get it kind of moment. You know, I had recurring nightmares of my parents dying. I was scared of it. And I think that, that when I got to, like, 18 and it didn't happen, I feel like weirdly, I've been playing with house money, right? And I think I just got so grateful and now it's like fucking 49. It's like, fuck, there's, you know, like, so, like, I'm complete. You know this. You know, we don't know each other well enough. And I think you'll find this fascinating, but I think you know me well enough to. You'll believe it, but I don't know if you know it. I think the other weird thing with me, back to this conversation is I get no validation, nor do I have my identity wrapped up into the Gary Vee of it all or my professional success, like, in a way that would make you fucking shake. I just. I don't believe being good at business and being known is that noble. It's definitely not my adult. It's definitely not my identity. Like, I could give a fuck about Gary Vee. In fact, I would argue that it's been good for business, but it comes with a lot of baggage. Being a public figure's got a lot of stuff. And I didn't think about, like, how would my kids think about that would, like, like, it's life. Like, by the way, I can't live life at this point where I'm like, I'm having dinner and, like, it is in my mind that, like, people are listening to my conversation. Like, it's like, privacy is important.
- [26:16]
B
Yeah.
- [26:16]
A
I think we need it. And so anyway, Nonetheless, I am not having that.
- [26:20]
B
Humility, though, is the key to keep on building your, your success and your empire. I think the first time you acknowledge it and you're like, yo, I'm this person, you stop.
- [26:31]
A
I agree, by the way, but you'll like this. We said this earlier and I'm happy for people that go there. Like, like, I like, people always think like, oh, you know, cuz there was that whole era where I think, to be frank, and I'll say this, I don't say this often, but I feel safe here. I feel I was unfairly pegged as the guy that was pushing Hustle and Burnout. Couple people wrote some articles that were completely unfair with a ton of information that wasn't real. There was one specific medium article that was titled Hustle Porn and made me the poster child. Literally 40 things in that article. The kid actually sent me an email several years ago apologizing. He literally said, because I actually referenced it, not out loud the way I just did. I said, I kind of used it vaguely and he knew I was talking about him. And my point was some people burn other people down to build themselves. And he emailed me and said that's exactly what he did. He used my popularity to tear me down to try to build up his writing career. And I actually, by the way, huge shout out to that kid. It meant the world to me.
- [27:25]
B
Right?
- [27:25]
A
Because that was a very big blow to me. You know this, you remember this? Like, I got pegged unfairly because if you go read crush it, if you go look at my content in 2009, 10, I never said work 15 hours a day to just make. I said live your passion. And in the book that put me on, I say, if you work 9 to 5 and you make 54,000 a year and you're fucking happy, you've won life. Yeah. And so that really hurt me because it was really unfair. But it was a great chapter because I watched a lot of my Silicon Valley friends shit on me when they knew better because it was popular of the moment. And it brought me back to what I talked about earlier in the podcast. I was so pumped that once again, I did not give a fuck. And in fact, straight up, I felt bad for them because they would never forever have the same relationship with me. Because, by the way, I'm good at being the bigger man and forgiving, but I'm a human. Like it can never, you know, it can never be a hundred when someone's like really trying to do wrong by you for no fucking Reason. Fuck, man. I've made a million mistakes. Documented. I've made a million mistakes. And any time I've made a mistake to someone or something, I deserve for them to have a feeling about it. But when people are trying to fucking do the wrong thing by you for no fucking reason other than to jump on the masses, by the way, that was an early precursor to me that, like, oh, fuck, cancel culture. That's not what it was called then. But I was like. I was blown away how many people just jumped on and be like, yeah, fuck, Gary. I'm like, bro, I just helped you last week, right? The fuck are you doing?
- [28:53]
B
Yeah.
- [28:54]
A
You know what I mean?
- [28:54]
B
Yeah.
- [28:54]
A
I was like, you don't want to. And then I went in, and then I go into my protectionism. Like, you don't want to lose me as a friend, Right? You know, and so. But.
- [29:01]
B
But you. You know, you engaged it with compassion in the sense of. You kind of. Especially when he apologized, you saw where he was coming from, right? Like, he was. He was using you to launch his career. And so you're like, okay, let's, like, distance this dude from his action in a real way. In a real way.
- [29:22]
A
And honestly, I need to be a little bit better about this. I'm about to say it where it looks kind of good, but real talk, it's still something I'm working on to be less good. Meaning, I love my capacity to forgive. I love my ability to be the bigger person. I love my capacity to look the other way when it's not a big deal. Not like if something bad's happening, I've got to be smarter about it, because what it creates is entitlement, and then I create resentment, and then it can actually fuck up our relationship. And really working in the last five years to be able to. Let's say, let's just play it out. This is real. Now somebody writes the article, everyone's shitting on me because it's the fun thing to do of the moment. Cause now it's no longer like, let's build empires. Now we're starting to get into, like, wait, work, life, balance, right? That was the ERA shift. They decided to throw me under the bus on it. And I watch homies that I did crazy shit for. Crazy shit. You know how I like to work? I'll always do. I'm watching people fucking take stabs at me, and you know it. And then I would see them, like, three months later at south by, and they're like, yo, can you get me into the party? I'm like, bro, you fucking just shit on my face publicly for no reason. And I would fucking do it because I'm so psycho. Like, I got you. And I was, like, so proud in the 30s and 40s of, like, man, I'm crazy. Like, who does that? I'm fucking right? But the truth was, it, like, again, I'm human. Like, I was. I was forming more resentment. And because I wasn't able to say to a homie, hey, bro, I got you. We'll go. But, like, on some real shit, why'd you do that? That wasn't nice. You know that's not real, right?
- [31:02]
B
Right.
- [31:03]
A
Because I wasn't able to do that and get it straight. I wasn't being authentic enough. I was building resentment. That dude's like, oh, thank God. Gary fucking either didn't see it or, man, Gary's cool. Like, we're good. And then we go right back and I'm the giver most of the time anyway. And that dude's coming back and be like, yo, can you give me 25k for my snap? Like, motherfucker, you shit on my face publicly on some bullshit.
- [31:24]
B
Yeah.
- [31:24]
A
And so.
- [31:25]
B
But here's 25k.
- [31:27]
A
Unfortunately, you know me so well, and I would. And I think. But here's what would happen. I would start to subconsciously distance myself from that. And that's not fair, right? If you're going to cut people out of your life, if you're going to do things like that. I got to a place where I realized that's not fair. And more importantly, my inability to be candorous with people. I like Gary Vee on a podcast like this. I'm a candidate. You can title this shit Candor with Gary Vee. Gary Vaynerchuk, on a human level, especially if he cared about you, really struggled. And I would say it is my career kryptonite from 22 to 45, 47. And then, you know, not to overshare because I'm pretty private, but I went through a series of events, personally and pub and professionally. And literally, like, out of a movie, one day, I'm just brushing my fucking teeth, looking myself in the mirror. I'm probably, what. What are we talking about? 20, 44, 45. And it was really cool. It was a big moment. I was like, yeah, you ready to, like, own this? This is a problem. Like, some straight. Like. Like, if you were an alcoholic, you know, Like, I was like, this is it.
- [32:34]
B
And this is like the Superman. Clark Ken. Or like, like the Superman and the evil Superman. Remember that in Superman 2 that. That scene was fucking dope. It's where it's Gary Vee versus Gary Vaynerchuk.
- [32:44]
A
That's right.
- [32:44]
B
And you had two identities.
- [32:45]
A
No, no, it wasn't that. It wasn't that. It was. That's not it. Gary Vee versus Gary Ventrick. Wasn't it? It was. It was. I understand what you're saying now. It was, yes. On State, when I was even as Gary Vaynerchuk. Let me make this obvious to you. If I was talking to 80 people in my company, I could be canderous. I'm like, we're fucking up, right? It was one on one with a human. If I cared about you, I couldn't go there with you. Got it. So Gary Vaynerchuk, the CEO of VaynerMedia with 80 employees, I could tell you everything we were doing wrong because I was talking to the general. But then if I called Braden one Team Gary. If I was talking to Team 15 people, I could be like, we're not doing this. But then if I called you in one on one, I dance. I'd be like, brother, you know? And then what I looked back on when I talked to my homies, my inner circle, Andy Tyler Drock. At the time, I was being passive aggressive. I was doing little zings to communicate my frustration. And I was like, I don't want to be that person. And so I really worked hard personally. And I would say this, my candor, if I loved you or liked you or even your basic acquaintance used to be a 2 out of 10. Truly a 2 out of 10. I'm somewhere in the range of, like, 6 to 7 out of 10. And that fucking difference has been huge. In a world where most of my emotional framework is 8, nines and tens, I got some room to go, but I cannot believe how much I've closed the gap. And I would say on the final part of this, everybody who's listening and watching, if you can get this addressed, it's a big deal. If you're like me and you just can't go there with people you love, I'm telling you, it's not gonna work out in the end. It's res. Resentment, it's regret. It's gonna show up in different ways. I hope I inspired you in last six minutes to, like, just kind of go there. Maybe it's therapy. Maybe it's. Let me tell you how I did it. I didn't necessarily do the therapy thing. I just started to practice. I believe that, like, doing Shit is doing shit. Like, it's. To this day, it's uncomfortable practice. I'll explain. It's hard for me, even today, five years later, of practicing pretty good to say something to somebody that is negative or scary. Especially as a boss. If I'm like, I always thought, if I'm telling you, like, you suck, like, you're scared shitless when you leave, you're like, I'm gonna lose my job. And like, you know what I mean? I just started doing that with friends and family and employees. Like, I started telling the truth with compassion. I call it kind candor. Kind candor. Like, I'm not trying to hurt your. By the way. Just because you're not good at a job at VaynerMedia or V Friends or Vayner Sports doesn't mean. Yeah, by the way. I always say this, by the way when I get feedback now, I'm like, this is my subjective opinion. I could be wrong, right? But we've got a problem because I'm the boss, you know, like, and so I just. I hope people just start practicing. Go and have that talk with your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, brother, sister, child, business partner, like, because that's what's really hurt parents. We can't tell the kids the truth anymore. So they become crazy entitled and super soft.
- [35:38]
B
I love how you tie that together to being parent. The reason I brought up Buddhism and meditation is a lot of what you've been saying in terms of helping other people without asking for things in return. So I just started. I'm like, not an expert by any means. Just basically a month ago. Yeah, Doing a couple sessions. I'm on taking a little sabbatical this summer and. So.
- [36:03]
A
Good for you.
- [36:03]
B
Wanting to just, you know, indulge myself in, In. In things that have been there and I haven't been able to jump in. And one of the core tenets of the Buddha and Buddhism is helping people through compassion without asking for anything in return actually creates positive karma. Makes sense, you know, and when I think about positive karma from when we met 20 years ago to where you are today, you know how I started out on video game? You went on this ramp. You know, all of us are doing very well, but we're. And I think. I think that's what the. What God has given you and the world has given you. You know, you came to this country, you had all these incredible, epic, very diverse experiences to make you resilient and self confident and every act of kindness, you know, Reshma emails, you. Can you do a keynote at the fatherhood summit. Let's do it. Let's go. Without asking anything in return. Creates positive karma for you.
- [37:03]
A
Thank you, brother. I believe in that shit. And honestly, you know what's funny? I say this a lot. I think karma's practical. Like, everybody in this room, just looking at everybody like, we all live life, names come up. Whether it's cousins or, like, you know, like, a name will come up. You're like, having a beer with someone, they're like, what about Josh? Like, if you've had an interaction with that person that is positive, and you're like, yo, Johnny's fucking epic. Johnny came over my house and watched my dog for no reason when I really needed him. That person on the other side's like, yo, Johnny's good.
- [37:32]
B
Yeah.
- [37:32]
A
And then when something comes up and they're like, who? We need somebody to do something, like, let's hire. Like, I actually think this whole concept that karma's some weird. Like, I think it's the most practical shit of all time. Do good shit to people at scale, and it gets. Many people know. And that leads to things coming your way. That seems practical.
- [37:51]
B
And by the way, in our industry, a second or third derivative of that is getting into deals. Uber, getting into Twitter, getting into 100% alloy goes to 10, you name it, right?
- [38:02]
A
That's right, brother.
- [38:03]
B
Karma is, in terms of capitalism is, like, returned, like, 100x, I think so on X. Especially in the industry with the bar so fucking low.
- [38:12]
A
I think that's right.
- [38:13]
B
When half the VCs don't even. 90% of VCs don't even respond.
- [38:17]
A
That's right.
- [38:17]
B
Now they go, that's right.
- [38:18]
A
You know, I think car. I think being a good person is running a marathon. And I think posturing and marketing in a certain way can have sprinting results. Like, here's what I always say. Most people, if they're good at it, can trick most people for a short period of time, but you never can win the long game, right? Like, if you're not good, but you're just extremely charismatic and you have gift of gab and you just got those. Marketing, I have all the. By the way, every day I thank God that I'm not evil because I would do some bad shit. Like, I just have the skills to get. Like, I would have some crazy cold every dead. I don't know. Be a fucking. I would be. I am so grateful that I'm not a bad person because I think I would be a fucking terrible dictator. Like, I. Because I just know what to do. And so, but, but that, but that's.
- [39:11]
B
Short lived to your point.
- [39:12]
A
That's the point. Definitely. I mean as a legacy for sure. It's terrible. Like, like I love when like you don't want to be like Mussolini, like, you know, like, I don't know, like Mussolini. I don't know where he's chilling right now, but I don't think it's good. Like, you know what I mean? Like, I don't think it's like fun. Like you don't want to be bad. And so I think karma's fun because it's. What we're really talking about is reputation. When you have a good reputation and you're well liked and it's really weird we live in this new world. It's actually weird. I think I'm a very early version of a different game. I, if I was born a generation before, would have had a great life where everyone in my general town or as far as I could go would have liked me and it would have been epic. I'm the first version because of the way the Internet works of someone who's like that but became publicly known, which means a lot of people who don't know me at all have real opinions of me. And some of those people think I suck. And that's a whole new. And I've been thinking about that a lot. The thing that most people don't know of, how absurdly hard the downside of notoriety, fame, micro fame, becoming an influencer creator is unlimited. People have opinions about you that don't know you at all.
- [40:23]
B
Just haters.
- [40:24]
A
Yeah. And by the way, for me it's been easy because we went back early. I've always dealt with trolling and hating from a compassion standpoint. I'm. When you're like, fuck you, Gary Vee. You're just fucking. You think you're somebody. I'm like, oh fuck, that's insecurity. They don't feel good. I'm in their face and I'm not shy. And I'm like, I'm the best. This is the best. Everything's best. Like, and like you and I get it.
- [40:47]
B
And now there's amplification of that on social because you can just fucking like those haters, retweet those haters. It's easier to be a hater.
- [40:54]
A
And, and so by the way, I understand the reason I never judged it is I'm the same way about cynics. When I see someone who's cynical, I fucking am triggered. The fuck are you Saying no, or this can't. Or this sucks, or fuck them without knowing anything. When your default is cynicism, I'm triggered. So if. If my.
- [41:14]
B
That's coming from a deeper place, obviously. Yeah.
- [41:17]
A
If my. If my default is optimism and excitement and positivity and you're not in that place, I'm gonna fucking trigger you. No shit. You're like, yo, shut the up, dick. And then I, you know, you saw this back in the day, I'd come in, but, bro, I'm sorry. I don't want to be a dick. I hope you're okay. And in 2007-14, there was much more civility. So when I would go in on Twitter or a comment when someone's like, you're a piece of shit. You're a snake oil salesman. Fuck you. I hate you. You got lucky your dad. You're not good. I would go in with compassion, and you'd get into incredible civil conversations. Almost everybody from 2007-11, when I reply to a negative comment on their first reply back, it would be incredibly wonderful. But then you could feel the game changing in 2019. I'd go in and be like, yo, I'm sorry. They'd be like, fuck you. Sorry. They tripled down. I'm like, okay. Shit's getting a little bit tentious out here, you know? And so that's just the game. My big thing on that real quick, while I've got a few seconds, is if I can leave something with all of you that can really help some people is for everyone out there that's crying, nobody's listening. And that might sound fucked up, but it's actually liberating. I'm just gonna say it's slow because it's complex. What I'm trying to say, even though it sounded simple, if you're listening right now and you spend time in your life going around the Internet and leaving negative comments to tear people down and that you get, that gets your nut off. Like, that gets your frustration, your hurt out. You're not winning. Like, if you're making content about, like, this is fucked. We're in New York right now. We have a pretty contentious mayor race coming up, right? Some people are gonna be super pissed. Some people are gonna be super happy. One or the other. When that happens, whoever wins or doesn't win, there's gonna be all sorts of feelings. But when all those people cry, I mean, we just let. We can go to the history. We don't even have to use the New York race right now. We Went Trump, Biden, Trump. We went three. All I did was watch people say they're moving to Canada and moving to Switzerland and everybody's leaving America if Trump wins. Everyone stayed. Then when Biden, everybody, all the Republicans, like, they're the same. They're the same What? They all are. Just. I want you all to know this. You're all the same. There's no liberals and conservatives. There's no Democrats and Republicans. All of you are the same. Let me tell you who you are. You're fucking crybabies. How about you shut the fuck up and you focus on your family and you control what the fuck you can control. My favorite part is people don't even vote and cry. Yeah, you motherfuckers are hypocrite crybabies. Motherfuckers.
- [43:50]
B
The biggest criers are not even registered voters, bro.
- [43:52]
A
It's crazy. People cry. And by the way, people think they're better than people are on virtue signaling. I just think everyone has become addicted with the fucking pointing finger. Everyone's like this. And I'm just asking, where the fuck is these people? Do you know why I'm so happy? I'm this.
- [44:07]
B
Turn that finger around.
- [44:08]
A
Let me. For all my capitalist friends, I make money when Democrats are in place. I make money when Republicans are in place. I make like. No politician is stopping. Bernie Sanders at AOC are not stopping me for making money. Yeah, they may. I might have to pay higher taxes, but as long as everybody else is too, who gives a. Yeah, like, I don't know, like, everyone's crying for no reason. And let me actually tell you the reason everyone's crying. They have it too. Good. You know who didn't cry on the Internet? People living through the Great Depression. They didn't have time. Obviously the Internet wasn't around, but they didn't sit around the kitchen table and being like, actually they did. Cause nobody had a job. But like, what I'm saying is we have it so good. We're complaining about dumb shit. There's 800 million people on earth right now that do not have access to clean water. 10% of our society right now, as you and I sit here with fucking, you know, big shout out to Bets and like, all this, like, they can't get water, brother. Do you think they give a fuck that you made fun of their Instagram post? Do you think. Do you think a woman who's right now walking 18 miles with a fucking ceramic fucking heavy bucket on her head to get water for her fucking children to get water so her 13 year old daughter who just had her period can be safely tended to. Do you think she's crying about the shit we're fucking crying about?
- [45:29]
B
Mm.
- [45:30]
A
I just think we have completely lost the plot, brother. I think people have lost perspective and I don't. I don't know what else to say other than spit it and hope and honestly, that whole rant that I just did the last five minutes, this is real fucking talk. I just hope one person listening to this one, Ricky, and fucking Chattanooga, Tennessee just heard that and he's like, you know what?
- [45:52]
B
You're right.
- [45:53]
A
Fuck it. Gary's right. I'm not gonna cry. What the fuck am I bitching about? Yeah, and usually shit you're bitching about is you're a straight bitch. What? Your mom, like, do you know people like, mom, you fucking forgot my Pepsi at Walmart. I'm pissed. Like, do you know, have you ever read, like, do you see what in New York, all these pretentious people like you, you gave me almond milk. I fucking said oat milk. Like, people mad about dumb shit. We got to get the out of this cocoon. We're all in.
- [46:21]
B
I love it, man. You know this podcast, when I first told you about it, you're like, this is awesome. It's a unicorn. It's a human unicorn. You are a human unicorn. I identified basically human unicorns to be folks that are operating at their peak potential.
- [46:38]
A
Yep.
- [46:39]
B
That they've looked, they pointed the finger inwards and not outwards.
- [46:42]
A
100.
- [46:43]
B
And they know exactly why they're on this planet. They know the niche that they're. That they, that they're filling, that they're serving, and they're now just fucking going for it. Why are you on this planet?
- [46:56]
A
I believe I'm on this planet because I was gifted an uncomfortable ability to communicate. And unfortunately, often when one is gifted with incredible communication capabilities, they use it for their advantage. I am not Mother Teresa. I'm not fucking, you know, some angel. But my ratio of selfless and selfish energy is, in just luck of the draw, better place than most. And I also know how to communicate. And I believe that I have a unique communication style that does not penetrate. My communication style penetrates people that a lot of people can't penetrate. And the people that you normally penetrate, those people sell them bad shit, and I'm selling them good shit. You understand? I can get to people who don't want to listen to and be preached to and told why they suck and why they got to get better, and I don't. And I tell them they don't suck, but I also tell them, fuck you, you suck. Do you understand? Yeah. I'm not judging them.
- [48:04]
B
Yeah.
- [48:05]
A
I'm praying.
- [48:06]
B
And they'll listen to you.
- [48:07]
A
They'll listen to me because they can smell that I love them. I don't judge them, right? But I'm not willing to fucking look the other way. You're a fucking dick face. Stop being a dick face. Fix it. Let's go win. Yeah. Like, no shit. You didn't make any money. You're fucking lazy, right? Like, but I'm not like, oh, I judge you. Like, even my own stuff. Forget about what I'm saying, which is virtue signaling and looking down on people. I don't even judge you from the standpoint of, like, I don't think I'm better than. But I really want you to win. But I have bad news. Like, the voices right now in the world, brother, are two. One that's saying you suck and judging people, and the other one is over coddling you and saying, it's not your fault. And the right answer is in the middle, which is, I love you and it's your fault. Oh, that was really good, too. This is. We got a couple clips of this one. I've never said that either. That's what it is. I just. I'm in. I'm in a good boat. I'm going to. I knew I was gonna. I like you so much that I knew I was gonna come with good shit. I'm gonna say it again because I just like that. I like that. And this. I could see all of you. You all agree. We all know the voices right now are judging you and telling you suck because you don't see the world the same way. You're the. We all know what I'm saying. Or it's saying, I got you. Nothing is your fault. It's the billionaire's fault. It's the machine's fault. I hate you and you suck and. Or I got you. It's not your fault. When the real answer is, I love.
- [49:35]
B
You, I got you, but you suck.
- [49:36]
A
But it's your fucking fault. And that's so real. Especially in this world of AI. And we know this. There's unlimited opportunity. There's. There's never been. You ready for this? The kids are like, oh, the boomers fucked it up. Gen Z motherfuckers. Do you know many of you make so much fudgeing money because it's so easy with TikTok and Shopify and Instagram, like, no era ever Bitcoin.
- [49:58]
B
Bitcoin. All time high.
- [49:59]
A
You have nothing but opportunity when you're 20 to 30. We grew up where you had to eat shit for 15 years before you could even say something. We had to eat shit for 15 years, right? You know, we couldn't talk. These 23 year olds come into my company like, I'm the fucking VP. I kids didn't talk until they were 35. You didn't talk in the company. This is the greatest era to be 20 to 30. But these motherfuckers are in their TikTok fucking feed and they've got somebody saying it's the boomer's fault. They took out all the money and we all got fucked. And if you're a loser, you believe it. And when I say loser, I don't think you're a loser. You're a loser in that moment. You're in a losing mindset. Do you know insane? I'm finishing with this. Do you know how insane it is to be like, first of all, I love how all these people that love to talk about being politically correct and we have to be awesome and all this stuff are the same people that are like, we Gen Z got totally fucked. I'm like, wait, we're not allowed to categorize people like that, right? That's like saying like all black people are and all Puerto Ricans are and all India and all like, like, what's this all? Do you know me, Gen Z kids I have that are. How old are you, Braden? 24. This motherfucker works his fucking dick off. He's 20. This kid would work 16 hours a day shoveling snow if I was like, hey, this is what we need to do. And wouldn't think twice. He's not lazy and entitled and soft. Now he also grew up in the middle of fucking nowhere. He's got that fucking, you know, the midwestern charm. But I mean, work ethic. I have like unlimited 24 year olds that have the most work ethic I've ever seen. And I have unlimited 60 year olds that I've grown up with through the years who are fucking lazy motherfuckers who suck shit. So if that's true, I don't want to hear from Gen Z like, the boomers fucked it all up and houses and inflation. I'm like, and there's fucking 8,000 kids making millions of dollars right now in my stream. Why aren't you that? And you know, like, like why, like why? Why is that happening? So I'm just tired of people Categorizing everything as is. This is an individual game. And either you realize you're in control, because I promise you the number one way to be depressed is thinking you are not in control. And that's what these. Fuck. There's a lot of people that got these kids all fucked up, believing that nothing they do is in their control. And if you believe that I'm gonna save you time, you might as well wrap it up. And I don't mean fucking terrible things like suicide. I mean, you should just chill. If you actually believe you're not in control, you shouldn't fight. I know this is like a funny thing that I'm saying, it sounds weird, but if you actually believe it, I promise you you lost already. You should go to Jamaica, smoke weed and lay on the beach, bro. You're 100% in control. You don't like America? Move to fucking Portugal. Portugal's on fire. I'm being serious. Go. Fucking. Like, I don't understand, like, the. Is this hair? Yeah. The fuck are we crying about?
- [53:06]
B
I love it, man. Gary, you always fucking. You bring the heat. This was.
- [53:10]
A
I get excited because I want this so bad for everyone. Right, brother? I want this so bad. Like, the reason this last 15 minutes happened is we're having a good time. I like the vibe, by the way. This whole team is giving me good vibes. Like, I'm enjoying myself. A couple good things I've never said before, and I'm just like, sitting here. I want it so bad for everyone. And you have no chance of winning if you've already decided you lost. And the only reason you decide that you lost is because somebody said it on a one minute video on TikTok. But meanwhile, like, there's a million examples that counter any point anyone's making, right? Like, I'm serious. On the left side and right side. And this, like, you, like, whatever you believe, there's unlimited data that supports you're wrong on both sides of everything. On everything. If that's true, doesn't that mean everything is real and not real? If that's true, doesn't that mean that you can decide if you have opportunity or you don't? That I just think I'm practical and I think motherfuckers are delusional.
- [54:08]
B
It was like a geometric proof, I think.
- [54:10]
A
So, right? That made sense, right? I think it makes sense. Like, if everyone's like, no one can make it. But I'm like, those four people are making it. Like, doesn't. Right?
- [54:18]
B
Yeah.
- [54:19]
A
Like, I don't know, like, I always said to kids, because I grew up in a lot. You heard how I grew up. I was like, if anyone looks like you, that's made it, that means it's possible. So don't use it.
- [54:30]
B
Mm.
- [54:31]
A
Do not weaponize. Loser. Fucking DNA shit.
- [54:34]
B
Mm.
- [54:34]
A
On yourself. Mm. On yourself, brother. The fuck are we beating ourselves up for? The fuck are you telling yourself you suck? There's so many people in the world that are gonna do that for free for you. Fuck. Are you doing it to yourself? Nah, man. I just really want to build your YouTube comments. Yeah, man. I just want this so bad for everyone. And it's so simple, by the way. I'll physically show you how simple it is. Ready? I'm gonna end with this. This is the number one thing I know to be true in life. You find what you're looking for. If you want to decide that everything's fucked up and it sucks, good news. Your algorithm will pump it.
- [55:15]
B
You found it.
- [55:17]
A
If you looked at my algorithm right now, it's fucking rainbows, sunshine, New York jets shit. Positivity, offense, winning Happy Knicks. Like, your algorithm didn't change you. TikTok and Facebook didn't make you sad. They exposed that you are sad. Real shit. Everybody loves to blame tech. I can change every single person's algorithm right now. If you got Inspired the last 20 minutes, go to your Instagram or TikTok right now, type in positivity, enter like, and follow, like, 30 accounts. Next. Erase that happiness. Do that like 30 comments. Next. Good motivation. All the words you know I'm saying right now.
- [55:58]
B
Human unicorn pod.
- [55:59]
A
Ready to do that as well. Do that for. Do that for one hour. Like 100 posts, follow 10 accounts, wake up the next morning and tell me what your fucking algo looks like. Stop blaming the fucking algo. This isn't Zucks. This isn't China. This isn't Elon. This is fucking you.
- [56:21]
B
Beautiful.
- [56:23]
A
This is the GaryVee audio experience. Big announcement. As you probably heard at this point, because I had John from Stan on the show, I am an investor advisor to an incredible startup called Stan Stan Store. I'm sending you right now to GaryVee.com, garyVee.com Stan, go check this out. We've done a GaryVee Stan store challenge, which actually has a weekly call with me. This is built for everyone who's been affected honestly by my overall content. The tech stack, all these features, and the minimal costs per month that Stan Store has built is really the tool that was needed for this world that I envisioned when I wrote Crush it, when I wrote Crushing It. And this overall thing I'm thinking a lot about lately, which is the individual empire, right? This creator entrepreneur, slash entrepreneur creator economy that I think is gonna eat up the oxygen. Very honestly. The thing that so many of you want in your life, and the reason so many of you are not there yet, is you got the strategy for me. You've got the ambition within yourself, but you don't have the tools for you to fully maximize it. And I believe you can find that at Stan Store. Stan Store. But specifically, I want you to sign up for it through my challenge, because I want to get access with you. And plus, there's a bunch of cool things. So if you want to go see those cool things, go to garyvee.com Stan S T A N.