The Art of Accountability and Why It’s the Key to Happiness | CREATIVO Podcast with Roberto Mtz

Summary

Podcast Summary: "The Art of Accountability and Why It’s the Key to Happiness" | CREATIVO Podcast with Roberto Mtz

Hosted by Gary Vaynerchuk on "The GaryVee Audio Experience"

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1. Embracing New Technologies and AI

Gary Vaynerchuk opens the discussion by addressing the inevitability of technological advancement and human resistance to it. Drawing parallels to historical innovations like the telephone and automobile, Gary emphasizes that resistance is a natural human trait, yet it presents immense opportunities for those willing to embrace change.

Gary Vaynerchuk [00:00]: "The number one thing I know is that humans will resist new technologies. It's what we do."

Roberto Mtz introduces the concept of AI versions acting as extensions or mascots of individuals, highlighting the emerging trend of personal AI avatars.

Roberto Mtz [02:15]: "AI is a form of a mascot for a human being."

Gary concurs, envisioning a future where humans become the intellectual property owners of their AI counterparts.

Gary Vaynerchuk [02:37]: "I think the right way is yes, meaning both."

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2. Optimism vs. Fear in Technological Progress

The conversation shifts to societal attitudes towards rapid technological advancements. Gary underscores the importance of optimism in navigating the fears instilled by politicians and media.

Gary Vaynerchuk [05:50]: "What's going on right now is that everyone's scared because politicians are being very effective in scaring people. And fear controls people."

Roberto discusses the exponential nature of modern advancements compared to the linear progress of the past, emphasizing the unprecedented pace at which technology evolves.

Roberto Mtz [07:46]: "We've turned from linear to exponential. Would you agree on that?"

Gary remains steadfast in his belief in the human spirit's capacity to adapt and overcome new challenges.

Gary Vaynerchuk [06:54]: "The most underrated thing in the world is the human spirit."

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3. The Intersection of Art, Creativity, and Business

A significant portion of the dialogue explores the role of art and creativity in business. Gary highlights the importance of an artistic mindset in fostering innovation and forward-thinking.

Gary Vaynerchuk [22:48]: "Humility is a very key ingredient to make all this work."

Roberto elaborates on the symbiotic relationship between art and science, suggesting that artists propel progress by asking "what's next," which science and engineering then realize.

Roberto Mtz [23:58]: "Art usually asks the questions about what's next and they don't necessarily have the skills or the knowledge to materialize it, but they think outside of the box."

Gary acknowledges the duality of math and art as foundational elements, emphasizing their intertwined nature in driving human progress.

Gary Vaynerchuk [24:29]: "If black and white ruled the world, everything would be figured out. So to me, the gray, the art is profoundly important."

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4. Building a Personal Brand and Organizational Culture

The discussion delves into the significance of personal branding and cultivating a positive organizational culture. Gary shares his approach to leadership, focusing on empowering employees rather than merely seeking profit.

Gary Vaynerchuk [25:49]: "Real leadership is to make it good for them, not for your pocket."

Roberto advises on creating metrics based on personal effort rather than external validation to foster accountability and intrinsic motivation.

Roberto Mtz [19:00]: "If you start a podcast, one big goal could be make it to 100 episodes instead of making to a million subscribers or followers."

Gary underscores the importance of accountability as a precursor to happiness, advocating for self-responsibility over blaming others.

Gary Vaynerchuk [17:34]: "I believe accountability is the precursor to happiness. I believe it is foundational to happiness."

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5. The Power of Intuition and Self-Confidence

Gary discusses the role of intuition in his decision-making process, attributing his success to a combination of informed intuition and deep self-trust. He contrasts this with the paralyzing fear of judgment that hampers many individuals.

Gary Vaynerchuk [15:42]: "I trust my intuition in a way that I know most don't. And I wish they did for me."

Roberto highlights the balance between intuition and humility, suggesting that true accountability involves recognizing one's mistakes and learning from them.

Roberto Mtz [17:00]: "Even if you fail, it's a successful outcome because you're in control of your next step."

Gary emphasizes that humility and accountability allow individuals to grow without being limited by external blame.

Gary Vaynerchuk [17:09]: "None of that would work if I wasn't accountable when I'm wrong. One of the quickest ways I know that somebody will be limited in their achievements is predicated on how much they blame others."

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6. Navigating Success and Personal Wellbeing

The conversation touches on handling success, emphasizing the importance of focusing on the process rather than the accolades. Gary admits to moving quickly past his successes to continue striving for growth, although he acknowledges the challenge in balancing this mindset.

Gary Vaynerchuk [44:51]: "I'd like to be a little bit better. More for the memories."

Roberto relates this to his experience in poker, where decisions are made logically without dwelling on outcomes.

Roberto Mtz [46:22]: "I approach poker really mathematically. And you cannot feel so bad for losing a big hand if you did the right decision and vice versa."

Gary shares his perspective on physical health, linking it to the desire to continue enjoying life and work rather than being a direct driver of business performance.

Gary Vaynerchuk [42:07]: "I don't think the health is the driver of business, though. One of my favorite clips of me on the Internet is a kid asking me, gary, how do you factor health into your business? And my answer was, I was walking in the Super Bowl, and I said to him, well, if you're dead, you're out of business."

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7. Personal Relationships and Growth

Gary underscores the importance of maintaining healthy relationships, particularly with parents, advocating for grace and understanding to foster personal happiness.

Gary Vaynerchuk [49:58]: "But, yeah, I don't think, you know, sometimes what makes. When I hear stoic or stoicism, it makes me smile because in my brain it's. I think of it sometimes as common sense."

Roberto adds that as individuals mature, they begin to humanize their parents, understanding their flaws and fostering deeper connections.

Roberto Mtz [50:12]: "You start to humanize your parents. And that's a big part of life, understanding and humanizing them."

Gary reflects on his own relationship with his parents, highlighting how grace and acceptance contribute to his overall happiness.

Gary Vaynerchuk [50:41]: "I just have incredible grace for my parents. And I think that's a big part of my happiness."

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8. Future Interests and Continuous Learning

Towards the end, Gary shares his current interests, including leveraging AI in branding (like turning VeeFriends into a multifaceted brand) and his fascination with gut health and intuition. He emphasizes a lifelong commitment to maximizing joy and impact through continuous learning and adaptation.

Gary Vaynerchuk [51:03]: "I'm infatuated and genuinely interested in gut intuition and gut health."

Roberto mentions his admiration for Gary's ability to balance creativity with technical prowess, inspiring him to enhance his own podcasting skills.

Roberto Mtz [29:23]: "I'm really into the air wave, coming back to this improvisational nature."

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9. Closing Thoughts

Gary concludes by reiterating the value of improvisation and authenticity in his endeavors, sharing memorable experiences from his early media appearances and emphasizing the importance of context in effective communication.

Gary Vaynerchuk [30:49]: "Anybody, just type in Gary Vaynerchuk, Conan O'Brien, and it's fucking fire."

He reflects on the intrinsic joy he derives from his work, highlighting that the process itself is more rewarding than the external markers of success.

Gary Vaynerchuk [45:19]: "I like the shit."

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Key Takeaways:

• Accountability: Taking responsibility for one's actions is crucial for personal happiness and professional success.

• Intuition and Self-Trust: Informed intuition, combined with self-confidence, drives effective decision-making.

• Embracing Change: Resistance to new technologies is natural, but embracing change opens up significant opportunities.

• Artistic Mindset: Creativity and an artistic approach are essential in fostering innovation and cultural progression.

• Healthy Relationships: Maintaining grace and understanding in personal relationships, especially with parents, contributes to overall well-being.

• Continuous Growth: Focusing on the process and continuous learning ensures sustained growth and fulfillment.

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Notable Quotes:

• Gary Vaynerchuk [17:34]: "I believe accountability is the precursor to happiness. I believe it is foundational to happiness."

• Gary Vaynerchuk [05:50]: "What's going on right now is that everyone's scared because politicians are being very effective in scaring people. And fear controls people."

• Roberto Mtz [23:58]: "Art usually asks the questions about what's next and they don't necessarily have the skills or the knowledge to materialize it, but they think outside of the box."

• Gary Vaynerchuk [15:42]: "I trust my intuition in a way that I know most don't. And I wish they did for me."

• Gary Vaynerchuk [42:07]: "I don't think the health is the driver of business, though. One of my favorite clips of me on the Internet is a kid asking me, gary, how do you factor health into your business? And my answer was, I was walking in the Super Bowl, and I said to him, well, if you're dead, you're out of business."

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This episode of "The GaryVee Audio Experience" offers deep insights into the interplay between accountability, technological advancement, personal growth, and the enduring human spirit. Gary Vaynerchuk's candid reflections provide valuable lessons for entrepreneurs, content creators, and anyone striving for personal and professional fulfillment.

Transcript

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

This is the GaryVee audio experience. Hey, everybody. Actually, if you're a really hardcore listener, you know, I never do this. I'm sorry to be jumping in the middle of the podcast. If this podcast has ever meant anything to you, please go to Spotify or Apple right now and leave a review. By the way, even if you give me a one star review because you think it's shit, I respect it, but just leave a review, an actual review, four or five stars. And the actual details of why. Yeah, that would mean something for me. So thanks. Now back to the podcast. The train, the television, the telephone, the automobile. Yeah, the phone. These are electricity. These are monster. Monster. I promise you, before there was cars. It's just not that long ago. Not that long ago, people were all over the city on horses. Yeah, not that long ago, brother. The number one thing I know is that humans will resist new technologies. It's what we do.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And for the small group of us that are the other way, there's great opportunity to create and build, and I enjoy that.

[Unnamed Guest]

I'm a software engineer and I made an AI version of myself, which actually hosts one episode per month of this show.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Good for you.

[Unnamed Guest]

I think that's the future. What do you think about that?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Oh, 100%. I think humans are going to be the intellectual property owners of themselves, of other humans. There's so much coming. So much coming.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah. I see that as me licensing my image. 100% to.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

It's all nil.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

It's all name, image and likeness.

[Unnamed Guest]

And I heard in your book that you also mentioned the mascot aspect of companies.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes.

[Unnamed Guest]

AI is a form of a mascot for a human being.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

100%. I think that's right. Yeah. I mean, I think a lot of people are gonna be freaked out by it at first.

[Unnamed Guest]

There's a lot of resistance.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

A ton.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

There's resistance to electricity. You know that.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

When electricity was invented, most human beings around the world, especially in Latin America, by the way, said that there was demons inside of it.

[Dustin]

Yeah, yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And they rather have candles. And there was resistance to.

[Unnamed Guest]

To writing, to radio, to television, to everything. How do you think we should treat these virtual versions of ourselves? Talking about AI, should we see him like an extension of ourselves or as another character that looks like us?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I think the right way is yes, meaning both.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I think it's gonna be all of the above. I should make a virtual dog and build up that profile. Why not? I should have a version of myself, a variation of myself. Me in girl form.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Why not?

[Unnamed Guest]

You can actually pursue different careers.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

100%. There's so much that's coming, and it's big stuff. It's crazy. It is definitely big stuff. Like, I don't view this next wave of AI and VR and virtual as some small little thing. It's big. And that will come with societal anxiety and new norms. There are people in Japan in full pledge relationships with VTubers, literally dating people that are virtual.

[Unnamed Guest]

That's crazy.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You know? But that being crazy is no different than many things that have happened through the history of humans. It was crazy to live to 100. It was crazy to date someone from the opposite sex. It was crazy to date someone from the opposite religion. It was crazy to not have children. It was crazy to not get married. It was crazy to get married. If you go further back, everything's crazy until it's not.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah, but I think it's a different kind of crazy. Like, it's.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

But that's what everybody says.

[Dustin]

Yeah, yeah.

[Unnamed Guest]

It's the same speech when somebody said.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

When I did. When the version of me said, no, no, we're all going to take airplanes. And the other person said, that's a different level of crazy. I would say, well, that's what they said. When we did boats, people never left their land and took to the water. But then if somebody invented the boat and they did. Sure. And then the plane. I get it. Marrying a computer sounds weird to everyone right now. Or to marry code. But I do not believe that will be weird in 500 years. I don't.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And that's just that. Because I promise you, if a caveman was reincarnated right now and walked in here, he would struggle.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah, yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Like a lot's fucking happening.

[Unnamed Guest]

But a guy from the 1950s will struggle. Like, the exponential progress in the last 30 years has been insane.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

That's right.

[Unnamed Guest]

We've turned from linear to exponential. Would you agree on that?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

100%. So the world is getting smaller. Technology is bringing us closer together, maybe making us go further apart. It's always doing the same shit. What's going on right now that's interesting is people are not choosing optimism. What's going on right now is that everyone's scared because politicians are being very effective in scaring people. And fear controls people.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah, yeah, I agree. Like, if you think about, for example, making your way from New York to LA I a couple of hundred years ago, that would take months, and some people would die in the process. Right now you could take 100 years.

[Dustin]

Yeah, yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

100 years ago, 1924.

[Unnamed Guest]

But do you think there's. There's a point in this technological evolution that we're not really going to understand the implications of what we discovered?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Sure.

[Unnamed Guest]

Because, for example, right now we have big data. We have all this.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

What about the atomic bomb?

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

There was a bomb created by human beings that killed an ungodly amount of people in Japan. It was terrible, horrific. The gun, somebody invented it. Like, if you go far back enough. Why does anyone get killed by anyone?

[Unnamed Guest]

Sure, right.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

But they killed him with a stick if it wasn't a gun and there was a knife. And like, of course. Do I think that we're gonna create robots that may kill people? Sure, might happen. It's real life. I just don't fear because I am optimistic about human beings. Cause human beings have proven for thousands and thousands of years that we adjust. This doomsday. It's over. Social media, robots, AI. I don't know. Because I promise you, if the four of us were having dinner in 1950, after the atomic bomb was invented, I don't know if any of us would have believed that for the next 74 years, nobody would use one.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

After it was just used. I think the most underrated thing in the world is the human spirit.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah. And I agree, because there's like these human tendencies that don't necessarily repeat over the years, but are continuously present. Like, for example, in the book, you talk about collectibles that are coming back from the 80s, from the 70s, from the 50s, from the 60s. History maybe does not repeat itself, but it kind of rhymes. Like, this is like a radio show in a way. That's exactly right.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Very well said.

[Unnamed Guest]

There's going to be some elements of the human nature that are going to transcend these new tools, and we're still going to be necessary. I'm an optimist as well in this sense, but I think this new technology. There's biotechnology, there's big data, there's.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Quantum physics.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah, quantum physics. But in computer science.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

That's right.

[Unnamed Guest]

What's gonna happen when all these things intersect? Like, are we going, what's gonna happen.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

When four things that you and I couldn't dream of get invented in next 10, 20 years? I mean, let me ask you a question. Do you think that people are gonna live outside Earth?

[Unnamed Guest]

I don't know. It's an interesting question because I think there's two ways about thinking it.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Forget about that. Just for fun. Just when you and I are hanging out in heaven, in 400 years, we're.

[Unnamed Guest]

Gonna Be having a podcast.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah. And when I walk by you and be like, hey, yeah, remember in 2024, when we were alive, do you believe in 400 years people live outside of Earth?

[Unnamed Guest]

I think the metaverse makes a really interesting argument against it because we're turning more sedentary than ever. So we may create something virtually that substitutes the necessity humans have of exploring. So I don't know, because there's this, like, for example, do you know what the Fermi Paradox is? The Fermi Paradox is this question about if there has been so much time in the universe and there has been a lot of time for an intelligent species to develop and to explore the universe, where are they? If there's aliens, where are they? And there's this hypothesis called transcension, that it actually says that, that intelligent species eventually evolve so much that they surpass the necessity to travel space because they create their own reality. And I think we're seeing that in the metaverse. So we're definitely going to live in a different form and even in a different space. But maybe it's a space that we created, which is kind of interesting.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I think all of that is valid.

[Unnamed Guest]

Like, for example.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

But before you move on.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Like when I see you in heaven in 400 years.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Do you. Subjectively, I don't expect you to know. Nobody who's listening knows. It's just a simple question. As you sit here today as a young man in this moment of your life, not to be historically correct or not, because good news will be dead, but do you believe in 400 years that humans, human beings that live on Earth today will evolve to a place where our great, great, great grandchildren live on a planet outside of Earth?

[Unnamed Guest]

Do you think if we find a really attractive planet that it's viable? I think we would, yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Do you think we have the capacity to alter or create ways to be on those planets where it is viable? Because I think we're educated enough that there's things as humans right now, like, it's too cold, it's too hot, it's too. Do you think we will have the capacity to alter it?

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah, I think so.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Me too. And that's it.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Like, that was it. That's the whole thing for me on this subject.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Like, I think you affirmed your actual in depth optimism there.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah, sure.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

This concept that I sit here today and I know everything that the human species is capable of over the next 400 years, in a world where we just invented the Internet recently, in a world where we invented electricity in A world where we invented dams. Like, why on earth are humans not capable of continuing to grow? Out of necessity, potentially environmentally sure. Or out of curiosity, exploring which is our fucking gift.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Why on earth would we not figure it the fuck out? It seems too obvious to me on that. Than what most people think is the alternative. They're using the logic of what they know now. Yes, I understand right now it's not clear to you how we're gonna go up to the moon and fucking chill. But it wasn't clear to people how they were gonna leave their continent 500 years ago.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah, I agree. I agree. And I think that's like a really big thing I admire about you because you have this visions of the near future that are really difficult, are really difficult to Express. And 10 years from that declaration, it seems like really actual. For example, I don't know how this cartoon is called in English, but in Spanish it's Supersonicos, which is the Flintstones and the guys from the future.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes, The Jetsons.

[Unnamed Guest]

The Jetsons, Yes. There's something called retrofuturism, which means that it's kind of like exploring the path that we didn't travel. Like, if you see the visions of Back to the future of the Jetsons, it's like. It's kind of like a childish dream. No.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes.

[Unnamed Guest]

But you don't get that with your. With your visions. That's. That's like. That's really big. Especially now.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I don't like to guess.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I'd rather say nothing. And I just think that there's, you know, back to intuition and improvisation. Certain things come natural to me when it comes to humans. I think, again, one of the great things about getting older, one of the, you know, I brought it up again. I'll bring it up again. One of my dreams for heaven is you get the answers to everything. You know, I think we all have skills and talents, and I definitely feel like I have a very special relationship with humans. I feel very connected to the other 8 billion of them. I like them.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You know, I believe in them. I believe in us. I've watched so many people who are literally scared of every other person, and it breaks my heart. Do you know that I often say dustin's about to laugh? I always talk about, like, I don't like dogs. And it's an inside joke to myself, because what it represents for me is that people blindly love dogs, but they don't blindly love people. And I wish it was the other way around.

[Unnamed Guest]

Why do you think that happens? Because of the media, because of the politicians, the division, the politicians.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I mean, look, the media and politicians have always been around. I think parenting, DNA, how animals work, we're animals. Like, I think there's a lot there. But. But I think that I will say this, and I've been spending time on this with myself. Cynicism and anger and fear and darkness is easy.

[Dustin]

Sure.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Optimism and hope and love is hard. So I think a lot of people just choose the easy path.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah, sure, it's easier to go and destroy somebody's sandcastle, but it's way harder to build your own. Right.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I believe in it the most, brother. My favorite. It's fun to say this with this view. I always say. I'm sure it sounds like you've listened to me enough to have heard this before, but for people listening for the first time, there's two ways, a different way to say it. There's two ways to build the biggest building in town. Build it or build a little one and tear everyone else's down. And a lot of people choose the latter and that's unfortunate. And then people get thrown off. Humans are. Many humans are not strong enough emotionally that when they are hurt, they then deploy that as everyone will do that to them.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And they close up. For me, when people hurt me, when people have bad intent towards me, I view them as an enigma, an anomaly, a rarity. And I believe in that.

[Unnamed Guest]

I also think that you have a really valuable skill in the future that is this intuitiveness. But it's an informed intuitiveness because your process of, for example, the process of creating ads that you, that you share in your book that first start with organic content that perform well in social media, like it's an intuition, but it's like somebody that did his homework and then uses that, that information to, to make these observations. Right.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, there's momentum. Like I always had the intuition, but the experience and the pattern recognition and the momentum and then that deep trust. Yeah, I trust my intuition in a way that I know most don't. And I wish they did for me. Here's why. When I trust my intuition, it's always a winning outcome, even if it's a losing outcome. Yeah, this goes into self esteem. This is why I talk so much about it. If I worried about what everybody thought about me, I would do nothing. And that's why so many people do nothing. They worry about judgment of others. It's one thing to worry about your parents or your significant others or somebody who admires judgment, but there's people that are Scared of strangers, judgment. And it's really hurt the world.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah. This confidence that you have is because you pursue what really interests you and you have the guts to fail with your own idea. Because this term, intuition, is like a really complicated one. Because if you're not all in with your intuition, you, in a way, outsource success to somebody else. And you need to be in control of that. So even if you fail, it's a successful outcome because you're in control of your next step.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

It's so well said, my friend. But there's another part of the meal. There's a very key ingredient to make all this work. Humility.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You know, none of that would work if I wasn't accountable to when I'm wrong. One of the quickest ways I know that somebody will be limited in their achievements is predicated on how much they. They blame others.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Or they complain.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Unnamed Guest]

There's actually a quote here that says the one person you need to hold accountable is you. I agree.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

That's Accountable Aunt, one of my favorite Vee friends. This room is called Accountable Aunt. I believe accountability is the precursor to happiness. I believe it is foundational to happiness. I think when sometimes people hear me say that, they think of themselves right now and they're at home beating themselves up. You're not being accountable. You're being unfair to yourself. Accountable is accepting the truth after the fact.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You know what I mean? Like, I tried to do this. It didn't work. I could blame Dustin, but I hired Dustin to film it. I could blame Dustin, but I could have looked at the edit. If this video, like, once you're just always knowing that it's you, it gets good.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You know, because then you don't feel like someone else is in control.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Unnamed Guest]

I agree 100%. And you need to build like this architecture of your life that you can hold yourself accountable. And I think a big part of it, and you can correct me if I'm wrong, is to build metrics that depend on your work and not. And not on other people. Like, for example, if you. If you start a podcast, one big goal could be make it to 100 episodes instead of making to a million subscribers or followers. Because it depends on your work. And you create a life that with your work you can win because then it's another person's game. Or there's this external influence which obviously you prefer. Like you prefer to have success. You prefer to.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

How old are you?

[Unnamed Guest]

I'm 31.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You got your shit together, brother.

[Unnamed Guest]

Thank you.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You Know, and I see it because I remember being 31 and understanding this too now. Now you have the luxury of a lot more information than I had at 31. I wish, and I don't like using that sentence, but it would have been great. Forget about I wish. Cause I don't even like it. It would have been wonderful if I grew up in the era. Like, it's so advanced on how you're thinking. And I had that naturally. I had a mother that I think was a huge impact, and it just came natural to me. But, yeah, man, if. You know, I really, really hope that you get great success, because then you'll have influence, and I hope that kids listen to you.

[Dustin]

Thank you, brother.

[Unnamed Guest]

I read your last book for this interview. I read also your Jab, jab, jab, right Hook. Because I heard in the introduction that it was like a prequel to the book. No.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah. Day Trading Attention originally was called Jab, jab, jab, Left hook. Both books were trying to accomplish the same thing, which. Which is talk deeply about why organic social media content matters.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Unnamed Guest]

I actually heard the audiobook version, and I was impressed about your improvisation skills.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Oh, what I called.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah, yeah. Is that like an always on part of your life?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes. It might be my biggest strength. Yeah, yeah. Very much. It's how my sense of humor is. It's more improv than stand up. It's. It's a big part of my creative process. And, yes, what you got to see that day was how many of the best things that have ever happened to me have happened. You know, I sense something. It could happen to me during this interview.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Actually happens a lot when I'm interviewed, because questions are taking me down different paths than I'm taking my own self.

[Dustin]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Unnamed Guest]

I actually got really inspired by that because I have published two books, and I was thinking about making the audiobook version, and I actually fell in love with that version because it was like a podcast.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

100%.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You would be great at it.

[Unnamed Guest]

And since the early days, you were like that. Like, since as a child, even.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, Yeah. I was very disruptive in class because if I had an idea, even if my teacher was presenting, I just never was able to contain my enthusiasm, my passion, and I've always allowed it. I didn't want to contain it. I think today in society, through medicine and through parenting and through society, we try to contain art. I think it's a huge mistake.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah. And I think it's an essential part of making. Of keeping the artistic process alive. Like, I'm A really big David lynch fan.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes.

[Unnamed Guest]

And I've heard interviews about his creative process and he calls them happy accidents. When those kind of eureka moments happen, like on Saturday.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I don't even. To your point, it's funny where we're going with this. I don't even think about it any other way. I actually think scheduled or structured creative brainstorms by nature have already eliminated the opportunity for it to be truly creative.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Unnamed Guest]

And how do you professionalize that? Because structure is sometimes like a necessary process to become a professional at certain.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I think that's very well said. The way I do it is through culture. So what I mean by that is, to your point, I have a 2,500 person global marketing company that only schedulizes its brainstorming and things of that nature. But the culture of eliminating fear is actually the single most important variable of creativity. Okay, so let's break that down. The real artists of the world, in whatever genre, they're less scared.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah. And it's a really important part in social progression to have that artist mindset. Because I was watching a couple of months ago this really cool documentary of, of Netflix that's. I don't remember how it's called, but it documents the studio life of this really big artist. And there was this girl called Nettie Oxman and she had this graph that tried to represent human progress. And it all started with art. Because art usually asks the questions about what's next and they don't necessarily have the skills or the. Or the knowledge to materialize it, but they think outside of the box. Once the artist asks us that question, it's then the job of science to provide the building blocks of the idea. And then it turns down to engineering, and then it eventually turns out to design. And then the design is the input for the new generation of artists to start the cycle all over again. So you need that artistic mindset to think forward, right?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah. I mean the way I see the world is math and art are foundational and incredibly special. And some people over index very heavily to one side or the other. My great gift that I'm thankful for is I think I blur those lines. I value both very much. And to double click into what you just said. That's exactly right. I mean there's a. If black and white ruled the world, everything would be figured out.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

So to me, the gray, the art is profoundly important. And really so much of our passions as human beings sit in art. And art comes in so many shapes and forms, not just the way Most people think about them, you know, food. I think for us, we've all lived in an era where food is art. We respect chefs today. Fifty years ago, the chefs were help.

[Dustin]

Yeah, sure.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Looked down on. So I think we keep evolving and understanding art. And. Yeah, I mean, I agree that it is probably the most wonderful currency in our society.

[Unnamed Guest]

And there's, like, a potential to find a canvas in every form of work. Do you think so? Like, everybody can find the artistic value in their own work?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Oh, gosh. I mean, my sense of art is pretty broad, like, I think it is. I think the way I manage people is art.

[Dustin]

Yeah. Yeah, I agree.

[Unnamed Guest]

How do you build this sense of culture? Because I've been following you for a couple of years, and you're like this voice sometimes inside my head. Like, you have these phrases that eventually I. I think about it, especially when I had an agency in Mexico. How do you build that sense of culture?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I think by taking on the responsibility that you work for everybody and not that they work for you.

[Dustin]

Okay.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I think the reason I've been able to do things is real leadership is to make it good for them, not for your pocket. So I think intent starts with intent. Do you want to have a good culture, or do you say it and not mean it? And what you want to do is have a good P and L. You know, if you're gonna invest in culture, when you manage a lot of people, it's gonna come at the expense of profit.

[Unnamed Guest]

Sure.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You know, and so. And I don't mean, like, you throw parties and you have a foosball table in your office. I mean, the grace and patience you give employees to get there instead of firing them costs a lot of money. I can't even comprehend how many tens of millions of dollars I've lost by giving people more room over the last 30 years to have them not deliver. But it has a higher impact on the overall culture when you're a place that tries to be like that.

[Unnamed Guest]

And how do you, like, verbalized all that that you said? Like, in a. In a business perspective? Like, how do you convince everybody that that's the right path to follow? Because you had a lot of success with this mindset, but how can you pursue or persuade. Sorry, everyone else, that that's the way to go?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

By not having passion on persuading or convincing? I'm not in the convincing business. I'm in the conviction business. I don't control the other man and woman on the other side of this podcast. I can only speak from the happiness and the joy and the truth that I live. And I'm aware that it may impact someone in a way, but I think when people get focused on convincing and persuading that that is ego. I have no interest in everybody doing it my way or believing in my way. I have interest in oversharing it with the hope that it brings other people joy at the same level that it's brought me joy.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Unnamed Guest]

It's like a stoic perspective that you're only responsible for what you can say, but not what others can interpret.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I also think, you know. Yes. And I also think it's the most common sense, you know, to me sometimes what makes. When I hear stoic or stoicism, it makes me smile because in my brain it's. I think of it sometimes as common sense. In what world do I have control over?

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You know, I think people are very insecure, and I worry about that. And I. I think Gary Vee exists because I hate insecurity. You know, I want to champion people to get more confident, to be more happy, but I am not audacious enough to think that I've got it figured out. I'm just passionate to over communicating what I see.

[Unnamed Guest]

You're also a really intuitive guy, like, in the best sense of the word, you've been. I read your. Your jab, jab, jab, right hook.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes.

[Unnamed Guest]

And you made some bold predictions that turn out to be, like, really, really right.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah.

[Unnamed Guest]

I know that you. You've never described them as predictions. You just. You describe them as observations. As observations. Because you're really like, in the bleeding edge of the.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I can do it right now. Virtual influencers, social shopping. Like, it's all happening right now, but I'm so in it. I just see it earlier a lot of times than the 99%.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah. You are actually a really big voice in my conscience because I miss the TikTok wave early in the day.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes.

[Unnamed Guest]

But right now I'm really. I'm really into the air wave, coming back to this improvisational nature. I'm also a really big fan of your. Of your talks. I'm a speaker as well, and you've influenced me a lot because you have, like this reverse engineering process with the audience, which I find fascinating because it makes every talk kind of different. Because you're like, responding to the audience. Yes, I use feeling.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

That's right.

[Unnamed Guest]

How, like, when did it all started? Because it takes God. Because I had like that really static talk and then I took the leap of faith and I like, if Gary Vee does it. I can do it as well. And I started doing. And right now I have so much fun in this curriculum.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And it's better, right?

[Unnamed Guest]

It's a lot better. You grow a lot, actually.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Look. So here's probably the most flattering thing that has ever happened in my career. I had never done television. Wine, library. TV pops off in 2007 and I get invited to do the Conan O'Brien Show. This is at the height of late night television in America in 2007. We don't pre rehearse. I did not know that that was unusual. Later I did Ellen DeGeneres. Later I did the Today Show. Later I did a lot of tv. And they would always rehearse our thing. Conan didn't. Cause he's an improv. He's a writer. He's a fucking genius. I go and do the thing. You can find it on YouTube. Anybody, just type in Gary Vaynerchuk, Conan O'Brien, and it's fucking fire. Like, I don't love to give. Like, I let others give me love. I'm confident and I'll talk in a certain way, but, like, I won't say that was. I'm amazing. But it was good.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah, yeah, right?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And it's funny. And the time, like, what you've observed, the timing's right. It's. And it's straight fucking improv. Like, at the highest level, America's watching. There's a studio. And I'd never done television at the height of it. First thing I've ever done.

[Unnamed Guest]

That's crazy.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And it kills. It's the last segment of the show. It ends. He goes, good night, America. Thanks, Gary Vee. Good night, America. Show ends. And he turns to me and he goes, where do you do comedy? And I'm like, no, no, no, I'm a wine guy. And he said, get the fuck out of here. I don't think I understood how smart Conan was and how like, respected in comedy improv writing. I didn't really know yet at the time. It's one of the greatest compliments I've ever been given. One of the really profoundly talented. Yeah, you know, comedians of a generation, from a writing, from an improv standpoint, on one interaction with thought, I was a comedian. And so to answer your question, similar to that night, I think maybe a year earlier was the first time I gave a speech down in Florida. It was immediate. The first keynote I ever gave was in that style. I have never in my life prepped, had slides. Now, as you know, because you listen a lot. It's not that I have a canned speech. I have things that are in my mind in periods of time. And if I'm speaking a lot, you have riffs.

[Unnamed Guest]

You have, like, riffs, huh?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, I have riffs because they're there and they're real.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And some of them are jokes that I'll go to them. But, yes. I think one of the reasons I've had a big speaking career is I'm contextual.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Right. If I go to Mexico right now and go give a talk, I'm gonna make references to maybe what they did in the World cup or what's happening in popular culture in a novella, or, like, you know, I'm going to. I'm contextual, and then I'm contextual to the audience. If I'm speaking to a bunch of roofers, that's different than me speaking to a bunch of CMOs.

[Dustin]

Sure.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

If I'm speaking at a collectibles conference, that's different than I'm speaking to a B2B SAS industry. And I have such a wide breadth of knowledge, because I'm a practitioner, that I'm always ready to speak.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah. I think you're contextual, but with. Without losing your essence. And you're also really good at recognizing patterns, which I think that's the essence of intelligence. Like, it's maybe a really systematic approach to intelligence, but I really believe that intelligence is recognizing patterns, and you're really good at perceiving people and acting upon it. Right.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah. I trust. Yes. Thank you. Yes. There's probably nothing I trust more than my initial read on a human being.

[Unnamed Guest]

What detonated that approach to life? Like, was it your parents, your education?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I think it was my circumstance. I think, you know, first. I think my mother has a lot of it. You know, it's really funny when I think about my mother and father, I really, genuinely do have. It's crazy, like. And it's a joke in my family. The analogy is that because I was first, I got to pick all the best things. You know, I really am. No question, my mother, father's son. Like, I just. And like, just the sheer best versions of them. Both my parents have tons of great qualities. Both my parents have shortcomings. I really took a lot of their best qualities. That's number one. Number two, my upbringing. I got very fortunate that I grew up with little. You know, I'm an immigrant. I was born in the Soviet Union. Not a great place to be born. Came to America in the late 70s, a bad time in America, especially in the UK, it was like ghetto. You know, where we lived in Queens, it was like, you know, and then New Jersey and good diversity and 80s, you'd go outside and play for 12 hours a day. And like, I was a grown up at 8 years old. I literally went outside and lived life like my mom knew I was outside, but she didn't know where I was. So you, you just matured differently. I was the oldest of three kids. I was parented by my mother, who's amazingly emotionally intelligent. So not only did I have the natural ingredients, but then the fucking cook. Cook. Right. Just a lot of things went well.

[Unnamed Guest]

When did you started with your father's business of wine?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

When I was 14.

[Unnamed Guest]

When you were 14?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes.

[Unnamed Guest]

You had, you had. Like, how different was it the approach from the one that you share in your book or you recommend in your book of like, for example, if you have a roofing business that you do it in secret? Was it kind of like that, but obviously in another era.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah. You mean in convincing my father to be.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah. Like you started doing things in secret to help the business? Or was it like.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I would say this to my father's credit. I. He supported a lot. I earned that in the first two years. The first two years I worked my face off. I'm 14, 15, 16. I'm working 12 hours a day and then I'm selling wine at 16. And you have a young face. I used to.

[Unnamed Guest]

He has.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

He's the number one. Dustin's number one. We're pointing to Dustin, who's fucking 40 and looks like he's 25. But when I was 15, I looked seven. Yeah, I was. When I was 19, I was 13. So at that point in my life, I looked even younger than I was. So I was 15, looking 11. And people are coming in and buying alcohol.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah, it's crazy.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And I'm like, oh, you should buy this. The great sadness of my life is there's no footage of this. It has to be ridiculous. So I gained my dad's trust on being good in the first couple years, and then by the time I'm 16, 17, he just trusts and he said yes to most things. And the things he said no to. Yeah, I did them out of his vision and then showed him it worked and did it.

[Unnamed Guest]

We're. We're now in VaynerMedia.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes.

[Unnamed Guest]

VaynerMedia was a consequence of this wine store. And your. Your YouTube career or your social media career was a consequence of Vaynermedia. Or how was that chronology?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes, I, I started doing YouTube in 2006. Right. When it came out, February 2006, it came out in 2005, mid 2005. So within the first year, it exploded. I was good at it. It worked. It helped the business. And then Twitter came out, and I was fast on Twitter and then Facebook. And so my career was always about marketing, but this was the era of 2006, where it was about personal marketing. That gave me leverage to have people interested in me, which allowed me to listen to the market and know they needed my skills to do what I was doing for my father's business, but for the biggest companies in the world. And so VaynerMedia came out of me being a marketer for my dad's business, but realizing that it was going to become the most important marketing in the world and that Starbucks and Nike and BMW were going to need it.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah, it's incredible, the difference between the marketing we're marketing right now and. And in the 70s and 80s. I know you.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You said even in the early 2000s.

[Unnamed Guest]

Like, it's so much complicated right now.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Oh, I wish I could be Don Draper.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You know, I wish I could come up. I have a lot of ideas. You have ideas?

[Dustin]

Yeah, yeah, sure.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Like going into a room and selling someone on. Believing in my idea would have been the best. And then going in the middle of day and getting a cocktail and becoming. I would have been the best.

[Unnamed Guest]

Or having this sense of stability that, you know, that these ideas would be. Could maybe work in six months.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I mean, it was unbelievable what we're in now. The merit, where the math shows you if you were good at creative or not because of the algorithms, that's a different game. But luckily, I've been training for this game for over a decade, so we're in a good position.

[Unnamed Guest]

Do you think the reward is as well, exponentially bigger right now?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, I do. It's also potentially very low cost. Yeah, that's one clip from this for you could result in doubling your audience. Yeah, that's crazy.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah, it's crazy. What advice would you give me? I have this podcast called Creativo. I have found success in Mexico. I'm over 500 episodes in this podcast. But I want to start breaking the American media. I already have my working visa. I'm gonna come to the States probably next year.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And you don't have to. You don't have to give advice to somebody that knows what to do. You're doing it right now.

[Unnamed Guest]

Just knock on doors and we are in.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You breaking into the US Market you're.

[Unnamed Guest]

My first guess in English, which is an honor.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

We are in the moment right now. This is the meta of you executing on your vision. You're no dummy. You didn't get be here by accident. Me saying yes to this interview, you're going to leverage that to completely penetrate the entire market.

[Unnamed Guest]

I appreciate your yes, by the way.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I was happy to do it. I go back to intuition. I get a lot of these. Something just smelled right.

[Unnamed Guest]

How do you continue to find interest in this career? Because you've done it for so long?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Because I have interest in building the building.

[Dustin]

Okay.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah, yeah. It's interesting because you describe yourself as a serial entrepreneur, and that tells me that you are in love with the game. You're also a serial social media creator because you're contextual with the way you express yourself in different platforms. Have you fallen in love with the social media game similarly to the entrepreneurship game, or is it part of the game?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I think it started as being part of the big game, but I think I love the craft of it as well. I was always aware that if I built a personal brand, that that would be a leverage point for growth. It's called. I love when people are like, oh, personal brand. It's so yucky. I'm like, reputation.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

People get so caught up in words. I knew having a big and good reputation would be good for business. Go figure, you know? So I think it started off as me knowing that it would be valuable for my entrepreneurial career, but I think I now enjoy the craft of the creativity, the science, the strategy, similar to the way I enjoy being an entrepreneur. I'm also very interesting. I probably love being COO as much as I love being CEO.

[Dustin]

Okay.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

So one of my shortcomings potentially is that I spend too much time being coo, because I love operations too. I enjoy all of it.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah, I have the same problem. I really love the creative process and the technical process of this podcast, but you need to. You only have so much hours, and you only have so much willpower, no.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Matter how fucking amazing you are. No, many. How many hours? That's right.

[Unnamed Guest]

I also like that by dedicating yourself to build, like, this personal brand, in a way, you also incentivize yourself to build a better you. Like, you not only grow professionally, but you also grow personally with each new experience. That makes it, like, addictive. Like, for me, I sometimes live live experiences for the podcast or for. Which is my way of verbalizing my interest. But. But for me, it's. It's actually like this virtual cycle of 100%. I get better to perform better, so I get better to perform better.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I'm a buyer of that.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah. How about physical health? You're also in really good health. Does that come into the equation of the business performance?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

No, I think that's more about life.

[Unnamed Guest]

Okay.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You know, I don't think I'm in good health because I wanna work forever, though. I want to work forever. It's more that I don't wanna die, you know, Like, I love life so much. Work is a big part of that. But I also love my leisure. I love my family, I love build. So, you know, I think the health is not the driver of business, though. One of my favorite clips of me on the Internet is a kid asking me, gary, how do you factor health into your business? And my answer was, I was walking in the super bowl, and I said to him, well, if you're dead, you're out of business. And I've always laughed about that. And it came very natural. It was a fun improv moment. But I think I do health because I'd like to see my grandchild. Like, I want to live. Why wouldn't. If you like life, why wouldn't you want to live as long as possible?

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You know, and, you know, I think some of us have such passion for what we do. Like, I feel like if I was out of shape and not as healthy, I would still have the adrenaline and the passion to work as much. Yeah, I just don't think I would live as long, and I prefer to live longer.

[Dustin]

Yeah, sure.

[Unnamed Guest]

I agree. How do you talk to yourself, like, in private? Like, for example, I'm often. Yeah, but, but, but what's, like, the tone, Like.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Oh, it's a love affair.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

It's a love affair in the way that I think I talk to the world. I think the way you see me show up is what's going on with me, too, which is I'm like, if I'm a cheerleader for Dustin, well, of course I'm a cheerleader to myself. But I'm also telling myself, like, I enjoy a good. This actually happened very recently, maybe this week. Or was it last week? I was in the bathroom in our office. I was thinking about something. I got to the mirror, wash my hands, and I look at myself, and I'm like. I razzed myself. Like, literally, physically looked at myself. I'm like, don't be a fucking idiot.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You know, it's like, fun. I have a very nice relationship with myself, and it is Actually, my. It's one of my deepest sadness that I know so many don't.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah. You need to know how to talk to yourself. And how do you respond to certain kinds of tones? Like, I talk to myself like a boxer. Like if I. My own coach. Because I respond well to that. Yeah, I respond well to that. But there are some people that don't.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah. I think I, I think, you know, sometimes I'm like my father to myself. Sometimes I'm my cheerleader, Sometimes I'm my, you know, guidance coach or, or, you know, like, there's a lot of versions, but all of it is so warm and well intended.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Unnamed Guest]

How do you deal with success? Because it's one thing that I've noticed in this talk is that you don't. You don't. You. You don't stay a lot in your successes because you're moving forward. Like, how do you deal with us, with success? Do you move on quickly?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, too fast. Actually, I'm trying to be a little bit better. My brother razzes me quite a bit of like, can you fucking take a second to smell the rose? But for me, the rose doesn't smell good. The putting the seed into the soil to grow the rose. Now that, that manure.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

That I plant the rose in, that smells good to me. I like the shit.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah. The really good part of enjoying your day to day is that the process is the reward.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

100%. I'd like to be a little bit better. More for the memories. Yay, we sold a company. Or like, you know, like, I've had some remarkable things happen that, that it's almost humorous now that I'm sitting here and thinking about it. Like, I've had some pretty big stuff happen where, like, I'm not sure I'm spending even a fucking minute on it. You've seen it dust, you know, like. Yeah. So. But I don't think that's a bad thing. I don't think that makes me a sicko or fucked up. Like, I, I'm a little detached from my success. That's like over here, it's almost like a shelf of trophies. Like, I don't know, like, it's got dust on it. Like, I don't think I shine my trophies, you know?

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah. And I, and I totally identify with that. Like, I'm a really big poker player, poker fan, and I. And I approach poker, like, really mathematically. And you cannot feel so bad for losing a big hand if you did the right decision and vice versa. Like, you cannot feel so good.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Well, that goes. Right. So good. If you played it loose. Yeah, I like that. I'm very similar. That's why I tell everybody to die on their own sword.

[Dustin]

Okay. Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You know, I love that saying, don't let somebody else dictate. Like, don't make a decision based on someone like you. That's why I like when I lose a hand in poker and I'm not actually a very good poker player. I'm enough to be dangerous. Yeah. Just like dwelling is just not something I think is a great trait.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Dwelling is very poisonous.

[Dustin]

Yeah, I agree.

[Unnamed Guest]

It gets you to the wrong state of mind to analyze your next decision. Like, if you're playing golf and you. And you had a really bad hole, you need to move on. Like, that's sports.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I'm like that. I'm actually in sports. I can get very caught up.

[Unnamed Guest]

I saw you had a black guy, like a couple of.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Took an elbow in basketball. In sports, I get very on tilt. I can lose my way. I let my emo. In business and life, emotion is really under control. In sports, it's out of control.

[Unnamed Guest]

But you need to have a vessel for your emotion. So you shoot sports. Right.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I think the New York jets is my great vessel. All that disappointment, all that negativity they actually play. I don't know if you know this. You see where the lights are very far away.

[Dustin]

Oh, yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

That's where the New York jets play.

[Unnamed Guest]

That's a stadium.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

That's a stadium. That place drives me fucking crazy, that place. I'm overly emotional. But you've got it very much figured out. I think people like me, seems like you, others, they have some sort of vessel for that. And mine, thank God, is sports. It's not politics, it's not family members. It's something that's silly. I think it's structured super. Right. I think giving a fuck about something that much that actually means nothing is wildly healthy.

[Dustin]

Sure.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Especially when it doesn't affect anybody else.

[Unnamed Guest]

It's kind of poetic that you could see here the. Yeah. Stadium. It's like your polar star.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

It's literally. Literally a very big part of me. It's the jets are there. My other favorite team is the Knicks. That's my office there. And then if we go over there, the Statue of Liberty is there. And that represents a lot to me. I'm a very. I'm very pro America. I'm not naive that America has shortcomings, but so does everybody.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Unnamed Guest]

Who doesn't?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Like what? Mexico, Russia, China, Sweden, France. Like, you can't be a country and not have many shortcomings, let alone a couple. But yeah, I love this office because I get to see a lot of the things that matter to me.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah. And if you have love for yourself, you need to have love for the. The environment that created you. Like, that's an essential part of.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Well, that goes into, like, you know, I wish, I think another thing that I'm spending a lot of time in late nights in showers and airplanes and moments of silence. I wish people had better relationships with their parents. Yeah, I wish people gave their parents more grace. I said something at Vicon once that said. It was said. The line was, I just want you all to know, if you're upset with your parents, like, fuck your grandparents. And the point was, there's so many people that are mad at their mom. They know their grandma. Yeah, they know what their grandma did to their mom, but they like their grandma. Cause their grandma didn't do that to them.

[Dustin]

Sure.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

But they're mad at their mom, but the grandma created the mom. Like, I don't think we need. We do not leave enough grace for our parents. Mistakes. We are. I think in general, humans do not have the right relationship with their judgment of their parents.

[Unnamed Guest]

I totally agree. And you come eventually to an age that you are the age of when your parents had you. Like, I'm the age of when my parents had me as a baby. And you start to humanize your parents. And that's a big part of life, understanding and humanizing them.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And it goes. It makes sense, right? Because when you idolize your parents, as so many of us do, when. When you're 2, 4, 6, 7, you go through this transition when you're like, wait a minute, my parent is a human. Yeah, wait a minute, my parent really made these mistakes. Wait a minute, my parent made this terrible mistake. And you know, you take them off this pedestal that you put them on and fucks it all up. But to your point, then you come back around. Yeah, I just have incredible grace for my parents. And I think that's a big part of my happiness.

[Unnamed Guest]

Are you nostalgic about your past? Because I'm having the same reflection about my parents in the recent years. And I appreciate them right now, but that comes also with a nostalgia of my childhood, of the early years.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I think I have it. I'm very fond of my childhood. Yeah, I like it.

[Unnamed Guest]

What are you interested in right now?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

A lot. I mean, I'm always interested in maximizing joy and impact in my life. I'm incredibly Interested. I could feel myself smiling. Let me not use interested. I am getting more confident that I'm gonna turn veefriends into a Pokemon, like Marvel, like brand that has me very happy. It's gonna take me another 20 years, but I smell it, so that's exciting. Has me interested. Live social shopping has me infatuated. The QVCIFICATION of social media. Food.

[Dustin]

Food.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, I love food, you know, in couple different ways. You know, my fiance is an incredibly educated expert in clean living. So not just food, but chemicals. Like my deodorant that I use right now has no chemicals in it. The first two weeks I used it, I was scared to be around people because it didn't fucking work. And just watching my body adjust to it has been fascinating to me.

[Unnamed Guest]

So your body adjusts to the deodorant? I didn't know that.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And you know, deodorant is pretty interesting because it's really going in you.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

So, you know, Mona has definitely been a huge impact on my curiosity and interest on cleaner eating, cleaner living. I think people are gonna. I'm excited for gut health, intuition. The gut.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

As an overall thing. The gut. Both in gut health. A lot of people around the world take medicine that they don't have to if they understood the gut, because the gut is so important. And then what we talked about earlier, back to creative.

[Dustin]

Yeah, sure.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Like, I'm infatuated and genuinely interested in gut intuition and gut health.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah. That's really interesting because some. Some things that we verbalize in a way, like in the 80s, in the 70s with technology, it has changed drastically. Like, for example, my, my. We're about to be done.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I can't believe how fast it went.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Holy shit.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Unnamed Guest]

Well, Gary, for me, hasn't been.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

No, no, go ahead, go ahead. I want to make. Did you touch on everything you wanted?

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah, sure. I actually touched in even more topics. It was an improvisational talk and I really appreciate it.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

The biggest compliment I can give you is the fact that this was an hour and it really, like, I literally looked at it and I thought we had a whole nother half an hour. Only speaks to how enjoyable this was for me, so thank you.