The Power of "Maybe" in Business & Marketing | Best of The Pivot Podcast

Summary

The GaryVee Audio Experience

Episode: The Power of "Maybe" in Business & Marketing | Best of The Pivot Podcast
Date: May 20, 2026
Host: Gary Vaynerchuk
Theme: Adopting a “maybe” mindset in business, combating fear, patience and evolution, AI’s role in the future, accountability, and foundational principles for lasting brand and career building.

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Episode Overview

This episode spotlights Gary Vaynerchuk’s appearance on "The Pivot Podcast," focusing on the transformative power of maintaining an open, adaptable “maybe” mindset in business and marketing—rather than defaulting to fear-based “no.” The conversation explores the balance between hustle and patience, why evolution is critical for greatness, separating self-worth from outward success, and practical advice for young entrepreneurs. Gary underscores how curiosity, discipline, and perspective beat shortcuts and fear, using sports metaphors, personal anecdotes, and hard-won business lessons.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power of “Maybe” (00:00–03:45)

• Rejecting “No” and Embracing “Maybe”
  Gary highlights the importance of not starting with a negative mindset toward new trends or technologies:

  “AI, no. I'm like maybe yes, right?... If you start with no, you're cooked. When you start with fear, it's a wrap. The world's all fucked up because fear is on offense.” – Gary (00:00–00:08)

• Weaponization of Fear
  Gary explains how fear is commonly used as a tool in politics, business, and media, stifling innovation and positivity:

  "Both sides of the political aisle, all the bosses, all the corporations, everyone's weaponizing fear... Fear, fear, fear, fear, fear." – Gary (03:39–03:56)

• Early Adopter Advantage
  He mentions betting early on social media ("be on YouTube, use Twitter, Facebook will be important") and how being open to new platforms transformed his trajectory.

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2. Hustler Mentality, Patience, and Insecurity (00:43–02:49)

• Patience As a Must, Not a Choice

  “How am I so patient? I have no choice. I want to win. When you're not doing it for anybody but yourself, it's slow... Shortcuts is an easier way to lose.” – Gary (00:57–02:49)

• Impatience Roots in Insecurity
  Gary describes how insecurity drives the rush for fast results—wanting to “close the gap” to impress others with material gains.

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3. Vision, Evolution, and Adaptation (02:49–06:28, 13:06–16:04)

• Visionary Tendencies Grounded in Openness

  “I think I have visionary tendencies… Not saying no… Maybe might unlock something for someone.” – Gary (02:53–03:13)

• Relentless Willingness to Evolve
  Using sports metaphors (e.g., Tom Brady’s career evolution), Gary insists staying adaptable is essential to remain relevant and succeed:

  "You don’t become an all-time great without evolution." – Interviewer (13:06–13:18) "Hell, yeah." – Gary (13:19)

• No “Prevent Defense” in Life

  “You can never be in prevent defense in life because just like in football, you will lose.” – Gary (06:15)

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4. Fear and Risk in Business and Life (06:28–-09:40, 14:15–19:27)

• Fears as a Leader

  "The only thing I'm personally scared about is the health of my family. Real fucking talk." – Gary (06:39)

• Learning from History:
  Gary draws a parallel between current fears of AI and historical fears about electricity—reminding us that initial panic over technology is nothing new.

• On Failure and Self-Worth

  “There's something almost romantic to me of losing everything and going to zero... I can live in an apartment that has a rat in it... I can eat $2 fast... I'm not scared of anything. I'm with myself. I'm in my cocoon.” – Gary (14:46–16:04)

• Valuing Freedom Over Money

  “I'm great at [money], but I do not respect it. I definitely don’t have... I don't like it... What I like? I like freedom.” – Gary (18:29–19:27)

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5. Self-Worth, Humility, and Building Resilience (19:27–24:48)

• Detachment from Material Success

  “I have money. I view it as optionality, but it’s not my jail… I’m detached… I don't believe that I'm great either.” – Gary (19:27)

• Learning From Losses Early On Gary discusses how early losses and challenges (immigrant childhood, language barriers, rejection in business) built resilience.

• Danger of Early/Continual Success for Youth

  "Too much success early on; I always am scared for kids... This motherfucker's gonna walk into some fire at 26 and not know what to do." – Gary (20:56–21:00)

• Parenting and Simple Foundations The necessity of “getting basic” with family and values in a complex world.

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6. Community, Investing & Evolving Markets (21:43–24:48)

• The Allure and Risks of Consumer Platforms:
  Lively discussion about the appeal and dangers of Whatnot (live shopping app), TikTok Shop, AI influencers, and collectibles:

  "Whatnot is a live shopping app that has collectibles and we’re just buying cards, opening up packs. We love that game. It’s our casino." – Gary (21:48–22:00)

• Investment Mindset

  "I made real money. I bought a Super Mario... Japanese rookie card... for $35. It sells for $3,500 now. That's just a good investment." – Gary (22:38–23:05)

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7. Separating Self-Worth from Achievement (23:05–24:48)

• Origin of Self Worth

  “My self worth had to be based on how nice I was. I just got very fortunate, bro. That’s real talk. My mom... drilled in me.” – Gary (23:37)

• Danger of Attaching Worth to Success

  “A fighter with nothing to lose is a dangerous fighter... I'm just not attached to my 21-0.” – Gary (24:01–24:48)

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8. High Performance, Focus, and Impact (24:49–27:53)

• Intention, Action, and Team Building A rare moment of self-reflection reveals Gary is in an intense period of growth and intentionality for himself and his businesses, focusing on impact and legacy.

• Being “On One”

  “Bro, this is like two weeks ago, three weeks ago, mid January... I might have a '95 Jerry Rice season this year. I've done more...” – Gary (24:49–26:09)

• Building Great Teams and Networks
  Gary details a renewed focus on giving direction to his core people, building multiple businesses (Vayner Sports, VaynerMedia, restaurant group, VFriends, podcast network).

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9. Foundational Principles for Entrepreneurs (27:42–29:00)

• Curiosity

  “Number one is curiosity. The real stuff I’m seeing is people that are curious... take full advantage of ChatGPT and Gemini... Using your curiosity because it will lead you to something new and clever.” – Gary (28:05)

• Discipline and Patience

  “The famous words of Chris Rock: what do you want, a cookie?... You need to post 800 times all month for 13 years and then talk.” – Gary (29:00)

• Perspective

  “You have to understand why you’re doing things... the reason everyone got fast is they want to impress everyone else.” – Gary (29:00)

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10. Accountability, Attention, and Legacy (31:19–32:30)

• Accountability Over Blame

  “Accountability is the oxygen needed in our society... We just absolutely default into blaming everybody. But the one person that is actually capable of changing the script...” – Gary (31:28)

• Who You Are vs. Who You Know

  “I think it's more of how you feel about yourself... those things mean nothing compared to how did you wake up today and how are you talking to yourself about you.” – Gary (32:03)

• Attention Is the Currency

  “Attention is the currency. What you do with that attention becomes your legacy.” – Gary (32:03)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “If you start with no, you’re cooked. When you start with fear, it’s a wrap. The world’s all fucked up because fear is on offense.” – Gary (00:05)
• “Shortcuts is an easier way to lose.” – Gary (02:49)
• "You can never be in prevent defense in life because just like in football, you will lose." – Gary (06:15)
• "The only thing I'm personally scared about is the health of my family. Real fucking talk." – Gary (06:39)
• "A fighter that has nothing to lose is a dangerous fighter." – Gary (24:01)
• “Attention is the currency. What you do with that attention becomes your legacy.” – Gary (32:23)

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Timestamps of Important Segments

• 00:00 – 03:45: The “Maybe” Mindset and how starting with ‘no’ leads to stagnation.
• 06:28 – 09:40: Fear of new technology, history lessons from electricity and societal change, only real fear being personal loss.
• 13:06 – 16:04: Evolution in legacy building (Tom Brady analogy), willingness to risk everything, and why losing doesn’t scare Gary.
• 18:29 – 19:27: Relationship with money and valuing freedom.
• 24:49 – 27:53: High performance, refocusing businesses, and empowering his teams for a big year.
• 28:05 – 29:00: Curiosity, discipline/patience, and perspective as the three foundational principles.
• 31:19 – 32:23: Accountability, attention versus relationships, and building real legacy.

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Final Takeaways

• Never start with “no”—always approach opportunities with curiosity and openness.
• Fear is the chief driver of stagnation and should never dictate your business or life decisions.
• Patience, adaptability, and constant evolution are essential for lasting greatness.
• Focus on personal values, self-worth from character, not material or external validation.
• Curiosity, discipline, and perspective form the bedrock of success.
• Accountability and attention are the real currencies for building a lasting brand and legacy.

Gary’s message is clear: stay open, stay patient, focus on winning for yourself not for others, and never let fear or insecurity dictate the playbook.

Transcript

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

AI, no. I'm like maybe yes, right?

[Interviewer]

No, no and no.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah. It could end up being no. But I start with maybe yes. Because if you start with no, you're cooked. When you start with no, it's over. When you start with fear, it's a wrap. The world's all fucked up because fear is on offense. How am I so patient? I have no choice. I want to win. When you're not doing it for anybody but yourself, it's slow in the macro, we're the best in the micro, we pay attention to the 0.1% of the worst. That's a bar. Fuck, man. Give me some. This is the GaryVee audio experience.

[Interviewer]

You have a hustler's mentality, right? Like your focus is like, hey, you gotta continue to work. You gotta continue to put yourself out there and give yourselves opportunities to succeed. Sometimes though, with the hustler mentality comes impatience.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes, sir.

[Interviewer]

How are you able to know? I'm trying to get this thing, I'm trying to move this needle this way, but I need to be patient to allow that to happen through my consistency.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Because I want to win. You know, I love talking to athletes and you know how much love I have for all of you. And you're the professional athlete community. Is it a good idea in professional football to to throw 45 yard bombs on every play? On your opening drive, you're gonna pick the ball off on the second play. I just don't understand how people understand. How am I so patient? I have no choice. Like when you are trying to make it happen quick, often it's because you're insecure. You know this. A lot of us came up different but in similar ways. People want it so fast because they wanna close the gap of their insecurity. I wanna make a quick money cause I wanna buy that watch, I wanna have that car that'll let me get the girl. And then you'll all be like, he did it. When you're not doing it for anybody but yourself, it's slow. You know what's cool about the Internet is the receipts are there. My early content was black and white advice like, be on YouTube, it's gonna be big. Use Twitter like this. Facebook is this. The apps are gonna be important. So I was really given more like CNBC business stuff. And then I was like, wait a minute, why is no one doing this? And then I would be out and about and now all of a sudden I'd be at a conference where 1,000 people would be there. And I didn't even know better. Back then, I would just stay and talk to everyone after a talk. My first talk, I stood there for seven hours talking to everyone. Cause I thought it was crazy. People wanted to talk to me. And I was like, wait a minute. People are insecure. I don't even know if I said it that way back then. I was just like, oh man, I'm built different. I got lucky. My mom, my dad, all that stuff. So the real answer, because I want to win and shortcuts is an easier way to lose.

[Interviewer]

Would you consider yourself a visionary?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I think I have visionary tendencies. I think that I'm very good at seeing around corners. I'm incredibly intuitive, you know, I keep going to sports. Cause it's my favorite thing. And I'm with you guys. Like secondary play, you know, you get to the high levels, you gotta be careful. Cause everyone's good. But like, as a kid, backyard football, I was so good at picking the ball off. Cause I would just watch the quarterback. Like, I'm just the anticipation. You know what I'm very good at? Not saying no. That's an interesting place to go. Maybe might unlock something for someone. AI no. I'm like, maybe yes, right?

[Interviewer]

No, no and no.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah,

[Interviewer]

but you gotta navigate it.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

It could end up being no. But I start with maybe yes. Cause if you start with no, you're cooked. When you start with no, it's over. When you start with fear, it's a wrap. The world's all fucked up because fear is on offense. Both sides of the political aisle, all the bosses, all the corporations, everyone's weaponizing fear. They're all doing the same exact thing. I'm gonna scare you on immigration, I'm gonna scare you on socialism, I'm gonna scare you on like. Like, they're just all the same stuff. Fear, fear, fear, fear, fear. So anything new? You know, the Internet, people thought that again, I'm a little more grown than you guys. People thought it was really stupid. You guys were little. The, like, it was like I was just getting into the business world. Everyone thought that was a fad. There was unlimited articles that I looked up to those magazines saying, the Internet will be done. This is stupid. In five years, we'll like. And social media that you guys know, social media was corny when you guys were coming, right? And I was like, I don't think so. Like, all the nightlife guys that I know that are my age, that run all the best spots, they laughed at Internet kids back in the day. Now they recruit them, they're the most important people coming through, right? So I'm just very good at, you know, super. Let's go. Take it to your game. Super Bowl 1. 30,000 empty seats. You know what that meant? 30,000 empty seats. It was not a big deal. Now it's 30,000 empty seats. Forget about tunein and all this. So I'm very good at maybe with a sling to. Yes. I'm also very good at willing to put myself out of business when you start making paper. Let me give you an example. I've watched you guys from day one, which is why I can. I'll give you love. I want the brands to invest in you. I want you to win bad. I'm still mad at you for that game. I bring it up every time for that jets game. You really hurt us in that one. And I'm mad at all of you, actually, as a Jets fan. But now you guys build and, like, I'm watching this like this. I mean, I'm, like, so joyful right now. And I'm like, but here come AI influencers, and here comes this. And what if podcast starts to fall? Most people, when they work so hard for seven years and they get in the spot where they're about to cook and some new stuff comes, they're like, that's bad. What they're really saying is, I'm scared. But sometimes when you're at seven years in and building what you need to build, you might need to jump on that thing to double accelerate instead of, you're gonna lose anyway. One more sports reference. You can never be in prevent defense in life because just like in football, you will lose.

[Interviewer]

What fears do you have as a leader in your space? What are some of the things that are true that could truly be negatives that you would warn people against?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

The only thing I'm personally scared about is the health of my family. Real fucking talk. That's real ry. Like, I'm not scared of AI at all. Humans have shown consistently. You actually want to get off your fear of AI. Go read about the history of electricity. Go to the library, because that's the only place you can get this. It's crazy. Libraries are important, y', all, because I like doing research. You like it, too. I love libraries because everyone just thinks everything's on the Internet. A lot of stuff's not on the Internet, but you gotta go to the library. It's weird as hell. And once in a while, I do it rarely. Once every 10 years. I did it for AI. I knew the answers to AI were in electricity. And I knew I was struggling to get enough, so I just went to the New York library and literally read over old articles from the New York Times, the 1819. It's crazy and it's all the same, man. People were scared shitless. Listen, we now know it. Could you imagine being around with electricity like everything was candle? People thought there were demons in it. People would not put electricity in their homes because they thought there were demons in it. Humans are scared of change in a real way. People hear something that scares them. AI's gonna do this. It's gonna be written with biases, right? That was the first thing 18 months ago. We better be scared of AI. Cause all the white dudes from San Francisco, ironically, we're here, are gonna write it and it's gonna be bad for minorities and women. Okay? Next it's gonna the one that's got everyone shook. Do you know why everyone hates AI Ry? Everyone's scared to lose their job. Yes, straight up, 100%. By the way, electricity changed everyone's job. Ready to soundtrack your summer with Red Bull Summer All Day Play. You choose a playlist that fits your summer vibe the best. Are you a festival fanatic, a deep end dj, a road dog, or a trail mixer? Just add a song to your chosen playlist and put your summer on track. Red Bull Summer All Day Play. Red Bull gives you wings. Visit red bull.com brightsummer ahead to learn more. See you this summer. Study and play come together on a Windows 11 PC. And for a limited time, college students get the best of both worlds. Get the unreal college deal. Everything you need to study and play with select Windows 11 PCs. Eligible students get a year of Microsoft 365 Premium and a year of Xbox game Pass ultimate with a custom color Xbox wireless controller. Learn [e-mail] studentoffer while supplies last ends June 30th terms at aka mscollegepc. Yeah, I get it. I get it. My belief is the following, man. Are you familiar that there's something called the atomic bomb? Are you familiar that it's been around for 70 years? I just believe in humanity, bro. Real talk. I believe in the human spirit straight up.

[Interviewer]

And so I want to have this analogy, please. The way you use the analogy, I want to make sure it's clear in your mind. It's, hey, we can have these things like the atomic bomb.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yep.

[Interviewer]

But if people do the right things with it, it won't lead to the extinction.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Better than that, humans have shown we do the right things in the net in the micro. A knife is bad. Let's talk about the knife. We should ban him. Someone stabbed someone yesterday. In the macro, we're the best. In the micro, we pay attention to the 0.1% of the worst. That's hard. Fuck, man. Give me something that's real shit.

[Interviewer]

I adapt myself,

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

right? I think about this every day. I don't know what happened. Thank you, God, for the mom. You gave me the circumstances. You. You gave me my inability to be confused. I walk around Earth every day and I see nothing but love. Straight up. I'm aware that if you're looking for negativity or hate or you're shook rubbernecking, the fuck are we looking at? An accident for nosy. I get. If you turn on the news, I get how the algorithms work. There's no politics in my algorithm. There's a lot of jets, football, Knicks cards, wine, happy, joy, rainbow. By the way, I can change every. Don't believe me about the algorithm. Everybody. Don't believe me that you're in control of the algorithm, not the algorithm on you right now. Everybody stop the podcast, Go to Instagram, go to search, type in rainbows, Enter like three posts out. Go back to the search, put in happiness. Like, five pieces of content out. This is the most important part. Type in GaryVee. Follow that account. Like, three things go out. Put it down, come back in the morning, show me your Stream. Email me GaryNerx. Tell me what happened. The algorithm isn't controlling you. The algorithm is exposing you.

[Interviewer]

You on one today?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I am on one today. I'm clear. I'm clean today, man. Do you know why I'm so, so excited about AI? Cause I have zero musical ability in my body. But when they make this AI music, I've got real bars. I'm gonna be the biggest rapper in the game. I just can't sing. I just can't flow. I have none of that shit. I got that white fucking man shit in me. But the AI's gonna give it to me. I'm gonna be like, all right, give me a metro boom and fucking beat. And give me a little baby cadence and Louisiana on the end. Prime wheezy like cardifor, like boom. But all my words now play. I'm gonna fuckin own Spotify, I'm gonna own. Cause the shit I've got to say is so fucking real. And I'm often countercultural. Cause I don't fucking follow. Hey, everybody, hope you're enjoying the podcast right now. Make sure you follow the podcast. That's why I'm interrupting. Let's keep going on this show, but follow the podcast. It'll make my mom super happy. A question about evolution, please.

[Interviewer]

Like, you don't. You don't become an all time great without evolution. And you continue to use sports. I'll use sports. Tom Brady, greatest career of all time.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes.

[Interviewer]

Greatest player of all time.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Please don't remind me.

[Interviewer]

But he had to evolve, right?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Hell, yeah.

[Interviewer]

The first Super Bowl.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

It wasn't about Tom.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

No, it wasn't. He had to make sure he didn't make a mistake.

[Interviewer]

It was about defense. I remember that kid to MVP Tom Brady. They don't win at that point. And then he becomes the greatest of all time, wins three more, goes to Tampa Bay. So that evolution, was it Sir Sir Isaac Newton. Right, Whatever. He said that. He was like, for every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction. It was like, oh. And he was basically kind of just like.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

That was a real bar, by the way.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. He was like, you do some stuff. He's basically like, you do some stuff. He was like, you do some stuff.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I do some stuff. 100%.

[Interviewer]

But that's how knowledge had. Because at that time, nobody never stopped.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, that's right.

[Interviewer]

There are some people who may know what you know. G. But. But they don't state it.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

They don't put their brand behind it. They don't put their name on it.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

They're not willing to deal with the ramifications that's about to ask you.

[Interviewer]

What has made you so willing to say, I believe in this. I'm willing to not only put myself in it, but put you up on it, too.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Complete lack of fear. You asked me a real question. What am I scared of? I gave you a real answer. So if the only thing I'm actually scared of is the health of my family, I'm not scared about getting canceled on the Internet for 48 hours. I'm not scared of losing money. I'm not scared of going all the way back. Ry. The thing that scares me to my bone is that my favorite Rocky is Rocky 5. When he loses everything and goes back to Philly.

[Interviewer]

One more wrong, Tommy bro.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

When he loses everything. You remember Rocky iii? He's got the robot and shit. Before he went to Russia, like, he was rock rich. He was rich. And I don't know why that Rocky came out when he goes back to the Philly hood because he lost it all. And I was romantic about it. Like, shook me. I'm literally straight up getting goosebumps there's something almost romantic to me of losing everything and going to zero. Hearing the whispers from all of you, being like, damn, he really fucked up. He wasn't that good after all. I'm like on some, you know. You know who I would have been as an athlete? The best. Which is crazy. Cause I love the Knicks. Just below the Jets. I would have been a badass fucking villain. I want everybody in the arena to boo me, which is wild. Cause no one does. I'm like loved. But in my real. I'm just not scared of anything. I'm with me. I'm with myself. I'm in my cocoon. I know I have nothing but good intent. So even if I make a mistake, I have the grace to give myself because I'm a human. I will apologize if I am wrong. I will stay back. I will be vulnerable when I understand. I've been on a three year run telling people that candor was a kryptonite for me as an operator. I'm just not scared. My man.

[Interviewer]

What's sexy but like, you talked about Rocky going back to Philly. What? Steve? The beautiful part or romantic part or sexy part about that?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Is it.

[Interviewer]

Is it the losing that it's not.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

That it's not scary?

[Interviewer]

Huh?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Right? That it's not scary?

[Interviewer]

No. Okay. But I'm saying, like, would it be what makes it romantic? Losing it all or having a chance

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

to build it again?

[Interviewer]

Or the building.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I do love the ride to the Phoenix because there is a part of me that says I'm not scared because I real build it back up and I'll be like, told you. But really, it's, it's. I just. You know this. I know. Man, do I know. You guys know this. When you come from a place of less and then you get to a place of more, most people go into defense. They do not want to go back. And I just have this weird. Like I can live in an apartment that has a rat in it with like, like a bullshit TV. Like, I don't know, like I can eat $2 fast. I don't want to for my health. But like, I don't know what it is, but it's just. I'm not trying to do dumb shit to make it happen, but I'm just. I'll give you one. When people get the most on tilt about America, like America falling, I'm like, all right, like, I'll go to New Zealand and start like, you know, I don't, I don't know. Like, I don't know. I'VE got, you know, I don't know,

[Interviewer]

it's biblical what you're doing. Right. It's the story of the parable of the talents.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah. I don't know it, but okay, so

[Interviewer]

the parable of talents is this. God, Jesus talked about people who all had talents, and there were some part of it. They buried their talents and someone else went out to multiply.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

And in burying your talents, the. The fear of finally having something and being so scared to lose it. You didn't multiply to honor God. And the way that you're living life, you are saying, hey, look, I have these talents. I have this ability. Now that I've built myself into something, I'm not too scared to lose it. I'll continue to honor it by building more. And I think that's a difficult thing to do. But it sounds easy. There's at some point when you can't lose. You get so much money, you can't lose. You get so much investments that you

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

can go check 100 million.

[Interviewer]

And then now I can't lose moving forward.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah. It's funny you say that. Like, my financial advisor hates me. That's not how I'm playing. It's also funny that money is like the framework of the combo. Right. Like, I don't know. I've had a wild relationship with money my whole life. I'm great at it, but I do not respect it. I definitely don't have. I don't like it. Yeah, it's really interesting. You know what I like? And this is real talk. I like freedom. So the reason I got D's and F's in school was like. I'm like, no, I'm not doing homework, bro. I did not open a textbook in four years of high school. I got zeros on every book report. I did not do homework on my Scantron. I did abcbacb. I had freedom in fucking the system. That's what I like money for. I have freedom. But sometimes, you know this. I actually think most people get money and lose freedom.

[Interviewer]

I agree with that.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

So I have money. I view it as optionality, but it's not my jail. And so, yeah, I mean, I'm detached. That's another thing. Lately, a lot of people have been giving me flowers around humility. Like, you know, as my whole thing keeps going and more people know me. And I just think it's because I don't believe that I'm great either. Like, it's just really zen shit. Like, you know, as you get older, you're like, I'm like, damn. Like all this shit. People are talking about. Stoicism, Buddha. I'm like, shit, that's like, I've been that. And that was because I lost. Lost a lot as a kid. Immigrant, got picked on for not speaking English. Then sports played 24, seven early on, dominated first, second grade, I was killing it. Hand, eye coordination, crazy. But then you guys know this fifth grade, all of a sudden, speed, strength, agility, athleticism, all this shit got caught up. And then like, business, business. I'm trying to sell shit. 900 people say no one says yes. You start to fall in love with the micro. No, I'm in love with the micro. No. In fact, too much success early on. I always am scared for kids. Really good looking and really good at school and really good at sports. I'm like, mm, mm. You're about to get caught. I see a 16 year old that like just says, like, that guy like, looks too good. He's got the girl, wins too much in sports. N. Straight A going to Penn or Harvard. Tennis first. I'm like, mm, mm. This motherfucker's gonna walk into some fire at 26 and not know what to do.

[Interviewer]

How do you have the athletes right now? That entitlement.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

That's right. Because you guys didn't grow up in the era of all this. Aau. One sport, all the co. Like, you guys grew up different, right?

[Interviewer]

We grew up understanding. Not to put. Well, I always say the shine before the grind. Yeah, that we grind at first. And then.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

That's right.

[Interviewer]

All of that came.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

It's tough for these kids. Fred, Fred, you would have been on. There would have been an Instagram of a clip of you as like an 8th grader getting offers to Alabama. Like it would have been. They got it different. Which is why it's all about parenting now and getting. We need to get in our caves with our crew and get our shit basic. Cause the world's complicated. We gotta get basic.

[Interviewer]

Gee, I need your help.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Please.

[Interviewer]

Man to man.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Man to man.

[Interviewer]

How can I stop spending money on whatnot?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I can't do it either. It's so fun. It's crazy. Yeah. Whatnot is a live shopping app that has collectibles and we're just buying cards, opening up packs. We love that. We love that game. It's our casino.

[Interviewer]

It has everything.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

And. And I hear you talk a lot about Tick Tock Tik Tok shop.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yep.

[Interviewer]

AI influencers.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Y. You're paying attention, my man. Thank you.

[Interviewer]

Of course.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Thank you.

[Interviewer]

We're gonna we have some stuff.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Oh, you guys, you guys, you guys

[Interviewer]

are people buying cars?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes, sir.

[Interviewer]

Come on man. That's crazy. More than cars.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

It's really not.

[Interviewer]

It's really more than cars. And, and when I talk about whatnot and, and, and Tik Tock shop and AI influencers, like really. I've been working behind the scenes before. I bring to, to my, my, my people what we're trying to do with pivot performance.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You need this needs to be on Tik Tok more and whatnot because of the way that algorithm works. I'll talk to you about off camera. Let me answer yours. I do it for investment purposes. Like I made real money. I bought a Super Mario. You know Mario from Super Mario. I bought his Japanese rookie card on eBay 24 months ago for $35. It sells for 3,500 now. That's just a good investment. Yes, sir. You know what I mean when you can do that, G. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

And I'm listening to you and it's like a thing with football players.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yep. Right.

[Interviewer]

It's when your entire self worth is attached to your career.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Of course.

[Interviewer]

What do you do when that career goes?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

It's tough, man.

[Interviewer]

I had to move back in my old neighborhood.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

My guy. That's why I started Vayner Sports. I was so infatuated with the depression that came along with the transition. Infatuated.

[Interviewer]

How do you separate that? Right. You are. Because you're a builder. Businesses.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes.

[Interviewer]

How do you separate yourself worth from what you've been able to build?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Because my mama made me see like drilled in me so consistently that my self worth had to be based on how nice I was. I just got very fortunate, bro. That's real talk. My mom just. That's what it was like by the time I was 17. Like I fully have my self worth based on how you men talk about me behind my back when I'm not here. That's it. That's where I don't nothing else. And I get it, but it's just true. And then that's why it's so awesome. That's why I'm unstoppable. There's a great term in boxing, like, you know, a fighter that has nothing to lose is a dangerous fighter. Right. So you go into it. This is why someone who's like 7 and 19 knocks out a kid on the come up at 21 and oh, that person just said fuck it, I don't give a shit. You know what I mean? And he's in the clothes, he's like. And it's like, you know, and that's kind of. I have that mentality because I'm just not attached to my 21 and O. I'm not attached to my best season. In fact, it really. This is a weird one going on with me right now. I came out the gate hot this year. In fact, you guys said, you're on one.

[Interviewer]

I'm.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I'm on one, actually. I actually called my brother two weeks ago and said, bro, just on some random, like, theatrical shit. Cause I knew I was locked in. I said, bro. I don't usually call him in the middle of the day. We talk night. Da da. He's like, what's up? I said, can you look up Jerry Rice's career? He was like, what? Like, just. I'm super left field. I was like, can you pull up Jerry Rice's career? He's like, okay, what's going on? I was like, what was his best season? He looks. He's like 95 was kind of crazy. 1800 yard. I go, Bro, this is like two weeks ago, three weeks ago, mid January. Three weeks in the year. I'm like, bro, I might have a 95 Jerry rice season this year. I've done more. This is real talk. I have done more. So I had a funny vacation. I usually travel, warm weather. I was in New York, me and my wife, she's like, you know what? And I just had time, right? I just started doing stuff that I don't normally do. And I wrote this thing called intentionality and impact. I'm very improv. I'm very improv. I'm very osmosis. I value longevity, continuity, vibes, loyalty. And I say, you know what? I got too much going on. I got eight or nine real businesses going crazy. And I got like 30, 40 people around me who've been with me for 10 years. And I'm not really giving them enough direction. They're just homies. They're in the family now. They're doing shit. But I was like, you know what? And I just started writing down, what are the three things I want Vayner Sports to get done this year? My restaurant group, which is exploding Vayner VaynerMedia's gonna do $400 million in revenue. It's a big ass company. Not in value, in revenue. You know, Vayner Sports is exploding. I'm pretty excited. Oh, I'm gonna probably be in Pittsburgh. We have Sonny Stiles. We rep from Ohio State. He's gonna be a top 15 pick. So we're excited about that. VFriends is completely out of control. I'm literally actually. No bullshit. Building the next Marvel and Pokemon in front of everyone's eyes. But it's like the third thing I'm doing and no one can see it. And I'm building this crazy podcast network. I decided this year where I'm gonna do four shows. I'm gonna build a network where I'm the Ryan Secret. I'm like doing all of them. But I'm building networks. I've got all this stuff and then I've got these incredible people. Sid on my team who's run my content. Hannah park, my chief of staff, Justin Abello, my brother in law who's in my. And I'm like, everyone here can do more too. I just started writing down what do I. And I'm just fucking locked in. And like what's been done in 30 days on this because you know the student doesn't come out that often. Like I don't do that often. So when I did. But it's. But it was. It wasn't the action. It was where I was at. I was ready to make 26 crazy. And it's all just so easy for me because of what we talked about the good shit before. I just got. So the reason this is all gonna work is. Cause I'm okay if it doesn't.

[Interviewer]

Now my question to you would be young people who watch our show and I love the social media post where there's a young entrepreneur or someone who is searching and they ask you a question. You answer the question.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Three things. If you say, hey, these are three foundational principles of building a brand or business.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

And here's ways to start. What were those things?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Maybe a weird one. First that I really believe in number one, curiosity. The real stuff that I'm seeing is people that are curious because there's so little friction to do shit now. So number one is curiosity. And the action is take full advantage of ChatGPT and Gemini. Literally the stuff I'm doing on this thing. I'm curious like why did this happen? When did this happen? How did this happen? Why did this just happen? Break this the fun one. Okay. I don't understand this chemical thing. Break this down in NFL terms. That does it. It really does it. So using AI in this moment where it can take tell you the answers to everything and using your curiosity because it will lead you to something new and clever. Look, I think number two is some sort. I'll call it dmp. I'll say discipline and patience. It's just real, y'.

[Interviewer]

All.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Like, if I did a push up right now, I would not look like y'. All. A push up is not gonna get me there. And I really think people are like that. Like, I made in. I made a social media post. Like, and like, in the famous words of, like, Chris Rock, like, what do you want a cookie? Like, you need to post 800 times all month for 13 years and then talk. Then we can talk. Like, it's this level of patience and discipline that no one wants, which goes to the third principle, which is perspective. You have to understand why you're doing things. I'm telling you, the reason everyone got fast is they want to impress everyone else. People are living their lives out here trying to impress people that they don't even know or like, like, living their life, making your life to impress people on the other side of these cameras that you don't even know. People being shook when Johnnypants 19 says you suck in the comments. Like, living their life. Like, people are scared to post about their yoga interests or their startup idea. Scared because Sally Pants McGee R7 might be like, you look terrible today. Your lighting's off. When you need to build up your team to handle the growing chaos at work, use Indeed sponsored jobs. It gives your job post the boost it needs to be seen and helps reach people with the right skills, certifications and more. Spend less time searching and more time actually interviewing candidates who check all your boxes. Listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit@ Indeed.com podcast. That's Indeed.com podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Need a hiring hero. This is a job for Indeed Sponsored jobs.

[Interviewer]

When you finally find your thing, you want the whole world to know about that thing, so you use a thing called canva to make it an even bigger and better thing. Whether you want to create flyers for that thing, make presentations for that thing, or design merch for that thing, you can do anything so people can see your thing, feel your thing, love your thing. The next thing you know, it's a thing. Canva. The thing that makes anything a thing.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I think we need a shift. But the sh. But we need to stop blaming. This isn't the algorithm's fault. This. What's that?

[Interviewer]

It's blaming number three to stop blaming number three.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, Accountability is over everything. It's like, to me, like, accountability is the oxygen needed in our society. We just absolutely default into blaming everybody. But the one person that is actually capable of changing the script, looking at

[Interviewer]

a lot of times, people. You asked that question about the glass half empty.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes.

[Interviewer]

Right. And perspective.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes.

[Interviewer]

I want to ask you what your thoughts on like, are you more of a it's about who you know type of person or more so about who knows you,

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

man. It's so crazy where my brain goes. So I'll answer and then I'll answer yours. I think it's more of how you feel about yourself. Like those two things are important, but like, I think those things mean nothing compared to how did you wake up today? And how are you talking to yourself about you. Then I'm a little bit more. I'm a little more. I'm 50. 50 on that, brother. I think network matters. I think people should push curiosity to meet different people. Different shit happens. I think who you hang out with is real. I think optimism, practical optimism. Circles just change the perception. If we sat here and dwelled. That's why everyone's fucked up. Everyone's just in politics all day and it's important. Can't put your head in the sand of injustice and shit like that. But all day, like you've got to, you know you're gonna lose every football game if the defense goes out on every play. You gotta score, you know. But I also think having attention, who knows you, that matters. Attention is the currency. You can't sell anything. God, trading cards, energy drinks, hats, a different way of looking at the world. You can't sell shit. A pastor makes nothing happen if the church is empty. So attention is the currency. What you do with that attention becomes your legacy. Everybody. If you enjoyed this podcast, please go back and look at the prior episodes. They're loaded. I appreciate your attention and thanks for being part of this journey. Some follow the noise. Bloomberg follows the money. Whether it's the funds fueling AI or crypto's trillion dollar swings, there's a money side to every story. Get the money side of the story. Subscribe [e-mail] See you later.