The Relationship Between Hard Work and Happiness

Summary

Episode Overview

Podcast: The GaryVee Audio Experience
Episode: The Relationship Between Hard Work and Happiness
Date: June 20, 2026
Host: Gary Vaynerchuk

In this episode, Gary Vaynerchuk dives deep into the interplay between work ethic, personal happiness, and self-awareness. He addresses common misconceptions around hustle culture, the dangers of chasing status symbols, and the poison of living by others’ opinions. Through candid anecdotes and passionate advice, Gary challenges listeners to pursue work that makes them genuinely happy—and to measure success on personal terms rather than societal expectations.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Real Message Behind "Hard Work"

• Hard Work Is for the Unhappy or Complacent
  • Gary stresses he’s targeting advice toward those “who are unhappy or complaining.” (00:05)
  • “When I talk about work ethic, I'm trying to speak to people who are unhappy or complaining.” (Gary, 00:05)
• Work Is a Major Part of Life
  • Gary illustrates how work is a huge chunk of adult life; thus, hating your job is a recipe for misery.
  • “Even if you work nine to five… work is 50% of every hour of your whole day for 40 years of your life. Like, why the fuck are you doing something you hate?” (Gary, 00:54)
• Chasing Things You Don't Need
  • People buy expensive things to impress others, trapping themselves in jobs they dislike.
  • “People are miserable because of an extra room in their house… people buy shit they don't need and then have to work a job they hate to pay for the shit they don't need.” (Gary, 01:25)

The Power of Self-Awareness and Self-Acceptance

• Self-Awareness as Freedom
  • Gary emphasizes accepting both strengths and weaknesses as a path to happiness.
  • “I love being self-aware. I suck at a lot of things. I just don't think about that.” (Gary, 02:10)
• Ignoring External Judgment
  • Criticism—both online and in life—shouldn’t dictate how you feel about yourself.
  • "The sheer unhappiness that I see on a day-to-day basis because somebody else's opinion is dragging you down... It's a game of other people's opinions." (Gary, 02:50)

Winning the Internal Game

• Excuses Are Poison
  • Gary identifies excuses as toxic and strives to eliminate them personally and for his audience.
  • “Excuses are my poison and I want to eliminate them at all costs.” (Gary, 04:54)
• Not Advocating for Burnout
  • Clarification: Gary is not pushing everyone to hustle endlessly, only those who are unsatisfied and complaining.
  • “I'm not trying to get people into depression or burnout. I'm trying to address unhappiness.” (Gary, 05:17)

The Role of Hard Work Throughout Life Stages

• Adapt Work Ethic to Your Season
  • Whether to all-in during holidays or take time off after milestones, it’s about self-awareness and season of life.
  • “If you're at 26 right now… fucking work every minute of the holidays. If you're 31 and… just had your first child, go fucking spend three weeks and see every relative… I don't give a fuck. My point of view is, know yourself, figure yourself out and don't do it for anybody else.” (Gary, 05:45)
• Don’t Try to Impress Gary—or Anyone
  • Gary responds to fans trying to emulate him by sacrificing sleep or balance for hustle:
  • “Don't do it for me. And definitely fucking sleep.” (Gary, 06:19)

The Intrinsic Joy in the Process

• Process Over Outcome
  • Gary champions loving “the game,” not the end rewards.
  • “I wish people loved their game, their process… Not the shit that the fucking game buys you. Not the cars, not the shoes, but the actual process.” (Gary, 08:11)
• Obsession with Craft
  • True fulfillment comes from working at something you’d do “for free, quote unquote, no matter what.” (Gary, 09:02)

The Danger of Living to Please Others

• Opinions of Others as Life’s Greatest Barrier
  • Gary shares personal stories about ignoring peer pressure and urges listeners to do the same.
  • “None of their voices penetrated my dome. I'm looking for people who are happy.” (Gary, 09:23)
• Cultural Shifts on Hustle
  • Gary critiques those who work hard for years and then preach solely relaxation and self-care.
  • “I hate when people work hard for 10, 15 years, make a lot of money, and then start telling everybody else to just sleep and meditate. Yeah, get out… don't be a hypocrite.” (Gary, 06:52)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Misplaced Priorities:
  “People are miserable because of an extra room in their house.” (Gary, 01:22)
• On Self-Critique:
  “Like people get on me for biting my nails, who gives a fuck? People are just critiquing themselves all day long.” (Gary, 02:30)
• On Process:
  “I wish people loved their game, their process. People that are obsessed with the process. Not the shit that the fucking game buys you.” (Gary, 08:11)
• On Life Purpose:
  “For me, business is my art. For other people, it's art, it's designing, it's performing on stage… I need somebody who's obsessed with their craft and would be doing it for free.” (Gary, 09:00)

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Key Timestamps

• [00:00 – 01:50] – Work’s role in life; why doing work you hate is a tragedy
• [01:50 – 03:15] – On self-awareness and tuning out external judgment
• [03:15 – 04:54] – The role of sleep and how to use waking hours
• [04:54 – 06:30] – The toxic nature of excuses; clarifying Gary’s philosophy on hustle
• [06:39 – 07:49] – Ad breaks (skipped per instructions)
• [07:49 – 10:37] – Loving the process, not the outcome; obsession & intrinsic motivation
• [09:00 – 10:37] – The real threat of living for others’ approval

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Conclusion

Gary Vaynerchuk’s impassioned take in this episode is clear: hard work should be in service of your own happiness, not societal approval or material gain. True fulfillment is rooted in self-awareness, loving your process, and shutting out the opinions of others—while making sure your approach aligns with your personal circumstances and values. Hard work is valuable, but only if it’s authentic—to who you are, and the life you want to live.

Transcript

[A]

This is the GaryVee audio experience. I'm like, man, I haven't done a good enough job clarifying that. When I talk about work ethic, I'm trying to speak to people who are unhappy or complaining. If I could get people to think about their careers, the way they feel about waking up in the morning and running for that hour where they clear their stress, they love it. I hate running. So that doesn't work for me. But for. For me, working is the happy place. And I want that for everybody. Because the big thing is, I don't think people have really quantified how many hours of their adult life is actually working. Like, think about how much work takes up the time that you're awake. So a lot of people are like, oh, I work nine hours a day. I'm like, yeah, but you also sleep nine hours a day. So that means you work nine hours a day. And then everything else you do while you're awake is only six hours. Travel, shower, like, work is a lot of your life. Fuck, man. Do I want you to want to like it and live it and, like, enjoy it? It's a lot, dude. Like, even if you work nine to five, if you work eight hours a day and you sleep eight hours a day, that means work is 50% of every hour of your whole day for 40 years of your life. Like, why the fuck are you doing something you hate? Make less money, buy less fancy shit and be happy. Like, literally, people are miserable because of an extra room in their house. It gives the comfort, though. People are comfortable. They don't want to change it up. Yeah, but you know what? I think it's that people buy shit they don't need and then have to work a job they hate to pay for the shit they don't need. You guys, people they don't like. I hate that shit. It fucks me heavy. Which is how I got to the Joneses, which is how I got to. Don't worry about other people's judgment. The other thing is, if you're 22, 18, 25, 30, and you think you should have your whole life figured out, that's ludicrous. I think self awareness, if you're capable of accepting yourself for who you are, is actually the brightest light of it all. I love being self aware. I suck at a lot of things. I just don't think about that. Like, I can't read for shit. I interrupt people when I interview them 24, 7. Everybody's super pissed on the Internet about that. Not good. There's plenty of things that I'm not good at. I love self awareness. I like, it's kept me so happy, you know, I'm not upset at myself, that I'm selfish in certain areas. That's human. I think that we just don't love each other ourselves enough. I don't know whose perfection I'm trying to live up to. Like silly things. Like people get on me for biting my nails, gives a fuck. Like people are just critiquing themselves all day long. Like the sheer unhappiness that I see on a day to day basis because somebody else's opinion is dragging you down 100%. And honestly, it's a game of other people's opinions. Whether that's the anonymous comment, whether that's your friend who thinks you're selling out after like you popped a little bit, whether that's. I mean, for me it goes deep. Like I can't hear anybody at this point. And I think when people hear that, it can go into audacity and delusion. And I respect that. I think it's a. I think I walk a very tight rope and I don't think on every day. I'm always at my best. I'm sure sometimes I'm delusional or audacious. But it sure beats being crippled by everybody's opinions on an hourly basis, which is the fucking masses. I'm big on squeezing as hard as you can when you're on the field. I love sports. I think a lot about it. I'd be such a son of a bitch on the field. But as soon as, psh, game over. I'd be like, yo, give daps. But when I'm on the field, I'm hard. And so I want people to sleep, sleep eight hours a day. Talk to me about the 16 hours you're awake. People are like, yo, I don't sleep. I'm like, no, that's not cool. That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying when you're awake for 17 hours, if you sleep four hours a day, but you watch three hours a day of fucking YouTube, you're a fucking idiot. Like, sleep seven hours and make your fucking work. Like it's quality and quantity. But it all comes down to, to answer your question directly, it comes down to who you are. It's become very obvious to me that excuses are my poison and I want to eliminate them at all costs. I talk a lot about hustle and hard work and people are kind of pushing back on me a little bit right now. And it's been interesting. I'm like, man, I haven't done a good enough job clarifying that. When I talk about work ethic, I'm trying to speak to people who are unhappy or complaining. Not happy with your job. Don't watch Netflix, work after hours, save money, quit. I'm not trying to get people into depression or burnout. I'm trying to address unhappiness. Like, if you complain and you're unhappy, I will spend my career suffocating the living shit out of you. So you know the answer to your question. Whatever the fucking makes you happy at that point. And if you're at 26 right now and you need to prove to the world and most importantly yourself that you're gonna fucking do it, fucking work every minute of the holidays. If you're 31 and you worked seven years of your life to get to a place and you just had your first child, go fucking spend three weeks and see every relative so they can rub little Johnny's head like, I don't give a fuck. I don't have a point of view. My point of view is, know yourself, figure yourself out and don't do it for anybody else. It's real. Yeah, it's very real. Who are you trying to. I hate when people are like, yo, Gary Vee, been on a bender nine days in a row, haven't fucking slept. I reply all the time, like, don't do it for me. And definitely fucking sleep. Like, you know, I just. For me, the thing that's going to allow me to win the next half century and this is just the beginning and I will not burn out. Like, people are waiting for me to do is I'm happy. People are confused. I hate that people are pushing too hard against hard work right now. It's ideological. Hard work is part of the equation. I hate when people work hard for 10, 15 years, make a lot of money, and then start telling everybody else to just sleep and meditate. Yeah, get out.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I'm like, cool, but don't be fucking ideological. Like, tell your truth. Like, you worked so now you made it and you're a big shot. Be careful. Like, don't be a hypocrite.

[C]

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[D]

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[A]

To have micro losses is actually a very big part of being an all time great because the success is the game itself. Back to the process, you know, like I don't need the W's, I like the L's, I like the W's. I put myself in a position to lose focus and I think a lot of the people that are not going to win to their capability are scared to go into the ring against a worthy opponent. They'd rather not try just so they don't fail because they worry about other people's opinions. I'm telling you man, it's crazy to be at this place in my life where I'm like fuck. This all synthesizes down to people worrying about other people's opinions and oh shit. That's why I didn't do bad things in high school that my mom asked me not to do. Because not the prettiest girl in school and not the biggest jock and not the coolest kids. None of their voices penetrated my dome. I'm looking for people who are happy. Like I'm obsessed with my process. And I just. I wish people loved their game, their process. People that are obsessed with the process. Not the shit that the fucking game buys you. Not the cars, not the shoes, but the actual process. Because then you're finished, right? Like if you actually want the. If you want from the off whites to the fucking mansion, to the private planes, to the spa treatments, to the girls, to the, to the red carpet, to the dresses and gowns, the jewelry, then you don't have a long career. But if you can't breathe, like that's why entrepreneurship is so weird to me. I so couldn't breathe that I wasn't even capable of getting C's in high school because I would suffocate giving school even another second of not me being in my own head of how to sell wine or baseball cards. People who can't breathe if they're not doing their art. And for me, business is my art and for other people. It's art other people, it's designing other people, it's performing on stage. I need somebody who's obsessed with their craft and would be doing it for free, quote, unquote, no matter what. No matter what. I'm telling you, man, it's crazy to be at this place in my life where I'm like fuck. This all synthesizes down to people worrying about other people's opinions and oh shit. That's why I didn't do bad things in high school that my mom asked me not to do. Because not the prettiest girl in school and not the biggest jock and not the coolest kids. None of their voices penetrated my dome. So if I can get through high school, real life's eas.

[B]

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[E]

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[A]

Happy.