Gary Vaynerchuk: Why Truth, Humility, and Kindness Will Become Your Next Superpower

So, something I've noticed lately and it's been bothering me. The loudest

voices in the room aren't necessarily the smartest ones anymore. They might

still get the views. They're getting

them by being mean, by tearing other people down, and by being the most aggressive person on the timeline. And

honestly, I think a lot of us are quietly exhausted by it. My guest today thinks this era is actually about to end. He thinks the next 5 years are

end. He thinks the next 5 years are going to belong to people who are kind and have humility, those who want reputations worth defending. And he's

not saying it because it sounds nice.

He's saying it because he watches what's happening online for a living and he can see the cracks forming. Gary Vaynerchuk

has been telling people what's about to happen on the internet about 3 years before they're ready to hear it. Social

creators, attention, AI. He was early to YouTube, Twitter, Tik Tok, and now live shopping, which we get into today. He's

been right enough times that the people that write him off the loudest are usually quoting him a year later. He

runs Vayner Media, advises some of the biggest companies in the world, and has built a media empire that employs thousands of people, and a content engine that produces hundreds of pieces

a week. Now, I know what some of you are

a week. Now, I know what some of you are thinking. You've heard Gary on other

thinking. You've heard Gary on other podcasts. You've seen the clips. But

podcasts. You've seen the clips. But

that is not the conversation that I wanted to have. I wanted to sit down with one of the few operators who's actually paying attention to what's coming culturally, not just what's

happening and coming commercially.

Listen for what he says about insecurity being the engine that gets you started and why it can't be the engine that keeps you running. Listen for what he says about reputation being the most underpriced asset on earth right now.

Listen for the line about fear. I think

it's the most accurate description of why most of us don't move that I've heard in a long time. And listen for what he told me he'd do if he were starting from zero today. That's the

part you want to write down.

I feel that the worst sentence on earth is nice guys finish last. Gary

Vaynerchuk has been telling people what's about to happen on the internet for years before they're ready to hear it.

Social media changed no one. Social

media exposed everyone. The reason most people don't see what I see is cuz they don't want it to happen.

He runs Vayner Media, advises some of the biggest companies in the world and has built a media empire that employs thousands of people, and a content engine that produces hundreds of pieces

a week. We are clearly in a moment where

a week. We are clearly in a moment where decency is completely unraveled. I

didn't realize then security was the more prevalent fuel to get to the top.

We've lost the art of no one gives a [ __ ] He was early to YouTube, Twitter, Tik Tok, and now he can see the cracks forming.

I actually think we're in the pre-dawn of a very good era for good people. And

your reputation is your biggest asset.

Oh, I'll be happy if your next prediction comes true. What's the most important thing that you've changed your mind about?

Gary, welcome to Aspire.

Thank you for having me.

Well, I'm very, very excited about our conversation. And I feel like with you

conversation. And I feel like with you and I, there are actually the more research I did about you, the more similarities that I found you and I had, which is kind of unsurprising, but there's something that you said that

really got me. And you said, and I believe this so deeply. You said

everyone's got something and every person is carrying some version of hardship. But there's a choice and we

hardship. But there's a choice and we all have a choice whether you weaponize it as an excuse or you use it as the foundation for something which you and I clearly have in our life. But I kind of

wanted to start at this point because I feel like so many people believe the stories that they tell themselves, the the kind of you know the realities of the existence that they're born into.

And I wanted to ask you what you really believe is the one thing that holds people back the most.

Insecurity, you know, at its most basic fear. It's

why so many people weaponize it. They

can control people.

So I I think the number one reason people are held back is they worry about the judgment of others because they're insecure. They're they're trapped and

insecure. They're they're trapped and they're scared to fail in front of others and they don't have self-belief because it was imposed inside of them

through circumstance or someone and you know I'm very motivated by putting out content and talking about it because every day people get unlocked whether through therapy or meditation or a

podcast or a friend or the serendipity of meeting a college roommate. M

there's just a million ways people can get out but it is always words that start the process of action but the answer to the question directly is insecurity.

So what do you say to people that are living with real fear like fear that comes from a place of you know real concern perhaps that you know they don't

have the circumstances that are best but they really want to they really want to move forward in their life like how have you in your own life been able to do that? You know, I don't really use

that? You know, I don't really use myself as a comp. You know, I'm the byproduct of an extraordinary mother and really, you know, humble beginnings, which is like the perfect formula for

world domination.

Yes, it is. You know what I mean?

You experienced fear. You must have at Oh my god. My sister and I were driving here. We were just laughing that I got

here. We were just laughing that I got all my fear out of the way as a kid. I

was ultimately mostly scared about my parents dying.

Yeah.

It was a big real big track in my life.

My my mom lost her mom at five. My

father lost his dad at 15.

So it was a legitimate fear.

It was a legitimate fear. It was in the air. Yeah.

air. Yeah.

My mom did almost everything right. But

my mom would say things like, you know, if anything happens to us, you got to take care of your sister and then later my brother. I did so much fear in my

my brother. I did so much fear in my youth and such real important [ __ ] that I think by the time I got to 18, I'm like, "Oh, we're cooking now." Like, I'm not scared of [ __ ] I mean, that's definitely something we've got in common and I talk about

that a lot. I feel like I went through so much stuff that was actually scary as I've come up in my professional life.

Stuff that would frighten the life out of somebody like losing money. I'm just like like that's

losing money. I'm just like like that's not real. Like that's not actually

not real. Like that's not actually something to be really scared about. But

one of the things I've heard you talk about a lot is whether or not everyone should be an entrepreneur. I think that what holds people back so much is the fear. So how do you even begin to work

fear. So how do you even begin to work through that in your own mind as a person? whether you should branch out,

person? whether you should branch out, whether you should be really entrepreneurial when the stories and the fear is really what's holding you back by having a relationship with with what's really important in life. I think

a lot of people listening right this second know they want to take some sort of risk, but they are not willing to live less bougie

if it doesn't work out. They're not

willing to fly coach instead of front in the first class. It's almost like we've created massive taboo of taking a step back from a materialistic or social

status that we're willing to not live our lives on what we want to actually do just to keep up with the Joneses normally to impress people that we don't

even really like. When you wrap up, when you start going to those 80s, 90s, hundreds, oh yeah, you're not going to be happy that you didn't take those risks. You're going to

regret it. And I think regret is a very

regret it. And I think regret is a very devastating energy.

We all have regrets. And I think the biggest regret is just when you don't try something, right? When you actually allow the fear to hold you back. How

have you been able as you've gone through your career to get more and more comfortable with taking risks. Like what

does that actually look like?

You know, I'm just so uncomfortably curious of how good I am at the game. It

drives me. Whereas I've been in a place in my life now where I've spent a lot of time with a lot of people that are really at the tippy top. I was stunned when I got there.

In what way?

I was like, "Oh [ __ ] they're insecure."

I didn't realize that insecurity was the more prevalent fuel to get to the top. I

thought, you know, I was such a cocoon of myself and my environment. I thought

it was confidence.

I thought, of course, you can get to the top with confidence, right? Because

you're strong.

What I didn't realize was insecurity gets you there as well. What I didn't know then that I try to talk a lot about now is insecurity gets you there, but it's also the reason you don't stay

there. Right.

there. Right.

Yeah.

You and I have been very fortunate to be in enough circles to know like Jesus Christ, some of the people that are the most admired people in the world are struggling. They're genuinely

are struggling. They're genuinely actually insecure. They're no different

actually insecure. They're no different than others. What I've observed the last

than others. What I've observed the last 15 years is it's hard to stay at the top of whatever you do through insecurity because you're constantly

pulling from a very challenging energy versus what I have which is I've had content before I started which did not take away any of my ambition.

So what was it that drove you then?

I want to make my parents proud. M

the only other thing I've ever said which is true is do you know like on porches they have that zapper with the light and the bugs all go there and they get zapped.

Oh yeah.

I'm that bug. What the [ __ ] was I doing when I was seven knocking on doors in the summer washing cars and I it wasn't about the money. It's not like I wanted to buy. It's I don't even really buy

to buy. It's I don't even really buy [ __ ] I like having money for optionality and time but I don't want stuff. So, how do you actually figure

stuff. So, how do you actually figure out because I do think that there is a whole audience of people that are listening and I really believe that you can be entrepreneurial in a corporate environment in like a regular job but

how do you figure out if the way that we're talking about entrepreneurialism now starting a business being a founder is actually for you or not jumping in the pool.

Nothing to it but to do it.

There's no weird test. There's no

[ __ ] report.

Isn't that what's so hard for people to understand though? You just got to do

understand though? You just got to do it.

Yes. Because they're scared to fail.

Mhm.

But if you're scared to fail, it's already the first tell that you're not an entrepreneur.

I think it's really important to contextualize like how important it is to eclipse fear and to have like moments of failure. Like I think of all of the

of failure. Like I think of all of the sort of biggest moments of almost like lift where I've actually been able to propel myself forward.

They've come after something has gone really wrong. Do you have those moments

really wrong. Do you have those moments in your life, in your career, where you've actually failed and something really great has come out of it?

Mine's a little different, and I I hope some people can associate with this. I

just couldn't hear anything for so long.

I'm 50 now. I don't think I've heard anybody else besides myself for four decades.

What you mean? In your own head?

Yes.

You've been able to tune everyone out?

everyone including my even the ultimate my mother who's everything to me. H

how I'm not sure.

Well, because listen I mean you have put yourself in situations you know you're so huge on social you have non-stop messaging rhetoric uh you know criticism

you know fantastic you know critique coming your way. How have you been able to do that? My best guess at this moment

in my life is some sort of almost probably not even proper overindexing on empathy.

Please explain that to me.

Anytime someone shits on me, whether it was a teacher in fourth grade or a classmate or Johnny Pants 47 on Instagram, I just know that if they're saying

something bad about me, it's because they're in a bad place.

And how quickly do you go there? like

immediately as you're getting the the [ __ ] really.

And I got there takes training.

And I got again, this is why I think about natural DNA a lot.

Yeah. Yeah, for sure.

You know how there's like tennis players sometimes at 14 in in the women's side, they can win Wimbledon at 14. That's

just natural [ __ ] talent. They put in some work obviously since they were six or five, but I think just naturally, and I get this from my mom. My mom also does not give a

[ __ ] So, I obviously have that, but like maybe it was the, you know, the market giving me validation. You know,

by the time I was 10 and 11, I was really slinging that lemonade and that shovel and and those baseball cards.

Like, I was getting so much positive affirmation from the market. Somewhere

between fourth and fifth grade, my head just went into some really [ __ ] fantastic place that has been the foundation of my success and joy, which is completely predicated on simplicity,

which is like nothing matters. I'm going

to do my thing, be a good person. See

you.

So, how do you get out of that? How do

you give less [ __ ] Because I do actually believe it's a really important part of being successful that you start to drown out the punch line, right? like

100%.

Yes, I would say that I've become infinitely more successful the less that I have listened to other people.

And more importantly, and I need to hear I need people to hear this cuz a lot of people are listening right now and they're saying to themselves, they're like, "I'm successful, but I give a lot of fun."

of fun." And what I say to them is like, "Yeah, for now, but I'm telling you, it's going to be hard to keep paddling and staying above water." When you get to that

above water." When you get to that place, you're on the [ __ ] I don't know, is it the Dead Sea where you can just lay and you're floating? Like

that's where you try to go. Or maybe,

you know, you launch a book and you get a lot of criticism. Something like that.

Like either or.

You know, you're putting yourself out there like your journey right now and as you continue to ascend. It just comes with the territory. It's what the world does.

We build up Britney, then we tear down Britney, and then we want Britney back, [ __ ] Like, it's just what we do. It's

what we do. It's what society does.

There's something else I want to talk to you about, which is um you've been talking about so much, which is the decline of accountability. And I want to really understand like what you think people are getting wrong right now when

it comes to responsibility cuz I think it kind of links together with this they're believing politicians.

Say more.

Both the left and the right in every country in the world is selling the same thing.

This is [ __ ] you up and I am going to save you.

And you believe that people just eating that up. It comes from a lack of

that up. It comes from a lack of responsibility.

Well, let's play it out.

Yeah.

You're unhappy. Your life sucks.

Yeah. Is it more fun to think it's the immigrants faults or billionaires faults or corporations faults or is it more fun to think it's your fault?

Well, I mean, listen, I just wrote a book called Start with Yourself. And one

of the things I talk about is my upbringing was exactly like that. I was

surrounded by people that blamed everyone for everything. And I watched an Oprah episode and it was about like radical self- responsibility. And I was like, "That just sounds better. That

just sounds like it makes more sense."

Why do we struggle so much with that though? And why are people being so

though? And why are people being so swept up? Like why is there such a lack

swept up? Like why is there such a lack of responsibility for ourselves?

You think it all comes back down to insecurity?

I believe life is binary.

Pure confidence, not ego. Ego is insecurity with makeup

not ego. Ego is insecurity with makeup on.

Confidence, insecurity. Show me where someone sits, I'll tell you everything about their life. And I believe modern parenting in the last 30 years has out of good intent. This is a very important

part of the sentence, out of very good intent created more insecurity than historically. And we're feeling the

historically. And we're feeling the effects of that as well.

Why do you talk on this so much though?

I find it so interesting because you do like you come back to this point. I see

it cuz I I cuz I'm on the receiving end.

I'm watching it. I wasn't a kid who had this. I'm not doing any focus group of

this. I'm not doing any focus group of one. Remember, I've been a public figure

one. Remember, I've been a public figure for a long time on social and I talk about these things for a long time. I'm

on the receiving end of literally millions of direct messages that are private at this point and I analyze it.

How much of that do you see?

An extraordinary amount. Especially in

the last two years now we're taking all those messages and we're putting them into large language models and analyzing sentiment.

Ah, so you're actually looking at everything. used to on a flight to LA

everything. used to on a flight to LA like this read four and and by the way I still like to do it cuz I'm a little old. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I still do it a

old. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I still do it a lot actually but I have much cleaner data. And so it's very clear to me

data. And so it's very clear to me that stripping competitiveness out of a child, demonizing competitiveness,

demonizing merit. Like she who's more

demonizing merit. Like she who's more talented and worked hard and won the soccer match should be treated the same way you and I should be treated. who did

dick [ __ ] and gossiped on the bench and didn't give a [ __ ] What world is that going to play out well?

That's why I talk about it because I think it's led to incredible amounts of pain and it seems so small. By the way, whoever invented it, whoever whatever woman or man came up with like let's

give everyone a trophy came from a good place.

I am so excited to share my debut book with you all, Start with Yourself, which is available now. You might have seen the headlines. You might have seen the

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What I'm interested in is like what are you seeing in those children that are coming out of college that bothers you so much that you want to speak on it that their parents tricked them into

thinking like that work ethic and like that real life isn't real. Their expectations got

isn't real. Their expectations got whacked.

But I do think it's an important subject to talk about because where we are right now we are we really believe that there's so much danger, right? whether

it's social, whether it's society at large, we believe that we are there to protect our children. So you're right, it comes from a really good place. And

at the same time, what we're saying is that, you know, we we're we're in a market and a time right now where we are actually a little bit unsure of what we're even, you know, growing our kids up to do, you know, what is going to be

left for them. So I understand where there is this fear around parenting. So

I I get it. I think that it's important to talk about like what what can we do?

What is the way to behave?

Build confidence. And confidence can only come from what they do, not what you do for them.

Got it.

It's that simple, right?

It's really that simple.

It's really that simple.

And it's really like it it's that simple and it's [ __ ] hard.

Yeah. No, like I agree. It's hard

because it's hard to dial back especially when what you're seeing all around you and then you imagine that if you don't do that for your kid, you're somehow letting them down. So I think it's a really it's just an important conversation to have like what are you optimizing for?

And listen it's nuance right parents have become interested in being friends with their children versus being friendly and that's a nuance and like and then every parent comes up with an excuse. We

we talk like this for five minutes and there's a parent on the treadmill walking their dog driving and they're coming up actively right now with the excuse of why their kids situation is different. But you don't get it my son

different. But you don't get it my son is X or you don't get it. My daughter

went through Y. And all of that is like so understandable because I do this like you know it's so easy to talk about it in the abstract. I'm sitting here on a podcast so I could talk about in the macro when it gets to those little

[ __ ] that you love more than breathing you like it's so hard but it is the answer.

It is the answer. It is the answer. I

listen I couldn't agree with you anymore. What do you see when you look

anymore. What do you see when you look around at your peers at the people you know have been successful? All the

ambitious people in front of you. What

has been running underneath their ambition? What is it that those people

ambition? What is it that those people all have in common?

I think a weird one no one talks about is curiosity. I think a lot of my most

is curiosity. I think a lot of my most successful friends I associate with on my artistic side. They're just really artists. They're curious. They're like,

artists. They're curious. They're like,

"What if I did this?" Like there's a really romantic part of it.

Yeah.

Some of it silly like early youth just like they want stuff. They just want status.

That was maybe a bit of me.

Yeah. I mean that's just like normal.

It was that simple. Yeah, it's it's not super complicated. Like they put they

super complicated. Like they put they put a specific person on a pedestal and they want to emulate.

Um that'll work too to a degree. Yeah, I

mean it works to get you so far.

Some people come from beautiful places like wanting to get their mom out. And

then I think there's a group of us that are similar to what I said about myself as well, which is like you don't even know. You're just seeing the light and

know. You're just seeing the light and you just can't it's like you're [ __ ] like I don't know. Like I can't help it.

Like this is just what I want to do. I

want to create. It's Alex can give you a story on this. I was once in Turks and Caos. I watched this kid once build the

Caos. I watched this kid once build the craziest sand castle situation I've ever seen in my life. Worked on it for 7 hours. This 8-year-old was a [ __ ]

hours. This 8-year-old was a [ __ ] dog. He just built it. Built it. Built

dog. He just built it. Built it. Built

it. I was like just listening to music, watching him for like eight hours out of nowhere. like the you know I don't know

nowhere. like the you know I don't know out of everywhere like the day comes to an end and his parents call him to go clean up because they're gonna go to dinner at the resort. John I don't remember his name. Johnny we're going.

This kid stands up takes a good look. No

phone, no anything. No bringing anyone over. Takes a good look at this

over. Takes a good look at this masterpiece and then bashes it to the ground and leaves. Yes, he does.

leaves. Yes, he does.

And I swear to God I looked at that kid and I'm like that's me.

Wow. That's me. I am not doing any of this Gary. You would be flabbergasted

this Gary. You would be flabbergasted how detached I am from the Gary Vee brand for my professional career from all of it. Like if I was a musician, I would live in the studio. Yes, I would

tour and all that stuff cuz I'd have to do it to for the game. But my I'm just in my lab. This kid was just in his bag on this sand castle. He didn't need

someone to see it. He didn't need everyone to be like, "Oh my god." He

didn't need to take a photo to show everybody. He just built it and that was

everybody. He just built it and that was enough. And he tore the whole thing

enough. And he tore the whole thing down.

I I feel like you wear the I don't care like it's a like it's a badge of honor.

Why is that so important?

It's actually different, Emma. It's it

doesn't come from a place of like audacity or I'm it's it comes from a place of simplicity.

I care deeply. I just care about myself.

I care about me. But in that selfishness, it allows me to be incredibly selfless.

It allows me to do such incredible things for my family and the people around me and the people I'm close to and my nonprofits and blah blah blah.

But like I don't Yeah. It's not like I'm cool guy and like [ __ ] you two fingers up and like I don't give a [ __ ] what you all think. It's really from a much more

all think. It's really from a much more loving place. It's just I'm quiet in my

loving place. It's just I'm quiet in my little place. I'm out there a lot

little place. I'm out there a lot because I have great joy of the deposits I'm leaving in the world. I feel a sense of responsibility even on what I'm Yeah, I do because I think a lot of people are putting out dog [ __ ]

I think there's a lot of confusion out there. I feel that the worst sentence on

there. I feel that the worst sentence on earth is nice guys finish last.

I think it has been detrimental to society and I take on the responsibility and the judgment of telling the truth which is nice guys finish first. It's

very important for you to be nice, right?

It is the only thing I care about. Yeah.

Nothing drives me more crazy when pretty girls are on social media telling all these boys that they want to hook up with that if you're nice, it gives them the ick. It makes it the whole thing's

the ick. It makes it the whole thing's [ __ ] It's also not true.

Yeah. No, I listen, I married a nice guy. I can't even imagine. I can't

guy. I can't even imagine. I can't

imagine anything else like and I actually really when when I think about attributes in business, it really befits you to be nice. It's really good if you're especially if you're playing long.

Well, of course. I mean, we're trying to be like I'm playing long.

Yes, you have to.

You know, and so if you're a marathon runner, not a sprinter, if you're trying to make a quick bag and get a private plane and go smoke weed on an island and like do all this frivolous [ __ ] go

fast. [ __ ] it. Nice. Knock yourself out.

fast. [ __ ] it. Nice. Knock yourself out.

It's not what I'm trying to do.

So, what do you think the most important attributes are? Because when you we were

attributes are? Because when you we were talking about like skill, like when you think about curiosity, but what is important?

Resilience, tenacity, curiosity, patience, you know, self-awareness is number one.

If you don't know yourself, you're finished.

How do people get to know themselves, though? Because I really think that that

though? Because I really think that that is true. And there's those of us that

is true. And there's those of us that have like a natural inclination to learn more about ourselves, to understand our habits, our patterns, what makes us us.

How do you cultivate self-awareness?

Because it is one of the most important things.

Putting the people around you in a position to tell you the truth without ramification.

Yeah. Which is harder the more successful you get.

Or not.

Well, it depends on the type of person you are. I think people are less likely

you are. I think people are less likely to tell you the truth when you are successful. I had a a particular moment

successful. I had a a particular moment this morning where I had an opportunity to tell someone who had been an [ __ ] that she had been an [ __ ] in a nice private way. Not not not loud, but it

private way. Not not not loud, but it was like it was important to me to say, you know, she was very confused by something she'd done and I was like, "No, you were an asshole."

Clearly, you care about that person.

I and that is the only reason because if I didn't care, I wouldn't care to say anything. I'd be like, "Go on with your

anything. I'd be like, "Go on with your ass self." But it is really important

ass self." But it is really important and people find it really hard to do that. Let me say something that I hope

that. Let me say something that I hope helps somebody. Most people have shut

helps somebody. Most people have shut down their intuition a long time ago.

What that means is most people then also realize that you can trick people by not saying it, by keeping it private, by the reverse, by being a hypocrite and

by by by pointing fingers first. There's

a lot of ways to trick. I would tell the people that are listening, you the people you're tricking are not the people that you should be

focusing on. While you're tricking the

focusing on. While you're tricking the masses, the top 5% of emotional intelligence and most emotionally intelligent people, you're exposing yourself to them.

You're, you know, you're losing with the winning audience, excuse me, and you're winning with the losing audience. And so

I would say this, humility I is the great superpower of the truly unstoppable. I love losing. I love

unstoppable. I love losing. I love

saying I'm sorry. I love being wrong.

And I and I think that's a common trait for people that are really doing it.

Yeah.

Like really doing, not optically doing it.

And I would challenge everyone. You're

not succeeding by disguising it. You'll

only succeed by leaning into it. So, I

would say self-awareness is garnered with humility, with making the people around you that work for you feel safe.

It's crazy what my employees say to me.

Well, that's what I want to understand.

I think having people around you that will tell the truth is superpower. So,

how do you cultivate the type of conditions that allow people to tell you the truth by when someone here says something to you when someone rewarding it, right?

You should thank you for that [ __ ] Not only thank you in private like when an employee says something to me.

Yeah. In front of everyone.

Oh my god. I mean when Steve Unwin years ago said to me, Gary, you always talk about intent. If you have good intent,

about intent. If you have good intent, even if you make mistakes.

But he said something interesting. He

said, "Well, what if you don't act on any of that intent?" And it made me think, I mean, you would have thought Steve won a Nobel Peace Prize. I was

telling that story in the office for a month.

So I think for you especially, you know, and you're in this spot right now that a lot of people go through when it's like starting to really happen.

Yeah.

That's when you have to almost triple down on facts. Triple down on it. And

then once one person gets rewarded for it, then everyone else starts to feel safe. But it's funny. I've hired a We're

safe. But it's funny. I've hired a We're growing very quickly in all my companies. So there's a lot of new

companies. So there's a lot of new blood. And it's really funny watching a

blood. And it's really funny watching a new player, especially an experienced executive who's worked in all these other places who has who sense of themselves. Yeah. And sees like a kid

themselves. Yeah. And sees like a kid [ __ ] on me and they're like, "What are you doing?"

Now, for everyone who's listening, don't be this person. Now,

one of the big mistakes a lot of kids make in my company. They'll come in and they know this about me and they'll make something. They they want to show that

something. They they want to show that they'll push back, but they're pushing back on some dumb [ __ ] Yeah. Like you

have to make sure the business you're standing on when you're pushing back against the lead player.

There's real stuff there.

Yeah. You better not. Don't come with some and I will kill you. I'm going to murder you. I'm like that's very And I'm

murder you. I'm like that's very And I'm quick to be like that was cute. You're

trying to show that you're not a yes person.

Please explain one more time what the [ __ ] you just said.

I love what you're saying because I think that we have created conditions often times around ourselves where we've we don't enable people to tell the truth. And it is something that really

truth. And it is something that really hampers people. I actually think again

hampers people. I actually think again and I always go back to women because there is an ease with in in the way that we kind of feel like we have to always

give you know positive feedback, lift each other up where it's like you know what like it's actually more helpful because women have fewer opportunities, fewer chances to get things right.

They're held to insane standards. It's

harder for them to raise money. When you

lie to women that's really problematic.

We actually need more tricks. You become

an enabler of something that isn't right.

Yes.

And that doesn't mean you're not a girl's girl.

No, it doesn't mean you're not a girl's girl. Quite the opposite.

girl. Quite the opposite.

But let there be no confusion. I

struggled with cander for a long time in my career cuz I watched people use cander to be a straight dick face.

Facts, right? People disguise cander

right? People disguise cander to just be horrible.

Yes.

So, we stood up something years ago in my company called kind cander.

If you give a little sugar to the medicine you're about to give to, a lot of times it lands.

Yes. And so like when you told that person, if you if you're able to be like, "Hey, listen. Before I say anything, I hope you actually understand that I'm deeply coming from love cuz I

think you're a badass bitch." But in this moment, like every human, I think there was a little, you know, it's how you deliver it.

It's all about how you deliver it.

Melody Hobson came on this podcast and she spoke about getting really hard feedback in her early career and she said I can't remember the I wish I remembered who she was speaking about but somebody very incredible and she

said come on give it to me you know be brutally honest and he said to her you know what I'm going to be honest but I don't need to be brutal and I think that that is so important you can give it to people straight without being a dick

you can give it to them compassionately sympathetically kindly there's no reason to make it a to-do do. Um, but yes, giving real feedback, which was

something I do amazing to the ether, but I struggled mightily in my 20s and 30s operating because I I cared about the people and I thought it was scaring them if I gave them feedback. Yeah.

And I misunderstood for a long time.

For a long time.

For 20 years. I'm glad I'm glad to talk to you about that because I think it is such a it's such an overlooked point like just to be truthful and to be honest and how that follows you because

when you don't have much you always have your reputation. Your reputation will

your reputation. Your reputation will follow you around and there's so much of that that you're in control of. Just

telling the truth, being honest, being reliable, it comes back to you in ways that you don't understand.

I also think a lot about pendulum swings. Like right now with the

swings. Like right now with the explosion of digital, I'm getting very excited about analog. Glad you went there cuz that's what I want to talk to you about.

Good. I believe that society pendulum swings every 5, 10, 15, 20 years, whatever it may be. Baggy jeans, tight jeans, baggy je, right? You know,

I know about the jeans.

I know you do. Um, I think we've gone through an era the last 10 years, last seven, where just like

morals and ethics and proper just completely went out the window.

I think one of the great things of never compromising on your reputation, like trying to be a good person. I actually

think we're in the pre-dawn of a very good era for good people. I think we're getting tired.

I'm like, can that era just come?

I smell it. I do this for a living. I

smell it. I'm starting to see the earliest cracks.

What is giving you that feeling? Because

I feel like a lot of people would be like, "Please, good lord, let that be the truth." But

the truth." But fatigue of trends. Like you literally just think it's being an [ __ ] has just gone full circle. Winning while

being an [ __ ] has gone full circle.

We just kind of went Yeah. We just kind of went to a place where like civility didn't become cool anymore and we thought it was cool that everyone was [ __ ] keeping it real and shooting it

straight and blah blah blah which then led to the next version which is saying things that are inappropriate. And

I actually think it's a trend. I think

we're it's fatigue. Remember, I'd like to think everyone, you listen, I was a very bad student, but I was good at history. I'd like to remind everyone the

history. I'd like to remind everyone the 60s were pretty tumultuous.

[ __ ] yeah, of course they were.

Like, stay stay on this foot though for me, Gary, cuz you you are such a thoughtful person. And when you make a

thoughtful person. And when you make a prediction like that, it's not coming from nowhere. We are clearly in a moment

from nowhere. We are clearly in a moment where decency is completely unraveled.

And it doesn't matter if you look politically, economically, through a lens of social, like the very fabric on how to raised day. Even dayto day, I travel a lot.

day. Even dayto day, I travel a lot.

When I watch a 80year-old woman get to the airport gate and I see 19, 20 year olds just sitting there. You got to be [ __ ] kidding me. And I'm like, someone please God, even down to that

level.

I'm telling you, and I'm glad I have this on wax. I'm I know because I watch what everyone says. I'm telling you, it's starting. The earliest bubbles, I

it's starting. The earliest bubbles, I think you will see a lot of people gain popularity over the next 2 to four years by being

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So, if you're a graduate now, you're about to graduate and you're thinking about the future. You're thinking about what's happening in AI, what's happening, what's your job, what do you say to young people now to focus on

to reverse engineer what they think they're good at and what they like. When

you're 20 or 22, you need to go into the biggest high-risisk years of your life. 22 to 30 is high risk time.

But we taught them all to now you've grown, you got to get a job. We

completely [ __ ] it up. It's backwards.

Yeah.

22 to 30 is insanity.

No, it's fuckaround time.

It's And in a real way. And I don't mean like the way that people think about it, which is like, "Oh, I'm Oh, it's [ __ ] around time. I'm not going to do [ __ ]

around time. I'm not going to do [ __ ] I'm just going to do shit."

It's what the [ __ ] is your dream, but don't be delus. Do not mix up passion and delusion. They're two different

and delusion. They're two different words.

What do you love the most? Cuz that's

going to get you to work as hard as it's going to require to break into something.

And then are you actually good at it?

That's the kicker.

Yeah. And and are you good at it?

Are you good at it?

Are you good at it?

And then I'll say another thing. Get as

close to the sun as possible. I I know for a fact a ton of young girls desperately want to be you right now.

This is happening right now. If she's

listening right now, she needs to spam the [ __ ] out of this organization and get in here. And if she's just back there literally serving get as close to

the sun. I could not push this more. I

the sun. I could not push this more. I

feel like you have to get in that room and do whatever the [ __ ] you need to do to just be around it because osmosis is the greatest teacher in the world.

You literally are like boy me. Is he

not? Like do you know why they're all laughing?

Why?

Because I say the same [ __ ] every day.

Like you talk about osmosis. I I speak about proximity and visibility. Just

like just go for me. Do go Gary. Like

just go.

Life is not school. You are not going to learn how to be an entrepreneur by reading an entrepreneur book. You need

to learn by seeing it. It's the jungle out here. Lions become better lions by

out here. Lions become better lions by hanging out with lions.

Facts. You know, like the amount of people that leave great organizations where they have proximity to winners for $5,000 more somewhere out. I mean, I see this all the time. I've been talking

about this for a long time. So, I get some really fun emails for people that really regret leaving. Oh my god, I was at this company. I felt undervalued for $2,000. They went to this other place.

$2,000. They went to this other place.

Like, the learning experience when you're up close to someone doing it, it's called real life. It's how life works. But can I tell you I this is one

works. But can I tell you I this is one of the things that I like to talk about so much because I really get a lot of [ __ ] around this work life balance thing like being in the office and proximity

and I don't say it because I believe that people need to like ruin their lives and have no balance. I believe

that proximity and visibility, right, the other way around coming back at you, like you being seen, you being in the right space, you being in the right conversations, people being able to contextualize, oh, look over there,

that's KK. Like, he's really good at

that's KK. Like, he's really good at this thing, this thing, and this thing.

And look at look at how KK took that feedback from her. Wow, he's so gracious.

And then put it in his work. Look at

that. Great. But he's more senior. Oh,

wait a minute. Huh? You can be talented and you can be gracious when someone on paper below you said something. Oh, I

want to be like that.

It's much more detailed than just a black and white. It's the gray.

It's the It's the gray. And it's so interesting cuz I sat in a job that I felt extremely undervalued in in my early 20s. But I learned so much. My my

early 20s. But I learned so much. My my

desk was in front of the the boss, the owner of the company. And I used to listen to this woman every day. I heard

every [ __ ] thing that was happening in that company, every conversation. I

heard how she won business and I was just soaking it all up. We've lost the art of no one gives a [ __ ] When you're 24 and you're sitting and you feel

undervalued, the power of knowing no one gave a [ __ ] about you was actually a strength. It was. Now, it shouldn't be

strength. It was. Now, it shouldn't be inappropriate. Back to what you were

inappropriate. Back to what you were saying about work life balance. You're

not talking about like burning out and dying.

No.

But but entitlement is a disease. And if

you're walking into an organization that you haven't done [ __ ] in and you're a child and you think you should be the [ __ ] VP and your thoughts should be like overvalued, that's called audacity and it is not attractive.

No.

And by the way, if you're such a whiz kid, go do it.

Go do your thing. Like,

yeah. Yeah. Take a shot.

Because by the way, there's unlimited 23 year olds cooking.

Yeah.

With social media, there's unlimited 23 year old People say all the time like, "Gary, you don't get it." I'm like, "I do get it. There's unlimited 23 year olds cooking. Do we not know that? This

olds cooking. Do we not know that? This

is the greatest era ever for 20 year olds. You have unlimited opportunity.

olds. You have unlimited opportunity.

Live shopping, social media, content, vibe coding. If you're 25 and you're not

vibe coding. If you're 25 and you're not cooking, you suck. But are you ready for that message? You're definitely not when

that message? You're definitely not when your mom and dad said you're the best and fought all your fights. And when I say you suck, that's not bad. Because

the cool part is you have unlimited time to dominate.

Yeah, you do.

Unlimited.

Yeah, you do.

But when you when you actually internalize what I'm saying and you're like, "Wait a minute.

I saw a Tik Tok that said this is the worst generation cuz the boomers took all the money." Did you not notice the 93,000 people you're following that are making a million dollars a year in brand deals that are your age? Which part are

you listening to?

Which part are you listening to? Well,

whatever you choose to listen to, right?

Wherever you choose to put your focus.

Life is very simple. You find what you're looking for. You think the world sucks? Good news. You can find it all

sucks? Good news. You can find it all day long.

But you want to think the world's awesome. Good news. There's unlimited

awesome. Good news. There's unlimited

things to see. You choose.

I want you to get back to something that I look at you and think that you have been so brilliant in predicting what is to come. And I love that you talk about

to come. And I love that you talk about the return of civility because that is something that I think is so needed in the world right now. And I love that cuz I think I've always been the Michelle

Obama and gone high. So that that feels good for me. But talk to me about because I've seen you speaking so much about the next trends and you predicted YouTube. You predicted, you know, so

YouTube. You predicted, you know, so many of these like big social movements, how important social commerce was going to be and now you are non-stop talking about shopping. I'm

about shopping. I'm obsessed.

I'm like, you are obsessed. And I'm

like, listen, how have you even become someone that can spot that and see it and then you can talk to me about what's going to happen?

I work like how many people listening to this podcast did unlimited research 12 years ago when China was doing the same thing?

I have a funny feeling not many.

Not that many.

You know, 20 years ago, like why are guys bringing back these weird mustaches, you know, four years ago back to the jeans, like uhoh, skinny's out.

like here comes the you know like why why when you talk about curiosity as a superpower you're talking about a deep like you're going in and in asking questions taking meetings because you

don't come to those type of assumptions without deep understanding and knowledge that's right and then you're applying them and making money from it and then by the Yes. And then, by the way, I'm not predicting. I'm

commentating. Let me explain.

This year, Tik Tok shop will probably do between 25 and 40 billion in GMV. That

means gross merchandise value. That

means everyone in the studio and everyone listening at home, $25 billion worth of stuff is going to sell on Tik Tok shop this year. That's I'm not predicting [ __ ] It happened. Y'all just

don't know about it at the level that you think. And I've seen this movie over

you think. And I've seen this movie over and over. E-commerce and 90s.

and over. E-commerce and 90s.

I was right about putting my daddy's liquor store on e-commerce and yapping about e-commerce, not to the world back then, to my circles, but eBay and Amazon had already

happened. You know, I was right about

happened. You know, I was right about social media. Like top eight, top eight

social media. Like top eight, top eight had already happened on MySpace. Like I

knew it was just going to keep building.

Live shopping happened in Asia a decade ago and it's been happening on whatnot, but it's been slow to take off here, right? Because again, like I have brands

right? Because again, like I have brands that are huge on Tik Tok shops and yet live shopping is something that we haven't quite cracked yet.

It's early and it's a different skill.

It's being good at QVC, not being good at cataloges on the internet.

Yeah, that's different.

It's a different thing.

It's a different thing. Everybody's

trying to have a hit podcast. It takes

talent. It takes a team. It takes work ethic. It takes serendipity. It takes a

ethic. It takes serendipity. It takes a lot of [ __ ] Like everything good is hard. Live shopping is good. Good.

hard. Live shopping is good. Good.

What do you think the next evolution is then when you look at what's happening in US commerce? Is it just that you're looking at China and you're like, "Okay, whatever's happened there is going to pop off here."

Because you have to know what Americans do. You need to know what and then it

do. You need to know what and then it goes deeper. Then it becomes what do

goes deeper. Then it becomes what do moms do? What do teenage girls do? Then

moms do? What do teenage girls do? Then

it's you break it again. What do black teenage girls do, white teenage girls do? Hispanic and then you go into

do? Hispanic and then you go into interest. what a cool girl like it goes

interest. what a cool girl like it goes you know it's very and on and on and on and then you have separation of wealth as a macro financial trend that you start thinking about things I think about which is like the airification of

every category what does that mean that means $150 suntan lotion that means $65

band-aids that means $130 pack of bubble gum because you might not be able to afford a private plane and you might not be able to afford a big mansion or a

$200,000 card, but you might be able to get to $130 pack of gum. And everybody wants that

feeling. Unfortunately,

feeling. Unfortunately, they're going to use materials to close emotional gaps.

So, you don't see that changing? It's

probably almost my life's work of hoping that can change, but no, we've got deep rooted human truths that, you know, eb and flow through society, through

moments in time and history. Uh I wish they did, but so yeah, I think about I think about a lot of trends, but live shopping, I think for this audience, this is a big

one. There are many men and women

one. There are many men and women listening right now who dream to be content creators and influencers who are destined to never be but would actually

make hundreds of thousands or million dollars a year being live shopping hosts on Tik Tok.

So let's talk about that for a minute.

So there are so many people that listen to this podcast that think, you know, I've got something special. I need to be making more money. How do you, Gary Vee, sit there and say, "All right, you know

what? I'm gonna try something. I heard I

what? I'm gonna try something. I heard I listen to Gary and he said that, you know, this whole online shopping thing is gonna take off. Like, what are the next steps?

They literally take out their phone right now and they go to Claude or Chat GPT or Gemini cuz we live in an AI world and they literally say, I just listened to Gary Vee on Aspire

with Emma talk about live shopping. I'm

a 42-year-old stay-at-home mom that likes plants, bravo television, clean eating, and fashion.

I heard something. He said something about what not or something. He also

said Tik Tok shop. How do I set up a Tik Tok shop account? Give me four examples of people that have gone from zero to meaningfully strong that look like me.

Enter. Emma, how do people get into better health?

How do they get into better health?

How do people get into better physical health?

By [ __ ] doing it, correct? They eat

less, they exercise more, they get all the information, and they find somebody that they think is like hot and healthy and copy whatever the [ __ ] they're doing.

Business, life, everything. It's

actually shockingly simple on paper.

It's incredibly hard to be disciplined.

So, let's go back to where we started at the top because what is stopping that 42year-old mother who's sitting at home is fear.

She knows that when she goes on TikTok and she's selling a plant in her living room that the other moms in the neighborhood can see it

and that's that. And she doesn't want to hear like why are you doing that? Do you

and your husband are you guys having financial trouble?

Right.

Facts.

Facts. Oh, are you Oh, Emma, are you going through a midlife crisis? Like,

that was so weird what you did. Like,

you're selling plants on TikTok. I feel

so Are you okay?

Are you okay?

They're scared of the pity of the hurt.

I would never do that to the Emma. I

would be the friend to be like, "Girl, I'm proud of you. Let's go." But they fear the pity of the hurt. The only

reason her neighbor said that to her is she's not happy with her marriage right now or she's worried about her daughter right now or her mom was just diagnosed with cancer and she's scared.

People are not living their full life because they fear the pity of the hurt.

And if they've really listened to this podcast and they go back to the top and they listen to what it is that you have in the sense of you just don't give a

[ __ ] And when you hear that critique, you have radical empathy that goes back to, "Why is that person so judgmental about me selling a [ __ ] plant?" You

would be able to just wash straight over it.

If I was that 42-y old woman and I went outside to get my mail and my neighbor, who's my girlfriend came up to me and I'm that 42-year-old woman and she said,

"I'll call myself Garina. Garina,

are you okay? That was a little weird. I

saw what you did on TikTok last night selling the place. everything okay? Is

your husband okay financially? Like

what's going on? I would literally say to Sally, I'd be like, Sally, I feel so like, are you okay? Why would you say that to me? I'm trying something new. I

want to do something. Why are you trying to tear me down? That can only mean that you're not in a great place. Are you

guys okay?

Yeah. I'd be like, Sally, do me a [ __ ] favor.

Get the [ __ ] out of my face.

Buy a [ __ ] plant. Support. Shut up

and buy the [ __ ] mate. Be a girl's girl. Come on, S. Avon, when those

girl. Come on, S. Avon, when those ladies will come around to your house, my mom WOULD BE LIKE, "BUY A LIPSTICK."

LIKE, "GET DO what you can."

But Emma, real quick, I want to go deeper on this cuz I'm going to change at least one person's life, one of your listeners.

Tik Tok affiliate. You don't need to own the product. You literally go to the

the product. You literally go to the affiliate store. You're like, "Oh, I

affiliate store. You're like, "Oh, I like that makeup." You apply. If they

decide to work with you, they send you a sample.

You literally make a video of it. And

if, god forbid, for some ungodly reason, that video gets 14,000 views and you make $83, they're I'm watching person after person after person. This is an e-commerce that you and I did not grow

up with. They don't have inventory.

up with. They don't have inventory.

No. And by the way, we are doing that with all of our brands. It's working

unbelievably well. Crushing.

That's affiliate. And then there's live shopping for the people that have the gift of Gap. And that's crushing if you're talented. Not everyone's [ __ ]

you're talented. Not everyone's [ __ ] Oprah.

Sadly.

Yeah. Agreed. So Gary, before we stop this part, tell me what are the what are the signs and the signals that people should actually be paying attention to when it comes to like the changing of consumer behavior? Like you have

consumer behavior? Like you have obviously honed this over a long time, but what is it that people should actually be paying attention to?

First, do not be a person that romanticizes yesterday over tomorrow.

The reason most people don't see what I see is cuz they don't want it to happen.

People hate change, Emma.

They do hate change. People are not adaptable.

I prefer it and I'm at I'm at the top of my craft. Emma, Emma, do you think I

my craft. Emma, Emma, do you think I want another social? Do you think I got excited 3 years ago when I'm like [ __ ] and Substack and Beehive?

You're like, what?

LIKE I'M LIKE I WAS KILLING IT ON THESE OTHER PLATFORMS. I wish we just still had email. I was

the king of email in 97.

I don't get excited when a new thing comes along, but I have a responsibility to be a winner. And so I adjust to whatever is happening next. And so I

think first it starts with that. Next

it's watch people. Emma, almost everyone judges people without watching them.

Everything's stigma until it's not.

5 minutes ago if you met someone on online dating, you were like a weird dude in the basement. Yeah.

Now it is this primary source of how people go into relationships. you know,

for the woman that's thinking about selling on Tik Tok shop, your girlfriends are going to make fun of you and then they're going to ask you how to do it. That's what's going to happen.

do it. That's what's going to happen.

So, I think it's a couple things. One,

don't be romantic.

Don't demonize the new stuff. Don't put

your head in the sand about AI.

Always go with maybe instead of no.

And then put in the work. Always ask

why. Why is everyone going to that restaurant?

Why? Why is everyone loving that influencer? Why is that new TV show

influencer? Why is that new TV show crushing? Why is that the IT girl? 7

crushing? Why is that the IT girl? 7

years ago, I'm like, "Oh, here's why these girls like Emma Chamberlain." I

just read all the comments.

Yeah. You just read Exactly. Yeah. If

you don't understand.

Yeah. You know, and so that's it.

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There's a particular kind of fantasy that gets built into a wardrobe. When

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They're not just decoration. They're a

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The brands and the designers that understand that are the ones who actually change how people see themselves. Not by selling them a trend,

themselves. Not by selling them a trend, but by giving them a piece that lets them step into a version of their own life that feels a little more elevated and a little more intentional. That's

what makes Macy's new collab talking about. On 34th is Macy's own private

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If you were starting from zero today, you have no audience, you have no nothing, no money, no audience, no reputation, no resources, what would you do? I'd make content on the internet

do? I'd make content on the internet either about things I know if I still had my knowledge. Yeah. I would talk about business. I'd be Johnny Pants

about business. I'd be Johnny Pants Magcoo and I would talk about business and wine and sports. The greatest

equalizer that the world has ever seen is social media. Literally, there's no gatekeeper. Oh, the man is keeping me

gatekeeper. Oh, the man is keeping me down. The algorithm doesn't give a [ __ ]

down. The algorithm doesn't give a [ __ ] No, it doesn't. The algorithm doesn't give a [ __ ] And you can only really appreciate that and understand it. and

I'll contextualize it because when you came up in the fashion industry, the keys to the kingdom were held by three people, right? It was like there were a

people, right? It was like there were a finite amount of hair people and makeup artists and stylists and that was it.

And unless you were in with those people, there was [ __ ] nothing. Now

it's completely democratized completely.

Completely at a scale that is insane.

So what do you think that this generation have got going for them that like no other generation has had?

Opportunity.

Yeah.

Again, this is what blows me away. One

stupid piece of content that tells you that the boomers took all the opportunity away from the kids makes kids believe the complete opposite of what they see every day, which is unlimited people that look like them

winning. When I was coming up the game,

winning. When I was coming up the game, you had to eat [ __ ] for 15 years to begin the first phase of opportunity.

You should eat a little bit of [ __ ] though. No,

though. No, I'm a big fan of it.

I mean, I think so.

I love eating. Honestly, I think I'm saying it right now. I believe that adversity and humility are foundational to joy, foundational to joy.

I think that you're absolutely right because what you're talking about is a breeding ground to do the opposite of all the things that we know as foundational.

And there's another thing kids learn pretty early when their parents are full of [ __ ] Like it's 8 10 12 13 depending on the kid. When you're telling your 13-year-old you can do anything, and the

kid's like, "No, I can't." You're

starting to lose credibility.

Yeah. Stop bullshitting your children.

But this is why you credit your mom with so much.

This entire podcast was brought to you by Tamara Veaynerchuk. I am I am literally the byproduct. I am the meal that you're like, "Oh, that's a beautiful meal." She is the woman that

beautiful meal." She is the woman that picked gave me the ingredients and then cooked the meal. I am I literally don't exist, Emma. I am my mother's byproduct.

exist, Emma. I am my mother's byproduct.

I love that. My son speaks about me like that when he's older. I do not exist.

I'm like, "Damn right you don't."

What is she like? Is she so proud of you, your mom?

Yes, but she was proud of me long before. Right. Again, I think this is a

before. Right. Again, I think this is a big thing. I hope this helps parents.

big thing. I hope this helps parents.

I've come to believe that it is really scary how much you become what your parents cheer about. For example, if you're born fortunate and you have pretty privilege and your parents are constantly your entire youth talking

about how beautiful you are or handsome you are and like your identity becomes that and you're going to be that kind of person that in your 50s and 60s is still glam. If this is the one I'm very

glam. If this is the one I'm very fearful of. If your parents make

fearful of. If your parents make everything about grades quietly they're telling you conform to a system that judges you. That's why we have so many

judges you. That's why we have so many employees. And if your mother cheers

employees. And if your mother cheers only about you being a nice boy and opening up doors for women and being kind and being nice to your sister, you end up being a nice boy. That's just the truth.

End of.

It really is that simple.

It's really that simple. Now, it's

nuanced and there's other things and but like the thing they cheer becomes who you become. And so I think parents have

you become. And so I think parents have to be very careful and thoughtful about what they're spending on positive affirmation because a young human will continue to gravitate that for a long

time.

Yeah, you're absolutely right. Gary, if

you could change one thing that the next generation believes to be true, specifically about success, what would it be?

It is actually my northstar that nice guys finish first, not last. And

obviously that goes for girls and and that is that that this concept that you need to have sharp elbows that you need to step on people that it's a doggy dog

world that it's a jungle. These are all trueish but the world is abundant and your reputation is your biggest asset

and everybody gets exposed quietly. This

is the thing a lot of winners don't know. There's some people right now that

know. There's some people right now that are winning that are not good people that are driving and they're like wrong right now in their beamer wrong. What

they don't know is how much they left on the table because nothing ever came to them cuz all of us other winners were like [ __ ] you. They think they won with 6 million. Do you know what's better

6 million. Do you know what's better than 6 million? 60 million.

They don't know that they left 54 million on the table.

Got it.

That is the truth.

Yep.

That is the truth.

Yes. or I'll be happy if your next prediction comes true.

The civility this Yes, that might be the for me the single best takeaway that I have heard for a really long time because we are in deep need.

It's coming. We're tired. That's why the 60s looked differently in the 70s with disco and by the 80s we were tired. You

can't, my friends, you all know this. We

can't stay in this sustained anxious state in perpetuity. we will crack and what we will do as humans is we'll adapt the other way and we'll start gravitating to simplicity and kindness.

It's coming.

If you believe that to be true, how do you cultivate that? Because I think what what is dragging people down right now and what causes people to act other than

civil is that they're bombarded by so much [ __ ] and so much like so much drags them down. So, how do you actually

them down. So, how do you actually cultivate that in your life? For the

audience, it's be the person you wish everyone.

This [ __ ] is so simple. Be better.

Be nicer when you are hurt. Recognize

you're insecure. And that's why you're triggered when someone cuts you in line at Starbucks.

[ __ ] that.

And you lose your [ __ ] mind.

That is the great tell that shit's [ __ ] up for you. Be be empathetic.

Maybe shit's [ __ ] up for them.

Everyone thinks the whole world revolves around them. It does not. It

around them. It does not. It

sure doesn't. And then for me personally, like the proudest thing professionally that may end up happening to me is that when people look back at this era, cuz all the receipts are

online during the hardest 10 years when everyone was [ __ ] on everyone, I [ __ ] on no one.

You didn't?

Nope.

That was choiceful. It's just not who you are. Do you ever feel like [ __ ]

you are. Do you ever feel like [ __ ] on someone?

Like Tom Brady and Michael Jordan cuz I love sports. They hurt my feelings cuz

love sports. They hurt my feelings cuz they beat my team. They killed you.

In sport in sports, I do it a lot.

Yeah. Yeah, that's different.

Correct. It's a fake world. That's not

mean.

No, I I don't envy. I don't have the audacity to think everyone should see the world the That's the funniest thing, Emma.

This concept that everyone should see the world the way you see it.

Do you know how insane it is to spend time to go watch someone's video and leave a nasty comment?

Do you know how [ __ ] up that like No, that's that's psychotic. It's

actually fully psychotic. You know that?

It's like on what planet was that a good use of three minutes?

But who was your mother? If you don't have anything nice to say, [ __ ] say nothing.

I I'm so pumped that you're excited about this.

No, no. Best thing I've ever heard. I

can't wait to see. Best thing I've ever heard.

I'm like now so hyped to see you in seven. I'm going to see you somewhere in

seven. I'm going to see you somewhere in seven years. And you're going to be

seven years. And you're going to be like, "How the [ __ ] I I'm because we can't we as humans praying for it. Let

me tell you exactly why it's going to happen.

We get tired."

And by the way, everyone who's listening who's like, "You're delusional, Gary."

No, no. I understand most aren't. I'm

telling you that I see the cracks that some are at enough scale that I think it's going to pendulum up.

I'll be on the other end of that pendulum swing. I'll take it. I want to

pendulum swing. I'll take it. I want to believe that.

And and you have the ability to impact.

Yes, I would think so. It's like who do you want to be? You know, Michelle Obama says this beautiful thing. She always

says, you know, you're in training for the type of person that you want to be.

And I think that you choose your choice.

You choose how you react to the world every single day. I just think it's crazy to go roll in the mud with the other pigs.

Totally. I mean, listen, I'm going to start with yourself, girl. It all starts here. You can choose.

here. You can choose.

You're in control.

I'm moving you to rapid fire.

Let's do it.

All right. I'm the worst at rapid fire, by the way. I don't even know how to do it.

I'm remarkable at it. So, we'll be we'll be solid at this. We'll be average that.

If you're the worst, then I'm remarkable.

What's one habit that's had the biggest impact on your career?

Accountability.

I think everything is my fault. It is

the foundation of my success and I like it.

You are good at rapid fire.

What is a business opportunity that you passed on that you regret?

Yeah, sure. I missed the email from airband andre.com that begged me to invest. That was bad. I passed on Uber

invest. That was bad. I passed on Uber twice.

If I wrote my normal $50,000 check, I would have had 500 million. That was

bad.

That was bad. Um, I mean there's I mean there's I could I could take up four hours.

You're done. You're good. You had you had me at 500 million. Um, what's the most important thing that you've changed your mind about?

That cander is good. I used to think it was bad.

I thought it was fear and now I've realized not giving cander actually creates real fear cuz then people don't know where they stand with you.

I hope people really listen to that one.

Um, is there a book that changed your life? My reading comprehension is

life? My reading comprehension is non-existent.

And yet you're lucky.

I got a text today on the way here. 5

seconds ago. Literally an hour ago. I

got a text coming here.

I think she wrote this employee of mine four four lines, four sentences.

Couldn't get through it.

I replied, "Set up a 15-minute meeting.

I have no reading comprehension. I've

read less than 10 books." So, as a dyslexic person who can completely understand that and you you write a lot, you put out a lot of content. How do you

take in information cuz it's very very clear that you absorb an enormous amount of information? You're un undeniably

of information? You're un undeniably curious to a fault. So, what is it like?

How do you get your information? Cuz

mine comes at me mostly through books.

So, where does it come from for you?

If I hear something or see something, it's a lock.

If I read something, I have no chance.

If I drive somewhere one time that's complicated, I will never ever not be able to do it again.

Really?

If I see it or I hear it, so I'm constantly Yeah. So, I'm killing it, you know.

Yeah.

But I have to hear it or see it.

That's the only way that it goes in.

Yeah.

What is something that you still aspire to?

You know, I still think I'm dramatically underindexing professionally.

I mean it. I I genuinely believe I'm going to build much bigger companies, much more impact. This V friends thing is big for me. It's going to be my legacy.

You think so?

Yeah. I think I'm building a Disney Pokemon, but really a Sesame Street. I

feel like I'm more Jim Henson than I realized. I really aspire to build one

realized. I really aspire to build one of the great intellectual properties that brings good. That's why I say Jim Henson, Fraggle Rock, The Muppets,

Sesame, Sesame Street with So I'm I've got a lot of professional goals. Personal very little. Like I feel

goals. Personal very little. Like I feel very good where I am with my humanity, but on the field as a player, I've accomplished a lot professionally,

but I feel like I've got a whole whole like uncomfortably a lot more to give.

Wow. All right, we'll be watching this face.

Thank you.

Amazing. Thank you, Gary.

Thanks, Emma. Such a pleasure. Thanks

for joining me on the Aspire podcast.

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