eight your own element don’t try and
perform someone else’s expertly so in
modern terminology or how would I say
that is don’t waste your time Steve Jobs
don’t waste your time trying to live
someone else’s life you know don’t be
trapped by Dogma focus in on your own
strengths your own element what you have
to offer don’t get lost in trying to
become like someone else or pretend to
be someone else there’s a beautiful one
of my favorite quotes by Einstein and
then Steve Jobs again Einstein said if
you judge a fish by its ability to climb
a tree they’ll spend its whole life
believing that it’s stupid and too many
of us are fish trying to climb a tree
too many of us a monkeys being taught
how to swim too many of us are lions
being taught to live like cats we’re not
getting to live in our element so my
second piece of advice is live in that
element that you’ve naturally been given
don’t try adopt another you know we’ve
more got a special genius inside of us
it was Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs this
conversation Steve Wozniak looked Steve
Wozniak for those who don’t know is the
tech guy behind Apple he practically
invented the technology and the software
and everything so Steve Wozniak looked
at Steve Jobs and he says this is in
Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve
Jobs Steve was not it wasn’t a looks at
Steve Jobs and he says what do you even
do he said you’re not a coder you’re not
a designer you know what a marketer and
you’re not an engineer what do you even
do imagine challenging Steve Jobs and
Steve Jobs replies he says he says
musicians play their instruments I play
the orchestra that is the most deep
understanding of one’s role in life and
not getting lost in other people’s
identities and perceptions of you Steve
Jobs knew that he wasn’t a marketer he
wasn’t an engineer he wasn’t a coder so
he hired all of those but he played the
orchestra he brought it all together and
that’s when you when you find confidence
in your own role you won’t be envious of
anyone else
when this goes online or whatever it is
it really matters and it like really
doesn’t matter what matters is you know
the people who are sparked by it and the
people who are like offended by it it
doesn’t matter you you know like because
it’s about motivating the doers and
anyone that wants to sit around and talk
they’re doing too much time they’re
taking too much time talking bit about
it
instead of getting up off their ass and
following their dreams because I’m here
to follow my dreams you know and help
other people follow their dreams and
inspire people who are dreamers it’s
crazy that we live in a world that if
you’re super positive and super creative
then it’s scary so what does that tell
you about the mentality of most people
if you’re scared of like positivity and
everyone has an element that they thrive
in if you take someone out of it their
element they won’t be the same a
modern-day example would be Michael
Jordan he was incredible at basketball
he took him out of basketball put them
into baseball no one remembers his
career we don’t know one of the best
athletes of all time your environment is
the environment around you you can take
a fish out of water and give it a
beautiful mansion and a Bentley and all
the money in the world but it would die
and that’s what we are like our
environment everyone is an environment
which they thrive which we have to craft
your boss if you’re at work is never
gonna ask you anyway what environment
you succeed in right like that never
happens so we have to create an
environment where we thrive and then
finally it’s energy we some of us love
high energy environments high pressure
some of us succeed in lower energy
environments and low pressure figuring
out your energy and the frequency on
which you operate best will help you
thrive as well so for me those are the
three keys to really create a thriving
environment know your element know your
environment and know your energy and so
at all times if I see anything going
wrong I’m going is my element out of
alignment is my environment out of
alignment or is my energy out of
alignment that’s a great three question
test you can do to yourself when you
don’t think things are going right
and all you have to do is bring that
back into alignment not gonna sit inside
of a corporation for 20 years the time
is now the time is now to Express
and for people to believe in themselves
the time is now for it to be okay to be
great
people in this world shun people for
being great for being a bright color for
standing out but the time is now to be
okay to be the greatest you it’s our
intention our intention is everything
nothing happens on this planet without
it not one single thing has ever been
accomplished without intention so I
started thinking about my life and I
started thinking about this conference
and what we’re about and and I looked
back and I thought well I was two people
my whole life I was in the living room
entertaining people being a monkey you
know doing my thing for the company and
and trying to relieve my mother who was
suffering she had rheumatoid arthritis
and phlebitis and everything everything
under the Sun that was nagging at her
and she was depressed and I wanted her
to be free and I wanted her to realize
that her life was worth something
because she gave birth to someone who
was worth something and then I would go
into my room and I would sit with the
legal pad I was a little kid I would sit
there and I would try to figure out what
it meant what I was all about why are we
here what is this and one day I read
something from Buddha that said that all
spirituality is about relieving
suffering and I suddenly realized that’s
what I’m doing in the other room and and
I’m aligned
you know this my purpose is aligned with
this so I felt incredibly lucky I lose
sight of that all the time I get caught
up in different concerns and ego
concerns but I’m so lucky to be a part
of this community and to to do something
that is a value and I really cherished
that and we are all one thing it really
is true everyone out there in TV world
real world whatever world you stay in
needs to know that I’ve never done a
publicity stunt of my life any time I
went up and spoke my mind where they put
my career in jeopardy or whatever
someone so-called said it was always
what I thought was the truth whether I’m
like reading through a teleprompter or
whatever or whatever I felt emotionally
I don’t follow like rules of like you
know normal celebrity or what their
publicist tells them to say or anything
but i say things the wrong way a lot of
times if my intention is always positive
and i want to bring more things to the
world i want to help the world i want to
make people’s lives easier if you guys
look at the same interview it’s really
something extremely fearless for someone
in my position to do because most people
just like you know bow tie on a TV or
whatever bow down to these cameras like
i could care less about any of these
cameras in all honesty all i care about
is my family i care about protecting my
girl protector protecting my baby and
protecting my ideas and my dreams yes
i’m totally weird and i’m totally honest
and i’m totally inappropriate sometimes
and the thing is i you know for me to
say i wasn’t a genius i would just be
lying to you and to myself crazy dream
or a crazy goal and I want you to write
out in the comment section what is your
crazy dream the dream that keeps you up
at night is the real dream you should be
chasing but to chase that dream to find
that dream to make that dream a reality
you need a strategy why a dream without
a plan is just a wish Tony Robbins said
that right a dream without a plan is
just a wish right without a strategy
without a guiding philosophy without
guiding principles without actually
creating a clear plan I used to have
this economics teacher and I want you to
think back to school as well maybe you
had one I remember this economics
teacher he walked in to the classroom
and the first thing that you were on the
board he didn’t even
his name we’d even know who he was and
he turned up he went inside the
classroom and he wrote on the board
he said failing to prepare is preparing
to fail and all of us just burst how
laughing this guy I don’t even told us
his name yet but on the board he wrote
failing to prepare is preparing to fail
and now when I look back at that and as
I grew up and hopefully became a bit
more mature than I was in high school I
remember thinking about that statement I
thinking how true is that
then when you’re not prepared for
something you miss out on unbelievable
opportunities now I’m not saying good
things don’t happen spontaneously
sometimes things happen by chance
randomly etc with a reason but when
you’re prepared you can capitalize on
things in a huge huge weight I refuse to
follow those rules that society is set
up and the way that they control people
with low self-esteem with improper
information with branding with marketing
I refuse to follow those rules it’s
about truth it’s about information
it’s about awesomeness and the only
luxury is time the time you spend with
your family that’s the only luxury to
this concept of luxury is it’s improper
to me when I compare myself to Steve
Jobs or Walt Disney Howard Hughes David
Stern Michelangelo da Vinci Jesus or
whatever as I’m saying these are my
heroes
these are people that I look up to this
is the type of impact I want to make on
the earth if I could make this type of
impact up to this point what can I do if
if you call Bob Iger and say yo give him
a shot if you call Oprah and say yo back
this kid let’s just get this this kids a
kids were his parents were educators he
wants to educate he wants to look at
curriculums and say how do we simplify
that exactly what I did in music I want
to apply to product I want to apply to
education this is what my company Donda
is about you will embarrass yourself you
will suck at something there’s no doubt
about it
and I know that’s probably not a
traditional message for a graduation
ceremony but a I’m telling you embrace
it because it’s inevitable and I should
know in the acting business you fail all
the time early on in my career
I auditioned for a part in a Broadway
musical perfect role for me I thought
except for the fact that I can’t sing so
I’m in the wings I’m about to go on
stage but the guy in front of me he’s
singing like like like Pavarotti going
on and on and on and I’m just shrinking
I’m getting smaller and smaller so they
say oh thank you very much thank you
very much and you will you’ll be hearing
from us so I come out with my little
music and it was it was just my
imagination by the temptations that’s
what I came up with so I hand it to the
the the accompany us and she looks at it
and looks at me and excited the director
and was like so I start you know like
I’m gonna sing I’m and they’re not
saying anything so I’m thinking I’m
[Applause]
running they say oh yeah yeah thank
thank you thank you thank you very much
mr. Washington thank you so I assumed I
didn’t get the job but the next part of
the audition he called me back the next
part in the audition is the acting part
of the audition so I’m like hey okay
maybe I can’t sing but I know I can act
so they pair me with this guy and again
I didn’t know about musical theater and
musical theater is big so they can reach
everyone all the way in the back of the
stadium and I’m more from a realistic
naturalistic kind of acting where you
you know you actually talk to the person
next to you so I don’t know what my line
was my line was will hand me the cut and
his line was well I will hand you the
cup my dear the cup would be there to be
I said okay well should I give you the
cup back oh yes you should give it back
to me because you know that is my cup
what does it take coming out of you
what’s inside you that enables you or
compels you to make films with such
relentless drive where in the world does
that come it’s I don’t know it’s hard to
say it’s it’s it comes from from I’m
really normal yeah well you never know I
mean if the demons weren’t unleashed
through film I’d probably go in the Ilia
you know somewhere and there’s a theory
on Thorazine you know no that I don’t
think that’s true I think it just has to
do with with how films that I like to
die remember you know enjoying and
having that exhilaration hit me and I
want to transfer that back to other
people and just studying the craft and
learning how to do it and and the
special thrill as a filmmaker comes from
seeing an immediate audience response
now the only the only other thing the
only other sort of a genre or if it’s
not even a genre but the only the only
other thing that has that effect in
films is comedy and comedy is not my
forte demonstrably yet it innate er and
and there’s some comedy in this film but
for a film to function as a comedy I
think there’s a special magic there and
I’m you know I’m come creeping toward it
but I’m not sure I can do that but
that’s the that’s the other area where
where you can look at it at a sea of 700
faces and see them all having the same
reaction and you know you’re touching
touching them that’s I mean I I’m not a
performer I can’t stand up on a stage
and tell jokes or sing or do something
that that affects people directly
the closest thing for me is being able
to sit in the theatre and watch a
reaction to something that I’ve put up
on the screen so it’s that one removed
but it’s the same sort of feeling that’s
that’s where the the drive and the
desire to do that comes from I didn’t
fall back
I walked out of there to prepare for the
next audition and the next audition and
the next audition I prayed I prayed and
I pray but I continued to fail and fail
and fail but it didn’t matter because
you know what there’s an old saying you
hang around the barbershop long enough
sooner or later you’re gonna get a
haircut so you will catch a break and I
did catch a break last year I did a play
called fences on Broadway if someone
talked about it won the Tony Award and I
didn’t have to sing by the way but
here’s the kicker it was at the Court
Theatre it was at the same theatre that
I failed that first audition thirty
years prior the point is and I’ll pick
up the pace the point is every graduate
here today has the training and the
talent to succeed but do you have the
guts to fail
bullet II to adjust is the entire game
like I’m so proud that I changed my mind
every day my dad used to get so pissed
when I was building wine library he
would always be like he’s like he would
say like three months ago you said Ricky
was gonna be the best employee I’m like
I changed my mind he fire him or or he’s
like you said sparkling wine was
important now you just eliminated it
from the key spot I’m like I changed my
mind like my ability to only be
comfortable in massive chaos has been my
biggest asset as an entrepreneur like I
would never take a note like that scares
the piss out of me what these three
people are doing right now right and so
now you know now that may work for them
and I’m not like back to the opening
statement like you need to do you like
some plenty of people that make a lot
more money than me and one bigger take
notes
the key the key though the key is way
too many people are doing like here’s a
good one you know what really pissed me
the off
I’m completely driven by like happiness
and like I’m crippled by like chaos like
you know vaynermedia which is about 500
people update your vaynermedia is like
completely dictated by like I’m a
dictator of HR like all I care about is
the atmosphere all I care about is how
people intern all I care about is like
how people roll like I think I’ve fired
four most talented smartest people that
have worked for me because if you don’t
know how to play with the other boys and
girls you’re out because I suffocate
under you know conflict and negativity
and like nobody’s better than me so you
got to go
so what really pissed me off in tech
world was when Steve Jobs his book came
out when he was dying when it was all
about Steve three or four years ago I
literally watched a lot of my tech
startup friends start being like a to
their staff because Jobs was tough
everybody fell into the romance of like
I have this big vision and I’m gonna be
a book like Steve right and I thought
that was really interesting for me to
watch that half decade of like literally
watching people I know and then watching
them act differently because the status
or the icon of the MoMA
and you see a lot of that and so like
that is probably the energy I’m trying
to bring to this class today which is
you can look at like how people roll and
like it’s great to admire and things of
that nature but it’s so damn important
to stick to like your DNA right and like
what you’re good at and to recognize
that you need to surround yourself
whether it’s your co-founder or whether
it’s the people that work for you like
all I do is hire the people that are the
opposite of me that bring the other
value that bring me the ability to
remember what that meeting was about and
go make sure it happens
you know like whatever it may be right
and so I think that’s another thing that
I would HIGHLY recognize I’m not mr.
mentor I’m not the one who says let’s
sit down tell me how it’s going I’m
gonna tell you exactly how I am get off
your ass and get out there and sell
something that’s right I mean I’ve never
been the okay I need a mentor you know a
lot of people look for mentors thinking
they’re gonna tell me the short cut mark
will you be my mentor you know the way
and they think I’m gonna go convey some
magics here’s the dust go go go it
doesn’t work that way
I still grind I love the grind if you’re
competing on one of my businesses I’m
gonna kick your ass cuz I’m gonna I’ll
grind you right that’s what being an
entrepreneur they’re an entrepreneur is
you’ve got to get out there and do the
work so when it comes to how do you
learn right because that’s the question
everybody everybody has got to go
through that process right I read our
I’m in the tech business I’m in media
business the entertainment business I’ve
got to try to prepare myself for all the
Shark Tank businesses I read three hours
plus a day right what everybody else is
getting a suntan or even when I’m
getting a suntan I’ve got I’m online or
I’ve got books I’m reading all I can
this is how it’s gonna play out you are
doing things right now yesterday you
made a decision that you don’t believe
in but you’re smart you did it because
you know how your company’s scores
here’s the problem with disruption and
innovation right now you’re being
rewarded for being a yes person and in
36 months you’re gonna be fired for
being a yes person and you’re doing it
cuz you just need the security of your
job I’m telling you right now if you’re
watching this vlog and you’ve got like
that means you have a certain DNA please
I implore you please die on your sword
not somebody else’s if you’re gonna lose
it’s much more fun to lose based on what
you thought do you mean do you know how
many of you are gonna lose on somebody
else’s thesis it’s gonna kill at you
it’s gonna eat at you it’s going to be
the worst feeling so please pause this
video right now and ask yourself am i
doing much because of me then you’re
good whether you’re winning or losing or
am i doing it because somebody else is
telling me it’s the right way or I’m
subconsciously pandering to please
somebody or something because I need the
short-term stability figured out yeah
you know it and I know it people are
just so obvious they don’t even realize
that when they box me in or try to
verbally put me in some type of box will
put Donda in a box that they’re really
showing their level of ignorance they’re
putting themselves in a box and you know
people can write write write all they
want but what are people doing and if
there’s anybody that’s out there doing
they know how hard it is to actually do
and I’m like a motivation of the doers
if if everything I did failed which it
doesn’t it actually succeeds but if
everything I did failed just the fact
that I’m willing to fail is an
inspiration people are so scared to lose
that they don’t even try like one thing
that people can’t say is they can’t say
I’m not trying and I’m not trying my
hardest and then trying to do it the
best way that I know how with what
little information I get I’m independent
it’s very great but not all days are
great in a company so what are your tips
and tricks for tough days
I think there’s massive confusion around
entrepreneurship entrepreneurship sucks
I mean it’s lonely it’s high-risk I mean
I can’t live without it but it’s like a
bad boyfriend right or a girlfriend
right like like it’s there’s a ton of
bad days being an entrepreneur
not to mention 98% of entrepreneurial
ventures are gonna fail so there’s gonna
be a really bad day in your future you
know hopefully not for you you know for
me I don’t you know I think this is a
very personal question I I think it’s
how you’re wired I’m so all-in
entrepreneur I prefer the pain I think
one of the reasons I love the Jets so
much is because they bring me so much
pain you know I I love the climb to me
the setback is exciting I love when
something goes wrong it’s where I shine
the most but that’s not for everybody
right I mean it could be very difficult
and when you start affecting your life
and your loved ones and all the other
things it can get real nasty
to me the way I handle things even
though the few rare days when I really
struggle I take a real step back and
make pretend that somebody called me and
told me that my mother or daughter were
killed and I know that’s very dark and I
apologize but it’s really what I do I
literally am able to at my deepest most
struggling moment within business take a
step back and remind myself that I could
make a trillion dollars tomorrow on
Bitcoin and and if something bad
happened to the people I love the most
that it would mean nothing and it very
consistently rewires me very quickly
I just put business in perspective at
the end of the day you know it’s it’s
money for me it’s not really money it’s
my legacy so I get hurt by it a little
bit more
but uh yeah
I mean it’s you know I put in
perspective its money and you know what
up until I had a daughter even while I
was married up until when I had Nisha
four years ago I secretly wanted to lose
all my money I had this weird with the
dark fantasy of losing everything just
to rise again like a phoenix feeling
like your life matters because you
you’ve had the experience you and I both
have lots of friends who’ve achieved
everything they could ever dreamed of
and they’re miserable I got the phone
called up turn them around they’re
missing a meaningful life and meaning
comes from two things I always tell
people happiness comes from progress if
you can do something where you’re
growing and because you’ve grown you
have something to give to other people
that’s meaningful insight love caring
something then life is rich because
happiness comes and goes happiness is
not here every moment and the happiness
isn’t all it’s cracked up to be meaning
is there are people that have gone
through horrible times but a woman who’s
109 years old and she was you know when
the concentration camps is the oldest
living holocausts to survivor and that
woman’s life is so rich because of all
the pain because she’s used that to help
other people still 109 she’s strong you
know she shares her music she does the
things that make her feel like she’s got
a contribution I just folio live in 2001
it snowed in New Jersey on December 23rd
which was one of the busiest days of the
year
typically December 23rd is the busiest
day of the year in a liquor store and a
woman called us we just started shipping
and her case of behringer white
zinfandel wasn’t delivered first of all
I appreciate the people that know what
behringer white sin is good job the
entire case by the way 15 pack the
entire 15 pack case cost $45 we’re doing
about forty thousand dollars an hour in
the store she calls I find out about it
somehow it was buzzing cuz I was on the
floor selling I am the premiere salesman
on the floor as you can imagine
I find out about it and we’re debating
what to do she needs it for her
Christmas dinner I grabbed the case
throw it in my car and drive to Bergen
County to deliver it it takes me two and
a half hours to complete the whole thing
the woman was a hundred and ninety four
years old we didn’t have a lot of
lifetime value on the back end there she
looked like Yoda and the best part was I
delivered it all pumped with myself and
she said great and close the door
awesome everybody especially my dad who
was pissed that I left because all the
customers that came in asking for me or
that I could have sold everybody who’s
baffled I can’t tell you what the ROI of
driving through the snow in my car to
deliver a case of $45 pink shot to a
woman that looked like Yoda was but I
can tell you this over the next two to
three years that story became the
foundation of how we treated every
single customer it became our
competitive edge and those are the
things that matter to me I love black
and white data I’m obsessed with it the
day when the nerd beat me I understood
that the Nerds beat me and I respect the
living out of data conversion funnels
all that but I’m telling you right now
that there are way too many fast running
businesses today with this and not
enough people running businesses with
and again I swear on my life I am not
Mother Teresa and I bar from run my
business just on this but I’m telling
you right now the reason I amassed my
following the reason why I continued to
retain it is because my percentage of
this far outweighs everything in this
room I mean it that’s how I feel and
that’s how I try to roll every day and I
promise you if you are able to figure
out how to afford how to afford the
allocation of this in your business more
your long term value will be
dramatically higher your long term
business success will be dramatically
higher your grandparents your
great-grandparents built businesses
based on this it’s how we built the
whole thing we got really lean and mean
when we went to the suburbs and big box
stores and all we cared about was
dollars and it’s great and the data
matters and continue to use it and use
this tool and understand it but I’m
asking you one final thing when you go
home if this talk meant anything and by
the way I fundamentally believe only
three of you’re gonna act on this talk I
do because what I talk about is
ridiculously hard and massively
frustrating and takes forever you know
like everything that’s good in life if
you do anything because of this keynote
there’s only one thing I ask you to do
because as any as I got I’m a practical
here’s what I want from you when you go
home look yourself in the mirror and
audit everything you and your business
do I promise you that if you audit from
top to bottom of expenses and effort and
time and energy and payroll and all that
if you audit all of it even the best of
us even the InBev’s which is the company
that bought Budweiser they built their
whole business on like printing on both
sides of the paper and all that hoarding
even the most efficient ones of us are
doing 20% dumb if you take that 8%
that 13%
that’s 16% of dumb that you’re
doing paying that person that’s not
bringing any cultural value to your
business having that contract that
you’ve just been in you just renew
because your busiest hawk whatever the
you’re doing if you take any piece
of that percentage and you apply it to
giving a about your customer it
will be better for your business going
forward because
first time since we all lived in small
towns where your reputation was the
complete backbone of how you did
business for the first time because
technology is bringing us back together
in a small town for the first time being
good and caring and following up matters
if matters how about doing something
random act of kindness for a current
customer not the ones that unsubscribed
or left you know how you always do nice
when they’re going how about while
you’ve got them reallocate your thought
process I’m telling you because the
tools that the is the umbrella of this
organism en’t are getting so good so
good you know what that means
all that she’s about to become a
commodity emotional e.q is going to
dominate business over the next decade
and I implore you start paying attention
and oh by the way I’ll leave you with
this you know what the best part is it
fear is going to be a player in your
life but you get to decide how much you
can spend your whole life imagining
ghosts worrying about the pathway to the
future but all there will ever be is
what’s happening here in the decisions
we make in this moment which are based
in either love or fear so many of us
choose our path out of fear disguised as
practicality what we really want seems
impossibly out of reach and ridiculous
to expect so we never dare to ask the
universe for it I’m saying I’m the proof
that you can ask the universe for it my
father could have been a great comedian
but he didn’t believe that that was
possible for him and so he made a
conservative choice instead he got a
safe job as an accountant and when I was
12 years old he was let go from that
safe job and our family had to do
whatever we could to survive I learned
many great lessons from my father not
the least of which was that you can fail
at what you don’t want so you might as
well take a chance on doing what you
love I told you this was the last Monday
morning of your life what if I told you
you’d die this week would you complain
about your crap job or that test you
don’t want to take I doubt it you would
go much higher level thinking well
that’s really what it takes it takes
understanding that if you’re not pumped
right now if you’re begrudging what
you’re about to do it here if you’re not
looking forward to it look I respect
practicality you got to go through
school because your parents want to you
got to pay your rent you got student
loans I get it but please recognize the
world we’re living in we’re living in a
world where there’s so much more
opportunity this internet thing created
way more opportunity for all of us way
more I mean look you only not even be
alive like your mom and dad could have
had sex like three minutes later and you
wouldn’t even
and you’re complaining you could have
ended up being a bus a tree I just don’t
get the mentality of being head down sad
on a Monday morning I’m gonna make
Monday morning my I’m gonna make you
Saturday Monday morning that’s what I
want to do every morning and that’s what
I want from you please take a step back
and think about how awesome it actually
is and then recognize that you can
attack the world in a totally different
way because you were lucky enough to be
born during this era
Howard Furman one of the mentors of dr.
Martin Luther King jr. and Albert
Schweitzer and Mahatma Gandhi it was a
very brilliant writer he wrote some
things that really grabbed me he he
wrote deep is to hunger the voice of the
genuine the centering moment during the
time after receiving 238 radiation seed
implants I was reflecting on his words
and and these words kept me up that
night he said the ideal situation for a
man a woman to die is to have family
members praying with them as they cross
over he said but imagine if you will be
on your deathbed and standing around
your bed the ghost of the dreams the
ideas the abilities the talents given to
you by life and that you for whatever
reason you never went after that dream
you never acted on those ideas you never
use those talents you never to use those
gifts and there they are standing around
your bed looking at you with large angry
eyes saying we came to you and only you
could have given us life and now we must
and the question is if you die today
what dreams what ideas what talents what
books what music what leadership what
voice will die with you mouths Monroe
great
Lauritzen speaker said the wealthiest
place in the planet it’s not in a for
East where there’s oil in the ground
it’s not in South Africa whether diamond
mines is that the wealthiest place on
the planet is the cemetery but you there
you’ll find greatness if we’ve never
seen there you find talent in genius and
potential never actualize perhaps that’s
why Henry David Thoreau wrote the words
Oh God to reach the point of death only
to realize that you’ve never lived maybe
that’s why some unknown writer wrote the
words what if you live your whole life
only to discover that it was wrong that
it was wrong that you were chosen to do
something else and you didn’t do it
people come up to me and say Gary it’s
so hard I look at their Instagram and
they’re not posting any of their content
with hashtags which is a by accident way
to pick up exposure in a world where
they have no money when you have no
money when I took over my dad’s business
it did three million dollars a year ten
percent gross profit $300,000 before
expenses my first year marketing budget
was fourteen thousand dollars when you
have no money and I built that business
from a three to a sixty million dollar
business in five years I had to make
every penny perfect so I was right about
email marketing in 96 and I was right
and because of that I had 91% open rates
when Google AdWords came out the day it
came out I paid five cents a click for
words before anybody bid me up and I was
super right and that worked if it does
that luck versus preparation and do you
ever get anything wrong what do you do I
can make them as high I get everything
wrong it’s just that I can’t recall it
because once it’s wrong I’m moving on to
the next thing
like dwell dwelling on what you’ve
dumped on is the quickest way for the
next thing not to work right yeah so
like so I think I do everything I mean
you know this this is a fun thing to say
some people in the back know this I was
a breakout YouTube star in the first
year 2006 I decided that the right
strategy was to leave YouTube completely
and go to viddler because viddler
offered me equity in their company and
I’ve left an enormous amount of
attention I deviated from my intention
thesis to do short-term economics
inequity in a company and I lost I lost
Wendy Brock finally came in my life two
years ago we started to try to build up
my youtube for the first time I was
sitting on 40,000 user followers in a
world where I could have had millions if
I just stayed the course so I make
mistakes all the time
I’m reorganize its based on a mistake I
made the prior year I just don’t give a
about my mistakes everybody else cares
about your mistakes if you’re worried
about your own mistakes you’ve already
lost
the only way to deal with fear that I
found in my life is a couple ways one of
those ways is to turn it on itself and
ask yourself what am I afraid of I’m
free of that I got to be more afraid of
what I’m gonna miss out on missing out
on my mission this thing out who I’m
supposed to be missing in other words if
you’re not you’d get rid of fear than
use fair use fear or it uses you it’s
that simple so you gotta say okay what’s
the price if I just stay doing this
what’s the price what do I need to
really even get scared if I learn all
this I don’t follow through that’s
something to be scared about
and then that fear will get you over
your fear it’ll push you through turn
fear in itself second way you can do it
is use what you’ve probably heard me say
because I used it so I was 17 is my
little rocking-chair test right I’m
gonna I’m gonna sit myself in my rocking
chair I’m 85 years old looking back on
my life and I say I didn’t do this or I
did sometimes a lot of people may try in
your initiative and then they don’t get
an immediate reaction and they think
it’s a failure that’s right I want to go
to your YouTube videos with the Wine
Library you know you had so much content
out there how did you stick in there how
did you keep yourself motivated because
I believe in my strategies and I’m
patient ish like all great stuff
especially when you’re innovating
doesn’t happen right away this notion
that like Oh Gary I tried it I spent 500
bucks on Facebook ads it doesn’t work
well what if your video sucked what if
your product and service sucks I I tend
to do things that are very early that
has been my career I when I do things I
believe in them I stick with them based
on intuition even though for 18 months
nobody watched my wine videos at all I
knew it was right I was right there’s
been things I’ve done that I’ve jumped
off of very quickly I started a Gary v
app V chat ve like WeChat that was funny
for my fans great CRM one on one didn’t
feel right after a week or two spend
plenty money building it knew it stopped
it after you know a couple months Wine
Library TV five years every day YouTube
decided to change at the daily grape
insular app you could buy stuff
subscription for reviews it was a lot of
fun only did it for five months stopped
it because I didn’t feel right anymore
it’s always hard to know when to jump
off something new but I find that people
don’t believe in what they’re doing they
hear a guru yeah and they do it
begrudgingly because their boss wants
them to or they’re like what Gary’s
right a lot so let me do it but they
don’t believe it and so then they jump
they’re looking for nose instead of yes
is everything I do every business
development every event I do every time
I try new marketing tactics or sales
tactic I’m looking for the yes right I’m
looking for the yes and if the no
punches me will then I’m like crap then
no punched me I believe the majority of
people when they try new tactics are
looking for the no mm-hmm and you’re
getting getting a lot of subtle knows
immediately right and so I think that’s why that happens
perform someone else’s expertly so in
modern terminology or how would I say
that is don’t waste your time Steve Jobs
don’t waste your time trying to live
someone else’s life you know don’t be
trapped by Dogma focus in on your own
strengths your own element what you have
to offer don’t get lost in trying to
become like someone else or pretend to
be someone else there’s a beautiful one
of my favorite quotes by Einstein and
then Steve Jobs again Einstein said if
you judge a fish by its ability to climb
a tree they’ll spend its whole life
believing that it’s stupid and too many
of us are fish trying to climb a tree
too many of us a monkeys being taught
how to swim too many of us are lions
being taught to live like cats we’re not
getting to live in our element so my
second piece of advice is live in that
element that you’ve naturally been given
don’t try adopt another you know we’ve
more got a special genius inside of us
it was Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs this
conversation Steve Wozniak looked Steve
Wozniak for those who don’t know is the
tech guy behind Apple he practically
invented the technology and the software
and everything so Steve Wozniak looked
at Steve Jobs and he says this is in
Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve
Jobs Steve was not it wasn’t a looks at
Steve Jobs and he says what do you even
do he said you’re not a coder you’re not
a designer you know what a marketer and
you’re not an engineer what do you even
do imagine challenging Steve Jobs and
Steve Jobs replies he says he says
musicians play their instruments I play
the orchestra that is the most deep
understanding of one’s role in life and
not getting lost in other people’s
identities and perceptions of you Steve
Jobs knew that he wasn’t a marketer he
wasn’t an engineer he wasn’t a coder so
he hired all of those but he played the
orchestra he brought it all together and
that’s when you when you find confidence
in your own role you won’t be envious of
anyone else
when this goes online or whatever it is
it really matters and it like really
doesn’t matter what matters is you know
the people who are sparked by it and the
people who are like offended by it it
doesn’t matter you you know like because
it’s about motivating the doers and
anyone that wants to sit around and talk
they’re doing too much time they’re
taking too much time talking bit about
it
instead of getting up off their ass and
following their dreams because I’m here
to follow my dreams you know and help
other people follow their dreams and
inspire people who are dreamers it’s
crazy that we live in a world that if
you’re super positive and super creative
then it’s scary so what does that tell
you about the mentality of most people
if you’re scared of like positivity and
everyone has an element that they thrive
in if you take someone out of it their
element they won’t be the same a
modern-day example would be Michael
Jordan he was incredible at basketball
he took him out of basketball put them
into baseball no one remembers his
career we don’t know one of the best
athletes of all time your environment is
the environment around you you can take
a fish out of water and give it a
beautiful mansion and a Bentley and all
the money in the world but it would die
and that’s what we are like our
environment everyone is an environment
which they thrive which we have to craft
your boss if you’re at work is never
gonna ask you anyway what environment
you succeed in right like that never
happens so we have to create an
environment where we thrive and then
finally it’s energy we some of us love
high energy environments high pressure
some of us succeed in lower energy
environments and low pressure figuring
out your energy and the frequency on
which you operate best will help you
thrive as well so for me those are the
three keys to really create a thriving
environment know your element know your
environment and know your energy and so
at all times if I see anything going
wrong I’m going is my element out of
alignment is my environment out of
alignment or is my energy out of
alignment that’s a great three question
test you can do to yourself when you
don’t think things are going right
and all you have to do is bring that
back into alignment not gonna sit inside
of a corporation for 20 years the time
is now the time is now to Express
and for people to believe in themselves
the time is now for it to be okay to be
great
people in this world shun people for
being great for being a bright color for
standing out but the time is now to be
okay to be the greatest you it’s our
intention our intention is everything
nothing happens on this planet without
it not one single thing has ever been
accomplished without intention so I
started thinking about my life and I
started thinking about this conference
and what we’re about and and I looked
back and I thought well I was two people
my whole life I was in the living room
entertaining people being a monkey you
know doing my thing for the company and
and trying to relieve my mother who was
suffering she had rheumatoid arthritis
and phlebitis and everything everything
under the Sun that was nagging at her
and she was depressed and I wanted her
to be free and I wanted her to realize
that her life was worth something
because she gave birth to someone who
was worth something and then I would go
into my room and I would sit with the
legal pad I was a little kid I would sit
there and I would try to figure out what
it meant what I was all about why are we
here what is this and one day I read
something from Buddha that said that all
spirituality is about relieving
suffering and I suddenly realized that’s
what I’m doing in the other room and and
I’m aligned
you know this my purpose is aligned with
this so I felt incredibly lucky I lose
sight of that all the time I get caught
up in different concerns and ego
concerns but I’m so lucky to be a part
of this community and to to do something
that is a value and I really cherished
that and we are all one thing it really
is true everyone out there in TV world
real world whatever world you stay in
needs to know that I’ve never done a
publicity stunt of my life any time I
went up and spoke my mind where they put
my career in jeopardy or whatever
someone so-called said it was always
what I thought was the truth whether I’m
like reading through a teleprompter or
whatever or whatever I felt emotionally
I don’t follow like rules of like you
know normal celebrity or what their
publicist tells them to say or anything
but i say things the wrong way a lot of
times if my intention is always positive
and i want to bring more things to the
world i want to help the world i want to
make people’s lives easier if you guys
look at the same interview it’s really
something extremely fearless for someone
in my position to do because most people
just like you know bow tie on a TV or
whatever bow down to these cameras like
i could care less about any of these
cameras in all honesty all i care about
is my family i care about protecting my
girl protector protecting my baby and
protecting my ideas and my dreams yes
i’m totally weird and i’m totally honest
and i’m totally inappropriate sometimes
and the thing is i you know for me to
say i wasn’t a genius i would just be
lying to you and to myself crazy dream
or a crazy goal and I want you to write
out in the comment section what is your
crazy dream the dream that keeps you up
at night is the real dream you should be
chasing but to chase that dream to find
that dream to make that dream a reality
you need a strategy why a dream without
a plan is just a wish Tony Robbins said
that right a dream without a plan is
just a wish right without a strategy
without a guiding philosophy without
guiding principles without actually
creating a clear plan I used to have
this economics teacher and I want you to
think back to school as well maybe you
had one I remember this economics
teacher he walked in to the classroom
and the first thing that you were on the
board he didn’t even
his name we’d even know who he was and
he turned up he went inside the
classroom and he wrote on the board
he said failing to prepare is preparing
to fail and all of us just burst how
laughing this guy I don’t even told us
his name yet but on the board he wrote
failing to prepare is preparing to fail
and now when I look back at that and as
I grew up and hopefully became a bit
more mature than I was in high school I
remember thinking about that statement I
thinking how true is that
then when you’re not prepared for
something you miss out on unbelievable
opportunities now I’m not saying good
things don’t happen spontaneously
sometimes things happen by chance
randomly etc with a reason but when
you’re prepared you can capitalize on
things in a huge huge weight I refuse to
follow those rules that society is set
up and the way that they control people
with low self-esteem with improper
information with branding with marketing
I refuse to follow those rules it’s
about truth it’s about information
it’s about awesomeness and the only
luxury is time the time you spend with
your family that’s the only luxury to
this concept of luxury is it’s improper
to me when I compare myself to Steve
Jobs or Walt Disney Howard Hughes David
Stern Michelangelo da Vinci Jesus or
whatever as I’m saying these are my
heroes
these are people that I look up to this
is the type of impact I want to make on
the earth if I could make this type of
impact up to this point what can I do if
if you call Bob Iger and say yo give him
a shot if you call Oprah and say yo back
this kid let’s just get this this kids a
kids were his parents were educators he
wants to educate he wants to look at
curriculums and say how do we simplify
that exactly what I did in music I want
to apply to product I want to apply to
education this is what my company Donda
is about you will embarrass yourself you
will suck at something there’s no doubt
about it
and I know that’s probably not a
traditional message for a graduation
ceremony but a I’m telling you embrace
it because it’s inevitable and I should
know in the acting business you fail all
the time early on in my career
I auditioned for a part in a Broadway
musical perfect role for me I thought
except for the fact that I can’t sing so
I’m in the wings I’m about to go on
stage but the guy in front of me he’s
singing like like like Pavarotti going
on and on and on and I’m just shrinking
I’m getting smaller and smaller so they
say oh thank you very much thank you
very much and you will you’ll be hearing
from us so I come out with my little
music and it was it was just my
imagination by the temptations that’s
what I came up with so I hand it to the
the the accompany us and she looks at it
and looks at me and excited the director
and was like so I start you know like
I’m gonna sing I’m and they’re not
saying anything so I’m thinking I’m
[Applause]
running they say oh yeah yeah thank
thank you thank you thank you very much
mr. Washington thank you so I assumed I
didn’t get the job but the next part of
the audition he called me back the next
part in the audition is the acting part
of the audition so I’m like hey okay
maybe I can’t sing but I know I can act
so they pair me with this guy and again
I didn’t know about musical theater and
musical theater is big so they can reach
everyone all the way in the back of the
stadium and I’m more from a realistic
naturalistic kind of acting where you
you know you actually talk to the person
next to you so I don’t know what my line
was my line was will hand me the cut and
his line was well I will hand you the
cup my dear the cup would be there to be
I said okay well should I give you the
cup back oh yes you should give it back
to me because you know that is my cup
what does it take coming out of you
what’s inside you that enables you or
compels you to make films with such
relentless drive where in the world does
that come it’s I don’t know it’s hard to
say it’s it’s it comes from from I’m
really normal yeah well you never know I
mean if the demons weren’t unleashed
through film I’d probably go in the Ilia
you know somewhere and there’s a theory
on Thorazine you know no that I don’t
think that’s true I think it just has to
do with with how films that I like to
die remember you know enjoying and
having that exhilaration hit me and I
want to transfer that back to other
people and just studying the craft and
learning how to do it and and the
special thrill as a filmmaker comes from
seeing an immediate audience response
now the only the only other thing the
only other sort of a genre or if it’s
not even a genre but the only the only
other thing that has that effect in
films is comedy and comedy is not my
forte demonstrably yet it innate er and
and there’s some comedy in this film but
for a film to function as a comedy I
think there’s a special magic there and
I’m you know I’m come creeping toward it
but I’m not sure I can do that but
that’s the that’s the other area where
where you can look at it at a sea of 700
faces and see them all having the same
reaction and you know you’re touching
touching them that’s I mean I I’m not a
performer I can’t stand up on a stage
and tell jokes or sing or do something
that that affects people directly
the closest thing for me is being able
to sit in the theatre and watch a
reaction to something that I’ve put up
on the screen so it’s that one removed
but it’s the same sort of feeling that’s
that’s where the the drive and the
desire to do that comes from I didn’t
fall back
I walked out of there to prepare for the
next audition and the next audition and
the next audition I prayed I prayed and
I pray but I continued to fail and fail
and fail but it didn’t matter because
you know what there’s an old saying you
hang around the barbershop long enough
sooner or later you’re gonna get a
haircut so you will catch a break and I
did catch a break last year I did a play
called fences on Broadway if someone
talked about it won the Tony Award and I
didn’t have to sing by the way but
here’s the kicker it was at the Court
Theatre it was at the same theatre that
I failed that first audition thirty
years prior the point is and I’ll pick
up the pace the point is every graduate
here today has the training and the
talent to succeed but do you have the
guts to fail
bullet II to adjust is the entire game
like I’m so proud that I changed my mind
every day my dad used to get so pissed
when I was building wine library he
would always be like he’s like he would
say like three months ago you said Ricky
was gonna be the best employee I’m like
I changed my mind he fire him or or he’s
like you said sparkling wine was
important now you just eliminated it
from the key spot I’m like I changed my
mind like my ability to only be
comfortable in massive chaos has been my
biggest asset as an entrepreneur like I
would never take a note like that scares
the piss out of me what these three
people are doing right now right and so
now you know now that may work for them
and I’m not like back to the opening
statement like you need to do you like
some plenty of people that make a lot
more money than me and one bigger take
notes
the key the key though the key is way
too many people are doing like here’s a
good one you know what really pissed me
the off
I’m completely driven by like happiness
and like I’m crippled by like chaos like
you know vaynermedia which is about 500
people update your vaynermedia is like
completely dictated by like I’m a
dictator of HR like all I care about is
the atmosphere all I care about is how
people intern all I care about is like
how people roll like I think I’ve fired
four most talented smartest people that
have worked for me because if you don’t
know how to play with the other boys and
girls you’re out because I suffocate
under you know conflict and negativity
and like nobody’s better than me so you
got to go
so what really pissed me off in tech
world was when Steve Jobs his book came
out when he was dying when it was all
about Steve three or four years ago I
literally watched a lot of my tech
startup friends start being like a to
their staff because Jobs was tough
everybody fell into the romance of like
I have this big vision and I’m gonna be
a book like Steve right and I thought
that was really interesting for me to
watch that half decade of like literally
watching people I know and then watching
them act differently because the status
or the icon of the MoMA
and you see a lot of that and so like
that is probably the energy I’m trying
to bring to this class today which is
you can look at like how people roll and
like it’s great to admire and things of
that nature but it’s so damn important
to stick to like your DNA right and like
what you’re good at and to recognize
that you need to surround yourself
whether it’s your co-founder or whether
it’s the people that work for you like
all I do is hire the people that are the
opposite of me that bring the other
value that bring me the ability to
remember what that meeting was about and
go make sure it happens
you know like whatever it may be right
and so I think that’s another thing that
I would HIGHLY recognize I’m not mr.
mentor I’m not the one who says let’s
sit down tell me how it’s going I’m
gonna tell you exactly how I am get off
your ass and get out there and sell
something that’s right I mean I’ve never
been the okay I need a mentor you know a
lot of people look for mentors thinking
they’re gonna tell me the short cut mark
will you be my mentor you know the way
and they think I’m gonna go convey some
magics here’s the dust go go go it
doesn’t work that way
I still grind I love the grind if you’re
competing on one of my businesses I’m
gonna kick your ass cuz I’m gonna I’ll
grind you right that’s what being an
entrepreneur they’re an entrepreneur is
you’ve got to get out there and do the
work so when it comes to how do you
learn right because that’s the question
everybody everybody has got to go
through that process right I read our
I’m in the tech business I’m in media
business the entertainment business I’ve
got to try to prepare myself for all the
Shark Tank businesses I read three hours
plus a day right what everybody else is
getting a suntan or even when I’m
getting a suntan I’ve got I’m online or
I’ve got books I’m reading all I can
this is how it’s gonna play out you are
doing things right now yesterday you
made a decision that you don’t believe
in but you’re smart you did it because
you know how your company’s scores
here’s the problem with disruption and
innovation right now you’re being
rewarded for being a yes person and in
36 months you’re gonna be fired for
being a yes person and you’re doing it
cuz you just need the security of your
job I’m telling you right now if you’re
watching this vlog and you’ve got like
that means you have a certain DNA please
I implore you please die on your sword
not somebody else’s if you’re gonna lose
it’s much more fun to lose based on what
you thought do you mean do you know how
many of you are gonna lose on somebody
else’s thesis it’s gonna kill at you
it’s gonna eat at you it’s going to be
the worst feeling so please pause this
video right now and ask yourself am i
doing much because of me then you’re
good whether you’re winning or losing or
am i doing it because somebody else is
telling me it’s the right way or I’m
subconsciously pandering to please
somebody or something because I need the
short-term stability figured out yeah
you know it and I know it people are
just so obvious they don’t even realize
that when they box me in or try to
verbally put me in some type of box will
put Donda in a box that they’re really
showing their level of ignorance they’re
putting themselves in a box and you know
people can write write write all they
want but what are people doing and if
there’s anybody that’s out there doing
they know how hard it is to actually do
and I’m like a motivation of the doers
if if everything I did failed which it
doesn’t it actually succeeds but if
everything I did failed just the fact
that I’m willing to fail is an
inspiration people are so scared to lose
that they don’t even try like one thing
that people can’t say is they can’t say
I’m not trying and I’m not trying my
hardest and then trying to do it the
best way that I know how with what
little information I get I’m independent
it’s very great but not all days are
great in a company so what are your tips
and tricks for tough days
I think there’s massive confusion around
entrepreneurship entrepreneurship sucks
I mean it’s lonely it’s high-risk I mean
I can’t live without it but it’s like a
bad boyfriend right or a girlfriend
right like like it’s there’s a ton of
bad days being an entrepreneur
not to mention 98% of entrepreneurial
ventures are gonna fail so there’s gonna
be a really bad day in your future you
know hopefully not for you you know for
me I don’t you know I think this is a
very personal question I I think it’s
how you’re wired I’m so all-in
entrepreneur I prefer the pain I think
one of the reasons I love the Jets so
much is because they bring me so much
pain you know I I love the climb to me
the setback is exciting I love when
something goes wrong it’s where I shine
the most but that’s not for everybody
right I mean it could be very difficult
and when you start affecting your life
and your loved ones and all the other
things it can get real nasty
to me the way I handle things even
though the few rare days when I really
struggle I take a real step back and
make pretend that somebody called me and
told me that my mother or daughter were
killed and I know that’s very dark and I
apologize but it’s really what I do I
literally am able to at my deepest most
struggling moment within business take a
step back and remind myself that I could
make a trillion dollars tomorrow on
Bitcoin and and if something bad
happened to the people I love the most
that it would mean nothing and it very
consistently rewires me very quickly
I just put business in perspective at
the end of the day you know it’s it’s
money for me it’s not really money it’s
my legacy so I get hurt by it a little
bit more
but uh yeah
I mean it’s you know I put in
perspective its money and you know what
up until I had a daughter even while I
was married up until when I had Nisha
four years ago I secretly wanted to lose
all my money I had this weird with the
dark fantasy of losing everything just
to rise again like a phoenix feeling
like your life matters because you
you’ve had the experience you and I both
have lots of friends who’ve achieved
everything they could ever dreamed of
and they’re miserable I got the phone
called up turn them around they’re
missing a meaningful life and meaning
comes from two things I always tell
people happiness comes from progress if
you can do something where you’re
growing and because you’ve grown you
have something to give to other people
that’s meaningful insight love caring
something then life is rich because
happiness comes and goes happiness is
not here every moment and the happiness
isn’t all it’s cracked up to be meaning
is there are people that have gone
through horrible times but a woman who’s
109 years old and she was you know when
the concentration camps is the oldest
living holocausts to survivor and that
woman’s life is so rich because of all
the pain because she’s used that to help
other people still 109 she’s strong you
know she shares her music she does the
things that make her feel like she’s got
a contribution I just folio live in 2001
it snowed in New Jersey on December 23rd
which was one of the busiest days of the
year
typically December 23rd is the busiest
day of the year in a liquor store and a
woman called us we just started shipping
and her case of behringer white
zinfandel wasn’t delivered first of all
I appreciate the people that know what
behringer white sin is good job the
entire case by the way 15 pack the
entire 15 pack case cost $45 we’re doing
about forty thousand dollars an hour in
the store she calls I find out about it
somehow it was buzzing cuz I was on the
floor selling I am the premiere salesman
on the floor as you can imagine
I find out about it and we’re debating
what to do she needs it for her
Christmas dinner I grabbed the case
throw it in my car and drive to Bergen
County to deliver it it takes me two and
a half hours to complete the whole thing
the woman was a hundred and ninety four
years old we didn’t have a lot of
lifetime value on the back end there she
looked like Yoda and the best part was I
delivered it all pumped with myself and
she said great and close the door
awesome everybody especially my dad who
was pissed that I left because all the
customers that came in asking for me or
that I could have sold everybody who’s
baffled I can’t tell you what the ROI of
driving through the snow in my car to
deliver a case of $45 pink shot to a
woman that looked like Yoda was but I
can tell you this over the next two to
three years that story became the
foundation of how we treated every
single customer it became our
competitive edge and those are the
things that matter to me I love black
and white data I’m obsessed with it the
day when the nerd beat me I understood
that the Nerds beat me and I respect the
living out of data conversion funnels
all that but I’m telling you right now
that there are way too many fast running
businesses today with this and not
enough people running businesses with
and again I swear on my life I am not
Mother Teresa and I bar from run my
business just on this but I’m telling
you right now the reason I amassed my
following the reason why I continued to
retain it is because my percentage of
this far outweighs everything in this
room I mean it that’s how I feel and
that’s how I try to roll every day and I
promise you if you are able to figure
out how to afford how to afford the
allocation of this in your business more
your long term value will be
dramatically higher your long term
business success will be dramatically
higher your grandparents your
great-grandparents built businesses
based on this it’s how we built the
whole thing we got really lean and mean
when we went to the suburbs and big box
stores and all we cared about was
dollars and it’s great and the data
matters and continue to use it and use
this tool and understand it but I’m
asking you one final thing when you go
home if this talk meant anything and by
the way I fundamentally believe only
three of you’re gonna act on this talk I
do because what I talk about is
ridiculously hard and massively
frustrating and takes forever you know
like everything that’s good in life if
you do anything because of this keynote
there’s only one thing I ask you to do
because as any as I got I’m a practical
here’s what I want from you when you go
home look yourself in the mirror and
audit everything you and your business
do I promise you that if you audit from
top to bottom of expenses and effort and
time and energy and payroll and all that
if you audit all of it even the best of
us even the InBev’s which is the company
that bought Budweiser they built their
whole business on like printing on both
sides of the paper and all that hoarding
even the most efficient ones of us are
doing 20% dumb if you take that 8%
that 13%
that’s 16% of dumb that you’re
doing paying that person that’s not
bringing any cultural value to your
business having that contract that
you’ve just been in you just renew
because your busiest hawk whatever the
you’re doing if you take any piece
of that percentage and you apply it to
giving a about your customer it
will be better for your business going
forward because
first time since we all lived in small
towns where your reputation was the
complete backbone of how you did
business for the first time because
technology is bringing us back together
in a small town for the first time being
good and caring and following up matters
if matters how about doing something
random act of kindness for a current
customer not the ones that unsubscribed
or left you know how you always do nice
when they’re going how about while
you’ve got them reallocate your thought
process I’m telling you because the
tools that the is the umbrella of this
organism en’t are getting so good so
good you know what that means
all that she’s about to become a
commodity emotional e.q is going to
dominate business over the next decade
and I implore you start paying attention
and oh by the way I’ll leave you with
this you know what the best part is it
fear is going to be a player in your
life but you get to decide how much you
can spend your whole life imagining
ghosts worrying about the pathway to the
future but all there will ever be is
what’s happening here in the decisions
we make in this moment which are based
in either love or fear so many of us
choose our path out of fear disguised as
practicality what we really want seems
impossibly out of reach and ridiculous
to expect so we never dare to ask the
universe for it I’m saying I’m the proof
that you can ask the universe for it my
father could have been a great comedian
but he didn’t believe that that was
possible for him and so he made a
conservative choice instead he got a
safe job as an accountant and when I was
12 years old he was let go from that
safe job and our family had to do
whatever we could to survive I learned
many great lessons from my father not
the least of which was that you can fail
at what you don’t want so you might as
well take a chance on doing what you
love I told you this was the last Monday
morning of your life what if I told you
you’d die this week would you complain
about your crap job or that test you
don’t want to take I doubt it you would
go much higher level thinking well
that’s really what it takes it takes
understanding that if you’re not pumped
right now if you’re begrudging what
you’re about to do it here if you’re not
looking forward to it look I respect
practicality you got to go through
school because your parents want to you
got to pay your rent you got student
loans I get it but please recognize the
world we’re living in we’re living in a
world where there’s so much more
opportunity this internet thing created
way more opportunity for all of us way
more I mean look you only not even be
alive like your mom and dad could have
had sex like three minutes later and you
wouldn’t even
and you’re complaining you could have
ended up being a bus a tree I just don’t
get the mentality of being head down sad
on a Monday morning I’m gonna make
Monday morning my I’m gonna make you
Saturday Monday morning that’s what I
want to do every morning and that’s what
I want from you please take a step back
and think about how awesome it actually
is and then recognize that you can
attack the world in a totally different
way because you were lucky enough to be
born during this era
Howard Furman one of the mentors of dr.
Martin Luther King jr. and Albert
Schweitzer and Mahatma Gandhi it was a
very brilliant writer he wrote some
things that really grabbed me he he
wrote deep is to hunger the voice of the
genuine the centering moment during the
time after receiving 238 radiation seed
implants I was reflecting on his words
and and these words kept me up that
night he said the ideal situation for a
man a woman to die is to have family
members praying with them as they cross
over he said but imagine if you will be
on your deathbed and standing around
your bed the ghost of the dreams the
ideas the abilities the talents given to
you by life and that you for whatever
reason you never went after that dream
you never acted on those ideas you never
use those talents you never to use those
gifts and there they are standing around
your bed looking at you with large angry
eyes saying we came to you and only you
could have given us life and now we must
and the question is if you die today
what dreams what ideas what talents what
books what music what leadership what
voice will die with you mouths Monroe
great
Lauritzen speaker said the wealthiest
place in the planet it’s not in a for
East where there’s oil in the ground
it’s not in South Africa whether diamond
mines is that the wealthiest place on
the planet is the cemetery but you there
you’ll find greatness if we’ve never
seen there you find talent in genius and
potential never actualize perhaps that’s
why Henry David Thoreau wrote the words
Oh God to reach the point of death only
to realize that you’ve never lived maybe
that’s why some unknown writer wrote the
words what if you live your whole life
only to discover that it was wrong that
it was wrong that you were chosen to do
something else and you didn’t do it
people come up to me and say Gary it’s
so hard I look at their Instagram and
they’re not posting any of their content
with hashtags which is a by accident way
to pick up exposure in a world where
they have no money when you have no
money when I took over my dad’s business
it did three million dollars a year ten
percent gross profit $300,000 before
expenses my first year marketing budget
was fourteen thousand dollars when you
have no money and I built that business
from a three to a sixty million dollar
business in five years I had to make
every penny perfect so I was right about
email marketing in 96 and I was right
and because of that I had 91% open rates
when Google AdWords came out the day it
came out I paid five cents a click for
words before anybody bid me up and I was
super right and that worked if it does
that luck versus preparation and do you
ever get anything wrong what do you do I
can make them as high I get everything
wrong it’s just that I can’t recall it
because once it’s wrong I’m moving on to
the next thing
like dwell dwelling on what you’ve
dumped on is the quickest way for the
next thing not to work right yeah so
like so I think I do everything I mean
you know this this is a fun thing to say
some people in the back know this I was
a breakout YouTube star in the first
year 2006 I decided that the right
strategy was to leave YouTube completely
and go to viddler because viddler
offered me equity in their company and
I’ve left an enormous amount of
attention I deviated from my intention
thesis to do short-term economics
inequity in a company and I lost I lost
Wendy Brock finally came in my life two
years ago we started to try to build up
my youtube for the first time I was
sitting on 40,000 user followers in a
world where I could have had millions if
I just stayed the course so I make
mistakes all the time
I’m reorganize its based on a mistake I
made the prior year I just don’t give a
about my mistakes everybody else cares
about your mistakes if you’re worried
about your own mistakes you’ve already
lost
the only way to deal with fear that I
found in my life is a couple ways one of
those ways is to turn it on itself and
ask yourself what am I afraid of I’m
free of that I got to be more afraid of
what I’m gonna miss out on missing out
on my mission this thing out who I’m
supposed to be missing in other words if
you’re not you’d get rid of fear than
use fair use fear or it uses you it’s
that simple so you gotta say okay what’s
the price if I just stay doing this
what’s the price what do I need to
really even get scared if I learn all
this I don’t follow through that’s
something to be scared about
and then that fear will get you over
your fear it’ll push you through turn
fear in itself second way you can do it
is use what you’ve probably heard me say
because I used it so I was 17 is my
little rocking-chair test right I’m
gonna I’m gonna sit myself in my rocking
chair I’m 85 years old looking back on
my life and I say I didn’t do this or I
did sometimes a lot of people may try in
your initiative and then they don’t get
an immediate reaction and they think
it’s a failure that’s right I want to go
to your YouTube videos with the Wine
Library you know you had so much content
out there how did you stick in there how
did you keep yourself motivated because
I believe in my strategies and I’m
patient ish like all great stuff
especially when you’re innovating
doesn’t happen right away this notion
that like Oh Gary I tried it I spent 500
bucks on Facebook ads it doesn’t work
well what if your video sucked what if
your product and service sucks I I tend
to do things that are very early that
has been my career I when I do things I
believe in them I stick with them based
on intuition even though for 18 months
nobody watched my wine videos at all I
knew it was right I was right there’s
been things I’ve done that I’ve jumped
off of very quickly I started a Gary v
app V chat ve like WeChat that was funny
for my fans great CRM one on one didn’t
feel right after a week or two spend
plenty money building it knew it stopped
it after you know a couple months Wine
Library TV five years every day YouTube
decided to change at the daily grape
insular app you could buy stuff
subscription for reviews it was a lot of
fun only did it for five months stopped
it because I didn’t feel right anymore
it’s always hard to know when to jump
off something new but I find that people
don’t believe in what they’re doing they
hear a guru yeah and they do it
begrudgingly because their boss wants
them to or they’re like what Gary’s
right a lot so let me do it but they
don’t believe it and so then they jump
they’re looking for nose instead of yes
is everything I do every business
development every event I do every time
I try new marketing tactics or sales
tactic I’m looking for the yes right I’m
looking for the yes and if the no
punches me will then I’m like crap then
no punched me I believe the majority of
people when they try new tactics are
looking for the no mm-hmm and you’re
getting getting a lot of subtle knows
immediately right and so I think that’s why that happens
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