jump you don’t want to jump because
you’re worried if you lose what people
gonna say starting with your parents
your friends your contemporaries my
ability to not truly truly care about
other people’s opinions has been the
foundation of my happiness I respect
people’s opinions I just I just don’t
care about their judgement of me I’ve
flip-flopped about project management at
vaynermedia like so many times and I
don’t worry if somebody hears like make
a decision or like you’re stupid or like
what the or why’re we always change
it like go work it gray advertising
there’s anybody that ever looked like
you that made it then there’s no excuse
is cuz I believe it you know it’s really
hard here in our argument and that your
friend tells you that’s great Gary but
both my parents were alcoholics and that
really to me up right now you’re on the
defense that’s a good first punch by
them I’m like cool we don’t need to use
me if anybody has ever been successful
that had two alcoholic parents which by
the way I know of three well then now
what’s your Excuse Karen we are just so
interested in blaming everybody else and
excuses cuz we don’t want to take on
responsibility and somewhere a long time
ago I went completely I only take I do
you know I think everything is my fault
like all of it like I think it’s weirdly
cloudy outside right now and not nice
out my fault
like his scar my fault
like I just default into my fault and
everybody tries to do everything else
the other way and let me tell you how
good life becomes when you take on
responsibility it gets real good uh some
of you and there’s a lot of you that
follow me you know why I keep bringing
up the last scene of eight mile the
Eminem movie how many people have seen
that movie great the last scene they go
into the battle he makes fun of himself
the whole time because it leaves the
other person with nothing the leverage
is in being accountable of everything
the leverage is exposing your weaknesses
I proudly talk about passing on uber
twice being a DNF student you know I
proudly talk about my shortcomings right
I can’t wait for more bad things to
happen I mean it because I will talk
about them because what you’re so
imperfect I’m inspired YouTube we’re
gonna make this the episode thing you’ll
get whatever you want to other but this
is the core of it you just saw it on
stage that’s just you just saw it on
stage dying on your sword is better than
dying on someone else’s so many of you
are doing things making decisions and
navigating your lives
somebody else’s thesis you’re doing it
because you think it’s the right thing
because your dad’s telling you it’s the
right thing you’re doing what you’re
doing right now cuz you’re pandering to
your boss even though you don’t believe
in it all the things you may be worried
about left right up down there has never
been a better time to be alive
in the human race than right now
medicine life expectancy poverty every
issue we have better you know the best
people to talk about what’s going on in
America or 90 year olds they should not
everybody they’re like it’s bad this
woman made me laugh sorry there’s like
92 year old woman stopped me in a speech
and I keep doing what you’re doing I’m
like thank I mean she looked like 190 I
was like thank you I got talked in for a
second she’s like and by the way these
women and she’s wrong but it was still
funny she goes these women if I didn’t
have somebody grab my ass every day in
the office I was pissed I was like I get
it I was like don’t say that in public
she’s like public
I was like man 92 some gangsters I’m
obsessed with practicality I’m obsessed
with practicality
people think I’m a destructor or you
know no strictly predictor or write I’m
practical Facebook and Instagram ads are
grossly underpriced if you go home
tonight and Google how to run Instagram
story ads and learn how to do that and
then make a video or picture and runs
Instagram story ads for whatever you’re
trying to do in life become the mayor
here sell some peanuts cam bucho get
people to sign up for your you know
track team I don’t care what I don’t
know what a fish comes from sign people
an Instagram story ad will work better
than anything else you can do if you
care about people 15 to 55 15 to 45 if
you care about people 30 to 75 Facebook
works better than anything like all your
dreams whatever that may be simple
dreams like making four hundred dollars
more a month so you can save it and take
your family to Walt Disney this year all
your dreams like the amount of people
that are affected by making two hundred
dollars more a month is staggering the
fact that I know that if you literally
stopped listening to me right now took
out your phone went to Craigslist went
to the for sale section clicked on the
free section within the for sale section
took your car got up left in the middle
Mikey know and picked up eight things
went home took one picture on your phone
not like the old days where the phone
he’d take the discount of putting the
buter no not that which is all by the
way the old days you know 11 years ago
and
you know just take a picture of the
thing and post it on Facebook
marketplace and post it for 20 to 80
dollars that literally in the next 48
hours you would have $200 more I’m
obsessed with practicality everything I
talk about feels so real it just might
take 11 years and a lot of people don’t
have 11 years they don’t have 11 years
because they’re not wanting to put in
the work to be happy for the rest of
their life they’d rather complain they’d
rather blame somebody else for me a
purebred entrepreneur she or he loves
the journey not the stuff you know one
of the things I struggle with in the
current state of entrepreneurship is a
lot of people want the vacations the
watches you know even even the context
is this you guys have such an incredible
imagery I think it’s remarkable
who doesn’t want fine things in life
yeah but I think that if you’re in the
game just for the fine things in life
for the bottles and the models and the
private planes I think you’re gonna lose
and it definitely is not my definition
of an entrepreneur and my definition of
an entrepreneur is somebody who can’t
live without doing their thing and
trying to create and getting more and
more intrigued by mindset because I used
to think of it as fluffy like self-help
and now I think it more as strategy
what’s your strategy in life somebody
asked me on Instagram after I posted a
scary if the mindset has been skewed how
can you bring it back and I answered
with by surrounding yourself with people
who have the mindset you aspire to my
friends please understand that mindset
is controllable
in the same way that all our opinions
are controllable the key is to add more
people with optimism and cut people with
negativity it’s very very simple now
it’s very hard to cut people with
pessimism cynicism and negativity when
they are the people that are the closest
to you parents siblings spouse but the
bottom line is if you’re asking the
question I’m gonna give you the answer
the answer is add more people with
positive
optimism and cut people with pessimism
and cynicism who you surround yourself
matters what content you consume matters
I basically suffocate myself for a long
period of my time and created an
environment that was based on offense
and optimism and now I know no different
please do the same for you make that
move mold and I mean mold your mindset
by what you consume and with whom you
consume it you can do anything and all
this stuff let me just tell you it’s
stupid hard reality is most of you are
just average ly talented right like
you’re not gonna over index and anything
too crazy here’s the good news
this is not about how much money you
make or how talented you are this is
about being happy
everybody here regardless of how
talented they are in making money or art
or what-have-you
has that they’re super into you love
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles your whole
life could be about Michelangelo it
could and here’s what really with me in
this internet age you could have a
podcast around teenage Ninja Turtles you
could buy Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle
memorabilia Craigslist and Facebook and
at sea and then flip it on a different
platform because you’re so knowledgeable
that I’m just fascinated about what you
happens when you go all-in on your
passion you’re committed to it and you
use the infrastructure of this you
living your life for 80 years as the
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle expert it’s
getting funnier to me by the second
making
83k a year in ads on your podcast the
flip some miraculous reason somebody
paid you two thousand dollars to go to a
bush-league comic-con thing that person
making sixty-two thousand a year being
the TMT expert versus them making
seventy seven thousand a year being an
admin in a company where they hate their
life nine-to-five that Delta is
something I will go to the grave on
because it is what I want to articulate
to everybody the pun
level of practicality to douche round
stuff you like and here’s the big part
how many people under 40 let me just
start with this group if you just really
took what I’m talking about
became an expert at Facebook and
Instagram really understood the fact
that you could take a leap for two years
move back in home move in together cut
your expenses I don’t give a the
fact that you can do that for two or
three years and if it doesn’t work out
you can go back to getting a job that’s
you need to bet on your strengths and
don’t give a about what you suck at
you’re gonna way too many people in this
room are gonna spend the next 30 40
years of their lives trying to check the
boxes other things that they’re not as
good at and that you’re gonna waste a
load of time and lose I highly recommend
auditing yourself or if you have no
empathy or EQ or self-awareness then
find somebody in your family or
friendship that does and let them tell
you who you are and once you believe
that either for yourself or someone else
told you go directly all chips all into
that because that is the only possible
way in my opinion watching from the
outside that is let me rephrase that is
a very highly likely way of
over-indexing because the truth is if
you want to be an anomaly you’ve got to
act like one you know like and so that’s
it that’s what I got so thanks for
and what you’re looking for I’ve been
giving a lot of thought to kind of just
watching what I’m seeing out there in
the social digital ecosystem and very
honestly just real life and I’m watching
so many people over the last two to
three years look for negativity look for
something that’s wrong
find where people disagree with them
fight look for what was me downside the
half glass empty and and then I go to a
Twitter search or look around the world
and I find ridiculously beautiful things
every day every day thousands of kind
acts randomly by people all people that
I have conversations with who see the
opportunities whether it’s in business
like voice and AR or crypto or whatever
it may be just this amazingly
interesting thing that I feel the
majority of you are looking for the
wrong while there’s plenty of wrong and
plenty of bright in the world it comes
down to one very simple thing what are
you choosing to look for because I
promise you if you right now and I’m
making this video for one reason 24
hours of trying to find the good
somebody saves a kid somebody opens the
door somebody does a nice thing for you
bit somebody says thank you 24 hours of
looking for positivity could change your
life honestly making this for one person
one one person watches this video
chooses to do 24 hours of looking for
good instead of looking for bad and
their game changes d-roc heard somebody
at a convenience store saying mom you’re
always so negative you’re always so
negative I am blown away by the fact
that life gets real simple if you break
down into this are you looking for the
negative this sucks this government
sucks this person sucks this is are you
looking for the positive she’s nice
that’s remarkable I’ve got this
opportunity you choose what you’re
looking for because what you look for
you find that’s how life works
in entrepreneurship is there is way too
much fodder brought to the idea Hoover
was magic cab three years earlier
November is not an idea
uber existed it’s called magic cab but
the guys that executed sucked so they
lost so I think you know if there’s any
level of romance left in this room about
your idea
I’d like to suffocate it because I think
the actual situation is what you
actually do with it I think that that’s
what’s amazing about anything which is
there’s many different many different
definitions for you you know go out work
your face off win and reward yourself
with something is exactly right for me
the reward is pouring more of the
dollars and energy into the company not
buying stuff for myself it’s one of the
same yeah it’s one in the same to me I I
think it’s amazing if somebody wants to
buy an Armani suit or a $5,000 pair of
belt or a diamond ring for a hundred
thousand I don’t but that doesn’t mean
that’s right or wrong what I’m doing
with that same hundred thousand instead
of a ring is I’m hiring two more people
because I’m trying to buy the jewelry
company not a piece of the jewelry
number one thing that scares me in life
is regret I really really really don’t
want to be on my deathbed whether that’s
tomorrow or when I’m 97 and think I
should have done that I should like
that’s that spooks me right like hard
work people judging me leaving you know
trolling me on social media like all the
stuff that normal people worry about I
don’t worry about I worry about regret
and so I’m trying to squeeze everything
out of my life and so yeah I do a lot
today’s world where everybody can win
that means that everybody can win which
means you have to be better than ever
before to break through everybody’s got
a hot take on the great push to beat
everybody’s got a hot take on the Golden
State Warriors and LeBron everybody’s
got a hot take on Ben Simmons and
Kendall dating everybody’s got a hot
Roseanne Barr in that world where you’re
gonna have to be better at content and
distribution and so yes it is hard and I
always tell people that like man it’s so
hard I’m like at least you have a chance
in 1982 if you weren’t picked by
somebody and one of the seventeen people
that got to have an opinion you weren’t
hurt I was really an unusual Eastern
European immigrant that came during that
time every one of my friends every one
of my parents friends kids were
straight-a students because education
was they way out if you go to Instagram
literally right now and look at my
account Gary Vee two posts ago I posted
my high school report card cuz nobody
believes me but I was a straight DNF
student somewhere around fourth grade I
realized that Saturn was not going to
impact my life and I didn’t care about
it and so self-awareness is a son of a
bitch you know and and and honestly
besides health for everybody in this
room I wish you self awareness because
once you understand who you are you can
do a lot of damage all of us suck at a
lot of stuff all of us are good at a lot
of stuff the game is to figure that out
I threw good parenting through
circumstance through who knows really
what got very self-aware very early in
my life and listen at 13 you know listen
it was tough for my friend’s parents to
say I was a loser because I got these in
apps it wasn’t fun for my teachers to
say that I wasn’t going to amount to
anything
here was my biggest problem I was 13
years old I was making $3,000 a weekend
selling baseball cards I had 47 thousand
dollars in cash under my bed and I
wasn’t selling weed I thought I was
of your bike is geared to be like
college grads yep
but I’m old I’m 40 what would you like
what was your voice that might be for
someone who’s 40 but starting out where
most of your audience is starting out
when they’re 20 or 30 what’s interesting
no joke I don’t know if you saw that I
literally posted a video today to 47
year olds so to me everybody’s going
through different things you know I to
your point last 8 12 to 18 months I
found myself producing a lot more
content to youth than I have in the past
which was usually two more 40 year old
business people look I think the biggest
thing with 40 to 50 is that it’s now
you’ve lived life and you’re still young
as and you’re like now what right you
have like an entire second life to live
and it’s a very interesting time in
people’s lives where they have to be
really retrospective of like how
self-aware are they but honestly I think
forties young man I really really do and
so I would say a lot of the advice I
give to 20 year olds Maps pretty well to
40 year olds which is you know take some
risks you’ve tasted some stuff you know
happiness is the ROI and so you know
figure out what makes you happy is it
the pursuit of money or is it actual
money do materials make you happy if
materials make you happy is that really
just insecurity and you need to have you
know a BMW to make yourself feel good
like what’s making you tick but I would
say the biggest thing that I would tell
any 40 year old is you’ve got 50 years
to live please get the finished or I’ve
stopped like eliminate dwelling cuz
you’re just starting I really believe
that by the way this is not some
motivational rah-rah SH I just think
it’s true I just think you’ve got 40
dull years to live that’s 20 more than
you’ve lived and there’s just so much
opportunity
just launched a platform for connecting
companies with social media influencers
okay like a tinder self-direct and I
thought I had kind of a unicorn and now
when kind of exploring the world I say
okay there’s a lot out there nobody’s
doing but we’re kind of late here in
this part of the world yep so here I
captured the markets really well in a
short time that’s awesome but I wonder
how my dreams about internationalization
and getting global and making it
scalable making it bigger what advice
would you give to me for that ooh a
couple things first of all how big is it
in the market that you’re winning in it
the biggest thing that you know the like
unless you’re doing 7 10 12 million
dollars in the Nordics you should not be
thinking about Eastern Western Europe
the US too many people like every word
out of your mouth is that I was just
talking like scalable what like we’re
just all caught up in building
billion-dollar it’s so stupid
like how big is your company how much
are you doing over a million we have a
pretty revenue I mean just launched it
until you make money you shouldn’t be
worried about global no so in local
markets go that way bigger media than 75
million dollars in revenue profitably
before I thought about even going to
London okay everybody’s caught that
listen I’m telling you all of you you’re
caught up in propaganda you’re
not thinking about it smartly you make
no money and you’re sitting here worried
about winning globally and you haven’t
even started winning locally you
understand yeah I’m just thinking like
it’s partnership the way to go to
somebody that are oh no the way to go is
to not think about it at all okay
do you understand yeah I think there’s
an enormous amount of confusion in the
system for twenty eight year olds about
where they are in life I think that’s my
biggest problem I’ve been having lately
that’s I’ve been watching a lot of you
and watching a lot of your videos and a
lot of things that you do and all kinds
of stuff helped me kind of come out and
realize you know my time is
what I ever find it I got my own clock a
hundred pro honestly no joke I feel like
you’re closer to two point eight years
old than the way you think about twenty
eight like you’ve got 60 years of
execution in front of you that’s like
tuefel life’s more of execution and and
the problem with 28 is 28 of tricky
thing 28 tricky 28 is too many people up
because I’m telling you that looking at
30 like wait a minute I go thirties here
shouldn’t I quote-unquote have my life
together you know and then at 28 you got
you know five to fifty percent of your
friends that you went to high school or
college with that are like you know
getting married having you know get
getting somewhere in their life that it
uh don’t let anybody else’s clock you
know dictate your game like a you know
28 is earliest dude honestly brother
I’ll shoot it straight to you I’m 42
years old and I swear on everything I’ve
got I feel like I’m just starting and
everything that people think I am and
what I’ve accomplished and all that is
in my own head cuz I’m like I haven’t
even started so imagine what I think
about you at 28 I’ve hit that kind of
quiet crescendo moment where like it
just I’m so in tune with like putting
out content putting it out there letting
you guys consume it reading your
feedback in this viral loop and just
feels like I’m in that zone and every
day I wish for you guys out there in the
world to find that same zone and so look
for that thing find that thing and for
me this community is that thing and I
want to thank you from the bottom of my
heart thank you so much have the best
best rest we can have the best summer
flip start things produce content but
most of all listen you know the audacity
that everybody wants likes and comments
and subscribers but doesn’t want to then
do for them what they want to return the
selfishness of like give me vanity
metrics and social and content and
digital yet
the key is if you listen and care about
those individuals as much as what you
wanted from them and likes and
subscribers everything would be
different
please do not take things for granted
and most of all do not take your
community for granted because it’s the
foundation of your opportunity in this
digital world entire career what what
allows me to be here today what allows
me to dream and be audacious about
owning a professional football team is
very simple I chase underpriced
attention I chase properly priced
attention and I completely punt
overpriced attention simple I know that
everybody in this room does things for
eight to ten hours a day every day of
the day of the week the month a year on
things that no longer bring as much
value as it did six nine 14 years ago
that helped you get to this point I know
that there’s somebody in this room that
if they started a b2b podcast I know
that if somebody in this room who had
never thought about producing content or
media if they started a podcast which
they don’t even have the beginnings of a
thought of how to do that right now but
the good news is you literally go to
Google and you type in how do I start a
podcast I know that if somebody here
started a podcast for this industry and
put out an episode every week and
interviewed a thought leader in this
industry that even though only 700 to
1500 people would listen to it because
it’s obviously very niche in its content
that it would be the differentiator of
growing their business that it would
lead to lead gen that there are people
that they’re trying to chase to get the
account that in turn a year later would
be chasing them to be a guest on the
show which then would inevitably lead to
them getting the business my friends
please understand over the next period
of time as I talk to you about some of
these nuances that I am NOT a
technologist that had I not been in
business that I wouldn’t want to have
necessarily an Instagram or snapchat or
LinkedIn account it doesn’t come natural
to me it’s not necessarily what I want
I want is to sell stuff what I want is
to run a successful business what I want
is to win and to me if you sit in this
room and you do not realize how extreme
the internet technology revolution
actually is you become vulnerable if I
can suffocate all of you today to take
25% of your take-home income this year
and pour it back into two people who do
video and written word and put it into
Facebook and Instagram ads literally all
of you will email me 24 months actually
get if you can start right away
literally 25% of you are going to come
to me this time next year right here and
be like holy I’ve been listening to your
stuff for seven years your keynote was
different in Miami last year this time I
listened I said it I don’t need to go to
Ibiza three times this year yet I don’t
need to buy a better BMW this year to
make me feel good with the neighbors get
I don’t need another pair of Supremes or
Yeezys I took the money and I put it
into Karen the film woman and Rick the
ad guy and now my business is 2x this
will 100% work even if you suck on
camera have zero charisma are only eight
days in the industry this will work
because it is such under priced
attention that the ROI will work that if
you’re a 2n skill the ads are a 20 in
the ten point scale and it closes the
Delta of you being average if you
literally literally and I’ve said this
for seven years if you literally
literally go interview the guy who owns
the gym in town the guy who owns the
pizza shop the woman that owns the
insurance brokerage if you literally
literally literally just interview your
local community that you become the
local newspaper in three minute video
form on your
you don’t even need to hire the rock or
babban drives your phone if you
literally take it selfie it and
interview the principal of the school in
your neighborhood you will become the
local celebrity who can then transact on
whatever you’re trying to sell that
group if you bring value to people if
you interview the best high school
basketball player literally just that
your business will change or if you
literally just give the advice of how
you got here what you learned if you
shared your thoughts if you do not
understand that you were a media company
that you will not be as successful as
you are today in a decade and that’s not
interesting when the alternative is your
four to seven times bigger this thick
guys you have to understand what
happened to Blockbuster and Netflix what
happened with uber and taxi companies
what happened with hotels versus Airbnb
is happening with you as a human in your
business and so when you have the best
hand and you know it because you’ve been
paying attention and you know how to
play poker
you go all-in everybody here is playing
Facebook Instagram social media YouTube
podcasting like they have the best hand
and they’re calling and you’re not going
them into getting all the money you’re
just folding and that’s this audience so
can you imagine what I feel is going on
outside this stadium so this is a call
to action for everybody to do me one
favor and I do think I can get a lot of
you to do it which excites the of
me please right now listen maybe you’ve
laid out money maybe you’re in the
middle of a renovation maybe you’re
paying for your kids college
Mazel Tov I know there’s nuances on
everybody’s life but if you are in a
position where literally your take-home
income this year is literally the stuff
you’re gonna go and do things with
please from 25% to 90% if you can go
humble please take that money and hire
two people to make a lot more content
for you about you and your business and
please give the rest of the money to
Facebook and YouTube and Instagram
and I fundamentally promise you you will
walk here to this conference next year
and personally thank me emotionally
because your business will change and I
know not one of you has gone all in
content every day for nine years before
it’s not sexy it’s just basic but it
works and you got to speak up craft and
there’s a lot of people that have craft
so you have to chip chip chip job you
know one day one post something cool and
somebody cool
Drake sees it does it and everything
changes yeah but you have to do it every
day to have that moment that guy or gal
is also the same person that I want to
reach to sell a bottle of wine or a book
to and that space in his and her
Facebook feed is only one space so that
is supply and demand I used to buy that
space four years ago for a dollar for
every thousand impressions now it’s
seven the longer you think this world
doesn’t exist and you fear-mongering the
longer you don’t put money in the longer
I can extract all the value I’ve lived
this game I’m not a hero cuz I took it
from 3 to 50 million 60 million my dad’s
business I actually am a schmuck I
should have spent more on Google I had
it figured out every time you typed in
Cabernet Merlot silver Okemos Napa
Bordeaux I was showing up first cuz
nobody realized it was good real estate
and it was only costing me five or ten
cents a click and I was making between
seven and eighty dollars in profit for
something that was costing me $3 to get
you through the funnel on the average of
60 people coming in one converting I was
stupid I’m being serious with you I
stand here and have passionate about
LinkedIn and Facebook marketing in a b2b
environment today out of regret for what
I did from 2002 to 2005 because I should
have spent more it was basic math but I
just didn’t understand because I was
young in my career and it just I don’t
even know how to explain it to you when
it’s too good to be true it’s too good
to be true right I’m an immigrant I was
cynical I just didn’t fuss I also
thought it was important to do direct
mail and local commercials and magazine
that I was doing it all but in hindsight
it was the great mistake of my career
the great mistake of my career was not
spending more money on
Google and I promise you the great
mistake of your accelerated growth for
the 80% that just raised their hand is
not taking advertising on LinkedIn and
Facebook seriously because you don’t
think your person is on it I’ve heard
every guys I’ve been doing this for 10
years I know what your Excuse is gonna
be
I can’t wait to the Q&A I’m gonna stand
here and want to but Gary my my target
the person is a 63 year old man he’s not
on it
bullsh of course he’s on it who they
think is spreading all the Democratic
why I made content the answer is I don’t
know nobody knows there’s no right
answer there’s that moment in time this
is why I produced content every day it
might be watching my content every day
and it might be this conversation with
us in vlog that is you know it’s very
meta this might have been the one this
might have been the one on this day
because of a conversation you had last
night because of the weather outside
because of a news headline because of
the patterns of how the for Instagram
posts came in your feed it might just be
the time you finally do what you’re
supposed to do and I think a lot of
people think of it as like quit your job
and go do your journey right things
you’re thinking about others I think of
it a little bit different sometimes it’s
that’s exactly right sometimes it’s like
mm-hmm
I’ve been doing this nightlife and
t-shirt thing for seven years
why don’t I go work for something smart
for a year reset why don’t I go travel
why don’t I sell my home that I don’t
use 90% of take that money get an
apartment and then do something with
that much so to me it’s not just like
the fancy sizzle of like now jump into
the rest of your life it’s also like
it’s also like awed it understand what
you need break up with that person marry
that person you know you know start your
career go back to corporate for an hour
okay a year or two to reset like you
know just do ya it’s the indecisiveness
it’s the indecisiveness that is the
poison because you can always undo
the biggest thing about doing is the
undoing that people don’t see I’m always
like okay good and then like if you fail
go back but people don’t want the
Scarlet Letter they don’t want the
judgment that’s why you have to tune
everything out because if you go and
judge start your t-shirt brand or your
pin brand or your video blog and it
fails if you just think you can go back
to it well that sounds cool but if you
feel like oh but then everybody’s gonna
clown on me and say like then you’re if
you’re if you’re pessimistic mom so be
like see I told you you could never do
it if you can’t get over that thank you
stop you just need to figure out how to
ride it
so it doesn’t kill you and by the way I
mean this I’m you know collecting the
energy of the room thinking about what
we talked about here I mean this I don’t
think it’s bad if you’re not capable or
willing to up your game put in the work
but everybody fights hard for 30 years
and then wants to hold up athletes you
know you know what I hate about business
that I love about athletes when you’re
the best athlete in the world you get
the results when you get to 36 and a
younger lion comes along you lose in
business we have this weird
that we’re supposed to be rewarded at
the end you I mean it you you didn’t
take this internet serious for the last
20 years why the should you be rewarded
I think the biggest obstacle to success
is a lack of optimism that question in
itself is the problem my friend
right you’re looking at two things that
are both negatives and guess what both
of them are obstacles when I started
winelibrary.com transformation for my
business I had time I worked my face off
every minute but we don’t have a whole
lot of money in our profit Center so it
took more time right it’s just the way
it is today I have more money but boy
don’t I have time but neither ever ever
will be an excuse for me and so just to
be willness through the throat of the
vaynernation that’s right I went that
graphic don’t smile d-roc here’s the
bottom line
refused to allow you to get an answer to
that question because both of them are
firmly square in the excuse column and I
have no patience for that there will
always be problems let’s talk about a
million other things that are a way to
stop success the health and well-being
of your family members so it takes your
mind away from execution the country you
live in government and political you
know concepts at these moments a la
startups in China that I’ve invested in
that got traction but then people that
were wired into the government decided
to not allow it to happen and then the
startup disappeared not as easy to be an
entrepreneur there it’s still a
communist country sorry it just is and
so all these things can be problems
right there’s a competitor with a
billion dollars who’s also skilled and
punches you in the mouth and knocks you
out in the first round right the world
changing I mean there’s just a million
obstacles right the media one bad
coverage of you a moment in time you
know what I think about a lot you know
what I think about a lot let’s get
really real this is why we did this show
I always I’m a human being and I always
think about a moment in time what if I
just say the wrong thing at the wrong
time right what if I call out China for
being a communist country in an episode
while I’m on a rant and somebody who’s
watching doesn’t like the way that
tastes and it takes away a business
opportunity for me in China in seven
years even though I’m not trying to zing
it’s just things that I saw what if what
if you know what if what if I look down
on my phone while I’m driving even
though I’ve really not done that and I
hit somebody and I kill them and that
becomes the story and I like forget
about the story about what you think of
me I will never recover from that
because I killed somebody because I
needed to check a tweet these are
moments in time so there are so many
things that can keep you from being
successful right the people that you
invested in having something that
happened to them so it slows you down my
friends there are a million reasons why
not but there’s one great reason why
which is you’ve just got a persevere no
matter what it is it’s just the way it
is it’s hard being an entrepreneur it’s
hard building a business everybody
thinks it’s so easy that there’s
entitlement there’s a disaster zinging
China here comes my us thing right now
there is an insane generation of 18 to
25 year olds right now that think
they’re entitled to having a business
because they saw the social network
movie and everybody’s decided if you’re
a kid and you know what tech is because
you used Instagram early on you’re
entitled to actually build a business
building a business is hard and you know
what makes it really hard
everything that happens every day of
every moment so you can pick time you
can pick money as the one or two things
that you think stopped you from winning
your game but the truth is there’s a
million reasons 99 percent of businesses
go out of business for a reason and that
reason is it’s hard and so if you’re
watching this show I’ve got a sense of
who you are and you need to start
creating layers and layers and layers
and layers of skin to be able to get
through because the glamour of being an
entrepreneur the goodness you know you
get very confused by my optimism because
it’s my optimism I can’t help it it’s
just how I roll it’s probably one of the
variable 1% reasons why I’m successful
but please don’t get it twisted this is
hard every day is hard and if you don’t
have the stomach to weather the storm
you will not be successful and by the
way let me throw you a real weird
curveball and that’s okay people have to
look themselves in a mirror and
understand if they’re number two three
four or five six seven in an
organization that has differences of
being a number one but maybe that’s
where your skill set sits maybe that’s
how you make your fortunes and happiness
and all the things that you’re looking
for and so that question got me going a
little bit Steve because it’s endured a
context of excuses and I will never make
an excuse everything that’s a problem
with me everything I don’t achieve
everything that’s a problem at
vaynermedia
and everything is my fault and I I
succumbed to that and I respect that and
I actually think that’s the way it should be
you’re worried if you lose what people
gonna say starting with your parents
your friends your contemporaries my
ability to not truly truly care about
other people’s opinions has been the
foundation of my happiness I respect
people’s opinions I just I just don’t
care about their judgement of me I’ve
flip-flopped about project management at
vaynermedia like so many times and I
don’t worry if somebody hears like make
a decision or like you’re stupid or like
what the or why’re we always change
it like go work it gray advertising
there’s anybody that ever looked like
you that made it then there’s no excuse
is cuz I believe it you know it’s really
hard here in our argument and that your
friend tells you that’s great Gary but
both my parents were alcoholics and that
really to me up right now you’re on the
defense that’s a good first punch by
them I’m like cool we don’t need to use
me if anybody has ever been successful
that had two alcoholic parents which by
the way I know of three well then now
what’s your Excuse Karen we are just so
interested in blaming everybody else and
excuses cuz we don’t want to take on
responsibility and somewhere a long time
ago I went completely I only take I do
you know I think everything is my fault
like all of it like I think it’s weirdly
cloudy outside right now and not nice
out my fault
like his scar my fault
like I just default into my fault and
everybody tries to do everything else
the other way and let me tell you how
good life becomes when you take on
responsibility it gets real good uh some
of you and there’s a lot of you that
follow me you know why I keep bringing
up the last scene of eight mile the
Eminem movie how many people have seen
that movie great the last scene they go
into the battle he makes fun of himself
the whole time because it leaves the
other person with nothing the leverage
is in being accountable of everything
the leverage is exposing your weaknesses
I proudly talk about passing on uber
twice being a DNF student you know I
proudly talk about my shortcomings right
I can’t wait for more bad things to
happen I mean it because I will talk
about them because what you’re so
imperfect I’m inspired YouTube we’re
gonna make this the episode thing you’ll
get whatever you want to other but this
is the core of it you just saw it on
stage that’s just you just saw it on
stage dying on your sword is better than
dying on someone else’s so many of you
are doing things making decisions and
navigating your lives
somebody else’s thesis you’re doing it
because you think it’s the right thing
because your dad’s telling you it’s the
right thing you’re doing what you’re
doing right now cuz you’re pandering to
your boss even though you don’t believe
in it all the things you may be worried
about left right up down there has never
been a better time to be alive
in the human race than right now
medicine life expectancy poverty every
issue we have better you know the best
people to talk about what’s going on in
America or 90 year olds they should not
everybody they’re like it’s bad this
woman made me laugh sorry there’s like
92 year old woman stopped me in a speech
and I keep doing what you’re doing I’m
like thank I mean she looked like 190 I
was like thank you I got talked in for a
second she’s like and by the way these
women and she’s wrong but it was still
funny she goes these women if I didn’t
have somebody grab my ass every day in
the office I was pissed I was like I get
it I was like don’t say that in public
she’s like public
I was like man 92 some gangsters I’m
obsessed with practicality I’m obsessed
with practicality
people think I’m a destructor or you
know no strictly predictor or write I’m
practical Facebook and Instagram ads are
grossly underpriced if you go home
tonight and Google how to run Instagram
story ads and learn how to do that and
then make a video or picture and runs
Instagram story ads for whatever you’re
trying to do in life become the mayor
here sell some peanuts cam bucho get
people to sign up for your you know
track team I don’t care what I don’t
know what a fish comes from sign people
an Instagram story ad will work better
than anything else you can do if you
care about people 15 to 55 15 to 45 if
you care about people 30 to 75 Facebook
works better than anything like all your
dreams whatever that may be simple
dreams like making four hundred dollars
more a month so you can save it and take
your family to Walt Disney this year all
your dreams like the amount of people
that are affected by making two hundred
dollars more a month is staggering the
fact that I know that if you literally
stopped listening to me right now took
out your phone went to Craigslist went
to the for sale section clicked on the
free section within the for sale section
took your car got up left in the middle
Mikey know and picked up eight things
went home took one picture on your phone
not like the old days where the phone
he’d take the discount of putting the
buter no not that which is all by the
way the old days you know 11 years ago
and
you know just take a picture of the
thing and post it on Facebook
marketplace and post it for 20 to 80
dollars that literally in the next 48
hours you would have $200 more I’m
obsessed with practicality everything I
talk about feels so real it just might
take 11 years and a lot of people don’t
have 11 years they don’t have 11 years
because they’re not wanting to put in
the work to be happy for the rest of
their life they’d rather complain they’d
rather blame somebody else for me a
purebred entrepreneur she or he loves
the journey not the stuff you know one
of the things I struggle with in the
current state of entrepreneurship is a
lot of people want the vacations the
watches you know even even the context
is this you guys have such an incredible
imagery I think it’s remarkable
who doesn’t want fine things in life
yeah but I think that if you’re in the
game just for the fine things in life
for the bottles and the models and the
private planes I think you’re gonna lose
and it definitely is not my definition
of an entrepreneur and my definition of
an entrepreneur is somebody who can’t
live without doing their thing and
trying to create and getting more and
more intrigued by mindset because I used
to think of it as fluffy like self-help
and now I think it more as strategy
what’s your strategy in life somebody
asked me on Instagram after I posted a
scary if the mindset has been skewed how
can you bring it back and I answered
with by surrounding yourself with people
who have the mindset you aspire to my
friends please understand that mindset
is controllable
in the same way that all our opinions
are controllable the key is to add more
people with optimism and cut people with
negativity it’s very very simple now
it’s very hard to cut people with
pessimism cynicism and negativity when
they are the people that are the closest
to you parents siblings spouse but the
bottom line is if you’re asking the
question I’m gonna give you the answer
the answer is add more people with
positive
optimism and cut people with pessimism
and cynicism who you surround yourself
matters what content you consume matters
I basically suffocate myself for a long
period of my time and created an
environment that was based on offense
and optimism and now I know no different
please do the same for you make that
move mold and I mean mold your mindset
by what you consume and with whom you
consume it you can do anything and all
this stuff let me just tell you it’s
stupid hard reality is most of you are
just average ly talented right like
you’re not gonna over index and anything
too crazy here’s the good news
this is not about how much money you
make or how talented you are this is
about being happy
everybody here regardless of how
talented they are in making money or art
or what-have-you
has that they’re super into you love
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles your whole
life could be about Michelangelo it
could and here’s what really with me in
this internet age you could have a
podcast around teenage Ninja Turtles you
could buy Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle
memorabilia Craigslist and Facebook and
at sea and then flip it on a different
platform because you’re so knowledgeable
that I’m just fascinated about what you
happens when you go all-in on your
passion you’re committed to it and you
use the infrastructure of this you
living your life for 80 years as the
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle expert it’s
getting funnier to me by the second
making
83k a year in ads on your podcast the
flip some miraculous reason somebody
paid you two thousand dollars to go to a
bush-league comic-con thing that person
making sixty-two thousand a year being
the TMT expert versus them making
seventy seven thousand a year being an
admin in a company where they hate their
life nine-to-five that Delta is
something I will go to the grave on
because it is what I want to articulate
to everybody the pun
level of practicality to douche round
stuff you like and here’s the big part
how many people under 40 let me just
start with this group if you just really
took what I’m talking about
became an expert at Facebook and
Instagram really understood the fact
that you could take a leap for two years
move back in home move in together cut
your expenses I don’t give a the
fact that you can do that for two or
three years and if it doesn’t work out
you can go back to getting a job that’s
you need to bet on your strengths and
don’t give a about what you suck at
you’re gonna way too many people in this
room are gonna spend the next 30 40
years of their lives trying to check the
boxes other things that they’re not as
good at and that you’re gonna waste a
load of time and lose I highly recommend
auditing yourself or if you have no
empathy or EQ or self-awareness then
find somebody in your family or
friendship that does and let them tell
you who you are and once you believe
that either for yourself or someone else
told you go directly all chips all into
that because that is the only possible
way in my opinion watching from the
outside that is let me rephrase that is
a very highly likely way of
over-indexing because the truth is if
you want to be an anomaly you’ve got to
act like one you know like and so that’s
it that’s what I got so thanks for
and what you’re looking for I’ve been
giving a lot of thought to kind of just
watching what I’m seeing out there in
the social digital ecosystem and very
honestly just real life and I’m watching
so many people over the last two to
three years look for negativity look for
something that’s wrong
find where people disagree with them
fight look for what was me downside the
half glass empty and and then I go to a
Twitter search or look around the world
and I find ridiculously beautiful things
every day every day thousands of kind
acts randomly by people all people that
I have conversations with who see the
opportunities whether it’s in business
like voice and AR or crypto or whatever
it may be just this amazingly
interesting thing that I feel the
majority of you are looking for the
wrong while there’s plenty of wrong and
plenty of bright in the world it comes
down to one very simple thing what are
you choosing to look for because I
promise you if you right now and I’m
making this video for one reason 24
hours of trying to find the good
somebody saves a kid somebody opens the
door somebody does a nice thing for you
bit somebody says thank you 24 hours of
looking for positivity could change your
life honestly making this for one person
one one person watches this video
chooses to do 24 hours of looking for
good instead of looking for bad and
their game changes d-roc heard somebody
at a convenience store saying mom you’re
always so negative you’re always so
negative I am blown away by the fact
that life gets real simple if you break
down into this are you looking for the
negative this sucks this government
sucks this person sucks this is are you
looking for the positive she’s nice
that’s remarkable I’ve got this
opportunity you choose what you’re
looking for because what you look for
you find that’s how life works
in entrepreneurship is there is way too
much fodder brought to the idea Hoover
was magic cab three years earlier
November is not an idea
uber existed it’s called magic cab but
the guys that executed sucked so they
lost so I think you know if there’s any
level of romance left in this room about
your idea
I’d like to suffocate it because I think
the actual situation is what you
actually do with it I think that that’s
what’s amazing about anything which is
there’s many different many different
definitions for you you know go out work
your face off win and reward yourself
with something is exactly right for me
the reward is pouring more of the
dollars and energy into the company not
buying stuff for myself it’s one of the
same yeah it’s one in the same to me I I
think it’s amazing if somebody wants to
buy an Armani suit or a $5,000 pair of
belt or a diamond ring for a hundred
thousand I don’t but that doesn’t mean
that’s right or wrong what I’m doing
with that same hundred thousand instead
of a ring is I’m hiring two more people
because I’m trying to buy the jewelry
company not a piece of the jewelry
number one thing that scares me in life
is regret I really really really don’t
want to be on my deathbed whether that’s
tomorrow or when I’m 97 and think I
should have done that I should like
that’s that spooks me right like hard
work people judging me leaving you know
trolling me on social media like all the
stuff that normal people worry about I
don’t worry about I worry about regret
and so I’m trying to squeeze everything
out of my life and so yeah I do a lot
today’s world where everybody can win
that means that everybody can win which
means you have to be better than ever
before to break through everybody’s got
a hot take on the great push to beat
everybody’s got a hot take on the Golden
State Warriors and LeBron everybody’s
got a hot take on Ben Simmons and
Kendall dating everybody’s got a hot
Roseanne Barr in that world where you’re
gonna have to be better at content and
distribution and so yes it is hard and I
always tell people that like man it’s so
hard I’m like at least you have a chance
in 1982 if you weren’t picked by
somebody and one of the seventeen people
that got to have an opinion you weren’t
hurt I was really an unusual Eastern
European immigrant that came during that
time every one of my friends every one
of my parents friends kids were
straight-a students because education
was they way out if you go to Instagram
literally right now and look at my
account Gary Vee two posts ago I posted
my high school report card cuz nobody
believes me but I was a straight DNF
student somewhere around fourth grade I
realized that Saturn was not going to
impact my life and I didn’t care about
it and so self-awareness is a son of a
bitch you know and and and honestly
besides health for everybody in this
room I wish you self awareness because
once you understand who you are you can
do a lot of damage all of us suck at a
lot of stuff all of us are good at a lot
of stuff the game is to figure that out
I threw good parenting through
circumstance through who knows really
what got very self-aware very early in
my life and listen at 13 you know listen
it was tough for my friend’s parents to
say I was a loser because I got these in
apps it wasn’t fun for my teachers to
say that I wasn’t going to amount to
anything
here was my biggest problem I was 13
years old I was making $3,000 a weekend
selling baseball cards I had 47 thousand
dollars in cash under my bed and I
wasn’t selling weed I thought I was
of your bike is geared to be like
college grads yep
but I’m old I’m 40 what would you like
what was your voice that might be for
someone who’s 40 but starting out where
most of your audience is starting out
when they’re 20 or 30 what’s interesting
no joke I don’t know if you saw that I
literally posted a video today to 47
year olds so to me everybody’s going
through different things you know I to
your point last 8 12 to 18 months I
found myself producing a lot more
content to youth than I have in the past
which was usually two more 40 year old
business people look I think the biggest
thing with 40 to 50 is that it’s now
you’ve lived life and you’re still young
as and you’re like now what right you
have like an entire second life to live
and it’s a very interesting time in
people’s lives where they have to be
really retrospective of like how
self-aware are they but honestly I think
forties young man I really really do and
so I would say a lot of the advice I
give to 20 year olds Maps pretty well to
40 year olds which is you know take some
risks you’ve tasted some stuff you know
happiness is the ROI and so you know
figure out what makes you happy is it
the pursuit of money or is it actual
money do materials make you happy if
materials make you happy is that really
just insecurity and you need to have you
know a BMW to make yourself feel good
like what’s making you tick but I would
say the biggest thing that I would tell
any 40 year old is you’ve got 50 years
to live please get the finished or I’ve
stopped like eliminate dwelling cuz
you’re just starting I really believe
that by the way this is not some
motivational rah-rah SH I just think
it’s true I just think you’ve got 40
dull years to live that’s 20 more than
you’ve lived and there’s just so much
opportunity
just launched a platform for connecting
companies with social media influencers
okay like a tinder self-direct and I
thought I had kind of a unicorn and now
when kind of exploring the world I say
okay there’s a lot out there nobody’s
doing but we’re kind of late here in
this part of the world yep so here I
captured the markets really well in a
short time that’s awesome but I wonder
how my dreams about internationalization
and getting global and making it
scalable making it bigger what advice
would you give to me for that ooh a
couple things first of all how big is it
in the market that you’re winning in it
the biggest thing that you know the like
unless you’re doing 7 10 12 million
dollars in the Nordics you should not be
thinking about Eastern Western Europe
the US too many people like every word
out of your mouth is that I was just
talking like scalable what like we’re
just all caught up in building
billion-dollar it’s so stupid
like how big is your company how much
are you doing over a million we have a
pretty revenue I mean just launched it
until you make money you shouldn’t be
worried about global no so in local
markets go that way bigger media than 75
million dollars in revenue profitably
before I thought about even going to
London okay everybody’s caught that
listen I’m telling you all of you you’re
caught up in propaganda you’re
not thinking about it smartly you make
no money and you’re sitting here worried
about winning globally and you haven’t
even started winning locally you
understand yeah I’m just thinking like
it’s partnership the way to go to
somebody that are oh no the way to go is
to not think about it at all okay
do you understand yeah I think there’s
an enormous amount of confusion in the
system for twenty eight year olds about
where they are in life I think that’s my
biggest problem I’ve been having lately
that’s I’ve been watching a lot of you
and watching a lot of your videos and a
lot of things that you do and all kinds
of stuff helped me kind of come out and
realize you know my time is
what I ever find it I got my own clock a
hundred pro honestly no joke I feel like
you’re closer to two point eight years
old than the way you think about twenty
eight like you’ve got 60 years of
execution in front of you that’s like
tuefel life’s more of execution and and
the problem with 28 is 28 of tricky
thing 28 tricky 28 is too many people up
because I’m telling you that looking at
30 like wait a minute I go thirties here
shouldn’t I quote-unquote have my life
together you know and then at 28 you got
you know five to fifty percent of your
friends that you went to high school or
college with that are like you know
getting married having you know get
getting somewhere in their life that it
uh don’t let anybody else’s clock you
know dictate your game like a you know
28 is earliest dude honestly brother
I’ll shoot it straight to you I’m 42
years old and I swear on everything I’ve
got I feel like I’m just starting and
everything that people think I am and
what I’ve accomplished and all that is
in my own head cuz I’m like I haven’t
even started so imagine what I think
about you at 28 I’ve hit that kind of
quiet crescendo moment where like it
just I’m so in tune with like putting
out content putting it out there letting
you guys consume it reading your
feedback in this viral loop and just
feels like I’m in that zone and every
day I wish for you guys out there in the
world to find that same zone and so look
for that thing find that thing and for
me this community is that thing and I
want to thank you from the bottom of my
heart thank you so much have the best
best rest we can have the best summer
flip start things produce content but
most of all listen you know the audacity
that everybody wants likes and comments
and subscribers but doesn’t want to then
do for them what they want to return the
selfishness of like give me vanity
metrics and social and content and
digital yet
the key is if you listen and care about
those individuals as much as what you
wanted from them and likes and
subscribers everything would be
different
please do not take things for granted
and most of all do not take your
community for granted because it’s the
foundation of your opportunity in this
digital world entire career what what
allows me to be here today what allows
me to dream and be audacious about
owning a professional football team is
very simple I chase underpriced
attention I chase properly priced
attention and I completely punt
overpriced attention simple I know that
everybody in this room does things for
eight to ten hours a day every day of
the day of the week the month a year on
things that no longer bring as much
value as it did six nine 14 years ago
that helped you get to this point I know
that there’s somebody in this room that
if they started a b2b podcast I know
that if somebody in this room who had
never thought about producing content or
media if they started a podcast which
they don’t even have the beginnings of a
thought of how to do that right now but
the good news is you literally go to
Google and you type in how do I start a
podcast I know that if somebody here
started a podcast for this industry and
put out an episode every week and
interviewed a thought leader in this
industry that even though only 700 to
1500 people would listen to it because
it’s obviously very niche in its content
that it would be the differentiator of
growing their business that it would
lead to lead gen that there are people
that they’re trying to chase to get the
account that in turn a year later would
be chasing them to be a guest on the
show which then would inevitably lead to
them getting the business my friends
please understand over the next period
of time as I talk to you about some of
these nuances that I am NOT a
technologist that had I not been in
business that I wouldn’t want to have
necessarily an Instagram or snapchat or
LinkedIn account it doesn’t come natural
to me it’s not necessarily what I want
I want is to sell stuff what I want is
to run a successful business what I want
is to win and to me if you sit in this
room and you do not realize how extreme
the internet technology revolution
actually is you become vulnerable if I
can suffocate all of you today to take
25% of your take-home income this year
and pour it back into two people who do
video and written word and put it into
Facebook and Instagram ads literally all
of you will email me 24 months actually
get if you can start right away
literally 25% of you are going to come
to me this time next year right here and
be like holy I’ve been listening to your
stuff for seven years your keynote was
different in Miami last year this time I
listened I said it I don’t need to go to
Ibiza three times this year yet I don’t
need to buy a better BMW this year to
make me feel good with the neighbors get
I don’t need another pair of Supremes or
Yeezys I took the money and I put it
into Karen the film woman and Rick the
ad guy and now my business is 2x this
will 100% work even if you suck on
camera have zero charisma are only eight
days in the industry this will work
because it is such under priced
attention that the ROI will work that if
you’re a 2n skill the ads are a 20 in
the ten point scale and it closes the
Delta of you being average if you
literally literally and I’ve said this
for seven years if you literally
literally go interview the guy who owns
the gym in town the guy who owns the
pizza shop the woman that owns the
insurance brokerage if you literally
literally literally just interview your
local community that you become the
local newspaper in three minute video
form on your
you don’t even need to hire the rock or
babban drives your phone if you
literally take it selfie it and
interview the principal of the school in
your neighborhood you will become the
local celebrity who can then transact on
whatever you’re trying to sell that
group if you bring value to people if
you interview the best high school
basketball player literally just that
your business will change or if you
literally just give the advice of how
you got here what you learned if you
shared your thoughts if you do not
understand that you were a media company
that you will not be as successful as
you are today in a decade and that’s not
interesting when the alternative is your
four to seven times bigger this thick
guys you have to understand what
happened to Blockbuster and Netflix what
happened with uber and taxi companies
what happened with hotels versus Airbnb
is happening with you as a human in your
business and so when you have the best
hand and you know it because you’ve been
paying attention and you know how to
play poker
you go all-in everybody here is playing
Facebook Instagram social media YouTube
podcasting like they have the best hand
and they’re calling and you’re not going
them into getting all the money you’re
just folding and that’s this audience so
can you imagine what I feel is going on
outside this stadium so this is a call
to action for everybody to do me one
favor and I do think I can get a lot of
you to do it which excites the of
me please right now listen maybe you’ve
laid out money maybe you’re in the
middle of a renovation maybe you’re
paying for your kids college
Mazel Tov I know there’s nuances on
everybody’s life but if you are in a
position where literally your take-home
income this year is literally the stuff
you’re gonna go and do things with
please from 25% to 90% if you can go
humble please take that money and hire
two people to make a lot more content
for you about you and your business and
please give the rest of the money to
Facebook and YouTube and Instagram
and I fundamentally promise you you will
walk here to this conference next year
and personally thank me emotionally
because your business will change and I
know not one of you has gone all in
content every day for nine years before
it’s not sexy it’s just basic but it
works and you got to speak up craft and
there’s a lot of people that have craft
so you have to chip chip chip job you
know one day one post something cool and
somebody cool
Drake sees it does it and everything
changes yeah but you have to do it every
day to have that moment that guy or gal
is also the same person that I want to
reach to sell a bottle of wine or a book
to and that space in his and her
Facebook feed is only one space so that
is supply and demand I used to buy that
space four years ago for a dollar for
every thousand impressions now it’s
seven the longer you think this world
doesn’t exist and you fear-mongering the
longer you don’t put money in the longer
I can extract all the value I’ve lived
this game I’m not a hero cuz I took it
from 3 to 50 million 60 million my dad’s
business I actually am a schmuck I
should have spent more on Google I had
it figured out every time you typed in
Cabernet Merlot silver Okemos Napa
Bordeaux I was showing up first cuz
nobody realized it was good real estate
and it was only costing me five or ten
cents a click and I was making between
seven and eighty dollars in profit for
something that was costing me $3 to get
you through the funnel on the average of
60 people coming in one converting I was
stupid I’m being serious with you I
stand here and have passionate about
LinkedIn and Facebook marketing in a b2b
environment today out of regret for what
I did from 2002 to 2005 because I should
have spent more it was basic math but I
just didn’t understand because I was
young in my career and it just I don’t
even know how to explain it to you when
it’s too good to be true it’s too good
to be true right I’m an immigrant I was
cynical I just didn’t fuss I also
thought it was important to do direct
mail and local commercials and magazine
that I was doing it all but in hindsight
it was the great mistake of my career
the great mistake of my career was not
spending more money on
Google and I promise you the great
mistake of your accelerated growth for
the 80% that just raised their hand is
not taking advertising on LinkedIn and
Facebook seriously because you don’t
think your person is on it I’ve heard
every guys I’ve been doing this for 10
years I know what your Excuse is gonna
be
I can’t wait to the Q&A I’m gonna stand
here and want to but Gary my my target
the person is a 63 year old man he’s not
on it
bullsh of course he’s on it who they
think is spreading all the Democratic
why I made content the answer is I don’t
know nobody knows there’s no right
answer there’s that moment in time this
is why I produced content every day it
might be watching my content every day
and it might be this conversation with
us in vlog that is you know it’s very
meta this might have been the one this
might have been the one on this day
because of a conversation you had last
night because of the weather outside
because of a news headline because of
the patterns of how the for Instagram
posts came in your feed it might just be
the time you finally do what you’re
supposed to do and I think a lot of
people think of it as like quit your job
and go do your journey right things
you’re thinking about others I think of
it a little bit different sometimes it’s
that’s exactly right sometimes it’s like
mm-hmm
I’ve been doing this nightlife and
t-shirt thing for seven years
why don’t I go work for something smart
for a year reset why don’t I go travel
why don’t I sell my home that I don’t
use 90% of take that money get an
apartment and then do something with
that much so to me it’s not just like
the fancy sizzle of like now jump into
the rest of your life it’s also like
it’s also like awed it understand what
you need break up with that person marry
that person you know you know start your
career go back to corporate for an hour
okay a year or two to reset like you
know just do ya it’s the indecisiveness
it’s the indecisiveness that is the
poison because you can always undo
the biggest thing about doing is the
undoing that people don’t see I’m always
like okay good and then like if you fail
go back but people don’t want the
Scarlet Letter they don’t want the
judgment that’s why you have to tune
everything out because if you go and
judge start your t-shirt brand or your
pin brand or your video blog and it
fails if you just think you can go back
to it well that sounds cool but if you
feel like oh but then everybody’s gonna
clown on me and say like then you’re if
you’re if you’re pessimistic mom so be
like see I told you you could never do
it if you can’t get over that thank you
stop you just need to figure out how to
ride it
so it doesn’t kill you and by the way I
mean this I’m you know collecting the
energy of the room thinking about what
we talked about here I mean this I don’t
think it’s bad if you’re not capable or
willing to up your game put in the work
but everybody fights hard for 30 years
and then wants to hold up athletes you
know you know what I hate about business
that I love about athletes when you’re
the best athlete in the world you get
the results when you get to 36 and a
younger lion comes along you lose in
business we have this weird
that we’re supposed to be rewarded at
the end you I mean it you you didn’t
take this internet serious for the last
20 years why the should you be rewarded
I think the biggest obstacle to success
is a lack of optimism that question in
itself is the problem my friend
right you’re looking at two things that
are both negatives and guess what both
of them are obstacles when I started
winelibrary.com transformation for my
business I had time I worked my face off
every minute but we don’t have a whole
lot of money in our profit Center so it
took more time right it’s just the way
it is today I have more money but boy
don’t I have time but neither ever ever
will be an excuse for me and so just to
be willness through the throat of the
vaynernation that’s right I went that
graphic don’t smile d-roc here’s the
bottom line
refused to allow you to get an answer to
that question because both of them are
firmly square in the excuse column and I
have no patience for that there will
always be problems let’s talk about a
million other things that are a way to
stop success the health and well-being
of your family members so it takes your
mind away from execution the country you
live in government and political you
know concepts at these moments a la
startups in China that I’ve invested in
that got traction but then people that
were wired into the government decided
to not allow it to happen and then the
startup disappeared not as easy to be an
entrepreneur there it’s still a
communist country sorry it just is and
so all these things can be problems
right there’s a competitor with a
billion dollars who’s also skilled and
punches you in the mouth and knocks you
out in the first round right the world
changing I mean there’s just a million
obstacles right the media one bad
coverage of you a moment in time you
know what I think about a lot you know
what I think about a lot let’s get
really real this is why we did this show
I always I’m a human being and I always
think about a moment in time what if I
just say the wrong thing at the wrong
time right what if I call out China for
being a communist country in an episode
while I’m on a rant and somebody who’s
watching doesn’t like the way that
tastes and it takes away a business
opportunity for me in China in seven
years even though I’m not trying to zing
it’s just things that I saw what if what
if you know what if what if I look down
on my phone while I’m driving even
though I’ve really not done that and I
hit somebody and I kill them and that
becomes the story and I like forget
about the story about what you think of
me I will never recover from that
because I killed somebody because I
needed to check a tweet these are
moments in time so there are so many
things that can keep you from being
successful right the people that you
invested in having something that
happened to them so it slows you down my
friends there are a million reasons why
not but there’s one great reason why
which is you’ve just got a persevere no
matter what it is it’s just the way it
is it’s hard being an entrepreneur it’s
hard building a business everybody
thinks it’s so easy that there’s
entitlement there’s a disaster zinging
China here comes my us thing right now
there is an insane generation of 18 to
25 year olds right now that think
they’re entitled to having a business
because they saw the social network
movie and everybody’s decided if you’re
a kid and you know what tech is because
you used Instagram early on you’re
entitled to actually build a business
building a business is hard and you know
what makes it really hard
everything that happens every day of
every moment so you can pick time you
can pick money as the one or two things
that you think stopped you from winning
your game but the truth is there’s a
million reasons 99 percent of businesses
go out of business for a reason and that
reason is it’s hard and so if you’re
watching this show I’ve got a sense of
who you are and you need to start
creating layers and layers and layers
and layers of skin to be able to get
through because the glamour of being an
entrepreneur the goodness you know you
get very confused by my optimism because
it’s my optimism I can’t help it it’s
just how I roll it’s probably one of the
variable 1% reasons why I’m successful
but please don’t get it twisted this is
hard every day is hard and if you don’t
have the stomach to weather the storm
you will not be successful and by the
way let me throw you a real weird
curveball and that’s okay people have to
look themselves in a mirror and
understand if they’re number two three
four or five six seven in an
organization that has differences of
being a number one but maybe that’s
where your skill set sits maybe that’s
how you make your fortunes and happiness
and all the things that you’re looking
for and so that question got me going a
little bit Steve because it’s endured a
context of excuses and I will never make
an excuse everything that’s a problem
with me everything I don’t achieve
everything that’s a problem at
vaynermedia
and everything is my fault and I I
succumbed to that and I respect that and
I actually think that’s the way it should be
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