projects but I would never finish them I
think that’s that case for a lot of
people it’s like you have this drive to
start something and then you don’t know
how to end it you don’t know how to
execute life isn’t easy and it shouldn’t
be and then you can’t if you can’t you
don’t learn to struggle you won’t be
able to deal with failure I’m 40 years
need motivation watch a top ten with
believe nation what’s up in seven my one
word is believe and I believe in you I
believe you have an amazing gift inside
you that I want to see exploded onto the
world so let’s get your motivation to
attend and get you believing in you grab
a snack and chew in today’s lessons from
a man who went from being bullied for
being Asian American growing up to
launching underground parties creating
his own record label at age 20 and being
one of the most successful EDM musicians
of all time you Steve Aoki and here’s my
take on his top ten rules of success
alright let’s kick things off with rule
number one my personal favorite focus on
creativity even to this day 2018 it’s
always been about creativity it’s never
been about money I mean at the end of
the day of course I am thinking business
now because I’m at a larger scale and I
have to think about the business but if
I put the money before the creativity
then the authenticity like almost gets
blocked you know so I have to really
because my business is all about
authentically being creative that’s my
business is like I just I want to be
authentically creative and share that
experience because at the end of the day
whatever I do is about I am I am making
creations whether its product fashion
this is not mine but like fashion to
music to a live experience I’m creating
something that that I’m sharing with you
now if I’m like I need money first
before you even see this you know if I
start thinking like that then I’m gonna
lose that that kind of disappears yeah
yeah a day you know like it’s you know
money will come I mean I’ve realized
that and it’s in it’s in some cases
money doesn’t come and now I’m okay with
that
and I have to go back to that and go
like this isn’t about money this is
about the love of what I do and
sometimes you have to stop and think
about that and as a businessman you know
you have to like take a step back or
like this isn’t about dollars and cents
this is more about just just the pure
love of creating and and sharing your
art rule number two execute on the
project oriented person and so whenever
I whenever I attack something I attack
it you know singularity but now also
with multiple teams so I mean obviously
I can’t do all this I’m doing alone you
know right but I need I need to focus on
one project at a time and see a
beginning an end I think for the most
part when I mean for a long time I was I
would do certain projects but I would
never finish them
in that case for a lot of people it’s
like you have this drive to start
something and then you don’t know how to
end it you don’t know how to execute and
you’re afraid of the product you’re
afraid how you’re going to be perceived
and it’s about overcoming that fear –
you know it’s like it’s it’s hard I
actually like to instill this just this
execution part of starting and ending a
product project with my team rule number
three learn how to struggle life isn’t
easy and it shouldn’t be and you can’t
if you can’t you don’t learn to struggle
you won’t be able to deal with failure
and deal with deal with things that are
going to happen and I’ve like you know
I’ve hit the pavement and scraped the
side of my face ten thousand times and
and let the only person that you know I
could pick myself up was me and so if I
didn’t learn how to do that I don’t
think I would have a business for 19
years with Dimock records you know
finally being successful self-sustaining
business or you know you know deal with
this very very grueling schedule which I
absolutely love and it’s not like no
one’s putting me in it like when I do
250 or 300 shows a year as a DJ it’s
because I want to be in it and I’m not
complaining you know no matter how tired
I am the last thing I want to do is
complain and that’s the one thing I’ve
learned is that you know if you figured
out yourself and how to get there you
will you will you know you’ll you’ll
you’ll understand that the glory of like
all the good stuff is coming your way
you’ll take the value and really cherish
it rule number four be hungry hunger
doesn’t also just come with with the
youth I’m 40 years old now and I’m
hungry as I’ve ever been seriously are
still lets tell me why because like I
just I look at like all the the things
that I still need to do and there’s
still so much more so as if I’m starting
from Lara
so that hunger is still there
on the belly and the more I travel the
more I learn that I know very little
about the world and I and I become you
know hungry to be become that student
and and embrace and absorb culture and
absorb and learn that I need to educate
on all these things and it’s all gonna
it’s all go reverberate into my business
whatever my business might be because
the way the way I am as a person I think
this is also part of my success is that
the minute I feel something that’s
that’s like really powerful
inspirational to me the minute I feel
that way I’m immediately going into my
head and how can i construct this in a
way to share it with the world and I
share I share that feeling in different
mediums through music through fashion
through the live experience through
different products so whatever it might
be that all come from this abundant
amount of inspiration and I can only get
that by being around people connecting
with people seeing different things that
just like enlighten me and and then like
I said it goes right back to you
yeah me going I need I still got so much
more to go you know and it drives me it
drives me it keeps me hungry rule number
five work hard toward the most out of
any GG on her list in the last year
something like 300 shows in 2012 how do
you how do you do that what I do in
Europe is I we do a private jet through
the whole tour and we knock out two
shows a day you really survive on three
hour and sleeps at the most to like 20
minute catnap so from like when you get
in the car I just literally just you
have my high mouse in my pocket ready to
go I’m prepared I put it on I’m just
like yo yo you’re here on stage I’m like
okay
I like to meet up with a trainer like
whenever I’ve an hour and I work out
with him so it keeps my like blood
pumping and and in my body and shape so
because my show is it’s physical you
know and I’ve gotten hurt so from those
lessons I’ve learned to just take care
of myself eat healthy
I actually don’t do any drugs and don’t
drink you know smoke so like there’s a
lot of things my lap dog changed where
I’m it’s better for me as a human being
I’m happier and I can work with a clear
head and I could work you know with you
know I had maximum potential at every
show rule number six trust your gut well
at the end of the day if you really
break it down it’s all based on passion
it’s all based on how you feel I don’t
want to get involved into anything
unless I am you know emotionally
committed and connected to the project I
trust my gut I trust like how I feel
about something so you know if you ask
my business manager how I do my
investing he’ll tell you that it’s like
lopsided you know like I don’t I take
bigger risks and with the bulk of my
money instead of like putting my money
in like very conservative places you
know like I’m like well I like never
seen this much money before in my life
and I made it all myself so the best
part about it for me is I can make the
decision of where it goes sometimes it
might not be the wisest decision but I
made that money so I have every right to
do with it to you know whatever way I
would choose so that’s another thing
about the the idea of working for
yourself and and actually making your
own money you’re not owing anyone
anything about you so that way so for me
if I am going to invest my money in my
time into these projects I have to be
100% certain that I’m so emotionally
engaged and a part of the project that
if it fails it’s still you know it
doesn’t matter to me because I I feel
validity with the
of time and investment that I put into
it rule number seven
find your passion I think one thing I
learned especially when I was in high
school and I said this before many times
is the the hard course music scene that
I got introduced to that became my life
that became my lifestyle to the you know
every decision I made was all based on
the fundamentals of this hardcore scene
even the food I ate I became vegetarian
because that’s what they did and they
were talking about animal rights and I
got into that right and it was all
really based on passion and community
you know it’s like you have to be really
into what you’re saying and doing and be
educated on what you’re saying and doing
and and learn some instruments and play
the music you know and play the music of
that culture essentially you’re
ambassador of the culture and the way
you get respect in that culture is by
finishing your projects whether it’s a
song whether it’s playing a show whether
it’s putting on a show for other bands
so that scene can prosper and there’s an
ecosystem so it’s all about making this
the the ecosystem of that community
healthy and the more you do that the
more that you’re able to make it healthy
the the more respect you get so it’s not
about oh I just walked in with like the
shoes that no one else has or the bike
that everybody wants the more of that
element that you bring to the table the
the less cool you are no I think the
like you’re you’re cooler if you
actually go I’m I’m vegetarian I stop
wearing leather shoes oh you made a
statue it’s something that like a
sacrifice or I you know I’m putting on a
show and all these bands are coming in
wow you put on the show that’s awesome
I started a band I’m playing and I’m
representing the sound or I made a zine
I interview the four bands that I went
to Kinko’s and I made the zine I’m
passing them out to all the different
people it’s almost like a religion in a
way where you’re spreading that goodwill
and it’s not about financial reward as
well it’s like there is no financial
reward and what we’re what I’m talking
about here it’s all about believing
believing in a culture and and being
rewarded
spreading that culture and building that
healthy ecosystem of that culture so it
is in essence that culture doesn’t have
to be music that culture could be in a
book club or in a chess club or in
something that’s like drives you because
you know another thing is as well as I
talked to some people they’re like I
don’t know who my passions are and I you
know I talked to Tom billion sidequest
about like how do you find your passion
like what what gets you there you know
if you don’t know what it is you just
have to keep trying stuff and and see
what what pulls you what’s pulling you
to a certain place rule number eight
have heroes I mean Bruce Lee was a huge
childhood hero running through like a
childhood theme hero running through my
idol essence just because Bruce Lee he
was loved by all communities you know
like there’s plenty of Asian people that
are in pop culture they’re just loved by
the Asian community but he was one of
the only ones that was globally loved by
everyone so I always looked up to that
kind of idea that like there’s that us
Asians have the capacity to actually be
part of popular culture and an influence
not outside not just our own culture
rule number nine do something different
you do gimmicky things right yeah so
like well throwing things right how did
that come about well um mm like I was
saying 2007 my first time playing
Coachella was a really big big platform
for me and then I got to play Coachella
two years later and by that time I was
thinking well I’m playing in front of a
big audience I want to do something
other than just staying behind the DJ
booth I want to like bring some
entertainment to the show and that’s
when I first introduced the raft to the
show where I bring our raft out and I
jump in it or friends jump in or crowd
jumps in and they raft over the crowd
and then two years later my show evolved
and I was okay we gotta do something new
so I introduced the idea of taking
someone in the face to the show that
someone in the audience yeah
just throw a cake get throw cake yeah
right in their face and no that doesn’t
why is that enjoy well I guess is your I
mean yeah it’s like how do you pick the
person you hit with the cake I only cake
people that are screaming for it oh they
want to be K oh yeah oh yeah yeah you
know I mean anyone that gets ambushed
caked would probably be upset with you
right so I wouldn’t do that it’s like
the whole point is to excite people and
Arno years ago Soupy Sales used to throw
pies in people’s face and people want
their french Sinatra went on his show to
get hit with a pie yeah yeah I want to
get hit with the cake oh absolutely
okay and rule number ten the last one
before some very special bonus clips is
go ahead and then we just started go
now I’ve got three very special bonus
clips from Steve on how to be present
engage your audience and follow your
dreams but before that I want to know
what did you learn from Steve today what
was a single most important lesson you
were going to apply to your life or to
your business leaving the comments below
when you write it down you’re much more
likely to actually do it because you’re
making a commitment so leaving the
comments below thank you guys so much
for watching I believe in you I hope we
continue to believe in yourself and
whatever your one word is much love I’ll
when you were growing up did you think
he would be in this position did you did
you visualize yourself in front of tens
twenties you know fifty thousand people
absolutely not you didn’t think about it
there’s no visualization of it’s not
like the secret where I’m like this will
happen I will make it happen
I never even imagined scenario bigger
than ten twenty thirty in your living
room yeah I just I it’s it’s also I
think there’s nothing wrong with
imagining and saying I’m gonna be there
I’m gonna be a billionaire I’m gonna be
influential in my field I’m gonna you
know there’s nothing wrong with that and
like I agree whenever I read about
different entrepreneurs and they talk
about you know their tips is to like
imagine that hey there’s nothing wrong
with that but it’s also a balance of
being pragmatic as being realistic and
also not forgetting about what’s in
front of you there’s like the the thing
is that you know you could be thinking
about this grand scale and forget that
the five people that in front of you are
there because they’d love to be a part
of that and if you’re not connected to
them they won’t be as connected to you
and why they came in the first place
so that’s why there’s times where I’ll
play a show and I feel that the sense of
disconnect because there’s a lot of
people just kind of aloof or not
necessary just not present they’re not
present and then I become not present
and then the people that are present
they don’t become president and all of a
sudden it’s a lose-lose for everyone so
I can’t I can’t look at these like let’s
say you have a tremendous show gosh it
was great
there’s all shows aren’t going to be
great and the shows that are doing that
aren’t great you have to actually get
more into the show and that goes back to
the very very beginning the question you
asked that’s another thing that that’s
important to remember is the beginning
and like those five people is ten people
or it could be those five or ten people
in the crowd while everyone out like
there’s like a you know where it’s not
such a great show just focus on the
people that care what makes a good DJ
what makes a good DJ you know like
even from day one to where I am at now
it the most important thing is is how
how you connect with the audience
because you have to I mean you’re you
having this conversation you’re you’re
playing music and you won’t go out
though or do they should be going well
the music is speaking because that’s how
I see it it’s like the DJ doesn’t talk I
mean it’s more hype right you know it’s
like you want to get the crowd hype but
really the music is the conversation so
it’s how you balance the music yeah it’s
how you get everyone interacting with
your music and if you’re able to keep
their focus and attention on what you’re
doing that’s that’s to me is what really
if you can really engage the audience
and make them remember your show and I
feel like that that makes a good DJ
you’re doing Madison Square Garden right
yes in August I mean damn have you done
the card you know Jay Z sells out the
garden you know yeah trust me this is a
Madonna gaga Liza Minnelli there now
Steve Aoki yeah this is the dream that
never like I never thought would have
ever happened the impossible literally
the impossible yeah happen I mean it’s
especially for the electronic dance
community we don’t get the opportunity
mm-hmm we never think that that’s that’s
actually something would be you know
trajectory at all yeah so you know to
get to that place I automatically just
bowed down on to all the fans that are
putting me there you know that are
buying hard tickets so that have bought
hard tickets to allow me to play in the
most prestigious place in the world
yeah raise your standard Apple at the
core is core value
is that we believe that people with
passion can change the way people now
one drop of myself work depends on
Europe it’s supposed to mean I don’t
ever give up I’d have to be dead or
completely infested hey believe nation
if you want to see my all-time favorite
top ten most a success I have a very
special secret video for you these are
the individual clips that I have
personally learned the most from and
applied to my life and my business check the link the description for details