eight your own element don’t try and
perform someone else’s expertly so in
modern terminology or how would I say
that is don’t waste your time Steve Jobs
don’t waste your time trying to live
someone else’s life you know don’t be
trapped by Dogma focus in on your own
strengths your own element what you have
to offer don’t get lost in trying to
become like someone else or pretend to
be someone else there’s a beautiful one
of my favorite quotes by Einstein and
then Steve Jobs again Einstein said if
you judge a fish by its ability to climb
a tree
they’ll spend its whole life believing
that it’s stupid and too many of us are
fish trying to climb a tree too many of
us a monkeys being taught how to swim
too many of us are lions being taught to
live like cats we’re not getting to live
in our element so my second piece of
advice is live in that element that
you’ve naturally been given
don’t try adopt another you know we’ve
more got a special genius inside of us
it was Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs this
conversation Steve Wozniak looked Steve
Wozniak for those who don’t know is the
tech guy behind Apple he practically
invented the technology and the software
and everything so Steve Wozniak looked
at Steve Jobs and he says this is in
Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve
Jobs Steve wasn’t I wasn’t he looks at
Steve Jobs and he says what do you even
do he said you’re not a coder you’re not
a designer you know what a marketer and
you’re not an engineer what do you even
do imagine challenging Steve Jobs and
Steve Jobs replies he says he says
musicians play their instruments I play
the orchestra that is the most deep
understanding of one’s role in life and
not getting lost in other people’s
identities and perceptions of you Steve
Jobs knew that he wasn’t a marketer he
wasn’t an engineer he wasn’t a coder so
he hired all of those but he played the
orchestra he brought it all together and
that’s when you when you find confidence
in your own role you won’t be envious of
anyone else when this goes online or
whatever it is it really matters and it
like really doesn’t matter what matters
is
you know the people who are sparked by
it and the people who are like offended
by it it doesn’t matter you you know
like because it’s about motivating the
doers and anyone that wants to sit
around and talk they’re doing too much
time they’ve taken too much time talking
bit about it instead of getting up off
their ass and following their dreams
because I’m here to follow my dreams you
know and help other people follow their
dreams and inspire people who are
dreamers it’s crazy that we live in a
world that if you’re super positive and
super creative
then it’s scary so what does that tell
you about the mentality of most people
if you’re scared of like positivity and
everyone has an element that they thrive
in if you take someone out of it their
element they won’t be the same a
modern-day example would be Michael
Jordan he was incredible at basketball
you took him out of basketball put him
into baseball no one remembers his
career we talk about one of the best
athletes of all time your environment is
the environment around you you can take
a fish out of water
and give it a beautiful mansion and a
Bentley and all the money in the world
but it would die and that’s what we are
like our environment everyone is an
environment which they thrive which we
have to craft your boss if you’re at
work is never gonna ask you what
environment you succeed in right like
that never happens so we have to create
an environment where we thrive and then
finally its energy we some of us love
high energy environments high pressure
some of us succeed in low energy
environments and low pressure figuring
out your energy and the frequency on
which you operate best will help you
thrive as well so for me those are the
three e’s to really create a thriving
environment know your element know your
environment and know your energy and so
on all times if I see anything going
wrong I’m going is my element out of
alignment is my environment out of
alignment or is my energy out of
alignment that’s a great three question
test you can do to yourself when you
don’t think things are going right and
all you have to do is bring that back
into alignment
not gonna sit inside of a corporation
for 20 years the time is now the time is
now to Express and for people to believe
in themselves the time is now for it to
be okay to be great people in this world
shun people for being great for being a
bright color for standing out but the
time is now to be okay to be the
greatest you what is it and I think it’s
very interesting that if most people
can’t define success well it means you
made X amount of dollars or but if you
make X amount of dollars but you spend
more are you successful or what means
you come home happy every day okay how
do you know when you’re happy you know
so I think success is a funny thing
which is we all seem to pursue it but we
don’t know how to measure it or actually
how to define it so how do you pursue
something that you can’t measure
fascinating so when people say to me how
do you measure success the question we
all have to ask ourselves am i
successful I don’t know I mean I had a
good year last year and what does that
mean does that mean I made a lot of
money does that mean is really happy oh
I’ll let you decide right maybe neither
maybe both I had a good year last year
but am i successful and the answer is no
I don’t feel I am because I’m trying to
build a world that doesn’t exist yet I’m
trying to build a world in which 90% of
people go home at the end of the day
feeling fulfilled by the work that they
do so I definitely took a step a big
step forward towards that goal but I’m
still so far away so somebody said to me
then how do you know if you’re
successful and the answer is if it can
go by itself and so it is more
interesting to me as a measurement of
success is not the the the markers per
se it’s not the the financial goal or
the the size of the house that you want
to buy those are nice things go for it
those are but those are not measurements
of success those are just nice things to
collect along the way for me it’s
momentum
I want to measure momentum which is you
know when when something is moving and
you start to see it lose momentum you
like oh give it a push because if you
don’t get it push it’s gonna stop and an
object in stasis is much harder to get
going it requires a lot
more energy to get something started
than it does to keep it going right and
so if you don’t let it stop and you can
keep it going it’s this you know you’d
still might slow down down there but you
can get it going again much easier and
for me the opportunity is to get the
ball rolling faster and faster and
faster and faster and faster and bigger
and bigger and bigger and Slyke a
snowball and my responsibility is
because it’s not rolling downhill yet
it’s not on automatic yet I need to
still keep it going to find that
critical mass where it can go and at the
point it can go by itself without me
then I will find something else to do
and that may not happen in my lifetime I
think we must all stop measuring
promotions salaries and these things but
rather measure the momentum of your
career does my career have momentum can
I see it moving in the right direction
can I see it gathering Moss you know can
I see that it’s easy becoming easier for
me to keep the momentum it’s becoming
easier for me to grow the size of this
thing it’s it’s requiring less effort
that’s the thing we need to measure
that’s the thing that we need to be
cognizant of which is the momentum of
our careers not just the the markers
everyone out there in TV world real
world whatever world you stay in needs
to know that I’ve never done a publicity
stunt in my life any time I went up and
spoke my mind where they put my career
in jeopardy or whatever it’s someone
so-called said it was always what I
thought was the truth whether I’m like
reading through a teleprompter or
whatever or whatever I felt emotionally
I don’t follow like rules of like you
know normal celebrity or what their
publicist tells me to say or anything
but i say things the wrong way a lot of
times if my intention is always positive
and i want to bring more things to the
world i want to help the world i want to
make people’s lives easier i speke if
you guys look at the zayn interview it’s
really something extremely fearless for
someone in my position to do because
most people just like you know bow tie
on a TV or whatever bow down to these
cameras like I could care less about any
of these cameras in all honesty all I
care about is my family I care about
protecting my girl for Tareq protecting
my baby and protecting my ideas and my
dreams yes I’m totally weird and I’m
totally honest and I’m totally
inappropriate sometimes and the thing is
I you know for me to say I wasn’t a
genius I would just be lying to you and
to myself crazy dream or a crazy goal
and I want you to write out in the
comments section what is your crazy
dream
they dream that keeps you up at night is
the wheel dream you should be chasing
but to chase that dream to find that
dream to make that dream a reality you
need a strategy why a dream without a
plan is just a wish Tony Robbins said
that right a dream without a plan is
just a wish right without a strategy
without a guiding philosophy without
guiding principles without actually
creating a clear plan I used to have
this economics teacher and I want you to
think back to school as well maybe you
had one I remember this economics
teacher he walked in to the classroom
and the first thing that you were on the
board he didn’t even tell us his name
we even know who he was and he turned
now he went inside the classroom and he
wrote on the board
he said failing to prepare is preparing
to fail and all of us just burst how
laughing this guy I don’t even told us
his name yet but on the board he wrote
failing to prepare is preparing to fail
and now when I look back at that and as
I grew up and hopefully became a bit
more mature than I was in high school I
remember thinking about that statement I
thinking how true is that then when
you’re not prepared for something you
miss out on unbelievable opportunities
now I’m not saying good things don’t
happen spontaneously sometimes things
happen by chance randomly etc with a
reason but when you’re prepared you can
capitalize on things in a huge huge way
I refuse to follow those rules that
society is set up in the way that they
control people with low self-esteem with
improper information with branding with
marketing I refuse to follow those rules
it’s about truth it’s about information
it’s about awesomeness and the only
luxury is time the time you spend with
your family that’s the only luxury so
this concept of luxury is is improper to
me when I compare myself to Steve Jobs
or Walt Disney Howard Hughes David Stern
Michelangelo da Vinci Jesus or whatever
is I’m saying these are my heroes these
are people that I look up to this is the
type of impact I want to make on the
earth if I could make this type of
impact up to this point what can I do if
if you call Bob Iger and say yo give him
a shot if you call Oprah and say yo back
this kid
this kids kids were his parents were
educators he wants to educate he wants
to look at curriculums and say how do we
simplify that exactly what I did in
music I want to apply to product I want
to apply to education this is what my
company donned is about you will
embarrass yourself you will suck at
something there’s no doubt about it and
I know that’s probably not a traditional
message for a graduation ceremony but a
I’m telling you embrace it because it’s
inevitable and I should know in the
acting business you fail all the time
early on in my career I auditioned for a
part in a Broadway musical perfect role
for me I thought except for the fact
that I can’t sing so I’m in the wings
I’m about to go onstage but the guy in
front of me he’s singing like like like
Pavarotti and I’m just shrinking I’m
getting smaller and smaller so they say
oh thank you very much thank you very
much and you will you’ll be hearing from
us so I come out with my little music
and it was it was a just my imagination
by the temptations that’s what I came up
with so I hand it to the the the
accompany us and she looks at it and
looked at me and excited the director
and was like so I start you know that
once again and then kind of eating away
with me and I’m not saying anything so
I’m thinking I’m getting better so I
start getting into it running this hour
yeah yeah thank you thank you thank you
thank you very much mr. Washington thank
you so I assumed I didn’t get the job
but the next part of the audition he
called me back the next part of the
audition is the acting part of the
audition so I’m like hey okay maybe I
can’t sing but I know I can act so they
pair me with this guy and again I didn’t
know about musical theater and musical
theater is big so they could reach
everyone all the way in the back of the
stadium and I’m more from a realistic
naturalistic kind of acting where you
you know you actually talk to the person
next to you so I don’t know what my line
was my line was will hand me the cut and
his line was well I will hand you the
cup my dear the cup would be there to be
handed to you I said okay well should I
give you the cup back oh yes you should
give it back to me because you know that
is my cup and it should be given back to
what does it take coming out of you
what’s inside you that enables you or
compels you to make films with such
relentless Drive where in the world does
that come from it’s I don’t know it’s
hard to say it’s it’s it comes from from
I’m really normal yeah well you never
know I mean if the demons weren’t
unleashed through film I’d probably go
Amelia you know somewhere and there’s a
theory on Thorazine you know no that I
don’t think that’s true I think it just
has to do with with how films that I
liked it and I remembered you know
enjoying and having that exhilaration
hit me and I want to transfer that back
to other people and just studying the
craft and learning how to do it and and
the special thrill as a filmmaker comes
from seeing an immediate audience
response now the only the only other
thing the only other sort of a genre or
if it’s not even a genre but the only
the only other thing that has that
effect in films is comedy and comedy is
not my forte demonstrably yet it people
found that a terminator and and there’s
some comedy and in this film but for a
film to function as a comedy I think
there’s a special magic there and I’m
you know I’m creeping toward it but I’m
not sure I can do that but that’s the
that’s the other area where where you
can look at it at a sea of 700 faces and
see them all having the same reaction
and you know you’re touching touching
them that’s I mean I I’m not a performer
I can’t stand up on a stage and tell
jokes or sing or do something that that
affects people directly the closest
thing for me is being able to sit in the
theatre and watch a reaction to
something that I’ve put up on the screen
so it’s at one removed but it’s the same
sort of feeling that’s that’s where the
the drive and the desire to do that
comes from I didn’t fall back I walked
out of there to prepare for the next
audition and the next audition and the
next audition I prayed I prayed and I
pray but I continue to fail and fail and
fail but it didn’t matter because you
know what there’s an old saying you hang
around the barbershop long enough sooner
or later you’re gonna get a haircut so
you will catch a break and I did catch a
break last year I did a play called
fences on Broadway if someone talked
about it won the Tony Award and I didn’t
have to sing by the way but here’s the
kicker it was at the Court Theatre it
was at the same theatre that I failed
that first audition 30 years prior the
point is and I’ll pick up the pace the
point is every graduate here today has
the training and the talent to succeed
but do you have the guts to fail bility
to adjust is the entire game like I’m so
proud that I changed my mind every day
my dad used to get so pissed when I was
building wine library he would always be
like he’s like he would say like three
months ago you said Ricky was gonna be
the best employee I’m like I changed my
mind he fire him or or he’s like you
said sparkling wine was important now
you just eliminated it from the key spot
I’m like I changed my mind like my
ability to only be comfortable in
massive chaos has been my biggest asset
as an entrepreneur like I would never
take a note like that scares the piss
out of me what these three people are
doing right now right and so now know
now that may work for them and I’m not
like back to the opening statement like
you need to do you like some plenty of
people that make a load more money than
me and one bigger to take notes the key
the key though the key is way too many
people are doing like here’s a good one
you know what really pissed me the fuck
I’m completely driven by like happiness
and like I’m crippled by like chaos like
you know vaynermedia which is about 500
people update your vaynermedia is like
completely dictated by like I’m a
dictator of HR like all I care about is
the atmosphere all I care about is how
people intern all I care about is like
how people roll like I think I’ve fired
four most talented smartest people that
have worked for me because if you don’t
know how to play with the other boys and
girls you’re out because I suffocate
under you know conflict and negativity
and like nobody’s better than me so you
got to go
so what really pissed me off in tech
world was when Steve Jobs his book came
out when he was dying when it was all
about Steve three or four years ago I
literally watched a lot of my tech
startup friends start being like a to
their staff because jobs was tough
everybody fell into the romance stuff
like I have this big vision and I’m
gonna be a dog like Steve right and I
thought that was really interesting for
me to watch that half decade of like
literally watching people I know and
then watching them act differently
because the status or the icon of the
moment and you see a lot of that and so
like that is probably the energy I’m
trying to bring to this class today
which is you can look at like how people
roll and like it’s great to admire and
things of that nature but it’s so damn
important to stick to like your DNA
right and like what you’re good at and
to recognize that you need to surround
yourself whether it’s your co-founder or
whether it’s the people that work for
you like all I do is hire the people
that are the opposite of me that bring
the other value that bring me the
ability to remember what that meeting
was about and go make sure it happens
you know like whatever it may be right
and so I think that’s another thing that
I would highly recognized
I’m not mr. mentor I’m not the one who
says let’s sit down tell me how it’s
going I’m gonna tell you exactly how I
am get off your ass and get out there
and sell something that’s right I mean
I’ve never been the okay I need a mentor
you know a lot of people look for
mentors thinking they’re gonna tell me
the short cut mark will you be my mentor
you know the way and they think I’m
gonna go convey some magics here’s the
dust go go go
it doesn’t work that way I still grind
I love the grind if you’re competing on
one of my businesses I’m gonna kick your
ass cuz I’m gonna I’ll grind you right
that’s what being an entrepreneur that
an entrepreneur is you’ve got to get out
there and do the work so when it comes
to how do you learn right because that’s
the question how do I learn this stuff
man everybody everybody has got to go
through that process right I read our
I’m in the tech business I’m in media
business the entertainment business I’ve
got to try to prepare myself for all the
Shark Tank businesses I read three hours
plus a day right what everybody else is
getting a suntan or even when I’m
getting a suntan
I’ve got I’m online or I’ve got books
I’m reading all I can
this is how it’s gonna play out you are
doing things right now yesterday you
made a decision that you don’t believe
in but you’re smart you did it because
you know how your company’s scores
here’s the problem with disruption and
innovation right now you’re being
rewarded for being a yes person and in
36 months you’re gonna be fired for
being a yes person and you’re doing it
because you just need the security of
your job I’m telling you right now if
you’re watching this vlog and you’ve got
like that means you have a certain DNA
please I implore you please die on your
sword not somebody else’s if you’re
gonna lose it’s much more fun to lose
based on what you thought
do you I mean do you know how many of
you are gonna lose on somebody else’s
thesis it’s gonna kill at you it’s gonna
eat at you it’s going to be the worst
feeling so please pause this video right
now and ask yourself am i doing much
because of me then you’re good whether
you’re winning or losing or am I doing
it because somebody else is telling me
it’s the right way or I’m subconsciously
pandering to please somebody or
something because I need the short-term
stability figure that gal you know it
and I know it people are just so obvious
they don’t even realize that when they
box me in or try to verbally put me in
some type of box will put Donda in a box
that they’re really showing their level
of ignorance they’re putting themselves
in a box and you know people can write
write write all they want but what are
people doing and if there’s anybody
that’s out there doing they know how
hard it is to actually do and I’m like a
motivation of the doers if if everything
I did failed which it doesn’t it
actually succeeds but if everything I
did failed just the fact that I’m
willing to fail is an inspiration people
are so scared to lose that they don’t
even try like one thing that people
can’t say is they can’t say I’m not
trying and I’m not trying my hardest and
I’m not trying to do it the best way
that I know how what little information
I get I’m independent is very great but
not all days are great in a company so
are your tips and tricks for tough days
I think there’s massive confusion around
entrepreneurship entrepreneurship sucks
I mean it’s lonely it’s high-risk I mean
I can’t live without it but it’s like a
bad boyfriend right a girlfriend right
like like it’s there’s a ton of bad days
being an entrepreneur
not to mention 98% of entrepreneurial
ventures are gonna fail so there’s gonna
be a really bad day in your future you
know hopefully not for you you know for
me I don’t you know I think this is a
very personal question I I think it’s
how you’re wired I’m so all-in
entrepreneur I prefer the pain I think
one of the reasons I love the Jets so
much is because they bring me so much
pain you know I I love the climb to me
the setback is exciting I love when
something goes wrong it’s where I shine
the most but that’s not for everybody
right I mean it could be very difficult
and when you start affecting your life
and your loved ones and all the other
things it can get real nasty
to me the way I handle things even
though the few rare days when I really
struggle I take a real step back and
make pretend that somebody called me and
told me that my mother or daughter were
killed and I know that’s very dark and I
apologize but it’s really what I do I
literally am able to at my deepest most
struggling moment within business take a
step back and remind myself that I could
make a trillion dollars tomorrow on
Bitcoin and and if something bad
happened to the people I love the most
that it would mean nothing and it very
consistently rewires me very quickly
I just put business in perspective at
the end of the day you know it’s it’s
money for me it’s not really money it’s
my legacy so I get hurt by it a little
bit more but uh yeah I mean it’s you
know I put in perspective its money and
you know what up until I had a daughter
even while I was married up until when I
had Nisha four years ago I secretly
wanted to lose all my money I had this
weird
the dark fantasy of losing everything
just to rise again like a phoenix
feeling like your life matters because
you you’ve had the experience you and I
both have lots of friends who’ve
achieved everything they could ever
dreamed of and they’re miserable I get
the phone call it helped turn them
around they’re missing a meaningful life
and meaning comes from two things I
always tell people happiness comes from
progress if you can do something where
you’re growing and because you’ve
browned you have something to give to
other people that’s meaningful insight
love caring something then life is rich
because happiness comes and goes
happiness does not here every moment and
happiness isn’t all it’s cracked up to
be meaning is there are people that have
gone through horrible times but a woman
who was 109 years old and she was you
know when the concentration camps is the
oldest living all costs to survivor and
that woman’s life is so rich because of
all the pain because she’s used that to
help other people still 109 she’s strong
you know she shares her music she does
the things that make her feel like she’s
got a contributions whether or not she’s
fully alive teen in 2001 it snowed in
New Jersey on December 23rd which was
one of the busiest days of the year
typically December 23rd is the busiest
day of the year in a liquor store and a
woman called us we just started shipping
and her case of behringer white
zinfandel wasn’t delivered first of all
I appreciate the people that know what
behringer white sin is good job the
entire case by the way 15 pack the
entire 15 pack case cost $45 we’re doing
about $40,000 an hour in the store she
calls I find out about it somehow it was
buzzing cuz I was on the floor selling I
am the premiere salesman on the floor as
you can imagine I find out about it and
we’re debating what to do she needs it
for her Christmas dinner I grabbed the
case throw it in my car and drive to
Bergen County to deliver it it takes me
two and a half hours to complete the
whole thing the woman was a hundred and
we didn’t have a lot of lifetime value
on the back end there she looked like
Yoda and the best part was I delivered
it all pumped with myself and she said
great and close the door
awesome everybody especially my dad who
was pissed that I left because all the
customers that came in asking for me or
that I could have sold everybody who’s
baffled I can’t tell you what the ROI of
driving through the snow in my car to
deliver a case of $45 pink to a woman
that looked like Yoda was but I can tell
you this over the next two to three
years that story became the foundation
of how we treated every single customer
it became our competitive edge and those
are the things that matter to me I love
black and white data I’m obsessed with
it the day when the nerd beat me like
and understood that the nerds beat me
and I respect the living out of data
conversion funnels all that but I’m
telling you right now that there are way
too many fast running businesses today
with this and not enough people running
and again I swear on my life I am not
Mother Teresa and I bar from run my
business just on this but I’m telling
you right now the reason I amassed my
following the reason why I continued to
retain it is because my percentage of
this far outweighs everything in this
room I mean it that’s how I feel and
that’s how I try to roll every day and I
promise you if you were able to figure
out how to afford how to afford the
allocation of this in your business more
your long-term value will be
dramatically higher your long-term
business success will be dramatically
higher your grandparents your
great-grandparents build businesses
based on this it’s how we built the
whole thing we got really lean and mean
when we went to the suburbs and big box
stores and all we cared about was
dollars and it’s great and the data
matters and continue to use it and use
this tool and understand it but I’m
asking you one final thing when you go
home if this talk meant anything and by
the way I fundamentally believe only
three of you were gonna act on this talk
I do because what I talk about is
ridiculously hard and massively
frustrating and takes forever you know
like everything that’s good in life if
you do anything because of this keynote
there’s only one thing I ask you to do
because as any as I got I’m a practical
here’s what I want from you when you go
home look yourself in the mirror and
audit everything you and your business
do I promise you that if you audit from
top to bottom of expenses and effort and
time and energy and payroll and all that
if you audit all of it even the best of
us even the InBev’s which is the company
that bought Budweiser they built their
whole business on like printing on both
sides of the paper and all that or even
the most efficient ones of us are doing
20% dumb shot if you take that 8% that
13% that’s 16 percent of dumbshit that
you’re doing paying that person that’s
not bringing any cultural value to your
business having that contract that
you’ve just been in you just renew
because you’re busiest Hawk whatever the
fuck you’re doing if you take any piece
of that percentage and you apply it to
giving a fuck about your customer it
will be better for your business going
forward because for the first time since
we all lived in small
pounds where your reputation was the
complete backbone of how you did
business for the first time because
technology is bringing us back together
in a small town for the first time being
good and caring and following up matters
if matters how about doing something
random act of kindness for a current
customer not the ones that unsubscribed
or left you know how you always do nice
when they’re going how about while
you’ve got them reallocate your thought
process I’m telling you because the
tools that the is the umbrella of this
organism en’t are getting so good so
good you know what that means all that
she’s about to become a commodity
emotional e.q is going to dominate
business over the next decade and I
implore you to start paying attention
and oh by the way I’ll leave you with
this you know what the best part is it
feels good I told you this was the last
Monday morning of your life what if I
told you you died this week would you
complain about your crap job or that
test you don’t want to take I doubt it
you would go much higher level thinking
well that’s really what it takes it
takes understanding that if you’re not
pumped right now if you’re begrudging
what you’re about to do it here if
you’re not looking forward to it look I
respect practicality you got to go
through school because your parents want
to you got to pay your rent you got
screwed in loans I get it but please
recognize the world we’re living in
we’re living in a world where there’s so
much more opportunity this internet
thing created way more opportunity for
all of us way more I mean look you might
not even be alive like your mom and dad
could have had sex like three minutes
later and you wouldn’t even exist and
you’re complaining you could have ended
up being
a tree I just don’t get the mentality of
being head down sad on a Monday morning
I’m gonna make Monday morning my I’m
gonna make you Saturday Monday morning
that’s what I want to do every morning
and that’s what I want from you please
take a step back and think about how
awesome it actually is and then
recognize that you can attack the world
in a totally different way because you
were lucky enough to be born during this
era Howard Thurman one of the mentors of
dr. Martin Luther King jr. and Albert
Schweitzer
and Mahatma Gandhi it was a very
brilliant writer he wrote some things
that really grabbed me he he wrote deep
is to hunger the voice of the genuine
the centering moment during the time
after receiving 238 radiation seed
implants I was reflecting on his words
and and these words kept me up that
night he said the ideal situation for a
man or woman to die is to have family
members praying with them as they cross
over he said but imagine if you will
being on your deathbed and standing
around your bed the ghosts of the dreams
the ideas the abilities the talents
given to you by life and that you for
whatever reason you never went after
that dream you never acted on those
ideas you never use those talents you
never use those gifts and there they are
standing around your bed looking at you
with large angry eyes saying we came to
you and only you could have given us
life and now we must die with you
forever and the question is if you die
today
what dreams what ideas what talents what
books what music what leadership what
voice will die with you mouths Monroe
break or attend speaker said the
wealthiest place on the planet it’s not
for yeast where there’s oil in the
ground it’s not in South Africa whether
diamond mines is that the wealthiest
place on the planet is the cemetery but
you there you’ll find greatness if we’ve
never seen there you find talent in
genius and potential never actualize
perhaps that’s why Henry David Thoreau
wrote the words Oh God to reach the
point of death only to realize that
you’ve never lived maybe that’s why some
unknown writer wrote the words what if
you live your whole life only to
discover that it was wrong that it was
wrong that you were chosen to do
something else and you didn’t do it
people come up to me and say Gary it’s
so hard I look at their Instagram and
they’re not posting any of their content
with hashtags which is a by accident way
to pick up exposure in a world where
they have no money when you have no
money when I took over my dad’s business
it three million dollars a year 10%
gross profit $300,000 before expenses my
first year marketing budget was $14,000
when you have no money and I built that
business from a three to a sixty million
dollar business in five years I had to
make every penny perfect so I was right
about email marketing in 96 and I was
right and because of that I had 91% open
rates when Google AdWords came out the
day it came out I paid five cents a
click for words before anybody bid me up
and I was super right and that worked if
it does that luck versus preparation and
do you ever get anything wrong what do
you do like it make them is high key I
get everything wrong it’s just that I
can’t recall it because once it’s wrong
I’m moving on to the next thing
like dwell dwelling on what you’ve
dumped on is the quickest way for the
next thing not to work right yeah so
like so I think I do everything I mean
you know this this is a fun thing to say
some people in the back know this I was
a breakout YouTube star in the first
year 2006 I decided that the right
strategy was to leave YouTube completely
and go to viddler because viddler
offered me equity in their company and
I’ve left an enormous amount of
attention I deviated from my intention
thesis to do short-term economics and
equity in a company and I lost
I lost Wendy Brock finally came in my
life two years ago we started to try to
build up my youtube for the first time I
was sitting on 40,000 user followers in
a world where I could have had millions
if I just stayed the course so I make
mistakes all the time
I’m reorganize its based on a mistake I
made the prior year I just don’t give a
about my mistakes everybody else cares
about your mistakes if you’re worried
about your own mistakes you’ve already
lost
the only way to deal with fear that I
found in my life is a couple ways one of
those ways is to turn it on itself and
ask yourself what can I afraid of I’m
free of that I got to be more afraid of
what I’m gonna miss out on missing out
on my mission this thing out who I’m
supposed to be missing in other words if
you’re not get get rid of fear than use
fair use fear or it uses you it’s that
simple
so you gotta say ok what’s the price if
I just stay doing this what’s the price
what I need to really even get scared if
I learn all this I don’t follow through
that’s something to be scared about
and then that fear will get you over
your feet it’ll push you through turn
fear in itself second way you can do it
is use what you’ve probably heard me say
because I’ve used it so it was seventeen
is my little rocking chair test right
I’m gonna I’m gonna sit myself in my
rocking chair I’m 85 years old looking
back on my life and I say I didn’t do
this or I did sometimes a lot of people
may try a new initiative and then they
don’t get an immediate reaction they and
they think it’s a failure right I want
to watch your YouTube videos with the
Wine Library you know you had so much
content out there how did you stick in
there how did you keep yourself
motivated because I believe in my
strategy and I’m patient ish like all
great stuff especially when you’re
innovating doesn’t happen right away
this notion of like Oh Gary I tried it I
spent five hundred bucks on Facebook ads
it doesn’t work well what if your video
sucked what if your product and service
sucks I I tend to do things that are
very early that has been my career you
think I when I do things I believe in
them
I stick with them based on intuition
even though for 18 months nobody watched
my wine videos at all I knew it was
right I was right there’s been things
I’ve done that I’ve jumped off of very
quickly I started to Gary v app V chat
ve like WeChat that was funny for my
fans great CRM one on one didn’t feel
right after a week or two spend plenty
money building it knew it stopped it
after you know a couple months Wine
Library TV five years every day YouTube
decided to change at the daily grape
insular app you could buy stuff
subscription for reviews it was a lot of
fun only did it for five months stopped
it because I didn’t feel right anymore
yeah
it’s always hard to know when to jump
off something new but I find that people
don’t believe in what they’re doing they
hear a guru and they do it
begrudgingly because their boss wants
them to or they’re like well Gary’s
right a lot so let me do it but they
don’t believe it and so then they jump
they’re looking for nose instead of yes
is everything I do every business
development every event I do every time
I try new marketing tactics or sales
tactic I’m looking for the yes right I’m
looking for the yes and if the no
punches me will then on my crap then no
punched me I believe the majority of
people when they try new tactics are
looking for the know mm-hmm and you’re
getting getting a lot of subtle knows
immediately right and so I think that’s why that happens
perform someone else’s expertly so in
modern terminology or how would I say
that is don’t waste your time Steve Jobs
don’t waste your time trying to live
someone else’s life you know don’t be
trapped by Dogma focus in on your own
strengths your own element what you have
to offer don’t get lost in trying to
become like someone else or pretend to
be someone else there’s a beautiful one
of my favorite quotes by Einstein and
then Steve Jobs again Einstein said if
you judge a fish by its ability to climb
a tree
they’ll spend its whole life believing
that it’s stupid and too many of us are
fish trying to climb a tree too many of
us a monkeys being taught how to swim
too many of us are lions being taught to
live like cats we’re not getting to live
in our element so my second piece of
advice is live in that element that
you’ve naturally been given
don’t try adopt another you know we’ve
more got a special genius inside of us
it was Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs this
conversation Steve Wozniak looked Steve
Wozniak for those who don’t know is the
tech guy behind Apple he practically
invented the technology and the software
and everything so Steve Wozniak looked
at Steve Jobs and he says this is in
Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve
Jobs Steve wasn’t I wasn’t he looks at
Steve Jobs and he says what do you even
do he said you’re not a coder you’re not
a designer you know what a marketer and
you’re not an engineer what do you even
do imagine challenging Steve Jobs and
Steve Jobs replies he says he says
musicians play their instruments I play
the orchestra that is the most deep
understanding of one’s role in life and
not getting lost in other people’s
identities and perceptions of you Steve
Jobs knew that he wasn’t a marketer he
wasn’t an engineer he wasn’t a coder so
he hired all of those but he played the
orchestra he brought it all together and
that’s when you when you find confidence
in your own role you won’t be envious of
anyone else when this goes online or
whatever it is it really matters and it
like really doesn’t matter what matters
is
you know the people who are sparked by
it and the people who are like offended
by it it doesn’t matter you you know
like because it’s about motivating the
doers and anyone that wants to sit
around and talk they’re doing too much
time they’ve taken too much time talking
bit about it instead of getting up off
their ass and following their dreams
because I’m here to follow my dreams you
know and help other people follow their
dreams and inspire people who are
dreamers it’s crazy that we live in a
world that if you’re super positive and
super creative
then it’s scary so what does that tell
you about the mentality of most people
if you’re scared of like positivity and
everyone has an element that they thrive
in if you take someone out of it their
element they won’t be the same a
modern-day example would be Michael
Jordan he was incredible at basketball
you took him out of basketball put him
into baseball no one remembers his
career we talk about one of the best
athletes of all time your environment is
the environment around you you can take
a fish out of water
and give it a beautiful mansion and a
Bentley and all the money in the world
but it would die and that’s what we are
like our environment everyone is an
environment which they thrive which we
have to craft your boss if you’re at
work is never gonna ask you what
environment you succeed in right like
that never happens so we have to create
an environment where we thrive and then
finally its energy we some of us love
high energy environments high pressure
some of us succeed in low energy
environments and low pressure figuring
out your energy and the frequency on
which you operate best will help you
thrive as well so for me those are the
three e’s to really create a thriving
environment know your element know your
environment and know your energy and so
on all times if I see anything going
wrong I’m going is my element out of
alignment is my environment out of
alignment or is my energy out of
alignment that’s a great three question
test you can do to yourself when you
don’t think things are going right and
all you have to do is bring that back
into alignment
not gonna sit inside of a corporation
for 20 years the time is now the time is
now to Express and for people to believe
in themselves the time is now for it to
be okay to be great people in this world
shun people for being great for being a
bright color for standing out but the
time is now to be okay to be the
greatest you what is it and I think it’s
very interesting that if most people
can’t define success well it means you
made X amount of dollars or but if you
make X amount of dollars but you spend
more are you successful or what means
you come home happy every day okay how
do you know when you’re happy you know
so I think success is a funny thing
which is we all seem to pursue it but we
don’t know how to measure it or actually
how to define it so how do you pursue
something that you can’t measure
fascinating so when people say to me how
do you measure success the question we
all have to ask ourselves am i
successful I don’t know I mean I had a
good year last year and what does that
mean does that mean I made a lot of
money does that mean is really happy oh
I’ll let you decide right maybe neither
maybe both I had a good year last year
but am i successful and the answer is no
I don’t feel I am because I’m trying to
build a world that doesn’t exist yet I’m
trying to build a world in which 90% of
people go home at the end of the day
feeling fulfilled by the work that they
do so I definitely took a step a big
step forward towards that goal but I’m
still so far away so somebody said to me
then how do you know if you’re
successful and the answer is if it can
go by itself and so it is more
interesting to me as a measurement of
success is not the the the markers per
se it’s not the the financial goal or
the the size of the house that you want
to buy those are nice things go for it
those are but those are not measurements
of success those are just nice things to
collect along the way for me it’s
momentum
I want to measure momentum which is you
know when when something is moving and
you start to see it lose momentum you
like oh give it a push because if you
don’t get it push it’s gonna stop and an
object in stasis is much harder to get
going it requires a lot
more energy to get something started
than it does to keep it going right and
so if you don’t let it stop and you can
keep it going it’s this you know you’d
still might slow down down there but you
can get it going again much easier and
for me the opportunity is to get the
ball rolling faster and faster and
faster and faster and faster and bigger
and bigger and bigger and Slyke a
snowball and my responsibility is
because it’s not rolling downhill yet
it’s not on automatic yet I need to
still keep it going to find that
critical mass where it can go and at the
point it can go by itself without me
then I will find something else to do
and that may not happen in my lifetime I
think we must all stop measuring
promotions salaries and these things but
rather measure the momentum of your
career does my career have momentum can
I see it moving in the right direction
can I see it gathering Moss you know can
I see that it’s easy becoming easier for
me to keep the momentum it’s becoming
easier for me to grow the size of this
thing it’s it’s requiring less effort
that’s the thing we need to measure
that’s the thing that we need to be
cognizant of which is the momentum of
our careers not just the the markers
everyone out there in TV world real
world whatever world you stay in needs
to know that I’ve never done a publicity
stunt in my life any time I went up and
spoke my mind where they put my career
in jeopardy or whatever it’s someone
so-called said it was always what I
thought was the truth whether I’m like
reading through a teleprompter or
whatever or whatever I felt emotionally
I don’t follow like rules of like you
know normal celebrity or what their
publicist tells me to say or anything
but i say things the wrong way a lot of
times if my intention is always positive
and i want to bring more things to the
world i want to help the world i want to
make people’s lives easier i speke if
you guys look at the zayn interview it’s
really something extremely fearless for
someone in my position to do because
most people just like you know bow tie
on a TV or whatever bow down to these
cameras like I could care less about any
of these cameras in all honesty all I
care about is my family I care about
protecting my girl for Tareq protecting
my baby and protecting my ideas and my
dreams yes I’m totally weird and I’m
totally honest and I’m totally
inappropriate sometimes and the thing is
I you know for me to say I wasn’t a
genius I would just be lying to you and
to myself crazy dream or a crazy goal
and I want you to write out in the
comments section what is your crazy
dream
they dream that keeps you up at night is
the wheel dream you should be chasing
but to chase that dream to find that
dream to make that dream a reality you
need a strategy why a dream without a
plan is just a wish Tony Robbins said
that right a dream without a plan is
just a wish right without a strategy
without a guiding philosophy without
guiding principles without actually
creating a clear plan I used to have
this economics teacher and I want you to
think back to school as well maybe you
had one I remember this economics
teacher he walked in to the classroom
and the first thing that you were on the
board he didn’t even tell us his name
we even know who he was and he turned
now he went inside the classroom and he
wrote on the board
he said failing to prepare is preparing
to fail and all of us just burst how
laughing this guy I don’t even told us
his name yet but on the board he wrote
failing to prepare is preparing to fail
and now when I look back at that and as
I grew up and hopefully became a bit
more mature than I was in high school I
remember thinking about that statement I
thinking how true is that then when
you’re not prepared for something you
miss out on unbelievable opportunities
now I’m not saying good things don’t
happen spontaneously sometimes things
happen by chance randomly etc with a
reason but when you’re prepared you can
capitalize on things in a huge huge way
I refuse to follow those rules that
society is set up in the way that they
control people with low self-esteem with
improper information with branding with
marketing I refuse to follow those rules
it’s about truth it’s about information
it’s about awesomeness and the only
luxury is time the time you spend with
your family that’s the only luxury so
this concept of luxury is is improper to
me when I compare myself to Steve Jobs
or Walt Disney Howard Hughes David Stern
Michelangelo da Vinci Jesus or whatever
is I’m saying these are my heroes these
are people that I look up to this is the
type of impact I want to make on the
earth if I could make this type of
impact up to this point what can I do if
if you call Bob Iger and say yo give him
a shot if you call Oprah and say yo back
this kid
this kids kids were his parents were
educators he wants to educate he wants
to look at curriculums and say how do we
simplify that exactly what I did in
music I want to apply to product I want
to apply to education this is what my
company donned is about you will
embarrass yourself you will suck at
something there’s no doubt about it and
I know that’s probably not a traditional
message for a graduation ceremony but a
I’m telling you embrace it because it’s
inevitable and I should know in the
acting business you fail all the time
early on in my career I auditioned for a
part in a Broadway musical perfect role
for me I thought except for the fact
that I can’t sing so I’m in the wings
I’m about to go onstage but the guy in
front of me he’s singing like like like
Pavarotti and I’m just shrinking I’m
getting smaller and smaller so they say
oh thank you very much thank you very
much and you will you’ll be hearing from
us so I come out with my little music
and it was it was a just my imagination
by the temptations that’s what I came up
with so I hand it to the the the
accompany us and she looks at it and
looked at me and excited the director
and was like so I start you know that
once again and then kind of eating away
with me and I’m not saying anything so
I’m thinking I’m getting better so I
start getting into it running this hour
yeah yeah thank you thank you thank you
thank you very much mr. Washington thank
you so I assumed I didn’t get the job
but the next part of the audition he
called me back the next part of the
audition is the acting part of the
audition so I’m like hey okay maybe I
can’t sing but I know I can act so they
pair me with this guy and again I didn’t
know about musical theater and musical
theater is big so they could reach
everyone all the way in the back of the
stadium and I’m more from a realistic
naturalistic kind of acting where you
you know you actually talk to the person
next to you so I don’t know what my line
was my line was will hand me the cut and
his line was well I will hand you the
cup my dear the cup would be there to be
handed to you I said okay well should I
give you the cup back oh yes you should
give it back to me because you know that
is my cup and it should be given back to
what does it take coming out of you
what’s inside you that enables you or
compels you to make films with such
relentless Drive where in the world does
that come from it’s I don’t know it’s
hard to say it’s it’s it comes from from
I’m really normal yeah well you never
know I mean if the demons weren’t
unleashed through film I’d probably go
Amelia you know somewhere and there’s a
theory on Thorazine you know no that I
don’t think that’s true I think it just
has to do with with how films that I
liked it and I remembered you know
enjoying and having that exhilaration
hit me and I want to transfer that back
to other people and just studying the
craft and learning how to do it and and
the special thrill as a filmmaker comes
from seeing an immediate audience
response now the only the only other
thing the only other sort of a genre or
if it’s not even a genre but the only
the only other thing that has that
effect in films is comedy and comedy is
not my forte demonstrably yet it people
found that a terminator and and there’s
some comedy and in this film but for a
film to function as a comedy I think
there’s a special magic there and I’m
you know I’m creeping toward it but I’m
not sure I can do that but that’s the
that’s the other area where where you
can look at it at a sea of 700 faces and
see them all having the same reaction
and you know you’re touching touching
them that’s I mean I I’m not a performer
I can’t stand up on a stage and tell
jokes or sing or do something that that
affects people directly the closest
thing for me is being able to sit in the
theatre and watch a reaction to
something that I’ve put up on the screen
so it’s at one removed but it’s the same
sort of feeling that’s that’s where the
the drive and the desire to do that
comes from I didn’t fall back I walked
out of there to prepare for the next
audition and the next audition and the
next audition I prayed I prayed and I
pray but I continue to fail and fail and
fail but it didn’t matter because you
know what there’s an old saying you hang
around the barbershop long enough sooner
or later you’re gonna get a haircut so
you will catch a break and I did catch a
break last year I did a play called
fences on Broadway if someone talked
about it won the Tony Award and I didn’t
have to sing by the way but here’s the
kicker it was at the Court Theatre it
was at the same theatre that I failed
that first audition 30 years prior the
point is and I’ll pick up the pace the
point is every graduate here today has
the training and the talent to succeed
but do you have the guts to fail bility
to adjust is the entire game like I’m so
proud that I changed my mind every day
my dad used to get so pissed when I was
building wine library he would always be
like he’s like he would say like three
months ago you said Ricky was gonna be
the best employee I’m like I changed my
mind he fire him or or he’s like you
said sparkling wine was important now
you just eliminated it from the key spot
I’m like I changed my mind like my
ability to only be comfortable in
massive chaos has been my biggest asset
as an entrepreneur like I would never
take a note like that scares the piss
out of me what these three people are
doing right now right and so now know
now that may work for them and I’m not
like back to the opening statement like
you need to do you like some plenty of
people that make a load more money than
me and one bigger to take notes the key
the key though the key is way too many
people are doing like here’s a good one
you know what really pissed me the fuck
I’m completely driven by like happiness
and like I’m crippled by like chaos like
you know vaynermedia which is about 500
people update your vaynermedia is like
completely dictated by like I’m a
dictator of HR like all I care about is
the atmosphere all I care about is how
people intern all I care about is like
how people roll like I think I’ve fired
four most talented smartest people that
have worked for me because if you don’t
know how to play with the other boys and
girls you’re out because I suffocate
under you know conflict and negativity
and like nobody’s better than me so you
got to go
so what really pissed me off in tech
world was when Steve Jobs his book came
out when he was dying when it was all
about Steve three or four years ago I
literally watched a lot of my tech
startup friends start being like a to
their staff because jobs was tough
everybody fell into the romance stuff
like I have this big vision and I’m
gonna be a dog like Steve right and I
thought that was really interesting for
me to watch that half decade of like
literally watching people I know and
then watching them act differently
because the status or the icon of the
moment and you see a lot of that and so
like that is probably the energy I’m
trying to bring to this class today
which is you can look at like how people
roll and like it’s great to admire and
things of that nature but it’s so damn
important to stick to like your DNA
right and like what you’re good at and
to recognize that you need to surround
yourself whether it’s your co-founder or
whether it’s the people that work for
you like all I do is hire the people
that are the opposite of me that bring
the other value that bring me the
ability to remember what that meeting
was about and go make sure it happens
you know like whatever it may be right
and so I think that’s another thing that
I would highly recognized
I’m not mr. mentor I’m not the one who
says let’s sit down tell me how it’s
going I’m gonna tell you exactly how I
am get off your ass and get out there
and sell something that’s right I mean
I’ve never been the okay I need a mentor
you know a lot of people look for
mentors thinking they’re gonna tell me
the short cut mark will you be my mentor
you know the way and they think I’m
gonna go convey some magics here’s the
dust go go go
it doesn’t work that way I still grind
I love the grind if you’re competing on
one of my businesses I’m gonna kick your
ass cuz I’m gonna I’ll grind you right
that’s what being an entrepreneur that
an entrepreneur is you’ve got to get out
there and do the work so when it comes
to how do you learn right because that’s
the question how do I learn this stuff
man everybody everybody has got to go
through that process right I read our
I’m in the tech business I’m in media
business the entertainment business I’ve
got to try to prepare myself for all the
Shark Tank businesses I read three hours
plus a day right what everybody else is
getting a suntan or even when I’m
getting a suntan
I’ve got I’m online or I’ve got books
I’m reading all I can
this is how it’s gonna play out you are
doing things right now yesterday you
made a decision that you don’t believe
in but you’re smart you did it because
you know how your company’s scores
here’s the problem with disruption and
innovation right now you’re being
rewarded for being a yes person and in
36 months you’re gonna be fired for
being a yes person and you’re doing it
because you just need the security of
your job I’m telling you right now if
you’re watching this vlog and you’ve got
like that means you have a certain DNA
please I implore you please die on your
sword not somebody else’s if you’re
gonna lose it’s much more fun to lose
based on what you thought
do you I mean do you know how many of
you are gonna lose on somebody else’s
thesis it’s gonna kill at you it’s gonna
eat at you it’s going to be the worst
feeling so please pause this video right
now and ask yourself am i doing much
because of me then you’re good whether
you’re winning or losing or am I doing
it because somebody else is telling me
it’s the right way or I’m subconsciously
pandering to please somebody or
something because I need the short-term
stability figure that gal you know it
and I know it people are just so obvious
they don’t even realize that when they
box me in or try to verbally put me in
some type of box will put Donda in a box
that they’re really showing their level
of ignorance they’re putting themselves
in a box and you know people can write
write write all they want but what are
people doing and if there’s anybody
that’s out there doing they know how
hard it is to actually do and I’m like a
motivation of the doers if if everything
I did failed which it doesn’t it
actually succeeds but if everything I
did failed just the fact that I’m
willing to fail is an inspiration people
are so scared to lose that they don’t
even try like one thing that people
can’t say is they can’t say I’m not
trying and I’m not trying my hardest and
I’m not trying to do it the best way
that I know how what little information
I get I’m independent is very great but
not all days are great in a company so
are your tips and tricks for tough days
I think there’s massive confusion around
entrepreneurship entrepreneurship sucks
I mean it’s lonely it’s high-risk I mean
I can’t live without it but it’s like a
bad boyfriend right a girlfriend right
like like it’s there’s a ton of bad days
being an entrepreneur
not to mention 98% of entrepreneurial
ventures are gonna fail so there’s gonna
be a really bad day in your future you
know hopefully not for you you know for
me I don’t you know I think this is a
very personal question I I think it’s
how you’re wired I’m so all-in
entrepreneur I prefer the pain I think
one of the reasons I love the Jets so
much is because they bring me so much
pain you know I I love the climb to me
the setback is exciting I love when
something goes wrong it’s where I shine
the most but that’s not for everybody
right I mean it could be very difficult
and when you start affecting your life
and your loved ones and all the other
things it can get real nasty
to me the way I handle things even
though the few rare days when I really
struggle I take a real step back and
make pretend that somebody called me and
told me that my mother or daughter were
killed and I know that’s very dark and I
apologize but it’s really what I do I
literally am able to at my deepest most
struggling moment within business take a
step back and remind myself that I could
make a trillion dollars tomorrow on
Bitcoin and and if something bad
happened to the people I love the most
that it would mean nothing and it very
consistently rewires me very quickly
I just put business in perspective at
the end of the day you know it’s it’s
money for me it’s not really money it’s
my legacy so I get hurt by it a little
bit more but uh yeah I mean it’s you
know I put in perspective its money and
you know what up until I had a daughter
even while I was married up until when I
had Nisha four years ago I secretly
wanted to lose all my money I had this
weird
the dark fantasy of losing everything
just to rise again like a phoenix
feeling like your life matters because
you you’ve had the experience you and I
both have lots of friends who’ve
achieved everything they could ever
dreamed of and they’re miserable I get
the phone call it helped turn them
around they’re missing a meaningful life
and meaning comes from two things I
always tell people happiness comes from
progress if you can do something where
you’re growing and because you’ve
browned you have something to give to
other people that’s meaningful insight
love caring something then life is rich
because happiness comes and goes
happiness does not here every moment and
happiness isn’t all it’s cracked up to
be meaning is there are people that have
gone through horrible times but a woman
who was 109 years old and she was you
know when the concentration camps is the
oldest living all costs to survivor and
that woman’s life is so rich because of
all the pain because she’s used that to
help other people still 109 she’s strong
you know she shares her music she does
the things that make her feel like she’s
got a contributions whether or not she’s
fully alive teen in 2001 it snowed in
New Jersey on December 23rd which was
one of the busiest days of the year
typically December 23rd is the busiest
day of the year in a liquor store and a
woman called us we just started shipping
and her case of behringer white
zinfandel wasn’t delivered first of all
I appreciate the people that know what
behringer white sin is good job the
entire case by the way 15 pack the
entire 15 pack case cost $45 we’re doing
about $40,000 an hour in the store she
calls I find out about it somehow it was
buzzing cuz I was on the floor selling I
am the premiere salesman on the floor as
you can imagine I find out about it and
we’re debating what to do she needs it
for her Christmas dinner I grabbed the
case throw it in my car and drive to
Bergen County to deliver it it takes me
two and a half hours to complete the
whole thing the woman was a hundred and
we didn’t have a lot of lifetime value
on the back end there she looked like
Yoda and the best part was I delivered
it all pumped with myself and she said
great and close the door
awesome everybody especially my dad who
was pissed that I left because all the
customers that came in asking for me or
that I could have sold everybody who’s
baffled I can’t tell you what the ROI of
driving through the snow in my car to
deliver a case of $45 pink to a woman
that looked like Yoda was but I can tell
you this over the next two to three
years that story became the foundation
of how we treated every single customer
it became our competitive edge and those
are the things that matter to me I love
black and white data I’m obsessed with
it the day when the nerd beat me like
and understood that the nerds beat me
and I respect the living out of data
conversion funnels all that but I’m
telling you right now that there are way
too many fast running businesses today
with this and not enough people running
and again I swear on my life I am not
Mother Teresa and I bar from run my
business just on this but I’m telling
you right now the reason I amassed my
following the reason why I continued to
retain it is because my percentage of
this far outweighs everything in this
room I mean it that’s how I feel and
that’s how I try to roll every day and I
promise you if you were able to figure
out how to afford how to afford the
allocation of this in your business more
your long-term value will be
dramatically higher your long-term
business success will be dramatically
higher your grandparents your
great-grandparents build businesses
based on this it’s how we built the
whole thing we got really lean and mean
when we went to the suburbs and big box
stores and all we cared about was
dollars and it’s great and the data
matters and continue to use it and use
this tool and understand it but I’m
asking you one final thing when you go
home if this talk meant anything and by
the way I fundamentally believe only
three of you were gonna act on this talk
I do because what I talk about is
ridiculously hard and massively
frustrating and takes forever you know
like everything that’s good in life if
you do anything because of this keynote
there’s only one thing I ask you to do
because as any as I got I’m a practical
here’s what I want from you when you go
home look yourself in the mirror and
audit everything you and your business
do I promise you that if you audit from
top to bottom of expenses and effort and
time and energy and payroll and all that
if you audit all of it even the best of
us even the InBev’s which is the company
that bought Budweiser they built their
whole business on like printing on both
sides of the paper and all that or even
the most efficient ones of us are doing
20% dumb shot if you take that 8% that
13% that’s 16 percent of dumbshit that
you’re doing paying that person that’s
not bringing any cultural value to your
business having that contract that
you’ve just been in you just renew
because you’re busiest Hawk whatever the
fuck you’re doing if you take any piece
of that percentage and you apply it to
giving a fuck about your customer it
will be better for your business going
forward because for the first time since
we all lived in small
pounds where your reputation was the
complete backbone of how you did
business for the first time because
technology is bringing us back together
in a small town for the first time being
good and caring and following up matters
if matters how about doing something
random act of kindness for a current
customer not the ones that unsubscribed
or left you know how you always do nice
when they’re going how about while
you’ve got them reallocate your thought
process I’m telling you because the
tools that the is the umbrella of this
organism en’t are getting so good so
good you know what that means all that
she’s about to become a commodity
emotional e.q is going to dominate
business over the next decade and I
implore you to start paying attention
and oh by the way I’ll leave you with
this you know what the best part is it
feels good I told you this was the last
Monday morning of your life what if I
told you you died this week would you
complain about your crap job or that
test you don’t want to take I doubt it
you would go much higher level thinking
well that’s really what it takes it
takes understanding that if you’re not
pumped right now if you’re begrudging
what you’re about to do it here if
you’re not looking forward to it look I
respect practicality you got to go
through school because your parents want
to you got to pay your rent you got
screwed in loans I get it but please
recognize the world we’re living in
we’re living in a world where there’s so
much more opportunity this internet
thing created way more opportunity for
all of us way more I mean look you might
not even be alive like your mom and dad
could have had sex like three minutes
later and you wouldn’t even exist and
you’re complaining you could have ended
up being
a tree I just don’t get the mentality of
being head down sad on a Monday morning
I’m gonna make Monday morning my I’m
gonna make you Saturday Monday morning
that’s what I want to do every morning
and that’s what I want from you please
take a step back and think about how
awesome it actually is and then
recognize that you can attack the world
in a totally different way because you
were lucky enough to be born during this
era Howard Thurman one of the mentors of
dr. Martin Luther King jr. and Albert
Schweitzer
and Mahatma Gandhi it was a very
brilliant writer he wrote some things
that really grabbed me he he wrote deep
is to hunger the voice of the genuine
the centering moment during the time
after receiving 238 radiation seed
implants I was reflecting on his words
and and these words kept me up that
night he said the ideal situation for a
man or woman to die is to have family
members praying with them as they cross
over he said but imagine if you will
being on your deathbed and standing
around your bed the ghosts of the dreams
the ideas the abilities the talents
given to you by life and that you for
whatever reason you never went after
that dream you never acted on those
ideas you never use those talents you
never use those gifts and there they are
standing around your bed looking at you
with large angry eyes saying we came to
you and only you could have given us
life and now we must die with you
forever and the question is if you die
today
what dreams what ideas what talents what
books what music what leadership what
voice will die with you mouths Monroe
break or attend speaker said the
wealthiest place on the planet it’s not
for yeast where there’s oil in the
ground it’s not in South Africa whether
diamond mines is that the wealthiest
place on the planet is the cemetery but
you there you’ll find greatness if we’ve
never seen there you find talent in
genius and potential never actualize
perhaps that’s why Henry David Thoreau
wrote the words Oh God to reach the
point of death only to realize that
you’ve never lived maybe that’s why some
unknown writer wrote the words what if
you live your whole life only to
discover that it was wrong that it was
wrong that you were chosen to do
something else and you didn’t do it
people come up to me and say Gary it’s
so hard I look at their Instagram and
they’re not posting any of their content
with hashtags which is a by accident way
to pick up exposure in a world where
they have no money when you have no
money when I took over my dad’s business
it three million dollars a year 10%
gross profit $300,000 before expenses my
first year marketing budget was $14,000
when you have no money and I built that
business from a three to a sixty million
dollar business in five years I had to
make every penny perfect so I was right
about email marketing in 96 and I was
right and because of that I had 91% open
rates when Google AdWords came out the
day it came out I paid five cents a
click for words before anybody bid me up
and I was super right and that worked if
it does that luck versus preparation and
do you ever get anything wrong what do
you do like it make them is high key I
get everything wrong it’s just that I
can’t recall it because once it’s wrong
I’m moving on to the next thing
like dwell dwelling on what you’ve
dumped on is the quickest way for the
next thing not to work right yeah so
like so I think I do everything I mean
you know this this is a fun thing to say
some people in the back know this I was
a breakout YouTube star in the first
year 2006 I decided that the right
strategy was to leave YouTube completely
and go to viddler because viddler
offered me equity in their company and
I’ve left an enormous amount of
attention I deviated from my intention
thesis to do short-term economics and
equity in a company and I lost
I lost Wendy Brock finally came in my
life two years ago we started to try to
build up my youtube for the first time I
was sitting on 40,000 user followers in
a world where I could have had millions
if I just stayed the course so I make
mistakes all the time
I’m reorganize its based on a mistake I
made the prior year I just don’t give a
about my mistakes everybody else cares
about your mistakes if you’re worried
about your own mistakes you’ve already
lost
the only way to deal with fear that I
found in my life is a couple ways one of
those ways is to turn it on itself and
ask yourself what can I afraid of I’m
free of that I got to be more afraid of
what I’m gonna miss out on missing out
on my mission this thing out who I’m
supposed to be missing in other words if
you’re not get get rid of fear than use
fair use fear or it uses you it’s that
simple
so you gotta say ok what’s the price if
I just stay doing this what’s the price
what I need to really even get scared if
I learn all this I don’t follow through
that’s something to be scared about
and then that fear will get you over
your feet it’ll push you through turn
fear in itself second way you can do it
is use what you’ve probably heard me say
because I’ve used it so it was seventeen
is my little rocking chair test right
I’m gonna I’m gonna sit myself in my
rocking chair I’m 85 years old looking
back on my life and I say I didn’t do
this or I did sometimes a lot of people
may try a new initiative and then they
don’t get an immediate reaction they and
they think it’s a failure right I want
to watch your YouTube videos with the
Wine Library you know you had so much
content out there how did you stick in
there how did you keep yourself
motivated because I believe in my
strategy and I’m patient ish like all
great stuff especially when you’re
innovating doesn’t happen right away
this notion of like Oh Gary I tried it I
spent five hundred bucks on Facebook ads
it doesn’t work well what if your video
sucked what if your product and service
sucks I I tend to do things that are
very early that has been my career you
think I when I do things I believe in
them
I stick with them based on intuition
even though for 18 months nobody watched
my wine videos at all I knew it was
right I was right there’s been things
I’ve done that I’ve jumped off of very
quickly I started to Gary v app V chat
ve like WeChat that was funny for my
fans great CRM one on one didn’t feel
right after a week or two spend plenty
money building it knew it stopped it
after you know a couple months Wine
Library TV five years every day YouTube
decided to change at the daily grape
insular app you could buy stuff
subscription for reviews it was a lot of
fun only did it for five months stopped
it because I didn’t feel right anymore
yeah
it’s always hard to know when to jump
off something new but I find that people
don’t believe in what they’re doing they
hear a guru and they do it
begrudgingly because their boss wants
them to or they’re like well Gary’s
right a lot so let me do it but they
don’t believe it and so then they jump
they’re looking for nose instead of yes
is everything I do every business
development every event I do every time
I try new marketing tactics or sales
tactic I’m looking for the yes right I’m
looking for the yes and if the no
punches me will then on my crap then no
punched me I believe the majority of
people when they try new tactics are
looking for the know mm-hmm and you’re
getting getting a lot of subtle knows
immediately right and so I think that’s why that happens
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