If your parents are financially helping you, you need to change your tone and tender how you interact with your parents. I Don't think there's anything bad about getting support from your parents. What I'm trying to keep you all away from is entitlement because that destroys the soul. You know why so many people are unhappy.

They expect everyone to do everything for them. They expect the government to do it for them, their parents to do it for them, their company to do it for them, their boss to do it for them, their boyfriend to do appointment, their girlfriend like get off that I'm sure you all know who Gary is by now an amazing, amazing human. Um, this is 30 minutes of really just an open q? A Really nothing is off the table. Uh Gary Super own, honest and open about everything.

So we're just gonna go raising the hand function and zoom and buy the queue. and so if we want to start raising our hands, I'm just going to start calling on people and let's get into it before Andrew jumps in. Um I just really want to encourage everyone like honestly ask me genuinely anything I want to bring you tons of value here. There's nothing scary you know at the end of the day like I have so much empathy for like starting your career and trying to figure it out and honestly I think some of you probably already felt this like Vayner is different and so you're probably getting a lot of advice from Friends older siblings, parents that is actually like counter advice right? like the world has been trained to be a little too robotic.

you know, less human and I think you know the vulnerabilities and the nuances and the intricacies are our strength and so you know, feel free to ask me anything. I Really want to bring Clarity and I'm super pumped for this I've been looking forward to this all day and I'm just really flattered that you wanted to be here. You know there's a lot of different places you could have been um and uh and so I I hope it's going super well. Maybe like maybe if I show of heads or thumbs like hooked up experience is going well so far I Want to keep it going? So um yeah, let's rock and roll.

let's get to as many as possible. um what's up Gary I Just wanted to say hey I don't know if you remember I was that Polaroid uh intern Kid last year Snapchat photo um later ended up being my LinkedIn post so you know, real roundabout way for social media but um you know I've started posting every day just random content that really would just fall into two buckets health and or lifestyle. Um and I'm kind of starting to see you know, a couple thousand and I was just wondering. you know where now would be the best spot to like Leverage the position on it did you say you're starting to see a couple and then I got paused for a second.

What did you say? You're starting to see what? Starting to get a couple thousand views was just curious where to leverage. Uh, the spot I'm in got it I Think nowhere. What I mean by that is I think it's pre you know I think it might be a hair premature to leverage. Meaning it, it depends on how you're defining leverage.

I mean are you talking about monetization? Are you talking about opportunity? Like double click into leverage for me? Um I would say just more or less either narrowing an audience to become more a niche or deciding. You know what? Uh, We've started to get into a good routine. Maybe we should. you know, generally map out a plan to start monetizing it.

Definitely not monetizing it, You know I think way too early, right? just a couple like those like I think people rush into that too much. The longer you can hold your breath of monetization, the better. And as far as niching I think the reverse I think you need to try more genres because you don't know yet. More cohort, more genres, not less gotcha.

Thanks! Awesome Awesome! Let's go on to Mia Hi, um I'm one of the residents in the London office and one of the things that we've been talking about over here is um they've mentioned like lattice roles and particularly I'm one of the media residents and we um I've got media people that are like media Creative Media Strategy media CP Is there anything in particular that you think would be some great skills to focus on more interdisciplinary anything that you think like the agency as a whole is sort of moving towards trying to like blur the lines between disciplines. It's a big agenda for me to blur the lines, which is why In Pockets Like London and other places where testing and learning and touching and trying I I want all of you to be as good at like, Think about the concept of this. Why wouldn't If you have the interest and the capacity, why wouldn't you want to be good at everything, right? And so we're playing with a lot of things. Be it like we, we used to be more blurred, then we got very siled to figure out the value of that.

Now we're trying to get more blurred in certain areas, you know, performance creative feels very real That a media person could also do the Creative There's a lot of media people who don't realize how good their math skills are too and vice versa. So we're strategy and creative by Nature can blur so there's a we're contemplating I Think to answer a question directly That brings value to everybody I Think this is a game of self-awareness All of you need to get to a place that looks like the following: Stop trying to be something for somebody else, Stop trying to be something that you've made an ideology out of, and start getting to know yourself on what you're good at and what you like. Maybe you want to be in media because your mom was a math professor and she thinks it's the radish, but if you hate it, even though you're naturally talented because your mom was a math professor, like, that's only going to play out for so long, right? And so there's a million scenarios like that. So I think um what? I'd like you to focus on all of you, is feeling safe with not judging yourself, not beating yourself up for what you're not, and start getting excited about what you are.

Amazing! Thank you so much of course. hi Carrie how are you? Oh, I'm Hadley I'm a creative resident for um I have one question: What was the most vulnerable point of your career and had you move past that as a tougher person? A really good question. Vulnerable, not challenging, vulnerable. or I want to make sure I capture.

You know because vulnerability comes from a place of like. either you are sharing, you know what you're feeling, or you're in a curious spot like you're not and then you were able to get through it. Is it the latter? Yeah, The ladder. I Would say that it was a mental hurdle of knowing that I had to leave my dad for me to ever be happy, You know? I'd spent 22 to 34 building this huge company for my dad.

By the way, this is about to make you feel really good if you have Financial stress I literally worked literally actually no 8 A.M to 10 P.M Monday through Saturday and 12 to 5 Sunday for 11 straight years with like 38 vacation days over 11 years, build a business from 3 million a year to 75 million a year on my back and got paid 50 to 70 000 a year the entire time because if any of you are immigrants, that's immigrant family business life. if I worked at Vayner I'd be making like 500 000 a year when I was 29 you know like so um when I knew that I was starting to form resentment towards my dad because of how big of a business I built for him and how little I was getting. That was challenging for me because I was blindly in love with my parents and had a mission and was doing this unique thing and it felt great for a very long time until it didn't and having to like deal with that was very challenging. One starting to have negative feelings towards my dad wasn't nice to you know I was like I have no money like and I'm like really good and like I've got these I gotta buy the Jets I have like eight dollars you know like that was very challenging for me and you know? just to give you context, Vaynermedia only started 14 years ago and I had so little money that the company started in another company's conference room because we couldn't afford rent.

Really crazy stuff so that was the most loadable spot. Um hi guys, thanks so much for taking the time. um my question is a little bit. um I guess kind of similar to Hadley's but um, at your point in your career obviously you've had event success with a bunch of different companies in a bunch of different Industries Um, and you continue to spearhead a lot of these industries and kind of new Concepts that you move in.

What motivates you I mean every day you wake up? What? What keeps you from just dropping everything, moving to Can and just never working a day in your life again? Like what? What is what is the motivation? Um well the motivation is when you just said pick up, move to can and never work again. You for normal people who aren't in love with their the way I am you basically just said to me like Gary what stops you from taking a boulder off a mountain and smashing your head with it and dying like to me like the thought of like moving to CAD and like like can's nice for a week but the thought of like waking up in the French Riviera 365 days a year, waking up and going to the market and getting fresh and this is like something that I think is nice for a week getting fresh fruits and vegetables and like by day 19 like I'm dead by day three I'm Nancy and it's because I genuinely like what I do and so I think what motivates me is I I really like really like it bro like I think people don't believe people like I'll give you an example I hated school so much that I was a Dnf student even though I probably have the intellect to have not been a Dnf student. but like when people don't believe people that love what they do for a living I get it because actually here's something fun by show virtual hands. How many people really liked the process of school like liked it like the pro like right like I don't like I just see a lot of hands going out like I don't understand what the you're talking how but to me I understand that because when I'm out here pumping unlimited content of like do what you love it's the like I'm so happy this second bro and I have 9 000 headaches right now.

There's like going through my mind right now that's going on behind the scenes of the 2000 employees and the 80 businesses I have and all it's and I'm a public figure and people on me and all that like there's but I love it. So the answer is it's my DNA it's what I love to do like literally think about the think about this. Some of you may know this about me. my favorite hobby is to go garage sailing which is in essence like a version of playing business like it's it's like it's who I am.

it's what I love So it makes it really easy for me brother which is why I really want people to hear me in this meeting like maybe marketing isn't the right thing like like you're at the age all of you right now where like if you feel in your soul that you're a chef you need to try like I'm not in the business to like make you guys all leave Vayner I'd prefer you not but like if it you're at the age where it gets a lot harder to follow your dream at 35s than it does at 22. right now you're willing to live with four people in a and eat food because you're a kid like I'm willing to do it and I'm old like you're definitely willing to do it. So you know for me, the motivation is super simple. It's I don't even it's how I breathe like the dream for me is not to get the money to do the thing.

the dream to me is to do the work has it? Sorry, just a small follow-up Has it always been like that? or did one day you wake up and you realize that you love me? So it's always been like that for me and I got very fortunate and I know that's not the way it is for everyone but I stumbled into what I liked it was called lemonade stands and washing people's cars and shoveling snow and working my dad's Liquor Store at 14 and stocking shelves like I got there which is why I always challenge all of you notice what I just did in the slack like that. That's like a weird thing for a CEO to do. I'm like hey, why did I do that I did that because I'm hoping even one group of five people decide to get on a zoom that don't know each other which leads to them maybe getting a drink that leads to them like starting an improv club together like like you know, like I want people to explore like I'm just petrified that all of you have locked in and you haven't tasted every option or more scary to me that you're suppressing what's actually in your stomach to appease your parents or your logical self. So for me, it's always been their brother.

but I promise you the second. like you open your mind to thinking your favorite hobby or your favorite thing can be a business or a viable way that you put a roof over your head, your life changes. and by the way, one of my favorite things about Vayner is you're learning such insane skills here that map to anything and everything if you decide to ever take that jump at 25, 29, 36, 41, 52 and let me give you some real Wisdom I'm 47 right? if all of you you're gonna I hope you remember this in 25 years. Do you know what the craziest about being 47 is I straight up sitting here with all of you right now think we're friends like I think I literally think like we're the same right now right this second I'm like yo let's go out after this like like I think we're the same when you when you feel that when you get older that will blow you away because when I was 22 and started working full time at my dad's liquor store my cousin was 30.

I thought he was a hundred years old like I'm sitting here talking to you being like yo we're the same If a 47 year old said to me that we were to save at 21 I would have laughed my it it's like I'm like a thousand to you but in my stomach I feel like we need to go play video games and like I don't know like what are you saying like it's it. That is the best part of life that nobody tells you like it doesn't change as much as you think. Of course, All right, we'll keep moving along. When next up is Eaton oh hello Gary um thank you.

sorry. This has been very humanizing. It was a very poignant point about your dad. It's just been something I think about kind of having somebody who teaches everything for 20 odd years and then you enter a world and know anything about it's a someone I've been grappling with.

It was just nice to not hear um my question. um I've noticed uh, around. there's a lot of Comedy people coming in. There's a lot of comedians who work at Vayner uh I have a comedy background for a couple years now.

Where do you see the value in people with that skill set in that world? There's obviously a huge intersect with I've been very focused on this I think improv comedy skill set is an advantage to the future of marketing and I'm recruiting very heavily against it. You know, ironically when I started doing public speaking like I've gotten some crazy compliments from Top A-list comedians about how I do public speaking and it's and when it started happening I was like wait a minute. This makes so much sense I never I never did a public speech until I was like 33 and like I just listened to Richard Pryor and Chris Rock like like I listened to stand up in my car instead of Music in high school. that's how much I liked it and so you know I just think it's about ideas and being comfort and especially stand-up comedians aren't scared to bomb, you can't get good at it until you get comfortable with bombing.

and I think that's how I think about creative. Too many people are scared for the creative not to work. I'm only good because I'm not scared and so yeah. I'm very excited about us tapping into it and we're gonna do more and more.

Look. Full disclosure: we're going to start having some company meetings around like creators are getting too left field and just making for the sake of making it like it's got to have a little bit of a business lens. but I but I think but I still want to keep tapping into heavy creativity and I think that comedy DNA is real and we're going to keep investing in it. Thank you very much of course.

Hi Gary I'm Julia I'm a PCS resident I Just want to say thank you so much I appreciate you a lot. Uh, as you can say, I'm not American I'm Brazilian Um, seeing your videos was one of the reasons why I quitted my job, resetting my career. My family said you're crazy you're too old for that but I was like I'm not and I'm happier than ever. So first of all, thank you so so much for it And my question is more about the Imposter syndrome I Know that sounds for real.

You're like a figure. Like a public figure. So how do you deal with that every day? even like on work meetings, everything I Know it's a safe space, but at the same time, we all get it. So how do you deal with that? Well first, I Think we have to have a conversation of what imposter syndrome is.

Imposter syndrome is the slang term for insecurity. Like first, we gotta do that like we've made an acute term that feels kind of like. all right. And I actually think that's a good thing.

like I don't say that like I think insecurity is a power I think everyone's hiding from it I Think you just need to look it in the face like everyone in this call should be. insecure. In certain meetings, you're four seconds into the game. You're a human being.

Of course. What I would say is if you realize that you were in a talk about a safe space I expect very little from all of you except to try. be good people and try to learn. I Don't need you to get crazy in the meeting and come up with the most profound consumer Insight In the history of time, let me give you something that you can carry with you forever.

The other thing that makes people insecure is you want your bosses to like you or think you're good. Here's the good news. as long as you're fully yourself and you have good intent. if you find a place where your bosses don't feel that you can go somewhere else, it happens within Vayner As great as Vayner is and it's great.

There's Pockets where it's not great because an executive right now has decided they don't like me and this company anymore and they're not going to be as nice the next month until we figure it out and try to fix it. You know, like it's life. Somebody who's the best just had bad news in their personal life and for the next three months they're not going to be the same selves in meetings and they might be a little snippy with you. Not because you're bad, but because they found out that their mom has terminal cancer and they haven't been ready to share it with anybody.

They're crushed. Life's complicated, you know. But but what I can say is stop being insecure because it's not that serious. This is just a job like what? I Promise you if all of you get fired eight jobs in a row, your life is still going to be epic.

We've done a lot of things societally wrong. One of them is we're just taking way too many things way too serious and so you know I Just really hope that you realize that of course, you can have some insecure moments every day at work. You're still learning, some of you haven't even grasped the thing You're supposed to be learning yet. I'd be insecure as is that if I'm like I don't understand what this math is or I'm not really sure what the Gary's saying with all these acronyms.

they're like like I get it. But your good news? you're nine seconds in. Nobody here is judging you to master anything we want to see. the intent, the effort, the humanity, and the capacity to continue to build.

Do you know what I mean like? This is why I Hate school. Everyone's insecure because you think you need to get an A There's no A in here. Thank you. On that note, Gary can you, uh, can you please deposit a bold as bat into my Openc account if I send you my uh, Openc wallet Patrick I Have no idea why I'm saying yes to this, but the answer is yes, let's go Dude, that's inappropriate.

like I'm cheering like that. but dude, what do you mean that's inappropriate I've cursed like 86 times in the first 23 minutes of this meeting. Okay, next up. Paige Awesome! um Hard One to follow.

but hi Gary I'm Paige I'm a Creator resident I'm working on and I feel like you get asked like a million questions or at least you're always answering questions like on your Instagram And one of my favorite things that you talk about is like you should not have figured out in your 20s, it's okay to be overwhelmed to go chase that dream, to go traveling to go do whatever the hell you want to do so I'm curious like was actually I Don't want all of you to hear this I apologize Paige Yeah, no, you're good. actually all that I talk especially if you're standing on your own two feet financially. Where people get up on like yeah Gary's told me to travel the world and this is that. Like you know, like if your mom and dad are paying for it like that's different if you're If you're doing like a job for three months saving and then going with your homie and like rugging it out that's epic, you earned it.

Where people get caught is I Don't think there's anything bad about getting support from your parents, but I'm gonna give you a really good piece of advice. If your parents are financially helping you, you need to change your tone. and ten or how you interact with your parents like respect That that's where people get up because what I'm trying to keep you all away from is entitlement because that destroys a soul. You know why so many people are unhappy.

They expect everyone to do everything for them. They expect the government to do it for them, their parents to do it for them, their company to do it for them, their boss to do it for them, their boyfriend To do appointment, their girlfriend like get off that it will the quickest way I Can promise to make all of you happy is to stand on your own two feet and be accountable and expect from yourself. you will get so much happier I promise Anyway, go ahead. was there ever a time I was just gonna say was there ever a time when you you know traveled or succeeded at something or failed at something and it like changed your mindset or your trajectory in some way that still sticks with you today I needed to be accountable and I realized that my inability to be candorous with the people I loved the most was a huge flaw you know? But I've learned to find my balance with kind Candor and I think it makes me a better CEO it makes me a better dad makes me a better friend like you know when I think about me I don't really take any credit I think it's all about my parents.

it's their DNA they parented me when I think highly of myself I Don't think of it as like ego I think of it as like co-signing how epic my parents are and I've always I've always thought highly of myself I have but it was kind of fun to discover a Kryptonite and Candor was that for me and so if that resonates for some of you I get it. It's hard to like tell the truth to someone you love if you think they're gonna hurt their feelings. but I Promise you, the quicker you can get comfortable with disappointing someone you love in the micro, you'll get away from macro problems. So if anyone's got my DNA in here, start practicing because I really wish someone told me at 22 to do the same foreign.

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