Balance between business and personal in my family. Is it okay just being okay If you're happy with okay I think it's the ultimate Yeah I mean I I would argue that that is the basis of everything I believe in like you know I think it's I like having ambition I like advancing I like working on things that I'd like to be better at I Love chasing goals and dreams I think the thing I struggle with is that I'm so at peace at all times and I'm desperate to find ways to communicate of what if you're if you're achieving what you're talking about You've Won yeah I'm really just you know, looking to provide as much value, happy to answer anything, any insights, any relationships or things that I might be able to be help of. but I just appreciate all of you being here. It's like super fun to you know.

travel around the world and see what people are up to. Make connections, make relationships. um you know obviously I've been. you know it's it's like really genuinely surreal to be going around in a circle and you know and hear what people are doing in their careers because when I wrote my first book crush it in 2008, the hypothesis was like people could make a living like the big statement in the book was like and people might be able to make six figures on YouTube And literally the first 100 reviews on Amazon were like you're a idiot like nobody's ever gonna make money on YouTube and social media and so and now it's like obviously a very scaled profession in reality and many people here live it.

So it's um, it's kind of crazy to be OG in a game even though it's such a young game and obviously have a lot of insights given what I do for a living. So thrilled to share them. Happy to give anything I got for all of you so you can just fire away and we can chop it up. What's your prediction for the next decade like? if you were to make your Crusher book again, what would you say you know I I tried not to Force predictions so nothing's as clear like when I wrote that book, it was clear to me that this was going to happen.

Um I think what is clear is a lot of the next version and the card version. Some of you will evolve into this. You know when I started Empathy Wines. Um, four or five years ago, the concept of a personal brand using the platform to create a product like a true consumer product, not like a t-shirt not like a like a scaled consumer product was a little bit foreign.

We built a pretty large business we sold at the Constellation. It was a really substantial exit, but that's a minor. League's execution to what we're seeing with Mr Beast chocolate and Logan and Ksi's energy drink and so I think What's very clear to me is the biggest consumable brands. Not fashion, not apparel like, not like what we've all kind of seen for the last five years.

I'm talking like the biggest potato chip in the world that is competing with Doritos or the biggest bottled water or the biggest bubble gum I think is going to come from humans, not corporations and so that's a big thing that's clear to me. Um I think that uh, I think the AI metaverse thing is an inevitable outcome I Don't know if it gets fully there within 10 years. things go fast and slow. it can be fully there.

but but there's really a path for it not to be there. Um, I'm interested. But in that, um I think the biggest competitor to the space of creators is virtual Creators. So right now a lot of people in this room are disrupting actual celebrities and actual you know and enjoying it so much.

You know all the tick-tockers and creators in this room and around the world are like yeah, like we're getting the action like we're more famous than the famous people. I Think the next decade. The fact that AI personalities and you know vloggers that aren't even human beings um, are going to make the current influencers really sad because they're going to take the business. So what what this group represents taking away from Hollywood and mainstream celebrity? It's very clear to me that virtual personalities are going to take that business and so that'll be interesting.

So there's seven things I'm thinking about. um in terms of like how the U.S market dominates in terms of like media do you see in the next 10 years in changing as to like U.S power being kind of desaturated where like Saudi Arabia becomes a really popular like southeast Asia becomes much more prominent. In terms of like where the detention focus is because people get safe at the top of your mind on top of your music. It's like 50 Spanish already which is changing on a global scale.

and then there's like Philippine songs coming in and then there's all these other places. Yeah, I think it's a really good observation. I'm very bullish on the decentralization of Hollywood being the dominant play. The world is getting much more Global right? Like you know, the the Latin movement has a lot to do with the fact that the U.S demographics are much more Latin than ever.

But on the flip side, you know I think Saudi Arabia is going to be an importer of it for a long time and somebody's got a lot of money and so Saudi's game is less creating it and more buying it. which is why you see what they're doing with golf or Ronaldo or you know have very Deep Pockets to buy culture. um but I think what's going on in Colombia you know the whole Bad Bunny you know like you know J Balvin going way way back to even like early JLo Ricky Martin and Gloria step on going back like the Enrique Iglesias Like It's very clear that when you have when you have 14 year old white kids in America obsessed with K-pop and obsessed with music, they don't even understand the Spanish language. There's that's changing.

And you know America's overall dominance in currency and pop culture is definitely on the decline because there's just so much more. I Mean China has its you know own scale. India is going through its own nationalism movement so that will happen America itself. demographically is changing.

Social media allows for anybody, not just someone who flies to LA and makes it in Hollywood to pop. So yeah. I think that's in full pledge I Don't think Saudi Arabia is big enough or organic enough to be the place where it comes from. They just have.

they're gonna buy it. Who just said like top threes? Well, China is really a true market in itself because it's so big right? making it in China and never leaving China is very viable. Um, you know I think the most To a much further prediction out: I Think the most vibrant, interesting content is Africa I Think Africa is going to be a major player in 24. Some this may not be exactly right, but something like in 2040, 35 of the people 25 and under will live in Africa.

So it's an incredibly vibrant, um, wildly talented. similar to like what we've seen in Southeast Asia or Latin America like it's on the super come up in the way the Middle East I think was over the last 25 years and so I expect super like I I Always say to my friends of like black coffee is the preview, not the anomaly and so I think you're gonna see global Superstars Coming Out of Africa in a big way that would be the place and a little further out in a five or ten year window I think you'll see continuation of what we're seeing now. Uh, pardon my ignorance I'm not sure if you have children I'm not sure about how many others in the room I have four kids I Know you talk a lot about like, regret and mindset and stuff like is it personally all right, like I'm content I Know the whole the seminar and a lot of today's talk about earning more, growing your business like the balance between business and personal and like family. Is it okay just being okay If you're happy with okay or do you think it's I think it's the ultimate.

It's the ultimate peace. make more money, earn more money status I don't know it's I mean of course yeah I mean it's it's the biggest reason I talk about the things I'm a businessman and I love business but I think it's crazy to chase money you know as a singular Kpi, mainly because the majority of people that I know that are wealthy or not content. Yeah, cool, yeah. I mean I I would argue that that is the basis of everything I believe in I You know I think it's I like having ambition I like advancing I like working on things that I'd like to be better at I love chasing goals and dreams.

but I think the thing I struggle with is that I'm so at peace at all times and I'm desperate to find ways to communicate of what if you're if you're achieving what you're talking about You've Won like To me, waking up with anxiety is like devastating. it's it's so challenging. like being anxious and being concerned and being worried. those are tough.

You know you. of course it's I know you know it's okay right? Thank you. You know what I mean like how do you manage like with all that you do I couldn't even because I feel like I'm absolutely flat out and like just pulled between so many different things. It's tied in a little bit to the two things.

For me, what works is the balance of hunger and ambition with complete and utter content. which equals it's like a formula. Hunger and ambition, you know plus wild content equals the ability to not judge myself for making mistakes. So the reason I could handle so many things is if you're trying to do 98 things like I do, that brings me great joy I Love the chaos of of playing on many fronts.

You have to be completely comfortable with losing a lot many things I try and work on don't succeed and if you're not comfortable with that and you are worried about people's Judgment of your failures, well you'll never do a lot of things. You'll only do one thing when people like I'm a perfectionist. I'm like you're scared. you're not a perfectionist.

You're scared of judgment. What do you think with a I'm sorry man, No I know you're right. What do you think when your three, uh, keys to success on your successful exit of empathy? not necessarily Revenue Historical historical leverage? Yeah I Grew up in the wine business and everybody knew me in that world. Uh, two was my two partners started as interns and had been with me for 10 years before we started the company.

So full family execution. you know, just like full trust, full alignment. same page. so I can dancing to the same song? Yeah and three.

A very contemporary marketing plan and execution that was very valuable for consolation for all their brands. not just empathy. So it was a scalable model that they could use for their overall business. So by just buying the company, they were Roi positive right away because we immediately impacted all their business.

not just empathy. Those three. Another thing to add as well. You're saying.

Um, what? I find struggling the hardest as well. is as an artist like literally I was a builder for 10 years and then I um went to Mexico for a little surf trip and decided to be an artist and came back. they're not literally all I do every day I sit up paint insert and that's all I do and I'll get to the end of the day and I feel so dark. saying this is like pretty hectic.

it's my life and you're sort of in that depression where it's like I don't deserve this. How do you do you ever get that and do you feel what's the best? Why do you feel like you don't deserve it? It's still like uh, because I was a building. you know how hard it was and then now it's like I'm painting. You're getting contract with these big companies and you're like I don't deserve this life.

this is pretty and I get really dark about it I want to make sure I understand one more time you feel like you get dark because why I really like you know fights where it's I just don't feel like that loss because I'm still. you know I get lost a syndrome or like yeah I don't deserve it so I sort of get really down himself and that's what I was sort of because it's too good and you don't get a service. Yeah and it's like I should be still working hard because my Mrs is in the Navy so she works out all the time. Well, is she sustaining your lifestyle? Is she sustaining your lifestyle? No, No.

So then what's the problem I just get really dark. Man, do you feel well? I think I Think Well, here's an interesting thing: I always think like there's a lot of similar feelings that can take two very big extremes. So let me explain what I mean by that when I when I hear you talk now that I understand what you're saying, my place would go into why are you not leaning into heavy gratitude versus heavy judgment instead of going dark? Why not be super thankful? Why not be practical about the fact that you could literally be diagnosed with terminal cancer tomorrow? And so just because it's good now doesn't mean it's going to be good forever. And why not be grateful that tomorrow you wake up and get to do what you're doing? you know, yeah, like I actually understand the concept of having guilt like I Talk about it a lot that my energy is based on this weird mix of like heavy gratitude and heavy and a guilt of like the luck of the DNA and circumstances that built me to who I am.

But I think you're giving guilt too much energy and not enough to gratitude. You know what I mean. And then the other thing is what you may want to do is contribute. So another thing that I'm thinking about is you know, One of the things that really gives me tremendous peace of mind is I have this incredible framework of gratitude.

but I've been like bleeding for the last 15 years to try to impact others in a positive way through storytelling. You might be able to add a scenario to in between surfing and going to painting. If you articulate what if you break down that trip to Mexico over and over and over again, you might be able to inspire someone to have their version of Mexico for them to be happy. You know there's when I when I think about how grateful I am for being as happy as I am.

It always is more palpable when I read my DMs or emails in the morning where people are giving me roses for really helping them and so maybe you need that right now because maybe it's you're feeling inherently too selfish. My missus is doing this. You're not doing anything for the world. Maybe adding is maybe what you're thinking I don't know.

Yeah I wonder I wonder you know your trip to Mexico is profound. You just sat here and said I was working I went to Mexico and I came back and was an artist like that's rad and I wonder if there's an opportunity for you to really, really bring. you know what I do for a living now professionally. From a Content creation standpoint is I've spent thousands of hours dissecting my life and its experiences to try to articulate in different ways with different adjectives on different platforms of like what's the insight to that and how could that actually matter to someone and if they can make a connection of like oh, that's me too, maybe that can lead to their thing I Think you should really consider to try to like storytell about that trip because it's profoundly interesting.

you might Inspire someone and maybe that will scratch the itch that you're feeling right now emotionally which would be rad because then you're taking something that right now is eating you up and it can turn into a very positive energy I would try that. Incredible. Like the honest, we have a lot of artists. how do you balance right making your art about fitting the market and what it is that you want internally to express because like I got it, it's it's it's my biggest pain point that people can't wrap their head around and I just think that you can do both.

This is why I believe in volume so much. It's not 1984 where you can only put out one album every three years because you had to press it on a disc like like it's the internet. like put out a song that is completely trend on. trend on trend on Trend Because you want to, You didn't sell out, you wanted to make something that was on trend and then make a ballad where you pour your heart out that you know isn't commercially viable.

because you need to scratch your or like. this concept that you're not allowed to be both commercial and have depth is insane To me. We're obsessed in the world of war. No no.

I'm not confused about Lil Wayne because he put out a rock album. It's it's these philosophical things that are old school. They're Theory What people give a about is do I like this song or do I connect with this song You Know You're not like oh like like fans. well like they ebb and flow anyway like you know how it is your earliest fans with you.

then you get bigger than you've sold out, then they miss you and they come back. then you disappear for a while. they really miss you. then you come back they're like back but then it's not good for them anymore in your different life cycle like like I I Just know this to be true because I in my craft of content creation like people like Gary I don't with your anymore I'm like that's great like I'm so humbled that I was ever a factor in the first place and then those same people four years later like yo I'm back and I'm like of course like because we've matched up again you know? yeah I think those are so historical points of view because of the limitation of distribution.

but now we have unlimited distribution and the only thing you're doing is not getting out what you want by sitting and debating this. All that's happening is in action, right? right? It's look look at those back to back things. you know he's thinking through his feelings if if he acts on putting out what I just said like there's only action similar Point like on the fans and show up on creators about converting them, converting short form viewers into fans and people engaged of course of course yeah I mean I think I Think the biggest problem for a lot of people is they don't convert because they're intent and or talents don't convert. I'll explain hey Gary I'm Tick Tock I Want to have subscribers to YouTube but they're not good at YouTube.

They're good at Tick Tock but not YouTube like they're not good at blogging, but they are good at Tick Tock or vice versa then. So that's the ability. The Talent: Like there's a very different art form of making short form tick tocks than there is in making them seven to thirteen minute video. Those are just different different crafts so one sometimes that's the hard part.

The other part is intent. I Think the biggest issue right now for a lot of creators and influencers up when they Plateau is they Plateau Because their talents have gotten them to whatever that is, they're attractive. They're funny. They they can be a musician, They can sing like whatever it is, whatever their talent is humor Beauty A skill.

their talent goes to a certain place. they Plateau because they're selfish. everything's about for them. Gary I Want to convert this audience to buy tickets I'm like, okay, like what are you doing for them and so I think we're in an era right now of selfishness at scale and when I analyze what's happening who continues to grow when they plateau I can see a direct correlation from what I do for a living.

which is that there's a there's an extra gear of trying to bring value or filling a void that is above and beyond the surface level part of their skill set. you know what I mean I Think for everyone here, if you literally posted something tomorrow with the full framework of why is this good to some for somebody, why is this good for them and entertainment is powerful like it's massive. Why are models like like beautiful people bring value like I Want to look at this I Want to listen to this I Want to see this but you've got to continue that framework and eventually when you keep doing the same thing, it's oversupply against it. You've They've seen that.

and what most people do is then they get stuck and they start to get sticky. or they try to jump on Trends Or they're stuck because what they haven't realized is they now have to transition to a selfless framework instead of a selfish framework. And almost nobody's thinking about that. See, every question is how I every question is.

How do I monetize my audience? Nobody ever asks me like how do I make it more valuable for my people I'm sorry, what's your thoughts on building the business? At this moment, when there's like so much economical vulnerabilities, there's never a bad time to start a good business. It's like sometimes you think like oh, I should take the safe side. There's never a bad time to start a good business. To your point, you're not wrong I think that's good.

like hey, high risk High reward but like if you're going to build a good business, whether the economy is good or bad, you're going to win. To your point, if you don't have a Clarity that you're building a good business, it's probably not a good idea to just guess. But I have good news for you when money's flushing fluttering too. unlimited bad businesses start and fail.

So to answer a question, don't worry about the outside economic realities. worry about your capacity or your belief system in what you're building. Got it? It's not. This is where people get caught on.

Like, where's the money at what's the trend? What's the macro thing? If you don't build a good business, it's gonna like 99 of the businesses. Two years ago when money was flowing, failed cause they weren't good. Businesses are hard. You know, like every like, it seems like it's not because everyone's an entrepreneur now, but everyone's playing an entrepreneur.

Can I ask about your health? Yes Limited energy? Yes Yes. Membership Yes. Do you do intermittent fasting? So as you know, intermittent fasting is much more on the cultural tip of tongue today. I I have been doing it pretty much my whole life.

What about your regime? I You know I used to have somebody travel with me full time for pre-covered for like six years and I worked out I was in the gym every single day now he lives in Minnesota we do a lot of stuff virtual. Um, he's not traveling with me as much but I'm probably you know in this year I'm what are we in in August like in the last eight months I probably am in the gym 85 of the days um I work out predominantly seven days a week when I'm not traveling and even when I am I'm usually working out with him I hurt a pec muscle and and a glute like I'm a little strained right now. so and this Trip's a little awkward. but yeah I work out quite a bit I do a lot of soft tissue work that is, you know.

I don't know if people if you have like a bad back or stuff like fashion soft tissue is fascinating, you should look into it. but yeah I work out. So you actually encouraged me to move to New York last year and it's like it's like my second home at home which I really like and one of the things that you said that stopped in marketing recently is that Uio and I wanted to ask you on that and your journey and discovering that because that's been very profound to me. Thank you! You know as a lot of people here know like everyone's like you need a knee short you know, like and I'm just like man like everyone's like struggling of like I gotta find my Niche and like everyone's like this sucks there's too many influencers I'm like but you're one of the problems like you know like everybody like everybody like doesn't want competition that makes me laugh like as if you're entitled to I'm like you know like Gary you don't get it like I used to be I'm like you don't get it I was doing this before you were born.

this was awesome I was like YouTube sensation when there was 19 of us you know like um so I'm glad you picked up on that and it it's hit a lot of people and I need to continue to do more content about this by Nature you as a human being are your Niche because we're all really really different if you're willing to go. if you're like hey, I'm an artist or a magician, well then you're not. But if you keep going and just saying what else you are and who you are and what you look like and where you were born and like it's just it's niche personified and I I'm fascinated because I just always go on what I know is right versus what everyone's kind of pushing. So even my public speaking career Steve and I were talking about this on our flight this morning from Melbourne to here like I cursed that was super crazy off like that in 2009.

that was just like it. What would you say? Steve has grown up in this game Steve What do you think in 2009 when I was really speaking and cursing? what percentage of gigs did that immediately eliminate me from just off top? So he worked for a different company his Steve's one of the key Executives at Vayner speakers Zack His teammate was my speaking agent at CAA and like we talked about the story of like Zach's boss because he was kind of like underneath this guy a great guy Peter and they called me and were like hey you're starting to like something's happening for you and we really think you can be big but you have to immediately stop cursing and I was like I have some really bad news I'm like I'm gonna have to say not that big because I'm just not capable of like so I dressed super casual and I'm a businessman that was crazy like you had to really wear suit and tie like I was doing all these things wrong. but everything worked for me because I became my Niche because I just stayed. It's back to like.

people throw around authenticity all the time, but they like but then they're not. They like people compromise their authenticity for the algorithm, people compromise their authenticity for the likes. Think about that for the followers right? But then if that was true like then the culture wouldn't be the way if Pharrell and that whole crew didn't like make nerd culture cooler like all the rappers that rock Dragon Ball Z now and Pokemon wouldn't be doing that. It took their courage because that wasn't cool like and so like.

I would tell all of you like a lot of people are holding in all sorts of things: sexual orientation Hobbies true friendship, other interests that don't fit the profile or the Persona that they've built and the reality is that's the that's gonna make people love you I'm a very real businessman like not like like I make money as a personality like I'm a businessman like built bit lots of big businesses and I'm like making videos about garage selling and buying two dollar items and all my real business friends like the real business people are like the are you doing and I'm like I'm showing people how to make 55 out of two dollars and like but this makes you look like you're like you're like this is you up I'm like it's not like I can sit in the boardroom with the most significant business people in the world and I can go to a garage sale and buy a t-shirt for a dollar and sell it for four bucks. and I don't give a if somebody doesn't want to interact or follow me because of that or do business with me because there's so many people that will. and I think everybody here if they push themselves a little if everybody here today. Tomorrow's next two posts one was I am 100 focused on making this the single thing that I think can bring the most value to everybody who sees it does Nothing matters for me and the next one is I'm gonna talk about some that nobody knows about me but that's really me I Think it would change the trajectory of what the majority of this room is up to I Believe that I believe both posts may do worse than every post that they're accustomed to because it's not on best practices.

but I think it will change in a great way for everyone I Really believe that? What's that? Hello hello. So um. first of all, uh, you know it's really lovely to actually speak to you and I want to say thank you because prior to being part of Dana everything, um, you know your content. uh I started I I don't I started watching you when I was very like I was very focused on academics I was very like that was I didn't give myself a creative Outlet yes a long time and um and when I spoke to you last, this was 2022 in Garyvee I was thought about like a crossword clue.

my chronic illness was really, really affecting me. Do I Do I go back? Do I try academics I know it's not I know I struggle with it with my body, my health. all that. do I try out this creative thing and you know your content, you, our conversation, everything you know, you gave me a lot of courage to try and be a creative and I haven't worked with John Henry Starnell's brand illustrator like crazy stuff that's happening I think recently like I don't know if it's being like adjusting 25 or whatever I don't know if it's the type of career that it is or if it's just life you know I feel like I've struggled a lot in the last maybe two years or so with uncertainty and rejection you know? and these are things that like I I thought I was always comfortable with.

but as I'm just getting like to this section of whether it's I know people feel this at every age, but it's like the rejection even. Well, that's because my advice is to understand yourself. Somebody that grows up that puts Academia on a pedestal is protecting themselves for not being rejected like fake AKA school. Once you figure out the system, you can get A's and you can trick yourself into not having rejection.

Real life is only rejection. Life is only rejection. All life is is micro losing. All life is is Michael 's micro.

The quicker you can get good at enjoying micro losing like the quicker it gets great. And it's important. Words matter. Micro losing, Not macro losing, not losing your relationships or your house or micro losing every day.

I'm micro losing you. Just the reason you're struggling is because you put Academia on a pedestal your whole life. It's a huge problem. It's this is like I I don't think people understand like how deep my intent goes.

I'm not fighting school because I wasn't good at it I'm fighting school because I watch the world and I know what it's doing to people. It's really, really, really a challenging framework. There's no flexibility in it here. All six-year-olds we're gonna just push you through for the next 18 years, 16 years, 12 years on the same track and the ones that are lucky enough to conform to it will make pretend you're good and all the other ones.

AKA Anyone who's creative in any shape or form whatsoever which is more than half the population we're gonna build Frameworks to make you feel insecure along the way that you're dumb and not good is that. And and then you have immigrant parents and parents in general just reinforcing its value. and then your parents wanting their children to be doctors and lawyers and Engineers to make them good and feel good, not you and like who the watching out for people right? I'm I'm curious about like uh AI yeah I was really wondering what or is your advice or like utilizing that or teaming up with it or just like anything, it's all coming. it will all be real.

If this was 2002, the internet stocks all just crashed. Everyone's debating if the internet's even a thing, but the internet's growing by the nanosecond as we sit here today right now versus 30 minutes ago when I walked in. Web 3 is Advanced AI has advanced what's up? Um, like all of it like you should stay on top of it as a viable business. You have to understand the timing Nfts I think are going to be enormous, but right now the brand of Nfts is in the garbage because the greed of last year crushed it because people weren't listening to what I'm always saying which is 99 of everything always goes to zero.

Like all right. Like you know, like are sneakers, a good collectible and something people care about? Of course they are. but 99 Of sneakers are not selling on stockx but everybody got caught up and they put like all Nfts or you know people like oh beanie babies. but Beanie Babies are a stuffed animal.

Stuffed animals continue to sell a trillion dollars. Squishmallows are doing just fine right. So like people are not good at seeing the macro. And so right now, just because a lot of people aren't on the Metaverse doesn't mean that it's not an inevitable outcome.

Of course VR is going to happen. The technology is advancing too fast. The new Apple is good. We're not all the way there yet, but like online dating was good in 2002, but there was too much taboo to it so people were like meeting but they were like lying.

Now it's mainstream so it's all coming. It's just social norms, timing, technology. But if you're into that, you should pay attention because you'll PR If you really pay attention right now and you're actually looking at it every day, you'll have a good sense of when it's going to. Bubble Up Again If you're not paying attention, it's gonna.

It's gonna catch you off guard. I Gotta go. Okay pleasure, thank you I'll see you out there. Thank you.