Parents would be upset if their kid cried and I would like run up to kids that would cry after losses and commend them. You're showing me you care I Think being competitive is a remarkable gift. Indifference is devastating I mean I cried basically every day of my life between 600 and 12 because I played everything competed constantly and there was not a time I lost between 600 and 12 where I didn't break into tears because it hurt that much. it hurt that much I'm devastated watching our society try to tell kids it doesn't matter.

Attention is the number one asset we recently met for the first time. You were kind enough to swing by my launch of my fragrance next chapter. It smells remarkable everyone. thank you.

Uh, you know what the the following day I thought to myself Gary would be the perfect guest for Club 30 Thank you for two reasons: One, I want to get to know you even better. But two, this is a great opportunity for our listeners to hear your Insight on so many things. So thank you for being thank you so much! I'm humbled really. but when I watch you listen to you I feel like there's so much passion in everything you do.

Where? where is that coming from? you know I think I think I have very strong Clarity You know the luck of the draw of being an immigrant, having very little growing up with a mom who I think was incredibly thoughtful and you know just the Serendipity of the way my life played out. I I I Feel like I'm not confused and let me let me say what I mean by that I Don't understand how a human that's listening to this or that lives in the world doesn't recognize how remarkable it is to be a human. There are incredible challenges in being a human. There's many things always going on, whether in the macro or in one's individual status.

Today somebody will go to the doctor and get diagnosed with cancer terminal. Today somebody will lose a loved one. today. there'll be macro things going in the world.

Everyone knows that. that being said in Reverse every day that something atrocious doesn't happen to you is actually the greatest and so I've I'm incredibly driven by gratitude every day I wake up and my phone doesn't have I didn't have to be woken up in the middle of the night of something terrible and every day something bad hasn't happened to the 10 or 15 people that mean the most to me I Genuinely not like the you know motivational quote on social media or on your calendar I genuinely view that as a epic thing I'm excited I'm on the offense you know in general as a human and so I'm very passionate I'm pumped that I got to be a human I could have been a hippo. You know it could have been a flower like a ladybug. Like human is the Apex of something that's alive and we're also living in a Great era.

I Know people are very especially now. There's a lot of challenges going on if we just rewind the clock 100 years from today. The second we're sitting here, you know we're on our way to going into. we're in the Roaring 20s and it seemingly is good.

but the next 25 years the world is going to be incredibly conflict with two world wars life expectancy in its 50s and 60s Like we have it. Good. Not everyone listen in right? How is it good? Because something bad might have happened, they might be an abusive relationship, they might be dealing with mental health issues, they may be dealing with health issues I Get that. My push to everyone who isn't dealing with something extreme is, choose to be optimistic versus pessimistic and cynical and you will be flabbergasted on how much more joy you will have.

And so the reason I produce so much content is I Believe that people who do see from a perspective of hope and love and joy and good have a bigger responsibility in our society right now to start producing more content because I believe that negativity and cynicism and darkness is very loud and I feel like light and happiness and joy. They keep it in their Circle they keep it amongst their 12 friends and I I'm willing to deal with the ramifications of a public figure, life and all the judgment and the ridicule and misunderstanding and all the lack of privacy and all the things that come along with it because I think it's my responsibility that I got fortunate and I don't love using lucky but in this instance I'll say it lucky with the DNA and the parents I had and I want to be loud and I want every single person who's listening right now to realize if you want to find negativity in the world, it'll take you two seconds. You can turn on the news, you can go on social and find certain stuff, but if you want to find positivity, you can do it in a second. You don't put on the news and on social and digital you find people that are pushing progress, happiness, advancement, offense and there are millions of them.

and I just challenge people to decide for themselves because you find what you're looking for. Your life is what you decide to look for. I I Love this and and so my question. you came to the US at 3 years old.

Yes so how did your upbringing everything shap you and and I want to know when did you start to think about mindset late? um but early. let me explain. So I think like for us two and Dustin's in the room filming me For us four in the room, we were completely shaped by our childhood DNA sure but nature right and nurture and so I believe I'm in a small group of people and it's not that small 10 20% of the world that is the most fortunate and I'll say this very slow because I think it may change the perspective of some listening I Believe the greatest way to have the best situation to have the best potential to have a good life is to be born in the in this specific circumstance to be born in a circumstance with not a lot not a wealthy family, not a lot but Extreme love and happiness in the household because I believe what is happening and I've I I know that about myself and I watch it in a lot I Basically for the last 20 years I've been watching people right? That's why I was so all in on social and was an investor in all those platforms. I believe that if you are lucky enough to be born into a family that is Happy genuinely that it's a joy, you know you can't There's going to be conflict here and there.

But overall Net score a joyous, optimistic family and you also don't associate that happiness with the fact that you're rich, right? Because if you're born into a wealthy, happy family, you as a child are formed of course to believe there's a got to be a variable there of the wealth driving this. Joy if you're born the way I was I mean when I came to America and I I Remember this cuz by the time we got here, I was four and we lived there until I was five and a half six I lived in a studio apartment not much bigger than the room we're in right now, probably two and a half times bigger. tiny with five to eight family members. Depending on what was happening with our immigration, you know.

I I can't I can't even? You can't even comprehend how much of an advantage it is for a child to not have things but have pure love. You're unstoppable. You never as an adult associate happiness with money every time I talk like this including this podcast I will get comments in my social saying yeah, whatever like easy for you to say you have money because they know me today. they don't know me from 22 to 30 when I never made more than $60,000 a year they don't know me I wasn't public.

the world didn't work that way. so I mean my upbring and then I also had a mom who was very talented. She did something very smart. She built incredible self-esteem I thought it was the best but not entitled and delusional so she grounded me a lot.

It was also the 80s and she was from Russia So I got a smack in the face at times. I Think one of the issues with modern parenting is we don't hold kids accountable. We do instill delusion. I Believe Eth police trophies have ruined the world we've demonized losing.

I Think one of the great Advantage a lot of athletes have is no matter when they start sport, there's nothing Mommy and Daddy can do on the ice or the court in the classroom. they can literally go and fight the teacher after the report card and change the grade. But on the ice, if you lost 42, you lost 42. And and I think that's a big deal.

Yeah, you learn a lot when you win, but you learn even more when you way more. you learn so much so. it's such an important part of growing up. playing sports or whatever you do, losing teaches you, he gives you motivation.

It's a good thing. Oh, and you know my my number one thing to parents is show me someone who's a poor Sport and I'll show you someone I want to get to know and parents would be upset if their kid cried and I would like run up to kids that would cry after losses and commend them. You're showing me you care I think being competitive is a remarkable gift. Indifference is devastating I mean I cried basically every day of my life between 6 and 12 because I played everything competed constantly and there was not a time I lost between 6 and 12 where I didn't break into tears because it was.

It hurt that much. It hurt that much. And and I I I I'm devastated watching our society try to tell kids it doesn't matter. Meanwhile, they tell them grades in school does matter when in reality the day they become 22, it's the reverse.

Competition matters in real life and grades matter zero in real life. And so I think I think you know it was a huge shaper of mine. Plus where you know. We moved from Queens to New Jersey I grew up in a 1980s Edison New Jersey childhood which meant my mom had no idea what I was doing.

She knew I was in the general area and was schol back then is all your friends parents were your parents too. It was communal right? It was a different. It was different. Better behave, you better behave at all times.

But you know you know we we just lived outside. We you know we got into fights, we played Sports we sold lemonade and did business ask you business. when was your first six six seven? I sold lemonade We we also you know I didn't just do the soft lemonade thing. we did shoveling snow when it would snow.

a lot of my friends in the neighborhood would go sledding, make snowmen. I grabbed a shovel and started ringing doorbells. Ma'am would you like me to shovel your driveway for $5 driving that had no. that's just that goes back to what.

I'm so fascinated about humans. One of the things I talk about for a lot of people here who are discovering this content. I I Think you need to fight to find yourself. Here's what I mean by that I have no idea Henrik it wasn't like that was just DNA right.

like I didn't I was seven not like was it you want to make money early? it was it. You know it's funny and this is a huge Advantage for this is why I think entrepreneurship is confusing right now I think in the last 10 15 years entrepreneurs have become more relevant Fame this is crazy to me I didn't you know I was 31 years old before I made a video I grew up my whole I was an adult before it even compreh. it didn't even cross my mind that humans would know who I was I thought people would know me in the wine business, in the in the business World Sure because I was in that. but the thought that on the walk here somebody might say hi or a selfie it it businessmen weren't famous.

That wasn't a thing. no to me it was. and this is and what I'm scared about is people are now chasing the money. People want to be entrepreneurs for the fame and the money.

The problem is entrepreneurship is hard. It's really hard and it's extremely lonely. You know you're at the top of an organization and everything's your fault and everything's your responsibility. It's like being a parent.

It's all fun in games until you're a parent. You know every everybody goes through this, they have all sorts of Judgment of their parents until they become a parent and they're like wait a minute and so anyway, no back going back Henri The I Just have no idea it was who I was in the same way that I I Look at athletes I Look at musicians I Look at artists I Teachers stay-at-home parents Like my mom was destined genuinely to be a stay-at-home mother and like raise a family and like I'm the great beneficiary of that I Think a lot of people compromise their their greatest skills because they don't think they can make money in it. I Think about all my friends who were remarkable at video games when it wasn't clear that video games were a business and so they didn't They thought they had to get a real job, but had they stayed and played video games, they might be the Tony Hawk of video games today. The way it played out.

Sure. And so I think people need to chase passion and then live within the means of what that Financial outcome is. and I think sometimes it's like chasing passion. doesn't mean you have a specific thing in mind, but it's a way of doing and what I mean by that is like it could be uh, wanting to be helpful? yeah or wanting to solve problems.

Yeah, and and figuring out like that's my and to your point I Love solving problems. so that can mean I love what you're saying so that can mean oh, you're destined to become an engineer exactly cuz Engineers solve problems. Oh you're destined to be a therapist cuz that Sol Oh, you're destined to be a guidance counselor in a middle school. Oh, you're destined to be an entrepreneur because you're going to create a product that solves a like I like that I agree with that I Think that's a I Think what that does for people is it gives them a little bit more room to figure themselves out because you have to take the first step because you'll never know how to take the second one unless you take the first one which is leaning into a process or a way of being rather than a specific thing.

I Think a lot of people listening to this will like this analogy I Love sports obviously I'm establishing that in my office I Talk about to employees I Just recently had some young man work for me and he was doing a certain role and I said hey, you're an extrovert, you're not cross your teas and Dot your eyes you're doing a cross your tees and Dot your eyes job. Now you need to get out of this we and I said look my job as CEO is to put players in a position to succeed. Very hardcore Sports Analogy The most fascinating thing I Watch in sports is the variable of a head coach because it's you know. ESP Especially within a within a season.

Anytime a team in any of the four major sports fires a manager or head coach in season, even if I don't follow that team. I Kind of keep a little eye on the next month of what that team does because it speaks to the actual variable of that person right. It is the same players. It's not the next season, you know I Think you know and you know this.

HRI I Think fans are naive. A team seemingly is the same as last year, but many things happen. everybody's a year older. Anything can happen.

And by the way, one player, let alone three different players changes everything. potentially. especially if one of those three players is special or the reverse. You get rid of one cancerous, cynical player, changes the entire locker room.

So inseason coaches coming is like one of my biggest. Fascinations As a CEO I stay up at night thinking about is Dustin doing the single best thing he could be doing in this organization, both for the organization and for DUS and for Dustin right? Cuz if you do it for Dustin then it will happen for the organization. Do you view your companies? uh, from a sports standpoint? Almost. Do you see yourself as a coach more as a coach than as a boss? 100% I See myself First of all, I think that almost every CEO and boss has it wrong.

I Even it was funny when you even said the word of what happened in my stomach. it didn't feel good because I think the world has defined boss as person that tells you what to do person that's keeping you accountable I I Feel that I work for every employee and I really show up that way and I feel like I have to dictate the strategy right? So yes, I do think more of myself as a coach as a parent, as a guidance counselor as an older brother feels very appropriate. Uh I am the oldest in my family and I was in a a family where it was again it was an immigrant family. So my mom I mean from the time I mean from the time I was six I remember my mom saying like you have to take care of your sister You know like you're out there at 8 years old, you're eight, You're you're a child.

You're a baby eight and you know I'm keeping an eye on her and I got to fight if somebody makes fun of her like real And so yes. I I I I Do view it that way. So mindset obviously plays a huge part in your life in your business. Yes, at what point did you start to reflect on your mindset for me as an athlete? obviously I Understood I would say around 14 15, 16 I started to see just better performance when I committed more time to my mental side of it.

the preparation. the um, consistent time you know going into a game or practice just getting ready. So I I start to really understand if I could feel the difference see the difference? that's I think the time when I started to reflect on my mindset when when was I I love I can't believe you brought that up. So my answer is interesting I think at least I'm fascinated.

This is the actual answer I flirted with it very lightweight at around the same time 14 to 17 High School flirted didn't understand it The only thing I knew was this is weird I'm playing High School different than the other 250 kids in my class I feel no peer pressure I could give two shits if I'm picked on or don't have social status I had I I had a very outgoing and like kind of am who I am personality so I was very liked but I did something in the 90s in New Jersey if you weren't picking on kids, you weren't popular and I wasn't willing to compromise I wasn't willing to go to the next tier of popularity because I wasn't willing to on kids in my class and and I worked on and I would choose going to a baseball card show and selling on a Friday night instead of going to a cool party that I was invited to. that I should have felt cool about I was only 20% of the class invited I would go I would work at my dad's liquor store on the weekends instead of hanging out I was so different and I sensed it but it was very hazy about 30. About 20 years later when I was 35, I'd been putting out content for long enough telling people starting in 2006: 78 YouTube Facebook Twitter Do this. Do this.

Do this. This is how you get more followers. This is how you get more people to buy from you on email and I was putting out all this content and I started realizing a lot of people were not doing it and I started getting fascinated of why. And that's when I had the early epiphanies of like oh, the whole world is built on self-esteem You're either confident or you're insecure and then a million other variables of how that happens and I started to my content.

Changed the first five years of me being a businessman content. it's very tactical set up this website post at this time and then you could. You can start to see after I started to get like and I started reading the DMS and they're like hey, but if I post what if I don't like the way I look and I'm like wo right Oh like my husband doesn't think I should be doing this I'm like o right? like you know. And by the way, my childhood was not all roses.

My mom was incredibly optimistic, my dad was incredibly pessimistic you know, multiple and most of my relatives, including my mom's side, were pessimistic. They grew up in the Soviet Union they always thought there was a conspiracy. you know I get it at the time I didn't get it I would judge my uncles my grand mom like I was like why is everyone so negative like now I'm like wait a minute they lived in the worst place in the world at the time. Well mindset is a tool.

We don't use mindset as a tool to deal with the great times like whoever thinks like I got to spend more time on my mindset when everything's going great. mindset is a tool. well real quick though real quick. I apologize.

This is where gratitude and appreciation is the tool, right? So like, think about brother, think about how I started the opening of this podcast. it's on an everyday basis. This morning this morning while brushing my teeth and listening to Boomer talk about the Jets and the Rangers I was like man good all right. thank you.

Yeah, it's a good like real talk and by the way, it's practice. One thing I've by the way. Step three first I didn't understand like I just said Then I started understanding. Now I'm going into a third phase where I'm trying to tell people friends first even like dust like the the I'm starting to realize oh I Practice Yeah I say to myself, you are lucky this is a great day mhm like I Have you want to hear something insane that I would tell everyone especially people of any level of status I Believe the single reason I am joyous is because I have no attachment to my professional and financial success.

I have I feel like zero of my identity is the Gary Ve or the businessman it is completely and utterly baked into. My self-worth is baked into how I feel people feel about me based on how much they know me yesterday. What you two thought about me is going to be was very low on a mattering to me it is now grown after this hour. but Dustin matters a ton to me.

He's been around me a ton my sister more so it's just a pecking order. So I think for a lot of people if you're a somebody did something at a Jets game this weekend and I they got introduced to me and they told me their full profession in the intro hey John Thompson doctor at this like and I'm like you know I I take not yeah I think about that I'm like I see he that's his validation and I think about it like you know. Listen, we we can't go through this podcast without talking about how handsome Henrik is right? like I I it's actually written into the is it Yeah but but it's funny I'm going to use it as something I talk a lot about I Worry that parents give validation to their children around grades cuz it's a very fake system I Worry that parents get validation on looks. you know if a child is told and there's there's a small percentage of people like Henrik who are just born attractive and it's going to be a constant theme in their life and especially for young women.

You know you think about that. You know then all of a sudden in your 30s, and your 40s and your 50s and your 60s, it it. I am curious about how people validate themselves. Is it school? Is it money? Is it Zip code? Is it the car you drive? Is it how you look? Is it what you accomplish on the ice is accomplish followers like I mean it.

It's a very big deal. and I think about it a lot. Yeah. I guess I Think both things are true.

So like obviously Pra, you're at an elevated level of gratitude and appreciation. and maybe in your words, you go on the offensive right every day on that. I Think when you first find those tools, it's not because things are you got an eighth place trophy, it's because you lose and you have lesson, right? And you think, how do I deal with this? How do I How do I love myself when I just lost this thing or got a bad grade and so that I think there's a correlation between how early we adopt those tools and start practicing and and how adverse our life is. How many challenges do we have to face and who is around you to contextualize the failure? Yeah, yeah, that would actually be my next question.

How important is your surroundings in terms of how you feel and and uh, mindset? How do how do you keep a great mindset? How important is your team around you? I would argue that there's a level of guilt that I walk around with every day that I got the super mom and others didn't and one person that didn't was my dad and I love my grandma Esther But and by the way, I knew her mom, my great grandma Ana There was a lot of negativity and so the insanity of the difference of seeing my parents and my dad gave me a ton of weapons. meaning he gave me a ton of good stuff. My competitive: My mom's pretty competitive too. she likes to hide it, but my dad's really competitive and work ethic.

I mean my dad came to this country and I basically didn't see him for the first 10 years he established us. You know, um, but the surroundings is the whole ball game. It's the whole ball. which is why I'm with the level of guilt that I walk around I believe that's another reason I'm so compelled to make content I feel like you know yesterday I walked out of a meeting and this 15-year-old kid came up to me.

he like Gary you love your stuff selfie and it was funny like where my brain goes I'm like man I don't know if that kid is got great situation at home or not. great situation at home but I'm really pumped that he watches my videos not because I necessarily need it. Of course it feels nice you're a human like I'm a human but like there are so many people that don't have a positive influence and a decoder of the macro in their lives and so happy You know we demonize social media and Society now for all of its but all that social media is is a mirror of society. They're social media is empty.

It's an empty vessel. It's not the news, the news programs social media is US Social media is us and so I'm so happy that I mean and I get this. by the way I Get it every day. Henrik You know how you walk around this town like you know as someone who is very affected by Athletes Performance and like the joy it brings me in the escapism that Sports is.

You know how like how many people ask like thank I assum? you know I just know this to be true. how many people thank you for that Stanley Cup run or your career It feels nice they're like thank you like it happens like to me people saying thank you for like putting a video that changes the perspective that it you're helping people. It's why we love music and sports. We get to escape Our Truth and get joy right for me I Help people.

My content is focused and by the way there are many many people out there like myself and by the way for everyone who's listening. if like if you're like what do I want to do, what am I passionate about? If you're actually happy, just make videos about why, what's your routine, what do you do but man Henrik surroundings is everything and I would say if your surroundings aren't great, starting to limit your time with people that are negative is the practice just like I practice in the morning brushing my teeth I'm like you're lucky today it's a good day and not like again it's I think sometimes people see this stuff and they think it's dorky or like I think it's the most real I think it's like doing push-ups and then the limiting of negativity. If you're watching the news constantly, you're going to be upset. If you're If you're you know if your really affects you, it really affects you.

If your mother is negative you can't like, it's probably not ideal to cut your mother out of your life. And I know that a lot of people have asked their mother to go to therapy in this and they won't I get that. but you don't need to talk to her four times a day either and listen to her vent. you're allowed to protect yourself and say to your mom, we're going to do this once every two days Now you're loud.

You're in control of breaking the pattern. Everyone who's listening is in control actually MH Like I Always tell people complaining is like a funny game. like. the only people that listen to you complain is other complainers or people that have to because they're your loved ones right? Like I think you're in control you? it's funny with you know, talking about the part of the world you're from I literally on stage say all the time I'm like what do you want to complain about You don't like your job, you can quit I Understand that you have a mortgage in this, but you can live under less means.

You can buy less clothes. you can take different Transportation You can not take a vacation that year. You know like you can do something to fight for your happiness cuz I mean it. you are allowed to move to Toronto Sure you're allowed like you're so lucky my family wasn't Russia was a jail the USSR was a jail from 1917.

In 1989 you weren't allowed to leave the country for vacation. So like we're fortunate and I think that's how I think about it. what's more important to you I think I know the answer. but I still I wrote it.

you wrote it down so you can ask what's more important to you. Success or happiness. Oh happiness Because happiness is success I Think we need to redefine success. You know you know it's funny you ask me.

Was it money? It sure wasn't and and like that was weird to me for a while as a kid. I would sell baseball cards I would would work but I would get the money and I would put it back into the business right like I would get money with selling baseball cards I would buy more baseball cards like I didn't want the cool jacket I definitely didn't want Jordans cuz I was a Knicks fan I would never wear them. You know, like like you know, like I you know there was very few things I bought as a child like I didn't want stuff. stuff is not interesting to me I love when people are passionate about stuff when I think about you Henrik from afar especially with like you know, even like watching you set up the Aesthetics here I pay attention to that stuff.

I'm like man. of course he likes fashion like he's visual right? like like I I think that's cool I'm not. but I you know, uh, fancy cars I'm always scared. Is that person buying a fancy car to close the gap on insecurity and they want to show people they made it or did they grow up passionate about the cars? They understand the horsepower they you know with wine for me I will buy expensive wine I don't do it for the flex I do it because I spell my whole life learning about it I'm interested in it I'm curious.

Last night I ordered a Cita Creek which is Washington State's best Cabernet with my friend Craig I was just curious how it tasted. Can you tell our listen listeners a little bit about your history with wine? Yeah! So my dad yeah my dad you know lived the American dream went from a stock boy in a liquor store in Clark New Jersey to eventually buying his own liquor store in New Jersey in Springfield I was firstborn, oldest son, only son you know, only kid that was born in the Old Country so it was very Merchant son so very cliche at 14 I started stocking the shelves like I live that life that I think we've heard those stories from others somewhere around 16 cuz the store was in Springfield New Jersey which means on one side it was like Union Elizabeth very blue collar. On the other side of the store was Short Hills Milbourne Summit Livingston Bougie Yeah my dad was in the liquor business. he was a liquor and beer guy I'm a watcher as I've been explaining in this podcast.

So the Summers and the weekends I'm working I'm like people are asking for this wine stuff and they're asking for you know I was very businessyoutube. In one moment a man comes in and it's this story is hazy to me. meaning I remember the moment but I don't remember exactly what the man said I don't even really fully remember what he looks like. it's one of those you remember what you feel but you know and he goes hey I'm looking for this, this and this and at this point I kind of knew what Opus One and Shatow Le fit were and I was like we don't have it I was like let me try to get got into talking to him and he's like yeah like I'm building my collection that was it the man said said I'm building my collection I just moved into Short Hills I have a wine room I'm building my collection and I was like people collect wine and I was Full Court Trading cards Do you know how many Brian Leech 1990 rookie cards I have like how many? like a thousand actually yes yes like I was Full Throttle like that 88 Olympic Team RoR and leech when they did a special on them and this was pre- internet so you didn't know I didn't know that they were going to be like I was already Rangers I became a Rangers Fan 86 when they made that huge run and they lost in the Conference Finals to this rookie goenda and I was like this guy, he's not going to be good Anyway, that was when I completely fell in love the 88 Olympics came right behind that and the big feature these young kids.

could they do it 1980 was only eight years earlier, so could we do it? We got blown out, got killed by the Russians but Leech and RoR were on that team and so those were my guys and then obviously that became the core team that won the cup finally in ' 94. Anyway, I was like people collect wine and literally King from that day 16 until I went full until 36 when I went full-time into Vayner Media, my marketing company I started with my brother and left day-to-day running my dad's wine store for him those next 20 years of my life. I spent 95% of my energy on building that wine business and learning about wine. so you're an expert I I am an expert by the way, that people Define like I can speak to wine at an incredibly high level I can taste wine out of a brown paper bag and likely tell you a definitely several things about it.

I'm not like those documentaries you've seen like Master SS where like they like Yeah I can't I'm not I'm I'm the level below that I can drink I can get pour a brown paper bag and be like this is p Noir from France maybe even this vintage and then you pull it out you're like holy like I know it that well Did you watch the sour grapes of course like everything like amazing amazing that was an amazing like and then and then Bottle Shock and like all those things like um, you know I wine was my life for 20 years I I Still, you know it's funny when I left it because it was my life. Oh I'm actually I'll ask you this question about 5 years after leaving and I'm still active. I'll write today's winetext.com I'll write it for we have this cool service where you get a text and if you want it you get you just reply one two three. it's like frictionless.

I'll literally write the copy for it today so I'm still involved but when I but very tangent when I left I about two three years later I Started Loving Wine Again, you know it's kind of like I think about athletes I'm like I wonder H as as time goes from your retirement, do you watch? do you watch the game differently because when you're in something, it's different. Yeah and I get more joy with wine today than I did 20 years ago. I I Totally understand that. Yeah, first year out of retirement, it was kind of weird to watch a game.

brought up a lot of emotions. feelings. Should I play one more or I think step by step you start coming back to watching the game as a fan. Again, cool and you stopped relating to yourself and I still do that when I analyze the game because I bring out my own experience.

Um, but I remember that first year out of retirement? Yes, it was weird and at times a little hard because it was such a big part of my life such a long time right? of course. But then what? 3 years out now? I I I really enjoy it I mean I always been a hockey fan which is huge and you know this. Tell people at home a lot of guys are not fans of the sports they play. True yeah, it was their way out.

It was their way to money, success opportunity and other guys love the sport more than you know. I I I know American Football the best and I do think I have a different experience watching Jets football than Knicks and Rangers and Yankees because I understand it so deeply. and I think one of the cool things that former athletes have when they watch sports when they're able to transition back to fan is they enjoy it a lot because they actually really see things we can't see. You know you you like if the announcer doesn't get to saying that the defenseman should have come in on that play.

You're capable of knowing that and that makes it more joyous. And I I I find that it's really back to. Actually this is a fun topic to talk about here for me. Wine American Football um Collectibles Trading Cards Sneakers uh nft like Collectibles um are great Joys because I know them deep I think more people going deeper into the things they like is something I think more people should do like If you collect watches now, spend an extra hour a day at night instead of watching a Netflix show watch YouTube videos about watches like going deeper into passions I think is a really interesting topic I've been marinating on yeah I saw I saw something the other day which is a simple stat which said if you spend that one extra hour for 60 days, you'll be in the top desile of knowledge of a thing of a thing.

Wow! and to me that's fast. that is fast, you know. And I've been thinking about this, especially towards the end of my career and after my re having a really strong passion for something, it's not a guarantee, right? I think there's a lot of people that they're still looking for it I I Felt very fortunate to find my passion at age six. Yeah, my passion was to play hockey.

my sports early on, but hockey became very clear to me so he guided me yeah throughout my life and that that's the biggest thing I want for my kids now just to find a passion? You want them to be curious? Yeah, cuur by the way, that's a word. Can we talk about that word I Think curious might So I created this uh Pokemon meets Sesame Street intellectual property three years ago called V Friends And these characters. There's about 250 of them. It's my Marvel it's my Disney and I'm building it out YouTube Kids Trading Cards Pins nfts.

uh you know I'm already starting to plan an amusement park. hopefully in the next decade. like really in it a kids book coming out next year. It's really fun I'm really living a Jim Henson Walt Disney life.

It's super neat and I think actually it will be what I do for the rest of my life and so I'm really in it. Anyway, the reason I did it was I want kids and parents to learn to lean into certain attributes. For example: I Believe one of the biggest issues in the world is lack of accountability I Believe If you realize most things are actually your fault, you actually become happy, not the reverse. So accountable ant is this incredibly fun character I Want to develop? but it's funny you just said that.

I'm starting to fall in love with the Curious crane. You know the crane. the bird. I Keep looking at the trading card.

I Keep because I basically spend my daydreaming and nights and sometimes evenings developing these characters. You know what is the optimistic otter going to be about? What is the you know generous Geral going to be about like literally storytelling. It's really creative and I'm enjoying it but it's I can't It's really cool that you just said this because I can't get out of this last month. I've been looking at this damn Crane and I'm like are you know what it is I'm looking at all of them and I'm like which one of you is going to change the world I I Think about that.

I'm like is patient Panda Going to teach the world patience cuz you want to talk about something that people up. Lack of patience leads to bad behavior. Yeah, right, Which is grounded in insecurity. You want to succeed so fast to prove to everybody you're good.

So I think about patience a lot. I even made two characters patient Pig and patient Panda You know I believe in but curious It's I'm pumped you brought that up I Do think that most of us are not talking about curiosity as a superpower enough and all of the parents listening. If you see that you have a curious kid, you need to become a cheerleader of that. If they want to cook one weekend, let's go.

If they want to rock climb, let's go if they want to pick up a Guitar cool. If they're asking you about the Japanese whiskey you're drinking not yet kid. but let me tell you about it. You know like I do think Curiosity has a real play in happiness and I've been thinking about it a lot I think right now the world is in this revert to Norm mode which is like I'm going to tell you how it is like don't ask until like things get better like this is just how it is and this is I think these moments when the world feels Bleak and and pessimistic is when curiosity as a superpower gets us out I Like that right? I Really like that brother I Really I think you know? look I think about the people who wouldd be listening to this and obviously a lot of love to the man here with us and I think about like what's the profile, what are they thinking about and you know one of the great things about having all those SP followers that you mentioned in the beginning is reading the DMS The reason I'm you know people are like why are you so early on stuff like how' you know Tik Tok or this or I'm like cuz I'm listening I'm paying attention like why? why everything is why? why and that goes by curiosity Why are people wearing you know, remember like 3 four years ago when almost everybody wore tight jeans and then like baggie came and like why do men wear nail polish now more often and why and why and why and why and I think I think there's a lot of power to that.

Why? and I think it also is grounded a little bit in in not having as much fear I think the world is very aggressively selling fear, even parenting. If you think about how parents predominantly parent a kid, they try to scare them out of doing things right. It's a very like don't do that, you're going to. you know, like they they fear, Stop yourself.

Sometimes that's right. I can cat myself Yeah, all of us stop saying stop. That's right, Don't do that. That's right, all of us and listen.

I Get it. You love them more more than breathing I mean the it's the ultimate love for anyone who's listening who doesn't have that yet? It is the ultimate love. I Do think though that parents have to catch themselves because these kids are getting fed fear everywhere. Fear at school, fear in like and now what's unfortunate is we are living through an era where governments are governing around the world, both sides of the political party in the US and everywhere else.

I'm very into geopolitics from India to Brazil to it is fear and so you. This goes back to the Inner Circle I think everyone here needs to find a source of offense and optimism and happiness. whether that is other human beings which I always think is the best way, but you might do it yourself through exercise, meditation, right therapy you know. I'm so happy we're finally here that we can like I 20 years ago I'm not saying that out loud.

it was taboo. Yeah stigma, it was stigma. it was. You need to.

you're broken. That's right. Yeah. I'm so pumped.

Run this one cuz I believe the brain is the game. you know I believe the operating system of us is how we feel about ourselves and you know these are important conversations we're having. Yeah and gratitude. I mean you started the show talking a lot about gratitude and it's funny how how we think will change everything.

literally every experience, everyday experience will the the outcome of that will start with how we choose to think right and and I think the last couple years I went more from performance focused to just how how do I feel more gratitude and uh I feel like my focus is way more towards happiness. It's good. Uh I'm happy, great feeling and and and you should H Like in do you know that there's 735 million people that don't have access to water? Clean Water 700 35 million 10% of the earth can't get to clean water within a day, right? We get so caught up in our real lives I mean like like you? You are so fortunate. You know as long as everyone is healthy.

Everything that you worked hard for has created a very special life. And like it's awesome and you were born at the right time. Like we could have all been born in 1643. We could have been born in 1801, right? You could have been I mean going back to what I said earlier, we're not far removed from our great grandparents.

Think about this: if you're born in Europe in 19, 1901, right? You have World War I You have World War II You have a genocide of Nazi Germany and you're 45 years old and you've lived through all that you black plague you like the Great Depression Like right? I mean we're just incredibly fortunate most of us and and so please everyone cuz inevitably something bad will happen. Unfortunately for all of us, most people live a life unless you're the unfortunate one who dies early which is terrible but most of us will go through very hard heartache of losing the closest people to us definitely who are older than us. Losing parents is horrible if you love them and everyone loves their parents even when it's up, you know what I mean like So I think on the days that are good, really try to start enjoying them because if you're complaining about like your boss is a DI or or the Rangers lost to the blue jacket like you know, like like like you got to you got to put it in perspective. We need better perspective.

Did you prioritize the same things today as you did? Let's say 10 years ago? Yes, same thing. same thing 10 years ago 20 years ago 47 Um, 27 young? Yes, same things. I I've been pretty much since I would say 202 like right out of school I basic. So I hated school and I couldn't wait to be an entrepreneur and I was like you know, probably since I was 11.

I was like when I'm 22 like that's how I thought. So I was so happy that first day of work and basically I already knew I was going to be successful I was too talented. you know. unlike Sports this is why I hurt for some athletes and you're going to I'm going to actually ask you a question who was the most talented player coming up your life that got hurt by injuries that you know would have been an NHL Superstar but you remember them getting hurt or so give it some thought.

But unlike athletes, when you're a businessman and you've recognized you're extremely talented again, unless you have a very serious health situation, you are going to be successful. unlike I'll use basketball because it pops to mine. Greg Odin Who was the number one pick in the NBA like would have been a very successful basketball player, but his knees did not hold up right H anybody come to mind? Well I I Just remember, not so much injuries, it was more their mindset. well that happens all the time.

I Remember at 13, 14, 15 a couple of guys they were so talented and I I thought to myself there's no way they won't be inl are not going to play for the national team in the NHL and then 3 years later it was fast too. It was. well that was that era. That's right.

You know you need to commit. There's guys there that that stands out and and I remember thinking back oh wow I really thought that guy would be like one of players by the way. that's why that's why I use Sports as an analogy for everything I tried to bring up one where he could say you know, obviously Henrik's a gracious man, he's not going to call out those humans I wanted him to give love to some guy who might hear this and say I would have you know like the injury stopped him it wasn't mind to Henrik's point and I want everybody to listen to this In sports. all of us that are close to it I have a sports agency we rep football players UFC Fighters baseball.

We almost got to hockey a couple years ago in a merger, but we'll get there eventually anyway. Nonetheless, we all know if we're close to it, how many people don't succeed because of Mind In life, it's more hidden in sports. This is why I Love sports. It suffocates all of it.

It's black and white in life. You can make pretend that it wasn't you, but it was you. It was your mindset. You had the talent.

You could have been a great CEO You could have been one of the SE sweet Executives for Coca-Cola You could have been a great engineer. Do you ever read that book? George Lois Um, great advice for people who work hard. It's basically now everybody says hard work beats Talent it's become like a tech. but that I I really believe that right? Which is you can make a brand as an entrepreneur around hard work and and not have the the Deep depth of experience to take on hard work is not subjective and it's not debatable.

Like either you do 100 push-ups or you do 10 right. Either you put in the 10 hours of hard work or you put in six. Now there are many people right now talking to us in their car or while they're running. They like yeah but you got to work smart and they're right.

There are people that work hard can come in a lot of just like you made that great Point Earlier hard could come in different factors. There are a lot of people who work 13-hour days doing hard labor and it might not be the most strategic work that that person could be doing, but work ethic is a huge Val variable. It's a huge variable in life. Yeah, hey, you brought up V your sports and I were talking about this beforehand I feel like the pivot there was probably obvious from the media company which is like you saw that.

but what I want people to hear your answer to Is this which is you know you have a successful business and then you look at oh I think the the agency for somebody out there thinks I want to be an agent yeah or I want to start an agency. Yep, a lot of people who I talk to think like well I can't do that because CA and W are already there like how am I going to beat them? Yeah right. Tell us how you you go into a space where all the signs say no like it's already done, you know there's nothing new Under the Sun how does an entrepreneur get past that initial her um, talent and strategy First it was a story of joy and sucess being defined as happiness. My brother has Crohn's disease.

he had a tough spell in his mid-20s and lay I'm sure laying in that hospital bed. He said what am I doing with my life and he decided he wanted to be happier and he decided that the marketing company we were building was successful. but it wasn't making him happy. So he decided and said to me, he wants to leave and start a sports agency wants to be an NFL agent and of course you know I'm the older brother by 11 years so I'm like I want to support him blindly I was like now I got to do this whole agency Thing by myself and of course my brain goes to where I'm at I'm like well let's become the biggest and he's like whoa whoa whoa like I'm doing this for lifestyle a little bit more I'm like I don't care, you want me involved, we're you I was like but we we we we found our balance.

Nonetheless, the CAA WME thing is a great call out. I Love competing and when you love competing and you love the game, you may hate to lose, but you have to respect the outcome. So I think a lot of entrepreneurs hate on fellow entrepreneurs and it drives me crazy I understand it. but but for me, the answer to your question.

this is for everyone listening no matter what you do. just because Ice Spice and Cardi B and Nicki Minaj are successful female rappers has zero to do with your ability to become a successful or sexy red. Sexy red and Ice Spice did not get stopped by Cardi B and Nicki Minaj No one on earth No Organization no person is actually stopping you from your thing. The world is abundant.

There was no part of me that was I was like oh my God it's impossible of course I knew it would take us 10 years to build a reputation to allow us to get to the number one pick and because CIA would go into the living room and say we've repped the last 50 you know and we would be like hey, we we know marketing like I knew that was you know, a knife to a gunfight at first But here we are 8 nine 10 years later and we're starting to get very different outcomes and athletes and so it's just putting in the work. It's not saying no right to your point. A lot of this talk has been about mindset. If you've said no about anything then that means it's already over.

You're actually right. It's over. If you say maybe it becomes a whole different life And so CAA WME didn't scare me. but I respect the piss out of them and Waserman and all the other great agencies.

But I'm going to try to build the biggest people Sometimes hear me like I did it earlier I'll inevitably get a DM be like hey, her in Club 30 Henrik's class. you're trash. Really, this will happen. They'll say you think you're going to build you, think you, who do you think you are you think you're Jim Hensen and Walt Disney and I will reply I will reply and say no no I don't think I'm them but I'm inspiring and I'm aiming for it and I may not get there.

but I don't even understand why I wouldn't try to MH and I don't think I'm delusional I think I'm capable I've won in marketing I've won in sports I've won in wine like I'm a and I want to go for it I understand it's outlandish I would even say out loud it's unlikely to build an intellectual property that's Disney forget about it like it's going to take everything I got and a hell of a lot of things bouncing in the right way. the puck bouncing the right way for me to get to that. but why wouldn't I try right? And and so when you do start something new like that, how important is it to know where you're trying to go? Like the plan itself: I think if you go super macro at 11 years old I decided I wanted to buy the New York Jets I believe there's a direct correlation to the amount of success I've had based on that. Is that happening I think it is.

You know I really have this weird feeling that in 20 years I'm going to pull it off like look, the Johnson family may never want to sell it that's not in my control. What's in my control is will I have the capacity to create that level of insane wealth because I don't do it for the money. It does scare me that I can't get there I don't operate to maximize money I operate to maximize joy and so I don't think I' even though I've accumulated a lot of money, I'm very aware that I could have accumulated more I've done a lot of high risk High reward investing if I just did Real Estate in the stock market I would have more money I'm aware of that. but if I I want to buy I want to get to my goals my way.

you know I wanted I want it I'm about the process You know like of course I want to Hoist the Stand cup but I can only control how I show up every day in front of the net. That's what you did and and and much like being on a team even though I'm the entrepreneur and even though it's all on me I Don't control the world I don't control when inflation comes in I don't control when you know China does this I don't control when there's an innovation uh, that's invented like AI that takes away an advantage that I've built for 15 years I control my reaction to it I can cry about it or I can say okay, let's put on the helmet and go to work. So that's how I think about it. Listen, we we're running out of time but before I let you go I want to leave you with this other than the Jets winning the Super Bowl what else are you dreaming about right now man I Love consistency and so the Jets is the fun thing.

and the real thing is I dream every day for the 10 to 15 people that are closest to me to be okay and genuinely. when you asked me earlier, are you seeing it the same way as you did 10 years ago 20 years ago? that's all I've done. Always, Please let the people I love be healthy and happy to the best of like God's choices and two. Put on my helmet and go to work like I don't know anything else I keep it I'm so simple guys.

I'm simple. it's so basic for me I I I just see it so clearly I'm you know and I and I desperately want that for everyone else and that's why I choose to do things like this for an hour I Got a lot of things to do I do this because I know that this is first I admire the out of you and I'm was pumped to get to know you two I know there's a lot of people listening that don't know me. this is enough out of my circle yeah and and maybe have seen me at the Garden or this and that. or maybe you've seen one thing about me and and I'm hoping that it inspires someone to be like to think like my whole life is based on human saying things that made me think differently.

You know I think about that kind of stuff and so that's that's the stuff that I like I think we need more perspective and um and I'm hopeful to inspire someone. Somebody is literally on elliptical right now and one of the things the three of us said here will shape a different perspective and my intent is for their life to be better because of it cuz that's nice and nice is good. Love that I Love it! Thank you so much! Thank you guys! So nice to have you here Thank you! It was awesome.