Super excited about today's episode with Spike Lee!. We started our conversation with NBA stories, and then we moved to storytelling and NFTs. We discussed how parenting affects creativity, following your passion, and the internet vs. the blockchain. Finally, we talked about Spike Lee's NFT Project.
Thanks for watching!
Join My Discord!: https://www.garyvee.com/discord
Check out another series on my channel:
Keynotes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vCDlmhRmBo&list=PLfA33-E9P7FCEF1izpctGGoak841XYzrJ
NFTs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwMJ6bScB2s&list=PLfA33-E9P7FAcvsVSFqzSuJhHu3SkW2Ma
Business Meetings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wILI_VV6z4Y&list=PLfA33-E9P7FCTIY62wkqZ-E1cwpc2hxBJ
Gary Vaynerchuk Original Films: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfA33-E9P7FAvnrOcgy4MvIcCXxoyjuku
Trash Talk: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfA33-E9P7FDelN4bXFgtJuczC9HHmm2-
WeeklyVee: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfA33-E9P7FBPjdQcF6uedz9fdk8XKn-b
Gary Vaynerchuk is a serial entrepreneur, and serves as the Chairman of VaynerX, the CEO of VaynerMedia and the Creator & CEO of VeeFriends.
Gary is considered one of the leading global minds on what’s next in culture, relevance and the internet. Known as “GaryVee” he is described as one of the most forward thinkers in business – he acutely recognizes trends and patterns early to help others understand how these shifts impact markets and consumer behavior. Whether its emerging artists, esports, NFT investing or digital communications, Gary understands how to bring brand relevance to the forefront. He is a prolific angel investor with early investments in companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Venmo, Snapchat, Coinbase and Uber.
Gary is an entrepreneur at heart — he builds businesses. Today, he helps Fortune 1000 brands leverage consumer attention through his full service advertising agency, VaynerMedia which has offices in NY, LA, London, Mexico City, LATAM and Singapore. VaynerMedia is part of the VaynerX holding company which also includes VaynerProductions, VaynerNFT, Gallery Media Group, The Sasha Group, Tracer, VaynerSpeakers, VaynerTalent, and VaynerCommerce. Gary is also the Co-Founder of VaynerSports, Resy and Empathy Wines. Gary guided both Resy and Empathy to successful exits — both were sold respectively to American Express and Constellation Brands. He’s also a Board Member at Candy Digital, Co-Founder of VCR Group, Co-Founder of ArtOfficial, and Creator & CEO of VeeFriends. Gary was recently named to the Fortune list of the Top 50 Influential people in the NFT industry.
In addition to running multiple businesses, Gary documents his life daily as a CEO through his social media channels which has more than 34 million followers and garnishes over 272 million monthly impressions/views across all platforms. His podcast ‘The GaryVee Audio Experience’ ranks among the top podcasts globally. He is a five-time New York Times Best-Selling Author and one of the most highly sought after public speakers.
Gary serves on the board of GymShark, MikMak, Bojangles Restaurants, and Pencils of Promise. He is also a longtime Well Member of Charity:Water.
Thanks for watching!
Join My Discord!: https://www.garyvee.com/discord
Check out another series on my channel:
Keynotes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vCDlmhRmBo&list=PLfA33-E9P7FCEF1izpctGGoak841XYzrJ
NFTs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwMJ6bScB2s&list=PLfA33-E9P7FAcvsVSFqzSuJhHu3SkW2Ma
Business Meetings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wILI_VV6z4Y&list=PLfA33-E9P7FCTIY62wkqZ-E1cwpc2hxBJ
Gary Vaynerchuk Original Films: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfA33-E9P7FAvnrOcgy4MvIcCXxoyjuku
Trash Talk: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfA33-E9P7FDelN4bXFgtJuczC9HHmm2-
WeeklyVee: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfA33-E9P7FBPjdQcF6uedz9fdk8XKn-b
Gary Vaynerchuk is a serial entrepreneur, and serves as the Chairman of VaynerX, the CEO of VaynerMedia and the Creator & CEO of VeeFriends.
Gary is considered one of the leading global minds on what’s next in culture, relevance and the internet. Known as “GaryVee” he is described as one of the most forward thinkers in business – he acutely recognizes trends and patterns early to help others understand how these shifts impact markets and consumer behavior. Whether its emerging artists, esports, NFT investing or digital communications, Gary understands how to bring brand relevance to the forefront. He is a prolific angel investor with early investments in companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Venmo, Snapchat, Coinbase and Uber.
Gary is an entrepreneur at heart — he builds businesses. Today, he helps Fortune 1000 brands leverage consumer attention through his full service advertising agency, VaynerMedia which has offices in NY, LA, London, Mexico City, LATAM and Singapore. VaynerMedia is part of the VaynerX holding company which also includes VaynerProductions, VaynerNFT, Gallery Media Group, The Sasha Group, Tracer, VaynerSpeakers, VaynerTalent, and VaynerCommerce. Gary is also the Co-Founder of VaynerSports, Resy and Empathy Wines. Gary guided both Resy and Empathy to successful exits — both were sold respectively to American Express and Constellation Brands. He’s also a Board Member at Candy Digital, Co-Founder of VCR Group, Co-Founder of ArtOfficial, and Creator & CEO of VeeFriends. Gary was recently named to the Fortune list of the Top 50 Influential people in the NFT industry.
In addition to running multiple businesses, Gary documents his life daily as a CEO through his social media channels which has more than 34 million followers and garnishes over 272 million monthly impressions/views across all platforms. His podcast ‘The GaryVee Audio Experience’ ranks among the top podcasts globally. He is a five-time New York Times Best-Selling Author and one of the most highly sought after public speakers.
Gary serves on the board of GymShark, MikMak, Bojangles Restaurants, and Pencils of Promise. He is also a longtime Well Member of Charity:Water.
For me, i think i'm coming, i know you are. I know you are i'm gon na stream on this. Let me tell you here's the thing spike real, quick, real, quick about this hold on hold on real quick on this, because this is important, because you really have known a lot more wealthy famous people for a lot longer than i - and i appreciate your writing down Because you don't want to forget your point, i like that um, i'm telling you right now. This is a big one for me tell these people, because this is big, explain to them.
How many millionaires you know that are deeply unhappy. The garyvee audio experience all right. Everybody obviously legends come through here once in a blue moon. The blue moon is fully out uh.
If you're watching the visual. My man is repping the yankees today uh most of you are accustomed to him, repping my knicks, so uh uh. I i adore this man. He is truly a creative storytelling legend uh.
I'm excited to have him on the podcast. We've been talking for a year and a half about nfts, so i'm excited to see his journeys going on that i want to talk a little knicks basketball. I want to talk a little bit about creativity and storytelling, because i think that will help the majority of people, but the great spike lee is in the building. How are you, sir good and it's honored to be on garyvee's, show? Thank you big.
Now i'll big tom, you made it by the way i really got excited because watching the oscars, i see you donated a bunch of stuff. They they played that prominently at the museum. It's now a donation, let's start with the important stuff, how disappointed or how optimistic, depending on you know, rj's developments and things that nature. Let's go first into knicks we're wrapping up here on the season, obviously we're not in the playoffs, which was a minimal goal for us going into this season last year too correct where your feelings at well.
If you remember the opening night, our beloved new york knicks beat the boston celtics in devil, overtime, yep and people lost their mind, that lost blocked their mind, jumping up and down, and you fully outside mass for a garden like we just won the nba championship. I just i was i was in the building the night. The rangers won the cup and i walked out and people were going bananas and the fact of the matter is it. Wasn't that big of a difference, people that viral video bing-bong this like we were out of our mind, and i think that that show how desperate the new york, one of the most loyal fan base in sports, not just nba how we are starving for a winning Team we have now we've had two world championships in the history of new york: knicks 75 year history, new york, knicks, my beloved 6970 team and also my beloved 72-73 team.
So we have not won a championship since ninth this 1972-73 season, a lot of close calls, but no cigar, no cigar, no 1994 was the rough one. That was the one against. It is houston, we're up three two one back use of the game: six and seven, and what's tough about that is i you know, obviously it would have played out, but that sam cassell shot in game three. I you know. Obviously, i think houston would have been more desperate in game four and five and the human psyche, who knows how it would have went, but it's that sam cassell three that i think about most even more. You know people talk about the stark game. People talk about a lot of different things, but that sam cassell's shot like tore through my heart. Here's the thing, though we cannot deal with hakeem olajuwon, he's a beast.
He was a beast, you know. Historically now you know i love pastors going all the way back to georgia. Love them love them, but if you go in there, when they went head to head, the keem had the edge he did he did and that was displayed in the in that seven game series and i'm not blaming half the lord patrick. You go way way back.
Yeah, by the way, with all due respect to his incredible cast like and the oak tree, i mean i love mason starks roe harper, like patrick ewing, is incredibly underrated. In my opinion, on how, like you know some of the like people just forget they forget, i mean that was his team by a country mile wasn't even close, and if you look at the yeah put that team on his back yeah, like you know, i think People forget otis thorpe against oakley. What that matchup actually looked like like, i think people are. I think people listen.
It is what it is when you're at the top of a team, but anyway, all right got got a little knicks off, because i needed to do that. Let's, let's focus on the thing that i really want to most talk about, because whether it was commercials whether it was movies, even just when i have dinner with you like, or we interact on courtside for a few seconds like you have such a natural communication talent. You as a human being you as a storyteller there, the world is getting more creative. If you look at the current state of attention, tik tok and nfts have created avenues of distribution and financial opportunity for storytellers unseen and heard of what makes you such a legend.
I mean it wasn't that the technology, what about gary, you garyvee, you know, there's been anybody. The technology brought about accessibility to people who didn't have it correct, global, correct and, and especially interesting, is you know you growing up? You had to break so many barriers. The barriers now are set up the app on your phone and you're in the game right as a universal thing to think about, because there's so many of those creative people listening right now, right if somebody says to you, talk about storytelling, i'm a young person there's Two people on this two groups right now that i'm very passionate that you talk to youth under 25 under 30, aspiring storytellers, whatever that means for them an nft artist, a physical artist, a movie maker, a scriptwriter, a tick talker. Creativity is profound now and more interestingly or equally. Interestingly, the 42 year old who's, an executive works in the government uh a teacher, a stay-at-home dad mom uh, someone who has finally listened to my content enough to know they're gon na live for another 60 years and they're like it. I've always wanted to be creative, and now i can do this on the side. Why this thing and if it pops off, i can go. Do it full time give me some overarching, spikely legend wisdom on what's a good way to think about creativity from your perspective and your journey, not only you and how you do it, but others you've admired and meant through the last 40 years that you're like? Oh that's her process.
Oh that's his process. What should be the thought process or some hypotheses of how to get there and be successful at it? Well, i want to thank you gary vee for lobbing, a big fat one, a big fat juicy, fastball you're wearing you're a lot, a softball right down on the little plate, and i i for i'm in my fourth decade as a filmmaker, and i i speak all The time at universities and in colleges and one of the things i always try to try to strive, i try to hit home, is that over the years over the decades, parents have killed more dreams. I'm gon na repeat that parents have killed more dreams. Anybody - and this is specifically when we come to the arts.
Parents can understand what you why you go to med school. I go to business school, but when it comes to the art, many parents have no understanding how to become an actor. A dancer a riot, a poetry, a poet, a painter whatever it is, the arts is some type of mystical thing, and, and parents want the best for their children, a hundred percent and they think in their wisdom they could give the vice to their children. Nothing want to do with the traditional work thing.
Do you think fear parents do you think yeah and a lot of times knowing how parents might have took a second mortgage on the house and whatnot and done everything? So you can go to a great undergrad school and the bills, and these student loans are crazy, and so there comes that parental pressure and also guilt, knowing that what our parents have done and many years later, these individuals who took their parents advice and did not Pursue was, in their heart end up many years later, hating their parents, because they are stuck in a den and job, because one of the things that could be closer to death without dying is having to give every morning and go to a job. You hate, i mean that does not bring joy to anybody, although you get joy for your, your family, your wife, your partner, your kids, but i'm talking about where the thing you have to do to keep roof over the head food on the table, clothes in the Back and you hate that job you are a miserable 100 miserable, so what technology has done has really enlightened the education of parents like, oh, i don't have to work. My son doesn't have to go to be a lawyer, doc whatever and do the traditional, the traditional route to make a living, and they see examples of this again and again and again, even though they might, they might not understand at the beginning. But people are making more money in the arts when my mama just made me to survive, then this ever happened in the history of civilization and i think that's that's making people happier because again i know i might be you know redundant, but when you - and i Here's the thing gary garyvee, my brother, i say my prayers every night, i'm healthy, but also i'm doing what i love a hundred percent, michael jordan, michael, i mean, as many people said this when you, if you could make a living, have to be a millionaire. But if you could make a living, if you can pay your, this is what well this is. This is that's the win that's another we have to. We have to have to it's our responsibility as happy people and whoever's out. There is happy we have to try to reframe success in society, not being about money material but being peace of mind and enjoying your day-to-day process.
I was equally as happy making 42 000 a year building a business. It was for my father, as i am today, where i make a lot more money than that. Well, let's not go overboard! No really it's like for me for me. I here's the thing spike real, quick, real, quick hold on hold on real quick on this, because this is important because you really have known a lot more wealthy famous people for a lot longer than i - and i appreciate your writing down because you don't want to Forget your point: i like that um, i'm telling you right now.
This is a big one for me. Tell these people, because this is big, explain to them. How many millionaires you know that are deeply unhappy too many to name yeah, but i would like to say because there's a converse i mean there's a there's. The flip side is which this romantic thing of being the starving artist, that right money, doing your art, yeah yeah, listen, no point that star an artist thing make money on your art.
Talk to me about the first time. Let me actually ask you a question. I think could bring a lot of value. This might be hard.
I don't know if you can, if you remember it, if it was a big deal, i don't know this. So i'm asking for the first time i haven't asked you this the internet. When you first heard the internet, you know what's amazing about the blockchain, is it allows people to make money on their art? What the internet did was not it democratized things. It had a lot of copyright issues.
We forget because it was 25 years ago, but you and i are old enough to remember those early days. You were in a very prime position of your career. I could be very empathetic no different than metallica and other people. I could be very empathetic if spike lee 1994-5678, when i was first hitting the scene, was like whoa whoa, whoa whoa. What do you mean somebody's got. Do the right thing video, like am i what you know because the world had come from you own, that um and now hearing you say that inspired this question, were you concerned anti or pro curious or like late to the party or early to the party? I actually don't know, can you tell it because i think this will help people with blockchain? Were you? Where were you with with internet 94567? I'm ashamed to say i was late. I appreciate you for saying that i owe so much if you're my age and you got children they're like daddy, i need today i need my children to turn on the television yeah. I'm a dinosaur, i'm sorry, i'm just of that.
I was born march 20. 1957. The first day of spring, i just turned 65. happy birthday.
My friend thank you. So um i've been late. You know, but here's the thing, though, is that why you were so nft curious because you felt it with what internet children they they did they've taken upon themselves. They hit their daddy they're like daddy, music tv shows internet mts.
I mean i owe a lot to them because and stuff and gary you know stuff is coming so quick, so fast. It's like like this, i'm getting whiplash. I can't keep up. So i owe a lot to my the knowledge that i'm gaining to my parents, because these this young generation - i forgot what alphabet it is now.
I don't know what else they're on it and i come over a time period where this is funny. When you, when you had to study, you would sit in the room, your room or the library. You can't talk, you got to stop my kids, they got and then i'm just, i think, they're like they weren't the only ones that they're doing their homework, the tv's on the laptop song they're on their phone and they got earphones yep and you're doing the homework. I don't get it we're we're capable, i think, look, there's many different viewpoints, but for me, when i'm doing something i got ta concentrate on what i'm doing the task in hand and not have that's just me.
So when i see your point yeah, i know they're doing it, but i don't. I just can't understand if, if i don't have, if i don't have music, i mean i sleep with a sound machine. I need white noise like i. This is why i with new york, so heavy i need i need it.
I need the stimulation. I can focus more music ins, imessage popping up with notifications. I can lock in more, it gets me more in the zone. Quieter got me off yeah exactly.
I look differently. That's why that's what's so fun about it school when you, when you um so internet, you were late, did you fight it or you were just busy making movies and you're like i'll get to that later or were you like? I don't like this? No, i was, i was interested because when the term i first heard the term email like email, i mean i i'm from a generation where you took pen to paper and you wrote yes pen to paper. I wrote letters postcards. You know. Love letter love this with two thumbs gives me an iphone one. Yeah you're one you're you're an index finger. I got you i like that. It's all i can do my thumbs aren't educated when you storytell like when you make a movie, do you do you write? Do you scribble random thoughts? Is it all in your dome imp? How do you, how much do you like improving when you make your f? Do you change it like? How do you play well again, i i don't.
I can't type i feel typing and john. Do the high school in coney island, you know dewey cody, so i don't have that so everything i've done. Gary is pen the paper and for me there's something magical about the float from my brain, i'm left-handed too. I see it creativity and i look everybody's built differently.
I said before, but to do this that it floats yeah, it flows differently. Oh, it clogs what what what about what about when you start making it it was written. One way it flowed like once i have written it out, i got you, it gets it flows, one way it's in your brain, but what about when it's in the moment of capturing the scene? Does it sometimes it felt one way in your head, but now that you're seeing it you're like yo? Let's change that up. Are you good at the adjustment? Oh yes, yes, you got to be able to look this this this thousands of analogies you could make you could make behind creativity and sports.
First half ain't going right. You make half time adjustment adjustment. Also gary film is a very creative art form. So it's not just what i think.
Yes, you don't think i listen to denzel washington details. He gives me a note horse, of course, now some other people well, you know i'm but denzel, i'm like all right, denzel, all right d. Listen! Actually! Actually, let me ask you that in the history of your films, which is iconic, which actor impro, what is the most famous scene that we all know, or even if it's to the hardest core spikely film nerd, that was most affected by an actor in full improv. It stayed it was nothing what you thought and it's a thing that people can point to, and it's a moment is there anyone? Yes, please i'm now i'm excited my morehouse brother who just finally won his yes, oscar family.
Here's. The thing i did not know sam had a substance abuse problem when i cast him for jungle fever, the crackhead son by the great late, ruby and ozzy davis, and also played wesley's knife's brother, so all that stuff that he did with ruby d and also stuff With halle berry harry bell, harry hat, her role was vivian. The three dollar crackhole funny story. She auditioned five times wow, because the first four fine as she is.
I didn't believe that she wasn't. She wasn't right. You dollar crack me, you two fine and the fifth time robbie reed, my casting director, told her. You got a comment dressed like vivian's. I think she can take her legend. Is she didn't bathe for a week and just came in like a crack and she got departed and the rest is history, but all those scenes in the park and also the mythic scene where they go to the taj mahal or the crackdown? Oh, that's a lot of that stuff was uh sam's, a great great. You know he could do it and then also a lot of the funniest lines in the capital. One campaigns that charles saying what i've been doing for the last nine years, a lot of funniest lines with lines were ad-libbed by samuel jackson.
It's amazing yeah. I mean now that performance was all time, and so a lot of that you know that's what happens when it's authentic yeah 100. I had no idea. I understand talk to me about um.
The people that have inspired you that you would deem as creative and entrepreneurship is creative. Music, obviously is going to be an easy one. I'm actually that let's just go very narrow as a child pre-pre-college. Let's talk it 17 and under who were your favorite music artists prince prince, prince prince, was, must have been later right because prince, let me go, let me go childhood and then yeah.
I finished. I finished high school. I finished i graduated from john due high school in columbia in 1975.. I finished morris college in in 179 and i finished in when you graduate film school in 82..
So you tell me what era yeah i mean i'm more interested in like the 60s or actually even like jack. I was curious you're if you're, you know so cliche of the of that era. So many people were affected by their parents and grandparents when you're a kid everywhere for that matter. So i was wondering if it was jazz or if it was something else, because then later motown clearly would have been dominant for you and everybody the world and then obviously it evolved.
Obviously, princeton 75 is good, but i'm going to start so. My father's building world famous jazz basis did the scores for a lot of my films at one time he was the number one fault basis my father played with bob dylan peter paul and mary judy collins, gordon lightfoot. I mean a bunch of people, so in our home note it was always jazz's play and so me and my siblings, like my father here, was my father here anything other than jazz in the house. You say turn up whether the beatles or motown turn it off.
Turn it off. So, even though my love of jazz came from my father, but i still have a wide range of of my faith, i mean being a kid of the 60s and 70s music scene. Forget it so i have a wide range of music. That's reflected - and you know in the in the music has been in my films but uh motown.
You know just the world got ta give you know, give load the marvin gaye the supreme temptations. You know we go loaded. What about physical art or collectibles? Did you collect comic books as a kid? Oh, my god in my office here in brooklyn, my office is like museum growing up the reason why my office looks like it's. A museum is because i was i've always been a collector growing up. I collected marvin. Excuse me more comic books. Growing up, i collected baseball cards. Did you play basketball cards because you loved it so much basketball football baseball? You know i was collector.
You know me my friends and i i mean we we knew back in the day. The visiting team stayed the roseville hotel at madison avenue. So when the san francisco giants came to new york to play the mets, we were there at the hotel, wait for willie mays mccully when the braves came. What we waiting for hank garrett, when the pittsburgh pirates came we're waiting for the birthday and you know sometimes the people.
They would kick us out of someone at a hotel, but who was actually that's a fun one? Who was the athlete that was nicest to you when you were a child, signed an autograph or told you a story or like chopped it up for a second? Does that i think so. For me it was rick walt frazier. Yes, when i was growing up here in brooklyn, my guys, muhammad ali willie mays joe willie namath right there, it will praise you, so those were my guys. Those are my heroes and so i feel blessed as a little kid going to brooklyn new york.
I got to meet these guys. I think who i was and and and clyde was amazing when you brought in that was my favorite guy there's a jazz club. My father should play at on the west side called west boondock and clyde used to be all coming in all the time and one day my father came home and said well fraser the club last night, and he he's signed the autograph. For me, you lost your mind: yes, clyde, clyde, bonnie and cl that man, what a what a legend two-time hall of famer yes broadcast and as a player, unbelievable all right.
What about? Let's talk about something else that i think a lot of people here are going to go through, given our audience, how did you handle financial success for the first time? Did you do it well, did you do it poorly? What did it and then even fame, because you got fame along with that as well? A lot of more people are going to be famous now because of tick. Tock instagram youtube the world's different, now more habit, what piece of advice and then obviously you've seen a lot of people on their come up, go from undiscovered to very famous, even even michael jordan, when you were doing your commercials was in a different place than he Went on to become what a first you, how did you handle it b? Any advice for the kids that are destined for that outcome of things to keep in mind or cliche mistakes? People have made very good question. I never my goal was never to be rich. I wanted to be able to be happy doing what i love, and i remember before my first film she's gon na have it hit.
I said if i lord lordy lordy lord here's three things i want. I want to be able to have enough money to buy a brownstone in brooklyn new york. I grew up in a brownstone right. If that happens, if that wouldn't have nothing that might also have enough enough money to buy season tickets to new york knicks. The third thing was lord: i want people to have to buy a house and mother's vineyard, and the lord bless me so the thing is that i grew up in a middle class family, but with the exception of miles davis, some other people duke count basie. There was not a lot of money being a jazz position, so my as i said before my father's, the top the viewers, the go-to guy for folk artists when bob dylan went electric, my father said i can't do that to this day. Father's 93 he's never played electric bass, who was your father who's, your father's two questions, favorite artist on skill and then famous artist as a human being? Do you know john coltrane, for both both get the out of here? Yes, so when my father made the artistic decision that he can't play electric bass, my mother had to work because it really affected the financial status. What let me tell you something if you don't pay the bill, the broken union gas, it's going to shut off again, you don't pay, because because at that point you like chris, because because dylan was the biggest financial aspect at that point and once he couldn't make That move do that move he had to reset mm-hmm.
So i'm the i'm the eldest of five. So my mother, because she believed that my father is an artist. She was a sole breadwinner. Oh she's, supported yeah before my mom.
If i was working, she'd have to work a card, the bloomingdale's for the taylor and well that when that my father said, i can't flood up your base and hire him, because when people on angel bob dylan said i'm going to love to everybody, i see everybody Did so, and i had feel about my father making that decision, because i knew how hard my mother was working to support the full family. But then, as i've gotten older, i've come to understand that he's an artist and there were just some things that he wasn't watching. That's right, it wasn't a compromise. So i money is, i don't want to say.
I didn't need money for me to be happy, but at the same time, as i mentioned earlier, i did not believe in this whole thing of this. This starving starving arts, because yeah i was because your filmmaker i wan na make i wan na reap the business of my artistry. It makes a lot of sense to me as an entrepreneur. The way i think about it is this is the only thing i could do it is when i was a bad student.
Unlike you it's i. I can only be this and if the byproduct is you know, obviously with entrepreneurship, if you're good at it and i'm real good at it like it's real serious. That gets real serious. But that's the luck of the dna draw, because if i wanted to draw or sing or or paint or play sports, i mean i think about you know both you and i are sports fanatics. I think about all the guys and gals that um that went for it and what's tough about sports is injuries of variable. You know with me with entrepreneurship. A coconut has to hit my head and reprogram me, otherwise, i'm good in sports. You know when i think about sam bowie or greg odin.
If we're going to talk, some basketball right, like two like injuries, are really tragic too bad. You know like if the body's held up or if an injury, you know it's a very different outcome, and so you know, i think, about all the people, but i, but i so associate with your father, and you of i know for fact that nobody knows this. For me, not my parents, not anybody listening right now that if what i do was a 63 000 a year job, then that would be amazing to me. I would live within the means of 63 000 and i did that my whole life, and so i think, um it's very fortunate when there's a financial aspect to the serendipity of your passion, yeah and that's why i love nfts and let's actually close out with that.
Oh, that's because was that we're doing that was a segway yeah. Well, listen! I just looked at the clock. I got a hardcore 145 and i wan na. I want to really ask you this, because i have a lot of friends who are in very power positions who are staying away from the um.
The nft space out of lack of curiosity and of out of lack of interest in putting in the homework and one of the reasons i wanted you on the podcast was it struck me um. We've always had mutual friends through the years, but we've never really chopped it up and when the nft thing went down, i could sense your energy that you intuit, can i reach out to you, mm-hmm, and so i think to for that reason. Please help other people who are really pronounced in their careers, whether in front of the scenes or behind the scenes. What made you really curious about it or interested? What gave you the engine to go at it and what have you learned in the last year and what would you say to the people who are still debating it, based on what you've learned and what you're seeing well, thank you, as i said before, i've been Behind and through my son jackson and my daughter satchel, you know, is your daughter: is your daughter named after satchel paige, it's yes, so and also we got, we got a bastiat.
This is funny. So again i have to give it to my children and said daddy. You've been late, the other things, but don't sleep on this, and so i did. I do here's a thing and - and i know you say this a million times, but you have to put the work in and i spell like rihanna w-e-r-k work.
Whatever you're doing you have to put the work in whatever and when i saw the potential of nfts and being a creative person. And what automatically clicked for me is that my first film she's gon na have it, which i all had to die to make it. The initial the budget was the initial budget, with my first film she's gon na have it came out, 1986 cost 175 000. It went to make eight and a half million dollars at the box office and i own that film. I don't do the right thing. I own malcolm x - i don't own school days. I don't inside man, i own she's gon na, have it and she's gon na have it where the world was entered introduced to the original sneakerhead, one of the b boys mars blackman, who blew up? Who the advertising agency nike's advertising agency, wiring kennedy saw she could have it and saw that mars was wearing jordans and as favorite players, michael jordan, they got the brilliant idea to put mars together with michael jordan and it changed the game. It changed both of your lives.
Yes, so i own this cat. I said boom shakalaka. I got ta come out for the nft for mars, blackman yep. What what is it it so is it gon na be just a collectible? Is there gon na be utility, i'm not up to date, i've assembled a team yeah.
Do me a favor because we're gon na run out of time here. I just want this for my own personal. Send me the info on that. Obviously that was a quintessential moment and you know i was born in 75 growing up in queens and jersey, predominantly in jurors, but like that was you know, besides the fact that i hated michael jordan from the get, because i knew it was going to be trouble Like you know, spike tell all the kids that don't know those early years very much lost in history, especially after losing to the pistons over and over right before he broke through against the lakers those last two years before he broke through against the lakers.
The volume got real loud that he'll never win one. I can remember kids in sixth grade debating michael will never win. One he's two ball. Greedy ball hog.
Remember i mean this was a people forget, but i even knew back when you did that commercial. I said he's got he's in he's in our conference. Eventually, it's going to happen and it happened and it really happened and it really happened. The world changed.
So i want to thank you just again for for first of all for being my friend and - and i really appreciate that the thing i love about you gary is that there are people that have information that don't share it. I know you share information. You share information, and that is the professor. You are a professor, that's what that's! What teaching professors do they teach because they want people to be educated whatever the subject matter is, ignorance is up it's it's the great vulnerability of our lives.
It's where so much hate and anger and sadness comes from and, to your point, it's incredibly rare in entrepreneur land for people to share information, because the information is money and they want to hoard it correct and something in the way. Tamara vaynerchuk raised me back to something that i've become really aware of, which is, if you grow up with not a lot of finances. But you grow up very happy you're, pretty much in the best position to succeed in life, because you've learned that that's not based on happiness and then finally, the big breakthrough for me somewhere along the line. I realized. I wasn't taught this. I learned it by living that the world is actually abundant and other people winning, even if it looks directly in your game, other people winning will never stop an a player from winning. There is not a human on earth all the entrepreneurs i admire. None of them not she not he, not she, not he not.
She not he that they're winning takes any way, shape or form away from my winning and for me, whether one-on-one over a nice bottle of wine with you or whether, in my discord or car bone big for me, for me, all i want is to see everybody Else win now am i competitive? Do i want to like? Do i want to be the best? Of course i want to be the best. I'm curious. If i am the best, i want to operate the other stuff, though correct, and by the way, it's even better than that when chris sacca and scott belski, when we were all angel, investing back in oh five, six, seven, eight, nine ten, i'm pumped to just name Drop both of them right now they did a better job angel investing than i did, and that makes i actually like losing a little bit. I just want the game to be merit-based and i definitely want people to win along the way everybody as much as possible, and i i thank you for saying that, can i know you're on uh yeah.
Can i just say one last thing of course, today monday today, as we speak, i want people to go to my website the invisible project, dot, io and click on the discord and you'll get all the information you need about. The drop the vlog real, quick, real, quick, real, quick. I get very worried because people put up fake, urls and things of that nature. I assume, on your verified twitter account the actual right url will be there correct, yes, good! So for everybody, if you're curious, if you're like me and you love that character, you're curious about what they're doing i'm curious myself go to go to spike's twitter account, i'm sure the url's there we one i just made a video.
I i'm very worried about people clicking fake urls, so let's be uh careful on that front legend. Thank you. I will see you plenty soon and and uh when's your convention, oh v, con vcon is may 19 to the 22nd, and where is that minneapolis minnesota, u.s bank stadium, the great spike lee, will be there and prince we're gon na get something. I would love to we're gon na have prince, prince music has already been locked and loaded in the stadium.
That's how much that means, but we should go by uh his spot. The studio, there's a museum. Now, oh, i don't know, i'm not educated on that part, but i would i if i had time i might the day after v con we'll see how i my schedule works busy spike great to see you. Thank you.
Paisley park paisley park exactly yeah. My man. Thank you. No thank you. We'll talk soon, love you! Well, let's go to the yankee game together, all right! Oh you missed. No. I grew up yankees, i'm raising my kid mets because of his cousins and the yankees the yankees won in 94. The rangers won in 96 and that was a wrap for me.
I just need one title: it's all jets knicks now for me, but i grew up exactly the same as you yeah yankees jets. Knicks did you did you with hockey back then or not? Really you know i went to ranger game once yeah cause the god right, because the garden there was a little bit of that yeah yeah. I love you talk soon. You.
Keep Inspiring Us Garyyy..🔥🔥
I have written in my journal, and word for word, in my cursive handwriting, i found my writings on someone else’s website.
Super happy to tune in and listen to this conversation RN
I love this and I haven’t even watched it yet!!!
There is no happiness in this world , s you are going to die and you talk about happiness Lol .
When Gary drops a 46 min episode … you know shit just got real 😝.. gonna enjoy this Garys advice literally turned my life around
I hope that everyone reading this comment has a great and memorable day today.
Love from india gary ❤❤
been waiting for more content ❤️
much love and respect to you and your channel. I hope that all is well for you and your family and friends.
Extremely ready to learn from this! Good luck to everyone on their journey! 💯✔️🔥
i hope that all is well for everyone reading this comment.