– English Lyrics

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

I'm scared every day. If you're an

entrepreneur, you should be scared. But

in any big technology, you either take

that sword or that sword will kill you.

Either you go to the gym or you think

about going to the gym. Either you go to

the gym or you read about how to do the

proper exercise. But until you're doing,

>> you're not doing every all you five

youngsters must be interacting with AI

apps every day. Must at bare minimum

chat GPT and thinking and talking.

>> You've been saying that in the next 5 to

10 years followers won't matter as much.

Yes.

>> Why is that? because they don't matter

as much right now.

>> And and what do you think's happening?

Why why

>> Just to kick off the show right away,

like I don't predict.

>> Yeah.

>> I talk about things that are actually

happening that I'm aware that I might

just be a little faster to the

observation because of what I do when I

wake up in the morning. In the same way

that I know some people are skinnier or

stronger or better at golf, when I wake

up in the morning, as I did this morning

at 4:30 a.m., uh which is unusual. I

actually believe in 7 8 hours of sleep,

but I was in Oklahoma City for game one.

Even on the way to the airport, you

know, at 4:45 in the morning, I'm

looking at what's happening in culture.

Like, how's this Trump Elon beef going?

What's going with the boooos in that

[ __ ] toy? Like, what are the it girls

doing? What are the [ __ ] golfer bros

from Yale doing? Like, what's the

lacrosse girls at Duke doing? What's the

Jamaican bros that like skate? like I am

a cultural anthropologist.

>> Mhm.

>> And then where does that culture play

out? Well, it plays out in social.

>> Yes.

>> Right. So then the next thing I'm

looking at is like what are the

platforms doing? What's the algo doing?

You know, is there a new feature? What's

happening with live? Why is this

happening? Why is this happening? Why is

this happening? Why is this person

popping off? Why is this person

declining?

So that all leads to when I started

saying like followers don't matter as

much. That started happening three years

ago.

>> That happens. That happened when I was

yelling about Tik Tok in 2017. That's

why I was yelling about Tik Tok in some

reason of 2017 and 18, which was a I

knew that a lot of tension was going to

go there and that was good for all of

you. Like, oh, you missed Instagram. You

missed [ __ ] Facebook and Twitter.

Well, here's your chance. Ironically and

not ironically, so many people that had

80,000 on Instagram that were crying

that they didn't have a million couldn't

go over to TikTok and get to their

million because they had the insecurity

of having no followers there.

>> Mhm.

>> Yes.

>> And they didn't want to start over.

>> Yep.

>> Right. Whatever the [ __ ] that means. All

that life is is starting over. Every day

is starting over. Like real talk. Like

especially for winners. So I think that

um

>> you know I think we're there. I mean

like and I actually think we will

continue to decline. I think meaning now

actually actually if I was sitting with

you know Facebook Meta Zucks the product

team Tik Tok I would say yo you need to

go to the extremes on the left like I

think when I open my feed there should

be a toggle two options left side full

interest graph just give me nothing

which is where some of the platforms are

heading just give me nothing but at this

moment I give a [ __ ] about trading cards

and comic books because of V friends the

Knicks the Jets training camp starting

wine. Like, give me my the 80s

nostalgia. Give me my [ __ ] And then on

the right,

>> let me have 150 followers that I can

have, but I want to see every [ __ ]

post from them.

>> Okay,

>> you like that? Like that's what I would

do if I like ran Tik Tok or Instagram or

Twitter right now. That would kill. And

I actually think there's no outcome that

that doesn't become possible because I

think it's pendulum swings. We only got

content in 2008, 9, 10, 11, 12 from who

we followed. Now we're starting to get

to a place that I think it's going to

keep going where you're just getting

[ __ ] from whatever's popping to you.

>> Yes.

>> And I think for all of us, even when I

said it, I could feel you two and the

other three dudes in the room,

everyone's like, "Yeah, that'd be

fresh." Because I'm pissed that I'm I

mean, every day I get 50 comments in my

feed that say, "Yo, Gary B, Gary Vee,

where you been?" Like, "Fuck, man. This

is awesome. Fuck." you know, like so

like and I feel that way about people I

follow. So anyway, that's why I say it,

bro, because it's already real.

>> Yeah. You've been calling it interest

media.

>> Yeah. I think it I think that's where

we're at. Yeah.

>> You know, social media was like your

social graph, the people in your social

circle. That's where this came from.

>> I think we're fully in interest media

now. I when I open my app, I get stuff

I'm into of the moment. And the second I

start to deviate and get into something

else, that [ __ ] starts to show up.

>> Yeah.

>> Okay.

>> The AI is getting that strong.

>> Yep. Very strong. Okay. Okay, I want to

ask you this. Place this a little more

personal to us. So, say So, we're just

telling Zach off camera, he's been

seeing it. We recently launched this

thing on our social media um where we're

giving away $1,000 every single week.

And what we do is we pick a random

location all around the greater Toronto

area. It's where we're from. We really

niched into there. And we pretty much

pop up with a reel being like, "We got

$1,000 cash. We're going to hide it in a

secret location here in Branson,

whatever. First person to show up,

>> thousand bucks is yours." or we do we've

recently

said first 32 people to show up are

going to participate in a rock paper

scissors challenge

>> for the bucks and 6 weeks that we've

done it once a week we've already grown

a text community of just under 5,000

people who are waiting for the hints

>> and obviously these

>> what app are using community or

something else

>> uh just Mailchimp right now basic

>> and so

>> I I want to actually show you one if you

want to pull it up

>> and I just want your opinion on like we

we've obviously we run the podcast we do

some content series and then we've

really dialed in on this and it's just

been super viral. We've been getting

like more corporate sponsorships, like

sports teams wanting us to like do their

halftime show, things like that, right?

>> So, we just want to I want to know what

you think about it and like what the

future of it could be.

>> Cash. We're going to hide it in a secret

location in Toronto. Let me show you

where we put it.

>> Shout out my guy Josh for making this

happen. Okay, if you guys know where

this is, share it with

>> Why? Josh is the one that put up the

money.

>> You guys are You guys are just sitting

in the me in the middle. Do you tag

Josh?

>> Yeah, of course. Fair.

>> Collab with his page.

>> So, this thing has like 2 million views,

15,000 shares, like ridiculous

engagement. So, we do it every week and

it's been growing rapidly. So,

>> there's it's a it's kind of a

double-ended question. One, are we like

do we say [ __ ] it to everything else

right now and just go all in on this

because it's like

>> Well, I think you know I think there's a

couple things f my first reaction and we

can talk. Let's break it down because

it'll be fun for everybody. My first

reaction is the audience is not high

value.

>> Okay. True.

>> Right. Like as a shopper like size of

wallet,

>> right? LVMH

>> has become a huge company because their

average shopper spends $40 trillion and

like you know other companies are

struggling because their average ticket

size of what they sell is like a buck

30, right? Because they sell pizza.

>> Yeah. True. So I think one thing to

think about is you're very young right

now and is volume

always the most interesting thing. Would

you rather have 50 people who are

million-doll customers or $500,000 that

are $100 customers?

>> Truth.

>> So by the way, I'm going to say

something also that's very important is

to what I just said. Like I'll go find a

thousand bucks. I'm a human being. Like

like but my intuition

>> is that you've got people who got time

on their hand.

>> Mhm.

>> Cuz [ __ ] you running around Toronto to

find some [ __ ] and play, right? Who you

know who that thousand is that thousands

is worth their time. It's entertaining.

You look you guys are smart. You don't

need me. What I would tell you like let

me teach you how to use AI. [ __ ] Gary

Vee.

>> Go hey we're doing this. Upload the

video.

>> Be like we're aware that this has been

done a hundred times over the last

decade. what has transpired to those

people, what businesses were built, what

worked for them, what didn't work for

them. I'm teaching you guys how to

prompt engineer right now.

>> I can give you my opinions.

>> I can give you my angle that I see it

from that has been valuable. That is

what's been me, but this is where AI is

going to become really valuable. I just

gave you a prompt that you can do that

will really help you and think it

through. I think that's what you need to

think about. Look, personally on just

gut, I would not go all in on just on

that. I think that's a I think that's

campaign energy.

>> Yes.

>> I think that my intuition tells me that

you guys have the talent to build

something more sustainable and bigger.

>> Mhm. Okay.

>> Okay. So, with that being said, we kind

of use it as a marketing tool right now

as well, like a campaign. We do have an

agency and we do have the network that

we started like we spoke about last

time. Um, so it is a big marketing play

and

>> that's why that's why I like it, but I

don't go all in on a campaign.

>> For sure. And I think it's fair,

>> right? It's But by the way, it could be,

by the way, do I think that could lead

to an $8 million a year business? Could

>> Yeah.

>> But all that energy, all that time, and

again, it's what brand positioning is

that doing for you

>> for sure.

>> Today, what again, I think too many

people, let me say where I'm actually

going and then you guys can think about

it.

>> Okay. I think too many people are

binarily addicted to the views and the

followers without really breaking down

the next part.

>> Okay.

>> Right. Not all views are equal.

>> Yeah.

>> True.

>> Not all followers are equal, right? And

so you want to just break it down and

like would you wake up in five years

from now and being all in on this and

like if everybody in the Toronto area

around the world like, "Hey, you guys

are the hide the cash guys." It's a lot

of work to rebrand for another day.

There's a lot to think about. I

>> I think we see it as it fitting into the

money buys happiness brand already

because the name obviously.

>> I get it. Of course.

>> So, I guess that's the way we're and and

the text message community is a big

thing that we believe in because if we

build that thing to like 30,000 and we

can pull up somewhere and

>> of course

>> and 20,000 people are there. I think

that as marketers we see that as power.

>> I I I agree with that as well,

>> right? I I just don't think you need to

go all in

>> go all in as like this is our business.

I think you'll be able to achieve all

those things

>> as you're doing now in parallel while

you do other things.

>> Yeah. Okay.

>> Okay.

>> So, does that make sense?

>> No. No, it makes sense. It just we're

we're we just got excited. The big

biggest excitement is the fact that like

we would literally with one Instagram

post and one text message, we can have

500 people show up anyway.

>> Of course. So it's like we're looking

like we see these massive streamers, I

show speed and all these guys. If they

go anywhere outside and IRL stream, they

have a mob of people and look at the

power that that that whole

>> of course, but they actually but they

actually have that power.

>> Yes.

>> This is a this is a aim power.

>> You're saying it's a gimmicky thing.

>> It's not gimmicky. It's um there those

people are there for the money.

>> Yes.

>> And and then and you've seen already it

starts to become a little micro

community like Yes. But it's, you know,

when I show speed shows up in the middle

of Brazil, like they're all there for

speed.

>> Correct. True.

>> So keep that in mind.

>> Just find a way maybe to bridge that

gap.

>> Yeah. And like find a way to bring more

value as you have that text community

instead of just keeping throwing them

around the greater Toronto or Canadian

area. What about putting out a meaty

piece of content that can really help

them

>> that could help someone who needs a

thousand bucks? Yeah. Like the [ __ ] I do

with like garage sale like flipping from

a dollar to 100. like start thinking

about how to provide value.

>> Fair.

>> Got it.

>> Okay.

>> So, that's what I mean. Yeah. Like it's

good. Yeah. But like

>> don't get you know like there's a lot of

it's like everything everything is so

nuanced. There's right like that's why

like this clip you know 5second world we

live in

the advantage is going to be for the

people that are thoughtful.

>> Yeah.

>> You know the advantage is for the people

that can get under the hood of the

headline.

>> True.

>> The the advantage is for the person that

doesn't overreact. quick on just like,

you know,

>> you know, a little a little

thoughtfulness, a little before I decide

who I hate or who I like or what I'm

going to do. Like, you know, go into

your go do it like the OGs. Go into your

den, [ __ ] put on some classical

music, pour some scotch, pull out a

cigar, and just think for five hours.

>> That's what I think has ultimately been

my advantage.

>> I don't do Oh, I don't do that scene. My

thinking is happening kind of weirdly

always. It's kind of like even while I'm

here, there's a part of my brain that's

somewhere else. And definitely flights

and showers and long drives, you know, I

think I'm in my fields a lot more than

people. I think I'm more thought. You

know, it's funny. V friends,

>> there's 250 characters.

>> Every character, you know, it's an ape,

it's a shark, it's a duck, it's a

hedgehog, it's an alien, it's an

alligator. There's one character called

the thoughtful threehorned harpic. In

fact, we have our comic book coming out

that time tells the origin story of him.

He's the only character I made in Be

Friends that is not a character that

exists. There's no such thing in the

world as a threehorned harpic.

And I did that on purpose because I knew

I would develop this character. And I

want to impose on a generation of kids

and young men and women that

thoughtfulness. Like, when the [ __ ] do

any of us see the word thoughtfulness in

a clip? Zero.

>> I've never seen it.

>> Like this clip is going to be the first

time. Like we're popping cherries in

this [ __ ] podcast, you know? Like

>> we're not thoughtful.

>> True.

>> You know, like everyone's so [ __ ]

triggered. Hot takes and everything's

like even Elon Trump like this. They

literally people in a hundth second

decided whose side they're on.

>> Yep. True.

>> No thoughtful like everyone like what

like my name gets. I love him. I hate

like like nobody's like in it. Mhm.

>> So I would just say to get deeper and

that's how I was breaking that down.

Notice how what I was doing and that was

four minutes.

>> Yeah. You're saying go deeper really

>> like just think about all the things I

said in four minutes.

>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

>> And I just want you to do that for four

weeks.

>> Sure.

>> And then you'll make better decisions.

>> Makes sense.

>> Okay. One more question before we I want

to crack open some cards with you.

>> Um cuz we come across this all the time.

We'll start a project or a content

series or a business

>> and we love it at first

>> and then you don't

>> but it's still making money.

>> Yep. So, how do we decide whether to

>> By realizing there's something called

opportunity costs.

>> Yeah.

>> Okay.

>> Right.

>> I know. Yeah.

>> You know where I'm going.

>> You're making 4,000 here a day, a week,

a month, a year, and it's costing you

this much time, but you hate it. And you

don't realize, and this is like why

people should quit jobs and go for their

dreams. You don't realize that if you

cut that $50,000 a year thing, all that

time that even the hours you spend being

upset about it

given back to you will make you 100k.

>> Yeah.

>> Even the time, forget about even the

time you need to do the thing, whatever

that thing is,

>> the time you get back that you're

spending on like this [ __ ] I don't want

next Tuesday got to do the consulting

thing that you know.

>> Yeah. that.

>> Yeah. And so you would suggest cut it

off as soon as you feel that way.

>> Yes. Well, again, thoughtfulness of

course, you know, as soon as you know

no, right? You know, I uh my team knows

I call it smoke and then fire. I'm

always like I'm always talking to them.

I like teaching them this thing. I'm

like, for me, it's always like

>> nothing's happening. Then all of a

sudden, out of nowhere, there's smoke.

>> Starting to get these feelings. Smoke.

I'm like, wait, do I do I want to be

doing that? Wait, is that the right

price to charge for how much I charge

for speaking? Yeah. Wait,

>> dude. Like, I need to be involved in

every meeting of this like it used to be

way more important. It might be less

important.

>> Smoke, right?

>> Week later, I'm like, yeah, like I

[ __ ] I need to raise my speaking fee,

you know? Like, I'm I'm talking to

myself. A couple days later, I'm like,

damn, three people said no to the

current speaking fee and I'm trying to

say I got to go up. Am I right? Next day

I'm like, no, I'm [ __ ] right. You

know, like, and you're smoke, smoke,

smoke. And then it goes into fire. When

it goes into fire for me, I start to

act.

>> Okay.

>> In this in the stories I'm telling right

now, I'd be like, "Yo, Zach Nadler, who

runs Vayner Speakers, I'm like, I'm up.

>> I'm up. Put another 50K on it. I'm I

don't want to I don't want to really be

speaking. I'm in my [ __ ] V friends

bag, right?" Um, and so I'm up.

>> Yeah.

>> And I start to act. The fire starts to

cook. So, you know, sometimes that [ __ ]

takes three days, that whole process.

Sometimes that [ __ ] takes four months.

Sometimes that [ __ ] takes four years.

>> Yeah.

>> Smoke fire. So like you just want to

keep checking yourself.

>> Of course.

>> You know,

>> self-awareness. A lot of self-awareness.

>> Yeah. Always.

>> And and then what you you'll How old are

you?

>> I'm 29.

>> 31.

>> Like you'll see like at 39 and 41 the

here are the secrets. One, you're going

to feel exactly the same.

>> I'm straight up.

>> Thank god. Nice.

>> Like for real.

>> Good news.

>> Maybe not physically. you start to lose

a step on the court, but like mentally

you're going to feel the same. You're

going to be just as hungry. Promise.

>> I'm real [ __ ]

>> You have might have new dynamics in your

life, love, children, all whatever h you

know those things that happen between 30

and 40,

>> but like in your soul, like it is who

you are.

>> Um, but you're going to have more

pattern recognition. You're going to

know yourself better. Like these gray

hairs that come with real value. Like we

really, you know, we've been so obsessed

with youth culture. Everything's about

looking younger, you know, acting

younger, dressing younger, being

younger. And we've really lost our way

on putting the OGs on a pedestal. You

know, 100 years ago, 15 year olds

weren't the culture.

51y olds were.

>> You know, like, you know, when you come

from immigrant DNA, like we put those

[ __ ] OGs on a pedestal,

>> but we've lost that. We now make fun of

80-year-olds because they don't know how

to use Tik Tok. Meanwhile, those

[ __ ] know how to live. They

they know what life is and we [ __ ]

make fun of them. It's crazy. I actually

want to see the rise. In fact, I'm

thinking about starting a company,

both human and AI influencer versions of

only 70 to 90 year olds.

>> I like that.

>> I think [ __ ] podcast with like 80

year olds that are still like, look,

there's plenty of 80-year-olds that are

like pretty nonvibrant and like it

wouldn't be good content, but I know so

many 80-year-olds that are still doing

it,

>> let alone vibrant. Yeah,

>> those [ __ ] would crush and all

the [ __ ] kids that listen to

this should listen to that person.

>> True.

>> Not do what they say, but just hear

wisdom

>> perspective, too.

>> That's what ended up happening with me

because I had like a 10-year head start

on this whole game. I became that

person.

>> Mhm.

>> I became worth listening to cuz people

were like, "Damn, Gary was there in the

my Facebook and Facebook Twitter." Like,

you know, it became and you know, as I

continued to stack things that made

sense,

>> trust built,

>> right? Yeah.

>> And so like, you know, so

>> how do you balance building something

you genuinely love with making sure

you're not leaving money on the table?

>> Well, I don't know if it's selling out.

I actually think it's selling in what

you're saying, right? Selling out's the

reverse.

>> At least the slang cultural term that

we've all used, right? I think selling

out is like if I decided to just become

a [ __ ] Wall Street executive

>> because that would be me maxing out

money. Yes.

>> I think to to your question, how do you

do it? By knowing going in. And this is

my life. I knew going in from the get.

I'm talking 18. I'm talking my my

watershed moments are 18, 22, 34, you

know, going into college and just like

really not wanting to be there and being

like, I'm really going to build my dad's

business while I'm in college. Launched

the website, all that. Then 22 actually

doing it and built. Then 22 to 30. 30

was like, [ __ ] man. I have no money and

I built a huge business for my dad and

my dad's not a bad person. He's an

immigrant. He's like I'm not going to

pay you because I'm like I'm not really

paying myself either. It wasn't like my

dad was making a million and I was

making 50,000

>> but the business was getting all the

money but he owned the business like you

know he was able to do [ __ ] with that

asset. I was like hello. Um and then 34

when I started kind of going on my own

and doing my own [ __ ] Every one of

those chapters, I knew going in that I

was going to leave a lot of money on the

table.

>> When when I wake up in the morning

today, I know I'm leaving money on the

table. So, but that's because that's the

combo of having with myself. How do you

do it? By being honest with yourself. I

think one of the big issues for humans

is they struggle with their relationship

with themselves.

Like they're deeply, you know, so many

people are insecure at least minimally

insecure. All of us are insecure in some

things.

>> Um, and I think we're delusional and I

think we sell ourselves [ __ ] because

we're selling other people [ __ ] and

we start to believe it and like so I

think for anybody who wants to go into

passion,

you know, there's there's millions of

people who have done this. There's

millions of people who have decided to

be public servants.

>> True. who know they have some

money-making talent who decided they're

going to serve God or serve children as

a teacher or serve the local community

as a cop who who are leaving money on

the table.

>> Mhm.

>> And but it it makes them tick. Listen, I

I understand those people heavy. I'm a

little weird because I make a lot of

money anyway, but [ __ ] man, I leave a

lot of money on the table

>> in a in a real real way real way, you

know? And I'm not even talking about

like not compromising by doing like a $5

million deal for like a cannabis Mars on

Mars company. I'm talking about like,

oh, I could do a a private equity firm

or I could be a hedge fund manager or I

could, you know, be a VC full-time or I

could just raise capital all the time or

you know what I mean?

>> Yeah.

>> Not like selling out more just like

making a decision that I'm going to

spend my dayto-day to maximize dollars.

I spend my dayto-day to maximize my

happiness that I believe is my happiness

I define as what I know will make me

happiest

today 70 80% and that what I believe

will make me happiest that I did it five

and 10 and 50 years from now. So it's

like a mix of like enough like a lot of

happiness today 60 80 and the reason I

say 70% last year I would argue that

when I woke up I was happy in the macro

but my day-to-day grind last year into

the first half of this into the first

quarter last 15 months leading up to the

launch of this

>> I knew that this is coming I know V

friends is coming but I also know that

Vayner X is a [ __ ] 320 50 million

business that I've got to get proper

>> and put the pieces in place and like so

last year

>> you talk to Zach and Mike, you ask them

like what did Gary do last year? They're

like he was in that office in the corner

from 9 to [ __ ] 9 every day.

>> That was it. And and by the way, that's

why I wasn't on a lot of podcasts. Like

if you look last year, almost all my

content, like for the hardest core Gary

Vee fans, most of my content last year

was refurbished from prior times. That's

why I've been popping off a little bit

more in the last month because I'm back,

you know? I'm back and and I'm really

coming back post Labor Day. Like really

coming back. So I think 2026 is going to

be the year of Gary Vee. 2024 was the

year of Gary Vaynerchuk, the operator,

the businessman.

>> And so it es and flows and like when I'm

more creative, when I'm more chopping up

with you guys, look at even the

goosebumps. When I'm being more

creative, I'm happier. M

>> but I have the resilience and the

understanding and the lack of

entitlement and the [ __ ] grit and the

[ __ ] patience and all the [ __ ] I talk

about to have had to have these last 18

months

>> because that's what I [ __ ] signed up

for. I'm comfortable sleeping in the bed

that I [ __ ] built.

>> Yeah.

>> Right. people go out and [ __ ] have a

child with two different people and

then, you know, don't marry either of

them and they're 25 and like I have some

[ __ ] character homie friends. Like

not all my friends are bougie. I grew up

[ __ ] kind of a certain way. And then

like my boys are like, "Yo, this is

[ __ ] up. I can't tra chase my dreams."

I'm like, "Bro, you [ __ ] a bunch of

girls and created a bunch of babies. You

have responsibilities. You didn't have

to do that [ __ ]

>> Sleep in the [ __ ] bed you made."

>> Yeah.

>> People [ __ ] complain about [ __ ] that

they created. Mhm. It's facts.

>> People complain about [ __ ] they created

and then start looking for who to blame.

The government,

>> their dad,

>> you know, if my dad didn't [ __ ] girls, I

like what, you know, like as if every

son follows the exact path of every dad.

Not true. So what? You know, of course

you share DNA. You see what you see, but

like

>> this is the [ __ ] I think about it.

>> Self-awareness aspect of it

>> and the accountability. Yeah. Right. To

your point, it starts with self. If

you're not aware,

>> Mhm.

>> If like you can't see that you're [ __ ]

up, you're in trouble.

>> Once you understand that, and you'll see

it over time, everybody eventually sees

it.

>> Um, are you ready to like own it

>> or do you believe you can trick everyone

into not seeing that you are that?

>> Okay, that is interesting. Then I want

to ask you this question because we we

I've been going back and forth with

Ernesto about this. So,

>> I drive a Range Rover back home, right?

Yep. And I've been recently considering

downgrading cuz I I just personally am

looking at it like

>> you're listening to too much Gary Vee

content.

>> Why I'm like why is there like why why

is this massive car payment and

insurance payment coming out of my

account every month? Like can I afford

it? Yes. But also I don't really know if

I care for it. But then on the flip side

I have this like thought process of like

well I'm an entrepreneur. Money buys

happiness. Maybe is that a part of the

brand? So

>> well that there's a let's break that

down. Money buys happiness if it's not

your happiness. I've never had a nice

car. I've zero happiness on that. But

I'll buy a [ __ ] six figure trading

card. Like I buy I bought like I bought

millions of dollars of things but yet

have never had the jewel. You guys know

me enough is you know like

>> money buying happiness needs to be

defined on what's your happiness. Now

the next part is also a problem. The

brand

>> look you're sitting with a very popular

entrepreneur. I'm comfortable and I say

this with all humidity humil humility

but I'm in the mix as like top 25 known

entrepreneurs. I'll go there and I feel

like I've got a little bit higher than

that.

>> I don't do that [ __ ]

>> Yeah.

>> So, and and I'm not saying by the way I

don't think I'm right. I don't judge.

People sometimes people come to me like

yo [ __ ] you Gary V. You always say like

Rolex and Lambos [ __ ] you. This is what

makes me happy. I'm like good. If that

actually makes you happy

>> do you.

>> Mhm. But if you're doing it to get

[ __ ] girls or if you're doing it to

[ __ ] posture and disguise or if

you're doing it because you think that

people will then join your mastermind,

well then we got to talk.

>> Mhm.

>> That's different.

>> Yeah.

>> That's different than you really know

what a Porsche feel like. I would not

know what it feels like. Like I don't

get off on like driving stick and

understanding the smooth ride. I don't

give a [ __ ]

>> Yeah. But on the flip side, I know

owning one of the only Spider-Man rookie

cards from 1966 Donus gets me off. And I

have a very funny feeling 99.99999%

of the people that just listen to that

sentence are like, "What the [ __ ] he

talking about? That's stupid." And

that's awesome. That's what life's

about. Some people want to spend their

money on sitting courtside because they

both think it's good for the brand and

it's bougie, but they actually [ __ ] with

basketball. And then I see people

sitting courtside that are there for the

selfie who couldn't tell you any of the

10 players on the court.

>> That [ __ ] is what I'm interested in.

Everyone's allowed to. First of all, by

the way, on the record, my subjective

opinions mean nothing. I'm one human

being. I have the like I don't think I

get to say how to do it.

>> Sure.

>> What I do and what I talk about and what

I'm passionate about is I've lived a

little bit of life and I see who's happy

and who's not. I just see a lot of

people that look happy on Instagram

[ __ ] taking drugs every night to just

go to sleep to get the voices out of

their head. That [ __ ] with me and I do

not want others to go down that path.

And I want the ones that are in there to

break the [ __ ] out and get the

simplicity. I do think materialism is a

problem.

>> Yeah.

>> Yeah.

>> Do you think as a business owner at the

beginning there is an image you want to

kind of have when you're dealing with

people that might be signing big

contracts for you or big clients? Do you

see what depends? Yeah. Of course, it

depends what you're selling. But let me

give you a story though.

>> Still marketing, let's say.

>> Yeah. But let me give you a I wish AJ

walked by right now. Do you know what

the ultimate story of Vayner is?

>> Tell us.

>> In 2011, 12 11 we signed a huge deal

from a not one of our biggest client. We

had much bigger clients, Pepsi,

Campbell, but it was like a midsize. Was

it magazine? I don't know. I don't

remember what. Dude calls AJ because AJ

took I took the meeting, but AJ was in

the meeting. I was traveling. Dude calls

AJ. AJ texts me, call me. I could tell

it was good because we always are like

if something's bad like we're call me

heart so I'm good you know like like

it's guys please text with context

everyone's [ __ ] everybody up like

like like if you're like call me like

give that person like they think your

mom died like you know like [ __ ] like

give people context out there we got to

fix this it's a pandemic anyway he's

like call me I'm excited because I knew

it was good because of the way he

whatever emoji put in or what he said I

call him he goes bro we got the [ __ ]

thing I'm like we got the [ __ ] deal

it was a good deal at the time hundreds

of thousands which was big for us we

were all. And then he goes, "Guess why?"

I I have no idea. He goes, "The dude

said, "The reason I went with you is cuz

your offices were a piece of [ __ ] and I

know that you spend your money on the

right stuff, and that's who I wanted to

work with."

>> Wow.

>> Wow.

>> So, in that story, it was the reverse.

>> Literally, the actual reverse. Now,

there are many people that look at it

the other way. Look, if you're doing

marketing services, the reality is is

you're actually only, and this is

something, you know, I'm very

comfortable saying because I've lived it

and watched everybody else for the last

15 years in this space,

>> your work is going to be the punch line.

>> Yeah.

>> Like real talk.

>> Like real talk. Like if you're going to

build something big

>> Yeah.

>> Like and that's why I've always focused

on like we need to be the best.

>> Yeah.

>> That's by the way that was a lot of what

last year was about for me. getting

Vayner Media and the Sasha Group, which

is one the other big agency and my

holding company to get [ __ ] great

because social was changing, marketing

was changing. I had to teach them about

live social shopping. I had to get

everybody on board with [ __ ] using

influencers and creators in addition to

the content we make. I had to get

everybody on board with AI tools. I I

had a lot of things to get 2,000 3,000

people

>> from here to London to LA to Mexico City

to Toronto to Amsterdam to London to

[ __ ] India to [ __ ] you know

Malaysia and Australia all aligned.

That's work.

>> Yeah, it's true. Okay, so let's talk

about AI a little bit. Do you think it's

dangerous for humanity?

Um, of course it can be like like if a

if if Russia and China and America and

Saudi and India create AI enabled robots

that act like humans that can police and

fight war, like that's some, you know,

gnarly [ __ ]

>> Yeah.

>> Could get real scary that way.

>> Yeah. I mean, I think I I don't really

even see an outcome of where they

wouldn't do that.

>> Fair.

>> Like like that's what governments do.

They they try to protect their sovereign

soil. and they try to control their

citizens.

>> Okay. But from the flip side, as a as a

let's say somebody in the marketing

space or the creator space.

>> Oh, you want me to go way down?

>> Yeah. Like 10 levers down. Go ahead.

>> How are you leveraging it? I I know

you've spoken about like podcast hosts

are going to be AI. Creators are going

to be AI. A what do you think is the

timeline on that?

>> And as a creator, do you like do you be

scared like or how do you how do you set

yourself up?

>> I'm scared every day. If you're an

entrepreneur, you should be scared. If

you're a creator, that sounds you're an

entrepreneur, right? You're trying to

make money by being a person. So

>> now, I wouldn't use the word scared.

>> And I would say, am I awake?

>> Am I woke to it? Am I focused on it? Did

I spend three hours on a flight

yesterday looking at three different

tools that could do tasks that my

employees do, which eventually means my

clients will expect? Like, do I think

about those things? Yes. Do like do I

think about people? Do I think about you

know um understanding how to police and

maintain my intellectual property and my

copyright? Yes. I mean you think about

these things but yeah like I mean look

in any big technology you either take

that sword or that sword will kill you.

So what I would say to you guys is you

could be like [ __ ] just as we were

[ __ ] getting going this [ __ ] came

along [ __ ] Or you could be

like, "We're going to keep building our

brand, which is always going to matter,

and doing this, while over here, we're

going to create a podcast with two girls

that talk about fashion."

>> You're allowed to do that.

>> True.

>> You're allowed.

>> True.

>> So, right, you could take the sword and

be the one that wins.

>> Yes.

What if I told you in four years you're

making three times the money that you

make on this podcast with that girl's

podcast that you just write the script

in the morning for 15 minutes and that's

life?

>> It'd be amazing.

>> Depends. For me, that'd be devastating.

I'd be like, "What the [ __ ] else do I do

with my other 23 hours?" I'd be like,

"Fuck, now I got to start 10 more of

these and I'm going to go garage selling

in the middle of the day." Like, you

know, like, so it just all depends on

what one wants. But what do I think? I

think it's very big. Yeah.

>> Like big bang.

>> Yeah.

>> Like bag.

>> And you're just saying just take the

sword to yourself.

>> Yeah. I mean, I think for you two young

dudes, everybody in here, like

everybody, Mike, your man, like like

Zach, like you got to kind of spend an

hour a day chat. Like what I do every

day, I go to chatbt. I'm like, what's

the 10 best image uh apps created by,

you know, AI apps that were created in

the last 30 days?

>> Then I click them, then I download them,

then I play with them. Like either you

go to the gym

>> or you think about going to the gym.

>> Yeah.

>> Right. Right. You got it. That's the

analogy, right? Makes sense. Right.

Either you go to the gym or you think

about going to the gym. Either you go to

the gym or you read about how to do the

proper exercise. But until you're doing,

>> you're not doing. And so like every all

you five youngsters must be interacting

with AI apps every day.

>> Must

bare minimum chat GBT and thinking and

talking. Last night me and AJ at 1:00 in

the morning after game were doing [ __ ]

like who's Curtis Martin's WWF comp.

>> Yeah.

>> Who's LeBron James NFL comp? Who's Lamar

Jackson's NBA comp? Who's Gary Ve's

cartoon comp? Like um my NBA comp's

Draymond Green by the way. I was like I

like it too. I'm so that person. Uh

>> I I think that um I think that uh you

guys need to use it every day.

>> Of course. Okay. open these cards or

why?

>> Yeah, let's open a couple.

>> I wanted to bring you a gift,

>> please.

>> And uh we went to our friends at

MintNink. Yes. Right. And he goes I go,

"Yo, we need to get him a gift." He's

like, "He got everything he wants

already." All right. I said, "Why don't

you crack some cards with him?" So, I

would love to crack a pack of these with

you.

>> I would love to I would love for you

guys to open a pack and read the back.

Yeah. Here's what I want to talk about

to everybody who's listening. I'm going

to assume

Let me do a public service announcement

for VS. All of you have to go to eBay

and type in Vfriend Friends and go to

completed sold items. It will blow you

away. I'm actually genuinely really

building the next Pokemon in Marvel and

I'm doing it in everyone's face, but

because everyone's so distracted about

Gary Vee of it all, they don't even see

it. In the same way that a lot of people

think I'm a motivational speaker.

>> Yeah. Isn't that crazy?

>> Like, like really? And I'm like, like

when they come here, they're like, "What

the [ __ ] is this?"

>> I'm like, "The company." They're like,

"What company?" I'm like, "Vayner."

They're like, "What's Veayner?" I'm

like, you know, the $350 million a year

revenue revenue not valuation revenue

business that I run that I'm the active

CEO of like I actually run it and I

actually run V friends and I'm actually

massively impactful on the VCR group my

restaurant [ __ ] and I'm massively

impactful on Vayner Sports one of the

hottest biggest emerging sports agencies

in the world that my brother runs and I

still am super involved in my dad's wine

business like and Vayner Watt my TV

production company. Like, I'm a

businessman

>> who happens to do content charity for

the kids out there on a daily basis. I

want you to focus on the back of the

car. So, anyway, these cards are redot.

These boxes were $99 when they came out

6 weeks ago. They're selling for $550 a

box on eBay.

>> Oh, we should have sold this thing, man.

>> Yeah. You guys talking about making

money. You're [ __ ] quoting it. Now,

check this out. This is why I'm so

excited about it. If you look at the

cards, creative crap, but look on the

back, you'll This is where This is So,

you guys have probably not gotten deep

enough, but you know me, you're going to

like this. You know what V friends is?

It's 250 characters that I'm going to

use to expand on what I'm trying to get

the world to think about as Gary Vee. I

can't get to everyone. I'm not

everyone's cup of tea.

>> I don't look the part for everyone. If

you're like, you know, I'm still kind of

hanging in being cool to the kids, but

[ __ ] man. I'm 49. like like it's not

like I don't even know how this has gone

this far. Like, you know, 68-year-old

me, I got to be empathetic that if

you're like a 16-year-old, you know,

Puerto Rican kid in the hood, like

69year-old me's like doing my thing,

like there there's a there's a place

where that just I'm not going to be able

to penetrate. Plus, there's been many

audiences I've never been able to

penetrate. Maybe a mom that doesn't like

cursing.

>> Yeah.

>> Right. Maybe you know somebody who's

like wants to look up to somebody that

looks like them. So they're an Asian

woman and like this white dude's not

going to do it. They got to find but the

friends these characters can get to

everyone.

>> True.

>> From the corners of Brazil to [ __ ]

Melbourne, Australia to [ __ ] Tokyo,

Japan to Belgium. I can get to everybody

with these characters. And that's why

I'm building it. And then that's why

like when a kid gets Focus Falcon, read

the back of Focus Falcon.

Focus Falcon. Competitive advantage.

Laser focused on every goal. Soaring

with precision and discipline. Focus on

the goal and everything else becomes

secondary.

>> That's just

>> and then and then quote.

>> Yeah. Yeah, that was a quote.

>> Oh, that was a quote. The goal,

everything else could come secondary.

>> But like now, let's think about it.

There's a bunch of us in here right now.

9-year-old us reading that. That [ __ ]

gets interesting.

>> Yeah. What about a parent who's trying

to get their kid to focus a little more

and now they have something that looks

cool as [ __ ] to them and they're like,

"All right, mom. I'll [ __ ] focus."

>> Yeah.

>> Like I'm very This is the most selfish

and selfless business venture of my

career. It is selfish because you catch

BT.

>> Yeah.

>> Use it right now. I want you to do

something.

>> Okay.

>> Type in how much is Pokemon worth?

>> Oh, this is scary. Scary numbers. How

much is Pokemon worth?

>> Enter.

Let me see here.

Okay, we're searching the web. Oh, okay.

>> Oh, sorry. This is Hold on.

>> Which cards did you get? I got creative

crab, which

>> mule.

>> Love it.

>> Right. I got the capable caterpillar.

>> Love.

>> Tough to beat a worm from the dirt.

>> Uh-huh.

>> That's sick.

>> That's my guy.

>> This is a scary number. You ready? Say

yes. I want everybody here.

>> How much is Pokemon worth? As of 2025,

Pokemon is Pokemon is the highest

grossing media franchise in the world

with an estimated lifetime revenue

exceeding $150

billion.

>> It's a big number.

>> So, this is this is the most selfish

thing. I'm trying to build the next

Pokemon. Even if I get halfway home, I

have a $75 billion

>> entity. But it's also the most selfless.

>> Mhm. like I'm going to do it and I'm

trying to build this for me and my

family and like we're all wowed. But the

fact that what I'm selling

>> Yeah. has the potential to have a

substantial positive impact on modern

parenting, on mental health, on the

mindset of a generation. That [ __ ]

gets me going because as these comics

and cartoons and movies develop and I

start teaching people about decisive

duck like what do every do you know 90%

of my questions are like people just

asking me for permission to validate

them to make a decision?

>> Yeah.

>> Because they're scared.

>> So no [ __ ] decisive duck has upside.

>> Yeah. You know what I mean?

>> But you found a beautiful balance.

>> Yeah. Because I believe that we're

allowed. I believe that everyone's

allowed to I hate when people demonize

people that are trying to make money and

be entrepreneurs.

>> Yeah.

>> You're especially for us men. Like we

are built wired to provide for our

families. We used to go out and [ __ ]

hunt and kill a wolf and bring back the

meat. And today financial is one of

those things.

>> Yeah.

>> Like I don't know. Like that's all I've

ever known is to help my family like

with my capabilities. You're allowed.

You're allowed to buy jewelry and golf,

join a expensive country club and like

you're allowed.

>> Um, but for me at least, I don't judge

others who don't want to give back to

society. I really don't.

>> Yeah.

>> Honestly, I just don't have a lot of

judgment in me. I don't give a [ __ ]

enough to be honest. And I'm too

empathetic. It's actually the extremes.

>> Yeah. It's crazy.

>> I don't give a [ __ ] enough cuz what does

somebody else's life have to do with me?

>> True.

>> But I also have empathy. Like I don't

just cuz you made money. I don't know

you. You might be secretly paying for

your sister's care because she was born

completely nonfunctional and nobody on

earth knows that you have a sister who's

been in a facility your whole life,

right? And you pay for it. And so what?

I'm gonna judge you that you didn't

donate at this charity event even though

I know you have some money. What if I

don't know that you're paying 150,000 a

year to give full care to your sister

that you've never had the emotional

strength to communicate about? I have

that level of compassion and empathy

that so few people have. And I don't say

that braggadocious. I say that as thank

you mom

>> for giving me that DNA and then being

the parent that f she not only gave me

the seed, she [ __ ] watered it.

>> So I don't talk from a place of I'm

cool. I'm talking from a place of Tamara

Vaynerchuk is cool. She made me like

this. I know that story I just told.

Most of the [ __ ] in this room and

definitely on the podcast had never even

thought a thought like that in their

life.

>> Ever.

>> Ever.

>> Ever.

>> That to me is empathy elephant. That to

me is compassionate catfish. That is

what I'm going to teach because that

makes your life better. When you

eliminate envy and jealousy because why

would you sit at a charity event and

waste your energy judging someone who

didn't donate that you know makes money?

It's because you're jealous of them.

down,

>> right?

>> Yeah.

>> Right. Because you're like, I just gave

5K and [ __ ] Rick makes much more

money than me. They're triggered by Rick

makes much more money than me.

>> Yeah.

>> But I sit there and I'm like, literally,

literally, actually, I'm like, man, I

hope everything's okay with Rick.

>> Now, Rick might just be a straight dick.

>> Yeah.

>> And wants to buy a [ __ ] another golf

course and not help the kids.

>> Everyone's allowed. Yeah.

>> I have no judgment.

>> Wow. I like that a lot. Everyone's

allowed.

>> Everyone's allowed. That's a hard pill

to swallow for a lot of people.

>> It's a hard pill because everybody is

too audacious and thinks that the world

should be the way they see it.

>> Yes.

>> Now people are not allowed to murder.

Like no, but I mean like I need to say

this unfortunately because people like

clip it and they're like, "What about

rape?" I'm like, "No, people are not

allowed to do that, dick. No [ __ ]

>> People are, you know what I mean? People

are allowed but people are allowed to

live their life with their money that

they accomplished the way they want." It

may, but for me, I need to give back. I

need to still make content. I need to be

on nonprofit boards. I need to try to

help all you [ __ ] that are coming up

because I was one of you [ __ ] and I

wish I had me.

>> I Gary Vee is who Gary Vaynerchuk wish

existed at 15.

>> Wow.

>> Damn.

>> Yeah, man. Cuz I had nowhere to look. I

didn't have the internet.

>> My pops was like an OG dude. Like

different. If I had Gary Vee, if Gary

[ __ ] Vayner Shook at 15 had Gary Vee,

I'd be happier and more successful.

>> I'm motivated by that. I want to give

back to the game that gave me so much.

>> Yeah.

>> You know what I mean?

>> Yeah.

>> So, that's where I'm at, boys. I got to

go.

>> I missed. Final question.

>> Yes.

>> Does money buy happiness?

>> Does money buy happiness? Absolutely

not. And of course, money is such a

foundational part of our world. I

believe that what buys happiness is

living within the money you make.

Got it? So, if you make $49,000 a year,

you can be remarkably happy if you have

humility and you live a $37,000 a year

life. If you live a $90,000 a year life

and get into debt because you're trying

to keep up with the Joneses even though

you're not capable of making that kind

of money, you're going to get hurt. It's

like sports. If I went on an NBA court

right now and tried to play basketball,

it would be bad.

>> That would be bad. It would be ugly. I'd

get hurt. I would get uncomfortably

embarrassed.

And that is how I feel like when people

are spending money on Rolexes and

vacations and going into debt, you're

not good enough to buy a Rolex. Live

within your means and you get very

happy.

>> Yes. Thank you, Gary. Thank you. Nice

client.

[Music]

Heat. Heat.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
scared /skɛrd/ A2	adjective - feeling fear or being frightened
entrepreneur /ˌɒntrəprəˈnɜːr/ B2	noun - a person who starts a business and is willing to risk loss in order to make money
technology /tɛkˈnɒlədʒi/ B1	noun - the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes
gym /dʒɪm/ A2	noun - a building with equipment for doing exercises
think /θɪŋk/ A1	verb - to have a particular opinion or belief noun - an act of thinking
proper /ˈprɒpər/ B1	adjective - appropriate; correct
exercise /ˈɛksəsaɪz/ A2	noun - physical activity done in order to stay healthy verb - to do physical activity
youngsters /ˈjʌŋstərz/ B1	noun - young people
AI /ˌeɪˈaɪ/ B2	noun - Artificial Intelligence
matter /ˈmætər/ A2	verb - to be important or significant noun - a subject or situation
saying /ˈseɪɪŋ/ A1	verb - to utter words to express something noun - a proverb or a wise statement
culture /ˈkʌltʃər/ B1	noun - the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or group
social /ˈsəʊʃəl/ B1	adjective - relating to society or its organization
platforms /ˈplætfɔːrmz/ B1	noun - a system or means of communication
feature /ˈfiːtʃər/ B1	noun - a distinctive attribute or aspect of something verb - to have as a prominent attribute or aspect
years /jɪərz/ A1	noun - a period of time
interest /ˈɪntrɪst/ B1	noun - the feeling of wanting to know or learn about something or someone verb - to cause someone to become curious about something
happen /ˈhæpən/ A1	verb - to take place; to occur
build /bɪld/ A2	verb - to construct by putting parts together
money /ˈmʌni/ A1	noun - a current medium of exchange in the form of coins and banknotes; wealth
people /ˈpiːpl/ A1	noun - human beings in general or considered collectively