Why You're Missing Out On The Best Things In Your Life
Why You're Missing Out On The Best Things In Your Life
Today's video is a fireside chat I did with the Telfaz11 team during my last visit to Saudi Arabia. I share my two cents on the importance of paying attention to pop culture, and how to come up with new ideas while still following trends and perfectionism. I also answered some questions like how to deal with FOMO and much more. Hope you enjoy it!
Today's video is a fireside chat I did with the Telfaz11 team during my last visit to Saudi Arabia. I share my two cents on the importance of paying attention to pop culture, and how to come up with new ideas while still following trends and perfectionism. I also answered some questions like how to deal with FOMO and much more. Hope you enjoy it!
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00:00 Probably kept you away from the best thing that could have ever happened in your life
00:03 The love of your life the idea of your life business opportunity the money make like all of it
00:07 Then I think you can start leaning into the human experience. We don't give ourselves enough room and it goes back to patience
00:13 How do you do both by knowing you have a lot of time to do both and as far as FOMO?
00:17 You're never gonna know how it would have been anyway
00:19 Plus the thing I always think about to make myself feel even better about the fact that I've said no to the best things that
00:24 Ever could have happened to me is knowing that it also would have changed the course of my life
00:28 So yes, maybe I would have said yes to going out with my friends this night and I would have saw something and it would
00:32 Have led to the idea of my life, but maybe then while I was executing that idea something bad could have happened
00:37 Attention is the number one asset
00:40 First of all, it's such a pleasure. It's good to see everybody, you know 14 years ago
00:44 My brother and I started a company so not to around the same range as you guys and the goal was to be able to
00:51 effectively communicate everywhere in the world at that point in my life when I was
00:56 13 14 years ago when I was 33 34
00:58 I had a sense that I finally started to understand what I was good at I'd you know built my family's
01:04 Retail business up and I realized I loved the marketing more than selling the product and
01:11 And I was very good at it and I was doing things early. I was doing you know, I did e-commerce in 1996
01:17 You know majority of this room wasn't born in 1996
01:22 I was doing email marketing in 1999 when I could get 90% of the people on the email list to open the email
01:28 I bought Google AdWords the day the day Google AdWords started. I started a long-form YouTube show in
01:35 February of 2006, you know, I was an early investor in Facebook and Twitter
01:41 I was there and and so I wanted to start a communications infrastructure
01:46 Because I wanted it to be at my disposal. I thought of it as the most important remote control of my life that
01:53 Whatever business I started whatever
01:56 Things I was passionate about if I wanted I always kind of knew myself. So I said, you know if I'm 84 years old and
02:04 Somebody I love is taken by a disease
02:07 I'm gonna want to cure that disease and yeah, I could raise money
02:11 But that's been proven to me as not the most effective way the most effective way is to get the world to care
02:16 And I figured if I could build a communications infrastructure
02:19 Whether I wanted to sell
02:22 sneakers or I wanted to cure diseases and everything in between that would be important as my remote control and so I
02:29 Started that company 14 years ago and slowly but surely
02:32 We're building enough scale that we're able to expand into other places. I've been doing personal content for a long time
02:40 I was very early snapchat
02:42 I've always had a pretty strong, you know
02:45 Presence among snapchat users in Saudi because I was pretty early in making content
02:50 So I've always wanted to get here as you know, I've been to the overall Middle East region a lot
02:54 We've tried to get here multiple times. I'm always very in and out. I leave tomorrow like I just got here, you know
03:01 So I'm just very excited to be here. And obviously I don't have to tell anybody in this room. It has been
03:07 remarkable to watch the expansion of opportunity and
03:12 creativity and growth in this country in the last 12 to 18 months and I
03:16 Can't wrap my head around what the next decade looks like
03:19 And so, you know the way I talk about Africa the way I think about Korea
03:23 There's just certain parts that I am interested in investing more time into because I haven't fully gotten in
03:29 In there yet because I think you can't storytell unless you respect and listen
03:33 And so before I think about those things, I want to spend a lot of time doing those things
03:37 And so I'm excited to be here. Well, you know, it's
03:41 It's definitely a pleasure having you here
03:43 It's an honor, of course. I
03:46 Want to ask you a question if you don't please
03:48 you know
03:50 It seems like a lot of your success
03:52 and from what you what you just said happened because of
03:57 Because you're an early adopter. Yeah, you made right decisions with right company. Yeah, right investments early on
04:03 AdWords when it first came out to the advantage that you made content before people started making content
04:09 you're on YouTube you are
04:11 investing in Facebook and
04:14 how
04:15 How did you make these decisions what helped you make these right decisions?
04:18 I think two things when I think about it because it's the thing that people ask me the most about it
04:23 And I've spent a good last 10 years trying to understand it. I think there's a lot of things that worked out for me one
04:29 I'm incredibly curious. I didn't wasn't something I really knew about myself
04:36 But especially when it comes to people, you know, I could have get like, you know
04:41 A very different true answer to my last question is because I genuinely like people I'd like to meet them all
04:46 Then I think the only way you can do that is if you go and so I I've always had a very strong curiosity of people
04:53 Even as a child
04:55 Seven eight ten years old. I was disproportionately the kid in the class that had the most friends
05:01 I wanted to be friends with everyone. I was interested in everyone
05:04 I liked everyone and so
05:06 Curiosity about people has always been a thing on top of that. I've always been a salesman
05:12 I always wanted to sell candy or lemonade or trading cards
05:16 And so if you're gonna sell you have to pay attention
05:18 So I think the things that work for me is I'm curious about people
05:23 I'm I'm very
05:26 Willing to waste time. This is a big one. I think one of the reasons I'm good at what I do is
05:33 I'm willing to waste time. So I'm curious. I see something what I saw six years ago musically
05:40 So I see musically and I see wow
05:43 It's a very young social network and it's mainly 13 year old girls right now and they're dancing
05:49 But what I saw because I spent 20 hours on it at a time when people as busy as me
05:55 Wouldn't spend two minutes on it because they would dismiss it
05:58 was
06:00 Huh? I think the music and the app is making it easier for these young girls to make content as you know
06:07 As all of you know anything that makes it easier for people to make content is always powerful
06:12 It's like training wheels when you learn to ride a bike
06:14 So I was able to through my curiosity, which is why I even saw musically but then my humility of my own time
06:22 I think too many people value their time too much
06:25 When it's not that valuable
06:29 People get fancy. They're like I'm too busy. I'm like, no, you're not you're too lazy. You're too cure
06:35 You're too lack of curiosity. You're too
06:38 Audacious, you're too complacent
06:41 You're too passive. I none of those things apply to me when it comes to business
06:46 And so I think I use those things and then the other thing is I am NOT
06:52 This would be interesting in a room full of smart creatives
06:57 The only thing I have conviction about is
07:00 That y'all are right and I'm not
07:03 The only thing I have conviction of is that the audience and humans are more right than me
07:09 I think one of the challenges with very creative people or very ambitious people is
07:15 You have strong opinions which are quite powerful right the ability to say no or to have conviction is incredibly powerful
07:22 I do think a lot of people miss out on opportunity
07:27 because they don't have the humility to understand the audience is more right than them and
07:31 So it's a very fine balance of having conviction of what you see, especially creatively
07:37 But also respecting it and for you and for a lot of you when you're native YouTube when you're native social
07:44 It's a lot more interesting because you can't hide
07:48 The results speak, you know when you do a commercial in television the things we both agree on are dead. Well, you can hide behind
07:56 The press saying it was a good commercial. Are you getting an award?
08:00 but
08:02 actual consumption and social and digital
08:04 Numbers don't lie. And so I think that my level of humility to me
08:11 I think regardless of how successful I've been for the last 30 years of my career
08:16 tomorrow can become the day that it starts declining if I don't stay humble and curious and
08:23 I focus on that. I'm also not romantic about how I make I'm not attached to how I'm making my money now
08:30 So if Netflix and YouTube and tick-tock are important to me today
08:35 I'm always ready for them not to be important tomorrow
08:38 Even if it means that I might have to take a step back financially in the short term
08:42 I think the biggest thing that hurts people is they get stuck on how they make their money and then they're not willing to deviate
08:48 And follow the consumer they're following their comfort and their wallet
08:53 I was gonna say one of the things that you have been very effective at is you you really focus G on
09:02 Pop culture. Yes, like how to be relevant in culture and pop culture. The fast also I saw is
09:08 Very strong. They started their company c3 creative
09:13 Culture culture catalyst because they believe that if they're not being a catalyst for culture and relevant to pop culture
09:19 So you both have that in common? Why is pop culture so important to your DNA? I
09:24 Think it's this I think it's potentially the most significant
09:28 currency
09:30 That lives in the world, you know, I said I almost said it was and then you know, you know me well enough
09:37 I'm a pretty big fan of love
09:39 So I think I'll put love ahead of it
09:41 But jeez the fact that pop culture is very close to love when I think about the currency of the world
09:47 You know, I think I think it's incredibly naive
09:50 to
09:52 Not make a huge commitment to popular culture
09:56 Like to me, you know, it's really funny. It's almost like saying like why is water and oxygen important?
10:02 That's like when you ask the question. I'm almost struggling to articulate. I
10:07 I'm shocked that 99% of the world continues to not see this like why is he wearing Vans?
10:13 Why is he wearing Air Force Ones? Why why why everything is so important and it's so obvious
10:20 I think it you know, even when you go out to dinner the friend that knows the emerging, you know
10:26 Artists and music or is most on top of why people are wearing a certain fashion
10:32 I think about everything like even when I sit in an audience like this
10:35 I'm analyzing like the denim jacket or what the hairstyles are like
10:40 Everything matters to me everything because we all make decisions
10:44 We don't think about it, but everyone here literally is
10:48 Subconsciously making decisions on what they're wearing headphones around the neck. This is all profound to me. It's profound to me
10:56 It's how the world works
10:57 And so I spend an uncanny amount of time
11:02 Trying to stay on top of which artists and and here's why what's really cool about pop culture is
11:07 It's like cooking
11:10 Pop culture is like cooking
11:12 You know why cooking is fascinating we can all have the same ingredients here
11:17 But the way we all cook it would be different and some would be delicious and some would not I
11:23 think the most interesting thing about pop culture is
11:26 Vans
11:28 Vans
11:29 Originally were really made for California surf and skateboard kids
11:33 But then with the way the way pop culture works all of a sudden black kids in the ghetto
11:39 Started wearing it as a cool thing and I remember watching that and look look what's even happening right now
11:44 Like I'm literally getting goosebumps. Look at this as I'm talking. Here's why the
11:50 manipulation like ingredients like cells coming together a
11:55 Pop culture is the most interesting thing in the world. Something starts as something. It's why I love people in the world
12:02 It's why I love what the world's doing now
12:04 All of our grandparents lived in a world where the way media was they told us how to feel about each other
12:11 The world used to tell us how to think about each other now because of the way content works
12:16 We can discover each other for what it is. I love that. That's the world. That's chemicals. That's the fusion I'm talking about
12:23 There's nothing more interesting into why something becomes popular
12:26 And you know this things that become popular today 20 years ago were inconceivable
12:32 and and in 20 years things that we find popular today or how we
12:37 Everybody will look at photos of the way they look right now in 20 years and laugh at what they were wearing
12:42 Hairstyles, it's just amazing to me
12:45 And so I keep a real attention on that because I like how things come together and create something new
12:51 So speaking of things that you know
12:54 Becoming popular and how things become popular
12:57 and you spoke on on content and
13:00 Listening to the audience and that's one of the most important things we create content. What's your take on?
13:07 creating something new
13:10 creating new trends
13:12 You know giving the audience something they didn't know they needed
13:15 Well, I think that that is a forever game that humans are incredibly capable of
13:21 This is why we're such a superior species to a worm or a bird. We have that incredible creative power
13:28 I believe it is a huge to me and I love the way you're asking that question when I'm paying attention to things
13:34 I don't think that that curtails my ability to do something new. I think it empowers it
13:39 Because the reality is something new is always been motivated by something in the past, right?
13:46 But we are individual humans with our individual experiences and laying at night and in the shower thinking and brush
13:53 You know, it's amazing how that works. So I think it's the most true thing
13:58 But I love when people are like this person's that you know
14:01 Somebody like this person a movie maker an artist an athlete. They're like this is an original and I think about it
14:07 Ah, let me give you a very interesting way to answer this question. How do I think about it? There's a documentary
14:13 I think all of you should watch about little Richard
14:16 Little Richard is a very famous musician
14:18 If you go into it, you'll basically leave watching the documentary
14:24 Thinking and being completely affected by in and this has been long
14:29 Believed by many people who are passionate about music that little Richard is truly
14:35 The father of rock and roll. Okay
14:38 This black man from Georgia truly and you'll watch it that the Rolling Stones and Elvis this unlimited content
14:46 Showing them saying I was inspired by little Richard. However, so this whole movie is a documentary about little Richard
14:53 It's filled with unlimited content from David Bowie to Mick Jagger to Elvis Presley saying to you know
14:59 To the Beatles little Richard, right? It's clearly a plot pro
15:04 Little Richard is the king of rock and roll and how does the movie start in the first 13 15 minutes of the film?
15:12 20 minutes of the film talking about his childhood. It literally shows you the 11 people that impacted him to become him
15:18 It was very small it's back to the thing I talked about there were very small ingredients and he had his own DNA
15:27 His own life the timing right timing is everything. I have a funny feeling your wrestling film
15:33 Acts very differently 20 years earlier because the country was in it
15:38 It's just a different world. The world's different. The distribution is different. You don't even get it made
15:42 right, right, so I
15:45 Think what's really powerful of how I think about that is that's how the world will always work
15:50 And so even though I'm listening to the comments
15:54 I'm that I get a lot of credit for doing a lot of original things when I broke out in my industry
15:59 I was so in wine in America. I was so like he's so different. I would watch it back to wrestling
16:06 I was like, wait a minute. I'm different and I also love stand-up comedy actually two things. We just talked about
16:12 I was so affected by Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy and by Randy the Macho Man Savage the wrestler that my
16:20 Communication style, you know, I didn't realize it but then like 10 years later. I'm like, wait a minute this I you know
16:26 And so it's clearly not me doing them
16:30 It's it's their little seeds are in me and then there's 90% me and that's how I think original thoughts get done
16:37 I think I'm just building on the question to like they put out content movies TV shows that type of thing and people are used
16:45 To a certain thing
16:46 So they don't want to just do what the consumers want. They want to create for you know, they're not creating for the market
16:52 They're creating for themselves. I think that's right. I think that I think that's right comma
16:58 Back to popular culture or listening if you're doing an hour 30
17:02 Film and you've decided you're gonna do it about this subject matter that none of the comments have told you that you want it
17:08 however in the writing or in the improv of the acting or in the directing or producing of the film if
17:14 You're making three to four references from things that you know are happening in popular culture. It's going to land
17:20 And so I think of that as like right there you go
17:24 So I think of that as taking advantage of what you do what they do for a living and doing so much content and understanding
17:30 Pop culture, but when they go to a bigger production like they've done
17:34 It's using those elements as spices and side dishes not the main meal because they the main dish is what they wanted to make
17:52 How to fight the feeling of impatience when you have too many plans thank you for asking me that it's you're right
17:58 It's my number one. It's my number one. It's my number one
18:01 It's my number one because it goes back to listening
18:05 30% of my hundreds of thousands of direct messages that I get a year if not millions at this point are based on this
18:14 You know
18:15 Look, I think there's a couple things even the way you set up the story
18:19 to your point one of the things that I know is that the generation of parents that parented you and
18:24 Definitely their parents and on and on
18:27 that there is an overvaluing of
18:31 Status and profession as something that those parents brag to their friends and their parents about so you have an entire generation
18:41 of
18:43 Asian and brown kids and Eastern European kids who are pushed who are pushed very heavily into engineering
18:50 Into medicine into law into the cliche things and so this is pounded into people's heads
18:56 What I believe that does is creates an incredible vulnerability for those kids
19:02 To resent their parents to not be happy and that's why I produce so much content about that
19:06 What it also does is when you were a student
19:11 You were on a track. You're a robot
19:14 You go up every year you get grades you go up you go to you go to bigger school higher school university
19:21 It's it's a fake game life is a real game
19:25 Life is a real game. So people are impatient because the first 18 22 years of their life every year they move up a level
19:33 it's just it's like playing a video game then you get to real life and real life is not linear like that and
19:41 That's the reality of it. Those kids even though they might have resentment or anger or have reconciled with their parents about don't worry about other people's opinions
19:48 You just want me to be a doctor because your sister your best friend. Meanwhile, they themselves are worried about other people's opinions
19:57 There is no reason to be impatient if you are learning every day and feel like you're on the right track
20:02 The only thing that can dictate that is outside forces
20:08 Right because the reality is if you're happy and you feel like you're learning every day and you're on the right track
20:14 The only other parts of the world are outside opinions and the things that you physically want
20:20 Do you want a Lamborghini? Do you want a nice apartment? Do you want a watch?
20:25 My argument is the faster you can get away from wanting
20:30 physical items and wanting
20:33 validation from other human beings that are not living your life the quicker you lack the
20:39 ability to be impatient
20:42 You have to ask yourself and I believe the reason people want things 95% of the time is for outside validation
20:50 I'm not so sure that people want a Porsche for the Porsche or for what people think about them when they have a Porsche and
20:58 So I'm very passionate about outside voices
21:02 I think if you you know when I hear your story of like you wanted to do this
21:05 Then you were pushed this way now you found yourself back and you're this young
21:10 And I know that people that are 27 don't think they're young because 27 you're starting to smell 30 and when you're 20 30 feels super
21:18 old
21:19 My cousin my cousin worked for my father when I finished university. I was 22
21:24 He was 30 and that I remember the first day I walked into the store and I've been working with him for a long time
21:30 But I remember when I was 22 and he was 30. I thought he was a thousand
21:33 30 when you're 22
21:36 How old are you my friend?
21:38 How old 25 when you're 25 when you're 23 when you're 22 30 feels old like it feels like a big number
21:45 But when you're 47, you know how laughable that is because at 47 I feel 25
21:51 I feel like I remember 25 like yesterday was the year 2000
21:55 I had to go to the store and make sure y2k didn't break the computers
21:59 I remember the day I was his age and when I tell you inside my stomach inside my soul
22:04 Inside my ambition inside my dreams and hopes and wants I feel exactly like he does so you can imagine
22:11 How not worried I am at 27, but you have to start
22:16 Genuinely looking yourself in the mirror and asking how much of your impatience is predicated on outside opinions
22:23 And I would argue almost all of it
22:25 When I see others succeeding I ask myself
22:28 Why am I not at that place yet? You have the wrong definition of success. Let me explain what I mean by that
22:34 I think you're right, but I would also ask you if you're in the process of accomplishing that you're actually in the best place
22:42 The process of accomplishing it is often better than accomplishing it
22:47 I would argue for people that have pulled off making films that if we really ask them
22:52 The day of the seed of the idea is even more exciting than the day it airs when you were a maker
22:58 The process is more enjoyable making it like as a matter of fact almost all of my most challenging days is
23:06 When something I was excited about has been finished
23:10 Many think it's the day it's when you sell it. It's when it happens. It's when you're awarded. It's not the fun part. I
23:19 Understand you want to make a movie it makes sense. I'm just asking you you don't know anything about that person's journey
23:26 You're making assumptions and more importantly you need to figure out here's a good one. This is a very unique take on what you're saying
23:35 I'm curious if this is gonna bring you value
23:37 I'm gonna go in a very interesting place Dustin. You've never heard this for me. It's something I've been thinking a lot about
23:42 I've always been fascinated by perfectionism. You know people like I'm a perfect Gary. You don't get it
23:47 I'm a perfectionist and I always knew that wasn't true. I
23:51 Always knew that it was insecurity that they were scared to put it out
23:55 That's why they were using perfect. But be but saying you're insecure is
24:00 Not as cool as saying you're a perfectionist
24:03 But it was the same game. I've always been fascinated by people who position themselves as
24:09 Being tough on themselves, especially when they are quick to bring out that everybody around them
24:15 Always says that they're too tough on themselves because it means that they've been effectively
24:18 Storytelling to the people around them that they're too hard on themselves, which is actually a very on paper admirable
24:24 Kind of positioning I would I would ask yourself when you go to sleep tonight and you think about this
24:31 Are you interested in positioning yourself to the people around you as someone who is hard on themselves or are you hard on yourself?
24:40 Do you understand? It's it's interesting work. Yeah
24:44 You have to look inside because I think it's a smart way to position yourself as a protection mechanism
24:50 To give you time on your journey, so you're not judged while you're on your journey. I
24:55 Thought you would I like it too. It's something I've been thinking about
25:00 Please
25:04 Please sometimes people get intimidated by my facial expressions. Do you have any advice on how to approach that?
25:12 Yeah, so let me think a couple things one on the second one. It's you know, I love that you are aware of that
25:18 All you need to do is act on
25:21 that empathy and
25:24 insight
25:26 meaning if you are quick to
25:29 Physically react if somebody's throwing an idea and you're like or like you whatever it may be
25:36 If you feel like that's detrimental to you and I'm sure you're you're a human being you also want to be
25:43 Empathetic to how it makes the other person feel you just need to be on the offense to communicate the context meaning
25:50 One thing I do a lot. I'm also very
25:53 Intuitive very quick if I feel like I react to something and I can tell that it does not land. I will immediately
26:02 Contextualize it in the moment. I think you need to use your words. I
26:06 Think you need to use your words your words will offset your face
26:11 But you have to be active on it. You have to acknowledge if you're if you're recognizing that you need to be aggressive about that
26:18 Especially when you know, you're thinking the opposite. The first thing I would tell you to do is when you're feeling the opposite
26:25 When you're positive about something you're excited about that
26:28 You can never leave an interaction without without over communicating your enthusiasm because that will then offset that scenario
26:35 Look the first one to your point how to lead conversation with strict parents who don't support what I'm doing
26:42 the only thing that ever works is
26:45 Understanding the to your point the move out. That's a band-aid get into a fight with them
26:52 That's a band-aid set them straight. That's a band-aid. The only thing I've ever seen really work in this game is
26:59 Understanding the alternative will create a worse relationship with you and your parents
27:04 Meaning the biggest challenge kids have that love their parents or are frustrated with their parents of not accepting their journey is
27:12 Understanding that if they the child
27:15 compromises and appeases the parent
27:18 That within a decade you will have such high levels of resentment towards your parents that your relationship for the rest of your lives
27:25 Will be negative. And so what you're deciding because you love your parents is
27:30 that you're willing to bear your teeth and grind it out and be
27:34 Inconvenience and struggle with it in the short term for the greater good
27:38 because in this scenario 50% of the time it works out and
27:42 Parents always then rewrite history and are very proud and you know how it is
27:48 And even if it doesn't work out, even if the child that's on a journey does not succeed
27:52 They have put themselves in a position to not blame their parents because they gave it their full effort and they'll never have that
28:00 resentment or regret
28:01 so I think the answer to your question is in your scenario where you feel like you don't have a lot of
28:06 Options and you're not gonna change their mind with words
28:09 The only way you're gonna do it is by changing their mind with actions. It's just gonna take you 10 years
28:15 This goes into patience. It's just gonna take you 10 years and you have to in your mind go very high level and say I'm willing
28:22 For it to not be ideal for the next three five ten years
28:26 Because if I quit this and do what I want them to do
28:30 Well, there's no outcome that it's gonna be healthy
28:44 Their parents are like what are you guys doing?
28:46 expected until the content went viral on whatsapp and then the parents somebody shared it with the parents and then he's like
28:55 Oh, that's my son. Who made that. Of course, like I said, I saw Zach laughed parents are incredible in rewriting history
29:02 Oh, I've always believed you can do it
29:04 You know, it's look parents love their child as a parent. You love your children so much
29:12 That it makes you delusional you love them so much. You love them so much that you're not rational and
29:18 Parents do overvalue other parents opinions too much. That's why I hope this generation all of you the biggest thing that frustrates me is
29:26 Kids live it like almost all your parents had the same frustrations with their parents, but then they're doing it to you
29:34 That's right, my hope is that this generation becomes the generation that isn't a hypocrite
29:42 It breaks the cycle
29:44 How can I figure out if I have the idea for the next mega hit yeah, there's there's only two ways to do it one
29:54 The way they've always done it which is blind conviction
29:57 You don't know and you just have this burning desire to tell the story and you just got to go
30:03 The new way that we're all very fortunate to do is there is subtle ways to play with it in social
30:10 Where you don't give it away, but you're able to thematically get a feel if there's something that's resonating and I think in reality
30:17 Everything in the future given the structure we have is gonna look like a little bit of both, right?
30:23 Like there's a reason many people will do a little bit of both
30:26 You know my team when I think about my content Dustin sitting here he knows how true this is
30:34 There we have a very good understanding of best practices the first three seconds the thumbnail what time to put like we're very much in
30:42 The science of the art and we're in the art of the art yet
30:45 There are many things that I said here today
30:48 Definitely what I said to you because I've never said it before that when the team will take the raw footage right now
30:54 And they'll clip it into best practices
30:57 so they'll try to edit what we just did for a minute and I'll reply to the team when they give it to me and
31:02 Say no. No that one was special to me play in full and it'll be three minutes and 19 seconds
31:08 And I know that a lot of people won't watch it
31:11 I know that that video will get 47,000 views instead of 800,000
31:16 But I don't care because I want to say it got it. And so, you know though now
31:22 There's there's a very interesting line there of commercial success
31:27 Right with like your own passions, you know
31:31 You obviously get a lot more freedom long term to do what you want with commercial success
31:36 But I do think the way like, you know when I think about the exciting things
31:40 I heard about cinema here and when I think about what's going on with Netflix. I
31:43 Think we could probably all agree here. We're probably not very far away
31:48 From and this has been flirted with for a long time, but I believe in the next 15 years
31:55 We will have a massive hit of direct-to-consumer movie
31:59 That will really transcend our industry. I believe someone that looks the profile of y'all when I see this crew
32:06 I'm like, okay, that's an evolution of what I see when I go to Hollywood
32:11 That's more blended into what I believe in and what they're doing. It's a it's back to that blend, right?
32:16 Mm-hmm. I think that somewhere in the next 15 years maybe maybe y'all or maybe an evolution of what you're up to
32:23 Somebody's gonna sell
32:25 40 million copies of a movie
32:27 nine dollars on a website
32:30 the technology will be there that they could actually get 40 million different people like the things that we all know is like the
32:36 Blockchains gonna be profound
32:37 The blockchain right now is confused because of NFTs and the scamming not but like the technology is profound for what I just said
32:44 That on the blockchain versus the internet is a whole different thing, right?
32:48 Because you can prove it like there's just so many things going augmented reality. Hey, hi VR the metavert like there's a lot going on
32:55 So I think that we're all gonna be able to be in a place and I think you're gonna end up doing both
33:01 I think every creative person in in the future and starting now will probably end up doing both doing some stuff for commercial success and
33:09 Just like I'm doing with my content many things I do because I know it's going to work and I believe in it
33:15 And we'll do it the best way we can and I'll get four million views
33:18 But I'm very proud and I show it to my team because I want them to learn for me
33:22 I'm like no. No, I know this is not gonna do well
33:25 But for the seven people that what I mean, I know the exchange you and I had about that. I'm too hard on myself
33:33 That's a conversation because I study this stuff
33:35 What I said to you is not what people talk about when they talk about that
33:39 I know that there's 29 people on earth that are gonna watch that video and it's gonna start
33:43 They're gonna be ready to hear that a hundred of them like no Gary because they don't they're not ready
33:48 Right, but for the 29 that are ready and it's worth it
33:52 And I think that's how you have to think about your sci-fi thing. Is this something that's that you can't go to the ground?
33:58 In a hundred years God willing that you never made it that you'll be devastated
34:03 Or are you okay?
34:04 Cuz you got nine other stories that you're equally curious by those are things you have to decide for yourself
34:09 The film industry in Saudi Arabia is just starting is now the time to experiment or to figure out how to build it
34:17 I think they're one in the same
34:19 because I think what you're saying from experimenting is really the thing that fascinates all of us as storytellers, which is
34:25 Do you know many films were made that had all the science and polling and analytics behind it and flopped
34:33 Math is not undefeated when it has to dance with art
34:39 You understand math is undefeated when it plays with itself
34:41 but when it plays with art it can lose too so I think
34:46 What I would say is on both of the ways you asked it both should go as hard and as fast as it can
34:51 Because this is unprecedented times, right whether you experiment or you go with something tried-and-true
34:56 Or however, you define that the fact that you all
34:59 Starting with the founders have put in the 11 years
35:03 relationships that were formed before came together like
35:06 Look, it's really exciting for me who likes to root for people to know the position
35:11 You're in at the time that you're in and I think I think for all of you
35:15 for all of you
35:18 the timing in this incredible country in this genre is
35:22 Unprecedented it's really special
35:26 And so I I think this is you don't want to do what a lot of people end up doing which is in 30 years
35:32 Realizing how unprecedented it was and you're like, why did I leave at 6 o'clock?
35:36 And just go play video games like this was the time I should have went as hard as possible
35:40 There will never be a time like this again
35:43 Because people are gonna come
35:45 Like use this moment. What am I doing here people gonna come?
35:49 This is an unprecedented time go as hard as you can
35:54 So you said that you know, maybe you should have conviction or something if you want to experiment
36:00 Yeah, our conviction. It's got feeling. Yes
36:02 Yes, it needs to come out regardless. Yes the commercial maybe yes
36:07 How can we make maybe an educated guess using you know, living in the
36:13 Social age where we connected where we can yeah use data in this feedback
36:18 What how would you let's look? Yeah, let's let's use the film that you educated me on that did well
36:25 There is especially with your network and how you understand it. There was and there's an incredible opportunity for you to
36:32 disguise what you're working on yet still talk about the genre of wrestling and
36:37 Put that content into social with not the same characters with not the same stuff
36:42 But you can actually get validation to the interest around the genre by putting it out there in disguised form
36:49 I do that quite a bit
36:51 You just could it's not a perfect match
36:54 But the reality is is you can you really can you really can do clips and little mini, you know, like, you know
37:03 One two, three four minute clips that play with the themes of the show or I'll give you a good example
37:09 Maybe when you were writing it, you know, I don't know the film obviously
37:13 But maybe there's a big storyline of the relationship of the wrestler with his grandmother. I'm just making that up
37:20 Well, there's a lot of ways you could do interesting social content to 33 million people in this country of
37:26 around relationships with uncle
37:28 relationships with grandfather
37:30 Relationships with grandmother and actually look at the data and the feedback and be like wait a minute actually
37:35 Nobody's really talking about the uncle
37:38 Dynamic and it seems like that really caught a lot of people's attention
37:41 Maybe let's rewrite it and make it about the uncle's relationship instead of the grandma's that's how I think it can affect it
37:47 What to do if you start losing your authenticity, I love that
37:51 You know, I've always
37:54 felt that the thing that helps me with that the most is having the capacity to step away and
38:01 Step away is not as literal as you know moving out of the house or step away
38:06 It doesn't mean you have to step away and go for six months to the mountains and come back
38:10 it means stepping away in actually creating more time for yourself to think and
38:17 Be around the elements that were who you are
38:20 I'll give you an example with me when I feel like I'm like a little bit more detached from the center
38:26 I tend to go back to
38:28 spending more times with my friends from high school or college or
38:33 starting to
38:35 Narrow in my circle. Usually the reason you're getting away from your authentic place is the human relationships around you
38:43 And they don't even have to be bad
38:45 I'll give you a great example that might be similar to yours. I
38:48 realized three and a half years ago that I was getting worse at marketing because I hired too many people from agencies and
38:54 Even though I was the alpha and the CEO and dictating their energy was starting to bleed into me
39:01 and
39:03 So what did I do? I made a big to-do about it and said I'm not as good as I used to be
39:10 started spending more time on my content started a
39:13 I had the power to do this started to
39:16 Trim out some of the people that I thought were bringing too much of the tradition in a respectful nice way
39:21 I think you have to protect your energy
39:23 You have to really no different than a lot of us going through work
39:27 You need to figure out what in the job what in your personal relationships?
39:31 What in the content that you're consuming what in the people that you're talking to who who can you read?
39:38 Jigger and how do you get into that place?
39:41 You know like it it's getting back to those roots. I think it's funny how you ask the question
39:47 I would spend as much time as possible on
39:50 Who were you with and what were you consuming at the time that you were like the way you wish you were?
39:57 one of the more interesting emails I get from people that consume my content is
40:02 Titled like I'm back with you now that I've been doing it for a long time
40:06 I get a lot of people who say you know
40:09 I
40:10 Stopped watching the content five years ago, and I've started consuming it again six months ago
40:15 And it's really helping me and it's a version of what I'm talking to you about right now
40:19 Which was they reset and try to think about when they were happier or when they were more what they want to be
40:25 What were they doing?
40:27 What were they consuming and who were they with and I think it's that's an audit you need to consider
40:31 Does that make sense in any way?
40:35 It's hard you know the thing that's hard for all of us is it's in the subconscious
40:39 But I think that that's what I would do if I was when I'm in a rut
40:44 I like that I try to go back and like I do funny things like I go garage-sailing
40:49 I remember one time specifically I even worked in my dad's store for a day just to like I
40:56 I'm telling you I know it's I notice how I asked you does that make sense I knew you were gonna like it's not
41:03 Easy what I'm saying, but I do think if you can go very literal
41:06 And say okay, I was most authentic self when I was watching these kind of videos
41:11 Because you can even though you're a different man than you were five years ago three years ago
41:16 You can start to do that. It's something we're thinking about
41:19 How do I balance seeking more opportunities and striving toward my number one goal
41:30 I would say that every single person in this room. I'll let you finish the second question
41:34 But let me jump on this one every single person here
41:36 has probably missed out on the best thing that could ever could have happened to them in their lives and
41:41 The second you accept that truth
41:44 That the millions of decisions you've already made in your life
41:48 Have probably kept you away from the best thing that could have ever happened in your life the love of your life the idea of your
41:55 Life the business operator the money make like all of it
41:58 Then I think you can start leaning into the human experience
42:01 I'm telling you that's what it is. Like we we don't give ourselves enough room and it goes back to patience
42:09 Like, you know, how do you do both by knowing you have a lot of time to do both and as far as FOMO
42:15 You're never gonna know how it would have been anyway
42:19 Plus the thing I always think about
42:20 to make myself feel even better about the fact that I've said no to the best things that ever could have happened to me is
42:25 Knowing that it also would have changed the course of my life
42:28 So yes
42:29 Maybe I would have said yes to going out with my friends this night and I would have saw something and it would have led
42:34 To the idea of my life
42:35 But maybe then while I was executing that idea something bad could have happened
42:39 Maybe that would have brought me to a meeting in LA and I wasn't paying attention and a car hit me and I'd be dead
42:45 Right now I think people are fascinating in their inability to understand how much of life you don't control and that like everything is
42:53 Everything is FOMO
42:55 You need to flip it instead of think thinking of it. Literally you need to think of it much bigger like that's happening every day
43:02 Like every like you understand like you're thinking about it as like should I go do this project?
43:07 Should I do this? You're looking at the big things
43:08 I think it's even if you left your house five minutes earlier tomorrow, your life would be different. It's really really big
43:15 You know what? I mean?
43:15 Like I know it may sound silly
43:17 But what I think it's done for me and when I see why it works for others it actually liberates you
43:23 Into not thinking that you have to make these perfect decisions. I don't think I make any good decisions
43:27 I'm being serious
43:30 like I I just think I'm making decisions to the best of my ability at that moment and
43:36 Sometimes it's gonna be very good and sometimes it's not gonna be but you're putting too much pressure
43:40 Listen to the questions. We're just very good at putting pressure on ourselves to achieve something. That's not achievable
43:47 For what?
43:52 Actually, you know what based on the questions and I'll let you ask your second
43:55 I have one very good recommendation if you can find yourself in the next year or two
44:01 To have a conversation with somebody extremely elderly that is not a family member of yours do it
44:07 Maybe you can even have like a grandparents exchange program. I
44:12 Really mean this I think that the thing that I do well is I
44:19 My parents always told me stories as a child that when I was three and four I'd go outside and I'd hang out with
44:24 Ninety year old people and like genuinely like hang out with them and I always thought it was a funny story
44:29 And then as I've gotten older, I'm like, okay
44:31 Like I think I do believe in this old soul stuff like you're attracted to certain energies
44:35 I think all I'm doing now is telling you the things that 90 year olds
44:39 No, I think you need more of that in your life. Like like, you know, I
44:43 think the way to attack truly having FOMO is
44:48 Flipping it and understanding everything is FOMO. Everything's in play. You're missing out on everything all the time
44:54 Which then will make you comfortable with it
44:56 What was the second part
44:59 That's as transparent as your bosses allow
45:06 Right. The answer to that is like at VaynerMedia my company I can tell you that people are pretty transparent
45:13 Because I've established in 15 years that I don't fire people if they insult me
45:19 There's a lot of places where people get fired for the smallest things because the leadership is either insecure or traditional
45:27 I think the reality is is
45:30 There's a lot of ways to think about it
45:32 the literal answer to your question is as much as the leadership has allowed you to be the
45:37 deeper answer is as much as you want to be because
45:40 Do you want to be in a place where you don't feel like you can be transparent on the flip side?
45:45 I think some of the modern thoughts that we all have like the world works on non full transparency
45:52 You know
45:54 Privacy is valuable to like holding in certain thoughts has value as well. So I think what the world struggles with is balance and
46:01 So, you know, I think I think
46:06 What I'm worried about with the word transparency is that a lot of people don't realize that they're weaponizing it for judgment
46:12 So safety is a very big thing in leadership
46:31 In the in the American business culture good news in the American business culture, it's not common
46:36 Yeah, but just like that feeling of she can't really be transparent
46:40 Like there's always this feeling that should we share or not share should we do the full way or not?
46:45 So there's always that feeling so I go by the way
46:47 By the way, if you interviewed all 2,000 employees at VaynerMedia, they tell you the same thing
46:54 They have it better than everyone else. But when you are an employee
46:57 You're always thinking is this good or bad for me for my job? That's just the reality of like it's also being a public figure
47:04 I literally am thinking at every time that I'm one sentence away from having a problem, right?
47:10 Let's just it's the reality. It's the way the world works to me to me
47:14 I think the the bigger question is are you building the relationships that allows your transparency to land?
47:21 Right. The key to that question is you don't want to be transparent for the sake of transparency
47:27 You want to be transparent for the sake of trying to make the thing better?
47:30 To me building relationships with leaders contemporaries your direct reports parallel to you above you below you
47:38 I think we need more relationship building in the world
47:41 And I think that's a thing to be thinking about
47:54 And to the point you can't form trust without having a real relationship, right?
47:58 It's it's it's a forever challenge for everybody it's a huge challenge around the world
48:21 It's you know as we travel the world as I travel the world the thing I'm most interested in is cultures subcultures traditions
48:28 Every single part of the world thinks their work part is different than everybody else
48:33 But all of it ladders to the same human truth, you know, because you all know this
48:37 There's Saudi Arabia then there let's start even higher
48:42 There's the Middle East then there's Saudi Arabia then there's your company acts different to the company next door
48:48 Then it's your actual boss is even different than some of the bosses in the company
48:54 There's always more context and I think that's what you need to be thinking about
48:58 You're the answer is based on the relationship and the DNA of the people you want to have that conversation with
49:05 But back to who you're sitting next to and a good theme for everyone
49:10 words are powerful and
49:14 Using words is a really important thing. Most people have unhappy
49:19 professional careers because they don't use their words
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