– Dimitri, the way I
prepare for a keynote is to think about punching every audience member directly in the mouth. I look at the audience as
my enemy, yet my child. There’s this kind of weird mix between loving them with all my heart and really wanting them
to get the message. There’s a disrespect and there’s a love, and that mix is what I do. I’m literally like a boxer
before hitting the ring six minutes before I take stage. Maybe that’s where Jab Jab
Jab Right Hook came from in some ways, because I’m
literally in this crazy zone. Eight minutes before I’m talking, I don’t even know that I’m giving a talk. I’m like just like doing
my email, I’m just like laughing, crying about the Jets, like you know whatever it is,
but around six minute zone, I go into this weird place
and I get very focused and I say to myself, “You’re only
as good as your last talk.” And so even though I’ve
had a great seven year public speaking career,
none of that matters the second I take that
stage for the next time, because you’re only as
good as your last at bat. And so, my friend, to answer
your question, Dimitri, the way I prepare for
a speaking engagement is the same way I would prepare for war. – [Voiceover] Jared asks,
“Gary, you said ignorance

uh, uh, you know, my
question for you is this, uh, um, do you speak Russian? (speaking Russian) And for all of you that
don’t understand that, that was Russian with a
very heavy English accent predicated on the notion
that it was important for my parents to become Americanized and so we didn’t live in Brooklyn in Brighton Beach with
all the other Russians. We went to New Jersey. We were very proud to become Americans and very much pushed English
language in the home.

curious how you feel about
the impact you’ve made on people you’ve touched
and inspired over the years. – Carlos thank you so
much for that question. It’s very sweet. You know, a lot of you really know me because you’ve been following my career for quite a while and
we interact quite a bit and I think I’m more
tangibly and touchable than a lot of the other kind
of people that look like me and we engage quite a bit and I have a lot of contacts,
back to question number one, in comparison to others and
all that, blah, blah, blah, but the truth is, most of you don’t really, really, really know me and I think that, you
know, with the hustler and businessman and the north star of buying the New York Jets, one would say, he loves
and wants to buy the Jets more than anything and thus, the money associated with that process is very important to him. It is a distant second to
know that I’ve been gifted with a communication
style that touches people, that makes them, you know, maybe I’m saying the same
thing they’ve heard before, it’s either my conviction
or it comes from my soul in such a way, I talk about
what I believe in so much that it’s been able to move people. Crush It! was clearly a catalyst ’cause that book really
did move people’s careers. So many of you have been affected. It blows my mind actually to think about how many people have been affected even in small ways. Creating more positivity for some people and there’s just so many variables of how I’ve affected people and I don’t say that in like, look at how cool I am, I’m just so goddamn thankful, you know. It’s, you know, so how
do I think about it? I think it is my legacy. I think it is the essence
of who I am as a human being and it is the singular thing
that I’m most proud of. And it gives me enormous confidence of what kind of parent I’m going to be and that makes me very, very happy. – So um, you know, Gary Vay-ner-chuk,

do you consume and are
there any particular people you listen to? – Thomas, how are you? Thank you for the opening
question on episode 18, little bit a better mood for me than 17. I consume a lot of Twitter, predominantly. A little bit of Facebook newsfeed, a little bit of espn.com. I actually consume a shockingly
low percentage of media and as it comes to following people, who do I listen to? Again, I really don’t really pay attention to a whole lot of taste
makers or notable figures. I’m very within. I’m very selfishly stuck in my cocoon. But this is where I’m gonna
throw you for a curveball and I do think it’s a differentiator. I spend an obnoxious, heavy amount of time listening to my community. Last night, after lots of meetings, right before bed, instead
of consuming stuff as the normal marketplace does, I was reading the comments
that a lot of you left for me in yesterday’s episode. It is more interesting to me to understand what my, the people that I’m lucky enough
to give me their attention, what they’re looking for from me, a little bit about their life. I know that Chef Lizette
is moving to New York. I’m consuming my community which I think is me repaying
what you’re paying me with which is your attention. I’m giving you back my attention and so I haven’t anchored myself, maybe out of pride or bravado or ego to other taste makers or leaders. I don’t do that at all. It keeps me fresh in some way. It continues to allow me to be in my lingo and I don’t really wanna be affected. I’m very in my zone so my
consumption is quite low. I read Techmeme, Jason Hirschhorn’s email for like what’s in the news, but I’m not consuming much and I’m not following much except for you. – Gary, should I still
pursue a degree in marketing

when starting up
VaynerMedia from scratch?” – Seth, you know this
is another place for me to give a little bit of insight. Believe it or not, yes, not
doing Wine Library day to day with my dad. Yes, the notion of
taking the risk of being in another family business and
not ruining the relationship with A.J. Confident on both fronts. The hardest thing was actually
being crippled by options. The notion that over
the first nine months, it was very difficult
for me not to think about the fact that me and
A.J had 800 other things we could have done and did
we pick the right thing. I think a lot of people
who are watching this are always crippled. I get this a ton, which is
why I picked this question. Well, I didn’t pick it, you
know, Steve picked or we picked, you know, how did we pick it? – [Steve] This one was collaborative. – This was a little more
collaborative, right? You tried to give me a different question and I said, “No.” No. I like this one, because it
allows me to give an answer to my audience that I see a
lot of you struggling with. It’s been asked of me a
ton on email, twitter, and other places, which is, at some point, you’ve gotta
put your big boy pants on and say, “I’ve made this decision.” And you move on. The buyer’s regret or remorse, or like, did I do the right thing? Or crippled by options is
something so many of you are struggling with. And I struggled with it as well, especially with all the
opportunities that I’ve been able to be given. I’m so fortunate that I’m
struggling with, like, should I do a national TV show? Should I extend the fund by 10 times and do a quarter billion dollar fund? Should I quadruple down on Vayner? You know, I’m crippled. I’m crippled by options, which
is a blessing and a half. And so the hardest thing
was, in 2009, was like, is this the right thing? Don’t forget, Vayner
started in 09, May of 09. Misha was born in May of
09 and Crush It! came out in October of 09. So there was all those
other things going on. The struggle, the hardest thing was not starting the business. It was second guessing, was it the right use of
my time and A.J.’s time and upside and talents at the time. And that’s it.

– Gary, I’ve got a very
serious question for you. – Hey, Brian. – How the (bleep) do you
get away with saying (bleep) so many times on stage
and not catch a bunch of (bleep) flak for it? – Brian, as the CEO of an
up and coming IPO company, I’m very impressed with your
audacity to ask that question, which leads to my very simple answer, which is two fold. I think the reason I get
away with dropping the F bomb is number one, I mean it when I say it. There’s no tactic. I’m just in the zone. I mean, I was inspired by
Richard Pryor and Chris Rock and Eddie Murphy and their
styles have translated to my keynote styles. I feel like I do a little bit
of a stand up timing process and I think that because
I’m not forcing it and because it’s my natural zone, a little Jersey boy action, people respect authenticity. The other reason I’m able
to get away with it is I don’t care if I receive flak. As a matter of fact, I use
the F bomb to vet people. You know, I’ve said it before,
I’m gonna say it again. We’re gonna do it again,
another question coming up. This is a platform for
me, for the hard core, last seven years fans of
mine, for me to go one layer deeper into things I’ve never said before. The truth is I actually use
my F bomb to vet other people. I actually react to the way
you’re reacting to my F bomb because if you are a person,
back to the last question, that is so thrown off by
using the F bomb in public, in a public setting, with a keynote, that you’re then not looking
at the big enough picture for me, just my personal. You’re judging me, I’m judging you. So if you are incapable
of getting over that and seeing the bigger
statement that I’m creating, well then you’re not gonna be somebody that I wanna do business with, invest in, or take on as a client to begin with, because you’re at this micro level. That’s right, you’re at this micro level. And that’s just not a
place where I wanna play. I don’t want to play in
the micro, so (bleep) you. – [Voiceover] Seth asked,
“What was the hardest thing

So, you know, I just quit my job at radio after being on air since
I was 16 years old. I kinda risked everything
for this new Dash Radio app. I hope you’ve checked it out. You’ve gotta tell me
your favorite station. But what was the riskiest
thing you’ve ever done in your career? Because it was tough for me to leave something I’ve been at for so long, especially an institution
like traditional radio, in order to try something new with zero listeners today to disrupt that industry. What was the toughest choice you ever made in your life or in business
about leaving something that you’ve done to do something new? – You know, again, the enormous excitement I have behind doing this show
and thank you all for allowing me to do this show, is predicated on the fact
that I get to tell you things you’ve never heard before. I’m gonna say something
that I’ve never ever ever ever ever ever have
talked about before. Which is the toughest
professional thing I’ve ever done. My cliche answer historically
has been, you know, leaving the Wine Library
with is my first love, and that’s a very big truth. But as I’ve started becoming a little bit more in
tune with my own feelings and have given this thought, the toughest thing I ever had to do, and Steve, pay attention to me. You’ll like this answer. The toughest thing I ever had to do, believe it or not, was make the decision that I was okay with putting myself out there. You know, a lot of you
probably have at this point forgotten because the Gary Vee persona and narrative has taken over
my career and my Wikipedia and things of that nature. But the first 10 to 15
articles that have ever been written about me in the
AP and the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal was, “Wiz Kid Builds Business.” That the establishment,
the business world, the people that I look up to in ways, maybe not specifically because I don’t really have heroes, but respect their opinions
and their accomplishments. I went from the narrative of being a great business operator that
saw trends and executed it for financial gain,
which is like something everybody deems to be so noble in business to being a self promoter, to being a social media guru. To being an author. Making the decision that I could accept the rolling of the eyes
of the Ivy League grads or the establishment to get bigger reach, to build audience to jam with people, to be human and extroverted and taking that step back or two or three in the minds of the top two or three percent was a pretty interesting,
difficult decision for me. Knowing what the consequences were of putting myself out there
and that I would be respected less for my
business accomplishments because of it wasn’t the easiest thing
that I ever had to deal with and something that’s very honestly I still continue to deal with. I, now, this is where you
start getting into the, I don’t know, DRock, if you
wanna make it dark. But this is where you start
getting into the darkest stuff. In a weird way, I like the underestimation that comes along with it as well. Because the truth is the
reason that entrepreneurship and business speaks to me
especially in an American context is that the truth is undefeated. That ultimately, you
know, if I go and execute multiple hundred million dollar businesses and make smart investments, it’s all net net, right? Like you may not like
the fact that I don’t dress up or that I curse on
stage or that I self promote or whatever you wanna call it. But if I execute, you just have to eat it. And so that was clearly,
DJ, that was clearly the toughest thing for me, which was that I was consciously self aware
that I was entering a realm where I would start
becoming more disrespected even though my accomplishments
were gonna be greater. That mis-positioning was something that, that was tough.

“personal/business goals –
aside from owning the Jets? “What do you find useful in the process?” You know, I really don’t
set any business goals other than to continue to gain leverage. You know, pay forward. Provide value to the audience. Make money. Keep it practical and ambitious. But I don’t have a goal of like, “I’m gonna get VaynerMedia to 100 million “and then this is gonna happen,” or “The fund is gonna return three times “its 25 million dollar
investment at Vayner RSE “and then this will happen,” or, “In four years, I’m gonna get into the “car wash business.” I just don’t go that route. My route is really my fundamental play is I always talk about my
one goal being the Jets and for the hardcore people
that followed my career, I’m gonna throw a little
bit of a curveball to you, give you a little more fun fact. That’s kinda the thing that
I wanna do with this show. The only other core strategy I have is collecting people. You know, finding the
individuals that I think I can jam with for the next 15, 20, 30, 45 years professionally. That to me is the global strategy. Who can I do business with
as a teammate forever.

– [Voiceover] Robert asks, “I know viewers get a
lot out of your new show, “but what is the most
significant experience “that you get out of it?” – Robert, that’s a tremendous question. I appreciate it. You know, for me, it’s
kind of weird, right? I have this whole chapter
of doing video blogging on an everyday basis
that I enjoyed so much I did it for five and a half years. I think the best thing I have
is being back in the game, a game that I love. I mean, I love running businesses, but doing this video blogging thing, it’s just a lot of fun for me. The other thing that really
I get a lot out of it, a lot of you hardcore old
schoolers will remember Mott and those kind of things. I mean, DRock, show this. Show Andy, and there’s
Zack and Joe Stunwin, and here we are in… By the way, DRock, he
loves it like all clean. Show the table, DRock. He was scared that you
guys would be like… He’s a little polished for me at times, but the biggest thing I get is that here I am in Atlantic City… By the way, little fun fact real quick. Preshow to this Sunday
night’s Miss America from eight to nine, I think
I’m getting a lot of action so make sure you DVR
that and check that out, but here I am in Atlantic City. What would be going on right now? I would be sleeping or doing e-mail, but here I’m jamming. There’s kind of like team, like family thing. I love that so much. I’m creating something. Creating something is special, and so I appreciate you guys
caring enough at enough scale to make me want to continue to do this, and build something. There’s no substitute for the feeling of accomplishing something, and that’s what I feel is happening here. Thanks so much. Thanks for watching this episode.

– [Voiceover] Iwona asks, “What would you do if you
were in your dad’s shoes “and you didn’t come to
the US until you were 23?” – You know, Iwona, I want to believe that if I came to the US in the way that my dad did, which was not only at 23 years old, but also with a child and
another one on the way, that I would do the
same thing that he did, which was completely work
his face off to allow the next generation to kind
of build on top of that, and so, you know, I don’t think I would’ve
done anything different. I think a lot of it’s circumstance. My dad had a great uncle
who had a liquor store that he got to work in. That great uncle passed away and it was just all these
kind of different variables. I think circumstance has a lot to do with what I would’ve done, but the one thing I
know I would’ve done is work every hour of every day.