My father, if he put $200,000, he would have $42 million. I got an allocation into Facebook. He said no. He had more money than me.
It's 2011. I just built a massive business for him. If he put $200,000, he would have $42 million. All of his knows of his life can't offset that, no.
That is the cynicism tax. This is the Gary Vee audio experience. The cynicism tax lighting, you're a speaker of real as real as you think. So it's not been thinking that it could be for reality and start using offers and get things done.
And I just wanted to get your definition of what a cynicism tax is. A cynicism tax is defined in my mind of you're deploying a perspective of no without putting in the efforts to see if it's a maybe, thus rendering you having no capacity to ever find upside that others don't see, or even few see, or the masses don't see. When you're in a practical optimism framework, you're saying maybe to everything. And when you say maybe to everything, you have the humility to quote unquote waste your time, AKA user time, to potentially say yes to something that most will say no to.
How do you think I found myself being right about email marketing, about having a website around Google AdWords, influencer marketing, mobile, everything that I've watched, anyone who's innovated, is met with nose. I am in practical optimism, which, oh, by the way, let me address this because I saw a piece of content this weekend where it said that I'm the king of toxic positivity. And I was laughing with how many people, and you know this, a lot of people are trying to weaponize this term, right? Nothing could be more interesting to me than people decided to create a term called toxic positivity and try to weaponize it against humans.
It's truly one of the saddest things I've seen in the world. Here's why, toxic positivity is really just slang term for delusion, right? Or a dream, right? If that word didn't exist, it'd be like Gary's just selling them a fake dream, right?
For me, all I talk about is practical truths. All I believe in is accountability. The market is always right. People are confusing practical optimism with toxic positivity or delusion, because they don't know the difference between trying for a little while or wasting all your time and money on it forever.
I am the king of what some people would say wasting minutes and hours and days on hypotheses that end up not being true. But that level of curiosity and practical optimism has also led me to 40 things that are so true that the upside of those 40 truths has created remarkable economic and emotional happiness. The tax on cynicism is none of the people that deploy it. Sammy, could have ever discovered the gold at the other side of the rainbow, because they never slid down the rainbow.
I hope you're enjoying the podcast right now. Make sure you follow the podcast. That's why I'm interrupting. Let's keep going on this show.
But follow the podcast. Don't make my mom super happy. They never get on you and try, because there's nothing in the game. And like real talk, if you are trying to accomplish something, but you've already talked yourself out of it and you're not doing it, doesn't that actually render it 100% impossible?
The end. Like the e-mail's 100% of the shots, you don't take or what was that quote? And people are so scared. And are so believing the negativity in the world that they choose to weaponize cynicism as a protection mechanism.
And then, if that's not enough, they go and try to deploy toxic positivity on people that are practically optimistic. I cannot laugh more about that. I also think it's really, I also think people are fearful based. Yes, it's exactly what's happening.
They're so feared that they're in Misery Loves Company and they try to deploy cynicism and labels to make sure everyone else doesn't do anything either. What about when you think, sometimes they give in like, and about the protection. Because I love you so much that I don't want you to be protected from these risks. We do all these risks.
I agree. Makes sense. How old are you? I'm 31.
Great, tell your parents you're 31. Like when people ask me, like, what do I do, Gary? And I'm like, you know, like, I get it. Like, I did ride a bike.
I'm scared of dogs as a kid. And I was scared of swimming because my mom was scared. I was gonna get drowned into my dog. I know what fear is.
I have no judgment. Unlike, you know, it's funny. Unlike people that are affected by my optimism and want to sling toxic positivity. I don't call it toxic cynicism.
I don't call it toxic fear. Notice what I called it. The cynicism tax. I don't even wanna, I always laugh when people wanna hurt.
I don't wanna, I don't even wanna use that word toxic because I don't want people's feelings. But do I believe that most of the people that read this article or watch this clip have a cynicism tax? Yes, I do. I think most people do not achieve.
Now, to the, let me counter myself. Let me join the wrecks. Do I think that there are people that are downright delusional? Like delusional?
Sure, I mean them all the time. You know, those people do gravitate to me. You know, it's funny. I get both sides.
You know, gravitate to me. The extreme cynics that are like so tired and are 10 years into their cynicism that they're actually ready for my practical optimism. They're not in year one. We're not gonna leave a comment toxic.
King of toxic positivity. They're in year seven. We're like, clearly my way didn't work. I wanna actually know what this guy's been talking about for the last 20 years.
And then there's people that a lot of those people are making fun of and think exist, which is like delusional people. Which is why, Sammy, Matt, I always talk about work ethic. Accountability. The market is the market.
Yes, you should quit after four and a half years of sucking at the same thing over to like, you know, like for the delusional, but I don't think the reps are the proofs, right? Of like that thing. It's sports. Like you're saying, you pay not work that work.
I think it's the proof. It's sports. Yeah. I laugh when people want to take shots.
I'm like, have you looked at my baseball card? Turn it to the bat. Do you understand what I've done? It's your world.
I'm here with Steve from Vayner Speakers. Like I told Steve and Zach, like as early as I met them, when I met Steve, I was already somewhere. Zach got me a little bit earlier. But actually, actually, that's right.
Steve, like, right, Steve knew of me. Like, like, I told everybody, I was gonna be a very successful speaker. Whether I was brash in delusional, if I was deploying toxic positivity on myself or not, or, you know, Steve was like, or Zach thought a little too brash or too much cursing or not professional enough, or yeah, I just don't get it, which is like super valid. Like I've been wrong about people all the time.
It didn't really matter in 2011, what I thought or what they thought. It just plays out. It just plays out. And so I would just tell everybody who's reading this that if you're willing to be quiet and really understand, are you on the side of paying a cynicism tax?
If you're on the side of the other side of the pillow, delusion at scale, try to find this middle, which is grounded in maybe. I'm a maybe trying to find yes guy. I'm not yes in everything. But fuck man, boy, do I see the world loaded with people there, no one.
I mean, my father really says no to everything, I'm dead. I like that, that was bar. I was like, well, good. So I was like, yeah, I forgot.
You know, that's it. I just, I just, how could you possibly achieve something if you killed it before you started? And then that's what got me down. Now I'll give you the inside of my career.
That's what that got me to, why are people doing this? Oh wait, people are saying no to protect themselves from losing publicly. Think about how safe it is. I'm gonna shit on people like Gary and others who are positive and say they're toxic positivity.
That makes me feel like I'm doing something because it's real like I'm doing nothing. And also the comment section too, it's so easy to be able to be up, you feel like you're. And you feel like you did something like yay. I got a hundred, like on this post that I'm talking about this weekend, ooh, 900 people agreed with me.
See Gary, you're wrong. Okay, see on the other side. Can't wait. Let's see how this plays out.
There's really no logic, like no actual practical logic to be a queen of cynicism. Optimism is not the same word as delusion. And cynicism is not the same word as thoughtful. It's gonna be thoughtful, so you don't buy a million dollar lottery ticket.
Like you don't wanna be, right? But again, I think people think cynicism is the same as like, well Gary, if I wasn't cynical, I would have invested in that beach from property in Peru and with my neighbors and we all lost our money. Like that's not cynicism. That's being thoughtful.
Cynicism is people, what's the Webster's definition of cynicism, T? An inclination to believe that people are motivated purely by self-interest, except for them. That would be like the people selling us the beach from property in Peru aren't just selling a beach from property and letting us make a decision. They're trying to trick us to take our money and it's gonna be bad for us.
That's different than this is a neutral business deal and should we, the four of us, should we all pile in our dollars? We got a new friend here, give me that 20 bucks to it and can we buy this property? The cynics will point to the nine times it doesn't work out. I'll speak to the time where I bought beach from Malibu property for 100,000, it's worth 40 million.
I didn't do that, I'm just saying good examples. But like for example, everyone around me, I got a real one. When I put all my money in, my father, he's gonna hate this. I'm not sure we should use this, but I just wanted to hear it.
My father, I got an allocation into Facebook the same time I did. He said no, he had more money than me. He said it's 2011, I just built a massive business for him. Cause not 1994, if he put 200,000 of you would have 42 million dollars, all of his knows and his life can't offset that, that, no.
Of his life, that is the cynicism tax. Hey, strategy, are you eating a strategy of cynicism or the strategy of optimism? Right, and understanding that we are not talking about thoughtfulness and delusion. It's very important you read that in.
Like I wanna make a very strong point. There's a reason cynicism exists as a word and there's a reason why thoughtful or whatever. What's the opposite of cynicism? I use thoughtful at first in mind, but there's other good words, I'm sure.
I don't think optimism is kind of it. It? Yeah. So these are the cousins, right?
So to me, I use optimism, but that's not delusion. In fact, that's in Chachi PPT, what's the difference between optimism and delusion is good? What's the difference between cynicism and thoughtfulness? I think we're like really good prompts.
Like that's my point. The general public, when they hear cynicism and optimism or positivity, I mean, the concept that there is even the ability to be toxically positive is so stupid. It's a misunderstanding of positive. What they're trying to say is delusion.
It's sad that we should kill that word. It's gonna prove in the world. Stop saying toxic positivity, start saying delusional. Cause positivity and delusion are not the same.
But you're tricking the kids. I'm fucking pissed about this. I've decided I'm pissed about this. You're fucking ruining the entire generation's opportunity because of your own hurt and looserness.
Fuck that shit. We're not letting that happen. Can you go and teach it? I think that's it.
That's perfect for the heart of everyone and we'll have it all finished up. Do you have it? Well, this is when running to somebody who's in a no mindset, a scarcity mindset, what are the first tactical steps you take to getting them to skew toward at least maybe? By actually saying yes to something they wanna say no to to see how not bad it is.
And to tell them that this will likely not work out, but this is just practice. Most people need to know what it feels like to lose $15,000 when they can't afford it. Like they're not dead, but it's a fucking dick. Because once if you really believe it, you're gonna feel better than you think.
That's the part that most people don't understand, that you actually believe it. Here's the, let me break down a scenario if you want to use the example. You believe it's a good investment, put $15,000 into a group fund with 10 other buddies to buy a single family home for $150,000 and make money off the derivative, you believe it. You say no.
They go on and do it. And by fucking year three, they're already paid back and making money for the rest of their life. You're fucking dead inside because you believe yes, but you allow cynicism and fear to make you go no. You go and put that $15,000 and it does not work out.
You don't feel as bad as the first example. That is what I have to teach people to go through. Got it? How do you do it?
It's different. It's just like working out. How do you get someone to work out? You physically drag the fucking ass out of their bed and bring them downstairs and go to the gym.
Like until they do it, you can't do it. And they'll fight you tooth and nails. Like an alcoholic. I just want to talk about it.
The things I'm getting is like, it's either a worst feeling is like the regret of not doing it or if they were feeling in the fear of before you even start. The worst feeling is you fully believe something and you go against your feelings because you let fear stop you. But in your true heart, like real talk, have you not done something in your life that you knew you wish you did you wanted to, but fear stopped you. And then it played out in a way that was good and you wish you were associated with that good.
Do you know what that feels like? It feels the worst. Like you wish you dated that boy and said yes. You wish you bought that thing.
You wish you invested in that stock. You wish you took that job. Like it's the worst feeling. The worst feeling is your soul is telling you yes.
And your brain fear when you let that overpower your gut. Yes, you let your brain fear. And then it like the, let me give you. So it works out, you're upset.
Let me do the reverse. Your brain fear says don't do it. Your heart and soul says do it. You take your brain and then thing does not work out.
It doesn't feel as good as you think it does. The highs are much bigger on success than the lows feel in not success and the highs are much higher than the good feeling of your no workout. You're like okay. Like some people get off on it.
See, you told you nine friends are suckers. Like you get your high on that, but there's no, you didn't win. This is what I can tell people, you didn't win. Like think about, is that what you want your life to be?
That you make fun of your nine friends who took a chance? Like is that fulfilling? So like again, like this is a real talk. This makes sense.
Like is that what your life to be? Like your nine buddies failed. They're a restaurant investment failed. And what you just be like, I was the only smart.
Like what are you doing? Like what is that life? I'd rather lose with my buddies. Like the drinking nights of like making fun of us.
Like remember when we tried to buy a Chinese restaurant in Alabama? Like that 15 times you have that story over beers is worth the $15,000 that I would be like, you know what again? Everything's relative and money's important. Like I'm not saying that.
I'm saying soul, you're soul. I'm saying like, I think you have the end of the road and you're gonna look back and you're gonna see everything and you're not there with like your buddies anymore. People have become intoxicated with like labeling everyone else without realizing there's nothing to do with their life. When the fuck did we all decide that we were dead?
People are literally walking around Earth like they think their fucking opinions are the fucking end all be all. And they need to fucking spread it near and wide on everyone's comment. Now I put out a lot of content, but I'm passionate about perspectives, but I'm not trying to impose my will on people. Like I'm not going around the internet and you're like, you're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong.
I'm just putting out what I believe and like let the chips fall. It's very, very, very different. I'm out here doing things and letting the chips fall and living life. Going around and just shitting on things, cynical armies and they think they're doing something.
They're not doing anything. They're reacting to other people's doing and they think the shitting on it is their contribution. They're doing nothing and they're going to wake up soon and be like 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 and be like, oh wow, I did nothing. I've watched this happen pre-social media.
I had a family of two very opposites. People are about to get to 70, 80 years olds and realize they did nothing in their life besides shit on other people's dreams. That's great. Congrats.
Hope you enjoyed that run on your only time on Earth. What a fucking pathetic point of view. You said that this is before social media because I'm wondering too, looking on TV shows now, I feel like TV shows, there's team this one or team this one in the comment section is so opinionated that it like informs like even the show. And do you think you said it with pre-social media because I was going to ask you to think it is social media that we all have an ability to be the comment?
We all had our opinions. They usually just sit in the kitchen table. All of our great grandmas had all sorts of opinions. They were just confined to the park and their other two lady friends, the dinner table, right, the PTA.
Now we're contributing to the ether. But I don't know if people understand, like here's one thing that I'm fascinated by the cynics. They're accomplishing absolutely nothing. What do you think makes you think?
Because clearly it's still feeding it. So they're still doing it at the cycle. Like you must be feeding that validation for getting, right? Yeah, they think they're doing something.
They're confused. You know, house is confused and alcoholic. A drug addict, a narcissist. I've really bad news for people.
If you spend your way going around and shitting on people around the internet, you have a disease. It's called insecurity. Like it's going to be widely understood as a massive disease. People spend five, six hours a night going around the internet and shitting on people.
That's a very hard person. We didn't know alcoholism was a problem. You know that, right? Like we knew, but we didn't know.
You know what I mean? Like, oh, he's a drunk. You know, like, we do not understand this. And I am going to yell at the top of my lungs about this.
This will be diagnosed in due time. It's a really bad thing. And cancel culture, like tearing down the establishment because of your own pain became, it's just, it's just does not work. It has never worked.
It just leads to a very dark and angry place. Because you're just the cocoon of dark. You know what the same toxic positivity is? As if positivity is like a problem.
It's one thing if you don't try and you shut your fucking mouth and you talk to no one and you're not trying by yourself within yourself, right? Like you're just sitting at home, you're not trying and you're not bothering anyone. I kind of am like, you know, my heart pours for that person. I'm like, yo, I hope I can find them and be like, you should try.
It's a whole nother thing to not try and spend all your time what you should be doing and trying to tear down everyone else who's trying. That's called cancel culture. That's called comment keyboard warriors. That's called a bunch of punk ass bitches.
That's a disease, right? That's a disease. When you're interviewing, say an executive, is this something that you sort of spot in someone? Yeah, sometimes.
By the way, only in the extremes. In interviewing, only the extremes. I knew in five seconds that Claude was awesome. Only if you're like in the top 10% of the extremes.
Like all of you, I could it. Really, I'm just like, you have to be like top 10, like literally like almost like a voodoo, like me. I think a lot of people can read me early, even before I was me. Like you just kind of know when you meet people.
Like, oh wow, that's like a lot of positive energy. Like, and then you watch quickly and think back it up, right? Brandon, I knew that about Brandon in five seconds twice, still know him 40 years later. First day of high school.
I knew, knew. And then I went to a baseball card show within six weeks in and he worked hard. And I'm literally from my father. I'm going to hire this guy from the store in October of my freshman year of high school.
Didn't work for us for eight years from that. Like knew that all the way to the other side. There have definitely been people I've known. Like I sometimes get like visceral, human, like goosebumps, like turning my stomach when someone's very negative.
Like, like an animal. You know, like animals, like, run away. Like I run away from people. It's going to break you up by like, run away.
Where I've gotten caught is sometimes I know someone's hurt and I see him as a charity project. I've hired a lot of those, but that's where I've hired poorly. They're not complete visceral poison. They're a charity project for me.
And I've blended my charitable work in my professional job. And I want to stop doing that. And I've stopped doing that. Like the news, all four of you are fairly new.
None of you are hired as a charity case. Whereas like, no bullshit. Somebody could have gotten your jobs. That was half as good as you in my subjective opinion interviewing because I wasn't able to detach my charitable energy from my operational energy.
Especially when it tends to always map similar to my dad, like deeply insecure, which is always the tell. Usually older, you know, like, some of the characters are still around like fit bad. I just haven't fully reconciled yet. But I'm not adding anymore.
How much of your success very generally speaking percent of the anything specific is generally, do you think has to do with this conversation? I'm skewed toward maybe towards some of that optimism, allowing serendipity to sort of just play out. Way more than you could ever imagine. Way more, like, if I had to put a percentage on it, a number that would make your head spin.
There is a potential, my practical optimism framework, the fact that I approach almost everything with a maybe, with an effort to get to yes, has a substantial double figure, 20%, 30%. Maybe more, maybe I can't even see it. That's how much I know how big it is. Maybe all of it.
It's really a big deal. That's why I'm passionate. Everybody, if you enjoyed this podcast, please go back and look at the prior episodes. They're loaded.
I appreciate your attention. And thanks for being part of this journey. See you later.