Gary Vaynerchuk and the Profound Power of Ego

Daring to Be an A-Player

Gary Vaynerchuk’s incredible business prowess was first demonstrated, right out of college, when he took his family’s $3M wine business and grew it into a $60M business in just five years. Since then Gary founded VaynerMedia, a 600 person social and creative agency with a $100M a year run-rate.

He has become a prolific angel investor in companies like Facebook, Twitter, Uber, and Tumblr. He eventually co-founded VaynerRSE, a $25M investment fund.

Gary was born in Babruysk, Belarus, in the former USSR. His family had very little and were fortunate enough to find their way to the United States, something that Gary still feels gratitude for today.

Gary’s knack for growing business showed itself early when, at a young age, he began ripping flowers out of his neigbors’ yards and selling them right back to them. He says he feels his biggest obstacle in life was the system. Perhaps not in the way you’d expect, however; Gary feels his biggest setback was being forced to stay in school. If he could have had it his way, he would have been taking business classes at age 5.

As can be gleaned from Gary’s impressive resume, he’s a guy with a lot of confidence. In this episode, Gary speaks to the idea of ego and confidence: the different between the two, how both were vital to his success, and why ego can actually make you humble.

In This Episode

• What your stress level can tell you about yourself
• Mortality Reality Check: Can it relax you?
• What you can stand to gain from saying “no”
• Brainstorming health hacks
• The boundaries of a healthy ego in business
• The life-changing power of confidence
• Why doing good for others is so important
• Gary’s uncanny ability to read future trends… and what he’s looking at next
• The quickest way to get ahead in any industry
• What defines an “A Player”

Quotes From Gary Vaynerchuk In This Episode

“I don’t get stressed that much because the truth is that it could always be worse. My parents could die or my children could die. Business is not a place where I’m willing to deploy stress when there’s the health and well-being of the 7-10 people that are closest to me to concern myself with.” —@garyvee

“I had to learn to say no; it’s a huge thing. You’re flattered that people want you or are willing to pay you to be places, but you have to say no because you’re giving up time, health, and business opportunities.” —@garyvee

“I don’t feel like anybody owes me anything for the good things I’ve done. I think the collective, the world, the market, the universe, will net me out positive for doing the right thing. But it’s not quid pro quo: it’s not ‘You do this because I did this.’ I do it because its what I want to do; it’s the right thing to do. I don’t believe the jab-jab-jab-right hook entitles you to land the right hook. I just think it gives you the at-bat to ask for the right hook.” —@garyvee

[Tweet “”It’s amazing how important you can be and how unimportant you are.” —@garyvee”]

“I’m equally grateful in deploying humility as I am in deploying enormous ego, which I think creates a balance and allows me to be palpable and not obnoxious. But I would be lying if I didn’t say I have ego and bravado and confidence. I do think it’s an enormously important factor to my success.” —@garyvee

Resources

• Gary’s newest book, “AskGaryVee”
• Gary’s Website
• Gary’s Twitter
• VaynerMedia
• Gary’s book, “Crush It”
• Gary’s book, “Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook”
• #AskGaryVee Show
• Wine Library TV
• Obsessed with Samantha Ettus
• The YES Virus