Kevin Hart: They're Lying To You About How To Become A Millionaire! I Was Doing 28 Sets A Weekend!

0:00 You can't be afraid to verbalize your ignorance. That's holding you back. Give me an example. I can give you several. Like investing. Like. You're telling me if I put this money in here right now, I get 30X. 20X. What the f the f scam. I know a scam when I see one. Go buy you another idiot. Cause it ain't happening over here, buddy. But When you go, you say, I don't know what that means. How does investing really work? I don't know where to get. Now you're a part of the right conversations. You're a part of the right opportunities, but you get there by being the dummy in them. And now look at what I'm able to Give

0:39 Kevin, it took 13 years where you did your first stand out, to you having your moment. But why didn't you quit? Because of the lessons that my mom gave from being very scarred for my brother. Let's go back. I grew up in North Philadelphia. My brother told the drugs. My dad was always in jail, out of jail, my mom wasn't gonna let that happen with me. So we had an agreement, I had a certain amount of time, to make comedy work. And in my mind, it wasn't gonna be hard because there was no other option. I will figure it out. So I was driving from Philadelphia to New York every day. I wasn't coming home until 4 a.m. where I was doing 25 to 28 sets a weekend. I worked at for a very, very long time. And the struggle left you with days of what am I doing? Can I pay my rent? this man but my mom's biggest lesson was you're not quitting and not many people are going to do the 13 years of hard

1:28 Most people opt out at year two and wanna go find a quick return. Or you keep quitting to start something else that you think is the idea. It's just a cycle. You're never completing anything. You gotta make a choice of the thing you're gonna do and finish. I made the choice that stand up comedy was what I was going to finish. Because if I focus and did it well, that would open up the doors for me to do everything else that I wanna do. But they say that you can't have everything in life. So what is the cost? Have you struggled with your mental health? What advice have you got for young men in terms of like what it takes to be a good man? That's a weird thing that's happening where the definition of a good man is so foggy. It seems that in this time today, more men are being forward wanting. to express and talk. But the fear of being judged. After

2:11 Do you have that fear? J me thirty seconds of your time. Two things I wanted to say. The first thing is a huge thank you for listening and tuning into the show week after week. It means the world to all of us, and this really is a dream that we absolutely never had and couldn't have imagined getting to this place. But secondly, it's a dream where we feel like we're only just getting started. And if you enjoy what we do here.

2:38 Please join the twenty four percent of people that listen to this podcast regularly and follow us on this app. Here's a promise I'm gonna make to you. I'm gonna do everything in my power to make this show as good as I can now and into the future. We're gonna deliver the guest that you want me to speak to, and we're gonna continue to keep doing all of the things you love about this show. Thank you. Uh In so many ways you're

3:04 Clearly an anomaly. For you to be the way that you are, there must be some kind of early context that people need to be aware of, a certain wiring or a cauldron that has has sort of shaped you into who you are. What is that context that I need to understand? I am a very driven individual. And I'm driven off of Ideation.

3:24 I I like the fact that You can Have thoughts. And If you're in love with the thoughts that you're having.

3:33 You can be energized to bring those thoughts. Like into a bigger Reality. That's like That's the real fuel

3:42 To the brain for me. Do you think at the at the very core of you that's what's motivating you? Because That's like a process, but the The outcome of that is success in all its forms, it's material success. Or failure. I mean, like there is no success without failure. They go hand in hand and

3:59 With the failure comes amazing lessons. Adjustments. And you get sharper because of the shit that you've done wrong. Or at you. didn't know to approach a certain way that you now

4:12 know how to approach. So I embrace the concept of failure just as much as I embrace the win of success. Had I met you at ten years old or fifteen years old? How similar would you have looked in facility? Not even close. Not really close.

4:27 Not motivated to do the things that I didn't want to do. Uh not a good student. Kinda Fucking off school, the opportunities to come with school. the extracurricular activities that I didn't want to do that I was doing that my mom made me do. Hanging out was the thing. Hanging out.

4:44 Was the luxury, it was the fun, and it's It wasn't available. My mom was strict. So I didn't have the luxury of doing all those things. Which is why I wanted them more. I found this photo of your mother. Yeah.

4:57 Me and Nancy Hart. She was strict. Very strict. With me. Uh my older brother, he had the Yeah, he had a he had a little more lean he he

5:07 Freedom. You know, he Curfew late at night. But my brother did all the all the other stuff. My brother Sold the drugs, you know.

5:18 Did the you know, the smaller tiers of crime and and stupid shit as a teenager. to her own mom felt like she wasn't gonna let that happen with me, so she was much more protective. Um because of the mistakes she saw that she made with my brother. You see what I'm saying? So I got the I got the short end of the stick.

5:36 Uh. So I didn't have the curfew. I didn't I wasn't able to go hang out. I wasn't able to do all those things. And that's why I wanted that So much. So I rebelled. And the spaces where Do you have to do this?

5:50 I was like, Well you don't let me do this, so I don't I don't wanna do that. So I kinda fucked off a lot of those opportunities. And your father. Him me with a spoon. Sponge.

6:02 My guy. Uh You know, a fuck up in the eyes of most, but My my dad. You know, he didn't necessarily do the right things in life. Um

6:15 Gang. Crum. All of the shit. Jail, in jail, out of jail, drugs. Uh I mean that that

6:25 environment that we were raised in. It's not like you know the The best environment. for for anyone, but it's a It's an amazing environment for those that live in it because it's all we know.

6:37 And the normal C is the low. My mom strive for the higher side of it. My mom was Education. uh degree, trying to get another degree, trying to get a master's, trying to my mom was like always wanting to get better, always wanting to educate herself more.

6:54 Because she felt that It was the biggest strength. that nobody can control but her. And they separated. Yeah. They were never never married.

7:02 Never married. Never married. And did they physically separate a a certain point. I mean, I think my dad my dad only lived in the house with me Like my really younger years, like Maybe when from like

7:17 Five to seven. Maybe eight, if I can remember. Like I didn't have I didn't grow up with like my dad home. You know, so when my mom was like Fuck that, you're out of here.

7:31 It was over. My dad it was weekend dad. Or every other weekend. Or Yeah. During the week stop by.

7:40 Then he was in and out of jail, then he got on drugs, we didn't see him at all. How did you understand that as a kid? Like how does a kid understand The that coming and going, being in jail, drugs. You are

7:52 A product of your environment. And in that environment, that's the norm. So when you so when you say like How did you understand that? Well, nobody had a dad. Yeah.

8:03 Right, they go. All my friends are dads like We see'em when we see'em and we love'em because that's what we That's what we thought, David. Should be. It's not like I'm

8:14 Gone over a volume of homes. Where I'm seeing the father sit with the family and the mom and they're doing dinner and they're having Conversations and the you know. It's this

8:28 Happy household. I I I only had A couple of examples like that. I remember when I went over one of my friends' houses, um From the swim team and I remember he had his own room.

8:40 It was like crazy. You get to close the door and shit? Like this is your space? Yeah, it's my room. I had a hallway. We ain't had no goddamn room. We had a hallway.

8:50 My bed's in the hallway, every you could always see me. This is where This is where I am. Me and my brother right here in the hall. Well he's bug beds. My friend had grass, he had a backyard. I was like, this is fucking

9:04 Crazy. Yeah, we don't have none of this where we live. So Because that is the norm, I never It never affected me.

9:13 Right. Like I never I was never taken back. by the obstacles of A household. My mom and dad just didn't get along and it didn't work. All right. It is what it is.

9:26 Did you have Mel R role models at the time? I don't think that I was in the space of no. when it comes to role model. Like at at this time like I I I didn't have the mindset of what a role model is or should be, I just had good people.

9:44 around me who acted as like parenting AIDS to my mother to help her because of her schedule. But I never remember at that age looking at other families like Oh, this is what I This is what I want and this is what I'm striving. To get or gain.

10:00 You know, like I It was it was shoulder shrug, a lot of shoulder shrugs. It wasn't until I got older. Then I think the lessons, not I think I know, the lessons that my mom was kinda laying down started to click in differently. I mean one of those lessons that your mother was trying to lay down Can be seen.

10:17 In the Bible. Thousand percent. With this. There's a Best story ever. Best story um that I'm able to tell.

10:26 She put something in the Bible that's hanging out there as you can see. Checks, man. I couldn't pay my rent. Can I pay my rent? I needed help.

10:35 And she was like, Well, I'm not helping you. Until you start reading the Bible. And I was like, mama, I'm reading the Bible. I was lying. Line. I'm reading it. Come on, mom, this is real.

10:46 Mom, they're gonna kick me out. Are you reading your Bible? Yes. When you read your Bible, then talk to me. And

10:55 She did this for like Oh wow. And one day I was like, you know what, man, I was I was literally by myself. And I was like, what am I gonna do? I said I did.

11:05 Bible. Read the Bible now. Open up the Bible. And like my checks. Rent. Like multiple months of rent checks. I fell out. And I was like, you know what?

11:20 Pretty amazing. Pretty amazing. And then I had to actually Open the Bible and and start reading the Bible. But That was her way of

11:32 Course knowing that I'm lying. First of all. And B Giving me like one of the best lessons ever. You know. Somewhere along the lines, the gems that she dropped.

11:44 Started the click. And The Idea of not starting things that I'm not gonna finish. That's what really resonated with me the most.

11:58 So like I started a lot of stuff that I didn't complete. in the younger years. That was me and my mom's battle. No, you're gonna finish it and she will make me finish it. Now I wanna quit. No, you're gonna finish it. So I ended up doing a lot of things with an attitude.

12:13 Which is why I have to ask this. Mm. Then as I got older. You realise, well, why are you putting time into something In the beginning. That you don't want to see through. Why?

12:24 Or just because you have like a rough moment or a rough patch. Why is it so easy for you to quit? Why why is the idea of quit? So quick to you. to come up with and why are you so comfortable. With the results of that.

12:40 I shouldn't be. And that shouldn't be my like motto. So we don't stop. If we start something we see the entire way through. At the end of it.

12:51 Even if you don't like it to the highest. level. You know that you put your time, energy into something that you're at least proud. Proud that you did. Proud.

13:03 that you were able to put a period on that sentence. And now you can start the next thing. It's not until you complete something that you can honestly sit. With yourself and go. That's that's

13:18 That's what life is. That's called seeing things through. The entire way. What was it that changed in you? Like what happened that made you suddenly start to take opportunities more seriously? When you saw the opportunity, you fucked off.

13:32 I remember the the the My big gummy moment, and I've had a lot. So I don't know how much time we have to go now, but I got a lot of Dummy moments, but my biggest dummy moment We hooky school to go and have our senior day.

13:50 We go to Great Adventure, Theme Park. On the east coast. And it was a moment. Where We're done.

13:59 And we're talking, we're like eating and hanging out. And all my friends were talking about the college that they were going to go to. I mean already been accepted. They had already Had letters and shit. When did y'all do this?

14:17 Mm. When did everybody apply? When did everybody When did you guys take the S A T? I just I took mine but I've rushed it because I wanted to get here. I wanted a hookie. Wait, How do you guys know where you going already? I had no

14:33 Knowledge, no idea. All my friends and went on to the next stage. They let me be the dummy by myself. And That's when it dawned on me that Like

14:47 Nobody cares. About you more than You should care about yourself. And Nobody

14:56 Is giving you The roadmap to like The wind. You have to go find that information. You gotta go Discover it. You gotta you gotta wanna get it. You gotta wanna do it.

15:08 And with the right help, the right world of knowledge, it can better help position you, but ultimately you have to wanna You gotta wanna do it. And me and just not wanting to do shit. Kinda put me in a really fucked up position early on.

15:24 What's it? Finding The thing, your thing, that More of a

15:31 apparently m sort of a motivated individual.'Cause at some point you go from being that Kevin to the Kevin that can't stop working. Yeah. Well you well, that was my light bulb moment. Okay. Look at what not applying myself got me. I feel like the dummy that doesn't know what he wants to do with his life and Now I'm at community college. I'm working as a lifeguard.

15:51 I eventually went to go work for City Sports, which is a sneaker store. And I remember when I started working at the sneaker store Talk about this for years too. I was like, Oh man, this is This is cool, this is what I wanna do. I got the thing that I wanna do.

16:07 I was so excited that I went and got a job, found a job. I'll do this forever, and I'm gonna make it to the highest level. So I can have a career. So I become the manager and after being the manager I work for corporate. And this is something that I can build like I was already spiraling because I was like I I gotta figure out what I'm doing with the rest of my life. What is my life, now I'm panicking.

16:27 What a Mm. And I was flourishing In the space of sneaker sales. Right.

16:36 Education and college degree I don't have, but in the space of personality and sale I was able to Maneuver. This is it. This is my calling. That's where we're going to be.

16:52 The real beacon of light presented itself. Through ideas of my friends, you should Do stand up because you're funny. You should try stand up. Do you remember where you are when they said that to you?

17:06 I'm working every day I'm on the floor. And someone a colleague of yours at work. Alice, colleague of mine that I work with. What did your brain think when she said that? Was it Was it just blowing on a fire that was kind of already there, or was it lighting the fire? No, I think it the the fire was lit.

17:22 I never thought about Pursuing stand up comedy. Prior to Right. The idea came up. I was always funny, but I wasn't like man, I gotta figure out how to become a comedian.

17:33 It was never a thought. I knew that was very funny, I knew that was entertaining. I know I can make people laugh. I love being the center of attention. I love The idea of a stage in a light But

17:46 That wasn't the thing. I wasn't like I got it. And it's what it's gonna do. It was presented. And then I went and did the amateur night and that's when I fell in love.

17:56 Why did you like the stage and the light? And and w why did you like performing? Laugh. Why? There's nothing better than laugh.

18:07 There's nothing better. Then Being on stage, having the bright light. And The only energy of good

18:22 that you're able to take away from what you're doing. is the laugh. Huh. Hearing people laugh, I was like, Oh shit.

18:34 That feels different. Why? This this is This is energizing. This is like How does it make you feel about you?

18:44 I feel like I'm doing a service. Good. If I can make people feel better, if I can brighten up your day. It's a service of good. That means I'm like

18:59 A shepherd. Um I am responsible. from making people feel better. Oh my God, that means In success, I can bring people to one

19:11 Destination. Everybody can share a moment. And a laugh and all relate. That it came from me. Oh my God, this can get global. This can get bigger.

19:22 Well this is starting to change now. Oh wow. Wait, this has opened up doors for me to do this or that. Or this. Or that.

19:32 It all started with the laugh. It all started with the stage. So you went to that comedy show? Um, I've got a I was looking at some of those early clips of you performing. It's funny'cause th I think this is the early two thousands. Okay. But I mean you probably

19:48 Oh my Caroline. Caroline, this right here. My best set. In the beginning of my career. Everything I say for you tonight.

19:58 It's a joke, okay? It is nothing else. I don't want nobody taking none of this stuff too serious. I don't want nobody come up to me after the show saying who's the funny one now. Yeah. Yeah. This this that tape. So that was when

20:12 You know. The thing I needed was a tape. Mm-hmm. And the reason why I needed the tape was so that I could send it to the other comedy clubs so that they can have an example of me, my talent.

20:25 And then dictator judge if I can get a live audition in person. And how old are you at that point? Oh my god. eighteen nineteen. That's crazy. Eighteen, nineteen years old. 'Cause you're so that clip is so funny. I watched it this morning and I I was dying. If you can understand

20:44 The feeling of getting off that stage. Having a good set. And then them putting the tape in my hand, it was gold. I got it, I got a good tape. I gotta go make copies of my tape.

20:59 And I just gotta send them to everybody. I just used them. 'Cause it was it was it was value. It was value. Started getting in comedy clubs, started getting auditions.

21:11 Started getting more. Oh my God, Kevin's up for an audition, uh, movie audition, cast and directors, they all got that tape. Everybody got that take. From that period onwards, from eighteen to let's say to early twenties, you were at this point a very motivated individual.

21:26 You're working hard. Yeah, focused. Very. And what's your y when you speak to your mum and your dad at this point about comedy. Do they think that's a serious career? My dad not as much'cause I didn't really

21:38 Talk my de Through these years. That's my dad was kinda dealing with his His world of issues. Um my mom We had an agreement. I had a certain amount of time.

21:49 To make comedy make sense. And figure out a way to support myself. Um If I didn't do it. Then I had to go with my mom's idea, which was

22:00 Education. and getting a job while getting my education. My plan didn't ru it didn't involve college. I'm out. I'm done. I'm done. No more community. This is what I wanna do. I got it. My I've never been more excited about my future.

22:16 This is it for me. How you gonna make your money, Kevin? I'm figure it out. How you gonna figure it out? Mm.

22:26 I'm gonna figure it out, though. I'm just gonna go down to the comedy clubs and I've been winning the amateur nights. I think the amateur nights can help me pay for my rent,'cause I was winning the amateur nights. I won a bunch of them in a row. And my mind It wasn't hard. It wasn't gonna be hard because there was no other option. All my eggs were in this basket and I was very happy with that choice. I put every last egg in this thing. Nothing else matters but this.

22:52 I promise you, I will figure it out. Can you draw me a picture? If your career was a graph, mm-hmm. Okay, so I'm gonna say here is eighteen years old and you're forty forty six now. Forty six now. This is the

23:06 And on this axis we have, let's say success. And that on this axis we have Age. Can you draw me a picture uh a line that shows you?

23:18 How how success in age. Okay. So Success for me. Knowing what I want to do in life. I'm here. Yeah.

23:28 Now figuring out W how to get to like Money, revenue. Uh just Supporting yourself.

23:39 Do telling a joke? Man, let's go let's go here for a second. We flatline it. Okay, like um I mean I'm making people laugh.

23:48 I'm I'm getting in some comedy clubs. But you only get paid. With food. But then something weird happens where you start figuring out, Oh, wait, here's kinda where the spots come in. I can make money.

24:01 On the weekends and I can get Twenty To twenty five dollars a spot. So rather than doing one spot I would do

24:11 Let's just say in a weekend I got to the point where I was doing twenty five to twenty eight sets. A weekend. Wow. Well, I started making five hundred

24:23 Five hundred dollars a week. Four hundred dollars a week. How many years in is this to that used to be making fire? Twenty Yeah.

24:35 So I was driving from Philadelphia to New York every day. But because of that Now you got to get into a comedy festival. Alright, so now Let's start to go

24:45 Here'cause we did these spots for a while, but then I got on a comedy festival. Oh shit. I got a comedy festival. That's where energy saw me. Who's this new guy? Who's this guy with all this energy? Who's this fucking guy this guy here, he's got something.

24:59 Alright, so I'll start meetings, general meetings and Now I get a holding deal, so let's go up a little bit. I think it was A B C, they gave me like two hundred and fifty grand. So they're holding you in hopes they get something. Nothing happened, so we're flatten on here. Now I'm just waiting for the phone to ring. That's how this works? What if I want to create my own thing?

25:18 Create a show. Oh my God. Show gets picked up. I create something else. They decide to do it. Oh shit, there's a pattern. I can do that as much as I want. I can treat that. Just how I was treating the spots and stuff in New York.

25:31 I'm out. I'm moving to LA. No plan no nothing. Flat line. I'm here. I just did it. I just came and moved out. Fuck man, this is weird. I don't like this.

25:45 I'm not getting no work, man. This shit is It's real stagnant. I'm going on the road. I wanna I wanna work the road. I'm gonna be a headliner. I'm gonna do colleges

25:57 So I'm gonna go College money and comedy club money and I'm gonna do it. I worked at For a very long time, right? Very, very long time.

26:06 To the point where now I'm selling out comedy clubs. Might have that start selling all comedy clubs. My person at the time was like, Yo, we can probably do theaters. You're adding a lot of shows. Are you a millionaire at this point?

26:19 No. No, I'm just an active Active comic. The next stage of success. Right.

26:25 was let's go from comedy club to theaters. Alright. Mm. Let's go here, then let's go up again. Theaters start selling out real quick. Oh fuck.

26:37 Let's go from theaters. Right. To like arenas. Oh shit. Well Packer.

26:44 He was like I got this book. That I wanna make a movie it's called Think Like a Man. Steve Harvey wrote it. I think you're funny as hell. I've been tracking you on tour. I want you to be the star.

26:56 We film it, think like a man comes out, think like a man did ninety something million dollars in the box office. And Will says, hey man, working with you is great. Let's do something else. I got this one called Ride Along. You and Ice Key would be great. Boom!

27:09 Right along does one forty. Like the movies just started to bow pow get hard. Central intelligence, me and Ira I mean it just happened so fast. So now Because the movies are working. I'm like this is so cool.

27:24 But while this is happening I should figure out like How to kinda create my own source of like opportunity like People keep bringing opportunities to me.

27:38 How do I create my own source of opportunity? I'm gonna start a a production company. I mean start developing. But now I'm like I created that. Let's create something else. So then I say, let's go like Heartbeat Vengers. And let's do a VC. Oh man, I'm creating a bunch of stuff. Hey, these entities around me, it's all happening because my likeness. My likeness allows me.

27:59 to get in these rooms and start relationships and put myself in a position to make deals and Create long-term revenue. How do I get more of that? Wow. Like NASCAR, people attach themselves to the car that they think is doing the best

28:15 I'm a car. I should have brand partnerships. Chase. Drive Kings. Fabletics.

28:24 I should have my own brands and businesses that I'm building. Where more opportunity for long term revenue can present itself. Grand Cormino, wine, spirits now Oh wow, I've grabbed This концеп

28:39 А бізнес контрол онерші. And mirror it. With Kevin's Drive. And entertainment and visibility.

28:50 leverage that to get me into the rooms. Where I may not be as visible or as strong, but once I'm embedded into these environments I can bring them value. I can help amplify or uplift their brands, their products. So

29:07 My case study Of Fabletics. Of Draft Kings before I got there versus after I got there. Chase financial literacy. Like C four like these are things where I'm now

29:23 Well, I'm not just a partner. I'm an owner. I'm a Endorser, I'm an ambassador. Oh wow, this Is where the real money is made.

29:35 The ecosystem of life. How do you tr how do you put yourself in a position To be a part of Every day. movement in life.

29:46 You're looking at things in a much grandular scale. And now I go way back here. To when I was like not really focusing, not thinking about life, not thinking about How things connect. I'm now able to tap into the lessons that my mom gave.

30:06 And I'm like All good things that happen happen when they're supposed to, but now I'm poised. And polished enough. With a mindset that understands Well, I don't want to start something that I'm not gonna finish.

30:19 So if I'm gonna put myself in position to do these things How do I make sure that my partners know I'm willing to give my own? How do I show that I'm not gonna quit? Which back here, my mom's biggest lesson was you're not quitting. If you start it, you're gonna finish it. So how do I make my partners that I'm now saying you should work with me?

30:41 How do I make Netflix secure knowing that when you get me, you get a hundred percent of me. And then I'm never going to quit. I'm going to finish it all. How do I make my other studio affiliates understand and working with Heartbeat, it is in my best interest to bring you great product, great material. So that you understand what we do so that we can continue To drive a business.

31:04 That has the best interest for both of us. How do I sell you on that? So now my business of sell mirrors and matches my business of growth. Nothing that I'm doing doesn't go hand in hand. And I should be able to embed

31:19 The products or the partnerships that I'm now Operationally like attached to. Into the ecosystem of entertainment. So if I have a C four can And I'm doing an activation and health and wellness, well, C four is my partner. I should integrate you in this opportunity. Hey, my movie, we have an opportunity to basically wear product. I should be in Fabletics in this scene, because this makes

31:48 my partner feel valued and positioned. Oh wow, this is what I do. I elevate I I I basically navigate my space of ownership. In a way like only I can to elevate my partners.

32:05 So then my partners go and say You're different, this is different, and this is what we need more of. That's my graph. So I guess the the parts that I'm curious about are this initial period when you're eighteen where like nothing's really happening. Nothing. Because so many of my listeners, probably most of them, are at In some pursuit or

32:27 sort of professional endeavor in their life in this kind of stagnant moment where maybe they enjoy it. But like it ain't paying the bills. Yeah. No one believes in them. Maybe some of their friends are rolling their eyes when they tell them what they're doing. When you look back on this season of life, like what is that season? And how do you how do you get through it? Nobody believe that

32:47 I was funny when I said I was gonna be a comedian. Like They were like, You funny, but not comedian funny. Like my friends were Yeah, what do you mean you gonna get on stage. What do you mean I'm gonna get on stage, I'm gonna be a comedian. Give it like how?

33:03 Like Eddie Murphy. Like gonna be a comedian. Yeah, but you're never gonna be Eddie. Yeah, I know, but I'm I'm saying like I'm gonna do it. Like I'm gonna be I'm being a star. No. I don't know, man.

33:14 I don't know about the whole star thing. I think you're tripping. I think I don't I don't I don't think that's it. Nobody has the confidence in the decisions that you're making for yourself like you do. So if you're waiting for that

33:29 to connect in the beginning stages, it may or may not. If it doesn't, it shouldn't prevent you from like following through. on whatever the the line of like go. is for you. The money is never coming fast.

33:46 We're in a time today where this generation has found ways to make money. In a entrepreneur manner. that we've never seen before. Like the the Соші мідія Machine.

34:03 And how this generation navigates that machine to find revenue. And to own Is Unbelievable. That didn't exist. We didn't have that. Like in in my time, we didn't have that.

34:17 We just had the struggle. And the struggle left you with days of like literally sitting In the living room. Going, what the fuck, man. So why didn't you quit?

34:28 Because no money, everyone's doubting it. W what what were you believing in? I was believing in the in the idea that I finally found a thing that I want to do. So it was passion that was really you anchored to it. I I found the thing that I want to do. Um I'm not gonna quit it because I love it this much.

34:45 And I strongly believe That the sun is at the end of this dark tunnel. But I gotta be willing to get there and I I just don't know how to get there. Yeah, but I'ma figure it out. That's why I'm going to LA.

35:00 I was in New York, but after New York, they say go to LA. I'm gone. What you gonna do when you get there? I'll figure it out. I can always get on the plane and fly where I gotta go for stand up if that's the case. I can always go And make money doing stand up.

35:16 If I have to, but I'm not gonna get to the star. By just doing that. I gotta I gotta go there. I gotta get close to it. I gotta smell it, I gotta feel it, I gotta find out where the people are. that are trying to do it too. I gotta get acting classes. I gotta

35:32 I gotta get around the to the the Hollywood. Like what is Holly I gotta get there. And what happens when you're there It fuels another s another like Another appetite. Of h of hunger.

35:47 'Cause I'm there and in real time I'm seeing people. Better. I remember I tell this Cat Williams story. And I don't I don't even think I told Kat this. Uh

36:01 There was a moment where I was opening for Cat Williams. And I remember I remember being at the the BT Comedy Awards. And I'm in I'm in attendance and this is like, you know

36:16 I'd had a couple of shots of some things but they just you know, it wasn't Things weren't sticking. The pilots that thought were gonna hit weren't gonna hit. The the things that I thought were gonna happen. They just weren't just didn't seem like it was

36:30 Adding up. Right. The roles or little small roles or little small cameo, but like it wasn't It wasn't the thing. And I remember Cat Williams said During the B T Comedy Awards.

36:43 Kind of like a leopard's suit. Destroyed. Destroyed the comedy awards, destroyed this moment. And Audience goes crazy, stands up.

36:58 I remember being in the audience and I was like That's it. I say like that's the That's the thing. That

37:07 Thing, that reaction, that war, that moment. I gotta be patient because my moment is going to come. I witnessed his moment. And he after that moment Yes.

37:22 Friday next, you know, that I mean he went on. and started to do crazy things in his career. Right? But I witnessed The moment. And in that moment, my takeaway was that he was ready for the moment.

37:36 His material, the The jokes, everything. It all hit. And I didn't watch it in a in a manner of like Angry. I was like

37:49 Yeah. That's it. Like he's Probably outta here after this. I mean it's the B T comedy awards at the time, I'm like, this is the biggest thing ever, right? This the Comedy awards. By the way, they never did the comedy awards.

38:04 Again. I think this is like the last one they did. But that moment If the ball is dropped in that moment. In The moment goes. You don't know when the moment is

38:18 Presenting itself. But I'm staying with the thing because I know that the moment is gonna come. And when I'm in the moment If I knock that fucking moment out the park. All things will change.

38:33 But you may not know it. You may not know when the moment comes. When did your moment come? Shaq's all star comedy jam. The reason why I equate it with the story of a cat. Uh I believe it was Tommy Davison, it was D Ray, Center D Entertainer was the host. I headlined it.

38:51 I end up having one of the best sets that I've ever had. And at the end of the Shaq's all-star comedy jam, I say goodnight and they do like a slow motion walk-off. It's a slow motion thing and it's like I'm I'm walking. The crowd stands up.

39:09 And they're going crazy. By the way, I don't know the slow motion walk off is gonna happen. And the edit. of the special, but I remember in real time Crowds standing up, stars were there. Everybody was there.

39:21 Right. And in that moment Show you how fucking crazy the world is. That's why I hate that like Me and Kat went through our stuff and we're much better now.

39:34 I'm gonna show you how the world aligns. Cat was in the audience. The Shaq's All Star Comedy Jam. Cat was watching the show. He was just there as a fan, but at this time

39:46 Everything big is happening. And I had a moment. And that was the moment. That then took me And shot me at the cannon.

39:58 And if I wasn't prepared for the moment. And I wouldn't have known all the things to come. Okay, but that then set up, I was releasing my special My special seriously funny, I was taping in two weeks. So Shaq's all Star Comedy Jam goes, they rush to put it out, it crushes. I then tape my comedy special.

40:19 Seriously funny was my next special. Seriously funny destroys But it's only destroyed because of Shaq's All Star Comedy Jam and the audience that watch that And I was like, oh my God, this guy showed up in droves for seriously funny. And then Seriously Funny was like, oh shit. Ти з біг ас спешу.

40:41 And then the arenas and everything. Boom boom boom boom boom. So about twelve, thirteen years f s from the moment you did your first sort of s stand up event, uh You having your moment. And I find that fascinating because those thirteen years, most people aren't willing to do something for 13 years without their moment showing up. Like when you hear like I don't know, it's shit on Instagram or quotes or you watch motivational videos and stuff.

41:05 If they told you that it would take thirteen years for you to have your moment, almost nobody would Take part. No money. No. And those thirteen years of your training. I mean

41:14 So scooter broad. What makes him different is the work that he's willing to do. In something. He was like

41:25 You know If They were giving out like A million dollars. For somebody that can hit

41:33 A fastball pitch. You know, from a from the best pitcher in baseball. Right. And

41:40 This thing Basically require Everybody. Everybody's gonna go and try to hit this because everybody wants The million dollars. So the first day Of the announcement, the line.

41:52 To hit this pitch is gonna be Droves, right? Like I mean millions of people, who knows how many people will be in this line. And people would go up and strike out. And

42:05 I think that they would go to It's over. I missed. Not many people would like miss and then go stand. Back in line.

42:18 To go hit the ball again. He was like, I'm gonna keep Getting in line. What you'll find is that the line will get smaller and smaller. Because of how many people

42:31 Are dropping out. and optioning not to wait. And do the hard thing again. That comparison to that World of understanding is like

42:44 Something that equates to life. Very well. Right. Not many people are going to wait. Through the thirteen years of like

42:53 Bullshit, hard shit. Most people opt out at year two. Maybe three. No money, whatever, I need to figure something else out. Year six, fuck this, man. Stupid. What am I doing? Why am I doing it, right?

43:08 I'm gonna go find the quick avenue or the quick Return. That's what it boils down to for most people. Where's the money? Where am I making the money?

43:22 When the money comes Comes. What you find is that it's not hard. To make money, once you start making money, you learn how to make money. Like you

43:36 It comes with education. It comes with understanding and it comes with a better resource of mine that makes you go No, I'm gonna do this and I'm gonna build this and I'm gonna go here. I'm gonna meet. I'm gonna present. I have an idea. I'm gonna pitch it. Like you you're now a a Much better machine.

43:56 Because you understand. Money is no longer the Ting. that you think it was when you get to it. But getting to it

44:09 You lose the pack. You lose the pack because the pack is like I want it here. Because it didn't show up here, I gotta go figure out a new thing to do that's gonna give it to me here. And they gotta recycle like you're never completing anything. You never finish nothing.

44:27 So the thing that you think you're focusing on you keep quitting to start something else that you think is the idea and it's just a cycle. It's a cycle. Don't you notice that people come up to I notice this a lot with young entrepreneurs, especially those that aren't having success. They start one thing. Well, they when they come and tell you what they do, they tell you seventeen things. Seventeen. None of them have a what they say seventeen things. Mm-hmm.

44:47 And they think that more doing more things is increasing the probability of success. Other percent. Where it's the opposite. It's the opposite. It's the it's the thing that you actually thought of that you are going to put A hundred percent of your mind and focus into to complete.

45:05 And then after that You're able to pick it apart and take the good, the bad, the whatever, and either restart that thing again to improve it. Or make a decision to do something else, but she finished. I made the choice that stand up comedy was what I was going to finish. I made a choice that becoming a good comic and a good headliner

45:26 If I focus and did it well That would open up the doors for me to do everything else that I want to do. If I don't have that How do I expect to get in? I was speaking to Evan at Snapchat and he was talking about T shaped people.

45:43 So you have like a broad understanding of a of of a lot of things, but then you're like really deep on one particular thing. And that one particular thing is almost, I guess you could see it as like screw that gets you into the industries. So for me, mine would have originally been marketing, but I was able to use that like deep expertise to then launch this media business, because it's still the same game of marketing that I did for for 15 years. I was able to go into like the stock market because they really needed to understand marketing. And it was that deep expertise in one thing that was my leverage in all of these really interesting rooms. And it's kind of what you were saying at the start. Like you had this deep expertise, this deep IP experience value that allowed you to like break in as an investor and then to production and all these other areas. I mean the value the value for me it was self. But

46:26 The value of self And understanding of how to truly control and operate that. And navigate that correctly. That's a that's a world of its own.

46:38 So The bigger that the star gets The brighter that the star shines. If you are paying attention. It's only positioning you

46:52 To go in places where people say, Oh my God, I know you. And when you can shake a hand But the interest of just knowing you because of the place from the star It allows a moment for the conversation of So what is it that you do?

47:06 Oh my God, like that's It's so cool. I would love to learn more about that. And what you'll find Is that the resources of opportunity over there are endless. Oh my god, are you serious? У love partner вою і сам лайтс, а міниспай.

47:20 Are you talking about mental health, wellness? Listen, strong voices and confident voices or inspiring voices. There could be a lot for us in what we do here. Hey, maybe there's a partnership. That we can form. Oh my God man, back to school. Kids, I love kids. I'm thinking about doing more. Like here's something where I think I can have a very, very good cadence and a and a very good energy. Towards getting kids hype about School education because it's not something that I took serious. How do I help?

47:52 Where did you learn? So when I look at this graph here. I see this sort of moment where things become go up and to the right very quickly where you start to get into entrepreneurship. But at at this moment that comes before it, you didn't know this stuff. So at some point you acquired information. So for the people that are listening now that are thinking like, how did Kevin go from a kid that was in this rough area, dad wasn't around much, his mom was raising him. To a guy that knows all this stuff.

48:16 You get there now. By being a sponge and not being afraid. To ask questions. I am I'm very secure. And myself.

48:29 And being the dummy in the room. I am extremely secure. And saying I don't know what that means. Explain that. I can give you several.

48:41 Like venture in investing. I was a firm believer that nobody's stealing my money. Give you nothing. Yeah, you gonna go and put it where?

48:56 Yeah, no, my money gonna stay right here under my bed. I'm not doing it. So give you you want me to give you money. And you telling me you gonna get you gonna take that money and then that money It's gonna turn into what?

49:11 Yeah. Okay. Go find you another idiot. 'Cause it ain't happening over here, buddy. Get your scamin ass up out of here. Okay, I come from the world of everything is a scam.

49:23 Okay. It's a fucking scam. I know a scam when I see one. But when you go you say Well, how does the stock market really work? Or How does investing really work? Or what you mean you

49:36 Making money while you're sleeping. What does that mean? What do you mean by that? How does this brand Partnership shit really work. Like you You can't Drain

49:49 So like Verbalize your ignorance. And and the bigger problem Which I'm sure a lot of your Viewers

49:59 Have Is Like Insecurely like Just being quiet.

50:07 about the shit that they don't know. As if you're gonna figure it out. Because someday, one day somebody's gonna go, Hey, you look like you need to know. Well, It it'll never happen that way.

50:22 It's never gonna happen. You're never gonna run into a person who's randomly gonna talk about the things that you wish you had more knowledge in. It will never happen. And what you'll find is that information is not free. But it's available. It's not actually hard to obtain. It's only hard to people. That are very insecure.

50:45 About just Verbalizing I don't know where to get it. Look at how many how to's, help to's, all of these things today, the the success that we're seeing an entrepreneur and influencer, streamer and all of this stuff in entertainment is the same success as you're seeing. And

51:06 Uh Mm-hmm. We can call them motivational speakers, how-to experts, uh step one through five and what to do. The idea of I'm here to service you and give you the information and you don't know is available, so let me tell you how to get it. Yeah. Here's where I'm gonna help you.

51:24 Three easy steps to making sure that you can. And I don't care if you wanna go T. The world of athletics? Are you wanna go to corporate?

51:33 But you want to go with the tame it? Like you can break it down. Golf, do you know how much money is being made? And a game of golf? Because you got Millions of people?

51:44 That are trying to give people information on how to better improve your golf swing. 'Cause I don't want to I don't wanna say allowed my swing ain't shit, but I don't know, man. I keep coming down on top of the ball. Why the fuck am I coming down on top of the ball? I don't know what's happening. And some people would rather go out in their backyard every day

52:05 Hit the same ball. Then just ask somebody, hey man, anyway that you can tell me how to come like what how you get that bitch in the air? So now people online go, well, we're just gonna put it out here. And that person that's struggling quietly, well, they're gonna discover me in in silence. They'll watch and they'll look to improve because nobody knows

52:28 And it's still gonna be quiet. That's the problem. Just give me a minute of your time and I'll tell you about a device that my team's been using that they won't seem to shut up about. It's called the Note Pro, and it's by our sponsor. Claude. This tiny card clips onto the back of your phone and

52:48 Everything. But why it's so clever is that it picks up multiple voices at the same time. And when someone says something important, you just push this tiny little button here, and that moment gets highlighted in your notes and captured. It records the conversations that it hears, takes those conversations, creates a transcript, and it uses AI to synthesize all of that information into whatever template suits you. You get a summary, action points, highlights, and even a mind map sent straight to the Plaud app. So I highly recommend you check out Plaud's products using the link in the description below.

53:24 Don't tell anybody this, but if you use code DOAC22, you'll get twenty-two percent off on some of Claude's products. There's also unknown unknowns, which you would have experienced. I remember you talking about um you got to see behind curtains and you didn't even know people were behind there. And when when I heard you say that, it was the perfect metaphor and analogy for exactly what I had experienced in my life coming from a kid that came from a very normal background, was was born in Africa, moved to the UK, mother's Nigeria and dad's English. And didn't know that all these like rich people We're back here playing money games.

53:58 I thought the way you make money is you like work in McDonald's, you like work really hard, you might become manager, da And then uh like I'm gonna say twenty seven, being sat in a billion's kitchen and watching him on the phone, and he's calling his boy, and they're doing fifty million just before the IPO happens, that they get a better price. And I'm thinking, Fucking hell. Mm. The the the thing never lies.

54:23 Right, when you look at your biggest Investors. Right. You'll find that they're all together. None of them are investing in the new thing alone.

54:38 They are I'm like, well It's better with you. So do it with me. Well what about Gary? Yeah, call Gary too. Let's see if we can get him in here. What about Michelle? Yeah.

54:49 Hey, Michelle, what about Melissa? All right, you'll find That this group of ten people Uh who could easily do something on their own. Do not believe in the struggles of self when you can combine

55:05 This machine of great minds To provide another great opportunity and in success, well This thing works, the company gets bigger, well let's use our resources to go out. And make sure that we align the personnel they already have with more amazing individuals. Create more jobs, more opportunities for new minds.

55:29 to become successful and then in those minds building And that personnel like elevating Well now this person that was at the bottom here, we then go and ask this person to run this thing. And now underneath this thing we get another version of a downpour. New minds, new personnel, new things. Okay, this whole business.

55:52 Eventure this whole business of company build, whether it's tech, lifestyle, health, well, it doesn't matter what it is, you will notice that the people that started from the bottom are now running the new companies of today, and now the source. A personnel that's underneath it. will be the minds running the company of tomorrow. It's not like rocket science once you're behind the curtain. Once you go oh shit

56:22 I remember when when I first started like Investing is oh my god, Kevin, like your your money in this would add an a a a crazy amount of value. Well I ain't putting what y'all put in. No, but the fact that you're involved in it at all is is big. That you believe in it. We're able to say that you believe in it with us is huge.

56:39 What do you mean by that? You try to fucking steal. What are you doing? What are you doing, man? You talking too fast. Say what you said again and slow down so I understand it. Don't talk fast to me because I'm so insecure. 'Cause I don't know what you're saying and there might be some shit in here. But it's no.

56:58 Should be. We know the your your Doing well over here and your movies and all that stuff is cool, but this is different. This business, Kevin, could be different for you. It's a business of multiple.

57:11 So we played a game of multiples. Of X. So what your money is today, well we think in success if this is a light bulb. Or a bottle rocket, you thirty X, twenty X. What the f You telling me If I put this money in here right now.

57:29 And if my voice is attached to the thing that I think it is, which is a crazy Crazy venture. A crazy opportunity. Well yeah, Kevin, I mean look We all believe that.

57:41 But with your voice, we may be able to say it a little louder. Oh my. Oh my, okay, well I did it. Oh my, I won. I got a return. Oh my. Ow. Awww

57:59 So now I've figured it out. Now now you're part of the right conversations. You're part of the the right opportunities. Once again. The information is discovered because of the opportunity to be the flow on the wall in the spaces that you never imagined yourself being in. But now look at what I'm able to do.

58:18 I'm able to take this information, take all the shit that I know. Come and have these fucking organic conversations like I am now. And we're sharing it. And some people that are watching this are gonna take that information and go

58:33 I knew it! And I'm doing the right thing. And it's a matter of time before I get around them. And when I do, oh my God, the things that I have. The stuff that I have on the table, the things that I have created, the opportunities. I'ma be the next person to bring the thing that everybody else is involved in.

58:51 I'm a be the next person to be the fucking energy source to tomorrow's future. Future within like People just need to hear. How fast it happens, quick it happens and and And when it does what you're supposed to be ready for.

59:07 And you were able to invest in Lots of great companies like Function Health, that's valued at two point five billion now, eleven labs, everybody knows in the tech space knows eleven labs which were valued at valued at three billion now, Moonpay Um Young yoga lamp, sweat pals, radiant, nor organics. Power. Um tons of stuff. Stuff that you would never expect me to be.

59:26 How much of this game have you learnt in hindsight is about People. About like getting it'cause even when that person was saying to you that analogy you gave of they're telling you to put your money into this thing and you're going, Fuck me, is are they stealing? You're gonna have to lean on someone you trust. Like someone in your circle that you know. And I'm I'm wondering,'cause people don't talk about it enough. How How important it is to like

59:49 collect the right people. And can you think of moments where you like met a person and that was like game changing and you understanding a whole new world and what was behind the curtain? All of my people could see this. I'm I'm just gonna be Extremely transparent. Like you Before you get to the right people, you run through wrong people. And

1:00:12 With wrong people you can go like they're wrong, they don't work. I gotta get somebody else. Or you can grow with people. I'm a believer of the grow. Right, like

1:00:24 I think it's dope when We can all say we started a certain way, but we're ending up In a completely different space. Along that journey of growth, some people won't make it. You can be patient and you can want.

1:00:38 The best for some, but they might not want the same for themselves. So because of that. The fall off Presents itself to be a little more consistent. Um than what it should be, right?

1:00:52 But in business what you'll find Is that the emotions Can be your Like Can be a worse asset.

1:01:02 Having emotions in business Attached to business. can be everything but beneficial to the business. So The more that I was able to

1:01:15 Detach my emotions. From the world of want. And understand that the things that I'm doing are to better position the business. And the people that have worked so hard to help this business get to where it is today, I have a service to them as well. Хадуа бринт валюбл ассет.

1:01:35 to put us in a bigger position to win. Sometimes you gotta let go. Of things you thought would be the thing. But you can you can climax. You can you can get to a place where it's a ceiling. You're like we're not getting past the ceiling unless we go get the right people, unless we go get the correct personnel. So I'm a firm believer And talent. I'm a firm believer

1:01:57 And rewarding those that do a job. And that can do a job at a high level. But the only way that you realize that is to get out of the way. I had to learn to stop trying to control everything, stop trying to do everything, stop trying to be with my m the one with my hands in everything. and put people in a position to do the thing that they've been hired to do. And do it well.

1:02:21 But the patience that you have to have. Um learning people and dealing with People. Is it

1:02:31 I wanna say like your At this stage I'm more I'm more of a hard drive of other people's issues or problems.

1:02:47 that I am a person. I I am a Hard drive of Can I talk to you?

1:02:57 I wanna tell you what's going on. I have an issue with Hey man. Look, I'm trying to do this. I don't know what they trying to do. Here's what I'm trying to do. And you have to be A positive source of solution. All day every day.

1:03:10 Because if you're talking And you're talking to do anything but solve. then you shouldn't be in the chair of control. So I am solution driven. Every single day.

1:03:22 Because I am faced with a new problem. attached to the ecosystem and the community that I built underneath me. of how to navigate or how to better navigate in the world because everybody's trying to do something to prove that they're worthy of the seat or seats That they have or that they want. So every day.

1:03:43 You're dealing with a border shuffle. And a new board of opportunity. And drama. And every day. You're telling people not now? In time.

1:03:52 Slow up. I hear you. We'll deal with it. Let's all talk together. Communication is key.

1:04:02 Let's table this and make sure everybody's on the same page. You're saying things five and six times. 'Cause you have to make sure. You're the best example of what you're speaking. So every day.

1:04:16 The thing that you never thought would come into play Is communication. And like the ability to fucking give Great dialogue. in the hopes of getting the return of effort and work.

1:04:31 So now you're going back to ground zero when you were with your mom and you were with your friends and uh Early days of life. What was the thing that I told you I did very well? I connected with everybody. In the lunchroom, I was at everybody's table. Didn't matter who you were, what you are, what race, what

1:04:49 Didn't matter. In this space of now business and corporation? If everybody doesn't feel like they can trust a believe Or follow My direction, my vision.

1:05:02 Something about what I'm doing is wrong. How does one Build an empire. Yeah. relies on people.

1:05:10 When They naturally don't come from a place of that information. So they they might have trust issues. Like you were referring to these kind of trust issues like, wait a minute, you're trying to steal my money. How does you've got this big empire of lots of different verticals within within Heartbeat and your your companies and your personal IP. You're gonna have to be trusting A lot of other people. With your wealth.

1:05:31 With your Business and with your with your children's inheritance. And I hear so many of these stories of I trusted a guy and I lost everything. Especially honestly, especially in the like black community. It's a major fact.

1:05:45 Um But we're also a community that gets taken advantage of Because of the lack of knowledge. Right.

1:05:55 Mm. we get fucked over more than we don't. Because Alright, well it says here that you're a lawyer and that you have my best interests. I it says that you're my manager.

1:06:08 And you have my best interests. I well You read the paperwork? All right, you read the contract and it's good. And I'm just signing, right?

1:06:21 My ignorance doesn't mean that I'm lazy. My ignorance means that I believe you. And I don't know to second guess or second check or to hire.

1:06:34 Or onboard people. Two second guess, two second check, to show me. Fine print. Fine line because it's impossible. I can't give fuck. 'Cause you say it.

1:06:47 Well yeah, I can't, but uh You said. Go back to the emotions. And why I say emotions had to be removed. I'm gonna have somebody look at this.

1:07:00 Just so I know that it is what it is. I won't lie to you, I know. Well it's in the best nature of business just for me to make sure that my eyes That I have lay eyes on it and they can just say what you just said. Just make sure I understand it correctly. Yeah, but you don't have to do that.

1:07:15 It's just a practice that I have within the way that I now approach business. And anything that you do It's never personal. I don't take offense.

1:07:27 So anything that you wanna check or background check on me. You should. It's business. I think that We don't get a fair level of understanding for our fuck ups. For our mishaps.

1:07:42 Of how the road present itself for somebody to take from me. So when I'm recovering from the take У юга та стати а сейф спис. My space was never safe because they're sharks, so they focus on To fucking pray.

1:08:00 The young talent in the music business is pray. So the sharks see the young talent, whichever one gets there first. Has an opportunity to fucking give me the presentation of the world and make it bells, whistles, and candy. Well if I get there right and the prey doesn't have the right people around'em

1:08:20 I'm going with the shark every time. I guess you there is a an element of responsibility here which people don't like to acknowledge that you've you gotta take responsibility. I signed bad contracts in my career and I was like I look back at twenty years and I go fucking you know, I lost a lot there. But That was on me. And if I don't take responsibility then It's gonna happen again. But there's also y you you'll know a lot of people that Become victims. I don't think it's the worst thing.

1:08:45 Right? Like it's When it happens early on, like I got a lot of friends that are in the music business, a lot of artists. There are now independent artists that control and own their labels and I'm doing much better at this position.

1:08:59 than they were when they were signed underneath the big thing and they were getting taken, but after finding out how it was and why it was, they said I'm gonna go create my own. Like, you know, when you look at the biggest labels that are independent. And you look at the artists that fall underneath these independent labels. Well you'll look at a blueprint of people following Mm. The person that was like

1:09:21 In front of them and what they said. But it's only because they learn the business. Of the business. Right. Like So being a part of a business that's just succeeding and you being embedded into it

1:09:34 And just being the work for hire to just follow the suit of what they say. Well that's not smart if you have an opportunity to mirror what they're doing and create your own. So What I do like within a culture is a lot of the artists that are that are independent Or that are That are now like

1:09:52 Able to say I have my own version. Whether it's studio, production company, label, independent label, whether it's online of product that they share ownership with, like People are now learning to follow and en repeat What the conglomerates are doing.

1:10:13 I can use a conglomerate. And I can take your machine And create a small version of a machine underneath yours. And partner with you and give you a piece of my machine, but it allows me to own, I can leverage the the the bank. Of opportunity and consumer that you have.

1:10:33 Here under this brand. What's the cost though? Because you know, you're incredibly successful. You've got all this empire of companies and businesses and ventures you started. They say that you can't have everything in life. Especially not at the same time. So what is the cost of this pursuit? Time. Time.

1:10:50 Is your ambition like in unsat insatiable? Yes. It just won't s you couldn't switch it off if you wanted to. And does that not make you feel like you're being dragged versus Being driven. You for sure have your days. I'm absolutely stressed out. I'm stressed the fuck out on the daily.

1:11:05 But I operate. Within stress. Are you happy? I'm one thousand percent happy. But I'm stressed out.

1:11:13 with the concept of I have to do. If your life ended now, God forbid, mm-hmm. Do do you think if you if you found out today that it was ending, you would reflect on it and say, Do you know, I think I might have had things in the wrong order, would there be any misprioritisation in hindsight if today was the day? If life ended today

1:11:32 I could cross my legs comfortably. And be okay. That it's Then it's time. I did it correctly. I

1:11:44 made sure that I applied myself to the best of my ability. I try my best to put those that I loved. And a better position. So that they can see more and do more. My last name and my family name

1:12:01 It's much stronger today than it was yesterday. The idea of The world It's something that I was able to see and understand better. Because I was blessed and fortunate enough to travel and meet so many.

1:12:22 People. I'm made to like We're we're here to embrace, we're here to love, we're here to like Share. Mm-hmm.

1:12:33 I was an energy source of good. to bring people closer together through all things that I've done. So it all connects and I'm okay. I'm okay with If it stopped, it stopped.

1:12:48 What I'm What I'm not okay with is while I have the bandwidth of Good health. Fucking

1:12:57 Great mind. Strong. Fucking like mind concept and I can I can go, I can do it, I can get there. I'm not okay.

1:13:09 with wasting that time. I'm not okay. with wasting my time of good and I can do and I'm strong enough to connect at a very high level. My star is bright, which allows me to go and get into these spaces. If I wait for this to dim out and I try to get into these spaces, what if I can't? Is there always a fear because of where you came from at the start.

1:13:34 Absolutely. Like you you can't be unrealistic. Nothing is going to last forever. Nothing. I don't give a fuck who you are. I don't It's not true.

1:13:46 You can recreate and you can figure out Ways to find success again. And again. But the one thing that you were winning in You're not gonna win in it forever.

1:13:58 Right? Like I love talking about my guy, man. Hove and Rubin. Michael Rubin. Like

1:14:09 Friends but two good examples. Of recreation. Amplification. Instead repeat. Right.

1:14:18 Successful rapper. Albums. Some albums Hole will never make again. Some will You don't look at'em all like they are all the best. Some you think are better than others, but The

1:14:31 Fight to B The thing that you were when it was at your highest. is a driving factor to get you, but then as a talent you you let go of that because you become comfortable with knowing that I'm never going to create that again.

1:14:47 That was my lightning in the bottle moment. I'm never gonna create this again. But I can have fun doing what I'm doing and I can create a variation. of versions of this that still display my talent and that I'm doing it at a high level. Man

1:15:04 You know what, this right here It could cap out, but boy oh boy did I find fucking momentum. And now the movies or And Holmes case is the example I was using, he then found momentum And well this

1:15:19 Thing. The Rockefeller thing, him Dame created this thing and then the artists underneath the thing and The progression of the artists underneath that brand has started to go pow. Kanye, Bow State Property, Bini Seal, Bao Bow Bow, Real, all the fuel, Bow Now this thing was so dope that we were able to create other people. That's more energy.

1:15:42 So now I don't need the fucking I don't need the right. I'm looking at the product of a valuable asset that we created. That's premium enough to display that the talent that comes from underneath us.

1:15:57 It's strong fucking talent and we do amazing things. Now my business because of this business What his business becomes great too, Ace of Spades and Duce and all Oh shit, the value, the exit, the return. He keeps finding more energy in these other things. Oh shit, forty forty club, more energy.

1:16:17 assets more Brian Likeness Partnership, ownership. But the backdrop to it all is the artists.

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1:18:16 Your show is called Your New Well, it's not new necessarily. I actually saw it in in London. Me and my girlfriend were at When you came and did um acting Acting my age? Mm. London. The show was absolutely hilarious. And we were dying of laughter. And it's coming to Netflix.

1:18:32 Monday the twenty fourth of November, so If you're listening now, you've got to go and watch it. But the title of the show, Acting My Age. What does what do you mean acting my age? And why now? Um

1:18:44 Yeah, you gotta grow up. I think it's like one of the One of the toughest things And life is just realizing Like what grow up actually means.

1:18:58 Right. And like you can You can be an adopte. But still not. Embrace. What being an adult.

1:19:07 actually is and When it's time to grow up. You star sacrificing The The shit that the younger version of you

1:19:19 With less responsibilities thrived and flourished off of and then. You Realize that a lot of that shit Gets thrown on the back burner. And it's no longer important because

1:19:33 You're fucking getting older. And some shit just isn't Insane. Right. Like I just made a decision. to let go of a certain version of life and

1:19:44 Embrace my age. And all the fun that comes with it. What about being a man? It's it's confusing. I think it's more confusing than ever for many to be a man. And we often talk about this masculinity crisis where men have less men male friends than ever before. Mm-hmm. Um the stats are pretty shocking on this. The suicide a suicidation is Three hundred to four hundred percent higher in

1:20:05 There's a college degree gap for every two men who earn a bachelor's degree and the women three in the US, three women do. There's a workforce drop out rate, which is pretty s terrifying. Millions of prime age men between the age of twenty four and fifty are no longer in the labor force, representing an almost ten percent drop. Um Being a man is tough these days for a bunch of different reasons. You got uh plethora. A plethora of it. It's r it's not e it's not straightforward. Yes.

1:20:32 Polluted waters. That's what I call it. Extremely polluted waters. Uh what advice have you got for for young men on in terms of like what it takes to be a a good man? You know, I think The definition of a

1:20:46 Of a good man is so foggy. Today. Mm-hmm. Right. I'm a firm believer that

1:20:54 Change comes within time. So I'll start by saying that and I understand that You know. Nothing should stay the same. Everything should evolve.

1:21:08 When it's Evolving. The conversation of a of a man and what makes a man a man It's weird. It's like Yeah.

1:21:17 It's not evolving. Right. You know, I was raised on a foundation. Um A leader.

1:21:27 Or leadership. And I think You know, rest in peace to my dad. Fucked up. of a role that my dad had My dad's like

1:21:39 Later years. were driven from accountability. I'm aware of what I didn't do. I'm aware of the mistakes that I made. And I'm aware of what I should have did much better.

1:21:53 I can't change those things. But I would love to try to be the best grandfather. A grandparent than I can be. Kevin I love you and I love your brother, but

1:22:07 I can't go back. I can only say I'm sorry. And I wish I could. You don't have to. Like The grandkids are your focus. And if you can be the dopest example of a grandpa to them Then

1:22:20 That's the win for me at this point. But his accountability in that moment. Is what I remember the most about my father and love the most because Leadership. Or lack thereof.

1:22:33 put me in a position to say I don't wanna do that. I wanna do This And not because my dad is like the worst, but fuck, man. If he didn't do these things wrong. Back to time shit in.

1:22:48 I wouldn't know how to do them right. Mm-hmm. So now I got two boys. I wanna make sure that my example

1:22:57 A man to my to my son's It's leadership responsibility. It's Accountability. Іно, амнас емоцій, бам у

1:23:11 I am a student of Everybody has problems. Nobody there's not a shortage of problems. So The weight of the world that you feel is the heaviest for you

1:23:24 May not come close. To what the weight of the world is for you. And I think in sharing your emotions And having an uh an opportunity to voice or

1:23:35 Offload them. Extremely important. But You also in a world where You know

1:23:42 Weakness can at some point in time be taken advantage of. Right. U are in the world Of like Free and and

1:23:53 And and sharks as I presented earlier, and is it doesn't mean that your emotions Don't matter because they do. It means that you also have to be smart and aware. Right? And

1:24:05 What are you ultimately Trying your best to become. And what are you ultimately trying to be the best example for yourself? First. And then others four.

1:24:17 I don't mind being weak, but I talk to my kids. I talk to them in our voice. Your dad deals with struggles that you'll never know about because I don't want you to have to feel the burden of them. It's my job to try my best to make life easier for you. So that you can go on and do way more than I ever have.

1:24:35 It's my job to give you the opportunities to learn shit that I never knew that I could learn at this stage. But I'm gonna make sure that I communicate with you differently than I was communicated with. I'm not gonna let you fuck off or take advantage of the things that you have as resources at your fingertips. I'm not gonna let you tell me the things that you think you should do because you feel when I know right now at this stage in your life. What's best for you.

1:24:59 That's my format of parenting and it doesn't mean it's the same for others. But for the man that I am I know the type of man and I want my kids to be. Based off of what my outcome was and is. And I think that

1:25:15 If I correctly position them to simply understand In your older age, you make whatever decisions you want. I'm your father, I'm gonna love you regardless. Has no care worry to me. I wanna know that I did my job. For what I was supposed to control.

1:25:30 And I wanna know that our conversations and our dialogue. was always straight up and straightforward enough to where you were comfortable to talk to me. And you are comfortable. and feeling like your father Has your best interests.

1:25:44 That's the for me. That's my makeup. And In the time today. My makeup doesn't have to

1:25:52 Fit yours. And I'm okay with that. Mm. I'm okay with yours being whatever it is for you. But

1:25:59 I think we're in a time today where society wants to fight with one another about It's it's just too much of like, Well, if you don't see it my way then You're dumb. Yeah. And and that's I think that's why the conversation has gotten so

1:26:12 inconsistent and polluted. That's my personal opinion and my side of information attached to it. So hopefully, you know, your viewers can Hear that and understand that and know it's okay.

1:26:25 With not being okay with my choice. Mm-hmm. It's okay. Kevin, we have a closing tradition where the last guest leaves a question for the next, not knowing who they're leaving it for. The question left for you is: what is the advice you got as an adult? That had the most significant

1:26:42 impact on your life. I'm gonna go to best the best piece of advice came from Chris Rock, where Chris Rock told me early in my comedy career He says His exact word is you don't just want to make niggas laugh. The world is so much bigger.

1:26:58 Then you'll block. Or your neighborhood. Say get out the country. Get out of the country. And figure out a way to make the world laugh.

1:27:07 Comedy will be so much better. At that point I was very like specific in my material. Fifty Mary, you know we got these The the drugstore is crazy. You ever had a guy in the drugstore and you're blocking it's like, Well, everybody doesn't

1:27:27 Relate or can't relate. How do you broaden it? How do you How do you open it up so that you're never changing your material? Who you are. Everywhere you go in the world. People can laugh and you never have to adjust.

1:27:40 Get out the country. Get bigger. And the way you're thinking. About Your craft.

1:27:48 I mean you've done that across the board and across industries now. You've been willing to be the person, the outsider in lots of rooms. That seems to be really central to your success. And what Chris Chris Rock said to you there was Get out into the unfamiliar. Go put yourself in an unfamiliar place. And when I look at your career and the empire that you've been able to build across business and investing, it's exactly that. It's you are willing to be in unfamiliar territories. For some reason. Yeah. Yeah.

1:28:12 You know what you just made me think about too? And and I I wanna back track before we leave. Kinda crazy just when you were talking about the conversation of man. Like it's a weird thing that's happening where Do you have men that are opening up more?

1:28:27 And talking more about like the struggles. Mm-hmm. Of a man. But then those things are like Being used. Against them.

1:28:38 In the conversation of man. Like When you get to talking about like the things that you're dealing with and the emotion and stuff like of the mental health the mental health and the weight, like It seems that in this time today more men are being forward. And one to express in talk.

1:28:56 But the fear of being judged After Do you have that fear? No, I don't I don't get shit. I don't really Have you struggled with your mental health?

1:29:06 No. No. I think I told you my shit is like more More stress, but it's not a struggle. It's like Is that anxiety or is it is it No, just like I know I do too much. Yeah. I know, I know I know for a fact. That was a symptom of that. How do you feel like You have to like you have to shut down.

1:29:25 So like what I'm getting better at is in a day That's how I just don't I'm off the phone. I got it. I know I told him I would do calls, just tell him I'll start that tomorrow or the day after. But like there's a there's a time where I get to a point in the day where I'm like, Okay, that oh, that's it for me.

1:29:41 You're done. And I'm I'm literally I'm done. I don't wanna I don't wanna talk about Anything else I don't wanna I don't wanna hear. So you're pushing yourself right up to the edge over and over and over and over again. I get to a a point in a day in that timeline. When I'm shutting off has gotten earlier and earlier.

1:29:59 Whereas before it was, you know, we hours of the night and I'm still on the phone figuring it out and all day you just been racing and racing and racing. So I think the older than I've gotten. I realized more and more That's not healthy.

1:30:14 The healthy side comes with Silence for a second. You need some Need some silence. And riding the car by yourself. No music.

1:30:25 Sounds a bit like a disease. No, you need silence. Do you know what I mean by it sounds a bit like a disease? Because this is something that's taking you to a point where it's like it's kinda hurting you a little bit. And I can relate so it's not like I'm like passing judgment'cause you just described my entire life. Um, you're not gonna be as present with your loved ones, you're not gonna be as present in your relationship when you're married, um, you've got four kids. How how are you ever gonna be like truly present when your brain is like Yes.

1:30:49 But also how do you How do you become comfortable with being okay with people not understanding. That's the trick. Like I I hate to say it bluntly.

1:31:01 Yeah. I used to have such a high level of give a fuck attached to how you felt about my decisions that were best for me. Oh God, I don't say it because then I gotta feel like I'm not doing it. It's gonna be crazy. I don't know I'll just do it. 'cause I'm thinking more about you. Then thinking about me.

1:31:18 Right. I'm putting everybody before Me. I'm putting everybody's needs, everybody's wants. Everybody's reasons. All before me nobody is thinking about the volume.

1:31:30 Of dialogue. that I'm delivering on a day to day basis. And how much of that Like happens over and over again. Nobody's thinking about it.

1:31:42 So The day that I became comfortable with going, I don't really give a fuck. If like they understand or not, like I'm done. I know, but they feel it's really important you gotta do it today. I'll talk to them tomorrow. Nothing's gonna happen.

1:31:55 And it's gonna change from this time to that time. You have to get to a point to where you actually get that. And are okay with that. Because if not. You're constantly putting All of the shit.

1:32:07 From outside there. on your table and like your plate's always full. You're never finishing your fucking plate because you're just constantly people just keep coming and dumping more shit on it. So imagine that. Imagine if people just keep telling you keep eating. You just keep getting full. Like eventually you can't fucking breathe. He buzz.

1:32:26 It's no different from your from your mind. And and more Today than ever. You're seeing more people pop. From mental overload, man.

1:32:38 Like people aren't Crazy. I hate the like this whole crazy You crazy motherfucker, you crazy. It's like Mm-hmm. Popping. Like It's too much and they fucking when they snap they snap.

1:32:49 And then that's not I'm saying I'm fucking I'm sick of the shit. You're gonna be like, God damn, man. You crazy? No, you're not just popped. But you could you got the money to go chill and bali. I'm going I I but you don't I have the money.

1:33:02 So not go chillin' body. I have the money to say I'm not talking anymore today. That's the that's the difference. It's not about the vacation, it's not about the trip, it's not about I'm not talking. Anymore today. So the people and the resources that I put around me to help me do your job.

1:33:19 What happens next for you? We sit here in ten years' time, it all went well. What happened? I think In ten years time If I'm able to sit on a stool

1:33:30 at a comedy club with thirty people. And Do material. And enjoy my craft. And as little

1:33:40 small hole in the wall comedy clubs and wherever I'm living at the time and I do it maybe twice a week. And uh golf. Uh And uh Spend time with my kids and

1:33:51 Hopefully they're kids. I'm a grandpa. And we're able to like Look through photo albums of Remember When and mailbox money is attached to things that I've built that are operating and functioning on its own. That's

1:34:08 That's my version. of success. Kevin, thank you. Thank you man. Thank you so much for all the um you talked about how you've made people's lives happier and uh made people more connected, et cetera. And that's exactly the impact you've had on me. I remember the first time I I watched one of your uh comedy specials and watched you on stage was when I was going through a very tough part of my life. I was lonely, I was in this room in Manchester and probably 18 years old at the time. And I'm trying to figure out

1:34:34 my career and my future and things are hard and I think like pirating your pirating your comedy specials was that little moment of escapism. It was that little moment of joy in my day. And so you're that for so many, many millions of people that you'll never get to meet. You brought so much joy to families. You brought families together, you brought me and my girlfriend out to come and see you in the roll out hall. And also we I've seen you in New York City when you did I think it was Madison Square Garden here as well. on that square stage, it's you're a source of joy and connectivity. And if the world ever needed that energy right now. Um it needs it now more than ever. I'm sorry.

1:35:09 Appreciate you and thank you. Uh this was amazing, man. And I and I think you're doing a service of good and What you're providing. For the masses. is is necessary. So don't stop. Keep going, man. Appreciate you for that. Make sure you keep what I'm about to say to yourself.

1:35:30 I'm inviting ten thousand of you to come even deeper into the diary of a sea. Welcome to my inner circle. This is a brand new private community that I'm launching to the world. We have so many incredible things that happen that you are never shown. We have the briefs that are on my iPad when I'm recording the conversation. We have clips we've never released. We have behind the scenes conversations with the guest, and also the episodes that we've never ever released. And so much more. In the circle, you'll have direct access to me. You can tell us what you want this show to be, who you want us to interview, and the types of conversations you would love us to have. But remember for now we're only inviting the first ten thousand people that join before it closes. So if you want to join our private closed community, head to the link in the description below or go to D O A C Circle.

1:36:16 Dot com I will speak to you there. Uh

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