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

28:09Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba. Get hard. Central Intelligence. Me and the rock. I mean, it just happened so fast. So now, because the movies are working, I'm like, this is so cool. But while this is happening, I should figure out how to kind of create my own source of opportunity. People keep bringing opportunities to me. How do I create my own source of opportunity? I'm going to start a production company. I need to start developing. But now I'm like, I created that. Let's create something else. So then I say, let's go like Heartbeat Ventures and let's do a VC. Oh, man, I'm creating a bunch of stuff.

28:51Hey, these entities around me, it's all happening because my likeness, my likeness allows me 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 they think is doing the best. I'm a car. I should have brand partnerships. Chase, DraftKings, Fabletics. I should have my own brands and businesses that I'm building where more opportunity for long-term revenue can present itself. Grand Coramino, wine, spirits. Now, oh, wow, I've grabbed this concept of business control ownership and mirrored it with Kevin's drive and entertainment and visibility, leveraged that to get me into the rooms where I may not be as visible or as strong.

29:54But once I'm embedded into these environments, I can bring them value. I can help amplify or uplift their brands, their products. So my case study of Fabletics, of DraftKings before I got there versus after I got there, Chase, financial literacy, like C4. These are things where I'm now, well, I'm not just a partner. I'm an owner. I'm an endorser. I'm an ambassador. Oh, wow. This is where the real money is made. The ecosystem of life. How do you put yourself in a position to be a part of everyday movement in life? You're looking at things at a much grander 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.

30:58Heck, I'm now able to tap into the lessons that my mom gave, 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 going to finish. So if I'm going to put myself in position to do these things, how do I make sure that my partners know I'm willing to give my all? How do I show that I'm not going to quit? which back here, my mom's biggest lesson was you're not quitting. If you start it, you're going to finish it. So how do I make my partners that I'm now saying you should work with me?

31:38How do I make Netflix secure in knowing that when you get me, you get 100 % of me and that 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 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 grow. Nothing that I'm doing doesn't go hand in hand. And I should be able to embed the products or the partnerships that I'm now operationally attached to into the ecosystem of entertainment.

32:24So if I have a C4 can and I'm doing an activation in health and wellness, well, C4 is my partner. I should integrate you in this opportunity. Hey, my movie, we have an opportunity to basically wear a product. I should be in fabletics in this scene because this makes my partner feel valued in position. Oh, wow, this is what I do. I elevate, I basically navigate my space of ownership in a way like only I can to elevate my partners so that my partners go and say, you're different, this is different, and this is what we need more of. That's my graph. I've got some questions about the graph. So I guess the parts that I'm curious about are this initial period when you're 18 where nothing's really happening.

33:18Nothing. Because so many of my listeners, probably most of them, are in some pursuit or 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. 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 get through it? Nobody believed that I was funny when I said I was going to be a comedian. They were like, you funny, but not comedian funny. My friends were, yeah, what do you mean you're going to get on stage?

33:55What do you mean? I'm going to get on stage. I'm going to be a comedian. Yeah, but how? Like Eddie Murphy. I'm going to be a comedian. Yeah, but you're never going to be Eddie Murphy. Yeah, I know, but I'm saying I'm going to do it. I'm going to be a star. No. I don't know, man. 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 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.

34:38The money is never coming fast. We're in a time today where this generation has found ways to make money in an entrepreneurial manner that we've never seen before. Like the social media machine 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 my time, we didn't have that. 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? Because no money, everyone's doubting it. What were you believing in? I was believing in the idea that I finally found the thing that I want to do.

35:32So it was passion that was really you anchored to. I found the thing that I want to do. and I'm not going to quit it because I love it this much and I strongly believe that the sun is at the end of this dark tunnel, but I got to be willing to get there. And I just don't know how to get there yet, but I'm going to figure it out. That's why I'm going to L.A. I was in New York, but after New York, they say go to L.A. I'm gone. What are you going to do when you get there? I'll figure it out. I can always get on the plane and fly where I got to go for stand-up if that's the case I can always go and make money doing stand-up If I have to but I'm not going to 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 I gotta get around the Hollywood like what is Hollywood I gotta get there And what happens when you're there, it fuels another appetite of hunger.

36:43Because I'm there and in real time I'm seeing people better. I remember I tell this Cat Williams story and I don't even think I told Cat this.

36:57There was a moment where I was opening for Cat Williams. And I remember being at the BET Comedy Awards And I'm in attendance And this is like, you know I had a couple of shots at some things But they just, you know, it wasn't The things weren't sticking Like the pilots that I thought were going to hit Weren't going to hit The things that I thought were going to happen They just weren't It just didn't seem like it was adding up, right? The roles are little small roles or little small cameos, but it wasn't the thing. And I remember Cat Williams sat during the BET Comedy Awards. He had a leopard suit, destroyed.

37:45Destroyed the Comedy Awards, destroyed this moment. And audience goes crazy, stands up. I remember being in the audience and I was like, that's it. I said, that's the thing That thing, that reaction, that roar That moment I gotta be patient because my moment is going to come I witnessed his moment And he, after that moment Friday after next 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. His material, the jokes, everything. It all hit. And I didn't watch it in a manner of like jealous or angry.

38:43I was like, that's it. Like he's probably out of here after this. I mean, it's the BET Comedy Awards at the time. I'm like, this is the biggest thing ever, right? That's the comedy awards. By the way, they never did the comedy awards again. I think this was like the last one they did. But that moment, if the ball is dropped in that moment, then the moment goes. You don't know when the moment is presenting itself. But I'm staying with the thing because I know that the moment is going to come. And when I'm in the moment, if I knock that fucking moment out the park, all things will change. But you may not know it.

39:30You 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 with Kat. I believe it was Tommy Davidson. It was D-Ray. Saturday Entertainer was the host. I headlined it. 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 walking. The crowd stands up, and they're going crazy. By the way, I don't know the slow-motion walk-off is going to happen in the edit of the special, but I remember in real time, crowds standing up.

40:14Stars were there. Everybody was there, right? And in that moment, show you how fucking crazy the world is. This is why I hate that, like, me and Kat went through our stuff, and we're much better now. I'm going to show you how the world aligns. Kat was in the audience at the Shaq's All-Star Comedy Jam, and Kat was watching the show. He was just there as a fan. But at this time, everything big is happening, and I had a moment. And that was the moment that then took me and shot me out the cannon. And if I wasn't prepared for the moment, then 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.

41:07So Shaq's All-Star Comedy Jam goes, they rush to put it out, it crushes. I then taped my comedy special Seriously Funny was my next special Seriously Funny destroys but it only destroyed because of Shaq's All-Star Comedy Jam and the audience that watched 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 this big ass special and then the arenas and everything boom, boom, boom, boom, boom so about 12 13 years from the moment you did your first sort of stand-up event uh you having your moment and i find that fascinating because those 13 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 shit on instagram or quotes or you watch motivational videos and stuff if they told you that it would take 13 years for you to have your moment almost nobody would take part nobody no but those 13 years of your training?

42:10I mean, so Scooter Braun told me one time, he was like, what makes him different is the work that he's willing to do in something. And he was like, you know, if they were giving out like a million dollars for somebody that can hit a fastball pitch from the best pitcher in baseball, right? And this thing would basically require everybody. Everybody's going to go and try to hit this because everybody wants the million dollars. So the first day of the announcement, the line to hit this pitch is going to be droves, right? Millions of people. Who knows how many people will be in this line? And people will go up and strike out.

43:00And after that, they will go, damn, it's over. I missed. not many people would like miss and then go stand back in line to go hit the ball again. He was like, I'm going to keep getting in line. What you'll find is that the line will get smaller and smaller because of how many people are dropping out and optioning not to wait and do the hard thing again. That comparison and that world of understanding is like something that equates to life very well, right? Not many people are going to wait through the 13 years of like bullshit, hard shit. Most people opt out at year two, maybe three, no money, whatever.

43:58I need to figure something else out. Year six, fuck this, man. Stupid. What am I doing? Why am I doing it, right? I'm going to go find the quick avenue or the quick return because money is the, that's what it boils down to for most people. Where's the money? Where am I making the money? When the money comes, it 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, it comes with education. It comes with understanding. And it comes with a better resource of mine that makes you go, no, I'm going to do this. And I'm going to build this.

44:45And I'm going to go here. I'm going to meet. I'm going to present. I have an idea. I'm going to pitch it. Like, you're now a much better machine because you understand. Money is no longer The thing That you think it was When you get to it But getting to it To get that understanding 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 They lose focus Yes You're never completing anything You never finish nothing 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.

45:29It'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. When they come and tell you what they do, they tell you 17 things. 17. None of them have ever worked, but they say 17 things. And they think that more, doing more things, is increasing the probability of success. 1 ,000%. Where it's the opposite. It's the opposite. It's the thing that you actually thought of that you are going to put 100 % of your mind and focus into to complete. 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 you finished.

46:14I 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, if I focused 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. So you have a broad understanding of a lot of things, but then you're really deep on one particular thing. and that one particular thing is almost i guess you could see 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 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 break in as an investor and then to production and all these other areas.

47:18I mean, the value for me, it was self. But the value of self and understanding of how to truly control and operate that and navigate that correctly, that's a world of its own. So the bigger that the star gets The brighter that the star shines If you are paying attention It's only positioning you To go in places where people say Oh my god, I know you And where 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? Oh my God, like that'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?

48:13We would love to partner with you in something like this I mean, in this space 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 very good energy towards getting kids hype about school education because it's not something that I took serious. How do I help? 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.

48:57But 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? You get there now by being a sponge and not being afraid to ask questions. I'm very secure In myself In being the dummy in the room I'm extremely secure In saying I don't know what that means Explain that Give me an example of a context I can give you several Like venture In investing I was a firm believer that Nobody's stealing my money I can give you nothing Yeah, you gonna go and put it where?

49:52Yeah, no My money gonna stay right here Under my bed I'm not doing that 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 Is gonna turn into what? Yeah Okay Go find you another idiot Cause it ain't happening over here, buddy Get your scamming ass up out of here Okay, I come from the world of Everything is a scam, okay? It's a fucking scam I know a scam when I see one, right? But when you go, you say Well, how does the stock market really work? Or how does investing really work? Or what do you mean you making money while you're sleeping?

50:33What does that mean? What do you mean by that? How does this brand partnership shit really work? Like you can't be afraid To like verbalize your ignorance And the bigger problem Which I'm sure a lot of your Viewers Have Is like Insecurely Like just being quiet About the shit that they don't know As if you're going to figure it out Because someday One day somebody's going to go Hey you look like you need to know Like It'll never happen that way. It's never going to happen. You're never going to run into a person who's randomly going to talk about the things that you wish you had more knowledge in.

51:28It 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 about just verbalizing, I don't know where to get it. Look at how many how-tos, help-tos, all of these things today. The success that we're seeing in entrepreneur and influencer, streamer and all of this stuff in entertainment is the same success that you're seeing. and we can call them motivational speakers, how-to experts, step one through five and what to do. The idea of I'm here to service you and give you the information that you don't know is available.

52:16So let me tell you how to get it. Here's where I'm going to help you. Three easy steps to making sure that you can. And I don't care if you want to go to the world of athletics or you want to go to corporate or you want to go to entertainment Like you can break it down Golf Do you know how much money is being made In a game of golf Because you got Millions of people That are trying to give people information On how to better improve your golf swing Because I don't want to I don't want to say out loud 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, hit the same ball, then just ask somebody, hey, man, any way that you can tell me how to come?

53:09Like, how do you get that bitch in the air? So now people online go, well, we're just going to put it out here. And that person that's struggling quietly, well, they're going to discover me. And in silence, they'll watch and they'll look to improve because nobody knows and they still get to 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 Plaud. This tiny card clips onto the back of your phone and captures 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.

53:58It 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. Don't tell anybody this, but if you use code DOAC22, you'll get 22 % off on some of Plourdes products. There's also unknown unknowns, which you would have experienced. I remember you talking about you got to see behind curtains and you didn't even know people were behind there.

54:37And 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 born in Africa, moved to the UK, mother's Nigerian, dad's English, and didn't know that all these rich people were back here playing money games. I thought the way you make money You like work in McDonald's. You like work really hard. You might become manager. And then at like, I'm going to say 27, being sat in a billionaire's kitchen and watching him on the phone. And he's calling his boy. And they're doing 50 million just before the IPO happens so that they get a better price.

55:12And I'm thinking, fucking hell. It's all, the thing that I've realized, 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. They all are 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. Hey, Michelle, what about Melissa? All right. You'll find that this group of 10 people, all who could easily do something on their own, do not believe in the struggles of self when you can combine this machine of great minds to provide another great opportunity.

56:08And 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 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. OK, this whole business of venture, this whole business of company build, whether it's tech, lifestyle, health.

56:54Well, 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 of 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. I remember when I first started Like Investing Oh my god Kevin Like your money in this Would add a crazy amount of value Well I ain't putting in What y 'all put in No but the fact that you're involved in it At all is just big That you believe in it And we're able to say That you believe in it with us It's huge What you mean by that?

57:38You trying to fucking steal What are you doing? What are you doing man? You talking too fast Say what you said again Slow down so I understand it Don't talk fast to me because I'm so insecure because I don't know what you're saying and there might be some shit in here. But it's no. Well, we know that you're 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. So we play the 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 30x, 20x.

58:19What the fuck? You're telling me that if I put this money in here right now 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. 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 Oh Oh So now I've figured it out Now you're a part of the right conversations You're a part of the right opportunities But once again The information is discovered Because of the opportunity to be the flower on the wall in the spaces that you never imagined yourself being in.

59:12But now look at what I'm able to do. 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 going to take that information and go, 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'm going to be the next person to bring the thing That everybody else is involved in I'm going to be the next person To be the fucking energy source To tomorrow's future Future within People just need to hear How fast it happens Quick it happens And when it does What you're supposed to be ready for And you were able to invest in lots of great companies Like Function Health that's valued at 2.5 billion now.

1:00:0911 Labs, everybody knows. In the tech space knows 11 Labs, which were valued at 3 billion now. Moon Pay, Younger Labs, Sweat Pals, Radiant, Nororganics, Palter. Tons of stuff. Stuff that you would never expect me to be in. How much of this game have you learned in hindsight is about people? About like getting it. Because 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, are they stealing? you're going to have to lean on someone you trust like someone in your circle that you know and I'm wondering because people don't talk about it enough how important it is to like 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 just going to be extremely transparent before you get to the right people you run through wrong people And 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 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 grow Some people won't make it You can be patient and you can want the best for some, but they might not want the same for themselves.

1:01:38So because of that, the fall off presents itself to be a little more consistent than what it should be, right? But in business, what you'll find is that the emotions can be your worst asset. Having emotions in business attached to business can be everything but beneficial to the business. So the more that I was able to 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. How do I bring in the right valuable assets to put us in a bigger position to win?

1:02:35Sometimes you got to let go of things that you thought would be the thing, but you can climax. 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 in talent. I'm a firm believer in 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 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.

1:03:17But the patience that you have to have in learning people and dealing with people is a talent within itself. I want to say like you're. At this stage, I'm more of a hard drive of other people's issues or problems than I am a person. I am a hard drive of Can I talk to you? I want to 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're 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 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 because I am faced with a new problem attached to the ecosystem and the community that I've 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.

1:04:36So every day you're dealing with a board of shuffle and a new board of opportunity. And drama. And every day you're telling people not now and time. Slow up. I hear you. We'll deal with it. Let's all talk together. Communication is key. Let's table this and make sure everybody's on the same page. You're saying things five and six times because you have to make sure that you're the best example of what you're speaking. So every day, 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.

1:05:27So now you're going back to ground zero when you were with your mom and you were with your friends in the 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 were, what race, it didn't matter. In this space of now business and corporation, if everybody doesn't feel like they can trust or believe or follow, my direction, my vision, something about what I'm doing is wrong. How does one build an empire that relies on people when they naturally don't come from a place of that information?

1:06:11So 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 Heartbeat and your companies and your personal IP. you're going to have to be trusting a lot of other people with your wealth, with your business, and 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. But we're also a community that gets taken advantage of because of the lack of knowledge, right?

1:06:52We get fucked over more than we don't because, all right, well, it says here that you're a lawyer and that you have my best interests. All right, it says that you're my manager and you have my best interests. All right, well, you read the paperwork. All right, you read the contract and it's good. And I'm just signing, right? 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 Or onboard people To second guess To second check To show me Fine print Fine line Because it's impossible I can't get fucked Because you said Well yeah I can't But You said But go back to the emotions and why I say emotions have to be removed.

1:07:54I'm going to have somebody look at this just so I know that it is what it is. I wouldn't lie to you. I know. But 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. There's nothing against you. 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 to anything that you want to 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 of how the road presented itself for somebody to take from me.

1:08:43So when I'm recovering from the take, well, you got to start a safe space. My space was never safe because they're sharks, so they focus on the fucking prey. The young talent in the music business is prey. 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 them, I'm going with the shark every time. I guess there is an element of responsibility here which people don't like to acknowledge that you've got to take responsibility.

1:09:25I signed bad contracts in my career and I was like, I look back at 20 years, I go, fuck, I lost a lot there. But that was on me. And if I don't take responsibility, then it's going to happen again. But there's also, you'll know a lot of people that become victims. I don't think it's the worst thing, 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 that are now independent artists that control and own their labels and are doing much better at this position than they were when they were signed underneath the big thing and they were getting taken.

1:09:59But after finding out how it was and why it was, they said, I'm going to 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 the person that was like in front of them and what they said. But it was only because they learned the business of the business, right? Like, so being a part of a business that's just succeeding and you being embedded into it and just being the work for hire that just follows a 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.

1:10:38So what I do like within a culture is a lot of the artists that are independent or that are now able to say I have my own version, whether it's studio, production company, label, independent label, whether it's own line of product that they share ownership with. Like people are now learning to follow and repeat what the conglomerates are doing. 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 here under this brand.

1:11:31What'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. Is your ambition like insatiable? Yes. It just won't. 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 a daily, but I operate within stress. Are you happy? I'm 1 ,000 % happy, but I'm stressed out with the concept of I have to do.

1:12:12If your life ended now, God forbid, do you think if you found out today that it was ending, you would reflect on it and say, you know, I think I might have had things in the wrong order. Would there be any misprioritization in hindsight if today was the day? If life ended today, I could cross my legs comfortably and be okay that it's time. I did it correctly. I made sure that I applied myself to the best of my ability. I tried my best to put those that I loved in a better position so that they could see more and do more. My last name and my family name is much stronger today than it was yesterday.

1:13:01The idea of the world is something that I was able to see and understand better because I was blessed and fortunate enough to travel and meet so many.

1:13:18people are made to like we're here to embrace we're here to love we're here to like share 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 What I'm not okay with is while I have the bandwidth of good health, fucking great mind, strong fucking mind concept, and I can go, I can do it, I can get there. I'm not okay 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.

1:14:23If 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? Absolutely. Absolutely. Like you can't be unrealistic. Nothing is going to last forever. Nothing. I'm going to fuck who you are. It's not true. You can recreate and you can figure out ways to find success again and again. But the one thing that you are winning in, you're not going to win in it forever. Right? I love talking about my guy, man, Hove and Rubin, Michael Rubin. Like two great friends, but two good examples of recreation, amplification, and step repeat, right?

1:15:15Successful rapper, albums. Some albums Ho will never make again. Some will look at them all like they are all the best. Some you think are better than others. But the fight to be the thing that you were when it was at your highest is a driving factor to get you. But then as a talent, you let go of that because you become comfortable with knowing that I'm never going to create that again. That was my lightning in the bottle moment. I'm never going to 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, you know what?

1:16:01This right here It could cap out But boy oh boy did I find fucking momentum And now the movies Or in Hov's case is the example I was using He then found momentum And well this 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 that started to go pow, pow, Kanye, pow, State Property, Beanie Seagull, pow, pow, pow, Rihanna, all this people, pow. Now this thing was so dope that we were able to create other people. That's more energy. So now I don't need the fucking, I don't need the rap. 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 Is strong fucking talent And we do amazing things Now my business Because of this business Well this business Becomes great too Ace of spades And Deuce say And oh shit The value The exit The return He keeps finding more energy In these other things Oh shit, 40-40 club, more assets, more brand, likeness, partnership, ownership.

1:17:19But the backdrop to it all is the artists. Just give me 15 seconds to explain how you can build a viable business online. The people I see winning in life don't have a perfect plan. They just take the first step and then the next and then they keep going. They stay obsessed and they stay consistent. and Stan Store, a platform I co-own and one of our sponsors is the best first step to help turn your knowledge into income. It only takes a couple of minutes to launch your business and start selling digital products, coaching, memberships or communities online without any tech headaches or endless setup.

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1:18:29One of them is I spend hours and hours talking to people for a living. So I want to make sure my brain is firing in an optimal way. And the other reason that I do the ketogenic diet is because I just feel better. So when I discovered this, which is what they call an exogenous ketone product, where you can drink it and it increases your blood's ketone levels, I was blown away. I contacted them, I met them, I invested extremely heavily into their company. And I've become a co-owner of the company accordingly and they sponsor this show now. So if you want to try this out for yourself, I recommend you try it.

1:19:01Just visit ketone.com slash Stephen and you'll get 30 % off your first subscription order. You'll also get a free gift with your second shipment. That's ketone.com slash Stephen. Your show is called your new, well, it's not new necessarily. I actually saw it in London. Me and my girlfriend were near the front row when you came and did acting, acting my age in London. The show was absolutely hilarious. We were dying of laughter and it's coming to Netflix Monday, the 24th 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 do you mean, Acting My Age?

1:19:38And why now? You know, you've got to grow up. I think it's like one of the toughest things in life is just realizing what grow up actually means, right? You can be an adult but still not embrace what being an adult actually is. And when it's time to grow up, you start sacrificing the shit that the younger version of you with less responsibilities thrived and flourished off of and in. you realize that a lot of that shit gets thrown on the back burner and it's no longer important because you're fucking getting older and some shit just isn't the same, right? Like, I just made a decision to let go of a certain version of life and embrace my age and all the fun that comes with it.

1:20:44What about being a man? 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. The stats are pretty shocking on this. The suicide age is 300 to 400 percent higher in men. There's a college degree gap for every two men who earn a bachelor's degree in the women three in the US. Three women do. There's a workforce dropout rate, which is pretty terrifying. Millions of prime age men between the age of 24 and 50 are no longer in the labor force, representing an almost 10 percent drop.

1:21:19Being a man is tough these days for a bunch of different reasons. You got a plethora. A plethora of questions. It's not straightforward. Yes. Polluted waters, that's what I call it. Extremely polluted waters. What advice have you got for young men in terms of what it takes to be a good man? You know, I think the definition of a good man is so foggy today. Right? And I'm a firm believer that 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 when it's evolving. The conversation of a man and what makes a man a man is weird.

1:22:12It's like it's not evolving, right? And, you know, I was raised on a foundation of a leader or leadership. And I think, you know, rest in peace to my dad, it's fucked up of a road that my dad had. My dad's, like, 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. I can't change those things. But I would love to try to be the best grandfather or grandparent that I can be. Kevin, I love you and I love your brother. But I can't go back. I can only say I'm sorry. And I wish I could.

1:23:08You don't have to. Like, the grandkids are your focus. And if you can be the dopest example of a grandpop to them, then 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, put me in a position to say, I don't want to do that. I want to do this. And not because my dad is like the worst But fuck man If he didn't do these things wrong Back to tying shit in I wouldn't know how to do them right So now I got two boys And I want to make sure that my example Of man to my sons Is leadership Responsibility It's accountability Emotions You know I'm not against emotions But I am also So I am a student of everybody has problems.

1:24:13There's not a shortage of problems. So the weight of the world that you feel is the heaviest for you may not come close to what the weight of the world is for you. And I think in sharing your emotions and having an opportunity to voice or offload them, extremely important. But you also are in a world where, you know, weakness can at some point in time be taken advantage of, right? You are in a world of like prey and sharks as I presented earlier. And 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 what are you ultimately trying your best to become?

1:25:05And what are you ultimately trying to be the best example for yourself first and then others for? I don't mind being weak, but I talk to my kids. I talk to them and I 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 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 going to make sure that I communicate with you differently than I was communicated with I'm, not going to let you fuck off and take advantage of the things that you have as resources at your fingertips I'm, not going to 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.

1:25:55That'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 that I want my kids to be based off of what my outcome was and is. And I think that if I correctly position them to simply understand, in your older age, you make whatever decisions you want. I'm your father. I'm going to love you regardless. It has no care or worry to me. I want to know that I did my job for what I was supposed to control. And I want to know that our conversations and our dialogue was always straight up and straightforward enough to where you were comfortable to talk to me.

1:26:34And you were comfortable in feeling like your father has your best interests. For me, that's my makeup. And in a time today, my makeup doesn't have to fit yours. And I'm okay with that. And I'm okay with yours being whatever it is for you But I think we're in a time today where society wants to fight with one another It's just too much of like, well, if you don't see it my way, then you're dumb And I think that's why the conversation has gotten so 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 with not being okay with my choice.

1:27:24It'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 impact on your life? I'm gonna go to 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 than your block or your neighborhood. He said, get out the country. Get out the country and figure out a way to make the world laugh and comedy will be so much better.

1:28:07At that point, I was very, like, specific in my material. 15th Area, you know, we got these. The drugstore is crazy. you ever had a guy in a drugstore in your block? And it's like, well, everybody doesn't relate or can't relate. How do you broaden it? How do you open it up so that you're never changing your material or who you are? Everywhere you go in the world, people can laugh and you never have to adjust. Get out the country. Get bigger in the way you're thinking about your craft. 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.

1:28:52That seems to be really central to your success. And what 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 were willing to be in unfamiliar territories for some reason. Yeah. Yeah. You know what you just made me think about too? And I want to backtrack before we leave. Like, one thing that's, like, kind of crazy just when you were talking about the conversation of man, like, it's a weird thing that's happening where you do have men that are opening up more and talking more about, like, the struggles of a man.

1:29:28But then those things are, like, being used against them 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 wanting to express and talk. But the fear of being judged after. Do you have that fear? No, I don't get shit. I don't really care too much what people think. Have you struggled with your mental health? No. No. I think I told you my shit is like more stress. It's not a struggle.

1:30:09It's like. Is that anxiety or is it? Is it? No, just like I know I do too much. Yeah. Like I know for a fact. How was the symptom of that? How do you feel? You have to shut down. So what I'm getting better at is in a day, there's a time where I just don't, I'm off the phone. I got it. I know I told them I would do calls. Just tell them I'll start that tomorrow or the day after. But there's a time where I get to a point in the day where I'm like, okay, oh, that's it for me. You're done. That's my, yeah. And I'm literally, I'm done. I don't want to talk about anything else. I don't want to hear.

1:30:45So you're pushing yourself right up to the edge over and over and over and over again. I get to a point in the day and that timeline of when I'm shutting off has gotten earlier and earlier. Whereas before it was wee hours of the night and I'm still on the phone figuring it out. And all day you've just been racing and racing and racing. So I think the older that I've gotten, I've realized more and more that's not healthy. The healthy side comes with silence for a second. You need some silence. And riding a car by yourself, no music. Sounds a bit like a disease. You need silence. Do you know what I mean by it sounds a bit like a disease?

1:31:26Because this is something that's taking you to a point where it's kind of hurting you a little bit. And I can relate So it's not like I'm like Passing judgment Because you just described My entire life You're not going to be as present With your loved ones You're not going to be as present In your relationship I know you're married You've got four kids How are you ever going to be Like truly present When your brain is like Yes But also How do you How do you become comfortable With Being okay With people not understanding That's the trick Like I hate to say it bluntly 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.

1:32:04Oh, God, I don't want to say it because then they're going to feel like I'm not doing it. It's going to be crazy. I don't know. I'll just do it. Because I'm thinking more about you than I'm thinking about me, 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 of dialogue that I'm delivering on a day-to-day basis and how much of that happens over and over again. Nobody's thinking about it. So the day that I became comfortable with going, I don't really give a fuck if they understand or not.

1:32:45I'm done. I know, but they feel it's really important you got to do it today. I'll talk to them tomorrow. Nothing's going to happen. Nothing's going to 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 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.

1:33:19Like, eventually you can't fucking breathe and you bust. It's no different from your mind. And more today than ever You're seeing more people pop From mental overload, man Like people aren't crazy I hate them Like this whole crazy You crazy, motherfucker You crazy It's like Motherfuckers are just popping Like It's too much And they fucking When they snap, they snap That's it, that's not I'm sick I'm sick of the chick You're like, goddamn, man You crazy? No, you're not Motherfuckers just popped But you could You got the money to go chill in Bali. I'm going, I... But you don't... I have the money to not go chill in Bali.

1:34:00I have the money to say, I'm not talking anymore today. 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. What happens next for you? We sit here in 10 years time. It all went well. What happened? I think in 10 years' time, if I'm able to sit on a stool at a comedy club with 30 people and do material and enjoy my craft, and it's little small hole-in-the-wall comedy clubs wherever I'm living at the time, and I do it maybe twice a week, and I golf and I spend time with my kids and hopefully their kids and I'm a grandpop 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.

1:35:04That'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 etc and that's exactly the impact you've had on me i remember the first time i watched one of your 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 i'm probably 18 years old at the time and i'm trying to figure out my career and my future 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.

1:35:41And 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 Royal Albert Hall. And also 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, it needs it now more than ever. I humbly appreciate you and thank you. This was amazing, man. And I think you're doing a service of good. And what you're providing for the masses is necessary.

1:36:17So don't stop. Keep going, man. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

1:36:24Make sure you keep what I'm about to say to yourself. I'm inviting 10 ,000 of you to come even deeper into the diary of a CEO. 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 guests 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.

1:37:01But remember, for now, we're only inviting the first 10 ,000 people that joined before it closes. So if you want to join our private closed community, head to the link in the description below or go to doaccircle.com. I will speak to you then.

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1:38:11And that's the stage where we found it mission critical to use NetSuite. We no longer have to juggle multiple systems and having everything together has reduced the number of manual tasks and of course, the number of errors. Over 43 ,000 businesses have chosen to future-proof their business with NetSuite. So if you'd like to learn how it can help your business, right now get the business guide Demystifying AI free at netsuite.com. slash Bartlett. That's netsuite.com slash Bartlett.