Which Path Leads to Financial Success?

0:00I worked for my dad's liquor store and he never really paid me a lot of money but I was saving money like crazy I was making$50 ,000 a year and I was saving$10 ,000 a year because I didn't buy shit. I was just working and saving. And all those savings is what let me invest into Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr stock. Smart people realize investing is a good way to go versus just savings. But I always have a nest egg. You have to have a rainy day fund just in case things go poorly. And I think one of the biggest issues in the world right now for 20 to 30 year olds is they don't save. Everyone's buying dumb shit to look cool on social media.

0:31And then when a rainy day happens, they're panicking. And so I think you got to find your balance. In the past, you've predicted the come up of the new forms of media, particularly short form video, I've seen in TikTok, Instagram, YouTube. So looking forward into the future, how do you predict media will be consumed? And how can content creators at the moment take advantage of that new way of focus? Content creators need to focus on what's free, right? Because I also thought that long form was gonna do well when I saw how streaming was playing out. many people in this room know that they've watched five straight episodes of something on Netflix or Hulu, right?

1:11And so like Longform's doing great. Like I watched all of Wednesday, Adams in like one evening, you know? And so I think that creators need to focus on the platforms that are free. It's not easy to get on Netflix or Hulu, right? Meanwhile, while you can make TikToks and nobody can stop you and you can become anybody, right? And so I think that long and short form will continue to grow. There'll be new platforms, there'll be decentralized social networks built on the blockchain. There'll be new platforms, just like TikTok and Snapchat and Instagram have come in the last decade. There'll be more, and there'll be more long forms.

1:50There'll be more and more streaming. There's something called fast channels. So I think there's a lot brewing in media and I think for everyone here, it's about self-awareness of like what medium works for you, including some people in here are great writers and don't want to be on camera. And there's opportunities to transcribe that writing into voice-activated pieces of content. So the world is wide open. Every kid in this class has an unbelievable opportunity if they have self-awareness of how they best create and if they have understanding of the free platforms and how to get the most awareness and then ultimately talent.

2:25Awesome. Thank you so much. Thank you, brother. Thank you, brother. All right, who wants to go next? So I understand that you're invested in like a lot of different like things. Do you believe in like saving money at all or do you think that it's better to have all your money invested at all times? So the only reason I was able to, what was your name, brother? Jacob. Jacob, so check this out. This right here, do you see it? Yeah. So that's Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr stock. those were the first three companies I invested in. So I got much worse at investing after I started. What's crazy about this brother was from 22 to 34 I worked for my dad's liquor store and he never really paid me a lot of money because it was like immigrant family business life.

3:11So I never got paid a lot of money but I was saving money like crazy. Like I was making 50 ,000 a year and I was saving 10 ,000 a year because I didn't buy shit. I was just working and saving. and all those savings is what let me invest into this. So I think it's a mix. I invest a lot. Smart people realize that are financially savvy realize investing's a good way to go versus just savings but I always have a nest egg. I think you gotta find your own balance. You have to have a rainy day fund just in case things go poorly and I think one of the biggest issues in the world right now for 20 to 30 year olds is they don't save.

3:47They buy a lot of dumb shit. you know and so everyone's buying dumb shit to look cool on social media and then when a rainy day happens they're panicking and so I think you gotta find your balance bro thank you thank you Darren what's up man I'm curious do you think the future of blockchain technology is and how can a high school student like me get involved and try and make money off of it what's your name name Noah Noah yeah I think blockchain's massive especially with AI coming does everybody here raise your hand if you know what I'm about to say. By show of hands, how many of you know what deepfake videos are?

4:23Right, so look, like probably about half the class and you guys are youngsters. So one of the craziest things that's brewing is deepfake videos. Like as soon as we hang up here during class, like Google it, if you guys are allowed to have your phone on you. You have to like really know this. There's gonna be an incredible need, Noah, for the blockchain because we're gonna need to know proof of providence because in about three years, everybody in here will know what deepfakes are and it's the biggest thing that's brewing in the world which is you can make videos now of people talking that they didn't really actually say it.

4:56It's all AI generated. Oh, most of you should have heard about the Drake and Weekend song that was made, right? By show of hands, how many people know about the fake Drake? There we go. So that's where this shit's going. It's gonna come to video. So like literally there's gonna be videos on me on TikTok in a year saying shit that I didn't actually say. And that's gonna throw the world into a spin and I think the blockchain is going to be a huge factor in proving that. So of course as you know there was the chaos of last year's NFT spring but that was a lot of speculation. That's not the place to quote unquote look to make money.

5:30Getting educated on AI and getting educated on blockchain technology and then seeing what's interesting to you and becoming good at it, that's the big opportunity for you. Awesome. Thanks so much. Got you bro. Hi I'm Elise. Hi. How are you? I'm good. How are you doing? So good. Do you, I know you like blockchain technology, but would you, is it better to invest in blockchain or invest in like the stock market? Like which is better? Definitely the stock market. If you're talking about NFTs right now, because there's so much speculation in cryptocurrencies and NFTs, 99 % of them are going to go to zero.

6:11So now there'll be some incredible opportunities and that 1%, but the amount of time and effort that someone has to put into being educated there. The number one thing for everybody here who's thinking about investing, even a small amount of money, invest in something you know. Like even if it's a brand, like one of the best pieces of advice that I think you can still screw up, but as universally strong is, for especially kids or people in their early 20s, invest in a brand and a business that you actually love. Right, like there was a lot of kids that did really well with like, like Lululemon and did really well with like Netflix and Tesla over the last decade because they knew it, they understood it.

6:54And so the number one, you know, whether it's blockchain, whether it's a stock market, whether it's real estate, whether it's art, whether it's collectibles like sneakers and sports cards, all of you should remember, this is the stuff I wish I got taught in school when I was growing up. Invest in stuff you know. So many people are just investing in a cryptocurrency or an NFT because they heard someone else say it. That's silly. Invest in things you know. Hi. I was wondering with all the new VR stuff, how it's becoming the new world, how do you think that's going to affect social media and influencers today?

7:27That's a good question. I think that VR is inevitable. Especially for people that are as young as you. You guys are going to live in a VR world. It might take another 15 years for it to get to like real scale but it's gonna affect everything if you know think about how much this affected the world and this is like the halfway point between real life and virtual I think there'll be all new influencers because of it but even more importantly like when all of you are 40 and 35 you may be sitting in VR for 5, 6, 7, 8 hours a day and that is very clear to me as a possibility in two decades so it's gonna change everything.

8:10It's gonna change the way people travel. It's gonna change where people live. You're gonna be able to live anywhere you want because meetings are not just gonna be on Zoom like this anymore. It's gonna feel like you're actually there. So why do you even have to be there? It's gonna change absolutely everything. It's gonna change the landscape of influencers, businesses, politics, society, dating, and everything else you can think of. Thank you. You're welcome. So like you put yourself out there in the world. You post on social media. But like tons of people, like every single one of our parents like they work they all have businesses but like they don't promote themselves put themselves out there as much do you believe it's like beneficial and like people are like dumb for not doing that or what is your take on like how it's a good question brother I think it's a great question I think it's a self-awareness game similar to what I said earlier I don't think it's dumb not to if you're not capable and you don't want to and you want to be overly private and you're introverted and you don't want to deal with you know it's all fun and games that I put myself out there but there's a lot of baggage that comes along with it, right?

9:08You know, people say nasty things, people get into your business, privacy. So, no, I think it's a personal thing. Do I think it's beneficial? If you're good, it is. You know, like, if I was not right about a lot of stuff, it wouldn't be good. You know, like, you have to be good. So I think it's a personal journey. I don't think it's a requirement, but I do think it's an opportunity. And I think for a lot of people that do enjoy, you know, I didn't realize until I started doing what I'm doing, how much I would have loved being a teacher. Like, you're a great teacher here. I didn't even know that.

9:42But I've learned it through this journey of how much I enjoy it. And so, you know, I think if someone's willing to go there, it can lead to a lot of great things. I didn't know that I would love public speaking. I was 34 years old the first time I gave a public speech. Didn't even cross my mind that I think I got, as a matter of fact, here's some good fun school stuff. I don't know if I can find it. Where's my report card? I got a D in speech in high school. Right? So like, there was no indication that I was gonna be good at it. And now I love it. And so, yeah, I think it's worth putting yourself out there if you have a good understanding that it works for you.

10:19But for a lot of people in this classroom and your parents, too introverted, too not interested in dealing with getting made fun of or getting talked crappy to and don't wanna be bothered in public. And I think that's absolutely right for certain people. And so you just gotta find your own way. Hi Gary thank you for coming I'm David we're talking a lot about change with technology now especially chat GPT I'm just wondering if you thought the change is good for society or bad for society both like every big thing that has ever happened there's gonna be good and bad because there's good and bad humans so you know some people who have great intent are gonna do incredible things with this brother and like life's gonna be so much better like we're all gonna use our Alexa and our Google home to do things in two seconds that take time.

11:08You know, I think school systems are really taking the wrong approach with ChatGPT. You know, they go scared and they ban it. And like, meanwhile, what are you going to do when you're 23? You're going to write it yourself? Of course not. The technology exists. Schools are like forcing kids to still ride horses when the car was invented. but on the flip side these deep fakes brother are going to lead to a lot of problems like when you are going through your speed and you see LeBron James sing something you know how it is now we're all like two seconds and we believe it to be true so we're going to have to go through that some people are going to have ill intent to cause chaos and upheaval so I think it will be good and bad but I do think good in the end because humans have proven that we can take challenging things and make them good.

12:03Like, humans are capable of so much destruction and as much bad stuff as happens, it's still a tiny percentage. A tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny percentage of how we interact with each other every day and so I believe in the human spirit. I believe in us. I think we'll have some bumps in the road on all new technologies but I think in the end, it'll be all right. Thank you. Hi, I'm Ariella. I was wondering if you think like college is gonna be necessary with everything coming out like VR, AI, do you think students are gonna need to go to college? I think a lot less than my era. When I was in high school if you didn't go to college you were considered like the worst.

12:49Like completely incapable of surviving in life. I think parents are starting to have more thoughtful conversations. kids are starting to have more thoughtful conversations. Look, I think for a lot of people in this classroom, college is right. They are comfortable in a more structured environment. They know the systems. There's kids in here, we all know this, some of you are envious of some of the kids in this class that don't try it all and still get A's and B's because they just have natural talents and they understand the system, right? And for a lot of those people, college is right because they'll go to a good school, that will set up a good job and that's how they'll live their lives.

13:25college was not right for me and because I'm too outside the box and I think it's cool that society over the next 30 years will not put pressure on 18 year olds to have to go there especially if they're collecting debt. My biggest thing always about college is for a kid that it's not right for to be forced by their parents and society and their teachers to go to college and collect debt was a disaster. For a lot of you, you might be fortunate enough where your parents will pay for it or your talents in sports or academics will pay for it. But if college isn't right for you and you take on debt, it stinks.

14:04And it's gonna become more and more obvious. And so I think it's cool that in 10 years, only 70 % of this class is gonna go to college instead of 100 % 20 years ago. And right before we run out of time, last question, if you could go back and talk to your 16-year-old self, what piece of advice would you give yourself? that this concept I have of being nice to every one of my classmates, regardless of what it meant to my own popularity, was a good strategy because I really believe that how you treat people ends up really impacting your life. And so I know it's corny, but it's fucking true. Like, I would have told the 16-year-old me, like, you've got this figured out, double down on it.

14:45Be nice to everyone, it's gonna pay dividends. And I would tell my 16-year-old self that you're right. Like college is not right for you like it is for Ken Osowski, one of the best students in my high school. And that means you're going to have to work. And that means you're going to have to work a lot to like make your way through the world. And you can either figure out academics or you can figure out work ethic and following your natural talents. And I did the latter and it worked out for me. But a lot of, you know, one thing I caution everyone here, like unlike when I was your age, entrepreneurship is cool now.

15:18Right? and I know that means for a lot of you that you want to do it. Just be self-aware. Entrepreneurship might not be right for you but you might be right to be the number two or three or four for an entrepreneur and that can be huge. Final point, please my friends, I want you to be happy. You have to know yourself, not what your parents want, not what your teachers want and not even what you, I know that you want to be a rapper or an entrepreneur or an influencer or a celebrity or an athlete. I get it but you have to be self-aware. I wanted to be a Jets player, but by 16 I realized I was more likely to own the Jets than to play for them, and that's worked out for me.

15:56Awesome. All right, Gary, thank you so much again for doing this. We really appreciate it. Cheers, everyone. Love you guys.