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Can We Talk About Gary V? (Vaynerchuck)

Topics relating to managing people and relationships

BlindSide

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First off, I know he's insanely successful. I get it.

Not only that, but I think he usually gives out great advice. I'm a big fan overall, and you can get a lot of value from him.

But I wanted to get some forum opinions on some of the stuff he posts.. because sometimes it sounds like he's just selling the dream. I'd love to see other viewpoints on this.

For example, here is a short little fake text convo he had to illustrate a point:

View: https://www.facebook.com/gary/videos/10155341793218350/


But (as far as I see it) isn't this just "selling the dream?" The part about not watching House of Cards is obvious lol, but the part about "starting a blog/podcast" for video games... how does that just equate to success? Again, I do think he provides massive value, and has to be one of the most well-known entrepreneurs out there, but some of the stuff he posts just comes across to me as saying they will make it if they "hustle" hard enough.
 
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Argue

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I rarely know who he is. In my opinion, watching him is an action fake. Just my opinion of course so no offense to anyone.
 

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I wanted to check out Gary V materials, but yup, some of his videos on youtube were 'rah rah'. Triggered red flags, so I passed.
But he has some insights on social marketing that I might revisit again.
Consider that you are investing your time in place of money into this thing called education.
So, if you feel disturbed by it....get out while you still can to avoid further loss of time.
There are more good resources out there for your choice. I am currently viewing Dan Pena's free podcasts (he's a more fiery and vulgar version of MJ), UNSCRIPTED and The Accounting Game by Darrell Mullis & Judith Orloff.

BTW, UNSCRIPTED has lots of huge chunks on discussions of value array, the Productocracy and Kinetic Execution. This stuff will take me the next few months and at least a year's worth of execution to totally learn it all.
 

BlindSide

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I rarely know who he is. In my opinion, watching him is an action fake. Just my opinion of course so no offense to anyone.

I understand that, given a lot of people will continuously watch his content to soak up all the information possible (aka: avoid doing anything.)
 
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BlindSide

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I wanted to check out Gary V materials, but yup, some of his videos on youtube were 'rah rah'. Triggered red flags, so I passed.
But he has some insights on social marketing that I might revisit again.
Consider that you are investing your time in place of money into this thing called education.
So, if you feel disturbed by it....get out while you still can to avoid further loss of time.
There are more good resources out there for your choice. I am currently viewing Dan Pena's free podcasts (he's a more fiery and vulgar version of MJ), UNSCRIPTED and The Accounting Game by Darrell Mullis & Judith Orloff.

BTW, UNSCRIPTED has lots of huge chunks on discussions of value array, the Productocracy and Kinetic Execution. This stuff will take me the next few months and at least a year's worth of execution to totally learn it all.

Just ordered Unscripted recently, currently digging through it! I bought it on NOOK because I didn't want to wait days for the book to arrive haha.

I do think my Podcast game is very weak in regards to education, so thanks for the recommendation!

Still have to get into those sections you mentioned :)
 

V8Bill

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Actually I think you'll find that Gary V doesn't sell the dream, he sells you on your dream. He often says that if you're happy with your lot in life he's happy for you but if you complain and don't do anything about it that's when he gets fired up. He's all about action and I think he's great and he's earned my respect. I always get a kick when I watch him. He's worth the effort to get to know a little better.

There's plenty of time to watch him and take action. The two aren't necessarily mutually exclusive.
 

CJ B

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Actually I think you'll find that Gary V doesn't sell the dream, he sells you on your dream. He often says that if you're happy with your lot in life he's happy for you but if you complain and don't do anything about it that's when he gets fired up. He's all about action and I think he's great and he's earned my respect. I always get a kick when I watch him. He's worth the effort to get to know a little better.

There's plenty of time to watch him and take action. The two aren't necessarily mutually exclusive.
I like him as well. If you know his story; grinding out creating Wine Library TV on YouTube when nobody was watching to take his families liquor business from $3mm to $30mm, it's pretty inspirational. He definitely found a concept, grinded long hours and went Fastlane.
 
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bigred

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I have a ton of respect for Gary V. His is one of the many podcasts I listen to while at the gym or driving. I don't have time to watch his videos, but have listened to a lot of his audio. Just like @V8Bill said, the two aren't mutually exclusive.

If you really watch or listen to more than one piece of content, Gary V is all about taking action. Just the other day, someone asked what he would do, if he had to start over. He said he would flip stuff on Ebay and Amazon to build a bankroll. That's not some pipe dream blog or action fake social media agency. Think about what he didn't say...

I would give him a chance. The guy is on another level, if you really listen to what he is saying.
 

BlindSide

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Appreciate the viewpoints!

I definitely do respect him and like a lot of content, it's just sometimes I think he sells the "do whatever you want & HUSTLE 24/7" style. Nothing about market research or product validation (again, this is just from what I see, I've been following for over a year).
 

bigred

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I think he just says it more bluntly, "don't have a shit product."

He isn't one of those guys that going to give you a step-by-step on validating your market.

He always talks about piveting, based on the feedback you get from the market.

I'm not calling you out, but are we listening to the same person? I have listened to him on and off for over a year and he has consistently said the same thing over and over and over.
 
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BlindSide

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I think he just says it more bluntly, "don't have a shit product."

He isn't one of those guys that going to give you a step-by-step on validating your market.

He always talks about piveting, based on the feedback you get from the market.

I'm not calling you out, but are we listening to the same person? I have listened to him on and off for over a year and he has consistently said the same thing over and over and over.

Haha just two different perspectives.
 

MoneyDoc

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The problem with a lot of his followers is that they don't do shit. They just use his videos/podcasts as a means of delaying the action. Those that already have a business up and running or those that do take action after listening to his stuff, it can be pure gold.
 

Argue

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The problem with a lot of his followers is that they don't do shit. They just use his videos/podcasts as a means of delaying the action. Those that already have a business up and running or those that do take action after listening to his stuff, it can be pure gold.
Absolutely. For those entrepreneurs on a different level, Gary's insights are an advantage.

But for the average joe, it becomes another action fake. They binge watch all day but fail to take a single step. This group keeps watching hoping for the holy grail.

And that's where my belief is that watching him is an action fake unless you're an executing entrepreneur with passive income every month, then yeah he has food for thought.

Majority return to their day job the next day or return to their old habits.

In business, it takes execution, diligence, and perseverance. Courage, grit, persistence, dedication, and patience.

Universal formula should be:

A + E = S

Action + Execution = Success
 
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James Fake

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I love listening to Gary V. on my Spotify. A few of his strength topics are:

1) Future of marketing; especially in social media marketing and trends and the future and staying ahead of the curve.

2) He talks about being a good character and person first and business second. I think this is missed a lot. Shitty and lazy people have a huge handicap regardless of idea or execution. Being a good person and bringing those same values into your business is very BIG imo.

He does tend to talk extremely fast and a lot of hoorah stuff sometimes; but when I need a motivational kick sometimes; it fits in perfectly.
 

Vigilante

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He is on the cover of entrepreneur magazine this month
 
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jilla82

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I get why people love him.

But I dont think people get what he's doing.
He's entertaining you to raise his position and build his brand up.
He's not saying anything new...he just knows how to be entertaining for the "I want to be in business" crowd.

Unless you have a parent that built a business, and then let you handle the marketing straight out of high school....how can he relate to what youre going through?

People like hearing "build value first, and the money will follow"...because they dont want to deal w/ the rejection that comes with selling your a$$ off.
but if those bills are coming...you need to get out there and sell your product...not tweet/dm/market all day long.

As post on here have highlighted...people like that Gary talks about "being a good person first"...
...thats another dream being sold.
You think he isnt cut throat? You dont think the biz world is cut throat?
People sell you that "be kind, dont be pushy" shit when they are at the top...because thats what the average Joe wants to hear.
 

Imgal

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This is a thread that we could essentially be having about any entrepreneurial personality who puts themselves out there on Youtube / Instagram / Facebook etc and here's my take.

Each and every one of them has something to teach us, even if it's it's... well that's a load of crap I'd never recommend doing - which is a clear sign that a) You are action faking because you know it all and you're now just waiting for someone to give you permission to get up and do it or b) you really don't know what you're doing and keep watching videos isn't going to help you - again you need to get out there, do it, get it wrong and learn.
 

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When I first heard about Gary V, I thought he was as fake. Fake like the people selling books and conventions e.g. Tai Lopez, but then I watched his daily vlogs and that changed my mind. He actually runs, from what I can tell, a successful marketing company (VaynerMedia.) My opinion, what he says comes from what he does from running his family wine business in the past to the business he does now. Since he is really an entrepreneur with an actual business his opinions and views are worth taking into consideration since he has actually done something.
 
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Carnage

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I think he's alright, since he at least did something, business-wise, unlike other guru's.......but it's funny that he loves social media, so he's constantly posting stuff. Nothing wrong with that, but his followers are constantly flooded with his posts, tweets, youtube videos and whatever....with all that entertainment, I cant see how his followers will ever take action.
 

V8Bill

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I get why people love him.

But I dont think people get what he's doing.
He's entertaining you to raise his position and build his brand up.
He's not saying anything new...he just knows how to be entertaining for the "I want to be in business" crowd.

Unless you have a parent that built a business, and then let you handle the marketing straight out of high school....how can he relate to what youre going through?

People like hearing "build value first, and the money will follow"...because they dont want to deal w/ the rejection that comes with selling your a$$ off.
but if those bills are coming...you need to get out there and sell your product...not tweet/dm/market all day long.

As post on here have highlighted...people like that Gary talks about "being a good person first"...
...thats another dream being sold.
You think he isnt cut throat? You dont think the biz world is cut throat?
People sell you that "be kind, dont be pushy" shit when they are at the top...because thats what the average Joe wants to hear.

That's a surprisingly cynical, misrepresentation and inaccurate view of his messages that I strongly disagree with. I think you're way off and it makes me wonder if you actually believe all the things you said or that you just don't know much about him.

I find it difficult to understand how anyone could come to those conclusions about a guy who's obviously done the hard yards and is now trying to inspire others to do the same? What his parents "gave" him is a hard work ethic. He definitely wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth or had everything given to him on a platter. And to suggest that he's going to all this trouble to be at best inauthentic or at worst bull shitting to us about everything he says just to sell books? Come on man, seriously?
 
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I find his online content repetitive and tedious.

I am a fan of his books however. In audio form. I have gained a lot of value from them.
 
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All_In52

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First off, I know he's insanely successful. I get it.

Not only that, but I think he usually gives out great advice. I'm a big fan overall, and you can get a lot of value from him.

But I wanted to get some forum opinions on some of the stuff he posts.. because sometimes it sounds like he's just selling the dream. I'd love to see other viewpoints on this.

For example, here is a short little fake text convo he had to illustrate a point:

View: https://www.facebook.com/gary/videos/10155341793218350/


But (as far as I see it) isn't this just "selling the dream?" The part about not watching House of Cards is obvious lol, but the part about "starting a blog/podcast" for video games... how does that just equate to success? Again, I do think he provides massive value, and has to be one of the most well-known entrepreneurs out there, but some of the stuff he posts just comes across to me as saying they will make it if they "hustle" hard enough.


I don't think he's selling the dream... he really has nothing to sell. The income he earns is mostly from his business not his "hustle" t shirts and books. Compared to the amount of time he adds into it, I don't think he's out to get rich. He even says legacy over currency.

I like the guy, but some people can think their saying the right thing but its wrong. Like the scientists who thought the earth was flat. They didn't want sailors falling to their deaths, they were just protecting them, but in the end they were wrong. Gary's intention is in the right place but that doesn't necessarily make him correct/helpful.
 

Andy Black

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I find his online content repetitive and tedious.

I am a fan of his books however. In audio form. I have gained a lot of value from them.
Last year I binged on his YouTube videos for about a month or so. I definitely learned a lot about social media, and that there's a whole 'nother level of working hard. Watch a few of his early Daily Vee's and you'll see what I mean.

I too found his audio books great to listen to.

It's just that I don't aspire to his lifestyle or his goals. He spends so little time with his family (it seems). It was good for me to realise what I didn't want to become (not saying I even got the correct impression of him, just that it clarified things for me).

I also found he was churning out so much content that I'd have to be a full-time consumer to keep up with him.

I do like that he says his goal is that you won't need him anymore.

Consume, learn, take an action-taking leaf from his book.

Just make sure your own thoughts don't get drowned out in all the noise out there, and that you produce more than you consume.
 

ColbyG

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I watch a little bit of Gary whenever I get the chance, and he is the perfect example of not doing everything a person says, but deciding for yourself what applies to you. He talks alot of shit. But amongst the shit is some nuggets of absolute gold. Like his meetings with clients are great. Every now and then you actually get insight into his marketing strategy. But there's a lot of fluff to wade through first.
 
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Gigi Rodgers

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Why NOT start a blog or podcast for video games?
I'm sure you've heard of Pewdie Pie.
How about The International (for multiple player online battle arenas)?
There's even Pokemon World championships.

Pewdie Pie was making bank ($400K+/month), being an e-gamer commentator. A commentator...
He became so popular that he appeared on South Park.
And those competitions mentioned, the purse prizes are in the tens of millions - if you're a pro.
If you're not a pro - you could always be a personality (like Pewdie Pie) and livestream you playing games on a website called Twitch. You get $3 for every 1K ad views and $5 for every subscriber.

So yes, if you want to start a blog/podcast for video games, on the side, while you work a full-time job and be a dad and husband, do it.
He could talk about short cuts to get X in a particular game.
He could interview up-and-coming gamers and ask them their training regimen (yes, some have a training regimen)
He could be a gaming reviewer. Ever see Conan review a game before? It's fuqin' hilarious.

You can be just as happy and "successful" - whatever that means to you - making $175K per year being a video live streamer.
How? The same way you do anything when it comes to building a community - give value to your audience, find your distribution channel and do a deep dive into the platform and learn the culture, being a strong personality, entertain them, etc.

And on top of that - once you start building traction you can get sponsorships, Amazon referral links, PayPal Donations, etc.
It's not enough to just be hustling, just like anything, there needs to be some kind of strategy behind it.

Robert Samuel, in New York, has a successful business standing in line for people. He makes $2K+ per week, standing in line for your tickets to Hamilton, for your iPhone 7S, the latest Air Jordans, and more.
A successful business...where you stand in line...
It's so simple...it's genius.
Sometimes it's really not about hustling harder, but finding a problem EVERYONE has, and coming up with a simple solution that people will pay for.
 

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I don't know much about Gary V as I don't pay attention to gurus or what they do other than what is posted here, however, I don't think he is a bro-marketer. From my impressions of the material that has passed my palette, he comes across as genuine and authentic. In the guru world, this is rare. And doesn't he have a real business with real revenues? I'm not sensing any practice paradoxes.
 

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I was following him for a while, I think some people here have a weird impression of him.

I think he's genuine and I think he wants to genuinely help people. I've literally never seen ONE piece of content from him that didn't scream "I want you to succeed!" and not only that but he walks the walk as well - he's clearly a very, very, very, very busy and successful entrepreneur. He doesn't blow smoke up your a$$ and will happily tell you that your head isn't screwed on right. And he gets super frustrated when people he's trying to help "doesn't get it".

However - I do not aspire to be him, at all.

The guy doesn't stop. He has a call in show, he interviews other entrepreneurs, he produces social media content basically continuously (I think he has more "follow me around" hours on film than any reality star in history), he's an author, he gives speeches, he responds personally to every single message, and on top of all that he has his day job! He owns a marketing agency and works with the biggest household names on the planet.

Frankly I think the guy found the cure to sleep and stopped doing that years ago and just hasn't told anyone yet. He might as well be the supreme leader of all hustlers on the planet. He doesn't stop!

I mean, the guy is inspirational as hell but if you asked me if I wanted the keys to his life with no questions asked I'd politely say "F*ck. That."

So yeah, he's fun to watch and has great content and advice and is personally successful and wants everyone else to succeed as well. I get that. But he's a world-class workaholic. I'd love to shake his hand but no way in hell do I want to do what he does.
 
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Argue

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I was following him for a while, I think some people here have a weird impression of him.

I think he's genuine and I think he wants to genuinely help people. I've literally never seen ONE piece of content from him that didn't scream "I want you to succeed!" and not only that but he walks the walk as well - he's clearly a very, very, very, very busy and successful entrepreneur. He doesn't blow smoke up your a$$ and will happily tell you that your head isn't screwed on right. And he gets super frustrated when people he's trying to help "doesn't get it".

However - I do not aspire to be him, at all.

The guy doesn't stop. He has a call in show, he interviews other entrepreneurs, he produces social media content basically continuously (I think he has more "follow me around" hours on film than any reality star in history), he's an author, he gives speeches, he responds personally to every single message, and on top of all that he has his day job! He owns a marketing agency and works with the biggest household names on the planet.

Frankly I think the guy found the cure to sleep and stopped doing that years ago and just hasn't told anyone yet. He might as well be the supreme leader of all hustlers on the planet. He doesn't stop!

I mean, the guy is inspirational as hell but if you asked me if I wanted the keys to his life with no questions asked I'd politely say "F*ck. That."

So yeah, he's fun to watch and has great content and advice and is personally successful and wants everyone else to succeed as well. I get that. But he's a world-class workaholic. I'd love to shake his hand but no way in hell do I want to do what he does.
You can tell it in his eyes. Looks like the last time he slept was 2008.
 

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I dunno, I was thinking the same thing. Like "this guy is overrated and isn't really giving ME personally anything substantial to learn from", unlike TMFL. Maybe that's because his business model is so completely different than mine. I kind of look at him like I do Tony Robbins. But, admittedly, I haven't really done a deep dive into his content.
 

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