I love Gary Vaynerchuk.
I resonate with most of what he says.
His experiences and beliefs are similar to the experiences I’ve had over the last 26 years in business; apart from growing a $500 million business – I haven’t pulled anything even close to that off – yet.
He’s passionate about sharing how the world is changing, and how we can all take the best advantage of these changes.
It’s the real talk.
So when a client gifted me a ticket to go and see him last week, to say I was excited would have been an understatement. This guy has energy plus, and had me captivated for over an hour as he owned that massive room like the boss he is. Keeping 3500 people engrossed and captivated in a room that’s more like a massive barn, is a crazy feat of awesomeness.
What Gary Vee talks about is so important for anyone who wants to build or grow their business. So for those who couldn’t make it, or for those that can’t stand sitting through the f-bombs, here are my key take-aways:
The commodity today is attention.
In this noisy world, the most important thing you can have, is attention. If I can get your attention, and then I’m good enough to keep your attention, then I can sell you something. The biggest problem is, it’s hard work, and most people aren’t willing to put in the effort.
Put in the effort. Capture people’s attention. Get on with with making an impact.
Nothing changes unless you change.
Sure, we all KNOW this.
But are you caught in the trap of repeating the same old habits day in, day out? And wondering why you’re getting the same results?
To know and not to do, is not to know.
100 pieces of content per day is not enough.
The best way to grow your audience and build a tribe of people who vibe with you, is to put out daily content. Sure, I publish content most days…
Then the next moment Gary tells us that he puts out 100 pieces of content per day and he doesn’t believe that’s enough. Uh-oh, gotta up my content game! Guessing you probably do too.
The trolls.
So many of us are afraid of being heckled on social media, and hold ourselves back from posting our thoughts, just in case it ruffles feathers.
I mean, let’s face it, being trolled is not a nice feeling at all. Whilst I don’t lose sleep over it anymore, it still stings like a B.
To hear Gary’s take on this, gave me a much clearer perception of what’s really happening here…
We have to be empathetic to our audience, and also not give a crap all at the same time. I love this!
“So someone takes the time to leave you a ‘hater’ comment on social media – they’ve just used their time to spend time in your world, and what they say and how they act says way more about them and what they’re going through, than you. I wouldn’t want to be living that shitty life in their shoes”.
Spot on! It’s not all about you, people!
Personal branding is the long tail.
Right now is the greatest opportunity in history to grow your personal brand online. It’s a long game, and I get frustrated when people ask me, “What’s the ROI of that?”
Spending time growing your brand is a long term game, and it takes time to build relationships. But get it right, and enjoy the long tail.
Many years ago when I was running our dancewear stores (in the days before the internet and mobile phones), I received a call on the Easter long weekend from a customer who had put the weekend aside to sew a heap of costumes for multiple teams. She was 20cm short on a particular fabric to get a costume finished – the sum total of that sale was less than $5. However, I got in the car and drove down to the shop to meet her – for that $5 sale, with my eye on the long game. What was the ROI of that trip? I’ll never know, but I do know that it was more than $5 – from that point on, she only shopped with us, and referred customers to us for over 10 years.
Your personal brand is what people say about you when they’re chatting to a friend, so don’t take the shortcut, because there isn’t one.
Buying stuff to look the part.
We buy homes bigger than we need, all because we live our lives in defense. We worry too much about other people’s points of view.
Fancy cars, mansions, private jets, brand label clothes; whatever it is. So many people buy these items to look more successful than they are, and because they care what other people think.
The real game isn’t about keeping up with the Joneses.
Jump all in, serve your people, and do good work that makes a difference. Stop caring what other people think, because life is hard when you’re always on the back foot and living in defense with bills up to your eyeballs.
The link between happiness and accountability.
“The reason I’m happy is because I’m accountable. I’m stunned that people haven’t realised that accountability is what leads to happiness.”
Mic drop.
So even though I loved almost every minute of his talk, in my effort to give a well rounded and balanced view of what he shared, there was one section in the Q&A which left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth…
The question was from a young girl in the audience. Her question was, “Why are you able to get up on the stage and just deliver value, when everyone else has been selling today?”
Gary’s answer: Because I’m the best.
OK, ok, he’s pretty good and I have just his praises for this whole article, so clearly I like the guy, but the real reason is because he was PAID to be on that stage. The other speakers were not.
We’re all in business to make money, and there is more than one way to skin a cat. Income can come from many different sources, and the speakers all derived their income in different ways during the day. If there weren’t people selling from stage at this event, the ticket price would have been way more than thirty something dollars. Rant over.
Let’s finish this on a high, because that’s how I felt for the rest of the evening after listening to Gary Vee for just over an hour…
Are you going to waste your life?
Are you going to waste it by paying attention to other people’s opinions, or your opinion of yourself that was fabricated by somebody else? You only have one life, so do something with it.
“Do something with your life, it would mean so much to me” – Gary Vee
Did you attend Gary Vaynerchuk’s recent Australian tour? What did you think? I’d love your to share your thoughts below…