SEBASTIAN MANISCALCO: How To Do The Hard Things

HEART meets HUMOR in this EXPLOSIVE new episode with my good friend, SEBASTIAN MANISCALCO! Sebastian is a master of comedy who went from waiting tables to captivating audiences nationwide as a comedian, actor and now preparing to light up the stage yet again with his 2024 tour. This episode transcends the boundaries of comedy. It’s about more than just making people laugh; it’s about the silent victories, the lessons learned in the pursuit of balance, and the legacy we hope to leave for our children. In our raw conversation, we get real about: The significance of fatherhood in our lives and the ongoing journey to find the right BALANCE every parent yearns for. The evolution and impact of comedy in Sebastian’s career, exploring how stand-up has shaped his path and why maintaining a HIGHER STANDARD is crucial for staying at the top. The surreal experience of working alongside icons like ROBERT DeNIRO How much is enough, now and in the future? Reflections on SUCCESS – does the reality lives up to the dream? The process of maintaining career MOMENTUM and RELEVANCY Tune in for an episode filled with laughter, learning, and a lot of heart, as we explore the depths of success, creativity, and the unbreakable bond of family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Ed Mylett?

  So hey guys, are you frustrated with where you're at right now? Maybe stunted in your progress? Well, if you are, I want to recommend a place for you to go called Growth Day. GrowthDay.com/Ed. It is the number one personal development app on the planet. It's got all kinds of high-performance techniques in there. Courses, accountability, journaling, live speeches from some of the top influencers in the world, including me. It's an overall environment to change your life. GrowthDay.com/Ed. I hear so many small business owners say the exact same thing. They just never have enough time in the day. Well, I measure time differently. I've compressed, condensed, heck, I've bent time. My first day is 6:00 a.m. to noon. My second day starts at noon and goes till 6:00 p.m. And my third day, 6:00 p.m. to midnight.

• 0:45Ed Mylett?

  I now get 21 days a week. Stack that up over a month, over a year, over five years, and my life's completely different than it would have been otherwise. And if you want to win as an entrepreneur, you have to compress your time too. And you definitely can't afford to waste it waiting weeks on a big bank for capital. Your best bet's to work with my friends at Cardiff. They know how to compress time for entrepreneurs. They get your business approved in minutes and funded the very same day. They're America's favorite small business lender, and for good reason. Over 20 years in business, over 12 billion deployed to small business across America. Stop letting bank delays slow down your momentum. Head to Cardiff.co/Ed. That's Cardiff.co/Ed. Cardiff.co. Real growth, fast funding. Cardiff, borrow better.

• 1:31Speaker 01

  This episode is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Good times mean competitions between you and your friends. Like seeing who can throw some pigskin the farthest or rush the field the fastest. Winner gets an Ultra. Because it's not just a superior-like beer, it's also giving fans superior access to their favorite sporting events. Superior is worth playing for. Visit MichelobUltra.com/SuperiorAccess to enter. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2026 Anheuser-Busch InBev Michelob Ultra Beer, St. Louis, Missouri.

• 2:04Speaker 02

  This is the Ed Meyer Show.

• 2:08Speaker 02

  Welcome back to the show, everybody. Got a friend sitting next to me here today who I am really glad he's here. He is one of the busiest people in all of the entertainment industry right now. He's got this show that just got picked up for a new season called Bookie, which is awesome. He's got Netflix specials all over the place. You guys have already seen him on Netflix, almost all of you. Movie last year came out about my father that I loved. That was a really successful project for him. He's just got all kinds of stuff going on, but he's got a tour coming up called It Ain't Right in 2024. Biggest tour he's got. So you can go to all his social media, his website to get his stuff. Sebastian Maniscalco, welcome back to the show.

• 2:45Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Thanks for having me back. I think the last time I did this had to be about four or five years ago.

• 2:49Speaker 02

  Four or five years ago.

• 2:50Sebastian Maniscalco?

  The UTA offices and reflecting back on that experience.

• 2:55Sebastian Maniscalco?

  I didn't know who you were. I didn't, you know, I just didn't, I wasn't aware of you. I saw clips and whatnot. And then you wanted me to do your podcast, which is then I started looking into who you were and whatnot. Oh, this guy's, this guy's knows what he's doing and whatnot. But I feel bad that you came out to where I was. At UTA.

• 3:15Speaker 02

  You did.

• 3:15Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Cause I, I noticed a lot of.

• 3:18Speaker 02

  Most people come to this.

• 3:20Sebastian Maniscalco?

  But you came to me and reflecting back on that, I'm like, oh, I probably should have went out to you. But at the time I was just like, oh, this is like.

• 3:27Speaker 02

  Who is this guy at the time?

• 3:28Sebastian Maniscalco?

  The hike and whatnot, but I'm glad you asked me back. And it's nice to be here and it's this new setting.

• 3:35Speaker 02

  Yeah, well, it's temporary setting, but yeah, it's good to have you back and I've done his show. He's got a couple of different podcasts too. The Daddy and Doctor.

• 3:43Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Daddy versus Doctor and the Pete and Sebastian.

• 3:45Speaker 02

  This guy's busy. He's, he's doing everything.

• 3:47Sebastian Maniscalco?

  What you did Daddy versus Doctor and you had a clip on there where you got emotional.

• 3:50Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 3:51Sebastian Maniscalco?

  I put that up.

• 3:52Speaker 02

  Yep.

• 3:52Sebastian Maniscalco?

  And of course, you know, everybody really related to what you were saying in regards to your family and how they're the most important.

• 3:59Speaker 02

  Except your dad.

• 4:03Sebastian Maniscalco?

  My father, believe me, that's just a Tippody iceberg with him. He's really, he's my biggest critic. He's, we have a lot of discussions about him, even this tour that I'm doing. He's like, you got new material, right? You know, like, so he's, he's constantly on me.

• 4:20Speaker 02

  I was gonna ask you that, one of my questions later in the interview, but I, we've got to know each other well, just so you guys know, since that thing four years ago. And so I feel like I know you pretty well now. Like, does it matter? I mean, it's funny with you and your dad, but you, you love this dude and you're close with your dad. You have a very unique thing with him. Do you think he's proud of you? And do you, is it mattered to you? I, I, I was, one of the things I was gonna ask you later, but since we brought up your dad, who doesn't like my stuff, like, uh,

• 4:50Speaker 02

  is he proud of you, do you think?

• 4:52Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah, he's told me he's proud of me, but he doesn't want me to kind of rest on my success. You know, it's, it's easy to reach a certain level, I think, for some people. And then like, all right, I'm gonna stop writing material. I'm gonna kind of coast on what I have. And he's always trying to instill in me, not that I don't have it already, but just being a parent. You know, you, you gotta do better than the next time. Or you need, your material needs to be as equal to or greater to what you've done the last time, or the people are not gonna come back. And he's also worried about, you know, people are spending a lot of money to come and see you. And you have to deliver a premium product for them.

• 5:33Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Cause like, the performance is a commercial for them to come back the next time.

• 5:39Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 5:39Sebastian Maniscalco?

  In a business sense, I love doing comedy regardless, but when you go out there, you hope to knock them dead so bad, where they go and tell 10 people, you gotta come and see this guy.

• 5:49Speaker 02

  How much percentage of the time do you do that? Where you go, I knocked it out, you're done that night, you go, yep.

• 5:55Sebastian Maniscalco?

  I feel like I really never knock it out. There's always something in the act that I could have done better. Or there was a moment in the act where I'm like, oh, I got a little too angry there or whatnot. Yes, I walk offstage sometimes saying, oh, yeah, that was really show. But I always think there is improvement in the show. Sometimes I get a little bored with the material. You know, I'm sure you go through this. You're saying the same thing. Yes. And you gotta make it sound like it's the first time you're saying it to a new group of people. So for me, um, I start, when I first got a new bit, I'm like, oh, I love doing this. I love doing this. And then it starts to kind of wane. Yep.

• 6:33Sebastian Maniscalco?

  And, and the, the objective for standup is to kind of have the material sewed down, but still so fresh and then shoot your special, uh, rather than have it, you know, go a while. It's too stale. Yeah, it becomes too stale. I think that's what happened with my last special. Not that I was so disappointed about it, but what happened was I was supposed to shoot that special, kind of COVID era, like when COVID started. And then I picked up the material after COVID and then shot the special. So it kind of sat, but it was too long. And we were talking about this prior to even jumping on here that, talking about pain, you were talking about back pain.

• 7:17Sebastian Maniscalco?

  I'm talking about sciatic pain. I had sciatic pain ripping through my right leg, really, really bad. Uh, and it was hard to be as physical as I normally am. And I was in a tuxedo and these aren't excuses. You know, I think also I'm trying something new. You know, I tried something new. I'm like, oh, let me, let me try and bring, uh, back to the Rat Pack. Sinatra days. Sinatra days, performing a tuxedo, have the audience perform in their dress like they were in the sixties or fifties, whatever it was. So anytime, you know, you kind of go outside your comfort zone, you know, it could, it could really win, it could really lose. Um, I'm not reflecting back on the special.

• 7:57Sebastian Maniscalco?

  I'm not mad that I did it that way. The only thing I regret was I probably shouldn't have worn a tuxedo because I, I never wear tuxedos. While performing and it's very restrictive and number two that I was in pain while doing it.

• 8:15Speaker 02

  Yeah. You know, you're in the mindset, you guys, when you're listening to him. The one thing about Sebastian is, and other comedians have mentioned this to me too. He's a pretty serious dude in real life, pretty serious, pretty intense. I'd say introverted is how I would describe you. Is that all accurate, would you say?

• 8:30Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah, I mean, introverted in the sense where I'm not like life of the party.

• 8:35Speaker 02

  No.

• 8:36Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Uh, I don't, you know, I come out of these podcasts, I just did a kind of a podcast golf podcast yesterday and you gotta treat them almost as performances.

• 8:47Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 8:47Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Well, you know, you can't be like sitting here like a dud.

• 8:50Speaker 02

  Right.

• 8:51Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Not that I'm gonna make you die laughing during this, but I, I actually enjoy sitting down with someone and not being funny.

• 8:58Speaker 02

  Yeah, I know you do.

• 8:59Sebastian Maniscalco?

  I, I don't feel like this, this world I'm living in right now is, I don't really have to make you laugh or the audience laugh. It's not that type of show, but the show yesterday, they were looking for like entertainment.

• 9:12Speaker 02

  So it's work.

• 9:12Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah, you gotta come, you gotta come.

• 9:14Speaker 02

  You drained after?

• 9:16Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Not drained, but you know, to be funny and not make it be forced is, is a little difficult because you know, you wanna make it or as organic as possible. You don't wanna be doing like trying to be doing bits or always trying to make me laugh or whatnot.

• 9:33Speaker 02

  Yeah, and you're not like a sticky, like be like slap you in the back guy. That's not your thing like you. And but what you're saying earlier though, about what I said, like the mindset into someone who's a mega achiever. I mean, if you go watch this Netflix special that he did and you guys should go watch it, it's incredible. But when you're at the highest, people that are at the highest level are really scrutinizing about their work and they're honest about their work. They're self-aware. One of the things that they, I think people that get to a really high level set just a higher standard. Like they just, their standard for themselves and their performance is super high. And that's why he was telling me off camera, he's like, yeah, I don't really feel like I hit the mark on that one. I was playing golf with a dude yesterday, tells him it wasn't his best work.

• 10:09Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah.

• 10:10Speaker 02

  And but also. I think you begin to lose at anything, whether you're in business or anything, when you lose your self-awareness. You just don't, you know, and you've seen this in your industry too. It's like this guy's just oblivious that his work isn't what it used to be, or he's not working as hard as he used to be, or she used to be. So I think it's actually a really good thing that you, you say that. I don't love the fact that you don't feel good about it, but I thought, you are really a physical comic too, so that tux was a little bit restrictive.

• 10:37Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah.

• 10:38Speaker 02

  You, you, you have a lot happening, like, so you're doing stand-up. He's one of the few, you know, a lot of you aren't like stand-up people, but like today Burt Kreischer's out on the show, right? He's like, today's the release while we're recording this, he's out today. It's not like I have that many comedians on. It's ironic, but Burt is one and you, there's only about eight, five, six, seven of you dudes who can fill up arenas. And you're one of them. And I think you were the top grossing comic, you know, when you're doing this, you'll be the top grossing comic in the world. Are you an actor, a comic? Like what are you now? Or are you trying to be all of these things? If it was five years from now, you could wave a wand. Are you still doing arenas and doing stand-up? Or are you leading man in three or four movies a year?

• 11:17Sebastian Maniscalco?

  No, I don't. I'm a stand-up comedian. That's, that's what I am. I'm not deviating from what got me here. I really, really enjoy doing stand-up. Do I enjoy doing movies and TV? I mean, the, the last movie I did this about my father, I, it wasn't a fun experience for me. I, I had a lot of anxiety. I, I, I struggled because I got a family, I got two small kids. I'm 50. I got a six-year-old and a four-year-old. So I'm in Alabama for nine weeks doing this movie. And in my head, you know, I'm a family guy first. So I'm sitting there going, what am I doing? What am I doing in Alabama when my, my daughter is at a recital?

• 11:58Sebastian Maniscalco?

  And that recital is never going to happen again at that age, at that moment. I'm not going to see that. Who knows what could happen? You know, there could be a moment there, you know, there's a memory there I'm missing. So I had that in my head and I, I don't think a lot of, I, I shouldn't say this. You know, some people in the entertainment industry, just they go out, they do movies and that's what I do. And the family's the family. And when I come home, I come home and I can't, listen, I gotta be there. I gotta, I gotta be at my house with my kids. Uh, so that's, that's, that's what I was dealing with. Number two, I'm working with De Niro. Gosh. Who's arguably one of the best actors of our generation. And I'm, I'm questioning myself, can I do this? Right.

• 12:41Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Because I've been in movies, not a lot, but just poppings. But this is the first movie I'm doing soup to nuts. And I'm starring in it. I co-wrote it. And then, you know, you question yourself, what am I doing? Should I be here? Can I do this? So there, that was going on. How'd you get through it? Well, then I'm in pain too with the sciatica, you know, I'm dealing. You were starting to sound like an old, just. Yeah, right. I mean, I've, I've, I've, listen, I'm 50. I should not be walking around like you talk about. Yeah. It's gonna be hard to get off, out of the chair. Yeah, yeah. We, me too. We might need, you know. Help from everybody in here to get out of our chairs.

• 13:21Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah. So I, what I did was, all right, I said, this is a great opportunity for me.

• 13:29Sebastian Maniscalco?

  The process for me is not fun. It's 14 hours on the set. Comedy, you go hour and a half, you're done, you go home. This is, you know, for a comedian, plus, I'm doing a comedy, nobody's laughing, you know? Yeah, no feedback. I'm missing the feedback. So it was a little difficult to get used to doing that type of performance. What is it like working with De Niro? Um, very quiet. He's not, uh, one to, you know, like, cut. It's not like I go up to him going, so where you going tonight? You know? Really? It's none of that. He, he has a, you know, goes to his chair. He's got paperwork and what, it looks like he's opening up another Nobu.

• 14:14Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Ten between. Scenes. Seriously? Yeah, he's like, you know, he's on the phone, he's talking and so. He's nice, you know, if I went up to him and asked him a question and whatnot, he's receptive of it. But you know, like he's, you know, in his own world, he's to himself. He's very introverted. I'm not, I'm not that introverted. You know, I'm personable and I'm more, I'm talking to people on set and the rest of the.

• 14:38Speaker 02

  Is it almost uncomfortable?

• 14:40Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah, I just don't think he, you know, has the gift of gab, which is fine. And I, you know, just, you know, maybe he does with people that he's really close with, which I could relate to.

• 14:50Speaker 02

  But I would think like, if I'm already insecure, I'm working with the goat, right? And I'm, I'm an actor, but I'm new to this big of acting. I want the guy, when we're done with the scene to go, great job. You nailed that. Or like, here's some feedback. You're not, you're not.

• 15:04Sebastian Maniscalco?

  That happened later on.

• 15:06Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 15:06Sebastian Maniscalco?

  When I had a scene where I had to cry at the end of the movie and I've never cried on film before. I'm an emotional guy. I have no problem crying. Well, you know, when you're acting, it's a different, different muscle. So I went into that scene going, man, I hope I cry. And we were on a tarmac. There's an airplane there.

• 15:30Sebastian Maniscalco?

  I, I had to get, I had to be out of breath in the scene. So I had to run around the tarmac with this leg that I have an issue with. And I come into the scene, we do the scene. He's, he's crying exactly where he's supposed to be crying. And I'm looking at this guy in the scene going, this guy isn't.

• 15:53Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Like, I don't, I'm like, I'm not even in the scene. I'm just like almost a fan.

• 15:56Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 15:56Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Watching him cry. And they yell, cut.

• 16:01Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Now I noticed that he is very, he's not, he's very different this day than he was any other day because of its emotional scene and he wanted to keep the emotion there. So he was, he was like, come on, let's, let's do it again. So now I'm getting in my head, I go, oh, there, fuck it, take off because I don't know how many cries this guy's got left. Right? Like, I don't, I don't know. So we do it again. I don't cry. So at that point I go, bro, I need help. I need help. Can you help me out? So we walk on the plane together, just him and I. I said, I don't know how to get there. He goes, well, I was gonna tell you, but I, you know, I don't know your process. I go, there's no. I'm just hoping this comes out of me.

• 16:46Sebastian Maniscalco?

  So what I do is I think in this particular instance, he's like, I think about my son and he's your age. And he starts crying, talking about his son. To you. To me. This is not even in the scene. This is like a moment we're having and I start to cry. And I go, I gotta, I gotta use this. And so I run around, I run around, I come into the scene. I'm crying throughout the scene, uh, which I'm not really supposed to, but you know, I'm like, oh wow, this is, this is working. Cut, let's do it again. Now they're gonna do it again. Do it again.

• 17:21Sebastian Maniscalco?

  I don't know if I got it. I don't have another one of these. So, you know, that moment, he was really, really helpful in, in teaching me how to get to that moment. And I learned a hell of a lot just being around him and how he, for example, in scenes, he's always doing something. You know, he's, he's, uh, if he, if he's got a pack, he's packing. He wants to know, would I pack, uh, you think I'd pack it the socks on this side of the bag? Or he's very specific in his movements. Wow. Which again, for me, a guy who doesn't do this that often, you know, I, I would just generally, okay, where do I stand? And I'm going to talk, but you know, he uses the environment around him. Attention to detail is crazy too.

• 18:04Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah. And it's, it's believable. You know, if you're in a scene and you're fiddling around and drinking some water, some nuts or whatever you're doing, not necessarily eating, but if you're doing an activity, it, it makes it believable and you as an actor are not so in your head about being in a scene. You're almost, you know, the, the lines are almost secondary as you're doing something as you wouldn't in real life. If I was talking to you and cleaning the dishes, you know, it's just more of a natural vibe. So I think it helped me for Bookie, which I felt extremely relaxed. It was in Los Angeles. Um, I was with Chuck Lorre, who's, you know, on north of a thousand episodes of television.

• 18:49Sebastian Maniscalco?

  And I felt really comfortable, uh, with his, you know, just him knowing what he wants. Not that, not that, uh, the director and, and about my father. Didn't know. She was great, but Chuck Lorre in TV, it's just, you know, you're working with the, working with one of the best ever. So. I felt like about my father prepared me for

• 19:11Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 19:11Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Booking.

• 19:12Speaker 02

  So you're gonna be acting because you're good at it. You look good. I'm starting to do some too. And like, I'm so insecure about it. Like, I just, what you just said, like, I haven't done it. It's new. I'm used to doing like your stand up as my speaking or being a businessman, right? It's like super new to me. So I have like a ton of imposter syndrome about it. But, but you're gonna be doing more of it.

• 19:34Ed Mylett?

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• 22:02Speaker 02

  I'm just curious, like all you got going on, take someone into, I mean, you're so humble. But this is a dude who was a waiter. You were at the Four Seasons for years, right?

• 22:11Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah, 98 to 05.

• 22:12Speaker 02

  How long?

• 22:13Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Seven years, 98 to 05.

• 22:15Speaker 02

  So he'd leave there, go do stand up, come back and, and be a server again the same night, right? And now flash forward. I mean, seriously, brother, like just for a minute, like let people like there are people. There's a lot of people right now that are in that waiter stage of their life that listen to my show. That want to be you, that there, they want to be that entrepreneur. They want to be that businessman. They want to write the book. They want to be the speaker. They want to be the whatever, the athlete. And now you flash forward. Here's what you just said to me. Yeah, I'm doing a movie with Robert De Niro.

• 22:42Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah.

• 22:42Speaker 02

  Now I got this show Bookie. I fill up arenas. I got this beautiful wife Lana. I got two amazing kids. My dad's still alive to see all the success that I'm having. Like, I mean, and be real about it. Is it what you thought? Is success? Cause it wasn't for me. Is success like what you thought it would be? How you'd feel about yourself? How much you would enjoy it? What your like emotions would be day to day and doing it? Like I had a picture that when I would get there, like everything would probably be okay. I don't know. I thought. I wouldn't feel as much pressure. I actually almost feel more pressure if I'm being honest, right? Like to keep it going and to maintain it and to grow it.

• 23:22Speaker 02

  And I thought I'd have more confidence or pride in myself when I got there. I don't know. Like I just, I thought certain elements would be different. What about for you? Like you've got a really good life. Do you enjoy it? Like really? Are you in the midst of trying to run it and keep it together and grow it more than you get a chance to enjoy it?

• 23:40Sebastian Maniscalco?

  So I'm on the transition of it because I'm exactly like yourself. Where I was happier as a performer when I was doing the Holiday Inn Bananas Comedy Club in Hasbrook Heights, New Jersey and coming up and, and making a room full of strangers who really didn't know who I was laugh. And then after that, going out, meeting, greeting everybody in the lobby, taking photos and whatnot. That for me was like really, really fun. I mean, that was, I was, you know, geez, I was still, I was in a 900 square foot apartment. I was, you know, I was making some money, but nothing, you know, nothing crazy.

• 24:26Sebastian Maniscalco?

  I never, I'm not, and I'm sure some of your listeners, you know, are very diligent about writing down goals. This is what I want. Yeah.

• 24:35Speaker 02

  You told me that. It's not your thing. He loves motivational speaking. He loves goal setting.

• 24:41Sebastian Maniscalco?

  No, no, no. I love hearing motivational speaking and some of these things, I'm like, oh, I just, my mind doesn't.

• 24:47Speaker 02

  You're a worker.

• 24:48Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Work that way. It's like I go out, like I'll, I go out to Pasadena Ice House and I'll do four sets. That's kind of my way I work.

• 24:56Speaker 02

  Yep.

• 24:58Sebastian Maniscalco?

  But to answer your question, I am now in the process of trying to enjoy this more. Because as we were talking, you know, it's like, all right, you get to a certain level and then you buy a home. And there's a lot of things that go along with that home, maintenance of it. There's, you know, more people in your life that you are paying, you know, because you're growing your business, your enterprise. So there's more personalities now that you're dealing with, which you didn't have. I didn't have that. I was doing everything myself. If somebody ordered DVD, I would sign it, put it in. Now it's like there's, there's a social media team, there's a PR team, there's, you know, there's just a lot of people. And also I have a fear of like.

• 25:43Sebastian Maniscalco?

  I didn't grow up this way. I didn't grow up with the money. I, you know, what's enough? Uh, you know, what am I working towards? Am I, what, what, what am I doing? I mean, what the hell am I doing? Yes, yes. Am I working towards what? You know, we're talking about family.

• 26:02Sebastian Maniscalco?

  I'm a family guy, but you know, you do have to have like a little bit of a balance, you know, there's, there's. I go, yeah, should I, should I be doing Vegas five times a year? And that's it. Do I need to go on an arena tour? Do I need to do another TV or movie or another podcast? You talk about doing all these things, which I think people feel pressured. So do I. To do, oh, like, oh, so and so's got, I got, I got the podcast. So and so, I got the movie. You're right. Yes. So for me, I'm like, what, I, am I doing podcasts because I really love it? You mean your own? My own. Yeah. Even like, even going out and doing podcasts.

• 26:42Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Like, I've heard, oh, if you want your podcasts to grow, you gotta go on other podcasts. And then those people see you and then they're gonna, are they? I don't know. You know, like, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm often like, I like, you know, like, podcasts that I like doing, I enjoy. I know that this is gonna be something I enjoy. Right. Because you're a host who

• 27:09Sebastian Maniscalco?

  doesn't talk, you know, much, you know, you give the questions, you add a little color, but it's, it's, you know, you wanna hear what I have to say. And sometimes I go on podcasts and it's like, you know, I don't know. I mean, this is not, this maybe not my vibe. Maybe this is, I don't fit in here. This is, you know, I, I'm not like, you know, wacky and crazy and not gonna, you know, do something that, you know, you're, you know, these, these people are gonna go, what the fuck?

• 27:35Speaker 02

  Right, right.

• 27:36Sebastian Maniscalco?

  So, I don't know. I don't know. I'm wrestling with a lot of these.

• 27:40Speaker 02

  I know you are. I am too. I'm trying to figure out, this is great that we're talking about. We're two fifty year old dudes, basically, in a good point in our career where people would like to get. And I think people would like to know, what does that feel like when I get there? That's why I ask you that. And it's not always elements of it are what you would think it would be. But there's a, like, you know, I'll ask you a few of these things. Like, I struggle with, I don't want to lose momentum. I don't want to lose my relevance. Do I want, do I not want to lose relevance because like I might not make the money that I'm making? Or do I not want people to see me not be relevant? Like, I'm up the flagpole now, and then they'll go, that guy used to be. Is it that? Is it, I ask myself, when does this pace end? Do you ever wonder that too? Like, you can go back after I sell you what some of mine are. Like, when's this pace end?

• 28:25Speaker 02

  Like, to what end is this? In ten years, am I still working three hundred and thirty days a year? Like, I thought I wouldn't be. And then, uh, the navigating of family and all of these other things. Do you worry about losing momentum? Like, losing your relevance? Do you, do you struggle with those same things I'm saying too? Like, it's like, what, when does this end? Do I, do I want, do I want to be eighty years old doing this on a Tuesday? Do you know? Do you know what I'm saying? Like, do you, does that enter your mind?

• 28:58Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah, I do think about momentum. I do think about.

• 29:02Speaker 02

  Which you have.

• 29:04Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah, but what if I told you,

• 29:08Sebastian Maniscalco?

  I'm gonna like, go away for two years. Stop doing this. Stop doing the motivations. Just go away for two years. Just relax. You know, enjoy, you know, you have two kids in college. Go up and, not that you're not doing this.

• 29:21Speaker 02

  Yep.

• 29:21Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Go up, you know, take some more family vacations. Pick up a hobby. And I know you golf, but like, I've often thought, maybe I should, you know, go to cooking school.

• 29:31Speaker 02

  Mm-hmm. Which you love.

• 29:32Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Which I love. Um, and Chris Rock told me this.

• 29:37Sebastian Maniscalco?

  And he is very diligent about this. He goes, it's, it's, it's hard to make an entrance when you never leave the room, right? And wow, and I was like, cause he's like, you're always touring, right? And they always got, they always have access to you because you're always out there. But when you, when you go away and come back, it's more of a spectacle, it's more an event. Because no one's seen you for two or three years. Oh, what does he have to say? What's he doing? I think nowadays with social media, I think Michael Jackson had it really dialed in where, you didn't see this guy everywhere, you know? And when you did, it was like, it's like a unicorn. You know, he was on Arsenio once, he popped out to give Eddie Murphy an award. I was like, oh my God, he's there? He drives?

• 30:22Sebastian Maniscalco?

  You know, like, uh, so I often think to myself, all right, do I need to be doing all this? Do I need to be on social media constantly with the phone? And then, hey, I'm skiing. Do I want to do the video? I don't know, do I? But I feel like if the people don't see me, they're not going to buy the tickets to come to the show. You know, it's all has this, this effect. So, I don't know. I think Garth Brooks took 10 years off because he wanted to be with his family and raise his kids. He came back and he's fine.

• 30:58Speaker 02

  Yeah, he is, but there's an element of it, like, you're on a great point here. Like, what's the right rest? What's the right calibration? And a lot of the people that listen to my show are trying to get there. But at the same time, you know, all the watchers, a lot of comedians, there's an edge that you keep by staying in the reps. And even like, no, I know you can't say this, but like some of the guys, you even their names, you're just like, when Eddie Murphy took a bunch of time off and now I see him now, I'm like, I don't know if he's as funny as he used to be. You know, I don't know what the entrepreneur is as sharp as they used to be. I don't know if Garth Brooks is as good, I haven't seen his music, I don't know. But there's a, there's that element of the edge too, where like you. There's a rhythm to success.

• 31:37Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah.

• 31:37Speaker 02

  That's the one thing people don't tell you is like, it's not just the work and the reps. There's a rhythm that you get into and there's a momentum and it's a magnifier. It can make someone pretty good seem really, really great. One of the things I've struggled with though, that has not made my momentum well is I haven't always hired well around me. And I'm just curious, you said you've got these people around you now. Have you, have you had anybody, not who it is or what it was, but how have you dealt if it's happened with people that have worked for you or with you? That have either let you down, purposely harmed you, not done a good job around you. Like, how have you dealt with that? Do you have that experience where it's like, this is not what I thought it would be?

• 32:14Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Well, listen, I mean, I'm a comedian and I'm not, I, I, I didn't, you know, I didn't grow up or in my twenties, I wasn't like in a company.

• 32:26Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 32:26Sebastian Maniscalco?

  And I don't know like how marketing, sales, CEO, like that language where it's like interpersonal skills with people and dealing with all these different personalities. Yeah. I mean, I was the president of my fraternity in, in college, right? There's a lot of different personalities there, but I wouldn't say my strong suit is being a unbelievable leader. You know, it's just, it's not like, I, I, it's not my, it's not what I do.

• 32:53Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 32:54Sebastian Maniscalco?

  But you, you're almost thrown into this thing where it's like, okay, now I'm kind of like running a business.

• 33:00Speaker 02

  Yeah. You're a brand, you're a company.

• 33:01Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah.

• 33:01Speaker 02

  Like Jay-Z says, I'm a, I'm a businessman, you know, like I'm a businessman. You know, you are, you're now a business.

• 33:09Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah.

• 33:09Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 33:10Sebastian Maniscalco?

  And some people adapt to that.

• 33:12Speaker 02

  Remind me not to quote any hip hop lyrics again. Go ahead.

• 33:16Speaker 02

  That was just a big miss.

• 33:20Sebastian Maniscalco?

  When you first said it, I'm like, businessman.

• 33:22Speaker 02

  Yeah, he's a businessman. There's something in there.

• 33:24Sebastian Maniscalco?

  I'm a businessman.

• 33:25Speaker 02

  Man. Yeah. I nailed it at the end. I pulled it together. It just took me a minute.

• 33:33Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah, so you know, yeah, hiring people. Yeah, I I don't know, like, I don't know what to ask in an interview. When people come in an interview for a position, right? I don't know.

• 33:46Speaker 02

  Are you gonna do good?

• 33:48Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah, you don't know until you know, right? The way I look at it is like, and and plus, I'm the personality, it's like, I expect people to read my mind, right? And then when they don't, I'm like, it's it, they suck. You know, and then like, rather than tell them, hey, listen, this is the way I want it, because sometimes I often think if I do say something, does it come off as being too direct? Does the person feel like? I'm always worried about how the person is is taking my message.

• 34:16Speaker 02

  Are you?

• 34:17Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Right? And a lot of people just say it, you know, like, listen, when I want, when I walk in, I want, I want Evian water fill. But then, you know, sometimes I think, I I like things the way I want it, but then I'm like, I'm also struggling too with, I used to, I I used to put the water in the thing and and then.

• 34:37Speaker 02

  I do that too.

• 34:38Sebastian Maniscalco?

  You know, like, and and who am I now? I now I need it the way I want it, but I can't do it because I don't got enough time. And the person thinks, well, why don't you? I it's it's.

• 34:46Speaker 02

  Me too.

• 34:47Sebastian Maniscalco?

  The up mindset, you know, instead of like, hey, I'm I'm paying you to do a job.

• 34:51Speaker 02

  Yep.

• 34:52Sebastian Maniscalco?

  And this is what the job uh requires. Sometimes I struggle with,

• 34:59Sebastian Maniscalco?

  I got a problem, here's one. Sometimes I got a problem. Hey, yo, the gardener's coming to do the gardening and I'm doing something else. In my head, the gardener's looking at me going, you can't cut the grass.

• 35:11Speaker 02

  That's what I think too.

• 35:13Sebastian Maniscalco?

  What the fuck kind of thing is that?

• 35:15Speaker 02

  Dude, hey, yesterday I had a guy come over. This is so, it's just, I had a guy, we were so wired, like, I had a guy come over. There's a storm coming to Florida. So there's a guy that comes over that covers my outdoor furniture for me. Right? Because I'm here doing things that would produce more revenue than covering the outdoor furniture. Literally, when I saw the guy, saw him looking at me like, you're not a man. You can't cover your own furniture outside. I think the exact same thing, like, that's exactly how my mind works. Because I was that guy who did that stuff before.

• 35:42Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah.

• 35:42Speaker 02

  Yeah, and now I'm like, and it's funny because people will think like I'm like this big intense boss. I don't like to make people uncomfortable. If there's even like gardener example, if the yard's not being done right, I'm like, babe, will you let the gardener know? Like, I don't even like to be the person to tell people I won't send food back in a restaurant. Like, I'm just, I don't like to have, I've all been a busboy, you know, I've been a server. I don't like to make people uncomfortable, yet it's to my detriment because I don't always get great performance around me either. So you do have a little bit of that too.

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• 38:14Speaker 02

  You, but I want to go, I want to get a couple of things focused on this. For you, so I understand you better. You don't know the end game then, you're saying. You're not really sure. You're just kind of in the grind of growing and producing content and shows and stuff that produces revenue and that you enjoy doing, like expressing yourself. That's really where you're at.

• 38:33Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah.

• 38:34Speaker 02

  What are you gonna, so if we flash forwarded to 60, so you've got 10 more years. And I said to you, hey, man, you nailed these 10 years. All your dreams came true. Everything you want, I'm not saying you're goal setting here, but like, would it be you've made 10 more big movies? Or you've just done a bunch of stand up? Or is it more like, nope, my kids are now teenagers. We've had great memories together. And the most important thing to me was that I just got the time with my family. And then that's really the thing that I'm most focused on.

• 39:03Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah, I'm not sitting over here going, I need to accomplish. If I did stand up and did bookie, that would be fine for me.

• 39:11Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 39:11Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Uh, do I want challenges in my career? Yeah, that's why I do the podcast. I go, can I, can I make Daddy vs. Doctor a podcast that people would listen to, not only for information about parenting, but for...

• 41:51Sebastian Maniscalco?

  And I was in the back and I was with my sister and you know, people are crying and whatnot. And I'm looking around telling my sister.

• 42:02Sebastian Maniscalco?

  The wake thing is antiquated, the way they got this set up. And everybody's hungry here.

• 42:14Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Would it be inappropriate to have like past hors d'oeuvres at a wake, right? This is just a thought. Cause the, the, the food's always in a room down in the basement where you gotta go. It's like a little convenient. Or a bar.

• 42:33Speaker 02

  It's open bar.

• 42:34Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Cocktail, you know, like nice to take the edge off with a. So those type of moments, I feel, a- and this is me saying it, but like, I know guys. I got a friend back home, his name is George Kafka, is one of the funniest guys I know, like. We, we laugh at things like this.

• 42:54Speaker 02

  Are you looking, like, does that become a bit, like, is what you just said gonna be a bit now? Like, are you?

• 42:59Sebastian Maniscalco?

  No, I, I, I haven't even thought about it until now, like. And my sister was like, this is like kind of tablet, just, this is, don't, don't smile here.

• 43:10Speaker 02

  Don't smile.

• 43:10Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah, like, you know, it's like, I don't know, I, I, I just tend like wakes seem to be very, you know, sad. Someone just passed away and for somebody like cracking jokes in the back. Might be looked at like, what, here? You know, but I also look at it as this is a healing for me. This is healing. I, I, I had my moment with my uncle. I looked at him, I, you know, I, I said my, my prayer, I, I looked at the, the. You know, they have a, a screen with all the memories of him and I sat there and I was sitting there bawling and crying, looking at all the stuff and whatnot. But afterwards, where's the hors d'oeuvres?

• 43:46Speaker 02

  Let's have a drink.

• 43:49Speaker 02

  I like that. By the way, anyone listen to this at my funeral, have an open bar. Let's have some cigar rollers.

• 43:55Sebastian Maniscalco?

  I don't know.

• 43:56Speaker 02

  Have an open bar. I like that idea. Do you, before you do what you're great at, so everyone has this thing that they're great at. You're great at stand up, you're great at communicating, you're great at making people laugh. You're great at other stuff, but like, that's obviously a gift you've monetized really well and that you're awesome at. What's it feel like when you're doing something you're great at? So like, before you do it. So you got the, you know, you're gonna go do an arena. What's the first arena on the tour? Do you know where you go first?

• 44:20Sebastian Maniscalco?

  I think it's Norfolk, Virginia.

• 44:23Speaker 02

  Okay, Norfolk. Okay, probably Norfolk, but whatever. In Virginia.

• 44:28Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah.

• 44:28Speaker 02

  Yeah, that place. And so you're gonna go there. It's like, an hour before the show. I wanna know what you feel before you go up. And what you feel when you walk off the hour after.

• 44:40Sebastian Maniscalco?

  So, uh, the feeling I'm feeling before I go on is, I'm very, it's very calm.

• 44:50Sebastian Maniscalco?

  I'm not doing anything backstage that is pumping me up to go on stage. You know, I, I saw the Tony Robbins thing, this guy's jumping on a trampoline, he's getting all [bleep] hyped up. He's walking around and he comes out, boom. That's just, that's, you know, that's his style. My style is, I'm backstage, I'm listening to my, my bits, some of the recordings that I've done over the past, whatever, year and a half. Making sure that, you know, did I miss something? Is something gonna pop in my head? So there's nothing, nothing that I'm doing that's out of the ordinary. And the feeling is, uh, a little bit of anxiety.

• 45:33Sebastian Maniscalco?

  And then going, walking to the stage. These are moments where I'm, you know, I walk through the crowd to get to the stage, so I'm high fiving people, this, that, and the other thing. But again, like, I'm not like a rah rah guy. It's not like I'm getting the crowd going, I'm coming out.

• 45:48Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 45:49Sebastian Maniscalco?

  You know, so, uh, I often think of that, I'm in my head there, as I'm walking through the audience, I go, you know. Should I be doing more, or is this?

• 45:58Speaker 02

  Do you really?

• 45:59Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Is this, is this, you know, is this a cool entrance, me coming through, slapping?

• 46:05Sebastian Maniscalco?

  I don't know, like I'm always thinking in my head, I'm never living in the moment. I'm always kind of like.

• 46:11Speaker 02

  Interesting.

• 46:12Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Like thinking other things than what I'm doing at that particular moment.

• 46:16Speaker 02

  Interesting.

• 46:17Sebastian Maniscalco?

  And then when I go up on stage, when I go up there.

• 46:20Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 46:21Sebastian Maniscalco?

  It's a little uncomfortable to be honest with you. I, I, I really miss the days of going on stage and nobody knew who the hell I was. And it was just, I felt like, all right. You don't even know what's about to hit you right now.

• 46:36Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 46:37Sebastian Maniscalco?

  You don't, never seen anything like this before.

• 46:39Speaker 02

  Mm hmm.

• 46:40Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Now they've seen it, right? And now they got something to compare it to. So there's a pressure there.

• 46:48Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 46:48Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Of is this going to be, this guy gonna bring it tonight? What does he got up his sleeve?

• 46:53Speaker 02

  Could I ask on that?

• 46:54Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah.

• 46:54Speaker 02

  This is a hard question. I mean this with like respect, okay? Do you, do you ever worry about that very thing right there? Like what's, I don't mean this by disrespect to anybody, like you, you can develop a dice clay type thing. I know, I know this is, you know, your industry, but like, all right, is he gonna do the nursery? Is it the hickory dickory dock? Do you worry about staying who you are, yet staying fresh enough that it is like he's got, it's new? Do you know what I mean when I say that?

• 47:20Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah, so there are some iconic bits that comedians have.

• 47:25Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 47:25Sebastian Maniscalco?

  And people are like, oh, I love when he does that, that, that. Which comedians run into this a lot is like, you're not like musicians where, you know, they want to hear the hits. Comedy, they want to hear, what do you got now? You made me laugh before, but I want something else. Now I have some really, really good bits that people kind of know me for. And they've seen them online. I, I haven't done those bits live, really, in years, right? So if a person comes to see me on this tour, they might've not seen the Chipotle bit live. Or the, um, the doorbell bit live, right? So I often go, hmm.

• 48:11Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Maybe at the end, and I know some comedians do, I think Jim Gaffigan does this where he comes back out. What do you want to hear?

• 48:19Speaker 02

  Gotcha.

• 48:19Sebastian Maniscalco?

  He does like.

• 48:20Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 48:21Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Favorite. So I don't think there's anything wrong.

• 48:24Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 48:24Sebastian Maniscalco?

  With doing some of your older stuff that people might have never seen before.

• 48:29Speaker 02

  But now when you walk up, you're like, hey, man, it's a different feeling. You liked better when you're like, I'm about, you're about to see some thunder you've never seen in your life. Now you're like, they're expecting thunder. And that's a different feeling when you're up there.

• 48:40Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah, it's the thunder gonna be as loud as it was last time. So that's always the, and you'd like to think as a performer, like you got your, your, your finger on the pulse. This is what they want to hear. Cause you know, you never want to kind of. I get a lot of times, we love your, your father and that bit and being Italian. We, we relate to that. So you got those people, right? But then you don't want to be like catering to like.

• 49:03Speaker 02

  Right.

• 49:04Sebastian Maniscalco?

  The audience's desires, right? You want to do what makes you happy and then hopefully that will make the audience happy.

• 49:10Speaker 02

  It's a big thing as a speaker too, right there.

• 49:12Sebastian Maniscalco?

  What to?

• 49:13Speaker 02

  Yeah, like, hey, I want you to do the thing where like, man, I want to be, I want to run through the ceiling. When I get out, I go, well, that's not the vibe tonight. Tonight, here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna do what I want to do tonight. Cause I'm the speaker.

• 49:22Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Well, often too, you as a speaker, you're growing as an individual.

• 49:27Speaker 02

  Right. What, what used to interest me, even what I used to think, I don't even always think anymore.

• 49:31Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah.

• 49:31Speaker 02

  Same thing. Now, what about when you? Are you ever up there going, I'm crushing in the middle of it? Or you not let yourself have that feeling? Or like, ooh, I'm slipping here? You know, I've had that when I'm speaking, I'm like, wow, that was quiet right there, you know? And it's almost, I, I wasn't thinking it, but the lack of response was like, almost a wake up for me when I'm up there.

• 49:52Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah, I think you hear the silence more than you hear the roars. So I'm never going, this is killing. I, I go, oh, wow, that. We're, we're in a hole.

• 50:02Speaker 02

  Right.

• 50:03Sebastian Maniscalco?

  We got, we gotta dig out of this quickly. So I'm hearing that more than I'm hearing the, the constant laughter. I mean, I, I hear the laughter and it's not like I'm oblivious to, oh, wow, that landed, but. I'm more, more tuned into the.

• 50:18Speaker 02

  Me too.

• 50:18Sebastian Maniscalco?

  The silence.

• 50:19Speaker 02

  You walk off, you got an hour now. Is it, what I do is I go. And this is, I want people, and whatever they do for a living, this is what I think you should be doing, like reflecting on your work, but like when I'm done. I'm usually like, I missed that. I forgot this. I should have said this differently. And I, I go through a. I go through a thing of insecurity. That's how I would describe when I walk offstage. I'm actually insecure before I walk up, a little bit of anxiety and all that. And when I'm there, I feel pretty good usually on the stage, speaking and doing what I do. I think this is true if someone's giving a sales presentation or whatever. And then when I'm done, I become insecure again, almost instantly, where I'm like, ah, did I, did I do this? I messed that up?

• 50:59Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Man.

• 51:00Speaker 02

  That was an opportunity. Do you, do you have that or no?

• 51:02Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Well, before I answer that question, I want to ask you, while you're up there as a speaker, I mean, for me, the validation that I'm doing well is the laughter. For you as a motivational speaker, what are you, what is the gauge for you that, oh, this, I'm killing? What, I've never been to one of these things. I don't know.

• 51:20Speaker 02

  It's harder, usually their response, though, their noise level. Actually, it's, they're engaged with me if when I do drop sucks, I use humor too. So like when I do drop humor, is it like they're right with me immediately? Are they writing notes down if I'm giving a talk on something? Um, if I'm doing something emotional where they should be crying, are they crying? More for me, actually, it's not even that. It's not even really true. I just kind of feel it when I'm on. It's like a spirit, like I'll, as a Christian person, it's the Holy Spirit, but like I feel it when I'm on. I'm like, we're in rhythm together. There's a rhythm with me and them that I know we're in and they know we're in. And I can kind of almost go anywhere I want. And there's a connection and enter, this sounds weird, but like an energetic connection that I feel with the room, the vast majority of the room,

• 52:05Speaker 02

  that, and I'm so weird, there'll be 10,000 people in the room. I'll find the one dude not paying attention and I'll look at him for some reason. I don't know why I do that. But there's an energy that I'm feeling that I know we're one. And then, and that's really what it would be like, we're one. And then there's other times when I'm speaking where like we're two. There's me and then there's the audience and we're separate. And I'm speaking to them rather than like with them.

• 52:29Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 52:30Speaker 02

  And that energy is different. Does that make sense? Do you feel that same thing?

• 52:33Sebastian Maniscalco?

  That's a definite feeling I have where. No matter what you do up there, you feel like you could do anything.

• 52:39Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 52:39Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Even go off your script. Like sometimes I I feeling so good that I'm like in the zone where I could just improv and everything that's coming out of my mouth. I even go, wow, what I then I thought about that three years ago and it came out right now.

• 52:52Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 52:52Sebastian Maniscalco?

  So I definitely feel that there's an energy or symbiotic relationship that you have with the audience. So.

• 52:58Speaker 02

  I do. I think that energy exists in anything you're doing that you enjoy, that you're great at. So I think if you're a good salesperson, when you really got someone with you, there's that energetic connection. When you're with your kids, when you're doing anything, you can feel an energetic connection that is lacking when it's not there. And I hate that feeling when it's not there. When it is there, other than being with my family, it's the greatest feeling in the world.

• 53:21Sebastian Maniscalco?

  So do you feel like, and I've often felt this, when you go to a social gathering and you meet somebody that maybe you don't know, and the energy, I feel like the energy is even contained in small conversations.

• 53:33Speaker 02

  Totally.

• 53:33Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Now I often go, is it me that's not, is it me that's not giving the energy?

• 53:39Speaker 02

  Me too.

• 53:39Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Is that person going, I can't connect with this person because he's like a doesn't want to be. So I often think of that in in in conversation, am I the problem?

• 53:52Speaker 02

  Me too.

• 53:53Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Or what? What do you think?

• 53:58Speaker 01

  This episode is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Good times mean competitions between you and your friends, like seeing who can throw some pigskin the farthest or rush the field the fastest. Winner gets an ultra because it's not just a superior like beer, it's also giving fans superior access to their favorite sporting events. Superior is worth playing for. Visit michelobultra.com/superioraccess to enter. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2026 Anheuser Busch InBev Michelob Ultra Beer, St. Louis, Missouri.

• 54:27Speaker 02

  I think I I have the same feeling and this is weird. We're doing this on my podcast, but I'm glad we are. I have the same problem and I think like because I have such a pretty good energetic connection in front of crowds of people now, I'm often surprised by like it's social gatherings that I don't. And it's rare that I meet someone that I vibe with energetically. And I'm wondering, is that because I've changed and I've become isolated and I'm different? Or am I an odd dude? But like, I'm feel like often I'm forcing myself one-on-one situations and social things to have that connection that's much easier for me in groups. I don't know why that is, but like, I do rarely feel that great vibe one-on-one when I meet new people. Not meaning

• 55:11Speaker 02

  I don't like them or love them. I also always feel that when people come up to me that are fans, I always ask my wife, did I was I nice enough to them? Like, like that they're looking for something more from me in that moment than they got. Does that make sense? Like, and I feel so weird about that. Like, I want to want them to feel that I love and appreciate them and connect. And I more often than not feel like I let them down with whatever my lack of energy was with them.

• 55:39Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah.

• 55:39Speaker 02

  Do you have that?

• 55:40Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah, sometimes I feel like, oh, you know, because sometimes I catch you off guard or whatnot.

• 55:45Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 55:45Sebastian Maniscalco?

  And you're like, oh, I'm like, or they're behaving in a way where I'm bothered by it.

• 55:51Speaker 02

  You? It's crazy.

• 55:53Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Well, you know, like, someone will come up and start doing my act right in front of me, right?

• 55:57Speaker 02

  That's

• 55:58Sebastian Maniscalco?

  And and yeah, I really appreciate that. They really enjoy what I do. That it's not, but it's like, you know, I was at an amusement park with my family and my son and and my daughter and, you know, the guys coming up and doing my bits. And I'm like, oh, thanks. But like, sometimes I can't hide the, you know,

• 56:21Speaker 02

  The awkwardness.

• 56:21Sebastian Maniscalco?

  The awkwardness of it all. And yeah, I listen, I want to take a photo. Let's take a photo. That's literally, that's what they're there for. They want the photo. It's

• 56:28Speaker 02

  It's leading up to that.

• 56:29Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah, rare rarely is it, hey, man, really like what you do. And then boom. And those people, I really appreciate those people. I even want, I want to talk to them more

• 56:39Speaker 02

  More.

• 56:39Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Just because, you know, they're not looking for the photo, which I understand you want the photo. That's, that's, that's, that's great. But I just wish sometimes there was a little bit more to that.

• 56:48Speaker 02

  What do you want for your kids? We don't have that much more time, but like you've now done, you know, what you wanted to do in your life. And my attitude with my kids has changed. The minor in college now, you know, and they're both like starting to look at their careers and.

• 57:03Speaker 02

  I don't know, I think the advice that I. Someone asked me the other day, I really wrestle with this, like, do you regret that you missed some of these things with your kids to pursue your? Whatever those successes were, like you said, I'm doing this movie and I'm missing a recital or whatever. And I used to say, this is a big moment on the show for me and you, this will be a clip for people.

• 57:25Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Oh, I love, I love one of these things.

• 57:26Speaker 02

  Here we go.

• 57:27Sebastian Maniscalco?

  You guys ready to get the, get the clean.

• 57:29Speaker 02

  Get ready. No, no, no, it's not one of those. I used to say like, yeah, I do regret that I missed that thing and because you could never get them back.

• 57:37Speaker 02

  But now that I'm where I'm at in my life. And I have a lot of my buddies who didn't miss any of those things. But here's the truth, they also didn't. Pursue financial stability for their family. They didn't protect them. And by the way, the easy things to go to the recital sometimes, the easy things to be the football coach. That's, that's fun. The hard things to go work. And this is just the real, now that my kids are older, we're having dinner on Christmas Eve and my, this topic came up. And I said, well, you know, because I want everyone to know the hard work they're putting in, this is important. Because the Instagram culture, the easy thing is, yeah, I regret, I missed, you're not going to get that ballgame back. True.

• 58:20Speaker 02

  But your kids live a lot longer than just when they're little. And I said, you know, here's where we are, we're at dinner and we're in a nice restaurant and tonight you guys are in a safe house. And the world can't get at us financially. Bella, you're going to a college that costs me six figures a year. Max, you're going to go to school, you're probably going to go play a little bit of golf after, I'll be able to help you do that. Your kids will be okay. I have a lot of friends that are my age that are scared financially. They can't help their children. They couldn't help their grandchildren if they got in big trouble. They can't take care of their parents. I've been able to take care of your mom's parents. I've been able to take care of my parents when they've needed things. I can be the go to person in our family and you guys are safe. So yeah, I did miss some things.

• 59:05Speaker 02

  But now that I'm on the other side of it and I see my buddies on the other side of it. Life is long. Life is long. It's not just those years that are in your house. I don't think I do. I think I'm kind of proud of myself for doing the hard thing. The easy thing frankly was to been your flag football coach. That would be fun playing with kids all day and I'm not demeaning that either. But there's an argument to be made for protecting and winning and supporting and providing for your family also. And I'm being serious about it. So I wonder like, I wonder if you even give yourself enough credit for that. And I, I wonder what advice you would give your kids about that. Like pursuing your dream, becoming successful.

• 59:46Speaker 02

  You know, or what matters is it just like being like, I think our wives are similar in that like they're just happy, you know, like they don't need all this stuff either. But I have provided security and peace for my family. And it's almost like you don't know what you don't know. My kids don't know what it would be like to have a dad who's financially struggling in his 50s or 60s. Or grandparents who were going to get displaced from their home because they couldn't afford it. So I don't know that I do regret it. You know what I'm saying?

• 1:00:16Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah, I.

• 1:00:20Sebastian Maniscalco?

  The question I have is what, what is, what is, yeah.

• 1:00:24Speaker 02

  What's enough?

• 1:00:25Sebastian Maniscalco?

  What's enough? Like, you know, could I stop now and be comfortable the rest of my life? I probably, you know, I don't know what's ahead. What I would tell my kids and is happiness. What is happiness? Is it success? Is it money? Is it all these things, you know, all these people that will listen to you? Yeah, bro, I want to be an entrepreneur. I want to, you know, I want the boat, I want to this or that. First of all, if you're in it for that, then I think you're off to the wrong start. You gotta do what you love. After, after you find that out, all that stuff will, will come eventually. And I never got in this business for fame, any of that. So.

• 1:01:07Sebastian Maniscalco?

  I tell my kids, you know, whatever makes you happy, you know, whatever you having fun doing. Now, if it, I asked my, my daughter, she's six, what do you want to be when you grow up? And she goes, I want to be a mommy and I want to be a teacher. Now, those two things, and when you attach money to those two things, it's not there, right? But she's going to be happy being a teacher and a mommy? Man, that's, that's success for me. I, I, I did something right as a parent. I had a conversation with my friend. Because at one point I was like, I want my kids to be more successful than I am, right? Yeah. And he goes, that's not gonna happen. I go, why? He goes, you know how hard it is for you to get to where you were?

• 1:01:50Sebastian Maniscalco?

  And then to have your kids replicate that equally or greater? It's, it's, it's very unlikely, right? But then I'm like, is it? Is it unlikely? I mean, are they seeing now? And to go to your point about being home as a dad and, and, and doing the basketball coach or doing this? The, the kids don't see that parent that who's doing all, go to work. So they're like, oh, is this what life is? Daddy's home or mommy's home and they just play with us all day long? When they see you go away and come back, or they see what you do and go, oh, man, that's, that's, that, look at daddy does, he does this. Even my wife, you know, she's an artist and they see her paint.

• 1:02:35Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Beautiful work. Oh, wow, they, I, I could do that, that's cool. And they see how good of a mom she is, she's present, she's there, she's interacting, she's doing arts and crafts with the kids. That's gonna go, my, my kids are gonna do that with their kids. Yes. When you don't have a parent there doing that, the kid has no like template. That's right. To move forward and when they're, when their parents, they don't even know. That's, because I, I believe it all starts at the home, bro. It's, it's, it's parenting. It's, you know, I'm constantly correcting my kids on like, even Seraphina will go. Sometimes my daughter will go, oh, you know, we went to Legoland and I, I won this, I won that.

• 1:03:16Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Come here. We don't brag. We, we, we don't, we don't tout what we got. I go, some people might have a smaller house than us. Doesn't make that less, less than like, these are the teachings that you have to be instilling in your kids. And I see on the flip side, parents just let that go. The bragging, the this, the that, and it's not corrected. Shit, man, it's like this, this is 24 seven parenting, right? And this is why I feel sometimes if I am not there, not that my wife.

• 1:03:45Speaker 02

  It'll slip a little.

• 1:03:46Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Yeah, it's good. It's, yeah, it's gonna, it's gonna slip, but my wife is there to fill in the holes. But they also need that fatherly vibe, you know? So, I don't know, I, I'm, I'm providing a runway for my kids to have them. And thank God for my wife on this point, she is an adventure seeker. No fear. Went to Legoland. My kids are, let's go on every roller coaster. I grew up scared out of my gourd to get on a roller coaster. But I'm at Legoland with my kids and it's amazing what kids will make you do. My, my daughter said, Daddy, you wanna go on a roller coaster?

• 1:04:27Sebastian Maniscalco?

  And I, I couldn't deny her enjoying that moment with me, even though I might have thrown up while I was.

• 1:04:34Speaker 02

  On the roller coaster.

• 1:04:36Sebastian Maniscalco?

  We have a video of it and to see her and me interacting in the back, cause my wife was, was filming, I was like, I would have missed it. I would have missed it. And it's, it's not about the house, the car, the toys. It's about those little memories that she's gonna sit there when she's 22 years old. Daddy, remember when we went on the dragon at Legoland? And it's like, how great was that? So, that's what I'm trying to be, and, and I'm gonna take them on tour with me. Not that they're gonna do every city, but now that they're, they're, they're gonna enjoy this with me. And hopefully when I'm 60, 65 years old, I won't be doing.

• 1:05:21Speaker 02

  I'm gonna call you on your 65th birthday. Hey, bro, I need you. Uh, that was my favorite part of the interview, cause you got a little, uh, emotional there about your babies. Thing I admire most about you is that, you know, as I got to know you a little bit, as I observe you. I think you're a world-class husband and father. And you're just an immensely talented dude. You're really unique. Everyone's got a little peek inside of who you are today. And I enjoyed it, brother. The stuff with the kids, most stuff with their kids, I think is caught, not taught. I think they catch it. They're seeing how hard their daddy works. They're seeing their mom's beautiful artwork. They're seeing how loving and caring and present she is and you are. And somehow that stuff transfers over. I just really believe that. So today was awesome.

• 1:06:06Sebastian Maniscalco?

  Well, I gotta tell you, bro. And we talked about me not doing a lot of podcasts or maybe me being uncomfortable and not showing who I really am because I'm guarded on some of these things. But for you, and you should really, really be proud of yourself that you have a platform like this where people are able to share their stories. Because, you know, I tune into your podcast and people feel, I could feel it through the camera. People are comfortable. They, they, they're, they're, they're who they are.

• 1:06:32Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:06:32Sebastian Maniscalco?

  They're not trying to be somebody else. And you really make it comfortable for people to talk, even though we're in a movie theater and.

• 1:06:39Speaker 02

  We're in a dark room today. Some bitch. Some person's house.

• 1:06:45Sebastian Maniscalco?

  It's awesome. It's really nice.

• 1:06:46Speaker 02

  They were very kind to have us here today, too. Well, I think the big thing I think I want you guys to go do is go see him on tour this year on It Ain't Right. This is, listen, of all him, hey, this is the funniest dude on the planet. And let me just tell you this. I used to watch him. The reason I asked him to be on the show four or five years ago, and this is who he is. I used to watch these clips that he's referring to, that everybody, the farting in the towels thing with Lana and that. Like the funniest person I've ever seen in my life. The most talented, I mean, I'll just look, every other comic that's been on, they know this. I think everybody's really funny. And then I think there's this dude. And I just think his work is unbelievable. I, uh, he's the best. He's the GOAT.

• 1:07:27Speaker 02

  And I'm really grateful that I've got to know you because I, I admire you so much. So now that you're a dad and a father, it's gone to a whole new level. So thank you for being here today, brother.

• 1:07:37Sebastian Maniscalco?

  I appreciate you having me on. Thank you.

• 1:07:39Speaker 02

  All right, everybody. Share today's episode. I know you will. This is a special one. Go see Sebastian on tour. Go follow him on social media. God bless you. Max out.