#435: Kevin Hart — The Unstoppable Combination of Positivity and Relentless Improvement

Kevin Hart — The Unstoppable Combination of Positivity and Relentless Improvement | Brought to you by Theragun http://theragun.com/tim and Athletic Greens http://athleticgreens.com/tim "I don't understand how you do something halfway. I did that through high school, and doing that, I saw the instant consequence." — Kevin Hart Kevin Hart (@kevinhart4real https://www.instagram.com/kevinhart4real/) was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he launched his career as a comedian during an amateur night at a local comedy club. Over the years, Kevin has become one of Hollywood’s box office powerhouses, opening ten films as the number-one movie on opening weekend. Kevin’s memoir, I Can’t Make This Up https://www.amazon.com/Cant-Make-This-Up-Lessons/dp/1501155571/?tag=offsitoftimfe-20, debuted at number one on The New York Times Best-Seller List and remained in the top 10 of the Print Hardcover Best-Seller List for ten weeks straight. The Decision: Overcoming Today’s BS for Tomorrow’s Success https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Decision-Audiobook/B084GYSS73—an Audible Original launching May 21st and a follow-up to his memoir—helps people get mentally fit using the same tools and rules he’s developed to elevate his own life. Kevin can next be seen in Sony’s Fatherhood https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4733624/?tag=offsitoftimfe-20, a movie that he is not only starring in but also producing through his production company, Hartbeat Productions. He most recently starred in the Sony franchise Jumanji: The Next Level https://www.amazon.com/Jumanji-Next-Level-Dwayne-Johnson/dp/B0828CKL87/?tag=offsitoftimfe-20. In 2019, Hart reprised his role as the white-haired rabbit, Snowball, in Universal’s The Secret Life of Pets 2 https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Life-Pets-Blu-ray/dp/B07RTGB9VS/https://www.amazon.com/Cant-Make-This-Up-Lessons/dp/1501155571/?tag=offsitoftimfe-20. Before that, Hart starred in STX Entertainment’s The Upside https://www.amazon.com/Upside-Bryan-Cranston/dp/B07MQ1PRGW/?tag=offsitoftimfe-20alongside Bryan Cranston and Nicole Kidman. In 2018, Hart co-wrote, produced, and starred in Universal’s Night School https://www.amazon.com/Night-School-Kevin-Hart/dp/B07HMMT891/?tag=offsitoftimfe-20, all under Hartbeat Productions. His last live stand-up comedy tour, “The Irresponsible Tour https://www.netflix.com/title/80174687,” was released as a Netflix Original Stand-Up Special in April 2019. This episode is brought to you by Theragun http://theragun.com/tim! Theragun http://theragun.com/tim is my go-to solution for recovery and restoration. It's a famous, handheld percussive therapy device that releases your deepest muscle tension. I own two Theraguns, and my girlfriend and I use them every day after workouts and before bed. The all-new Gen 4 Theragun http://theragun.com/tim has a proprietary brushless motor that’s surprisingly quiet. It’s easy to use and about as quiet as an electric toothbrush. Go to Theragun.com/TIM http://theragun.com/tim right now and get your Gen 4 Theragun today, starting at only $199. This episode is also brought to you by Athletic Greens https://www.athleticgreens.com/tim. I get asked all the time, “If you could only use one supplement, what would it be?” My answer is usually Athletic Greens https://www.athleticgreens.com/tim, my all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it in The 4-Hour Body in 2010 and did not get paid to do so. I do my best with nutrient-dense meals, of course, but AG https://www.athleticgreens.com/tim further covers my bases with vitamins, minerals, and whole-food-sourced micronutrients that support gut health and the immune system. As a listener of The Tim Ferriss Show, you’ll get a free 20-count travel pack (valued at $79) with your first order at AthleticGreens.com/tim http://www.athleticgreens.com/tim. *** If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-tim-ferriss-show/id863897795?mt=2/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests. For show notes and past guests, please visit tim.blog/podcast https://tim.blog/podcast/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=podcast-description. Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (“5-Bullet Friday”) at tim.blog/friday https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-1/. For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts http://tim.blog/transcripts. Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Please fill out the form at tim.blog/sponsor http://tim.blog/sponsor. Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books http://tim.blog/books. Follow Tim: Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss https://twitter.com/tferriss Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss https://instagram.com/timferriss/ Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss https://www.facebook.com/TimFerriss/ YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss https://www.youtube.com/timferriss Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show http://tim.blog/podcast include Jerry Seinfeld https://tim.blog/2020/12/08/jerry-seinfeld/, Hugh Jackman https://tim.blog/2020/06/26/hugh-jackman/, Dr. Jane Goodall https://tim.blog/2020/04/16/jane-goodall/, LeBron James https://tim.blog/2018/11/27/lebron-james-mike-mancias/, Kevin Hart https://tim.blog/2020/05/20/kevin-hart/, Doris Kearns Goodwin https://tim.blog/2018/09/07/doris-kearns-goodwin-leadership/, Jamie Foxx https://tim.blog/2015/12/06/jamie-foxx/, Matthew McConaughey https://tim.blog/2020/10/19/matthew-mcconaughey/, Esther Perel https://tim.blog/2017/05/21/esther-perel/, Elizabeth Gilbert https://tim.blog/2020/05/08/elizabeth-gilbert/, Terry Crews https://tim.blog/2017/12/20/terry-crews-how-to-have-do-and-be-all-you-want/, Sia https://tim.blog/2020/08/12/sia/, Yuval Noah Harari https://tim.blog/2020/10/27/yuval-noah-harari/, Malcolm Gladwell https://tim.blog/2016/06/21/malcolm-gladwell/, Madeleine Albright https://tim.blog/2020/05/27/secretary-madeleine-albright/, Cheryl Strayed https://tim.blog/2017/03/30/cheryl-strayed/, Jim Collins https://tim.blog/2019/02/18/jim-collins/, Mary Karr, https://tim.blog/2020/11/11/mary-karr/ Maria Popova https://tim.blog/2014/10/21/brain-pickings/, Sam Harris https://tim.blog/2020/05/15/sam-harris-2/, Michael Phelps https://tim.blog/2021/01/21/michael-phelps-grant-hackett/, Bob Iger https://tim.blog/2020/01/16/bob-iger/, Edward Norton https://tim.blog/2019/10/31/edward-norton-motherless-brooklyn/, Arnold Schwarzenegger https://tim.blog/2015/02/02/arnold-schwarzenegger/, Neil Strauss https://tim.blog/2014/06/24/neil-strauss/, Ken Burns https://tim.blog/2019/09/12/ken-burns/, Maria Sharapova https://tim.blog/2017/08/26/maria-sharapova/, Marc Andreessen https://tim.blog/2016/05/29/marc-andreessen/, Neil Gaiman https://tim.blog/2019/03/28/neil-gaiman/, Neil de Grasse Tyson https://tim.blog/2019/10/03/neil-degrasse-tyson/, Jocko Willink https://tim.blog/2016/09/21/jocko-willink-on-discipline-leadership-and-overcoming-doubt/, Daniel Ek https://tim.blog/2020/12/03/daniel-ek/, Kelly Slater https://tim.blog/2020/09/08/kelly-slater/, Dr. Peter Attia https://tim.blog/2019/11/27/peter-attia-fasting-metformin-longevity/, Seth Godin https://tim.blog/2016/02/10/seth-godin/, Howard Marks https://tim.blog/2018/09/25/howard-marks/, Dr. Brené Brown https://tim.blog/2020/02/06/brene-brown-striving-self-acceptance-saving-marriages/, Eric Schmidt https://tim.blog/2019/04/09/eric-schmidt/, Michael Lewis https://tim.blog/2020/05/01/michael-lewis/, Joe Gebbia https://tim.blog/2018/03/08/joe-gebbia-co-founder-of-airbnb/, Michael Pollan https://tim.blog/2018/05/06/michael-pollan-how-to-change-your-mind/, Dr. Jordan Peterson https://tim.blog/2021/03/01/jordan-peterson/, Vince Vaughn https://tim.blog/2017/05/31/vince-vaughn/, Brian Koppelman https://tim.blog/2020/04/23/brian-koppelman/, Ramit Sethi https://tim.blog/2019/05/07/ramit-sethi/, Dax Shepard https://tim.blog/2020/11/18/dax-shepard/, Tony Robbins https://tim.blog/2014/10/15/money-master-the-game/, Jim Dethmer https://tim.blog/2020/05/18/jim-dethmer/, Dan Harris https://tim.blog/2020/11/19/dan-harris/, Ray Dalio https://tim.blog/2017/09/13/ray-dalio/, Naval Ravikant https://tim.blog/2015/08/18/the-evolutionary-angel-naval-ravikant/, Vitalik Buterin https://tim.blog/2021/03/08/vitalik-buterin-naval-ravikant/, Elizabeth Lesser https://tim.blog/2021/03/16/elizabeth-lesser/, Amanda Palmer https://tim.blog/2019/04/18/amanda-palmer-2/, Katie Haun https://tim.blog/2021/02/18/katie-haun/, Sir Richard Branson https://tim.blog/2017/10/09/richard-branson/, Chuck Palahniuk https://tim.blog/2020/09/02/chuck-palahniuk/, Arianna Huffington https://tim.blog/2017/10/18/arianna-huffington/, Reid Hoffman https://tim.blog/2015/08/31/the-oracle-of-silicon-valley-reid-hoffman-plus-michael-mccullough/, Bill Burr https://tim.blog/2017/09/17/bill-burr/, Whitney Cummings https://tim.blog/2015/06/26/whitney-cummings/, Rick Rubin https://tim.blog/2015/05/15/rick-rubin/, Dr. Vivek Murthy https://tim.blog/2020/03/26/vivek-murthy/, Darren Aronofsky https://tim.blog/2017/09/09/darren-aronofsky/, and many more. 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Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Speaker 00

  At this altitude, I can run flat out for a half mile before my hands start shaking.

• 0:06Speaker 01

  Can I ask you a personal question?

• 0:08Speaker 02

  Now would be an appropriate time.

• 0:12Speaker 01

  I'm a cybernetic organism, living tissue over metal endoskeleton.

• 0:24Tim Ferriss?

  This episode is brought to you by Theragun. I have two Theraguns, and they are worth their weight in gold. I've been using them every single day. Whether you're an elite athlete or just a regular person trying to get through your day, muscle pain and muscle tension are real things. That's why I use the Theragun. I use it at night, I use it after workouts. It is a handheld percussive therapy device that releases your deepest muscle tension. So for instance, at night, I might use it on the bottom of my feet. It's helped with my plantar fasciitis. I will have my girlfriend use it up and down the middle of my back, and I'll use it on her. It's an easy way for us to actually trade massages in effect. And you can think of it, in fact, as massage reinvented on some level. Helps with performance,

• 1:09Tim Ferriss?

  helps with recovery, helps with just getting your back to feel better before bed after you've been sitting for way too many hours. I love this thing. And the all-new Gen 4 Theragun has a proprietary brushless motor that is surprisingly quiet. It's easy to use, and about as quiet as an electric toothbrush. It's pretty astonishing. And you really have to feel the Theragun's signature power, amplitude, and effectiveness to believe it. It's one of my favorite gadgets in my house at this point. So, I encourage you to check it out. Try Theragun. That's Thera, T-H-E-R-A-G-U-N. Try Theragun risk-free for 30 days. There's no substitute for the Gen 4 Theragun. With an OLED screen, that's OLED for those

• 1:50Tim Ferriss?

  wondering, that's Organic Light-Emitting Diode Screen, personalized Theragun app, and incredible combination of quiet and power. So go to Theragun.com/Tim right now and get your Gen 4 Theragun today. Or you can watch the videos on the site, which show you all sorts of different ways to use it. A lot of runner friends of mine use them on their IT bands after Long runs, there are a million ways to use it. And the Gen 4 Theraguns start at just $199. I said I have two. I have the Prime and I also have the Pro, which is like the super Cadillac version. My girlfriend loves the soft attachments on that. So check it out. Go to theragun.com/tim. One more time, theragun.com/tim.

• 2:35Tim Ferriss?

  This episode of the Tim Ferriss Show is brought to you by Athletic Greens. I get asked all the time, if I could only take one supplement, what would it be? The answer is inevitably Athletic Greens. I view it as, and a lot of you now view it as all in one nutritional insurance. I recommended it way back in 2010 in The Four Hour Body, and I did not get paid to do so. I've been using it since before that. And I use it in a lot of different ways. I travel with it to avoid getting sick or to help mitigate the likelihood of getting sick. I take it in the morning to ensure optimal performance. And overall, it covers my bases if I can't get what I need from whole food meals throughout the rest of the day. And if you want to give Athletic Greens a try, they're offering a free 20-count travel pack for first time users.

• 3:19Tim Ferriss?

  I nearly always travel with at least three or four of these one-dose bags. In other words, if you buy Athletic Greens as a first time buyer, you now get, for a limited time, an extra $79 in free product. So check out the details at athleticgreens.com/tim. Again, that's athleticgreens.com/tim for your free travel pack with any purchase. This episode is brought to you by AG1, the daily foundational nutritional supplement that supports whole body health. I do get asked a lot, what I would take if I could only take one supplement? And the true answer is invariably AG1. It simply covers a ton of bases. I usually drink it in the mornings and frequently take their travel packs with me on the road. So what is AG1?

• 4:04Tim Ferriss?

  AG1 is a science-driven formulation of vitamins, probiotics, and whole food sourced nutrients. In a single scoop, AG1 gives you support for the brain, gut, and immune system. So take ownership of your health and try AG1 today. You will get a free one-year supply of vitamin D. And five free AG1 travel packs with your first subscription purchase. So learn more, check it out. Go to drink AG1.com/Tim. That's drink AG1, the number one. Drink AG1.com/Tim. Last time, drink AG1.com/Tim. Check it out. Hello, boys and girls, ladies and germs. This is Tim Ferriss and welcome to another episode of The Tim Ferriss Show where it is

• 4:48Tim Ferriss?

  my job to interview and deconstruct world-class performers from all different disciplines. And my guest today is Kevin Hart, at KevinHartForReal, H-A-R-T, number four, real, on Twitter and Instagram. Kevin was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he launched his career as a comedian during an amateur night at a local comedy club. Of course, he now plays to sold-out arenas. Over the years, Kevin has become one of Hollywood's box office powerhouses, opening 10 films as the number one movie on opening weekend. His memoir, I Can't Make This Up, debuted at number one on the New York Times Bestseller List and remained on the top 10 print hardcover bestseller list for 10 weeks straight.

• 5:30Tim Ferriss?

  His latest, The Decision, subtitle "Overcoming Today's BS for Tomorrow's Success," an Audible original launching May 21st, and a follow-up to his memoir, helps people to get mentally fit using the same tools and rules he's developed to elevate his own life. He really does have a toolkit that he applies to making decisions, sorting opportunities, saying no, and so on, in his life, and we delve into all of that in this conversation. Kevin can next be seen in Sony's Fatherhood, a movie that he is not only starring in but also producing through his production company, Heartbeat Productions. He most recently starred in the Sony franchise Jumanji: The Next Level. In 2019, Hart reprised his role as the white-haired rabbit, Snowball, in Universal's The Secret Life of Pets 2.

• 6:15Tim Ferriss?

  Before that, Hart starred in STX Entertainment's The Upside alongside Bryan Cranston and Nicole Kidman. In 2018, Hart co-wrote, produced, and starred in Universal's Night School, all under Heartbeat Productions. And Heartbeat, you might guess, H-A-R-T. Last live stand-up comedy tour, The Irresponsible Tour, was released as a Netflix original stand-up special in April 2019. As mentioned, you can find him on Instagram, and he has god knows how many, 100 million total followers at this point. Instagram, @kevinhartforreal. That's K-E-V-I-N-H-A-R-T, number four, real. Facebook, HartKevin, and on Twitter, @kevinhartforreal. Without further ado, please enjoy a wide-ranging conversation with none other than Kevin Hart.

• 7:02Tim Ferriss?

  Kevin, welcome to the show.

• 7:04Speaker 00

  Yes, sir. Thank you, man. Thanks for having me.

• 7:06Tim Ferriss?

  And I thought we would start with a quote from a mutual friend. I won't mention his name unless you want to mention it, but I asked him about you, and he said, "You are the person he would most like to be like."

• 7:19Speaker 00

  Wow.

• 7:19Tim Ferriss?

  And coming from him, that is very strong praise. He knows a lot of people. And he suggested that I learn more about your mother. And I have done a whole lot of homework, and I feel like she was a very powerful influence in your life. And I'd love to just hear you describe your mother and your relationship with her, if we could.

• 7:44Speaker 00

  Cool. Cool. Who's a friend? Do I get to know who the friend was?

• 7:47Tim Ferriss?

  This is Neil.

• 7:49Speaker 00

  Oh, Neil. Okay, yes. My mother. I mean, God, where do you want me to start about my mom? I mean, that's my, that's my reason for the way that I move, at the level that I move, and how I move, you know? I think I can just sum it up for you in like a nice nutshell to where it's not, it's not the longest run-on sentence that you've ever heard. Just one of the most determined and strong-willed individuals to ever walk the earth. And she was someone that just wanted to always improve. Wasn't content.

• 8:35Speaker 00

  With just being complacent in a position because this is the position that I'm given or that I have. Uh, was always searching for the next step. So whether it was in education, whether it was, um, you know, in health, whether it was in family, it was always trying to figure out how to improve when most would be okay with just being okay. You know, we didn't live a lavish lifestyle. We didn't come from money, you know, we, uh, we were, we were, we were, we were, we

• 9:19Speaker 00

  were poor, you know, we, we had enough to eat and she put clothes on my back. Um, but you know, that's, that's about it. We didn't, we didn't, we didn't live an astronomical life, you know, and the extra money that she did have, she poured into extracurricular activities for me. So our priority was her kids and, and it showed, you know, um, where some mistakes were made, fixes were immediately figured out and implemented on the next child. So it's a, it's a woman that I have so much respect for and admire, but, um, she's basically

• 10:02Speaker 00

  the, the definition of my mindset. It comes from my.

• 10:08Tim Ferriss?

  And I was spending a lot of time exploring your mindset. I've followed you for a long time, but I wanted to dig into your books and your writing, obviously a lot of what you've done in terms of interviews. And in the back of your book, I can't make this up, subtitle, Life Lessons, there's a beautiful little chapter called The Blueprint. And I wanted to read a paragraph from that and give people a taste because I think it speaks to what we're discussing. It says, "Life is like a pack of cards. There are fifty-two cards in the deck, but only four of them are aces. The goal of life is to make your way through a crowded deck where the odds are stacked against you and draw an ace. Looking back over decades, covered in this book, I've picked out eight qualities that put me in a position to draw aces. These characteristics won't work alone. Like a recipe, they only create success when combined together in just the right amount."

• 10:53Tim Ferriss?

  So I'm just gonna list them real quick and then I wanna dig into one. You have persistence, patience, class, commitment, learning, passion-centered competitiveness, positivity, and discomfort. I want to talk about positivity, or hear you talk about positivity. Because, for instance, I was, I was reading a piece in Variety that seemed to me to indicate that you are a master of managing energy and avoiding energy leaks. And, for instance, the decision to allow your children to get to know your, their grandfather, your father. The, the quote that stuck out to me was, "It takes too much time and energy to keep hate alive." And for those people who don't know, I mean, your father was an addict.

• 11:35Tim Ferriss?

  You, you've, you've spoken about him publicly before, a contentious relationship. How have you developed that positivity? Was that mostly from your mom? How do you think about that?

• 11:47Speaker 00

  Well, when you, when you come from the bottom

• 11:51Tim Ferriss?

  Yeah.

• 11:52Speaker 00

  And you work your way up to, when you work your way up to the place that some people refer to as the top. I mean, what, what do I have to be angry about? What do I have to really bitch and complain about and harp on? You know what I mean? Like I, I really do come from nothing. I'm a, I'm a part of a very small percentage. So...

• 12:24Speaker 00

  And understanding that and knowing that, the things that are supposed to act as triggers, the things that are supposed to be life-changing, threatening, you know, altering, um, are just lessons. It's just education. It's, it's stories, for lack of a better word, you know? You got an amazing story under your belt and I don't choose to stay in one particular paragraph uh, of my story. It's a long story. And, you know, the life is as long as, of course,

• 13:07Speaker 00

  we are all given the, the chance for it to be. Uh, cause that's something that we have no control. We only try to enhance the opportunity of longevity or success. We don't have no control. You walk outside and something could happen, boom, and that's it. So

• 13:25Speaker 00

  I just have a realistic approach and understanding to that. I come from nothing. I got something. I'm appreciative of my something. I don't look at this something as if I'm supposed to have it because that's not how it works. I'm very fortunately blessed too. It could all go away. If it did and I had to start all over again, that's life. I don't harp on it. I don't bitch and complain about the things that I can't change. And the things that you can change, why spend time bitching if you're gonna change it?

• 14:00Tim Ferriss?

  Yeah.

• 14:00Speaker 00

  You know what I mean? So when you, when you look at, for example, a relationship uh, with me and my father, did my father fuck up? Yeah. Uh, did my father get himself clean and straight? Yeah.

• 14:16Speaker 00

  Does my father feel bad about some of the stuff that he did? Yeah. Could you still be angry at the lack of parenting that was done or the time that was spent? Yeah. But why? It doesn't, it doesn't change it. It doesn't change anything that happened. It doesn't, it doesn't make it right. You know what I mean? Like you don't, that, that anger that you're, that you're giving off into that is not going to change these things. So that's energy that I feel like I can put into something else. That's energy that I feel like I can get a lot more use out of that energy that would have been negative

• 15:01Speaker 00

  by finding a way to say, you know what? I do forgive you and I mean that. And that life now hopefully is better for us. If it's not, I know that it's not because of me. Mm-hmm. I don't like putting myself in a position to easily be affected. You know? I think life is too short. It's, it's too short. And if you just spend time being affected all the fucking time, those are tough days, man. If you're bothered all the time, there's a lot of shit to be bothered about today. You can be bothered by a lot of shit. If you're the person that's really bothered, then how, how pleasant are you to be around? Yeah.

• 15:43Speaker 00

  If there's just so much anger and, and so much negative energy, I, I just choose the opposite direct and approach. And I mean, that doesn't make me perfect. I'm nowhere near perfect. I done fucked up. I done did stupid shit and I've apologized. And if I can be, uh, you know, those apologies can be accepted, then great. It's fantastic. If they can't, well, I can't do anything about that. I can't put any more energy into the things that I've tried to do or make right. If you choose to still feel a certain way, God bless you. I'm gonna keep living. That's my attitude.

• 16:23Tim Ferriss?

  And it seems like you've practiced this consistently over time. And then when you run into something like the catastrophic car accident you had not terribly long ago, could you speak to not being able to put on your socks and what your self-talk was like? I mean, what are you saying to yourself in your own head when you're experiencing something like that?

• 16:46Speaker 00

  That's when you truly realize that you're not in control. Like, right now, I said that to you, that's because I really understand that. But there was a moment where I lost sight of reality. You kind of feel like you are. You're not in control, but you kind of feel like you are. I can make this happen. I'll do this. I'll get this easy. I'll get it done. I got it. I'll do it. I'm at it. I'm gonna work hard. I'm gonna do it. I, I, I, I, I. Everything was I, I, I. And you get lost in that. You know, you really do get lost in that. And for me, that car accident was much more than any and everybody can see.

• 17:30Speaker 00

  For me, that car accident, it was a reason to sit down and really process what's around me. And by what's around me, the things that only mattered. And that was my wife and my kids. You know, all of the things that I put the significant value in tremendous amount of, uh, I'm gonna call them, you put the things that come with success on a pedestal for a minute. The things that you feel you need and the things that you feel you have to have, right?

• 18:11Speaker 00

  But when life hits you with a real curveball and you're in that room with four walls, none of that stuff that you thought was important or that you thought you needed is ever brought up in conversation. When it comes to life, when it comes to health, when it comes to like, you know, an emotional support, none of it's materialistic.

• 18:39Speaker 00

  It's all person to person and when it was my wife and my brother and my kids and we were just in this hospital room, that gave me a different, a different look and insight into life. So it made me shoulder shrug, negative shit even more. I already had no tolerance or patience for negativity. I already was a guy that never feeded into, to the world of nonsense and I, I, something I pride myself on. But then after this, it was even more. Oh, I don't have time to be upset. Even if I am upset, I'm gonna figure out what I can

• 19:22Speaker 00

  do to make this better. I don't have time to, to do that. It's not, it's not valuable.

• 19:29Tim Ferriss?

  One of the things that most fascinates me about you and this has shown up over and over again in, in what I've read in preparation for this. Also what I see is that you have, say, as one of the aces, so to speak, you have discomfort, right? Never being complacent. And if you want to get far in life, you never get too comfortable. Don't stop, don't rest, don't be satisfied. So, you know, I've, I've heard that when, when you hit these various pinnacles of success in different areas, that one of the first questions you ask is, okay, what's next? Where do we go from here? And, and yet, for instance, Neil told me that, I asked him, I said, do, do you think that he is genuinely happy? And he said, he is.

• 20:11Tim Ferriss?

  I go, well, from what I can tell, he's a genuinely happy guy. And in my experience of interviewing high performers, those two don't always go together. You find people who are never able to appreciate what's in front of them or to rest for a moment because they're constantly focused on what's in the future, what's next. How do you combine those in the sense of appreciating what you have, but still deliberately building in discomfort or not getting too comfortable and looking forward? How do you think about that?

• 20:40Speaker 00

  Well, you got BA and AA, right? So you got before accident, after accident. Before accident, that engine, that engine ran. That engine is still running. I, I can't sit up here and act as if it's not. I'm just an ambitious person. And I'm in love, I'm in love with understanding the definition of history.

• 21:07Speaker 00

  Right, what what fascinates me is

• 21:12Speaker 00

  when you watch something from the past that's attached to an individual or a person and a monumental moment in history. That's fascinating. This man walked on the moon. On this date, such and such. Regular guy, wouldn't be an ass nut, was the first man to ever walk on the moon. And for years after his life is over, it's a discussion. It's a discussion, it's information that people need to know. That's fascinating to me. Right now, we're in a pandemic. Our world has been hit with a catastrophic

• 21:57Speaker 00

  stomach punch that's put us all in a position where the economy has dropped and we have been put on quarantine, huh? And we're home for how long? And now it's gonna be this long? This is history. This moment in time will be talked about in thirty to forty years as one of the worst things to hit the globe.

• 22:24Speaker 00

  When Covid and X, Y, and Z and China, it's history. So my hard work in my craft and my hard work

• 22:37Speaker 00

  is from me playing the game in my head of are you going to be a conversation attached to history? How long will the work that you put in be a discussion? Are people gonna one day look back and say things about the things that you did? And if they do? What would it be? I like not knowing it, but I like knowing that I put a lot of shit in that conversation. I like knowing that you're gonna have a lot of shit to talk about, whether you like it or not, because I'm in love with just doing that. I'm in love with the resume.

• 23:20Speaker 00

  I'm in love with the boxes that can be checked off. I'm in love with the, the thought of success. And more importantly, the benefit that comes from hard work. I'm in love with being a testament to the conversation as preached to so many that some don't necessarily know if it's true. I'm a product of truth. I'm a product of hard work pays off. I like that. I like the fact that that was instilled in me and I didn't get it, but now I do get it. And it's thank you, mom, at the highest level. I like the fact that my kids get to see me operate and that I get to talk and communicate with them.

• 24:05Speaker 00

  And whether they do it like I do or not, it's embedded in them. It'll kick in somewhere, in something, it'll kick in, whether they like it or not. It's embedded in you. So my joy definitely comes from being able to see the benefits of my work and being able to create a story that can possibly be talked about years after I'm here. That's a, that's for me, that's a happy place. And if and when I decide to, to not do it anymore, I'm happy with that decision.

• 24:47Speaker 00

  After my accident, it did make me say, let's be conscious.

• 24:53Speaker 00

  Of your family, let's make sure that we put the time and energy into this. That matches the time and energy that I'm putting into that. This should never outweigh that. And there was a moment where I was guilty of that and the accident made me realize that. So Kevin, you make sure. That if you going at a thousand percent over here. You don't come back at nine hundred. You better match that thousand on both sides. And that's what I'm much more conscious of. I've always been. Uh, you know, a great. Family guy, a great dad. Minus my fucking bumps in the road of just stupidity. But I'm a good dad. That's never gonna be compromised. Never, never gonna fucking be compromised.

• 25:36Tim Ferriss?

  It seems like you have. Done an excellent, consistent job of cultivating. Your physical vehicle for giving a hundred percent in many areas of your life. Has that always been the case? When did that start for you?

• 25:52Speaker 00

  Uh, I would say. I would say for me. I don't understand how you do something halfway. I did that through. High school. And doing that. I saw the. I saw the instant consequence. You know, there was a moment where after high school. Where. My friends went on and they started going to college. And I was the guy that didn't even know that we applied. I didn't know we was applying to college. What a joke. I thought that we was playing all this time. Where, where, where y'all going? What was a joke to me. Was never a joke to anybody else. I was the only one. That the joke was being played on.

• 26:35Speaker 00

  So when I thought we were hooking or cutting class. Well, I thought we all weren't doing work. I thought we all were. Were getting by and. Just fucking off opportunities. Oh, it's just me. Oh, y'all been doing your work this whole time? Oh, fuck. Huh. Wow. University of, university of, university of.

• 27:01Speaker 00

  I was the only jackass that was going to community college. And that's not to take a shot at anybody that's going to community college. Because those colleges are available for a reason. I was the only jackass that didn't have a plan because I thought that was a cool thing to do. I didn't take my SAT. I did abacadabra going down and guessing at it. Because I thought that's what we all were doing because we were hooking in class to go. I was the only dickhead that did it the other way. So that joke was on me. So I saw it not working hard got me. I didn't take my SAT. That to me, that was an eye opener, man. Well, if I'm gonna do something, I should never do it halfway.

• 27:42Speaker 00

  And that means that if I do wanna do it halfway, I shouldn't do it. If I'm not gonna do it to show what I can do at the best of my ability, then why am I doing it? If you ask me to come work out with you and I come work out and I bullshit to work out, why did I go work out? If you ask me to come see a movie and I go to sleep, and as soon as I get in there, well, why did I go to the movie? Why didn't I just say I wanna stay home? If you ask me to go and get up early with you so we can go look at these apartments or housing complexes and I get down there and I just got a negative attitude, why the fuck did I go? What I've learned and how I operate is that you're in so much control of yourself that it's ridiculous.

• 28:27Speaker 00

  And sometimes it's easy to put out excuses for yourself that makes sense to you. We all know the fucking truth. We all know if we're giving a hundred percent, if we're not. We all know. You tell me go outside and pick up the dog shit, my wife tell me every morning, I don't wanna go out there and pick the dog shit. But I get up and do it. If I go out there and I take two steps and I'm like, man, it's too early, I'll do this shit later. Then that means that I'm fucking, I'm already compromising an action that I said I was going to do that I'm not.

• 29:07Speaker 00

  If I say I'm gonna do something, I'm gonna do it. If I don't say it, don't expect it from me. I never put my foot in my mouth. Well, why do you expect me to go do that? I never said I would do that. That's the one power that I have. That's the one thing that can never be taken from me. What I say I'm going to do, I do. And if I do do something that puts me in a position to be scolded because my actions weren't correct, then I gotta stand up and I gotta say that too. Hey, I said I was gonna do X, Y, and Z.

• 29:46Speaker 00

  I didn't do it.

• 29:49Speaker 00

  I gotta wear that hat.

• 29:52Speaker 00

  Hit me with the stupid stick or the dummy hat, scold me, whatever you gotta do, I fucked up. I out loud said that I would do, and I did it. For that, I'm wrong. That's the difference. That's what I'm okay with. I'm okay with standing in this shit and smelling it if I have to. I try my best to avoid it, but I'm not perfect.

• 30:16Speaker 00

  So there's ever a moment where that happens and it has to happen, though? I'm on it. But as I've gotten older, my words become more my bond. Hey, Kevin, I want you to come talk to these kids. Man, look, it's a group of kids. Hey, I can't do that. Uh, not because of the kids, I'm tired. Let's find another time where I can. There was a time back in the day, Kevin talked to me, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I figured out that you can't get me on the phone." Well, why did I say I could do it? I've learned from that. I don't, I don't play those games. So if I say you're gonna get me, you're gonna get a hundred percent of me. If I don't feel like I can, then I'm not gonna say it.

• 30:52Tim Ferriss?

  Do you have, do you have other ways of saying no that you use as sort of default language or anything like that? Because people see what you do, right? I mean, you have so much in the air and you're, you're getting so much done, but they, they don't see the thousands of things that you say no to, right?

• 31:10Speaker 00

  I can say, I can say right now, I, I am, I am so honest right now. I'm so honest that it is, it's so, it's ridiculous. Right? Like, right now, I am, I am no. Kevin, absolutely not, no. Forty years old. Well, I got time to be around Bushwood. No. Why? I just don't wanna do that. I just, I don't wanna do that. I shouldn't have to explain why I don't wanna do something. I shouldn't have to explain. That's a, that's a thing that people have to overcome. There's a portion

• 31:51Speaker 00

  of life that you go through where you feel guilty for saying that you don't wanna do certain things. That's not fair. Because when you do wanna do things, it's celebrations and it's happy times. But you're allowed to not wanna do. You're allowed the option to say no.

• 32:12Speaker 00

  You say no for things that work for you, then good for you. You can be saying no to opportunity, for all I know. You're allowed the option to say no and to not want to participate or not want to do. That's your choice. In anything. I know that. And I make sure that I use my no wisely. There's a lot of yeses. So when there is a no, understand that. For example, I love my fans. I love my fans. Take pictures with fans all the time. Go back and forth with fans all the time. Make myself available before red carpets, after carpets.

• 32:54Speaker 00

  Movie premieres, not movie premieres. I'm out and about, see 'em, stop, talk, pictures, videos. But if I'm with my kids,

• 33:03Speaker 00

  no. Kevin, I said no. I shouldn't have to explain to you I'm with my family. I shouldn't have to do that. I'm entitled to no.

• 33:14Speaker 00

  That's why you got two options. You got yes and no. You throw maybe in there, that's your choice. I'm, is it yes or no? So as you get older, you start to see that a little more clear. And I joke around about it. But it's so true. You ever notice how

• 33:31Speaker 00

  direct and honest old people are?

• 33:34Tim Ferriss?

  Yeah, for sure.

• 33:34Speaker 00

  Have you ever noticed an old person does not waste time? No! Yeah, I do it. No, get your ass up outta here. Whatever it is, it's, it's, it's direct. Because they don't have the time. They don't have the time to, to play those games. I don't either. I don't, I don't play those games. Anymore.

• 34:01Tim Ferriss?

  Just a quick thanks to our sponsors and then we're right back to the show. First up, Theragun. Theragun is my go-to solution for recovery and restoration. It's a famous handheld percussive therapy device that releases your deepest muscle tension. I own two Theraguns and my girlfriend and I use them every day, after workouts and before bed. Check it out. Go to Theragun.com/Tim and check out the Gen 4 Theragun. It is just amazing. They also have some great videos. That's Theragun.com/Tim. Second, and last, I get asked all the time, if you could only use one supplement, what would it be? My answer is usually Athletic Greens, my all-in-one nutritional insurance. I've used it for more than a decade, hard to believe. As a listener of The Tim Ferriss

• 34:43Tim Ferriss?

  Show, you'll get a free 20-count travel pack valued at $79 with your first order at AthleticGreens.com/Tim. That's AthleticGreens.com/Tim.

• 34:58Tim Ferriss?

  One thing that you seem very good at is long-term investments and thinking. And I'll give a few examples of that. If you look at the path of Kevin, which I've done to get ready for this conversation, I noticed these seemingly little things, like, for instance, you go from community college to, as I understand it, selling shoes, open mics, eventually you're hitting the road and touring, gathering email addresses, right? You have people putting cards on tables. You're sowing the seeds of tremendous things later. And what I'd love to hear you maybe discuss a little bit is, how do you choose your opportunities so that there are steps up and not steps sideways, or steps backwards? Because you

• 35:42Tim Ferriss?

  have a lot thrown at you. How do you think about that strategically, or how do you think about it at all?

• 35:47Speaker 00

  Well, I think when you're talking about opportunities in general, the best part about opportunities are figuring out what makes them an amazing opportunity for you, right? And, you know, I think you're extremely lucky if you're doing something you love. You know, if you're doing something that may not necessarily be your passion, but it's a job, the trick is to find out how to make this thing become a bigger thing for you, so that you're able to go and do what you want to do. How do we use the things?

• 36:27Speaker 00

  In life that are thrown at us as stepstones or baby pathways to the to the ultimate road. Right?

• 36:37Speaker 02

  Mm hmm.

• 36:37Speaker 00

  Um, so for me, I have a great, my tunnel vision is ridiculous. So if life was like, if you could compare it to, let's call it, let's call it like an ND five hundred. You know, when these guys in in race cars, when they're racing in cars, they're never looking right in front of them. They're they're way up in the road. Before they make a turn, they're looking at the turn after that turn to decide how to handle this turn. So that when they come out that turn, they're on a straightaway already as to how they're gonna come out.

• 37:16Speaker 00

  You have to have vision that's in front, that's at least set as a goal, as a destination of where you're trying to get. And once you get there, you can reassess. The opportunities that I have were ones that were wanted back when. I wanna be a standup comedian. Now that I'm a standup comedian, I wanna make sure that I'm telling jokes that can allow me to travel the globe one day.

• 37:51Speaker 00

  I wanna make everybody laugh. If I can make everybody laugh, I will travel the globe. If I get the opportunity to travel the globe, that gives me the opportunity to start on that journey of making the world laugh.

• 38:10Speaker 00

  Opportunity one is getting to a position to perform outside of the US. That would be massive. Let me get, what's my first opportunity? Doing something that's considered international. Where is it? Where does it, where does this exist?

• 38:31Speaker 00

  My first time going to Canada, I didn't know what to expect, cuz I'm a guy from North Philadelphia. What language do they speak? Yeah, what's gonna happen? Jesus Christ. What's gonna happen when I'm here? I just landed in fucking Canada. Oh, my God. Hi, how are you? I'm looking for this hotel. Why are you yelling, sir? English.

• 38:57Speaker 00

  He speaks English, okay. Whoa. I performed in Canada, people laugh. Is it like this everywhere? I go to London. Holy fuck, I'm in London for the first time. Oh my god, people speak English. What if I can make, I'm making people laugh in London? Oh my god, the opportunity that I was talking about is now happening. It's a reality. Man, what doors can comedy open up? What if comedy got me to acting? Eddie Murphy was a comedian, he started acting. How did he do it? What if I got in there? Oh my god, it got me the opportunity to act. Oh my god, now that I'm acting, what if I can figure out an opportunity to create?

• 39:37Speaker 00

  Oh my god, created and showed me that you can write. Oh my god, what if writing creates more opportunities? Holy fuck, that's how you produce. Now I'm producing. Oh my god, what if I can direct? Oh shit!

• 39:51Speaker 00

  Then you look all the way back behind you. It all started off with the goal of doing comedy. But the opportunities kept getting bigger because you kept looking past the first opportunity at what the what if was. That doesn't mean that you're not respecting the things you're doing. It just means that you're realizing why you should do this well. That's what I do. So my, my title vision is, is ridiculous.

• 40:17Tim Ferriss?

  Yeah.

• 40:18Speaker 00

  I'm always down the street, no matter what. Have you ever played Monopoly? And there's a, a person that you play with and they'll get like, you know, they'll, they'll get the worst property on the game. And people go, why the fuck you buying that? Ugh. You got Baltic Avenue, Mediterranean? Yeah, I did. It's the cheapest one, but I'm gonna put all of my houses and then flip those into hotels. And it's cheaper, I now have money left, and hopefully from making money on this, I can go and get some of the nicer stuff. I can go and get the... Maybe the boardwalks, or maybe the Venturas, or, you know, maybe, maybe some of the other more expensive,

• 41:03Speaker 00

  but I want to get my money right first, because I don't have enough. And then you got the people that go right and go buy a boardwalk, and then they're stuck with $200 or $300 after. And they're trying to figure out how to get houses, but they can't really afford the thing that they bought. Because they didn't have a plan. There's other people that put a plan together, that they're trying to execute that can get them to the place that they want to be. I'm the guy with a plan. And whether I get there or not, I'm executing something that I'm vetting out.

• 41:33Tim Ferriss?

  Yeah.

• 41:34Speaker 00

  You know what I mean? It's, it's, it's, I'm vetting it out and I'm trying my best to get there by checking all these boxes and building an amazing team around me, of people that are more than qualified to help me on this journey. So it doesn't become a Kevin did a thing, it becomes a we did a thing. And then before you know it, you change lives, and now you're able to have a major impact. Not just with laughter, not just by providing content. But now you're providing jobs, opportunities, now you're providing, you know, now you're providing dreams, hope, there's a, it's a bigger story to it. It's a bigger story, there's a bigger understanding.

• 42:12Tim Ferriss?

  So, so I definitely want to talk about stories and storytelling, but before we get there, we were talking, you were talking about this macro planning, vetting, and looking at opportunities. I'd love to look at the micro for a second. What, what does, say, the first 90 minutes of your day look like? Are there any components or routines that are particularly important to you in the first hour or two of your day?

• 42:34Speaker 00

  90 minutes of my day.

• 42:36Tim Ferriss?

  Yeah, hour or two, if there's anything that is a constant for you.

• 42:41Speaker 00

  There's no, I mean, the, the one thing that never changes is my, my workout regimen, you know, I'm up. Six, I mean, well, since we've been in court, I've been working out seven AM every day. Um, but before this, if I'm like out and I'm working, I'm up at five. You know, in the gym and very consistent about that. I don't, I don't. I don't sway with that. You know, it's how I start any and every day. Uh, and I'm just heavily into taking care of me. Um, I've got a lot of people that depend on me. I've got a lot of people that, that, that I feel need me and also that I need in return.

• 43:22Speaker 00

  Um, but I can't be the best version of myself if I'm not taking care of myself.

• 43:27Tim Ferriss?

  What are, what are some of the, in your mind, because you've exercised a long time and very consistently. So you have had a chance to test a lot. What are some of the, the best bang for the buck exercises? If you could only kind of take a handful with you, are, are, do any come to mind?

• 43:42Speaker 00

  Nothing beats pushups. And situps. I don't, I don't care whether you got a gym or not, pushups, situps, can't beat that.

• 43:51Tim Ferriss?

  That's the core.

• 43:52Speaker 00

  That's the core. You can't beat that. Ever.

• 43:55Tim Ferriss?

  With stories and storytelling, I mean, what, what strikes me is you're a student of history. You're looking at what can become stories that are told decades, maybe a hundred years after they happen. And you are, in some respects, it strikes me, making your mark with an incredible gift and honed talent of storytelling. When I, when I watch you perform. Uh, what makes a good storyteller? Are there any particular people you consider good storytellers? I mean, whether it's, I've, I've, I know you've cited the Bible, the, there is, there are certain stories that are more compelling than others and certain storytellers. Are there any storytellers who stand out to you?

• 44:34Speaker 00

  I mean, minus what, what's going on in the personal life of this individual. Um, you know, Cosby is one of the, uh,

• 44:45Speaker 00

  Probably one of the best storytellers within the profession of comedy. And like I said, making sure that it's separate from.

• 44:54Tim Ferriss?

  Of course.

• 44:54Speaker 00

  You know, this stuff. Eddie Murphy, amazing storyteller.

• 45:01Speaker 00

  Dave Chappelle, amazing storyteller. I mean, you're looking at people that have very unique styles and approaches to the craft of storytelling.

• 45:15Speaker 00

  Those are my favorites and I'm gonna tell you who else is one of the best, or was one of the best at storytelling. Bernie Mac.

• 45:25Tim Ferriss?

  Bernie Mac.

• 45:25Speaker 00

  Bernie Mac. Bernie Mac could tell a story. And I mean, you know, I I love it. I love the idea of telling a story. I love the idea of, you know, grabbing someone's attention and holding that attention. And a person going on levels with you until the end. And at the end of it, getting an amazing payoff to where it's like, oh my God, I didn't even see that coming. That's crazy. Like I, there's something special about that. I've always been a fan of it. Um, you know, and it's a, it's a, it's a craft

• 46:08Speaker 00

  and a talent that I, that I try my best to hone and work on.

• 46:12Tim Ferriss?

  I want to talk about the, the decision. So this is an Audible original. The Decision and the subtitle is Overcoming Today's BS for Tomorrow's Success. It seems like this had been in the works for a very long time and then the launch got accelerated because there are certain things that you can't do right now with COVID and quarantine. But there are things that you can do, like utilize audio. Could you speak to why you decided to push this forward now and why you did it in the first place?

• 46:41Speaker 00

  Well, I said, I said basically, you know.

• 46:45Speaker 00

  Right now, I think the crazy thing within the times that you're you're realizing uh, the need behind content. You know, like you, you see what people gravitate towards when times are tough. Like, you know, you, there's an escape that comes with good content. You're able to get lost in something good. Like, I remember when it first hit in Ozark. It came on and the the season was available and I was like, I'm gonna watch Ozark. And I sat and I watched Ozark and for that time, I just enjoyed a good show.

• 47:30Speaker 00

  A good show was enough. It was, it was enough for me and it motivated me after watching it. I was like, I gotta get up and I gotta write. I gotta write, I gotta, I gotta create, I gotta write. And watching that show made me do that. Now, of course, this is my profession, this is what I do. So it's where I can grab energy from. But there's content all around that can amplify a person's mood. There's different types of content that's good for whomever. You know what I mean?

• 48:11Speaker 00

  It's, it's, it's a lot that you can go out and grab or read or see. There's just, it's just a lot. So I told my team, I was like, this is, this is a perfect time just for me to release the decision. And the reason why is because it's not just informative, but it's mental fitness. And, and when, when our mental is getting tugged on, just having information can be key. It's just information. My way of thinking isn't the right way for everybody. I don't, I don't claim that, I don't stand on that. It's not my way or the highway. I'm just giving you an option.

• 48:55Speaker 00

  I'm just sharing wholeheartedly what has helped me in life and what has helped get me to this place. And how my thinking and thought process had played a major part. And I want to give you guys this information. You may gravitate towards it, you may not, but I'm going to give it to you in a way that nobody else can. I'm giving it to you with personality. I'm giving it to you with real life situations attached that you can look up and see. And I'm giving it to you from a guy's perspective that has results.

• 49:40Speaker 00

  So it's not as if there aren't any results in my way of thinking and in my way of decision making. You see what the results are, which is why I feel like the information is valuable. You know, guys, I like there's, there's chapters on positivity, there's chapters on negativity. There's chapters on cowboy and up. There's chapters on shoulder shrugging. There's chapters on things that we overlook that are so small that I've made big. You know, a shoulder shrug, a shoulder shrug is a motherfucker, man. The ability to shrug your shoulders, it can mean so many things.

• 50:22Speaker 00

  Shrugging your shoulders can mean, I don't care, it can mean, I don't know. Or it can mean, oh, well, it is what it is. That ability to shoulder shrug, that's a major, that's a major thing. Because that's also the ability to move on. That's also the ability to go, ah, well, I guess I gotta keep going. A shoulder shrug, that's what it is. It can be taken as nonchalant, it can be taken as passive, it can be taken as so many different things. But nine times out of a ten after a shoulder shrug, you're going to keep going.

• 50:59Tim Ferriss?

  Yep.

• 50:59Speaker 00

  And these are the things that I've broken down in this Audible original. It's, it's, it's me giving you just a different way of seeing things.

• 51:10Speaker 00

  A different insight.

• 51:12Tim Ferriss?

  And your memoir, I mean, if we describe it as that, I can't make this up, was extremely popular on audio. And is the way to think about this new Audible original, I mean, I think the subtitle describes it well, overcoming today's BS for tomorrow's success, a more prescriptive description of your kind of tools and principles? It's sort of a distilled collection of your tools and tactics? Is that one way to think about it? If people are wondering how it contrasts to, I can't make this up.

• 51:42Speaker 00

  I can say, for me, what I really, really love is when you look at my first book, Life Lessons, right? I really broke down my life in great detail. I just gave the stories of where I've come from and how I got to here, right? And major success. People loved it. They loved the honesty that came with it. And they just loved the stories. They loved hearing about my father, my mother, my brother. They just loved the overall story.

• 52:21Speaker 00

  In this one, I wanted to go a step further because what I realized was I'm privy to a lot of information and I'm privy to a lot of different environments. And I've been a sponge and I've soaked up so much information. Outside of my wife and kids and some of my closest friends, am I just taking this information with me? What I've found is, for me, right now, if I were just to go and take all the information that I had and just keep it and put it in my pocket, that's selfish.

• 53:03Speaker 00

  That's extremely fucking selfish to not share. To not share any of this, I look at it as very selfish on my part. So I said, I want to share. I want to give information. But this information is to really help you understand how to maneuver in the BS that we all go through. And there's people that really struggle with a lot of the BS that we go through. You know, there's a, there's a real struggle that comes with thought process, with decision-making, with do I make it right, do I make it left?

• 53:48Speaker 00

  There's a real struggle that goes with that. And it just comes from lack of knowledge or from thinking that you're alone and that nobody else is the way you are, thinks like you think. Um, I mean, I can go down a list of things. When you're able to open up and talk about things that most people don't in such an honest way, it acts as a bonus. You know, there's a, there's a piece in there where I'm talking about social media and how social media has been such a gift and a curse. I've been on the side of the gift.

• 54:32Speaker 00

  I've been on the side of the gift. It allowed me to connect and touch base with my fans in a way that I never thought that I would be able to. And then there's this dark side to it that's reared its head. And that dark side just seems like it's negative. But it only seems that way because there's something in us as people to be attracted to the negative. We're attracted to bullshit for some reason. If there's a story about a man that saved a kid

• 55:06Speaker 00

  and at the same time, a story gets posted about a woman that cut her husband's dick off, you're gonna forget about the man that saved the kid. Everybody's running to the story about the woman that cut her husband's dick off. Nobody can answer that question of why. You can't tell me why, but it's true. It's what we gravitate towards as people. So that's why the internet seems like a hub for negativity. The news is on every night. There's always a good story on the news, but you can't tell me what it is. But you can tell me about all the people that got shot. You can tell me about the story that got robbed. You can't tell me the good story.

• 55:51Speaker 00

  You can't highlight the things of good is because the volume is turned down. And that's because we choose not to turn it up. So it's not until you realize that, hey, you know what?

• 56:04Speaker 00

  I'm looking at this thing, man. There's a lot of negative comments on here. Well, how many of the positive ones did you actually see?

• 56:10Tim Ferriss?

  Right.

• 56:12Speaker 00

  Did you give that same attention? These are things that I'm giving and it all go back to the decision. There's a decision that I'm making. To speak on or to amplify what can be perceived as bullshit or negativity. I'm making the decision not to give the same energy and effort to the thing of positive.

• 56:34Speaker 00

  It's there.

• 56:36Speaker 00

  But I'm making a decision to not realize it or see it.

• 56:41Speaker 00

  I have tons, tons of this in this Audible original.

• 56:49Speaker 00

  Cowboy up. You make the decision to sit and bitch. About what you can't change. We talked about it earlier. That's a decision. Or you can make the decision. To say, you know what? I'm a cowboy up. Cowboy up is a term. It's a term that anybody can use and cowboy up just means I'm gonna strap on my boots. And I'm gonna get back to work. That's it. That work can mean anything. It can mean life. It can mean family. It can mean, you know, humanitarian work, whatever that thing is. I'm not gonna let the problems weigh me down to where I stop doing what I'm supposed to do. I'm gonna make the decision to continue and keep going.

• 57:33Tim Ferriss?

  The decision, as you mentioned, Audible original.

• 57:36Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 57:37Tim Ferriss?

  Releasing May 21st, overcoming today's BS for tomorrow's success. I've been fascinated in the process of getting to know you through research for this conversation. And I'm excited to see it come out and listen to it, I suppose, more accurately. And people can find you, of course, you're not hard to find, on Instagram, at Kevin Hart for real, the number four. On Facebook, that's Hart Kevin, and then on Twitter, same as Instagram, at Kevin Hart for real. Kevin, is there anything else you would like to share before we, before we wrap up? Any, any words of wisdom, favorite quotes, things you live your life by, anything else?

• 58:16Speaker 00

  You know what, I'll say right now, I think the, the biggest and best thing is just to get people to understand that, you know, look, these times are extremely tough for, for us all. Uh, but there's always sunshine behind a cloud. This is just a very dark cloud. We'll get through it, we'll get out of it. And, you know, when we do, uh, let's be better than we were when we went in it, you know? And what, uh, what I think is really dope, that I was able to see and that I was able to hold on to and gravitate towards is how so much money's been raised, uh, to solve and help for world hunger,

• 59:01Speaker 00

  but it took a pandemic. And it shouldn't have to be, uh, because of a pandemic, that we're all conscious of the needs of others. It's something that should be more of a priority. And when you see these hundreds of millions of dollars that have been raised, um, you know, within the two month period of time, you know, it just kind of raises the question of what, why is this so far few and in between?

• 59:28Tim Ferriss?

  Yeah.

• 59:29Speaker 00

  It shouldn't take a pandemic to make us all aware. Let's open our eyes and start to just, once again, look beneath the debris, and let's, let's get to these other real things that come out of this, that we can hold on to and make other people be responsible for in the future. You know? Think about some, you know what somebody said that really made me go wow? We're solving world hunger and, you know, raising hundreds of millions of dollars, but for Flint, Michigan, clean water has been a problem for how many years?

• 1:00:03Tim Ferriss?

  Yeah.

• 1:00:04Speaker 00

  And that's a, how many million dollar fix?

• 1:00:07Tim Ferriss?

  Time to cowboy up, it seems like.

• 1:00:09Speaker 00

  Yeah, cowboy up. So let's look on, let's look on the bright side, man. This has been a, a great conversation, dude. Great conversation.

• 1:00:16Tim Ferriss?

  Yeah, thanks so much. And I'll, uh, I'll, I'll certainly, uh, put all these links also in the show notes for people at tim.blog/podcast. And, uh, Kevin, real pleasure to connect. Thanks for taking the time.

• 1:00:29Speaker 00

  Hey, man, thank you. I appreciate you. Anytime.

• 1:00:32Tim Ferriss?

  You too, man. All right. Be safe. Bye-bye.

• 1:00:36Tim Ferriss?

  Hey guys, this is Tim again. Just a few more things before you take off. Number one, this is Five Bullet Friday. Do you want to get a short email from me? Would you enjoy getting a short email from me every Friday? That provides a little morsel of fun before the weekend. And Five Bullet Friday is a very short email where I share the coolest things I've found or that I've been pondering over the week. That could include favorite new albums that I've discovered. It could include gizmos and gadgets and all sorts of weird shit that I've somehow dug up in the world of the esoteric as I do. It could include favorite articles that I've read and that I've shared with my close friends, for instance. And it's very short.

• 1:01:18Tim Ferriss?

  It's just a little tiny bite of goodness before you head off for the weekend. So if you want to receive that, check it out. Just go to fourhourworkweek.com. That's fourhourworkweek.com all spelled out. And just drop in your email and you will get the very next one. And if you sign up, I hope you enjoy it. This episode is brought to you by Theragun. I have two Theraguns and they're worth their weight in gold. I've been using them every single day. Whether you're an elite athlete or just a regular person trying to get through your day, muscle pain and muscle tension are real things. That's why I use the Theragun. I use it at night, I use it after workouts. It is a handheld percussive therapy device that releases your deepest muscle tension.

• 1:02:01Tim Ferriss?

  So for instance, at night, I might use it on the bottom of my feet. It's helped to my plantar fasciitis. I will have my girlfriend use it up and down the middle of my back and I'll use it on her. It's an easy way for us to actually trade massages in effect. And you can think of it, in fact, as massage reinvented on some level. Helps with performance, helps with recovery, helps with just getting your back to feel better before bed after you've been sitting for way too many hours. I love this thing. And the all-new Gen 4 Theragun has a proprietary brushless motor that is surprisingly quiet. It's easy to use and about as quiet as an electric toothbrush. It's pretty astonishing and you really have to feel the Theragun's signature power, amplitude, and effectiveness. To believe it.

• 1:02:46Tim Ferriss?

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• 1:03:30Tim Ferriss?

  I have the Prime and I also have the Pro, which is like the super Cadillac version. My girlfriend lugs the soft attachments on that. So check it out. Go to theragun.com/tim. One more time, theragun.com/tim. This episode of the Tim Ferriss Show is brought to you by Athletic Greens. I get asked all the time, if I could only take one supplement, what would it be? The answer is inevitably Athletic Greens. I view it as, and a lot of you now view it as all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it way back in 2010 in The 4-Hour Body, and I did not get paid to do so. I've been using it since before that. And I use it in a lot of different ways. I travel with it to avoid getting sick or to help mitigate the likelihood of getting sick.

• 1:04:14Tim Ferriss?

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