Bert Kreischer on Selling Out Stadiums, Following Your Dreams & Perfecting Your Craft EP 1453

The Summit of Greatness is back! Buy your tickets today – summitofgreatness.comLewis sits down with the legendary comedian Bert Kreischer to discuss his remarkable journey from being the "Number One Partier in the Nation" to becoming one of the highest-grossing stand-up comics in the world. In this episode you will learn,The journey from unknown to selling out stadiums as one of the highest-grossing stand-up comics in the world. Insights into overcoming self-doubt and the importance of confidence in pursuing a career in comedy. The correlations between the comedy and business worlds, uncovering hidden parallels that may surprise you. The misconceptions surrounding comedians and get a behind-the-scenes look at the challenges they face in their careers. Kreischer's motivation for venturing into podcasting, his unique approach to the medium compared to stand-up comedy, and the valuable lessons he has learned about communication through podcasting. For more information go to www.lewishowes.com/1453Comedian Andrew Schulz on bombing stages to selling out stadiums:: https://link.chtbl.com/1234-guestImane ‘Pokimane’ Anys on becoming the worlds top female Twitch streamer: https://link.chtbl.com/1443-guest Get more from Lewis! Get my New York Times Bestselling book, Make Money Easy! Get The Greatness Mindset audiobook on SpotifyText Lewis AIYouTubeInstagramWebsiteTiktokFacebookX

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

• 0:01Lewis Howes?

  Calling all conscious achievers who are seeking more community and connection. I've got an invitation for you. Join me at this year's Summit of Greatness this September 7th through 9th in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio to unleash your true greatness. This is the one time a year that I gather the greatness community together in person for a powerful transformative weekend. People come from all over the world and you can expect to hear from inspiring speakers like Inky Johnson, Josprey Singh, Vanessa Van Edwards, Jen Sanchero, and many more. You'll also be able to dance your heart out to live music, get your body moving with group workouts, and connect with others at our evening socials.

• 0:44Lewis Howes?

  So if you're ready to learn, heal, and grow alongside other incredible individuals in the greatness community, then you can learn more at lewishouse.com/summit2023. Make sure to grab your ticket, invite your friends, and I'll see you there.

• 1:01Speaker 01

  I think there's something inherent in every comic where he felt like, he or she felt like a little bit like an outsider looking in.

• 1:11Lewis Howes?

  Welcome to the School of Greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, a former pro athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur. And each week we bring you an inspiring person or message to help you discover how to unlock your inner greatness. Thanks for spending some time with me today. Now let the class begin.

• 1:34Speaker 01

  When I was a kid, I was never a self-promotion guy.

• 1:37Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 1:38Speaker 01

  Well, that, I don't know how old you are, I'm 50.

• 1:40Lewis Howes?

  Forty.

• 1:41Speaker 01

  Okay, so like, there was no social media.

• 1:44Lewis Howes?

  Uh huh. No cell phones.

• 1:46Speaker 01

  No cell phones. No one, no one, your worth was based on what people said, "You should have seen him this weekend." Not like, no one sat at the table like, "Let me tell you what I did." If someone did that in my, I went to all boys Catholic high school, you'd be like, "No, you're not sitting at our table." And so it wasn't until I moved, even when Rolling Stone magazine wrote about me, I I wasn't the one telling them the stories. Someone else was telling me.

• 2:10Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 2:11Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 2:11Lewis Howes?

  Didn't interview you?

• 2:12Speaker 01

  No, they hung out with me. They hung out with me and I just lived my, I lived what, what is probably the last bastion of an authentic life, like an authentic, like just like, like, like following my, my id or just going wherever I wanted to go and do whatever I wanted to do. And if we ate mushrooms, we ate mushrooms. It wasn't like, like, it was just like you did it and you didn't tell anyone and you just ate mushrooms and.

• 2:39Lewis Howes?

  You were promoting it everywhere.

• 2:41Speaker 01

  And then I got into New York and I watched, I watched it slowly change with the advent of social media, of people promoting themselves. And at first I thought it was gross. And then I realized it's a necessity. No one's gonna sit there and tell them, you're a funny comic. They should book you at your club. You're, you need to target your fans. And I watched people I really respected do it, like do it. Hey, guys, I'm coming here. Come out. Support live comedy. I'm head and then, and then slowly I got into it. And then now it's like I'm so deep in it. And I'm so deep in it and I all I'm, I had Razzle Dazzle, my special came out in March.

• 3:15Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, hilarious, man.

• 3:16Speaker 01

  I had, I had a tour in Europe. I had to promote that, a tour in Europe. So I'm promoting through that. And then I had Razzle Dazzle come out in March. And then I had a tour in Australia that I, for a month that I had to do. I had, I had a, an arena tour throughout, but in between those both dates. And then I had the movie come out in, in a couple of weeks ago.

• 3:35Lewis Howes?

  May, yeah.

• 3:35Speaker 01

  In May and, and, and then now I have Fully Loaded. This starts up next week and, and then, and then I have another call, arena tour coming out and it's just, it's like,

• 3:47Speaker 01

  I've had my fill of burp.

• 3:49Lewis Howes?

  One of the things that inspires me about you, many things, but one of them is how you promote yourself. I wish I could learn this art because the stuff with The Rock and Wahlberg and all these people, you're, you're making interesting content while promoting something that people still talk about. That is almost a skill in itself. As opposed to just watch my movie or come to my tour, you're actually doing an interesting piece of content that is funny, you know, and people talk about it. That's, I don't know how you do that because I wish I could figure that out.

• 4:19Speaker 01

  So, so, uh, 2000, probably seven years ago, I got an offer to do the Urban Improv for a New Year's Eve. And they, they Irvine Improv said, can you shoot something on Instagram to promote it? And I sat in my man cave like going, what? Like, what am I gonna do? And I put a camera up in my corner and I, I didn't understa- I didn't know what to do. And then, right after that, I started following guys like Casey Neistat and this guy, Mr. Ben Brown, and this guy, Fun for Louis, and all these guys on Insta- on, on YouTube that were like, starting to blow up. And I started learning about shooting and editing, and I started getting very turned on by the concept of making your own stuff and being controlled of your own media. And so, uh, I started editing a vlog.

• 5:02Speaker 01

  And in doing that, I learned a bunch of tricks. And those tricks kind of dictated to me how to, uh, promote.

• 5:13Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 5:13Speaker 01

  And so, I went from that crisp, that New Year's Eve, to then, by the time next year, around, around October, and around November, December, Tom Segura and I were in a fat shaming contest. I was posting very heavily to Instagram. I was promoting shows on Instagram. I'd taken control of my career. I'd started making posters, uh, like right towards November, I started making posters to promote shows and

• 5:38Lewis Howes?

  Designing everything.

• 5:39Speaker 01

  Designing and taking control of everything. Take, like, taking control of everything. And I, and I, I say it to my team right now. I have a team of thirteen. But I say it to them, I used to do all of this. I loved it. I loved it. There was nothing better than to shoot a promo and then get in your man cave and then edit it and then add cool music and then post it and then have like Rogan call up and go, dude, how did you do that? And you're like, you like it? And he's like, dude, what song is that? I'm like, Creedence Clear War, Midnight Special. And he's like, I gotta listen to more CCR. And then, and then doing a promo, I did a promo, Tom and I did a weight loss challenge. I did a promo, I, I, I, I, I disguise a vlog, a short minute vlog of what I was doing or taunting Tom into, into a promo at the end.

• 6:22Speaker 01

  Uh, Tom, I'm working out, we're doing two a days, two a days for you. That didn't play footballs, how we used to get, like, whatever it was. And then The Rock retweets it. And I'm like, crazy. It was so authentically me that, and it was my favorite time of making promos. It was my favorite, like, I'm, and I was so in the pocket at that time. And mind you, I wasn't even selling like legit tickets like I am now. I was selling like 1,200 tickets a weekend. And my, my favorite one I ever did, uh, they called up and they're like, yo, we had, we added shows. I forget where we added shows, uh, late show Friday, late show Saturday. And it was like Wednesday and I was like, whoa.

• 7:05Speaker 01

  I either go in and do, do radio where I can shoot a promo. And I said, girls, I need everyone outside. Leanne's like, girls are doing homework. The, the girls were maybe like 10 and eight. And I go, please give me, it'll take, it'll take literally five minutes, babe. I gave Leanne a leaf blower. I gave Isla a hose. I gave Georgia the drone. Georgia's 10. I got an American flag and a speedo. And I just had Georgia back the drone up with Isla misting me and Leanne leaf blowing me. And then it, it went from like this picture of me to seeing my family doing it. And, and I played, uh, Ramblin' Graham, a man by, by Bob Seger.

• 7:42Speaker 01

  I went in, I edited it. I posted it. Next morning, both shows are sold out and I was like, wow, bro. And then, I mean, then, and then we can talk about the progression of promos because it's such an interesting, it's such an interesting thing. My buddy's a marketing professor. He's, he's worked at Oregon, uh, University of Oregon, Penn State, U S F, uh, UC. He's worked all over the country. And he was at the premiere of my movie and I said, dude, I would love to like audit a marketing class. And he goes, and he said, uh, we're not, we'll be teaching what you're doing in a couple of years. Wow. You're so far behind what you're doing. It's just, we're, we're at the forefront of it. I mean, you know, obviously the calling out for the rock and the, and Mark Wahlberg and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

• 8:26Speaker 01

  There, there was, it was, I mean, I was like, I, it's, it's, it's fun. It's fun. And it's, and it gets you excited when they repost and then Mark did his own video calling me out. And then, and then in a great way, it's like now Mark's promoting F45. Let me tell you something, I have a burning sensation to get into an F45. I want to go too. I want to go to an F45. It's like the way he said, let me get you an F40. And he's good as a, you gotta remember, these are the best actors in the world. When he starts doing it, let me tell you something, I know you're getting in shape for a movie. Cause you got the fat belly, you're drinking beers, I get it. Now we gotta get you some Fletch Azul, get you an F45. I've spoken to Big Tony, like he's the best. But yeah, the, the, uh, the whole promo thing and then, and then I got out over my skis where I started doing so well in promos.

• 9:07Speaker 01

  That, that, that my team started going, well, put them in the biggest venues we can get them in. Cause he'll sell the tickets.

• 9:14Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 9:14Speaker 01

  Cause, because.

• 9:15Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 9:16Speaker 01

  Yeah. Oh, I, I did.

• 9:17Lewis Howes?

  Cause you were selling out these smaller arenas into a bigger.

• 9:21Speaker 01

  So I went clubs and then I did my theater tour.

• 9:23Lewis Howes?

  Uh huh. Those clubs are what, like 300, 200?

• 9:26Speaker 01

  Two, two, 300 a night, 250 a night.

• 9:29Lewis Howes?

  And then theaters are what?

• 9:30Speaker 01

  Theaters are, are 1200. Your first run of theaters is like 1200 is the biggest you're gonna do.

• 9:34Lewis Howes?

  And you're selling these out.

• 9:35Speaker 01

  And so you're going from what you're doing a weekend in one night. And then hopefully if you're doing it right, you're doing two shows a night. That's how you really make the money. You don't make money on one shows in theaters. You gotta sell two shows. So. We go to the theater tour and I decide to do a hip hop dance video.

• 9:52Speaker 01

  And I, I, I'm, I'm very, uh, a little bit of a penny pincher. And so, especially then, not as much now, but especially then. And so I was like, I was like, all right. So there's this girl, D Glazer. I liked her on, my daughters and I, we share her dance videos. So I DM'd her. I was like, hey, how can you teach me a hip hop dance? Cause I wanted to prove to Rogan and Tom and Ari that I could dance. I don't know. It's just stupid, stupid, just boy stuff. And so I learned this hip hop dance. We shoot it. It's really good.

• 10:24Speaker 01

  And in doing it, we shoot it. It's good. Just shooting it's funny. We're all laughing. So then I go do this one thing and just give me space on the left so I can run tour dates. And so we do the dance video. It's, you know what a video is good when you post it and you start, you start getting texts, texts.

• 10:39Lewis Howes?

  Within, within minutes.

• 10:41Speaker 01

  I posted it. We were looking at a house up just south of the boulevard. Uh, we, I posted it and I got a text from like a really big comic. He's like, dude, dance video. Amazing. And then you're like, you're like, okay. And then I posted those tour dates for that tour and I sold the whole tour out immediately. Holy cow. That's pre-sale. I sold it all out in pre-sale, so they add second shows to all of them. General on-sale shows on Friday, I sell it out Friday, I sell them all out and I'm like, yo. And then I watch, and then I watch my friends copy what I did. And try, so what, do a dance videos? Tom Segura dropped forty-five grand on a dance video and posted his videos and his did better than mine. Really? And he sold his whole Australian tour out. Come on. And, and, and, and then you watch fans going, what's next?

• 11:25Speaker 01

  Fluffy's calling, he's like, dude, how do I get in on these, like, like Joe Coy, like, we're all, all comics are like, yo, man, can I, can you come at me like that? Like, let's, because Tom and I are very organic, we're best friends, we taunt each other, we try to one-up each other. Right. And so then, and then the next tour comes and they're like, they're like, yo, what, what do you got? We're gonna go bigger theaters, let's go thirty-five hundred seats. And so you're like, okay. So I'm like, I'm just like, and they're very organic thoughts, like, yo, can I get a marching band? Holy. And they're like, what are you gonna do with marching band? I go, I don't know, I'll figure it out. Let them show up in my house, I'm sure we'll figure something out. They show up and I was like, what song do you guys know? Then no one knows each other, so they're like, uh, I can play rubber band, man. I was like, yeah, I can play that. So then they, they sit around my pool, I stand around my pool.

• 12:11Speaker 01

  And I go back to like a standard promo for me was like lifting weights, going, what's up everybody, it's your boy, Bert Kreischer, the machine. I drop the weights, I have a whistle around my neck, I go, I got a big announcement. And then the drummer comes out behind me.

• 12:25Speaker 01

  And then the marching band's out, put it on sale, sell out immediately, add second shows, sell it out immediately. Then they're like, all right, let's see how big we can go. Let's do Red Rocks, ten thousand seats. And I'm like, I'm like, mother. And when was this? How many years ago? This is, this is after, uh, when the, when the, it's after pandemic. It's not after pandemic, but it's post-pandemic when things are starting to open up. Twenty twenty-one? Twenty twenty-one, probably. Yeah, yeah. End of twenty twenty-one or something like that. End of twenty twenty-one, uh, October twenty twenty-one. No, no, no, no, no, no. I wasn't, by the way, the biggest I'd ever done was thirty-five hundred, the biggest I'd ever sold. Before twenty twenty. But I was selling two shows. Yeah. I was selling two shows most of the time in, in, in these markets.

• 13:11Speaker 01

  Red Rocks is 10,000 and I'm, and I'm, I'm struggling. I'm like, I'm like posting every day. It's not selling out yet. It's, it's, I'm watching it grow by like, every day is like 150 seats, 150 seats, 150, I'm doing the math. I'm like, okay. Oh, man. I'm like, I'm, I'm like, two months out, I think. I'm thinking I'm about two months out. I'm like. And you got 7,000 more tickets to sell or something like that. Yeah. No, probably like 5,000, 5,000 in general. Still half, yeah. Yeah. And then I, and I, and I go to shoot the movie. I rupture, I shoot the movie at 3,500 seats. I rupture the tendons in my thing, lose my tricep. They have to pull it, they have to go into surgery, pull it down. And I go, I talked to the anesthesiologist and I go, I go, he goes, so, uh, what song do you want to listen to?

• 13:56Speaker 01

  And I go, CCR. And he goes, I go, I can listen to a song going in. He goes, dude, it's surgery. We do this to crackheads. It should be fun. Lighten up. Right. I'll give you a pill. You'll calm down. I'll have you count back from zero. And I go, hold on. Instead of counting back from zero, can I have my phone with me and do a promo read? Oh, my gosh. He's amazing. And he's like, yeah. I go, cool. So we roll in. I, I start with my left arm, right? And I don't really, they put a nerve, uh, paralyzer in it. My left arm collapses. I grabbed the phone in my right arm and he's walking me in and I go. I mean, you can find this. I, I, you can find all of these online, but I'm like, hey, I'm, uh, um, I'm, as I lay here on this, on this steel bed about to go into surgery.

• 14:39Speaker 01

  Thinking, what is ever, what I worried about my life. I have one thought that I want to share with the world. I'll be at Red Rocks. And I go, and I, and I, I mean, like, oh, dude.

• 14:50Speaker 01

  Jimmy Buffett's in there the night before. I'm there the night, that'll be the night after. The anesthesiologist's like, Jimmy Buffett? I was like, yeah, you want to come? He's like, yeah, good night. And he hits me and I was like, I'll be right there. Drop the phone. Wake up at a surgery, I look at Leanne, I go, did we get it? She goes, we got it. You sold out now? Sold out, sold out Red Rocks, sold out Red Rocks. Oh my. Do it again in October, we're almost sold out. Holy cow. Do it for a cruise. And so like it became a little bit of like, and I say this, I say this obviously aware of what it sounds like, but the joke within the comics was like promo king. You just, you do great promos and, and, and, and, and you know, I have a festival now that, that I'm, I'm marketing entirely on my own.

• 15:33Speaker 01

  I have a cruise that I do entirely on my own. Uh, we've had a bunch of people come to my company, Birdie Productions and ask us to market things for them. Wow. Uh, and join up. I mean, we've had a lot of, you know, but, uh, but I, I, the truth is I enjoy a good promo. Like if I can get some that's creative, funny, light, and then tries to sell some toward it's. Is there any promo you've made that didn't hit? That I thought would hit? Yeah. Yeah, there's a couple. Really? Yeah, I have one that I was for the movie that was so good. It just didn't take off. Was it the message or the hook was off? Was it the timing when you posted it or what are the factors to having a great promo? Well, a little bit of nudity sells. Where do you go shirtless?

• 16:16Speaker 01

  Well, shirtless, shirtless and people go, uh, and my, my will sell. I had one really good one where I go, guys, I know the algorithm, my cells. And I've got, that's what I need you to hear. And so we pull out the reveal and we had photoshopped my, on my front. And I was totally naked and it was, I mean, we lost it laughing when we saw it. And it just, like 500,000. It didn't do it as well? Didn't do it. And then some have done, some have done really well that you didn't expect. Like, uh, some just, you don't know why they're going to do well. And all of a sudden they just take off. Like I did this one, I, I, I used to have a joke, just a silly joke to myself about being on a treadmill. And being like, I was doing it, I was doing it to my, like I, sometimes I'll work out and then my whole team will show up in the gym.

• 17:01Speaker 01

  And they'll start, we'll start my, my business day while I'm working out. The one question is, by me and everything. So I was on the treadmill and I said, I was like, what's that? And I went, oh, I accidentally hit it on mosey and I started moseying and they started laughing. And then I was some, I, someone, I think it might've been Victoria was like. Hey, uh, you have tickets to sell in Dallas. Can you do that in cowboy boots with a lasso? And, and put it on, and so, and we're like, oh yeah, so we do it. And then immediately that goes viral. You're like, not viral, but like a couple million views and you're like, wow, that's crazy. It was just a stupid. But yeah, the, the key is you gotta turn the camera on. That's the big key. Just turn the camera on, start, just once you turn the camera on, start, it starts and then you'll get something.

• 17:44Lewis Howes?

  But for people, I mean, people watching and listening, maybe in business thinking, well, that's easy for you because you have all this self-confidence. You don't doubt yourself. You can make a fool of yourself and put it out there because that's what you do. And you're, you're comfortable in that. How can normal people become better marketers with promoting products, business, service, events? Without being, uh, you know, one of the top comedians in the world?

• 18:06Speaker 01

  Uh, very easily. Uh, become a fan first. Like, so think of yourself as a consumer always. I mean, this is, I, I don't know anything. I'm just telling you how I operate. I love going to concerts. Now, I, one of my businesses, live shows, but I love going to a concert. I love going to a concert and getting there early and taking my time with it. I love going to their merch booth and seeing what they got for merch, seeing what's selling at merch. Ask them, ask them what's selling at merch. Why is, why is it, why do you think that's selling? Um, I love sitting before a show and thinking, what could this band have done differently to? Like the number one thing is like, people sometimes like, especially for Red Rocks, I posted a lot about it that first time because I wanted to sell it out. And I, people were like, enough with the posts.

• 18:51Speaker 01

  And I was like, then you're not a fan. Then if you're, if you're saying that, then you're not a fan. Cause as a, as a fan, as a fan, if Wilco's coming to, coming to the Greek, they can post four times a day and I would never get bothered. I go, thanks for the reminder. I don't want to forget about those tickets that I have. I thank you. Post more. Hey, can I give you my personal phone number? That's what a fan would say.

• 19:12Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 19:12Speaker 01

  So what you're getting is you're getting, you're getting, uh, you're getting advice from a hater. Someone who doesn't like himself and, and doesn't like themselves. And, and maybe they're jealous, maybe they're, maybe they're, uh, who knows why they do it, but they're not going to the show. So ignore that person right away. Ignore them entirely for the rest of your life. Cause that's not who's in your, on your team. Who's on your team are the people that's showing up.

• 19:33Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 19:33Speaker 01

  The people that's showing up, they want to be there and they want to be reminded. Do you know how many people buy tickets and forget that they have tickets? I've done it. I've done a lot.

• 19:40Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 19:42Speaker 01

  But look at yourself as like a fan and look at like, what do I like? What do I enjoy? Like, I went to go see Steely Dan at the Hollywood Bowl and I thought, I thought, I was like, I want to wear a sweatshirt. I don't want to wear a sweatshirt. I want to buy a sweatshirt. I want to carry out a sweatshirt. I go, I hope they sell sweatshirts. And then I went, ooh, I hope they sell sweatshirts. We're doing Fully Loaded this summer. We should have sweatshirts. And Leanne goes, it's summer. I go, it always gets cold. And no one wants to bring a sweatshirt, but you're gonna want a sweatshirt. So let's have sweatshirts. But I look at it like a fan first and I go, what would activate me? What would get me to buy a ticket? What will? You know, a very simple thing that I noticed was like, when Instagram started doing the swipe up, it was a swipe up before it was a tap.

• 20:28Speaker 01

  I remember sitting with three of the biggest comics in the world. And they were making fun of me for using Instagram stories. Like, you're a grown man. What are you doing? You're like, we're like a little girl doing these stories. And I said, let me show you something. And I said, look,

• 20:45Speaker 01

  see this post right here? I go, this is promoting a show. And they're like, yeah, what is it? With a swipe up? And I go, watch this. I swiped up and I showed them. How many people clicked? And I go, I go, 2,500 people clicked on that link. Those are tickets sold. Wow. And then, all of a sudden, these three cynics are on their phone the next day. Hey, I got a show. I got a show. You're gonna take your finger and then go like this? And but you're like, yo, activate your to be above your fans is the, I've had, I've seen guys do it. They don't like their fans. They're above them. They think they're better than them. Dude, I'm my fan. I, this is gonna sound the dumbest thing in the world that you've ever heard any professional comedian say.

• 21:26Speaker 01

  I'm jealous of them that they get something they're, they get excited to do. How fun is going to your favorite show? Like, if you're a fan of mine and you're going to my, your show and you're like me, that's a fun thing to do. I love going to a show. I love having something to look forward to. I love to look at a month and go, ooh, Goose is coming to Red Rocks this night. Let's all go to Red Rocks. Oh, I'm, I love, I love more than anything. Uh, I'm trying to think of exactly who we're going to see.

• 21:56Speaker 01

  Uh, Wilco, Wilco Goose, uh, Wiser Panic. Wiser Panic is on tour. I love uh getting into my phone. I love buying the tickets. I love buying the tickets. I'm in a place where I can buy all the tickets or get them comped.

• 22:07Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 22:08Speaker 01

  I love getting my tickets, get like a box. Get six. I did it for Steely Dan. I got six tickets. I get the whole box, six tickets, and then I said, oh, this is my night. Who do I want to invite?

• 22:19Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 22:20Speaker 01

  So, uh, I asked Leanne. She goes, oh, you gotta invite. You should invite your trainer, because you guys listen to Steely Dan when you work out. I go, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, we've been listening all week. Ooh, her roommate is one of the biggest chefs in LA. Uh, Antonio LaFossa. I go, it's the bull. We can, she, we can cater it ourselves. I'm gonna have Antonio have her restaurant catering for us. I go, oh, I love that energy. I love it. Now, there are, um, there are comics that don't go see live shows. There are bands that don't go see live shows. It's befuddling to me, because I'm like, that's the business we're in. Why wouldn't you love, it's like being an athlete who doesn't watch sports. Or being a guy who makes films who doesn't watch movies or like, I love it. And so I think the number one thing is, think of yourself, if you're selling cars

• 23:06Speaker 01

  and you don't like cars, you might be in the wrong business. But if you're selling cars and you like cars, think about what, what turns you on.

• 23:12Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 23:13Speaker 01

  Like, what gets you to go like, oh, they got a new Porsche, it's entirely electric. Oh, I'm, I wanna go check it out. Well, how do, how would, how can I do that with my brand?

• 23:21Lewis Howes?

  Sure.

• 23:22Speaker 01

  It's, I'm, look, I'm a very, I'm a very like, like, head against the wall, kinda like meathead. Like, I'm not the smartest guy in the room. By just trying to operate in like a very simple arithmetic way of how to, how are we gonna get from A to B?

• 23:36Lewis Howes?

  Sure. It's fascinating, man. Um, something I'm curious about is every funny guy from high school and college, none of them are doing anything right now, that I know of.

• 23:46Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 23:48Lewis Howes?

  How did you? Become who you are. When everyone tries to be the funny guy and be the set, the life of the party, and then they go on and get a, you know, a job that they don't like, and they're not actually doing the thing to bring joy to more people the way you've been doing it. How did you stay in, you know, this world, this arena of fun, jokes, comedy, entertainment, where most people from high school and college who are the funniest person in the room, don't do that?

• 24:18Speaker 01

  Uh, very short answer is I think humility. Um, I was the funny guy in college. Uh, what I was, I was a, one of the funny guys in high school, but I went to high school with the really funny people. Um, but like in college, I was the part of the funniest guy in the room. There was a bunch of really funny guys. Uh, a bunch that tried to get into stand up, but yeah, yeah. But, you know, tried it. But they were like, they didn't do well. And then their ego shut them down and was like, oh, look at these nerds doing like clever. But I'm not, I'm funny, dude. I make you laugh. Like, I make them, they're like going like, ha, ha. I'm like, dude, I'm done with this. I think it's ego.

• 25:02Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 25:02Speaker 01

  Yeah. Oh, yeah. Look, I mean, the funniest guys, a lot of times are like the athlete who just, it's not funny. He's just the loudest, biggest slap the guy in the back of the neck. Everyone laughs because no one's, you know, like, that's the energy. Um, and I, I'm not saying I wasn't that guy. I wasn't that guy, but like, I was an athlete. I was a bit, I'm a regular sized dude. Um, in college, I was a frat boy. I was like a meathead, and I'm sure a lot of my laughs were at the expense of other people at times. Um, but when I got to New York and there was this thing of my ego was shutting me down of like not, like I didn't want to, I didn't want to put myself out there, really be vulnerable and say like, I want to be funny. How do I do this? Like, can someone

• 25:46Speaker 01

  help me? Because I was funny. I knew I was funny, but you gotta go like, I gotta learn. I want to learn.

• 25:51Lewis Howes?

  But there's an art to stand up and comedy versus a group of five buddies and telling jokes and just having people laugh at you.

• 25:57Speaker 01

  Or, or, or, I mean, let's be honest, with the guys I grew up around, just calling your friend gay.

• 26:02Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 26:03Speaker 01

  That was like, that was the sense of humor.

• 26:04Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 26:05Speaker 01

  Look at him, look at his shirt, you know, like. And it doesn't translate, you gotta figure out, you got, I mean, number one, you gotta find your voice. Well, number one, you gotta learn the craft a little bit. You gotta figure out how to write a joke and learn how to write a joke and learn how to learn stage presence, learn how to think quick on your feet. There's a lot, be comfortable on stage, there's a lot of that that goes on. And then after you get all that, you gotta find your voice and that's gonna take you longer.

• 26:25Lewis Howes?

  How did you find your voice? And was it different than what you were in college for those years?

• 26:30Speaker 01

  So what's interesting is that I've, I had my natural voice the very first time I got on stage.

• 26:35Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 26:35Speaker 01

  A hundred percent. Was closer to day, to date where I was that first time than ever in my life. What happened is I moved to New York.

• 26:48Speaker 01

  And, uh, I, comedy wasn't doing what my natural voice was. I was more of a storyteller and New York was very setup punch, very crowd worky, very quick on your feet, very, very improv-y, but like trick improv, like, uh, you ask someone a question, but you already have the punchline and then, and then you could like trick people to think you came up with it on the fly. And it's, it was like that. And so I had to learn that and I had to learn crowd work.

• 27:14Lewis Howes?

  Interesting.

• 27:14Speaker 01

  And then I moved to LA and I got further away from my voices. I learned real setup punch, like, like, uh, I don't, I'm trying, I wish I could remember one of them. But you know, you know what cops hate when you touch their faces, like, and then that was, that was me and then I took it on the road and, and I got a little better, but I was always sort of derivative of what, what else you were seeing. And I think that was a lot of us comics were, we're all derivative. We're all derivative of Dane, if we're gonna be very candid, Dane and David Tell and Mitch Hedberg were like the guys.

• 27:43Lewis Howes?

  Right. Dane was like, like a god back in the day, right? I mean, I saw him a couple of weeks ago at the club and he's still just like so powerful.

• 27:50Speaker 01

  He's so good.

• 27:50Lewis Howes?

  And he can extend a story for like 15 minutes and keep you hooked.

• 27:54Speaker 01

  He's so good.

• 27:55Lewis Howes?

  There's no joke yet. It just keeps telling it and building it. It's.

• 27:59Speaker 01

  He's amazing. And, and, but I think podcasting helped me find my voice.

• 28:04Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 28:05Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 28:05Lewis Howes?

  But you started in 2012, right?

• 28:07Speaker 01

  I start, well, I started whenever Rogan started. I didn't, I started doing my podcast, uh, like a couple of years after Rogan, but I started doing Rogan's podcast. When he's, you know, right with the first year he was doing it. Yeah. And I, and I remember going in with jokes to do his podcast the first time. Interesting. And, and. This is like 10 years ago or something, right? Or this is, this is. 12 years ago. It's gonna be 13. Yeah, yeah. 2010 or something, yeah. And he. You came in with jokes. And, and this is my impression of Joe. Huh?

• 28:39Speaker 01

  Cause you, you know, you don't tell a joke to another comedian, you would never run, I'd never fly a joke by you. I'd be, or I might go like, hey, let me ask you, you heard something like this? I'll do that, but I would never like really tell you a joke as a comic. Why not? It, it just isn't, it's not, that's, that is, uh, that is, uh, that is against the law in our business. What are the, what are the, the unwritten rules in comedy? You do not, you do not run a bit by another comic and think they're not gonna catch it or smell it. Like, like, uh, I remember Patrice O'Neal, someone was doing a bit and he goes, are you doing a bit to me right now? You think I'm gonna sit and listen to a bit? Wow. Out front of the club, do it onstage, don't do it in front of me, gross. And I told Rogan a bit about. On his show?

• 29:22Speaker 01

  On his show, I said it and then I've watched it start to fall apart. And then I was like, I was like, I was like, you know, never mind. He went, no, no, tell me. Tell me the story, whatever. No, no, finish it. I go, I don't think you'd like it. And he goes, tell me, why not? Why would I like it? Joe is like, Joe's like my wife, just brutally honest. And you're like, good God, I'm so uncomfortable right now. No, no, tell me, why don't you like it? You're a fan, he goes, just tell me the thing. And then I told it to him and he goes, I like it. Okay. And then I was like, okay, this is not jokes. This is not jokes. This is not morning radio. This is going to be two friends talking and having a conversation. And at best, the best of two friends talking is when people go, hey, did you hear about that time Joe lit a shoe? And you're like, who, what?

• 30:07Speaker 01

  Or hey, did you hear about the time I shit on a pizza box or I fought a bear?

• 30:12Speaker 01

  And that was what, and that was what worked on Joe's podcast was. My dad's on speed and he's been putting pregnant women's under his tongue and he's like, wait, tell me more. And then you're like, okay. Or, or I got, I got, I had this weird interaction with a bellman and then I told her on Joe's story and then all of a sudden it became a bit. And then I'm like, oh, and so I started developing bits based on a real authentic conversation like I would have had in high school, like I would have had in college, like I did the first time on stage. I started having these authentic conversations. And then I got known for a little bit. I was like, hey, next time I'm on, remind me to tell you about the time I got in public with the Russian mafia. And he's like, wait, what? I was like, I'll tell you when next time I'm on. Oh, that's a good, that's a good promo. And then he, a week later, he's like, dude, you gotta come on and tell me the story.

• 30:54Speaker 01

  And so, and so then that, that's when I found my authentic voice. Interesting. What, what is your authentic voice? If you could voice it? I think it's a little bit, I think it's a little bit Florida. Like, I think there's this like, and this is way overthinking it. But there's a little bit of the wild men that went through Florida, that I have a little bit of all of them, a little bit in me. I have a little bit of Meathead, a little bit of Moron, a little bit of like Carl Hyacinth, a little bit of Ernest Hemingway, a little bit of this weird Florida eclectic man that is the Florida man. And it's like, my stories are a little outrageous, the way you would

• 31:37Speaker 01

  hear in Florida. Because no, no one told you, no one just told you facts, they told you the story. They told, they would, they wanted you to, I mean, I remember older men, when they'd tell a story. And, and they'd, and they'd have words like monstraza. And you're like, I don't even know what that means, but I know what you're saying. You know, like, like, you know, like, and, and like our, our, our, our baseball coaches growing up would just tell you these stories. Back in the day when I was playing ball and this and this. And they were ball busters and they were men and they'd fist fight, but they drank and they chewed tobacco and they thought you were weak if you didn't chew tobacco. And like, I feel, I feel like, and then, and then juxtapose, juxtapose all of that with

• 32:18Speaker 01

  my father, who's a very, pretty straight laced, Brooks Brothers wearing Democrat in a, in a sea of Republicans. A very, very, very, to this day, very progressive. To this day, if you, you, you, like. Uh, and, and he is, he's very, he's very humble. His, his mantra in life is eat cash checks. Wow. Instilled that into me to a fault. And, uh, but I think I'm a little bit of Florida. I think I fit in in Florida. I think I, people get my energy in Florida, you know, like, and I think, I think that's how we grew up with the crazy wild stories and Sure. You know, like, I'm, I'm definitely not in New York. Right. I'm definitely not LA.

• 33:03Speaker 01

  How long you been out here now? I've been out here like twenty, I was since two thousand, so Wow. Twenty-three years. So after college, you went to New York for a little bit? Went to New York, got discovered by Will Smith, uh, did the bi-coastal thing for like two years, like ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine. And then two thousand, uh, booked a TV show and moved out here full-time. Still did the bi-coastal thing, but never went back. Right. Booked a TV show and then started living out here and, I mean, when I, I, it's funny, I was just telling someone the other day, I never, I, uh, sometimes if you're like, we didn't have any civic pride in Tampa, like there's no, no one was like proud of me from there. Now I am, but like, when I was a kid, it was like, I thought I belonged in LA. Like, I really thought I belonged in California.

• 33:50Speaker 01

  And my first time in California, I was right, I was here. I was right where we are right now, literally right here, over at the mall, right there. Yeah. I was there. You know how unattractive this area is? It's very sterile. It's getting a little better, but yeah. I called, I called my dad. It's two, it's ninety-seven, ninety-eight. I called my dad and I go, I'm gonna live here for the rest of my life. Really? And I was here. In the corporate world, it wasn't even beautiful. It wasn't even beautiful. I hadn't even seen, I hadn't seen the good parts yet. Wow. I driven from LAX to here. Why did you have that feeling? The energy, the air, the temperature, the vibe, everything. And then, and then when winter rolled in and it got windy and cold, and I was like, but not too, too cold. And the mornings would be like a little brisk, but then they cooled down. Comes out. And then when the rain showed up, everyone got excited. It's raining! It was like, wow, it rained every day in Tampa. I hated rain.

• 34:34Speaker 01

  But then all of a sudden, I'm in LA, like, it's raining! And if you ever got thunder, you'd be like, how lucky are we? I loved it. I loved it. I loved it. I would go out to the beach every single day. When I first moved here, I go out to the beach and run on the beach. I'd drive from from the Hollywood Hills to the beach to do a jog and drive home. I loved LA. I still love it. I still love it.

• 34:55Lewis Howes?

  It's hard to beat it. It's hard to be. I mean, I grew up in Ohio, uh, great people, great, you know, all four seasons, though. Super muggy in the summer, very cold in the winter. You deal with it, but it's not perfect weather like this every day.

• 35:08Speaker 01

  Every day.

• 35:08Lewis Howes?

  I couldn't, I know so many people have gone to Florida in the last three years. I can't do it there. It's so muggy. I have to, I have to shower three times a day just to walk outside.

• 35:20Speaker 01

  I was just there the other day and you know, something will happen, you know, wherever you are. It's like you work out. You take a shower and then you still sweat for a little bit. In Florida, you never stop sweating.

• 35:28Lewis Howes?

  You're all day. You have to carry a towel.

• 35:30Speaker 01

  You have to carry a towel.

• 35:31Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 35:31Speaker 01

  And I remember my, my assistant was with me and he's like, this is unlivable. And I go, bro, I had swamp for the first 18 years of my life. I had to wear khakis to school every single day. Yeah, it's, it's Florida.

• 35:43Lewis Howes?

  I don't understand. People are like, it's incredible that there's no taxes, you know, you can do whatever. You're freedom.

• 35:49Speaker 01

  Oh, there's so many predators. You got alligators, you got lightning, you got sharks, you got poisonous animals, hurricanes, tornadoes show up. Florida is like, the fact that you come out of Florida makes you a strong person. I mean, look at Germany. They got no predators. They got, don't even have wolves. Like they had nothing. They got nothing. Those people are so soft. The Germans are, you know, they die in Australia like every day till like nine Germans die a day.

• 36:12Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 36:13Speaker 01

  Dude, they go to Australia and like, dude, look at this water. It's so nice. I'll just jump in. Want that a big lizard? Oh no. I wonder if I can pet him. Yeah, German, every sign in Australia is written in English and in German.

• 36:26Lewis Howes?

  Come on.

• 36:27Speaker 01

  I swear to God. I swear to God. I swear to God. No predators. They got no predators. If you go out in a world with no predators, no predators.

• 36:35Lewis Howes?

  Then you just look at the like every like, why would I ever check the grass for snakes?

• 36:39Speaker 01

  I checked every day of my life. I walked into my backyard and I looked where I stepped. Cause when you step on a snake once, you'll never enjoy the grass again.

• 36:48Lewis Howes?

  Oh man.

• 36:48Speaker 01

  Step on a snake once. I stepped on a snake one time. Stepped on a snake and then I'm telling you, I sprinted. Gators?

• 36:55Lewis Howes?

  No, I couldn't do it, man.

• 36:56Speaker 01

  We go water skiing. You fell water skiing? No one was ever like, no one was ever like, that was fun. You were like, get me.

• 37:04Lewis Howes?

  Wait, wait, you can go water skiing in Florida? I didn't know you could go with this gators there.

• 37:08Speaker 01

  Oh, it's the water skiing capital of the world.

• 37:12Lewis Howes?

  In the gator infested waters?

• 37:14Speaker 01

  Gator infested waters. My, I was 11 and my dad's like, have fun water skiing. That is the perfect size for a gator to fit you in its mouth.

• 37:24Lewis Howes?

  Wait a minute.

• 37:25Speaker 01

  We can do, our lightning's so bad, we can't even have giraffes at our zoo.

• 37:30Speaker 01

  No, don't be serious. But imagine how scary that would be though.

• 37:33Lewis Howes?

  Oh man, so water skiing, I didn't know that was possible.

• 37:37Speaker 01

  Oh yeah.

• 37:37Lewis Howes?

  I thought it was like, they just made lakes and then gated it so there's no animals in it going.

• 37:44Speaker 01

  Oh, no, no, no, no, no.

• 37:45Lewis Howes?

  I would never go in it. I would never go water skiing in a lake.

• 37:48Speaker 01

  There's gators in every lake in Florida.

• 37:51Lewis Howes?

  And people are skiing.

• 37:52Speaker 01

  And there are 13 foot gators there. Remember when that?

• 37:55Lewis Howes?

  How do you get in the water?

• 37:56Speaker 01

  There was a kid that got attacked in, in Disney. And everyone was like, can you believe it? I go, 100%. Yeah, we are. We never went to a lake at night. Never went to a lake at night. They're sitting there waiting for you with the little eyes. You never went in a lake at night? Mother. No. And then our oceans, New Smyrna Beach, shark attack capital of the world. Of the world. Dudes get bit on the reg. Come on. All the time, all the time. Shark attack capital of the world. Google, just Google aerial view of Florida beaches. And then type in sharks and you will see one fat dude from Pennsylvania, sit in the water and 90 sharks around him.

• 38:36Lewis Howes?

  Holy cow.

• 38:36Speaker 01

  90. You will see, there was a dude that was going kiteboarding. Kiteboarding failed. Sharks just ate him.

• 38:42Lewis Howes?

  Come on.

• 38:43Speaker 01

  That's Florida. So when you grow. Up in that, when you grow up in that, I think it creates a different person. Little bit of anxiety, little bit of anxiety. Like I'm hyper aware of sharks. I'm hyper aware of gators. Hyper aware of the, the, uh, weather. I'm literally, dude, I knew dudes that got struck by lightning. I knew one dude that got struck by lightning twice. In Florida? In Florida. Holy cow, man. Dude, it, lightning was very real. And our parents would just drop us off on the golf course at like 10 o'clock. The paws of the air just. And be like, and be like, you guys play two rounds of golf and we'll grab you at four. And you play one round of golf, go in, get a root beer, get a, get a cheeseburger. Then you come back out, play another round, and that's when the rain comes in. Anyone from Florida right now is going, oh, it starts raining around two or three. Every day it rains and two or three thunderstorms roll through.

• 39:28Speaker 01

  Every day in the summer and our parents just left us out with steel rods and go, go in this field. Good luck. Hopefully I'll see you at four. It was, dude, I, I'm trying. I wish I could work a bit out of it. I think you're working on it right now. This is good, man. True that like, you start realizing, I was on a hike with, uh, I was on a hike with my daughter Isla. My daughter Isla says some really insightful things sometimes in her own little weird way. How old is she? I don't know. Um, she's 16. She's 16. And, uh, and she, uh,

• 40:04Speaker 01

  she's hyper aware of like, of like snakes and spiders, especially black widow spiders are really bad in the valley. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I just moved to Studio City. Oh, oh, brother. Take your Adirondacks and flip them upside down. You'll see little white balls underneath it. It's all the, it's all the babies. It's all the black widow spider webs. That's where they put in your Adirondacks. Oh, man. If you have one of those Stop at Rock City little mailboxes, all, I mean, they're bad. So we're in Hawaii with the family and we're on a hike and we're with this guide. And he is like super like casual and Isla is everywhere. And, and he's like very laid back. It was like he got really high and he was like, he's like, I'm not going to do the Hawaiian accent because it'll sound, it won't sound Hawaiian. It'll just sound racist.

• 40:48Speaker 01

  He's like, um, well, I don't even know what it sounds like. And he says to, and Isla goes, aren't you worried about snakes? And he goes, we don't have snakes in Hawaii. She goes, you don't have snakes in Hawaii? And I went, no. She goes, well, that explains everything. And he goes, what? And then she looks at me, she goes, I've been wondering why this guy's so relaxed. He didn't grow up with snakes. And she goes, can you imagine that, dad? Never worrying about a snake. And then I thought, just casually, every time we play softball in our front yard and my ball, the ball rolls under the bushes and you stick your hand in there, it's that Flash Gordon moment where you're like, am I getting bit by a snake?

• 41:24Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 41:24Speaker 01

  Like, and my whole life. And if you grow up in Hawaii and you just, hands in bushes.

• 41:30Lewis Howes?

  You put your whole face in there.

• 41:31Speaker 01

  The whole face. I wonder what's back here. Hey, let's flip these rocks over.

• 41:35Lewis Howes?

  This is hilarious, man. Uh, here's what I'm fascinated by. You've got three shows, you know, you've got three, essentially two podcasts, a YouTube show. I don't know how you do those three. You got a Netflix special right now, which is hilarious. You got The Machine movie in theaters and you got a world tour coming up. I don't understand how, you were mentioning before we started about how you aren't really doing therapy right now because every day you're talking about yourself.

• 41:58Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 41:58Lewis Howes?

  How do you manage?

• 42:01Lewis Howes?

  Really stay healthy, happy, uh, keeping up your relationships while doing so many incredible projects all at once and having to be on to promote them all and, and come up with great, you know, promos and hooks and just be on constantly. How do you manage it all?

• 42:16Speaker 01

  Well, it's, it's in, it's interesting. So like, so the hardest part is that all, all the promotion stuff is, is a hat you wear. Like it's, it's, your brain is in that mode and, and staying healthy is, is oddly enough is not, and I'm not the most healthy guy in the world, but like, it's like cough.

• 42:36Lewis Howes?

  Even like mental health and just, you know, relationship health and.

• 42:39Speaker 01

  So I try to stay super grounded in like just how lucky I am. Like I, it's gonna super sound super silly, but like, Rob Dierdak did this, talked about this.

• 42:47Lewis Howes?

  I love Rob.

• 42:47Speaker 01

  He's, he talks about this, like, uh, quantifying his happiness one day.

• 42:51Lewis Howes?

  Yep, yep. He measures it all, every day.

• 42:53Speaker 01

  It's, I'm not that guy.

• 42:54Lewis Howes?

  It's unbelievable.

• 42:55Speaker 01

  So I draw, I draw a lot of inspiration from people that are totally not like me at all. Like.

• 42:58Lewis Howes?

  Like David Goggins and Rob Dierdak and.

• 43:01Speaker 01

  Yeah. And, and Cam Haynes and, and like, you know, I can't do, um, half a marathon every day like Cam does, but one day I just go, and I'm going on full cam. Let's go half a marathon today. Let's just do 12 miles on the treadmill. Let's have fun.

• 43:13Speaker 01

  Rogan is a great inspiration. Jesse Itzler. He's great. I just texted him with him last night. I think I'm gonna do this. Are you gonna Hell in a Hill? Yeah. No, no, no. I'm gonna do the run. Twenty nine oh two nine or the all day running? The whatever the one is in Georgia. The party one, dude. It's gonna be a blast. And so, um, so from Rob Dierdak, I got this. I actually figured out, I heard of gratitude my whole life. But I figured out how to quantify gratitude. Really? Yeah, I started keeping this thing called a happiness journal. I started writing down things that made me happy and then writing down things that didn't make me happy. And then going like, okay, let's identify the happy things. And then let's start doing more of those, even if there's stuff that's out of my comfort zone, super silly, like, super easy to quantify. I was like,

• 43:56Speaker 01

  I know making dinner for my breakfast for my daughters makes me very happy and having breakfast with them makes me even happier. One morning, I know that I read that, wrote it down in my happiness journal. One morning I'm hungover. It's seven in the morning. Girls are in the kitchen and I hear them and I'm like, I'm going back to bed and I go, hold on. I've proven that making them breakfast makes me happy. So let's just take them breakfast. I get up, I make them breakfast. We start laughing. I kind of forget that I'm hungover entirely. George is like, you wanna go for a hike? And I go, I know that makes me happy. We go for a hike and then I go for a hike and I feel amazing. And I'm like, and so, and then I started listening a little more to Rob Dierdak and I can't apply everything he does because I'm not totally that guy. He's, he's very down then.

• 44:40Speaker 01

  But I really started quantifying gratitude and trying to be grounded in gratitude. And, and, and place that gratitude and, and, and understand that anything from the outside is just stuff from the outside and like, and like, and for as far as mental health, I, I stay off all social media apps. Like I don't really like, I don't read comments and I don't read, I stay away from it and it'll creep in at times. Like you can't help it. Sure. Like you'll, you'll slip in and you're like, God dang it. Like, uh, like YouTube and I'm like, and I'm, I'm so promoting myself. I'm everywhere right now. Mm hmm. I can't open an app without seeing your face. I'm everywhere and I'm so, I'm like, I'm like, okay, so I've been totally off my phone entirely. I've, I like, I, I almost entirely.

• 45:22Speaker 01

  And then, uh, and just, and my wife's pretty regular, like pretty regular, like, like yo, be a dad right now. And so.

• 45:30Lewis Howes?

  She's grounded.

• 45:31Speaker 01

  Yeah. And, and I, and I'm, I'm very, as far as like, everything else, like I, I wake up every morning at probably like six in the morning and I work out really hard. I have a trainer. That comes to my house and I work out really hard. Um.

• 45:42Lewis Howes?

  Not as, not as hard as, uh, Wahlberg, but.

• 45:44Speaker 01

  Not as hard as Wahlberg.

• 45:45Lewis Howes?

  No, we gotta do it at forty five class, though.

• 45:47Speaker 01

  Dude, I'm in. I'd love to. I would love to. Um, but, uh, and then, so when I have that hat on to promote, promoting stuff, the problem is when you get, when you're doing stand up, you gotta put on a totally different hat where all you think about is jokes all day long.

• 46:01Lewis Howes?

  One's a marketing hat, another one's an actually entertainer joke, performance.

• 46:05Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 46:06Lewis Howes?

  Full hour hat, which is a whole nother skill set.

• 46:08Speaker 01

  Well, it's a whole nother skill set and it's, and it's, and it's, uh,

• 46:13Speaker 01

  and it's all kind of found a little bit. Like for me, my material's a little found. It's not like crafted. It's more like I stumble on something and then.

• 46:21Lewis Howes?

  And you roll with it.

• 46:22Speaker 01

  Yeah. And then I, and then I roll with it. And so, and that for me, I just gotta book spots and that's the hardest part is you work all day long. Last thing you wanna do is go to a club and wait until midnight to go on. But like I, I do that, like when I go to Austin to do our podcast, I'll do Rogan's Club and then, and then I'm off the grid. I'm not, I don't have to feel like I'm away from my kids.

• 46:41Lewis Howes?

  How do you set yourself up to get in the pocket when you're on stage? Like if you could remember the times where you're like, man, I was just in the zone, the flow, the pocket. Was there a process for getting in there that day or that hour before, or that week that allowed you to get the, the best possible chance? Cause obviously you got the energy of the crowd. You gotta deal with other situations, but for you to be in there where it's just like, man, this is, everything is landing. What does that process look like?

• 47:09Speaker 01

  Um, you can never, even on your like best day, we're like, man, I'm, I'm firing hot all day. Wait till this happens on stage. You still bomb. And then you're like, wait, where did that come from? Um, and then on days where you're like, I'm not feeling it. I don't wanna go to the club. And then you have like the best day of your life. The only, on the road, I have a little bit of a, of a schedule. I like to work out around four. I like to take a nap around five thirty. I like to wake up at like seven. I like to start drinking coffee around seven thirty. Um, I don't have coffee all day long. I like to have it right before I go on stage. That's, that's really helpful.

• 47:45Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 47:46Speaker 01

  Yeah, a cup of coffee is really helpful. I heard nicotine really helps too. A lot of my friends are all using nicotine before they go on stage or while they're on stage. Um, but I, I'm not gonna do that, but uh, coffee right before I go on stage really helps. Um, I have little things that I do like. So if I'm, if I'm pretty thick in an hour, like say sixteenth month, month into, you know, eighteen month run, month run of getting ready for an hour. I like to get drunk or high when I go on stage, like, like, pretty lit.

• 48:12Lewis Howes?

  Why is that?

• 48:12Speaker 01

  Cause it's nice to fuck up what is a very rote material, like, material that you've been doing.

• 48:18Lewis Howes?

  Oh.

• 48:18Speaker 01

  This is my beginning. This is my thing.

• 48:20Lewis Howes?

  Interesting.

• 48:20Speaker 01

  It's good to be a little fucked up and be in a club, not in a theater, but, be a little fucked up and screw things up because it forces you to think on the fly and it forces you to rethink things that were like, it's, it's, it's almost like, like, painting blind and just, and then taking the blindfold off and going, oh, well, what is that? Um, as some of my best bits were bits that were doing just fine. And then I tried them once drunk and they go sideways. And then I'm like, wait, I gotta fix that on the fly. And then I go, wait, if I took this bit and you're thinking, it's forcing you in the moment. Yeah, I like to do that. But for the most part, I really enjoy.

• 48:58Speaker 01

  Um, uh, this is gonna sound not like the answer anyone wants to hear. But like a little structure and I don't like to be drunk on stage. I like to be sober on stage. I like to have coffee on stage. I don't mind having a drink on stage, but uh, to go on stage drunk is never like a winning recipe for me.

• 49:14Lewis Howes?

  Right. And how do you keep your confidence up? And how do you build the confidence, keep it up? If something's not going your way on stage?

• 49:21Speaker 01

  Oh, that's, that's part of the, I don't know this, I don't know if this is fool's gold, but like that's, you, you kind of need things to not go right on stage to be, to know you're going in the right direction.

• 49:33Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 49:34Speaker 01

  Yeah. And anyone who's killing every time they go on stage is not, they're not taking enough chances.

• 49:39Lewis Howes?

  And not risking.

• 49:40Speaker 01

  Yeah, you gotta risk things and you gotta, you gotta fail and you gotta fail epically at times and you gotta fail like.

• 49:47Speaker 01

  Like it took me, it took me like a solid year to get the machine story to work at all.

• 49:53Lewis Howes?

  You kept trying and it just wasn't working.

• 49:55Speaker 01

  Dude, we're talking about, this is back when I toured clubs. So we're talking about six hours a weekend, working 40 weekends a year. And it, and then at the end of that year, I kind of got it where it started working.

• 50:06Lewis Howes?

  Cause you're doing what 10, 15 minute segments?

• 50:08Speaker 01

  No, no, no, I was doing an hour.

• 50:10Lewis Howes?

  An hour, six times a weekend.

• 50:11Speaker 01

  Six times a weekend.

• 50:12Lewis Howes?

  Holy cow. And it wasn't for a year, it wasn't landing.

• 50:16Speaker 01

  Wasn't landing.

• 50:17Lewis Howes?

  How do you, why do you keep doing it when you know?

• 50:19Speaker 01

  Cause you know it's there. You know it's there. You know it's there.

• 50:22Lewis Howes?

  Even though it's bombing every time or there's no last.

• 50:24Speaker 01

  There's always something, there's always something where you go, this is got, like it's, it's a, I had a joke about Confederate statues that I'm still never told on a special, but it was a really, I knew there was something there. I didn't know what the joke was, but I knew there was something there and it, it was like nine different ways of racist before it got to work, but I knew something was there. And when I finally solved it, I went, I got it. And it's a great joke. It's a great joke. And if it is anything, it's very progressive. But you got it. It's, you gotta figure out the ones that, you gotta just break the eggs to make the omelet. You can't just, you can't just make an omelet with no shells anywhere.

• 51:02Lewis Howes?

  Is there any joke that you've thought was there that you haven't figured out yet over the years?

• 51:07Speaker 01

  Oh yeah. Oh, there's, yeah, there, there's a bunch. Uh, yeah, there's a bunch.

• 51:11Lewis Howes?

  And you, do you still feel like it could be there?

• 51:13Speaker 01

  Oh, there's one I figured out, uh, last weekend, Austin, that I've been chewing on for like 10 years?

• 51:21Lewis Howes?

  Come on, 10 years you've been thinking about it?

• 51:23Speaker 01

  10 years.

• 51:24Lewis Howes?

  And then you tried every now and then, once every couple of years?

• 51:27Speaker 01

  I got it and it would get, it would get like a smack. The, the statement in and of itself was working. But nothing around it was working.

• 51:34Lewis Howes?

  Ah, the punchline was working, you mean, or like?

• 51:37Speaker 01

  No, the concept, the concept, the concept was, was there. I just couldn't figure out how to tell it. And I, and it was, and it was based on a true story. And I couldn't figure out the thing and then, and I'd always had it. And I remember I said it to this girl one time and he laughed hysterically. He's like, is that a bit? I was like, no, but I, I said it at a Chinese New Year's party and it killed when I said it. And then I told him the story and he goes, shut the up. And he's like, are you doing that? I was like, I can't get it to work. Cause you tried it in the club. I tried it and it just came off. You you gotta find, there's sometimes with some jokes, especially, you know, anything a little edgier. You you gotta, you gotta find the lubricant to get it there.

• 52:21Speaker 01

  And you gotta find the like, the friendliness like. I had another joke, I did, there's two jokes in this, in this new hour that. One I wrote. Probably. I mean, the kid, the the child that it happened to is now has a kid. So it had to be like. Probably 13 years ago. 13 years ago, I had an experience with this child. He's now an adult, he has a child. He's bigger than I am. And and I had an experience with him 13 years ago that made me giggle. And and and I, and then, and I, and I knew the, the word that he used to talk to me. And then my wife one day said something about. How she had dated a cousin. And and found out at a family reunion and I was like, huh?

• 53:05Speaker 01

  And she said something that made me laugh, like what her dad said to defend it was hilarious. And then I was like, oh, if I can marry, okay, I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna tell these as one. So you just, you know, it's, it's almost like. Keeping like really good notes about your ideas. And then going back and going like, oh, that, that, that can work now, or I'm a better comic. And now I can get that to work. And that's a lot of it is like. You've got more reps now. You get, you become a better comic and you can figure this, there was a story that happened to me. There was a story that happened to me. Um. When I was, when I was 25 years old.

• 53:43Speaker 01

  That was just a hilarious story. It was a, it was a, a simple interaction, a phone call. And that was it. I tried telling it. Tw- 25 years ago.

• 53:56Speaker 01

  And nothing. And the other night I told it in Austin and Mark Norman came up to me and goes, "That's the best story I've ever heard you tell."

• 54:02Lewis Howes?

  Come on.

• 54:03Speaker 01

  Swear to God.

• 54:03Lewis Howes?

  Now, is it a better story because you told a better story? Or is it because you are who you are? People love you. They know you. They, they, they think it's funnier because you've got the platform and the specials and the movie and you're just a funny guy.

• 54:19Speaker 01

  I, I think you get, I think you get more confidence on stage. I think it's exactly as funny as it was 25 years ago. It's the same story. It hasn't changed at all, at all.

• 54:27Lewis Howes?

  It's more your energy that you bring to it?

• 54:29Speaker 01

  I think it's your energy and I think you, your confidence. Like, look, if you watch Dave Chappelle, who's the greatest at what we do, he's changed. He's grown as a comic to now he can, he can open a show singing Prince. He opened a special quoting Prince and you're just like, whoa, that's amazing. Whereas maybe if he did it 20 years ago, you would have been like, what the fuck you doing?

• 54:50Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 54:51Speaker 01

  Um, yeah, I think you'd be, I, I remember Louis saying that you become a better comic and then you look at bits that you couldn't get to work and then you're like, oh, I can get that to work.

• 54:59Lewis Howes?

  Interesting. So is building, is building confidence for you all about the reps? Or is there other ways to build confidence, especially in the world of comedy?

• 55:07Speaker 01

  I think it's about the reps. I think it's about getting competent on stage and being really comfortable on stage. I think as young, as a young comic, I came in going like, I'm going to be aggressive. I'm going to be this. I'm going to be that. And then I got older and I was like, oh, I don't need to be that guy. I can be a guy who tells you just what his life's about and talks about his own personal experiences.

• 55:26Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, there's some, there's some great people that do that on stage today in your mind. And I don't want you to single anyone out because I know there's lots of great comics, but, and people just in comedy, but who are two or three that really inspire you today? Or maybe that resonate with you in a special way, um, today?

• 55:44Speaker 01

  Uh, well, I mean, David Tell's my favorite comic there is. David Tell's the best comic that's. I was talking to Segura about him last night and he was like, you know, he's in Austin and I went down. He goes, I just went down to watch him. He was like, and I said to him, I forget how great you are and I'm on tour with Dave on Fully Loaded and I just, I do it because I like watching him. His brain is so different than anyone's. And he's such a master at our craft. Chappelle's, Chappelle's. I mean, that's, it's hand in hand is those two. Chris Rock. Chris Rock's the reason I got into comedy, you know? Yeah. Bring the pain. Oh, my God. And then there's a ton of other ones, you know, that are fantastic. Bill Burr's brilliant. I mean, he's brilliant.

• 56:26Speaker 01

  Brilliant. I mean, legit brilliant, you know, like, like there's no like, there's in there and there's a ton more. I mean, Nate Bargatze, Mark Norman, Shane Gillis, there's dudes younger than me that I go, watch out, these guys are monsters. Yeah. And you like, Nate Bargatze can get, can get you to laugh about eating, like he can tell you about eating a cracker and you cry laughing.

• 56:49Lewis Howes?

  What is the thing that most, that you're the most proud of? That maybe a lot of people wouldn't think you're that proud of, or they don't know about something maybe that you don't talk about too much that you're really proud of, whether you do, you've done, or you haven't done.

• 57:03Speaker 01

  Uh, this is so stupid.

• 57:07Speaker 01

  So sometimes you, sometimes you see something you did and you go, oh, I forgot. Like I'm, I'm pretty funny. Like, like, like, cause you forget, like, you do it, you do a special or you do a movie and you, you know, you, I, I did this thing called, what will the maid think? When I was working on Travel Channel? I would leave hotel rooms.

• 57:28Lewis Howes?

  The maid, what would the maid?

• 57:29Speaker 01

  What will the maid think? That was a hashtag I'd use. And I'd leave hotel rooms in interesting fashions. I'll show you some on my phone and, and, and every now and then I'll see one and I'll, and I'll go, I forgot that was me. Like that's legit. Funny. That's legit funny. And I would do it and I would make myself giggle. And then I would laugh throughout the day about it and I'd leave a hotel room like it, leave a nice tip. But I would laugh hysterically and so every now and then I see it and I go,

• 57:57Lewis Howes?

  What would the maid think?

• 57:58Speaker 01

  What will the maid think? And I see them and I go, so, and I forget, and I forget, oh, that's me.

• 58:09Speaker 01

  So like, I'm gonna say, okay, this was the very first one I ever did, okay? Very simple. Oh my gosh. I just put my shoes behind the curtain and left. Holy cow. Right? Every now and then I go, like, I'm so self-promoting so, so much, especially with all these projects. That every now and then I'll see something, something that will show up and I'll go, "Sometimes I was just funny just for funny sake." Right. Sometimes, like, some of the most brilliant things are the things that no one really knows about, but you did it for yourself. I, I look at that and every now and then I go, "I was just a funny dude." Like a really... Organically funny guy. Yeah, like when I talk to my friends from college and they tell stories about me, the ones that I'm not telling everyone else, you know, like... You're just doing it.

• 58:54Speaker 01

  Like, it was, I remember we had, we had Theta homecoming. And we were in chapter. And so they told us the other night, they were like, "Do you remember when you got kicked out of chapter, out of Theta chapter?" And I was like, "I definitely remember."

• 59:08Speaker 01

  The president said, you know, "We got homecoming coming up," but I made a joke. And everyone laughed. And he was like, "Hey, let's not, we're trying to get through this for real." Theta homecoming, and I made another joke. And he goes, "Hey, I'm being dead serious. I hear one more joke about Theta or homecoming, and you're out of here." And it's quiet. And he sits down, he goes, "All right, are we ready to start?" And under my breath, I go, "Two Thetas walk into a bar." And the place, and I was like, "But you forget about these, like, when you, when you were genuinely funny, not for a TV show, not for a, not for..." Social media. Social media, not just, just being funny. And everyone doubled over and, and, and it was just for that group.

• 59:52Speaker 01

  I, those are the times where I like, when like people tell stories about me that I grew up with or from something and they're like, "Do you remember that?" And I'll be like, "Oh, man."

• 1:00:01Speaker 01

  That's what like I saw that. I saw that what would have made thing and I was like, and I did it and I just posted it. I just would never, there was no viral thing when I was doing that. Travel Channel hated it. And uh.

• 1:00:13Lewis Howes?

  I think you should bring that back. Well, I like that. Bring that back to Instagram.

• 1:00:16Speaker 01

  Uh, man, when I was, when I was good at it, I was good.

• 1:00:20Lewis Howes?

  Oh, man, I like that a lot.

• 1:00:21Speaker 01

  I was good. I. I was, I.

• 1:00:24Lewis Howes?

  That's a good.

• 1:00:25Speaker 01

  I haven't done it in forever.

• 1:00:26Lewis Howes?

  Dude, you gotta bring that back. This tour.

• 1:00:28Speaker 01

  What happened is the hotels started expecting it. So I get to my room and there'd be thirty towels, forty-five pillows.

• 1:00:34Lewis Howes?

  Oh, wow.

• 1:00:34Speaker 01

  A ton of toilet paper. They'd be like, leave us something. And then I'd be like panicked.

• 1:00:37Lewis Howes?

  Anxiety of like, ah, how do I outdo the last one?

• 1:00:40Speaker 01

  And then they started doing it to me. I'd get there and my bedroom was placed by a whitewater rafting raft. And they'd have mannequins all over my room.

• 1:00:46Lewis Howes?

  Kinda cool.

• 1:00:46Speaker 01

  It was a.

• 1:00:47Lewis Howes?

  Good content now, though.

• 1:00:48Speaker 01

  Yeah, well, caverns of the winds, I think, you know, that happened.

• 1:00:52Lewis Howes?

  I mean, that should be on this next tour.

• 1:00:54Speaker 01

  I, yeah, I wish.

• 1:00:54Lewis Howes?

  Next tour.

• 1:00:55Speaker 01

  I live in a tour bus now.

• 1:00:57Lewis Howes?

  Right, right.

• 1:00:58Speaker 01

  I'd be doing it to myself.

• 1:01:00Lewis Howes?

  I'm curious, uh, I'm curious about. There are so many great comedians that bring laughter and joy to the world, but there must also be a dark side to comedy or to comedians. There must be. Pain that comedians go through, suffering, sadness, loneliness, insecurities, doubt. Can you speak about the dark side of comedy, if there is that?

• 1:01:21Speaker 01

  I, I mean, look, I, I don't, I don't, I don't wanna dictate how people think about comics, but. I think there's something inherent in every comic. Where he felt like a, he or she felt like a little bit like an outsider. Looking in, maybe a little bit of bullying. That happened.

• 1:01:41Lewis Howes?

  They were bullied.

• 1:01:41Speaker 01

  Yeah, they were bullied or, or they felt like an outsider. I always felt. I still in this business, always felt like an outsider, right? Yo, yeah, I definitely, I never had like. Industry like praise, like the industry was never, when I was young, I was never on the top ten comics to watch. I was never. Given the half hour Comedy Central special when everyone got them. I, I kinda always had to make my own way. Which I think is inherent in every comic. You feel like you have to make your own way and. I think everyone, I, I don't, I don't know if I have like a real sincere darkness. I don't think I do. But I know I deal with anxiety and I deal with like a little bit of OCD and I don't, I'd say depression, but not really, like not someone who's watching now goes, I have it. I go, I don't have that. I was bullied, you know, a fair amount as a kid.

• 1:02:25Speaker 01

  Just regular back school then, like 1980s bullying that happened and uh,

• 1:02:32Speaker 01

  but I think every comic has a little bit of an outsider's view, I think. And that's why they're funny is they see things a little bit differently than everyone. And you don't want your kids to go through it. You don't want any kid to go through it. But sometimes you'll see a kid going through stuff and you'll be like, that kid's gonna be a great comic. Really? Oh yeah. Where you're like, so wait, so wait, like, like, I mean, I remember, and it's just like, just little things that, that, that set an example on you where you're like, here's how we're dealing with life. Like I had closing ceremonies for Little League Baseball and I didn't make the All-Star team that year. I was young. That year I was young. I was in the young kids group.

• 1:03:08Speaker 01

  And there was an All-Star game that day and the coaches were like, hey, we need your uniform. I was like, huh? He was like, you can turn in your uniform. I was like, I'm not keeping this? And he's like, no, no, no, we keep them. Turn it in. And I was like, probably don't, uh, all I have is a Speedo on. He was like, he was like, well, that's what you're wearing. And so then for an entire All-Star game, I had to watch an All-Star game in a Speedo. Knee-high socks, stirrups, cleats, a glove and a hat. And I, like, I was Magic Mike. And I was like, And you're like, what, six or seven years old? Eight. And I, They wouldn't let you take it home, bring it back tomorrow? I was, I was, might have been 10 because I, I was an 11. 11 is when I got my teeth knocked out and I was on the All-Star team that year. I was 10 years old. How did that let you take it home?

• 1:03:49Speaker 01

  I just sat there and I had to watch a whole All-Star game. I sat in the toilet by myself in the bathroom at Forest Hills Baseball. And I sat there just like mortified, mortified that I was, I was like, no one else is wearing Speedos. No one else is wearing this outfit. And I'd walk around with people like, what's up with this? I'd be like, ah, what's up? How you doing? And I think that, you don't want that for your kid. No. But if you want your kid to be a comedian, you need to have a couple of those. Couple of those moments.

• 1:04:13Lewis Howes?

  Do you think if comedians?

• 1:04:16Lewis Howes?

  In general, uh, went to therapy consistently. Worked on healing the traumatic events from the past. Would they be funnier or would they be less funny?

• 1:04:25Speaker 01

  Oh, you'd be funnier. It's stuck on you. It's stuck on you forever. I'm in, I've made my therapist literally spit coffee out of his nose. And then I write it down. I'm like, I'm talking about that on stage.

• 1:04:34Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 1:04:34Speaker 01

  Like, yeah, you, it's stuck on you forever. The way you see the world is different, especially when you're a comedian. Once you become a comedian, your brain shifts into a different, different parallel universe where everything's a joke. Everything's a joke. Uh, you're looking for the joke in just about anything. Uh, you're at a funeral and you're thinking, what's funny about this? I mean, I was, I, my grandmother was dying. Uh, she was having congestive heart failure and I'd never seen my uncle or my dad cry. And they called me up and they're like, yo, grandma's dying. And I was like, okay. And then I come over to the hospital. And so I get there and both men have their heads in the curtains because they're holding back emotion. And my grandmother's laying there and she goes, Bert. I said, Grandma, how you feeling? She goes, not good. My back hurts. And I said, well, what do you want me to do? She goes, would you rub it? No, yeah.

• 1:05:19Speaker 01

  And I go to rub her back and I'm looking at my dad and my uncle. And they're looking at me going like, it's so, they don't have what I have that I can hold it together and give her comfort. And they're both looking at me. And then I said, Grandma, I think someone dropped a tissue behind you. So I'm breaking up a tissue behind your back. And she goes, that's my skin. And I watched my dad and my uncle just.

• 1:05:45Speaker 01

  He's like, he's rubbing the skin on the back. And they start laughing and then I'm laughing and we're all three laughing our. And she goes, rub it harder. And my dad's like.

• 1:05:57Speaker 01

  The three of us are crying.

• 1:06:00Lewis Howes?

  Oh, my gosh.

• 1:06:01Speaker 01

  But even in that moment when my grandmother's dying, I go, I remember saying, well, I'm a better comic. That'll be a bit. Like, I'm not ready for that now and I'm not ready for it soon. But if one, when I figure it out, you know, like when my dad dies or something, you know, like when, like it's got to be. Gotta be later.

• 1:06:19Lewis Howes?

  Man, how do you, how can you tap into vulnerability though? Or is that a thing that?

• 1:06:24Speaker 01

  Dude, I sit in vulnerability. I sit, I live in vulnerability. I put myself out there.

• 1:06:29Lewis Howes?

  Sure.

• 1:06:30Speaker 01

  So much.

• 1:06:30Lewis Howes?

  But I mean, but I mean emotionally. Are you able to sit in vulnerability without it being a joke at the same time?

• 1:06:36Speaker 01

  I lay in vulnerability. I tell everyone, everything about myself, every aspect of my life. I say everything on podcasts.

• 1:06:43Lewis Howes?

  Mm hmm.

• 1:06:44Speaker 01

  I tell them everything. I tell them my wants, my wishes, what I like, what I, literally everything. And I, and I hope that people are responsible with it and gentle. Um, some people aren't. Some people, you know, take that as like you show a little bit of your neck and they go for it. And some people appreciate it and they're like, yo, thanks for talking about what you're talking about. Thanks for talking about anxiety. Thanks for talking about your drinking. Thanks for talking about you and your wife's, uh, sex life. Thanks for talking about your shortcomings as a dad. I really appreciate that. Other people are like, yo, he's a dad and he's just some alcoholic who tells the same story. You, you hear those and they, it hurts your feelings and you go, I guess I, it's my fault. I've overshared. I, I've overshared. I've given them.

• 1:07:23Lewis Howes?

  Ammunition.

• 1:07:24Speaker 01

  I'm giving ammunition to hurt me and, and, and I, I have to live by that sword and die by that sword. I just know that when you do connect with someone and, and maybe you take someone from a place that isn't so great. So like a little bit better place by being open. And I know there's comics that have done that for me on podcasts. I know that they have. Rogan has. I know that's invaluable. And so you just hope that, you hope that you're, you're, you're flooding the market with good. And you're helping more people than, than you're helping. I just, I don't know.

• 1:07:54Lewis Howes?

  This is hilarious, man. I'm so glad you've been open and sharing today. You've got, uh, the machine movie, which is out now and people to go watch that. Uh, the, the FX special is hilarious. Razzle dazzle. Make sure you guys check it out. If you want to see the sexiest man on stage shirtless, check it out. World tour coming up. You know, you got all your podcasts. We'll have everything linked up. How can we, before I get to the final two questions, how can we be of best service to you today?

• 1:08:19Speaker 01

  Just, just, I don't know. I don't know. I hope you like me. And that's the saddest part is like they would talk about vulnerability. Cause I just want people to like me and like, so I hope you like me and I hope you enjoy this conversation. Or I hope you draw something from it and I hope we made you laugh a couple of times. And then if you like it, this is, this is the rub.

• 1:08:38Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 1:08:38Speaker 01

  If you liked it and you go, I wouldn't mind seeing more of that guy.

• 1:08:41Lewis Howes?

  Absolutely.

• 1:08:41Speaker 01

  Come see me live. That's what I do for a living. I do live comedy. That's my thing. I do live comedy. I'm on tour with Fully Loaded until mid-July.

• 1:08:52Speaker 01

  I'm on Topsoff World Tour from beginning of September till the end of December. I'll be touring the world again. Uh, check out my specials and, and check out my movie and just see me live. That's the thing I do.

• 1:09:05Lewis Howes?

  Where can I get tickets?

• 1:09:06Speaker 01

  Go to bertbertbert.com. Go to bertbertbert.com. Three bert's, B E R T, cause four would be ridiculous.

• 1:09:12Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 1:09:13Speaker 01

  Go to bertbertbert.com. You can get tickets.

• 1:09:15Lewis Howes?

  All the tour dates are there, everything.

• 1:09:16Speaker 01

  All the tour dates. We've got a full stacked schedule for the fall. We've got my cruise. We've got Red Rocks coming up.

• 1:09:23Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 1:09:23Speaker 01

  Uh, and Fully Loaded, I bring, I'm bringing 26 comics out on the road with me. We're alternating dates and having a blast. Live comedy is really important. I think people, it's, it's, it's going into a moment right. It's having a moment right now.

• 1:09:35Lewis Howes?

  It's huge.

• 1:09:36Speaker 01

  And I, I love it. I love it. The first time I saw it live, I was blown away and I was like, this is the most amazing thing in the world.

• 1:09:41Lewis Howes?

  Um, this question I ask everyone at the end, it's a hypothetical scenario. Uh, imagine it's your last day on earth, many years away.

• 1:09:48Speaker 01

  You live, dude, so you're just so we're giving you a heads up.

• 1:09:50Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 1:09:51Speaker 01

  If you do not want to see a grown man cry, turn the [__] on. I'm telling you, I get really emotional. I don't know what's wrong with me, but I get really emotional, especially when you think about like towards your end of life or any of these things like. So I'm just giving everyone a heads up. Okay? Cut it off right now. Stop watching. Stop watching and go watch some, uh, some, uh, base jumping video.

• 1:10:15Speaker 01

  I've been thinking about the end of life, yeah.

• 1:10:17Lewis Howes?

  Imagine you live as long as you want.

• 1:10:19Speaker 01

  Ooh, I love that.

• 1:10:20Lewis Howes?

  Live as long as you want.

• 1:10:21Speaker 01

  This is a great question, I'm not crying now.

• 1:10:22Lewis Howes?

  And you accomplish all your dreams.

• 1:10:24Speaker 01

  Yeah, well, I'm, by the way, I've already accomplished a lot of dreams I didn't know I'd have.

• 1:10:27Lewis Howes?

  Right, but it's the last day, hypothetical scenario in the future. And for whatever reason, all the content you've created has to go to another place. It's not in this world anymore. It goes with you, or it's erased or something, right? This conversation, all your specials, and everything you create from here to then, for whatever reason in this world, is gone. So no one has access to your content or information anymore, but you get to leave behind three final lessons, three final truths that you would share with the world before you gotta turn the lights off for your own life. What would be those three truths that you would leave behind to us?

• 1:11:05Speaker 01

  The three truths would be

• 1:11:10Speaker 01

  life goes by way faster than you think.

• 1:11:19Speaker 01

  Slow down.

• 1:11:22Speaker 01

  That's number one.

• 1:11:29Speaker 01

  There's no place in this world for hate.

• 1:11:33Speaker 01

  It doesn't serve you. Find love, find laughter, find happiness, and bathe in that. Get rid of that negative. It does not serve you.

• 1:11:46Speaker 01

  And then the last one?

• 1:11:50Speaker 01

  Last one would be, uh,

• 1:11:54Speaker 01

  leave a mark. Leave a mark, leave this world, leave this world in a way that when you're gone, people think about you every now and then. I just drove by Buddy Hackett's house, that's where I blew out my tire. And I was still thinking about Buddy Hackett. Leave a mark, leave a mark so people think about you. Not famous, but just people miss you, and they go, God, I wish you were still around. Leave a mark, leave a mark. Yeah, those are the three types. That's beautiful, man.

• 1:12:22Lewis Howes?

  I want to acknowledge you, Bert, before I ask the final question for your realness, your authenticity, for you being vulnerable and also just being an incredible storyteller and bringing joy to the world. I think you're leaving a mark in a big way. I think your consistency over the last two decades of showing up and being of service to people in your unique way inspires people and brings them joy when they might be feeling bullied or hate or less than or whatever it might be. So I really acknowledge you for your gifts, your craft and how you share it with the world.

• 1:12:55Speaker 01

  Thank you very much.

• 1:12:56Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, of course. My final question is, what's your definition of greatness?

• 1:13:01Speaker 01

  Greatness is a

• 1:13:06Speaker 01

  greatness is a silent trait.

• 1:13:11Speaker 01

  Ironic coming from me, it isn't one you have to tell people it's something they just witnessed. They smell and they know, you know, when you see it, you know, when you see it.

• 1:13:24Speaker 01

  It's effortless.

• 1:13:27Speaker 01

  It's pure joy. And it's inspiring.

• 1:13:35Speaker 01

  And I think it's something we should all aspire to find our thing that makes us great.

• 1:13:44Speaker 01

  You don't need to be a comedian. You don't need to be a movie star. You don't need to be a rock star to acquire greatness. I grew up with a guy named Brad Rackey, one of the best pitchers I've ever seen in my entire life, went on to play in the pros. He had greatness. You don't need to be that. You can just be great at being a dad. You can be great at being a PE coach. You can be great at being a baseball coach. You can be great at being a cop. You can be great at being a fireman. And you don't have to brag to anyone. It just shows up and people can sense it and they can see it and they can smell it. And then it inspires other people.

• 1:14:19Speaker 01

  And greatness is like true beauty. It's like the purest form of beauty. And it's so soft and it sneaks up on you. And then when you're next to it, you're just like,

• 1:14:35Speaker 01

  God, you just want to stare at greatness.

• 1:14:40Speaker 01

  I've been lucky. I'm very lucky.

• 1:14:48Speaker 01

  To see greatness hit all over the spectrum. I've seen the greatest comic work. I've seen the greatest dad in the world, the greatest mom. I got the greatest wife in the world. I'm surround myself by greatness. Hoping that it elevates me to just pretty good.

• 1:15:08Speaker 01

  But yeah, greatness is sexy, man. So sexy. Seek out that greatness and then surround yourself with greatness. It's so cool.

• 1:15:17Lewis Howes?

  I hope today's episode inspired you on your journey towards greatness. Make sure to check out the show notes in the description for a rundown of today's show with all the important links. And if you want weekly exclusive bonus episodes with me as well as ad free listening experience, make sure to subscribe to our greatness plus channel on Apple Podcast. If you enjoyed this, please share it with a friend over on social media or text a friend. Leave us a review over on Apple Podcast and let me know what you learned over on our social media channels. At Lewis Howes, I really love hearing the feedback from you and it helps us continue to make the show better. And if you want more inspiration from our world-class guests and content to learn how to improve the quality of your life,

• 1:15:58Lewis Howes?

  then make sure to sign up for the greatness newsletter and get it delivered right to your inbox over at greatness.com/newsletter. And if no one has told you today, I want to remind you that you are loved, you are worthy and you matter. And now it's time to go out there and do something great.