The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway - The Relationship Habit That Makes You Unhappy + Living Far From Aging Parents

Episode Date: September 2, 2026

We're revisiting some of our favorite listener questions about relationships. Scott Galloway explains why he stopped keeping score in his relationship with his father, advises a listener torn between city living and aging parents, and reflects on how friendships change as money and fame grow. Want to be featured in a future episode? Send a voice recording to [e-mail], or drop your question in the r/ScottGalloway subreddit. Plus, you can now call or text Scott a question at our new Office Hours hotline: ‪[phone]‬. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You gotta try breakfast. And what better way than with a delicious pre-organic coffee? Starting with just $1 all day, every day now until December 31st. You gotta try breakfast. Participating A&W locations in Ontario. New from Nespresso. Blend wellness into your coffee routine with a coffee plus range, infused with functional benefits. Choose the coffee you love with added B vitamins,

like coffee plus B12 to half. help support immune function and coffee plus B6 to keep your day moving or go with the flow and choose ginseng delight our new double espresso with ginseng extract whatever lies ahead don't change your morning let your morning change you discover coffee plus on espresso dot com i'm Mitch purse and this week on confessions of an elite athlete i'm sitting down with mr acl for the world's greatest athletes dr riley williams is the medical director for the brooklyn nets the new york Liberty and a team physician for USA basketball. He's also the surgeon who repaired my very own ACL. We talk about how he became one of the world's top surgeons, why women's sports are seeing more

ACL tears, and what knee injuries you should be most afraid of. You can hear it all here by listening to Confessions of an elite athlete on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to office hours with Prop G. Today, we're revisiting some of our favorite questions about relationships. Let's bust right into it. Question number one comes from Reddit. Aria 1010 asks, I've heard you mentioned keeping scorecards and relationships and friendships. My question is how and why you decided to stop keeping scorecards and what helped change your mindset.

Thanks for the question, yeah. This was specific or situational or had to do with one relationship. And that is the relationship with my father. When I was eight years old, my mom came home. My mom just disappeared for a couple weeks and my dad didn't tell me why. It was the 70s, you know. I remember being on the couch watching the Partridge family. It's like my mom's been out for two weeks.

I just started sobbing on control him. My dad's like, what's wrong? I'm like, where's mom? Where's mom? I just like, it dawned on me that mom's not around. And my dad, I remember it was the first time I ever saw my dad, like, fear in his eyes. Like, he didn't know what to do and had a handle an eight-year-old, like, sobbing on control ability on his couch. I think that's when he decided that my mom should come get me. And a few days later, my mom showed up and said, pack your stuff, we're leaving. This wasn't exactly, uh, Brne Browne, Esther Perel, like child care, and said, you know, we got to be out of here in 15 minutes. And I'm like, 15 minutes. I can't pack my, it's just like, we need to get out of here. that's going to be home soon. I don't know if she was kidnapping me or just didn't want to see my dad. I don't know what the fuck was going on. Anyways, eight years old. And as is often the case, well, because my mom was taking care of me, I had a tendency to sanctify her and demonize my dad. And my dad didn't make our lives very nice. He was so extraordinarily cheap that we struggled

economically. And that is, as soon as my parents split, my dad went on to be upper middle class. And my mom and I immediately dove to the lower middle class, which was hard. And it wasn't that it was hard on me. Kids don't really need a lot of money. I was able, you know, 35 cents and Aba-Zababbar and a Schwinn bike, and you kind of got everything you need. We didn't have streaming media or iPhones. But it was very hard on my mom. And when you're the only child, especially I think the only boy, you just absorb their anxiety. I remember my mom like coming home and my mom was like on the floor sobbing because the vacuum cleaner broke. And I'm like, well, we can get a fix. And she's like, we don't have the money to get it fixed. And it was like, you're fucking nine years old. You're like,

okay, what can I do to get a paper route to get the vacuum fix? So that economic anxiety, that was a direct result of my dad being such a bastard, quite, frankly, because he could have helped us, made me resent him, and it stuck with me. As I got older, again, in college, I had no money, constantly stressed, constantly broke. Dad could have helped me, and the bottom line is he didn't. And so I was resented him for that. And now having said that, my dad was a kick in the ass. My dad was a ton of fun, funny, nice, smart. He did love me. He would make an effort. He'd be in town and he would take me to movies and stuff. So he did try. And when my mom passed away. I kind of, I think my resentment towards him grew, and I would go months, and I think

one time a year without speaking to him. And he didn't really know what was going on, but didn't have the presence to try and figure it out. And then I just sort of decided that I wanted to have my father my life and that I decided to focus on the good things. And rather than having a scorecard and thinking, okay, he did X amount, he gave me X amount of love. I'm only going to give him X amount of love. I said, well, what kind of son do I want to be? And the reality is I wanted to be a loving, generous son. And I was going to hold myself to that standard and just put away the scorecard. And that was such an enormous unlock for me because I think about what kind of boss do I want to be. If I pay someone more than they're earning, I don't, I used to think, younger, that pisses me off.

They worked here for a year. I paid them a shit ton of money and they added no fucking value. I hate that person. Now it's like if you are a boss and people get more out of working for you than maybe you get out of them or you pay them above market, that's a win. That's a victory. If you're a better spouse to your, if it is really hard for your spouse to figure out ways to be as good you is you are to them. That's a win. That's the whole fucking shooting match. That's what it means to have kids. I hope at some point my kids level up what I've done for them. It's going to take a while. I've invested a lot of my kids. I always tell them your negative surplus value. So approaching relationships from the mindset of always wanting to have surplus value and say, okay, what kind of

boyfriend do I want to be? What kind of son do I want to be? What kind of employer do I want to be? I used to get mad at CEOs of companies I invested in lost money. Now I'm like, no, I want to be a, I want to be a magnanimous, generous, supportive person. I've been on the board of a lot of companies I'm investing in where they fucked up and lost all my money and I try to be now. It's no problem. You're going to get back up. This is great. I went into the size wide open. Well done. Let me help you raise money for your next thing. That's the kind of guy I want to be. And I wasn't always that way. So decide what kind of person in every relationship, what kind of role do you want to play? And then hold yourself to that standard and put away the score card. Because the score card is incorrect. It's not accurate. It's not

accurate. And you'll always be unhappy. Now, having said that, don't be a dormant. I shed relationships all the time. On a regular basis, I decide I'm just not getting a lot out of this relationship, and I do a slow fade. Is that wrong? Well, that's what I do. But just decide what kind of person you want to be in the relationship and hold yourself to that standard and just don't measure. Put the measuring stick and the scorecard away. You're just going to be much happier. Question number two. Hey, Prof. G. This is a question about balancing career and personal pursuits with the responsibilities of being a good son. My brother and I both live in major cities far.

away from our aging parents. While we've benefited from city living, I feel guilty about the distance, especially with my father's declining health. My parents would never ask us to move. They don't want that for us. Moreover, they seem committed for staying for financial and social reasons. But I don't see how this works as they age and as they need more support. What advice would you offer young men who have chosen to live far from aging parents but worry about responsibilities that they hold as sons? Look, this is a tough one, and my general sense is it sounds like your parents have each other. It sounds like they're doing pretty well, and it sounds like you are benefiting from living where you are. So my gut is that as you get older, they're going to get sicker, and at some point, you and your brother are going to have to be pretty involved in their lives.

And I'm not saying this is the right way, but this is my way, and it's two different sides of the coin. I was much closer to my mother than my father. My mother raised me on her own. I was her top priority. You know, it was me and her against the world. So when she got sick, I actually moved in with my mom. I took nine months leave of absence from NYU. I was fortunate I had some money, some resources, and I had the ability, and I moved into a seniors community.

The Dell Webb Active Living community. True story, they sent a letter to my mom's house saying it's become clear you're cohabitating with a man under the age of 50 in violation of HOA, Del Webb community rules. And I had to go down there and say, I'm her son. She's dying of cancer. And I've moved in to help take care of them. They said, we're sorry, no problem. Anyways, and during the day, let's get this back to me.

During the day, I would manage my mom. It was her third time with cancer. She said, I said, all right, what do you want? What do you buck a list? She said, I only have one thing on my bucket list. I want to die at home. I'm like, okay, I can think I can figure that out. So during the day, I would manage her health care, a nurse.

There's certain things I just can't do for my mom. And at night, I would head down to the strip. She lived in a suburb of Las Vegas called Summerlin, and I would party with entrepreneurs and strippers and get really shitty drunk and sometimes spend the night on the strip at a cheap hotel during the week for $49. And then the next day I'd go back and hang out with my mom all day and watch Jeopardy and take her on walks and push her wheelchair and watch everyone loves Raymond and then go out again. kind of a weird time in my life, kind of a weird time. And then when those, that thing resolved, I then started my life again. And that is something that I would treasure the rest of my life,

that I had made enough money, had enough flexibility to give my mom like a fraction of the love back she had given me. That was, I will treasure that for the rest of my life. You know, these are, again, very personal questions, but some people, their reason for being, their center of gravity is family, and they want to be around their family. And if that's the case, okay, make those sacrifices. But if you're doing well, especially in a city, you mentioned the term city living. Two-thirds of all economic growth is going to be in one of 20 super cities. And what I tell young people is if you want to be economically secure, you've got to get to a city. Or you want to, if you want to be in the top 10%, much less the top 1% of economic security or influence,

you've got to be in a city. And if you're just an economic animal, which I was in my 20s, 30s and 40s, get to the biggest city in your country, get to a super city, and that's where you make your career, that's where you find opportunities. You're just in a, you're in a room of opportunities all the time when you're in a city. Long-winded way of saying the following. My gut is your parents are doing well and they have each other. My gut is you are benefiting based on what you're said from being in a city, which says to me, there's no reason you can't be close to your parents now and kill it professionally, personally, and emotionally, sticking where you are, knowing that at some point you're going to have to be more involved in their lives and that mental and economic wellness that you will accrete by that point will help you do a better job with a reduction in the amount of stress that is naturally part of the process when they get really old. In some, I'd probably stick where you are. And finally, I don't know all the nuance of the situation, so I'd have very open and honest conversations with your brother and friends or people who understand the situation and can better advise you.

I very much appreciate the question. The fact that you're even thinking this way means you're a good son. It means your parents are good people or did a good job with you. We'll be right back after a quick break. New from Nespresso. Blend wellness into your coffee routine with a coffee plus range, infused with functional benefits.

Choose the coffee you love with added B vitamins, like coffee plus B12 to help support immune. function and coffee plus B6 to keep your day moving or go with the flow and choose ginseng delight our new double espresso with ginseng extract whatever lies ahead don't change your morning let your morning change you discover coffee plus on espresso dot com dear mr president i want things to always be right between us i also know i've been distracted all week forgetting to eat throughout the days and even forgetting to sleep. I never want to bring you anything but joy.

I'm sorry I lost my focus. You are all that matters to me. I don't ever want to let you down. Thank you for being my guardian and protector in this life. I have learned so much about myself on this trip. For the first time in, I don't know how long, you forced me to unplug. I didn't have to be human printer.

Thank you for always being there for me. To modify a classic, I could not have parted with you to anyone less worthy. And, I will add, it is I who is unworthy. With all my heart, Natalie. What is going on with Natalie Harp, President Trump's Human Printer on today, Explain from Vox? Welcome back. Question number three comes from CM-14 on Reddit. How have your social relationships evolved as your financial success and fame grew?

And have you been able to maintain core friendships over the years? How do you share your success and celebrate your wins with friends and family and not make them feel uncomfortable or awkward? So my therapy is I talk to friends almost every night and also something best practice, which I only took up about 15, 20 years ago, which I wish I'd started earlier. I now don't make any significant decision personally, professionally, economically without speaking to people.

Because I have found that no matter how smart you are, it is impossible to read the label from inside of the bottle. and you just benefit so much from having a kitchen cabinet and talking through things with friends. And even if you decide to ignore their advice and make a stupid decision, I find just talking through stuff that's bothering me or upsetting me

with people who care about me and are objective and will push back on me and say when I'm wrong or, you know, supportive but honest, if you will, is really helpful for my own mental health. I guess it's a form of therapy. In terms of how friendships have evolved or not evolved, the answer you want to give is, you know,

friendship is friendship and money hasn't changed things. I have sort of two buckets of friends or three, kind of family friends or acquaintances from way back when, and then I have my college friends, my fraternity friends, and then I have friends I've sort of collected along the way. And the easy ones are the friends you collect along the way are usually you're in the same echo system, and that is there are also people who have a certain level of success who are also kind of grinding or living in New York, whatever it might be, but you're kind of all in the same way class. And that is, it doesn't matter if you're worth a hundred million or a million. As long as you're kind of wealthy, you're all sort of in the same way class, if you will.

And then there's my fraternity friends, and most of them are successful. They are, I was in a fraternity that was essentially a bunch of wealthy Jewish kids from the Valley at UCLA, ZBT, and most of them went to graduate school, a few doctors, some entrepreneurs. and to the one, they're almost all either successful or very successful. So that doesn't come up. I will say that with some of my older friendships of people where you have maybe more time in common than overlap in terms of your life today, that the disparity in economic power is apparent and can be sometimes uncomfortable. I try to be just very self-aware that I was born on third base and not evaluate people based on their economic success.

I do believe in America, if you're hardworking and have your shit together, you're going to achieve a certain level of economic success. I think any dude who is male and white and born in the 60s or 70s, if you're decent to good at what you do, you should have a certain level of economic sustainability. but those who aren't super successful, you realize a lot of that, a lot of your super success in or their lack thereof is really more a function of being in the right place at the right time.

If you are the successful, you have a debt. You have a debt to help other people have as many opportunities to try and bask in the same sunlight and the same glow and the same luck or have the same opportunities to get lucky that you had. This sounds like a fucking word salad

and I don't know the answer here. Trust your instincts. Anyways, oh. That's all for this episode. If you'd like to submit a question, please email a voice recording to OfficeHours of ProptoMedia.com.

That's OfficeHours of ProptonMedia.com. Or, if you prefer to ask on Reddit, just post your question on the Sky Calloway subreddit, and we might feature it in an upcoming episode. This episode was produced by Jennifer Sanchez and Laura Janair. Cameric is our social producer. Brad Williams is our editor. And Drew Burroughs is our technical director.

Thank you for listening to the ProphecheePod from Propvgy Media.