The School of Greatness - Sebastian Maniscalco OPENS UP "I Struggle With My Inner Critic" How He OVERCAME Anxiety & Self-Doubt

Episode Date: July 10, 2024

Have you bought your tickets to Summit of Greatness 2024 yet?! Get them before they sell out at lewishowes.com/ticketsWelcome back! Today, Lewis interviews the incredibly talented comedian Sebastian Maniscalco. They dive into Sebastian's journey from waiting tables in Hollywood to becoming a comedy sensation. Sebastian shares his insights on perseverance, the importance of family, and the behind-the-scenes struggles of his career. He opens up about the challenges of balancing work and personal life, dealing with self-doubt, and the pressure to constantly evolve. Lewis and Sebastian also discuss the significance of gratitude and how to find joy in the moment despite the chaos of life and work.In this episode you will learnHow Sebastian transitioned from waiting tables to selling out arenas.The role of perseverance and self-belief in achieving long-term success.The impact of family support on pursuing unconventional dreams.The challenges and pressures of maintaining success in the entertainment industry.The importance of gratitude and living in the moment.For more information go to www.lewishowes.com/1639For more Greatness text PODCAST to [phone]More SOG episodes we think you’ll love:Eckhart Tolle – https://link.chtbl.com/1463-podRhonda Byrne – https://link.chtbl.com/1525-podJohn Maxwell – https://link.chtbl.com/1501-pod

Hey everyone, this is Lewis Howes and I am so excited to invite you to the Summit of Greatness 2024 happening at the iconic Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. This is more than just an event. It's a powerful experience designed to ignite your passion, boost your growth, and connect you with a community of other inspiring achievers. Join us Friday, September 13th and Saturday, September 14th for two days packed with inspiration and transformation from some of the most incredible speakers on the planet. Don't miss out on this chance to elevate your life, unlock your potential, and be part of something truly special.

Make sure to get your tickets right now and step into greatness with us at the Summit of Greatness 2024. Head over to lewishouse.com slash tickets and get your tickets today, and I will see you there. My negative voice is with me daily. This is the last day. Anybody going to come to the show? Anybody going to buy tickets?

Are you doing enough? Are you funny? Are you as funny as you were five years ago? Today we're joined by Sebastian Maniscalco. An actor, a comedian, a writer, probably one of the most brilliant performers alive. The new king of comedy. Sebastian Maniscalco. Sebastian Maniscalco.

I'm almost editing as I'm talking. Really? Yeah. If I speak more openly, I'm extremely sensitive and emotional. I tend to say things that might be a little abrupt and brash, but I mask it with humor. A lot of these moments that have happened in my career, I could have never imagined. You know, me doing a movie with De Niro and Pesci and Pacino. I wasn't really enjoying it. I was nervous. I had anxiety. It was like, can I do this? But again,

in my head, always looking at the negative. I'm done, it's over, I'm going home. It's never, oh, they're probably talking about how great I was. That's insane to think that. My mom and my dad are divorced. Mom's always gonna pick up the phone. Really? Yeah, always.

You think they're always gonna be there. I told myself I wasn't gonna get emotional, but. Welcome back, everyone, to the School of Greatness. We have the inspiring Sebastian Maniscalco in the house. Welcome to the School of Greatness. Thanks for having me on. Appreciate it. Very excited, man. You've got...

Me and my fiance were watching your comedy specials a couple years ago, and I was like, one day I got to get Sebastian on here and talk about his life. Because the more I researched about you, it wasn't just like, okay, I'm going to sell out Madison Square Garden five times in a row, which is what you've done. I'm going to sell out this arena tour around the world, which is what you've done and have all these Netflix specials and movies and TV shows. And you've become a massive star. But as I started to learn about your background, you were a waiter for seven years in Hollywood, just trying to figure out how to make a few bucks. And it was hard to get a job as a waiter for you. And what I want to know is how do you emotionally and mentally in a time and a season of life where there's no social media really back then, how do you work full time,

but also go on the road full time to make a name for yourself and go for your dreams? And I also read a quote that you said about how long you get to give yourself, your mom asked you on this dream, this crazy comedian dream when no one can really make money back in the day when you were kind of getting into it. She asked you how long you had to give to yourself until you make it. And you said, if I give myself a time limit, I'm setting myself up for failure. How did you have the belief in yourself during those early years as a waiter that you could actually make a full-time living making people laugh and bringing comedy to the world? Well, for me, I always knew I had an ability to make people laugh throughout my whole life, my childhood, with my friends, with my family. So I knew I had something there. Just like an

athlete would know that, okay, I'm faster than everybody else. I could jump higher than everybody else. I kind of had that with my comedy. I was a huge fan of standup growing up. I would watch it like game tape. Really? Yeah. I would watch. That's cool. Video after video after video, just mesmerized. How are they doing this? How are they remembering all this? I used to go to comedy clubs when I was 15 years old with a girlfriend that i had at the time who snuck knew the guy and snuck us through the back door this is in rosemont illinois uh so i had confidence now you come here in 98 you know i'm a soul i start looking for a job um i end up at the four seasons hotel in beverly hills waiting tables but i didn't come out here to wait tables but also i'm not the type of guy

to sleep on somebody's couch so i came out with 10 grand i wanted to have a cushion it's not like guns and roses he came out you know axl rose with like a guitar and $4 in his pocket. Right, right. I've always been like responsible. You know, coming out here, my mother was like, what are you going to do for health insurance? You know, like a lot of like a lot of like entertainment types don't even bother with health insurance. Like I had a Cobra plan. So it was a priority for me and my family that I was like covered with health insurance.

So, um, I got this job and then I started doing, uh, stand up wherever I could open mic nights. I took a standup comedy class just so I would, uh, have a supportive environment around me. Um, cause I didn't really do stand-up until I came out here. I did it once where I went to school at Northern Illinois University. But then... Edwardsville? DeKalb.

Okay. DeKalb. I went to school in Illinois for a little bit too. Oh, you did? Where? Principia College. Small school near Alton, Illinois. I don't even know where that is.

Our from St. Louis. Okay. On the Mississippi River. Anyways. All right. So coming out here, I was determined to learn how to do this. And I knew it wasn't going to be easy. I knew it was going to take a while.

Comedy, I heard, stand-up comedy, you don't really get your voice until maybe seven to ten years into it uh you know there are exceptions i know eddie murphy even hit it big young um but i knew that i had to really put the time and effort it was going to take it's like bodybuilding you know it's like you're not gonna you're not gonna look the way you look overnight. It takes time in the gym. It takes diet. It takes dedication. So I knew that. That's not to say that I, I want, there was one point in my life where I called my father. I go, I don't know what the hell's going on. I've been doing this for five years. I'm still waiting tables. I'm not really making any money at this. Um, you know, I'm, I was discouraged, not ready to quit, but just needed like a pep talk.

Did you have any momentum? Were you like, were people laughing at the shows you were doing? Were you getting audiences to show up? Did you build a name? Not in five years, I didn't have like a fan base. I just was bouncing around. I took a kind of a different approach than a lot of comedians. A lot of comedians come out to Los Angeles from a place that they were already doing standup, whether it be Chicago, New York, Florida. And they were like the king or the queen of that city. Yeah. It's like, oh, it's time to go. Where I came and I didn't do any comedy anywhere other than here. So I had to kind of make my bones around town, which at that time, there was not a lot of opportunity as far as standup comedy. There's not a lot of clubs here in Los Angeles compared to New York.

I think New York's got 21 comedy clubs here. It was like four major clubs, but, uh, you know, taking gigs wherever you could get them. I mean, if I had to go to Modesto for 50 bucks, which is, is a far drive I would go because they were giving me 45 minutes worth of time and i'm here locally you get 15 minutes so that extra half an hour for me was worth the drive so so you call your dad i call my dad you know he's you know i did this in college too because my first semester of college i was discouraged because of um i was i was failing i was i was i had a 1.2 grade point

average out of four my first semester because I was shocked to be away from home. I was living with a roommate that I didn't know. Just having a tough go of it, just tough. Called home, called my parents. You know, they kind of set me right just because I was ready to quit. They're like, don't quit. Stay there.

Just, you know, stay the course. So same thing here. I called home. It's not really, you know, waiting, waiting for like, just to make some money. That's all I want. I didn't want to like fame and fortune. I never got into this for fame or any money, nothing. This is something I got into strictly because I enjoy putting a smile on people's face. That's it. I think a lot of people go into some of these things for the wrong reason. Uh, and I, I was not, uh, I had a work ethic. Like I worked constantly when I was a teenager, whether it be Olin Mills, portrait studio,

olive garden, I was glazing ham and honey baked ham there was no like you know you come home from college and you get like a spring break there was none of that it was like were you working right because you got seven days to make some money what's that temp job you can get right now yeah yeah yeah i was with a temp agency anything to get money uh just because my dad is psychotic when it comes to work he's still working he's 77 years old he's a he's a hairdresser and he's still uh doing dye jobs so i'm not i'm very i'm willing to put the work in yeah so um at that at that five-year point i was just kind of a little discouraged because i didn't really see a lot of progress in the sense of making a living at this.

I was making people laugh. I just was, you know, didn't book any, go on auditions, which was awful for me. I hate auditioning. Sitting there in a room sweating and doing something that is not really natural to me. But, you know, kind of reset myself and then just said to myself, you know, you can't really look at other people's successes and say, hey, that guy got a TV show. How come I didn't? Everybody's got their own course. You might not not realize it at the time but if you're worried about other people what they're doing you're kind of taking the focus off yourself so the only thing I could really concentrate on was just being as funny as I

could be that's it that's the only thing I had control over I didn't have control over how many people were going to come to the show I didn't have control over when I was going to get paid for this the only thing I could do is like how how funny can i get myself to be and then after that hopefully that would be enough to to to start making some some a living out of it but i would say every year i found myself getting better and better and better it's not it's not it's not like i went on stage and no one was laughing. I knew I had it. It's just, when is it going to kind of turn? When is the audience going to build? When's the money going to come? The gigs, the opportunities. So when you called your dad for

that pep talk, what, what did he say to you then? You know, he just basically said, you know, the same thing he said, it was both my mom and dad said, you know, you went through this during college. You wanted to give up during college. It's dad said you know you went through this during college you wanted to give up during college it's not that you want to give up now but you know you spent five years there and nothing we have a saying in our family like the maniscalcos always have to go through the tough road to get where we want to go it's never been easy for my family never it's always been like you know if someone went from a to b we're going a b c d e and then you know then then we get there the longest way

possible the longest way possible there's never a shortcut climb every mountain yeah it's never like oh my god you know you you made you made it a year in no it's always been got to work for it. So, you know. Did your mom say, hey, I told you, like, maybe, you know, you should have given yourself a time limit or like, hey, maybe you should get a real job now. Or, hey, you know, it's like, maybe it's time to give this up. I'm just doing it on the weekends for fun. I don't think there was ever a point where my parents encouraged me to give this up. I mean, even though my mom said that in the beginning, I think my mother saw that I had an ability or a talent to do this and was super supportive. I mean, my family, coming from an immigrant family, generally speaking, the arts are discouraged

just because there's no stability, there's no health insurance. What are you going to do? Start a family. So, but my case, they were go for it, get it, pursue it. And thank God I had that support system because, you know, it's a tough road. And if you got your parents telling you, come home, and it's like everybody's against you. But I've also heard you say that your dad is like pretty critical of you too right very he was early on i think it subsided over the years because we've had some discussions where i have told my father listen because my

father is always on my shoulder whispering you know better write material because people are coming back to spend the money. They don't want to hear the same thing. You better be on your game. He's even said to me, you should do your act the same way every night from from front to back. Not a word out of place. And I'm like, Jesus, like, I don't work that way, dad. Right. He's a he's a creative, too.

He's a hairstylist. I said, do you do the same hairstyle night in and night out? I mean, you got to, like, this is. You get bored. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I get bored. I got to switch it up. But he got so intense with my, like, why did you leave out this line in this joke?

That's the funniest thing in there. I'm like, because, you know, I don't know. I forgot it or I didn't want to do it. But, yeah, my parents have been critical of what I do and also super proud of what I do. Right. So they're encouraging, but they're also like, but you could have done it better. It's like, keep going after it. We support you.

But why'd you mess that up yeah yeah there's no big head you can't get a big head in my family there's the you know they're they don't want you to and you know i'm seeing that a little bit with my kids now i mean i think you take from your parents and go this is what works well yeah works well and this is what what doesn't um but you know my daughter does a recital or my son does a game. Yeah, they're young, they're five and seven. I know that they could do better. So I see what my parents were seeing in me, potential.

You could do better. You've got to commit more. And I see that sometimes with my kids. So I get it. I get the parental concern when it comes to your kids. Sure. If they're reaching their full potential. But there's a time where, you know, I mean, I've reached a certain level of success where it's like, okay, dad, you know, something's working here.

But then also it could be the fact that they're always pushing me to do better. And he might be saying, well, it's because I'm on top of you all the time, right? It's because I'm critical of you. That's why you're successful. Yeah. You never know. Yeah. I'm curious, before you go on stage, whether it be at a local comedy store here in LA or

at Madison Square Garden, do you have a negative voice that speaks to you that day, that hour before? If so, what is that negative voice? And do you combat it with anything, any tool or strategy or mantra or personal statement to support you to overcome that negativity before going on stage? I don't have a negative voice prior to doing shows. My negative voice is with me daily like on a like on a daily

basis like what's it what's it sound like what's the voice saying to you it's it's a variety of things i mean we were talking before this started of like when's this gonna end is this the last day you know um anybody gonna come to the show anybody gonna buy tickets are you doing enough to are you funny are you as funny as you were five years ago um have i peaked this is this is constant every day yeah kind of a general general it's a kind of a general like voice in my head that are you spending enough time with your family you know what are you doing in uh what are you doing in montana at a show when your kids at a recital and that's they're never gonna be able to see that recital again that's a one moment in time that that's happening then they combat that voice with my kids are seeing me work and

when they see that, they might emulate that when they get older. Like, Daddy was working. He wasn't sitting on the couch watching TV, eating popcorn all day. Sometimes I think kids, you know, they ape the behavior of their parents. So the fact that they're seeing their father and mother work,

for me, is like you're giving them a template of this is how... And'm coming from where i come from in the north uh the northwest suburbs of chicago the midwest i grew up working middle class family we went on one vacation a year there was not a lot of abundance but we were never starving we were never you know our clothes were you know tj max marshall's that type of deal uh and i like the way i grew up i like the way that my parents you know um brought me up manners um you know we went to the chicago bulls game to see michael jordan but i was sitting in the in the obstructed view trying to look around look around yeah um so now very conscious that my kids are growing up in a

completely different environment completely different city uh seeing things that probably i've never seen as a kid um so my objective is always to tell my kids you know my daddy's working but you know what you know the fun things that we do, we wouldn't be able to do those things if daddy didn't work. And, you guys, a lot of people don't get to do these things. You know, so, you know, we go to Disneyland and we had a guided tour once. I grew up at Disneyland.

I was sitting in the line for two and a half hours right now it's it's it's it's an interesting dynamic because i work so hard to get to a place where i don't really have to stay stand in the line because i don't want to stand in the line no right and if i have the opportunity to do this to enjoy it why wouldn't i but then also i'm also conscious of my kids i don't want them to think that if they go to disneyland with another family that doesn't that that doesn't have a guide that that uh that that family is looked as lesser than or what have you so i'm i'm constantly preaching to them these lessons because very easily and i seen it like people that hey let's go to the front road and game and they don't explain to their kid that this isn't necessarily a normal thing for a lot of people in the world

sure so yeah man it's tough. It's tricky. Yeah, but I got to learn to enjoy these moments. Because if I'm always pining over, are the kids going to grow up to be spoiled? You know, like, then it's like not fun. Yeah, of course. Have you, I mean, I've heard you talk about money,

how you struggled with money and how to spend it. And, you know, you didn't grow up with abundance, but you also didn't have a horrible childhood. But it sounds like there's still a mentality today. And I think you're 51, is that right? We should be one in a couple of weeks yet. 51. It sounds like today that you're constantly thinking about,

how do I earn more? How do I make more? How do I save more? I don't want this to end. Is it going to end someday? So I have to keep working to make more money. Are you able to enjoy your money that you're making? Or is it a constant anxious feeling around making money, having money, seeing it in the bank, seeing it leave, seeing it come?

What is that psychologically for you? Wish my wife was here she's quit complete opposite she's she's a spender well she's not she's like let's enjoy ourselves rather than sit here and pine over the fact because you know what you can do this whatever business you're in whether it be tech or or you're running a pizza, whatever it is, you could always say, I'm going to work, I'm going to work, more money, more money, more success. By the time you're 80 and you're in a wheelchair and you're like, what the hell just happened? That's why we're talking about this book, Die With Zero. What are we saving for? What is the main objective with this money in

the bank what do you what are you doing with it are you going to uh start a charity foundation and pass it on to charity when you pass it on to your kids that's another thing it's like do you give your kids this type of money uh and them knowing that does that take away their motivation to do anything for themselves? I've seen this happen with a lot of wealthy families where the kids are coasting because they know, look at that. When he dies, I get this or I got a trust fund or what have you. So I just wish I could, and I'm getting better at it. I am getting better at it.

But then also too, I have no template for this. Like, I can't call my dad and go, dad, when you had this, what did you do? You know, yeah, there's other people that I could maybe confide in, but also too, you know, I've never been a guy that like, money was something that you never talked about growing up. My father often said,

don't you dare tell anybody what I make. Really? Oh, yeah. Very hush hush. To this day, I don't like to like, you know, people go, oh, how much money do you make doing a show? I don't, I'm not a, I'm not that guy. I don't, I don't, I don't flaunt what I have.

I don't, you know, if I'm doing something that's kind of special, it's special, but it's special to me and my family. It's not necessarily special to social media. I'm not the one to grab my phone all the time and go, look where we're at. You know, it's just not who I am. It's I, I, I find that behavior a little gross and, and immature. Uh, and, uh, but but i i am getting better at kind of letting loose not that i'm cheap i'm not cheap we do great things but let's for example i'm gonna remodel our house like what's the extent of the remodel yeah you could go unlimited spend yeah you could spend forever

yeah do we get a new kitchen or like once you the new kitchen, then you look at the other room. We've gone through this. We just wanted to do something, and then it starts metastasizing throughout the house. And before you know it, it's like, we should have knocked down the house. Right. So all these decisions, and another weakness that I have is decision making. I can't make decisions. There's a lot of people that just remodel.

We're going on vacation in June. We're going to go see your mother in December. Me, I sit there and I pine. And by the time I make the decision, the date's gone. You know, where are we bringing the kids on this tour? What cities? You know, well, I figure if we go from Connecticut to Florida, that's going to be a long, you know, it's like, it's like some people are just like, let's do,

and I, and I, and I look at those people and go, man, I wish I had a little bit of that in me. Wow. Do you, do you find it's hard to make decisions in your comedy career? Because you have a lot of different things going on. Do you feel like I need to say yes to everything because I don't want the money to stop coming in or I'm in a hot season right now and I don't want that to die down so I have to say yes to everything or can you make better decisions?

Yes and no on things in your career. I think career-wise, I'm a little bit more disciplined on my decision-making. Really? I don't take a lot of things. I'm not that guy. Why is that? I always want to keep my profile elevated.

I don't want to do anything that's just to do it. So when I do a TV show, this show I'm doing right now, Bookie, is an elevated look for me. It's something that I feel passionate about. It's something that I really enjoy the people I'm working with. And it kind of goes... I've worked so hard to build up my stand-up comedy to where it is. I don't want anything I do to be less than what I'm really good at.

So I don't take a lot of things that are just low-hanging fruit. Really? Like if I'm going to do a collaboration or a brand deal, not that I do a lot, but I'm going to make sure that that kind of fits within my pillars of what I do, whether it be food, family, being Italian. I don't want to do anything outside of my...

Unless it's COVID and you've got to do Zoom calls all day, right? To make money. Well, COVID hit and then I was like, it's funny because my dad always said, you don't know when it's going to end, right? Your toe could fall out tomorrow. Right. And COVID happened. Yeah.

And thank God because I was fine. You know, I thankfully had enough to get me through. I saved and, and not, I didn't even want to dip into that. So I was doing a Zoom comedy for corporations, but not like I heard people were doing like comedy with a microphone in their living room to people. Mine wasn't like that. I said, okay, how can we adjust here? And it was more of a conversation. So it was like, there was a moderator and I was funny in the delivery of me answering the questions to a group of people on Zoom. So it wasn't like cheesy. I remember the 2008, 2009, I was on my sister's couch for a year and a half. I

was planning to try to make it in the NFL. I played arena football. They got injured. And then that was the end of 2007, 2008. I had a surgery. I was in a cast for about six months. So I was sleeping on my sister's couch in Columbus, Ohio at the time. And I remember the feeling of having no money and not being able to find opportunities during 2008, 2009. I don't know if you were where you were at then. Were you still? I was at the comedy clubs. I was making a living, but I was making like 1200 bucks a week. Right.

But this is like, this is when the housing market crashed and it was just like, you know, people with masters couldn't get jobs. And I was like, I'm, you know, almost point out of college, how am I going to get a job? Uh, and I remember thinking to myself, I never want to be in this situation again when the next thing happens. So when 2020 happened, I was like, I'm ready for this. Cause I had saved and I invested. I was like, bring it, you know, mentally. I didn't like that it happened, but I was like, I am financially ready now for winter. And we were talking a little bit

beforehand. I was like, I always saved and just, you know, wrote in the backseat of, uh, you know, every plane, middle seat, cheapest flight I could get multiple, uh, connections, whatever it is to save money for years. And then I realized, okay, maybe there's a time for that, but we have to unlearn those things once we're generating more also and start using our money a little bit more. Yeah. What does your wife think about with the amount of abundance that you've created for your family over the last, you've known her for 15 years, married, I think, 10, but you weren't financially abundant

when you really met her. No, but she comes from means. More means. Yeah, than I did. So my wife is kind of used to uh being around wealth so for her i mean and and to her credit i mean when i was doing comedy clubs in addison texas on beltwine we stayed at the double tree and she was right there with me although she might have been used to staying at five star hotels she was right there with me, although she might have been used to staying at five-star hotels. She was right there with me, and she was out there selling DVDs while I was taking pictures. Really?

She was not spoiled by any means. She's just a super, super positive person, always walking around with a smile on her face. And you never would have thought she was from, you know, that part of the world. So my wife is extremely proud of what we have been able to accomplish. And I say we because she's a huge part of what I do. Yeah, you see me do stand-up, but she's working behind the scenes as well as a lot of people are to kind of create what we've created. So my wife's an artist. Wow.

And she kind of tackles all things visual with whether it be merchandising... That's cool. ...or posters or how is this going to look, photo shoots, what have you. So she's... She represents your brand. She supports the image of you.

Yeah. Wow. And she's a Virgo, and she's very, very particular, but perfectionist by all stretches of the word. I mean, like, you know, like even... She'll criticize everything in here. Well, not that criticized,

but like even you coming up with the school of greatness, like how does that look? Should we tilt it this way? Should we tilt it that way? You know, and I'm more like, eh, it looks good, you know? And she's more like, eh, it looks good. And she's more like, should we take the of

and make the other words curse it? Wants to see a lot of different ways it could be done. What's her birthday? September 6th. Okay. What are you? I'm Pisces. I hear Pisces.

I'm Marsha, but my fiance's Virgo. She's August 28th. Is she very specific? Yeah, she's an artist too. I mean, she's an actress and writer, producer. So you know what I'm going through at all. Exactly. What's the thing you love about your wife the most? What do I love about my wife?

Just the optimism, like anything's possible. but just the optimism, like anything's possible. She is super social, which I'm not. Really? And she has... Are you more introverted? Yeah, definitely. Not the life of the party. Come on.

No. If I know you, we're going to have a good time. If, you know, I don't, it takes me a while. I'm like souffle. It takes me a while to get ready. To warm up. To warm up. You're more reserved around people you don't know.

Yes, very laid back, very. But when you're doing stand-up, you don't know the audience. I don't know the audience. I feel stand-up is completely different than going to a party or going to a dinner with a group of people that i'm unfamiliar with i tend to even going golfing with three other guys i don't know or i'm i'm quiet i'm just quiet i i like to listen first before i start opening my mouth i don't like to i don't share a lot of my uh personal views or about me a lot you know like i come on these things too it's like you know how much do you share you know coming into this like you know do i do this lewis guy i'm gonna

open up to him and tell my whole life yeah i mean there's a lot of people i've seen your show you know some people sometimes they break down a little bit they get emotional i've gotten emotional i was on gail king and i i got i was crying with my my father on on an interview so it's like how vulnerable are you going to be on these things um you know i'm sure like people you you could tell some someone might have their guard up a little bit like they're not gonna like and give you a lot uh so yeah that's it's always like even in nowadays it's like i know this is gonna go out to a ton of people and you you know you say oh anything that you don't want in here we could edit out or whatever you know but like you know i'm always i'm almost editing as I'm talking really yeah Yeah, what do you think would happen in your life if you didn't edit before you spoke I mean, obviously we want to be mindful of what we're saying at all times and not just blurt out mean things

But if you spoke more openly from your heart Do you think something would change? Um, if I speak more openly I'm extremely sensitive and emotional so my fear is always going down the word like i i could cry at any moment i just want to go see if the i saw that this last week did we ball do it's beautiful yeah so it's the music and oh man, so not that I'm fearful of crying. It's just sometimes I really want to go down this road today. Um, so, and you ask, Oh, what would happen if I was unfiltered? I tend to, uh, say things that might be a little abrupt and brash, but I mask it with humor, and it comes out, you can laugh at it.

Or it doesn't come out as... I get my point across, but I make you laugh as I'm doing it. Right, right, right. But there is a part of me that could come out, if I don't do it with humor, could be a little aggressive. Like a jerk or something? I wouldn't say a jerk humor, could be a little aggressive. Like a jerk or something? I wouldn't say a jerk. It would be a little, I don't want to say inappropriate.

It would just be a little- Insensitive. Insensitive. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, makes sense. Yeah. Interesting. I've had a lot of comedians on here.

And I'm curious, who are two or three when you were kind of in the scene early on that you really looked up to that you still respect today? When I started comedy, when I came out here in 98, I really enjoyed watching Bill Burr. Man, he is funny. Funny cat. I got into the elevator of where I was living in the apartment complex. And first day I lived there, Bill Burr's in the elevator. Come on. And I was like stunned. I was absolutely stunned because, you know, you're in Hollywood.

You see these people on TV and it's a far cry from northwest suburbs of Chicago. I always thought Hollywood was growing up like, where do these people live? Yeah, but they're out in the streets. But they're out in the streets. And now I'm seeing it firsthand. Like, Bill Burr's in the elevator. So gracious. He invited me.

I even opened up. I said, bro, I came out here. I'm a huge fan. I started comedy out here and he's like you want to come to the show tonight come on he did not so he invited me to the show at the laugh factory that night first night i'm here come on i'm at the laugh first day you got to la first day shut up it's crazy i i couldn't believe it i literally couldn't believe that i ran in it was almost like kismet is like I ran into a comedian I respect

and and thought was super funny and now he's inviting me to a show so yeah he's one of the guys that was an inspiration for me and you know friends with him to this day he's comes over once in a while for the kids party so um who else did i enjoy i mean i've always been a seinfeld fan uh and then subsequently met him years ago what was that like doing the recently you did a stand-up with him with netflix yeah i did myself gaffigan and bergatzi at the hollywood bowl what's that like growing up watching seinfeld and then being on stage for after him as like the same level essentially yeah it was you know i felt that feeling when he invited me on the comedians and cars like here's a guy grew up watching oh my gosh his show and now

i looked at that show as like he was like our Johnny Carson because we didn't have Johnny Carsons. I felt like if Seinfeld thought you were funny, then you kind of like were in the club. He gave you the nod, right? Gave me the nod, like come sit down on the couch. Wow, what was that like? It was surreal.

I mean, we're whipping around Los Angeles in a 1969 Camaro. And then when I went to New York, he invited me back on the show again, and we were on Vespas, uh, going through New York on Vespas. So yeah, a lot of these moments that have happened in my career, I could have never, I could have never imagined, you know, me doing a movie with Scorsese, a guy I had posters on my wall and De Niro and Pesci and Pacino. I mean, it's really, I mean, and again, enjoying those moments when they're happening, because I wasn't really enjoying it. I was nervous. I had anxiety. I was like, can I do this?

I mean, before I got out of my trailer, I'm going, I'm going to go do a scene with Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci with Scorsese directing. I haven't acted, really. I mean, I've done a handful of things. Little skits or something. Yeah, yeah.

It's like, you know. What was that like? How did you perform? I didn't sleep for two nights before the scene and when i went to rehearse with them it was just ironically enough they took the gotham comedy club in new york and they made it the copacabana so i'm literally performing acting in the same club that I started performing in New York. Come on. Years later.

Come on. Or years earlier. In a way, did you feel more comfortable because you'd been on that stage? Yeah, I was on the comedy club. But it didn't look like the comedy club, obviously. That's surreal, man. Surreal.

And then when I came out there to meet them, I didn't know like, you know, like, to relate it to what you do, you got someone that's coming in that you're going to interview, maybe that you admired as a kid. Sure. And the night before you're almost playing these, how's that going to work when he comes in or when she comes in? Are they going to be cool?

Is it going to be good or good vibe? Yeah. How many people have a lot of people with them? Are they going to like, like, you know, the you know the setup or whatever you know that's me the night before how's this gonna work are they gonna come in are they gonna do they think that i know what i'm doing because i don't yeah um but very gracious very nice and now we're going to do the scene and then we do the scene and they all cut and de niro and pesci and scorsese get in a huddle without me i'm the only actor that they're not talking like did i do something wrong am i messing up i thought i was fired um but you know they've

done they've been working together for 40 years i got a shorthand so but again in my head always negative always looking at the negative i'm done it's over i'm going home it's never oh they're probably talking about how great i was so i don't know what that is and i don't know who thinks otherwise. Like we were talking, you seem a very positive guy and grateful and this, and I'm grateful that we get to live in Los Angeles. And I saw a 7-year-old kid who was selling candy. And I'm sitting there listening to that.

I'm like, wow, man, I sometimes, I'm about L.A. What the is going on? This ain't the L.A. I knew when I came out in 1998, look at the on the street, this and that. Crime and infrastructure. Taxes. Taxes. So I'm that guy where you're the, hey, it's sunny today.

How blessed are we? Yeah. I ain't that guy. Which, you know, people like you, I'm like, wow. It's nice to be around. It's a practice. You know, I can be in a negative state whenever I want to be. And then at the end of the day, I'm like, that's not a good day.

I didn't feel like I had a good day. Like me complaining about everything that's happening or what I don't have doesn't make me feel good. And the energy isn't supporting my fiance, my friends, my team. They're probably all feeling my energy too. And it doesn't mean just make every day positive, even when stuff's going bad. But it's also when I'm in the practice of, okay, what can I do? You know, I ran three miles this morning to make sure I get out any frustrated energy right i'm gonna lift later probably i'm gonna get in the sauna you know you're starting to do the ice tub

which you don't like i heard you complaining about that on social media you know it's like i'm doing things that i think is going to give me more peace and so it's it's a practice it's a practice i agree with you however in my line of work i am looking at to make a living almost because it a lot of what i do is is funny yeah it's true like nobody wants out too it's kind of like you know in a different way it's like how can you find the negative of things yeah like about it i went out last night and there's a service charge now on, on when you go out to dinner, it's a service charge and then tip. Right. So if I had a, I have a take on that and it's a plus tax on top of that. Yeah. Yeah. So it's a, it's a, I'm about that, but it's, it's funny.

I've realized there's nothing funny. Funny. Doesn't come from like, Oh, there's a service or that's fine's fine i'll pay it that's not like people are not gonna like laugh at that people are gonna laugh at the fact that what are they trying to do rip me you know like it it becomes humorous or like the tipping culture now it's like when you buy something at a kiosk it's like default is 25 tip yeah or you're kind of a jerk if you say no well then they almost shame you into the tip they'll turn it around they'll go hide out it's going to ask you a few questions actually a few questions why don't you just tell me it's a it's going to ask me if i want to pay you more money

right um but yeah i mean there is something to be said about living your life in a positive way and how that that positivity affects people around you because if you are positive you're right your fiancee is going to be a lot happier with you your co-workers or your employees are going to be much more happier rather than you walking around with this negative negative cloud over your head so it's and again i don't want to paint a picture like i'm walking around with like just negativity it's just my thought process is always i'll give you an example uh doctor wanted to change my appointment like we were going to go over some blood work can we can we do this 15 minutes earlier i read into that i i think oh they found something in my blood and they need an extra 15 minutes to tell me i'm gonna pass away right like really that's again funny yeah funny yeah yeah right

but like who the hell would normal people go oh yeah no problem we'll do it at 10 o'clock and why why are you switching this? Yeah. Because my blood's screwed up? Sure. That's insane to think that. Right. But that's part of what makes me, as a performer, funny.

Yes. Because I'm looking at that, and I guarantee you, other people, maybe not you, but if I say that on stage tonight at the comedy store, they'll laugh. I laugh too. Yeah. They're laughing at my neuroses. No, it's interesting. I mean, it's like I played football and I have compassion. I'm going to be careful what I say here, but I have compassion for some football players when they are trained by their coaches to be killers for three hours in practice and then all of a sudden you're supposed to switch it off and be like this almost loving zen human being when it might take a few hours when you're driving

back home where you're like still kind of got that testosterone rage feeling where you're screaming at someone in the car or you're just quick with someone or you're whatever because you've been physically pounding against another human being for hours in practice there takes time to like step into kind of almost a new identity a new personality a new human and that's not easy to do when you're trained to be a certain way and you're paid to be a certain way and you're celebrated to be a certain way and you're celebrated to be aggressive if you're an athlete like that, where you're celebrated to be neurotic. You're paid more.

It's funny. By living in that way of thinking for those hour, two hour sets that you do and then to just go back and be like, life is so beautiful. Thank you for this 20% upcharge. And you know, I'm blessed to pay taxes in California. It's like, well, I never thought of it that way.

It's funny that you put it in those terms and kind of correlating it to a, you know, a trained almost killer out there. And then he's got to come back and be like this loving husband, loving husband. Yeah. I get it. Like I'm paid to think a certain way. How do you shut that off when it comes to everyday life which for me is that's that's a you make you make a good point of it i'll definitely definitely leave here today thinking more about what you just said than and trying to apply it yeah but i'm assuming that i mean correct me if Yeah, but I'm assuming that, I mean, correct me if I'm wrong,

I'm assuming that all day you're looking for those moments. It's out before material. It's not that I'm looking, it just hits me. Hits you, but you're like, you're writing it down, you're memorizing, you're thinking about it, you're telling someone, oh, did that land? And it's just a constant, you're looking out and you're seeing it or it's hitting you.

And it's part of your daily thought process because that's what makes you funny. Otherwise, you don't just sit down for two days and say, let me think about the last three months and how I can make funny material. Yeah. Yeah. Always a hypersensitivity of what's going on around me, which could be great when it comes to being a comedian, but also could act as something as a negative because you see things maybe that

other people are not seeing yeah yeah i've run into this with my wife where you know she might meet somebody and not kind of see what i'm seeing and what they're doing or how they're behaving uh and and you know it's just like can you just like you know and i i i can't it's just like, can you just like, you know, I can. It's almost like a, it's like I relate it to an allergy. If you were allergic to peanuts and I brought peanuts in here, you are either going to start coughing, sneezing, whatever. You don't have any control of that. That's the way I look at comedians. It's like an allergy.

We react to the environment around us and we're unconscious about it. It's just, it's it's like it's like an allergy we we react to the environment around us and we're unconscious about it it's just it's happening it's like we're we're constantly having an allergic reaction to society and then you're using that yeah as material um going back to what you said you know scorsese de niro are huddling after you do this scene and you're not in the huddle. And you're thinking to myself, I'm fired. I was horrible. I can't believe I screwed this opportunity up. What happens next?

We gotta do better. They came to you? No, me, out of my head. But what happened though after that? Nothing. Do it again? All right, I don't know what the hell they said, but we're doing it again. and then as time went on over

the course of the day it's doing this the same scene over and over and over again you know scorsese would come out and give me a note joe pesci came out and he started directing me a little bit really which i was like is this am i supposed to be directed by an actor? Yeah, yeah. But I guess Scorsese, I found out later on through Joe Pesci, had said, you know, I guess Scorsese always thought Pesci should be a director because he's always got good instincts. So that was something I think worked out with them where there's a scene where I'm telling De Niro's character off and I throw up my hand.

And what Pesci had told me prior to that he goes this guy's gonna kill you in the next scene you need to leave this scene so he is so pissed off at you he's gonna kill you you can't leave here kind of nonchalant you gotta you gotta leave here with some intention piss him off yeah piss him off and again it's like wow that's a great note and but again I don't know why did i think of that even though this this show i'm doing right now bookie chuck lorry will come out and go you know what do it do it this way because your character is feeling this right now i'm like why did why didn't i think of that so he didn't have to come out and tell me that

but again that's your thought process that's my thought process you think kobe told uh his coaches don't coach me after where they do a timeout when they're losing and he's like don't tell me what to do i think michael jordan you know when you're watching him back in arlington heights and you went to to watch him the arena you think uh his coach has not given him some positive encouragement and said hey here's what i'm noticing that you didn't see because it's a blind spot yeah you think he jordan's saying screw you coach i'm gonna do it my way no i got it all figured out no yeah i mean it's like but here's where the insecurity comes in for me it's like where the insecurity comes in for me it's like i've had so much pressure on myself to to be the best and then when you fall short of it and somebody's got to tell you that's not the best

try it this way i i take it as like i should i should i should have came up but i've been i'm becoming more i'm adjusting my thought process when it comes to that because I've talked to other actors and they're saying what he's watching it on the screen to your point you're not seeing what he's seeing you're you're here he's there so he's got a bird's eye view of what's happening where you're kind of and if you're thinking about what's on the screen you're not in the flow not at all when uh you got two kids right two kids they're five and seven five and seven year so when they were like one one and a half and they were trying to walk and they kept falling over did you like scream at them and say hey you should you should have this already figured out

this walking thing no i didn't you know i mean it's kind of like you've never trained to be an actor like how are you supposed to be this like world-class actor in your first few scenes yeah i i i get it but i again i would just think that i would be able to have enough instinct to become that it's again that much is the way deniro and Scorsese in your first scenes ever. It's like, come on. You put so much pressure on yourself. You never want to be the weak link. I hear you. I hear you.

Even though you're a rookie on the football team, and you're going to go out for a pass, and you never played in the NFL before. True. You miss an open path. Boom, done. Yeah, you don't want to drop the ball. Your teammates are like, this is the pros, bro.

Those mistakes you can't make. You what i'm saying true regardless if you're a rookie or five-year veteran i think if you're playing in the same game that everybody else is playing in you have to be as equal to or greater than those those people man and and yes and also have context like hey this is my first movie they know they're bringing me in for a specific reason because i have a gift in some other area or i have an audience in some other area that can bring to this movie they wanted me for this it's not like playing the whole movie it's like a specific role so they should also give context of like your experience level. If I'm 15 and I get dropped in the NFL, I can't expect to live up to the standards of 28 year old men who are pros just because I played football for a few years.

True. But had the opportunity to like catch a pass or something. So context also, I feel like. But I hear you though, man. I did my first scene in a movie, my fiance's movie, and I was nervous, man. I was so nervous. Cause I'd never done acting before.

I don't know how to act. But I fricking trained for those four lines for like two weeks, like over and over, man. Cause I didn't want to, I didn't want to slow down the set. I didn't want to waste any time. I was like, I'm going to nail it and do the best I can. And it was nerve wracking, for sure. Yeah, but in that case, you don't do...

You're stepping so far out of the box of what you normally do. The expectations cannot be that high with you, right? They are high for me because for you yes but what i'm saying is this guy don't act the other people maybe you're your fiance or what have you i'm i'm i'm in the entertainment business and i'm going from one thing you're not acting yeah but i'm it's similar stand up i'm acting up there in a way it's similar it's not like i'm taking a huge leap outside it's not like i'm a a comedian elite and now i'm acting up there in a way it's similar it's not like i'm taking a huge leap outside it's not like i'm a comedian elite and now i'm gonna be a chef you know it's it's it's yeah it's

two different arts though it's like saying i'm gonna shoot a photograph and paint a photograph those are two different art you're in the arts but it's two different arts yeah but i think they're close enough together i hear you man, man. I hear you. This is a great conversation. I'm loving this conversation about this. So what, I also heard you talk about, earlier in this conversation, you said you are a sensitive, emotional person.

You'll cry. You cried at a movie this weekend that you watched, but you struggled crying on set with De Niro. Is that right? In a scene with De Niro? Oh God, yeah. That was tough. with De Niro. Is that right? In a scene with De Niro?

Oh God, yeah. That was tough. Why was it hard for you to cry on a scene with De Niro versus you can watch a movie and cry in a moment? What was the struggle there? With the De Niro thing, it was the

expectation that you're going to cry. Pressure. Go see a movie there's no like you just the emotion hits you this was okay you need this emotional scene you gotta cry plus during that scene i during that whole movie i had sciatic pain i had sciatic pain for two years trying to perform stand-up acting i don't know if you've ever had it, but it's just not a good feeling. It's like nerve pain on the side, yeah. Shooting.

I don't know. I had to come into that scene out of breath. And the director says, why don't you run around the tarmac and then come into the scene, and then you'll have, you know. So I'm running with sciatic pain in, like, slippers. That should have made you cry alone. That must pay. I should have.

That must pay. I'm really in a lot of pain right now. It's an agony, yeah. So I go into the scene. We do the scene. De Niro's crying. I mean, I almost became, I did become just a fan. I was just watching him like in the scene.

I'm in the scene, but in my head, I'm going, that's amazing, man. And I'm like, I got the next line. Cut. Do it again. No cry. Second scene, no cry. You did your line also, no cry.

It was a scene. It was lines back and forth and back and forth. I'm not crying. So I tell De Niro, I said, listen, I need help. I'm not crying. So I tell, I tell the narrow eyes, listen, I need help. Uh, I don't know what to do there. I was, um, okay. So we go into the airplane that was on the tarmac and I, uh, I said, I can't get there. I've never cried on film before. I can you give me some advice? He goes, well, I was going to tie up. I'm going to give you a process. There's no process.

This is, I'm just coming into this, hoping to God, I cry. And he starts to tell me, you know, what I do, what his process is. He starts talking about his kids. He starts crying as he's talking to me. Real life cry. About his family. Not fake cry, real cry. Yeah, I start crying. Watching him cry. he's talking to me real life cry about his the family's not fake cries real right yeah i stopped crying watching him cry i go i gotta use this so as as i'm i ran out of the airplane i started

running around the tarmac crying he told me think about your father and your mother, what they sacrificed for you to get to where you are. Your father came from a small town in Sicily at 15 years old, didn't know the language and started a family, bought a home. Think of all those things. So I'm like, wow. As I'm thinking about this, as i'm as i'm like thinking about this as i'm running on the tarmac going it's amazing where my family came from and where i am now and that really kind of produced a lot of emotion the problem with movie making is i did

it right i did it i cried during the scene cut do it again do it again so hard i gotta think about that again like you know like and then each cry each scene gets lesser and lesser of emotion yeah and that's why those days i've i mean just it's a it's a learning lesson now i know when you do an emotional scene you got about three three of those in you. Three takes, man. After that, it's hard to recreate that emotion time and time again. I mean, there's people that can do it. But for me, it's like we did the scene. Because you do a wide and then you close. Well, on that, we do a close-up first.

And then you kind of go from there. But my god, it was a learning experience. I mean, I'm arguably with one of the best actors who ever done it. And for him to kind of walk me through that was very instrumental in me kind of taking that and then applying some of those lessons to what I'm doing now with Bookie and other projects. comedy feels like it's really having a big moment right now in culture. I mean, it's like you can go on Netflix or any streamer and it just seems like there's specials everywhere. Everyone's on tour. People are building millions of followers on social media. And it seems like social media has created more superstars in comedy

in the last four or five years than probably in the last 20. It seems that way. How do you feel about the rise of comedy startup for so many guys in the last three to five years and their rise to success with social media versus the way you and others did it pre-social media when it was just, hey, we were on the road for 10 years making 50 bucks a night if we were lucky, working as a waiter or whatever it might be for seven to 10 years trying to get a special. What's your thoughts about where comedy is now and where some of these guys and gals are kind of really taken off with content versus before so this is an interesting question for me because you could slip into this

huh my day you could do that which i've had my moments of like is what we're seeing now on social media with these kind of, I call them like, flash in the pan videos. And then they're catapulted into, okay, you're going to go see them live now. And 2,000 people are going to show up and see, what are they going to see? I've never been to these standup shows,

so I don't know. I can't speak to like, if a guy or a woman makes it offline and then starts doing comedy live i don't even know what that looks like all i know is i know how hard it is to come up with material and and i know how much practice that this requires to be a polished seasoned comedian. I can't even imagine how the Internet prepares you at all for live performance because there's you got to do the work.

There's no like you can't jump the line. You can. But then like what happens after that? Right. You could build audience and get attention but you still have to deliver on stage gotta deliver on stage so that's number one am i am i mad at the way this is i'm mad at the sense that maybe we're not going to see or maybe this is taking away from the younger generation the course of doing night after night after night.

And maybe we're not going to see as polished comedians. Maybe. I don't know. Time will tell. You could also look at it like this. I have the same. I have social media. I have the same opportunities that they have. Right. I have social media. I have the same opportunities that they have, right? I could be utilizing social media to become the biggest comedian in the world because I not only have the act,

I also have the opportunity now to build with these videos online. for me i don't think i have found my world your lane my lane i don't know where you know i i do a podcast the pete and sebastian show i've been doing this for 12 years wow 12 years years i've been doing this 11 i didn't know many people were doing longer longer than me. We're under the radar. You're popular. We're not. Now, I've been trying to crack the podcast code, right?

With all these comedians blowing up on podcasts, right? Yeah. I'm like, geez, you just go down the list of the the theovon everyone but lee's yeah everybody but me is making it in the podcast arena right so i'm like all right what do what do we got to do on our what are we missing on the podcast what what's not what do we we've never had guests it's just it's just pete and i talking so we're like the fact that we don't have guests is that why we're still in the basement because we're not bringing in a guy or a girl with an audience that's going to make our podcast broader appeal right so we started bringing in guests

over the last year and we have yet to see see whether or not this is going to pay off. But social media is there. You got the same social media everybody else has. So you can't complain that somebody is doing well on social media and then selling tickets in an arena. You can't complain on that. But it is a level of focus, attention, and energy. And I feel like social media in a sense is its own art. It's like, do you want to spend five hours a day thinking of one video and is it going to take off or is it not going to take off? It could be a full-time job thinking about bits on social media or how you're going to start this content or whatever it might be and we only have so much energy and attention it's like do you want to be great on stand-up or

your specials or can you be great at everything i don't know that's challenging no i've heard time and time again you pick one thing and you're great at that that thing and and that's it not that's it i mean you can do other things but your energy is listen if i took my energy and said okay i got a podcast i got to do the video of the week or whatever it is i'm not writing material i'm not thinking about material i'm thinking about all these other things you look at social media you go this got 38 million views you know like you go there and going there was really no time or energy thought into this it was just kind of like it this hit like a moment and you don't you can't explain why things are popular and why things are not you'd like to

think that you know it's just like cooking if you you're in the kitchen for three, four hours preparing a meal, and somebody's in the kitchen for five minutes preparing a meal, what's going to be better, the five-minute meal or the guy that took the time? You never know. I don't know. You would think it would be the guy that took the time. But now it just seems, I don't know, I can't figure out. Even today's humor, what are people laughing at because it's so

subjective it's like you look at something online and go i don't think that's funny or you go see somebody do stand-up and go i don't get it i don't understand why this guy's got 15 000 people in the audience uh it's so subjective and to try and figure it out you you'll you'll but well i think it is the relationship they've created with their audience what makes it funny to them you know it's so subjective and to try and figure it out, you'll, you'll, you'll. But I think it is the relationship they've created with their audience. What makes it funny to them? You know, it's like, especially with kind of the online social media audiences with the content, it's like they've built a relationship of the content that they like in consuming that personality.

And then they might go to sell out 15,000 people. And for you, it may not be that funny or others. It may not be funny, but to their audience, they found a connection humor. You make a good point. Probably same with you. It's like, you know, you've captured an audience that's just like sells out everything you do. Well, the audience was, I've created it, uh, through the standup.

Yes. It's not necessarily that people fell in love with me personally. They fell in love with the stand-up. What I think is happening is these podcasts, they fall in love with the personality. Yes. Oh, God, this guy, he's going through so much stuff at home. And then he or she puts out tickets for sale,

and they go not necessarily for the stand-up, but for, to your point, oh, I have a connection with him because he farts in bed too. Right? And if the person learns how to be great at stand-up or talented enough, they should have a great career or a good career. Yeah, but to me, the stand-up, listen, you got to do it. It's just you have to do it.

And I think if you went to go see a seasoned comedian and maybe a guy or a girl who hasn't really been, you tell the difference if it's right next to, if you're eating a steak, if you're eating McDonald's and you don't have any other comparison. Tastes great? Tastes phenomenal. I hear that.

Who's one stand-up comedian that you've seen in the last five years that doesn't have a big audience, that isn't selling out arenas, but you're just like man this person has really they've got a gift they've really studied well they've put in the reps they put in the time and it's just like they are funny every time but they're not well known yet who is that i wish i could give you a name i'm not one of these guys and i i probably could have done this actually i did this

with um i said theo vaughn a while back guy was going on stage and really killing but no one really knew who he was this was seven years ago really uh so he was crushing on stage yeah yeah he he he came into his own to in stand-up like it kind of happened he was at it for a while and then he something clicked where he started doing the video contest started to go off and then the podcasting took off so that was a guy that i kind of thought that was going to to go places but i'm not a guy now now that i have a family the time is limited i used to be four nights a week yeah i mean i'll go to the comedy store tonight i'm gonna do a two two sets there, and I'm going to go home. It's not like I'm going to be hanging out watching other guys or girls perform.

Sure, sure. So I don't know who the hot person is coming up just because time. I don't have time. Yeah. What's the best piece of advice your dad has given you lately? You're at the top of your game in terms of where you've ever been in the past. There's obviously a lot of room for you to grow if you want to grow. You've sold out Madison Square Garden five times. You've got a massive tour that's about to happen here, I think, next month, Oliver.

that's about to happen here i think next month's oliver and um what is the best thing that your dad has said to you with all the success that you have at almost 51 years of age now um i i guess the the advice is never to rest on your success so and then you know my mom is going to watch this too my mom is always never talk about me she's always wondering how come she's not in the act how come you don't talk about me on podcasts or whatnot but i love my mother to death and she's also a huge part of kind of giving me advice everybody goes to my dad because my dad i always talk about him but also my mom you know my mom is my muse my mom is someone if i could get dying laughing i'm like that that i'll use that on stage that works that works my mom is a good gauge of kind of what's funny and when i call her and we get on a roll, there's nothing better than making my mother laugh. Other than my own family, when I get my mother going,

it's like because... My mom is... My mom and my dad are divorced. And my mom is living in California near my sister. And she lives alone. And I never thought my parents would have gotten divorced. Grew up in a family where laughing, and now they're not together.

So for me, to make my mom laugh, not that she's, my mom goes out more than I do. She's got friends, she's having a jazz night here, she's having a glass of wine here, nothing. But but i feel with my mother if i can make her laugh that uh it's just uh i don't know it's a good it's selfishly it's a good feeling for me because you know i never would have thought my mother would be living alone at 78 years old i thought my my parents were gonna grow old together and die together.

I never thought, here, I never thought I'd call my mom and then have to call my dad. I always thought it was gonna be, Ma, put dad on. Right. And it's not that way. And yeah, they got divorced later on in life. So for me, it was, you know,

some kids witness divorce early on. Maybe they don't know what's going on. Why is that mommy and dad? But when you have a full 35 years there together, and now you've got kids yourself. They're not coming to see your kids together. They're separately. It's separate. And it's, it's like, it's, it's, it's a tough pill to swallow just because I never perceived it doing that, that way. And, uh, you know, they still talk, but, uh, you know,

they're still, they're still in communication, but it's just like Christmas is not with the both of them. So providing laughter to her, for me, is gold. And same thing with my kids and my wife, too. What's the thing you love about your mom the most? My mom? what's the thing you love about your mom the most my mom um it's always there really it never like uh you know always mom's always gonna pick up the phone

yeah always so for me, um, I told myself I wasn't going to get emotional, but I think this is appropriate. Um, especially now that my parents are getting up in age, you think they're always going to be there. And sometimes you take it for granted. And, uh, I always try to make that a point in my head like my mom always says i said i gotta call you back she goes yeah right because sometimes i don't call her back and i should be more mindful of that but uh yeah my mom is it's gold wow that's beautiful man yeah if you could uh your parents are 70 78 77. um so let's let's do a hypothetical question here you could fast forward call it 30 years and you're

81, 80, 81. And you continue to accomplish every dream that you have imaginable in your personal career, but also in your personal life. You see your kids grow up the way you want to. You're there, you're loving all these things happen in your life. And hypothetically, if you could be your 80 yearold self for a second or see him having a conversation with you, and he could know exactly what you're about to go through the next 30 years, and he can give you three pieces of advice for you today, what do you think your 80-year-old self would say to you today about how to live the

next 30 years of your life? Wow. Uh, my eight year old self would tell me, no, first and foremost, um, stop worrying so much. Just take each day as a blessing. Don't, don't worry about what you cannot see in the future because I'm always worried about what ifs. What if this happens? What if that happens? Don't worry. Also, we would say don't work so much.

Really? Don't kill yourself working this much. Spend time with your family uh my my dad has often said he he worked too much for what you know like for what you know like he missed a lot of the childhood memories you know um so it probably told me to relax with the work, which I've often said, you know, after this tour, maybe I just go and do casinos or Las Vegas, you know, maybe pull back a little bit. This is a big undertaking, this tour for me.

It's a lot. How many cities? 94. 94 cities? 94 shows, I should say. 94 shows. How many months? From July 11th to April 10th, I think.

I should have special at the end of this. 94 shows in a couple months? Well, no, no. April to, I'm sorry, now July to April. So what was that? Eight months? Oh, for next year. Next year.

Oh gosh, I was thinking April to July. There's a dyslexia in me. No, no, no. I'm sorry. I was like. Yeah, over the course of eight months. Okay, I was thinking April to July. There's a dyslexia in me. I was like. Yeah, over the course of eight months. Okay, I got you. Wow, 90? 94 shows. So these aren't like going down the street to the comedy.

No, these are like major, you know, we're doing class. Arenas. Yeah, yeah. It's a lot of energy. A lot of energy. But what I like about it is I used to do two shows a night. Like, I used to go to a theater and I'd go, let's say... Seven out of nine or something, yeah. Yeah.

And for me, it's like, one show, give it all I got, and then leave it on the table the next night and the same thing. So going on this tour, it's not only the tour, it's the promotion behind the tour it's the it's the the selling of the tickets it's it's all that and uh for me i you know it's great it's great but maybe pull back a little bit after this and kind of enjoy the fruits of my labor, enjoy my family, and just enjoy. I did it. It's great.

I love doing this. But what's it all about? I want to get more into charity. I want to start giving back more. I might want to tackle something else. I told my wife, I go, maybe I want to go to culinary school. Maybe I want to, because I'm passionate about cooking. Not to become a chef or open up a restaurant.

Just for the love of it. Just for the love of doing something, just to do something out of pure enjoyment, not figuring out how do I monetize? You know, everything now is like, if you have a hobby, put it up online and then you could get a chef the sauce. Because, you know, like I'm kind of tired of like trying to figure out how I exploit my own personal love of life for and how it feeds into stand up.

Can I just do something to do it without not in the world no i'm making pasta tonight why can't i just make pasta and not go hey guys i'm doing that you know it's it gets to become a little too consuming of of like you know just want to just want to go on vacation and not like tell anybody I'm going on vacation. Or how do we like make people laugh while I'm on vacation? Do I have to? But no, it's like, I feel like a lot of people feel pressure to constantly be putting out

this content that I don't know, do you really need to be? I mean, I just get into like, is there any privacy anymore? I, people are in the hospital, their, their grandfather's not and they're whipping up a Facebook live grandpa's done. You know, it's like, can't we just keep the family? I don't know. Maybe I'm antiquated in my thinking, but I don't know. I just feel like. Have you ever been able to enjoy the tours, the big tours that you've done? Like you said, I'm going to finish this and hopefully I kind of just pull back and maybe do casinos or smaller, smaller mini tours or weekend gigs or whatever.

But do you think you can enjoy day by day these next nine months? Well, I told myself I'm going to enjoy it more than I ever have in the past, because in the past, you know, like, people go, oh, you sold out Madison Square Garden four times. How was that experience? I don't even remember, because I was worried about selling out Fort Lauderdale the next weekend. You know what I'm saying? Wow.

So sometimes when you're in it, you're not really in it. You're past it already, and you're not even... you're not even conscious of what's going on around you because your head might be other other places this time around because i'm bringing my family oh that's good because i'm bringing my kids i want them to like relish that's beautiful relish in this i i get more enjoyment now and i always have uh i'm i'm a big guy in hospitality i I love making people feel good. That's why I do stand-up comedy. um you know giving back to my family in a way where you know whether it be financial or whether it be educational whatever it is i just like giving and that's where i think this charity

component is going to come in after i think let's do this tour to to get more involved in the community stop about what you're seeing and go do something about it. You know what I'm saying? Like, how do I improve? Because I think a lot of times, like, what am I going to do? What am I going to do that's going to cause an impact in a problem that's so huge, you know? It's like voting, you know?

You vote for that. It's hard. Are you going to vote for that's hard you're gonna vote what's it gonna do what's my vote gonna do well you're going to how many cities 90 well 94 shows i think it's like some 80 80 some cities i mean do you have a charity component already i have a foundation called tag you're it i fund it there's no board of directors no nothing i just give money to it. I'll go on a game show. I'll play for my charity.

And then the pillars of the charity are Alzheimer's disease because my grandfather died from Alzheimer's. Veterans because my father's a U.S. veteran, a United States Army veteran. And children's education. Wow, that's beautiful. I know a lot of communities are underserved when it comes to education, and my kids are fortunate to go to private school because the L.A. school system is kind of shot. But if I could do anything to help that, that's great. But then, again, what type of impact can you make?

Well, I would love to push back on you for what you just said, because I think you're in 80 cities. You're going to be in front of tens of thousands of people most nights. You have a big impact to whether to say something before or after on stage to every city. You and your family do something for a local Alzheimer's facility or schools. Alzheimer's facility or schools and to make it a point, maybe not every city, but you're saying, hey, as a family, we're gonna go to a show up at a few of these cities to the children's hospital or to the Alzheimer's or to the old folks homes

or whatever it might be and bring joy and serve. You know, I need you as a lifeline, bro. Talking to you, it's like, yeah, what? Again, I'm sitting here, as you're saying this, I'm going, why didn't I think of that? You know, why didn't I think of having a charity component on the tour? This is why I talk about, I mean, because you're focused on being the best at what you do. You're focused on the reps of comedy, of stand-up, of promotion. You don't have all the time and energy to see the blind spots.

This is why I love having coaches. And I have a coach that supports me in almost every area of life. I don't know everything about money. How am I supposed to know about money? Like you said, growing up with the scripts that we had as kids. So I have to unlearn things and read books, find money, mentors, invest in it, you know, go to courses, whatever it might be. Same thing with relationships. My parents were fighting all the time, screaming at each other.

They got divorced when I was a teen. It was a nightmare. I left, I ran away from home to go to a private boarding school when I was 13 because I didn't want to be at home. I didn't feel emotionally safe. I didn't know about relationships. I failed in multiple relationships until I'm't feel emotionally safe. I didn't know about relationships. I failed in multiple relationships until I'm in the relationship now. And it took years of coaching to heal, to unlearn.

And I used to beat myself up and feel shame thinking I should have known better. Why didn't I already know this? But I spent 15 years shaming myself and that doesn't feel good. And so I've just learned through more self-compassion. I'm not going to know everything in the world. Let me try to surround myself with good coaches and mentors and just learn a little bit more as I go, as I feel stuck or feel like I'm going through a problem. And so I was just saying it for you because I know you have a big platform in person and you can move audiences to laugh. And when you can open someone's heart to laugh, you can get them to take action in other areas,

or at least be aware. You can get them to listen. And if you want to say a one minute message about something you care about with your charity, I think it's a great opportunity. You can bring your kids on stage and say, Hey, we're doing this as a part of our tour. We're going to these different Alzheimer's centers. We're doing kids' school, whatever it might be that you care about. I think it's a great way to enjoy this process even more over the next year. Yeah, I agree. By serving just a little bit outside of the comedy as well. So you can enjoy it and be of service and do good.

But we can talk later about it if you want more. I'm not going to coach you on this, but. No, it's a great idea. And I definitely want to implement that. And you got enough on your mind already. So maybe it's something your wife supports you with. No, no. I mean, this is something that's important.

And it would make it more meaningful. Exactly. Every time, you know, you talked about gratitude, um, and really wanting to enjoy this tour. And, and I want everyone watching and listening to go to the tour. I want to go, hopefully you're coming here in LA. August 17th. August 17th. So I got to go check it out because your standup on, um, your specials are fricking hilarious. So I want everyone to go who's watching and listening. Where can we sign up for tickets to buy tickets on the tour? So you go to SebastianLive.com.

All the tour dates are there. And going to a lot of different cities. I haven't even gone before, like Youngstown, Ohio. All right. I'm from Ohio, so that's good. Oh, okay. So, yeah, we're going to all the Boston, New York, Chicago's and Philadelphia, Fort Lauderdale's. But, yeah, San Antonio, someplace that I would perform once.

Austin, Texas, got a brand new arena. So, yeah, going to a lot of different places and Sebastian Live, Sebastian Comedy is the Instagram and the Twitter. I try and populate that with funny funny videos so people get you know get away from you start scrolling down any of these social media platforms it's depending on your algorithm and what it's feeding you off but you know uh for me i always stop on the videos that you know create a smile and not so much anxiety. And, and I don't even watch the news anymore either. So yeah, you put out,

you put out a humor and things to make people laugh. I try to put out positivity. I think that's what people should consume more of. Yeah. Things that bring a smile to someone's face. Sebastianlive.com. Make sure you guys get tickets, bring your friends,

your family. I just feel like, especially over the next six months, I think you're doing this at the perfect time as there's going to be so much chaos in the world with the election and the political season. And just like families probably like fighting with each other over like what's right and wrong and who to vote, all these different things. Like just stop fighting, go watch you live laugh bring your family bring your friends connect have fun um we we can enjoy life too yeah and you know what to reflect on what

you said earlier about um laughter and and and how popular comedy is and I think the reason is because, to the point of people bickering, red, you know, blue, and that's wrong. And the way you think is sucks or whatever it is. When you get people together in a comedy club or arena or theater,

none of that is happening. It's just everybody is laughing in unison as one for an hour. Regardless of your political affiliation, your religion, or whatever it might be, everybody at least agrees, in my opinion, for an hour, in my opinion for an hour everybody in that room agrees that this is funny right and then they leave and then they beat out of each other but but i think that's why people are looking for this people people are so inundated with all this whether it be you open up your ipad your phone you turn on the TV, you're just getting constantly bombarded by all this stuff,

and people are looking for a release, an outlet, and I think comedy is providing that right now for people. So, yeah, you're right. I think this is a great time to tour. It's perfect timing, man. I hope I'm going to message you halfway through and check in and making sure that you're enjoying the moments. I'm sure there's going to be stress and travel and all these things,

but I hope that you're enjoying it as well. And if you are watching or listening and you go and you get a VIP upgrade and you get to do a meet and greet with Sebastian, make sure to remind him to enjoy the moment and say, school of greatness. I heard you say you were going to work on enjoying the moment. And make sure to remind him in case he's not. I do have two final questions for you.

Okay. Before I ask them, Sebastian, I just want to acknowledge you. Again, this is our first time meeting. And I want to acknowledge you for your openness, your realness, and your honesty about where you're at in your life. You know, 15 years of living, ups and downs, but a lot of joy, a lot of success, and a lot of fun and fulfillment. And I acknowledge you for, there's some comedians I've had on that they want to be in comedy mode all the time, and it's fun. But I appreciate that you're able to also open your heart and talk about things you're working on, you're struggling with things that you're you know excited about and all these different things so i acknowledge you for just the real human connection that we've had and your your open and realness and um the journey you're at i just think it's a beautiful journey to watch

so congratulations on everything and i acknowledge you for for the joy you bring to so many people in the world. Very nice of you to say all those things. Very nice. My question to you is. Yeah. Is this something that I like to acknowledge you for? Is this something that you have learned from somebody else? Or is this something that you came up with to do at the end of these shows?

Or did you? Because I think a lot of times, like, I'll take some of the stuff that you told me today. Yeah. And I will repurpose it and say it like it's my own. Yeah. Right? Sure. The positivity, the gratitude, even what you're saying now i acknowledge you for i think this is a good it's a good thing to say to somebody because you know you go through an interview

and you kind of let's recap it in your own way yeah is this learned or is this something that you came up with on your own i don't know if anyone comes up with anything on their own i never saw anyone's at an end of interviews say I acknowledge you for what I'm seeing in you but I have done a lot of courses personal development work you know trainings mentors coaches and I think what I always wanted as a child was to be seen and acknowledged and I think every child wants to be seen and acknowledged for their existence and many years I didn't feel seen and acknowledged and so I overworked I over hustled I did whatever

it took to be the best in my sports so that I was never neglected. That continued in the business world after I got injured. I overworked, I over-trained. I was, you know, whatever I can do to be the best. When I hit 30, I'm 41 now, you know, I was a multi-millionaire in the bank account. I had like a little audience. I had a successful business, um, a little personal brand, but I was extremely miserable and I was chasing validation from everyone else, but I didn't have it with myself. I wasn't able to acknowledge me or see me the worst of me, the best of me and everything in the middle. And so it's been an 11 year journey since starting this show of kind of reclaiming that power and ownership of sure. It's nice to be seen and acknowledged

by others, but the real tragedy is if we work so hard on the things we love and enjoy, we don't acknowledge ourselves. And so I try to acknowledge me, you know, quietly every day and say, man, just keep doing the work. You're doing a good job. Sure. You can be better, but being consistent is a great step. And, um, I know that most people crave acknowledgement. And it's just something I started doing on the show. Again, I never saw someone do it, but I was just like, I know people want to feel acknowledged. And I want to speak into people what I see in them. So yeah, I started doing it at the end of every interview. And I just think it's um imagine a world where everyone

was able to acknowledge themselves better and the people in their lives better and you know i'm not saying like your dad never saw you or your mom never saw you they just were criticizing all the time it's not what happened obviously they saw you and acknowledged you but they saw you and acknowledged you but imagine a world where you know we can coach and empower people to level up and also see all the beauty of the side of so that's part of the journey it's a nice it's a nice touch and sometimes i don't know how to accept those acknowledgments you know like even compliments like i feel i feel like it's hard for people to acknowledge to receive to receive it yeah it's like i almost want to jump out of it i know it's very uncomfortable for a lot of people yeah it as you were saying i'm like oh another one he's doing another one you know well it's

interesting because in the more in the more i've and most people are uncomfortable and i don't do it to make people uncomfortable no i really don't but i've i've learned that most people are uncomfortable and I don't do it to make people uncomfortable. No, I really don't. But I've, I've learned that most people and comedians, believe it or not, you know, they want, or actors, they want the laughter. They want the, you know, it's, what's the, there's like a joke about comedians. I can't remember. And like actors about always needing applause growing up or something, or never having like their parents like acknowledge them. always needing applause growing up or something,

or never having their parents acknowledge them. I can't remember, but there is a stereotype of actors and comedians needing that to fuel them, to feel worthy, right? And I'm not saying you need that, but I've seen comedians struggle with receiving acknowledgement. Even when they get clapped on stage, it's like fueling something something but they still don't feel enough sometimes i don't know if that lands or if that that speaks to your industry at all but

it's what i've noticed i struggle with that at the end of my show i know some communities that stay out there and they're bowing this you know, you know, like this. Yeah, yeah, they really receive it. Taking it all in, right? Me, I want to get out of there. Thank you, off the stage. Yeah. Really. And maybe people are wanting to give a standing ovation, or maybe people are wanting to kind of

applaud the performance more. And I cut it short because laughing at me is fine, but then acknowledging me is some some switches this is interesting if you're willing to go for a few minutes on this yeah something i've learned over the years because i used to say nah like i could do better like when someone wouldn't like acknowledge me or celebrate me i'd be like yeah but what about that one thing i missed i remember i'll tell you a story. I broke a world record for the most receiving yards in a single game, 418 yards in college in one game.

17 receptions, five touchdowns, 418 yards in one game, and we lost the game. And afterwards, I'm pissed that we lost the game. I'm the last one in the shower to leave the locker room. I'm moping around. I'm frustrated. one in the shower to leave the locker room. I'm moping around. I'm frustrated. I'm angry. Everyone left the locker room. My coach comes in.

I'm literally in the shower naked. It's an open shower, you know, for those guys showered naked. Anyways, coach comes in and kind of creeps around the corner and just says, congratulations. You broke a world record today. Most receiving yards in a single game ever in the history of college football.

And no one's done this in the professional leagues either. And I was head against the shower kind of wall, the hot water running down me, again, butt naked. And I'm thinking, what? And we just lost a game. And he's like, congrats. And I'm thinking, what? And we just lost the game. And he's like, congrats. And I was miserable for a week. Like I'd done something no one in the history had ever done, but all I could focus on was like, yeah, but I dropped that one pass. And what if that was the thing that could have got us to win? It's still on me why we lost. It was like beating myself up. It took me weeks to be able to be like, oh

That's actually kind of cool that I did that and I've learned over the years that when you block someone from saying Hey, that was awesome Congratulations, what a beautiful job you did when you say nah or you block it or you don't receive it. You're robbing that person of a gift You're robbing the audience. And you're not doing this intentionally, so I'm not trying to put you down, but you rob an audience of really being like, wow, I just had my mind blown.

Thank you for giving me this hour of joy. My life was before I came here and you took me out of the darkest place of my life. Without that, I don't know where I would have been tonight. I might've been drinking all night. I might have been beating someone up. I might have committed suicide. But because of your gift,

your hard work, 50 years of life experience that you brought for this hour, you brought me joy. And if someone stands up and wants to applaud and scream, it's a disservice to rob them of that gift.

And again, I'm not blaming you or making you wrong for never doing that in the past yeah but I would again encourage you to take it in for a little longer

than you're used to yeah be willing to stand there and see what people do and just be uncomfortable for 60 seconds see what happens

at the end of the day no I'll fight through it that's my suggestion it does get quite uncomfortable I'll fight through it. That's my suggestion. It does get quite uncomfortable. I can imagine, man. It's hard to see 20,000 people just sit there and acknowledge you and like stand in your ovation and scream. It's not easy. Unless you're a narcissist, maybe then you're like, keep it coming, keep it coming.

It's like, no. If you're a decent human being being you feel like a little bit of like oh you know yeah you want to have some humility you feel uncomfortable like i understand yeah yeah because there is there is a sense of i again negative i'm thinking if i stay out there longer than i should someone's going let's just i don? Yeah, like, yeah, like, what the fuck? I hear you. And there might be three or four people that are saying that too.

You're probably going to get a few people that said, what was he out there for 30 seconds tweeting out there? You're going to see that. Yeah, yeah. You know,

you don't have to be out there five minutes, but it's like, if you stay five seconds, try to stay 50 seconds. You know, it's like, extend it

and see how you can make yourself as an experience feel uncomfortable and really receive and enjoy those moments. That would be my suggestion, but you didn't come here to get coached by me. It's a good learning experience for me. So,

but thank you for, I have to acknowledge you for giving me some nuggets and morsels of knowledge where I'll leave here and implement into my own life. That one being the, the, the charity event and another being the relishing and the applause. The receiving. Yeah. I told you before we started, my intention is to make this the most powerful conversation you've ever had.

It was damn good. I got to tell you. And to impact people around the world. Yeah. And so I have one final question for you. I've acknowledged you, you shared kind of your three lessons. If you were 80, what you would tell yourself today, you said, stop worrying. You said, don't work so much, uh, and be with family. I don't know if you said the third thing, but is there one other thing that your 80 year old self would say to your, your current self?

your current self uh take care of your health uh-huh um which i'm in the process of doing i feel like um yeah you spend money on a car you spend money on vacation why don't we spend money on becoming the most uh healthiest person you could possibly be because i think sometimes especially now getting up in to your 50s not to say that that's old but you know things parts are getting older and they're starting to fall apart i just snapped my calf muscle performing um and had to do the rest of the show limping around oh man that's tough so i don't want those things happening anymore i mean i work out it's not a workout where i come out of there exhausted i'm moving around i you know light stretching and and what have you but the workouts of like to exhaustion are not something i'm doing just because I'm afraid,

what else is gonna snap? Right. I was talking about this on Joe Rogan, I snapped two of my biceps. I ruptured my biceps. At the same time? Not at the same time, different time, but there is no trauma.

I had no trauma in it. It's not like, oh, what is that? It was like I woke up and, you know, this is what I have. And I got kids. Yeah. And I don't want to be,

I become, or I'm becoming, which I don't want to, we go to an event and it's, we went to Disneyland. My family gets on there, say hi to daddy.

I'm the say hi to daddy. Like I'm on the sidelines. Yeah. Yeah. They went skiing. I can't ski. Say hi to daddy. And I'm thinking I'm missing memories moments with my kids because what I'm not taking care of my body and I'm not, I'm not at optimal health. So my 80 year old self would definitely tell my 50 year old self, when you're my age, 80, you don't want to be stagnant and sitting in a chair. I don't want that. I don't want that. Final question, Sebastian, what's your definition of greatness? greatness i don't think you can define yourself as great i think greatness has to be from other people like you know muhammad he said he was the greatest right but that was just his kind of persona to me michael jordan is the best basketball player I've ever seen play. There's debate on that. But I think you're great when other people are applauding your greatness, not necessarily yourself. I mean, not to say that there's people out there saying I'm great, but greatness to me is i haven't you know you see something or you taste something and go i've never seen or felt anything like that so there's and i think we're throwing greatness around too much you know there's just like everybody oh he's a genius or he's the goat i did a thing a year ago

about the goat every everybody's the goat now i mean goats are there you know what i'm saying so i think if we reserve greatness for true greatness it has much more meaning than if you start throwing this word around for everything that you see. 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, then make sure to sign up for the Greatness Newsletter and get it delivered right to your inbox over at greatness.com slash 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.