If you’ve spent any time in the worlds of entrepreneurship, marketing, or creative hustle, you’ve felt the gravitational pull of Gary Vaynerchuk aka Gary Vee. He’s a force of nature, an individual who seems to operate on a different plane of energy and ambition. He famously took his family’s local liquor store and, through a pioneering YouTube show called Wine Library TV, transformed it into a $60 million empire. It was one of the first clear demonstrations of how personality-driven content could build a massive community and drive real business results.
That early success was just the beginning. Gary went on to co-found VaynerMedia, a digital agency that started in a conference room and has since grown into a global powerhouse working with some of the world’s biggest brands. Along the way, he became a prolific investor, a multi-time New York Times bestselling author, and one of the most sought-after public speakers. He champions a philosophy of relentless work ethic, radical self-awareness, and a deep, practical understanding of where the world’s attention is going next.
Gary and I have a friendship built on mutual respect for the hustle and the craft. We’ve shared stages and sat down for conversations on each other’s shows, from The Ask Gary Vee Show to Chase Jarvis LIVE. In one of our talks, Gary recalled pushing me to get on Snapchat years before it was a mainstream marketing tool, convinced that my creative skills would thrive there. He was right. That’s the nature of our dynamic: a constant exchange of ideas, a push to see what’s around the corner, and a shared belief in the power of going all in on your passions.
Gary’s mind moves at a million miles an hour, but his core concepts are incredibly grounded and applicable. He offers a blueprint for navigating the modern creative landscape. Here are a few of his most powerful ideas you can start applying today.
Master the Art of Self-Awareness
Gary often says that self-awareness is the ultimate key to success and happiness. It’s not about adopting someone else’s formula for hustle; it’s about deeply understanding your own. Are you a morning person or a night owl? Do you work best in intense sprints or over long, steady hours? He knows he operates in extremes, going all out for days and then completely unplugging. That knowledge allows him to build a life that plays to his strengths instead of fighting his nature. If you’re complaining about your situation, the first place to look is how you’re spending your time and if it aligns with who you truly are.
- Conduct a Time Audit: For one week, track exactly where your 24 hours go each day. Be honest. The results will reveal the gap between what you say you want and what you actually do.
- Identify Your Energy Patterns: Note when you feel most creative, focused, and motivated. Schedule your most important creative work for these peak times.
- Play Your Own Game: Stop measuring your journey against someone else’s. If you hate networking events, find another way to build connections. If you despise a certain social media platform, focus your energy on one you genuinely enjoy.
Find the Undervalued Attention
Gary’s genius lies in identifying where people’s attention is going before it becomes expensive and crowded. He did it with Google AdWords, YouTube, Twitter, and Snapchat. He argues that creators have a massive advantage because they can move quickly and produce native content for these emerging platforms. While others are still perfecting their strategy for yesterday’s platform, you can be building a real, engaged community on tomorrow’s. The key is to become a practitioner, not just an observer.
- Explore the Fringes: Dedicate a few hours each week to exploring new apps and platforms. Download what’s trending, see how people are communicating, and ask yourself, “How could my creative voice fit in here?”
- Become a Craftsman: Don’t just repost content from other platforms. Learn the language of the new medium. What makes a great TikTok video? What kind of story works on Snapchat? Master the native tools.
- Focus on Engagement, Not Just Numbers: It’s better to have the deep attention of 100 people on a new platform than the passive glance of 10,000 on a saturated one. Direct engagement is where real conversions happen.
Live in the Clouds and the Dirt
This is Gary’s philosophy on value and pricing. He believes you should either do work for your full, top-tier rate (the clouds) or do it for free for a strategic reason (the dirt). The middle ground, the land of discounts and low-paying gigs, is a trap. Doing strategic work for free can build your portfolio, connect you with incredible people, or support a cause you love. Charging your full rate affirms your value and funds your life. The $500 gig, however, rarely leads to a $50,000 opportunity.
- Define Your Full Rate: Know what your time, skill, and creative vision are worth. State it with confidence. You can always negotiate, but start from a place of strength.
- Do Strategic Work for Free: Don’t work for “exposure.” Work for free when there is a clear, tangible benefit, whether it’s a passion project that will ignite your soul or a piece that will attract your dream client.
- Learn to Say No: Politely decline projects that fall into the murky middle. Every “yes” to a low-paying gig is a “no” to finding a client who will pay your full rate or a passion project that will move you forward.
Scale the Unscalable
In a world of automation and bots, doing things that don’t scale is a superpower. Gary talks about spending time replying to individual comments or sending personal video messages on Snapchat. These small, human interactions create a massive impact. Taking a few seconds to personally acknowledge someone builds a deep, loyal connection that a broadcast message never could. He calls it the “Ricky Henderson effect,” recalling how a simple wink from the baseball player at a game made him a fan for life.
- Commit to Daily Engagement: Dedicate 15 minutes every day to personally responding to your community. Go into your DMs, your comments, and your mentions, and leave thoughtful replies.
- Use Video Replies: When a platform allows, use video or voice notes to respond. Hearing your voice and seeing your face creates a much stronger bond than text alone.
- Acknowledge People Publicly: Give shout-outs. Feature a follower’s work. When you see someone consistently supporting you, acknowledge them. Make your community feel seen, and they will become your greatest advocates.
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