0:00

Hey, welcome to the Cardone

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Zone, my newest podcast where every

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week I'll bring to you a new celebrity,

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world, running the world to give you their insights,

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So get ready with Uncle G.

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You're in for the ride of your life where we're going to 10x everything

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way you act, and the way you roll every

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single day. So make sure you subscribe and

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comment.

0:29

Love to see what you're talking about. Get ready

0:32

for today's show. Wow.

0:37

So, uh,

0:40

I just, I just came in on my

0:42

jet. It wasn't a Boeing. However,

0:46

does everybody that

0:48

comes out here have the same type of intro? Like

0:51

with the fire and was that just for me? That

0:53

was just for you, man. Okay.

0:57

Okay. One thing at a

1:00

time. No, man. Really happy to, um,

1:02

to be here. Yeah, I was. Hey,

1:04

what's up, man? So

1:07

what,

1:09

what a surprise and a treat for both of us, you

1:12

know, to be able to come here to Vegas and have,

1:14

am I drunk or are we moving? Are we spinning? Okay.

1:18

Okay. Sorry. So no, what

1:20

a treat to be able to come out here. Of course, you

1:23

know, they told me

1:24

I could come and like give a masterclass.

1:27

I've given masterclass on the art of entertainment.

1:29

I hear that you really want to be an entertainer. I

1:32

do. In addition, like you want to dance and sing and

1:34

stuff like that. I do. Yeah.

1:37

All right. No, um, but a real treat,

1:39

man, to be able to come here and be

1:41

a part of this amazing,

1:43

amazing group of people, man. 10X is

1:45

strong.

1:46

10X is strong. I reached

1:50

out to

1:52

my good friend, Kevin Hart, and

1:54

he was like, no, no, no, no. That's a real thing, you know,

1:57

and make sure the money's right. I was like, uh.

1:59

Of course, of course, I get it. Get that

2:02

money from that white boy. No,

2:04

but, no,

2:08

but I'm really happy to

2:10

be able to come here and just exchange,

2:13

just to share. I think,

2:14

you know, I don't know if you've heard about Tiger 21. You've

2:18

heard about Tiger 21 in Boca Raton? Yes,

2:20

yes, yes. So this is, but Tiger 21 was the first time that I

2:22

ever went somewhere and I saw people like, like

2:25

just giving to each other. And as a Camille,

2:27

I don't know if you guys know about Tiger 21, but all

2:30

these different people from different fields, some

2:32

are managing, you know, that wealth, some

2:34

manage hedge funds, but they're all sitting

2:37

and they have this open forum where they share information

2:40

about their business as well as just

2:42

insight about life. And what I feel

2:44

when I come to places like that, it feels, it

2:47

feels similar because everybody can't afford that ticket to

2:49

Tiger 21. Matter of fact, you can't even

2:51

buy a ticket, by the way. I had to be invited. It's like

2:53

quarter of a million bucks or something. Yeah, it's crazy. I

2:55

wasn't paying that. So it

2:58

was great to be able to reap the benefits of it

3:00

as a guest and really happy to

3:03

be able to come out here and share with you. Well, hey, we're happy to

3:05

have you and, and.

3:06

Thank you, man. You're

3:10

a guy, when I watch you on TV and I watch

3:12

you, you know, watch your thing, man, I'm like, damn

3:14

it, good looking dude. Can

3:17

sing, right, ladies? Thank you. Beautiful

3:21

news, beautiful. Specimen. 10X.

3:27

And then, and then like he's a triple, he's

3:30

got all the threats going for him. Like he can,

3:32

he can sing, he can dance, he can

3:35

entertain and he's a businessman. Like

3:38

this is, this guy, this guy,

3:40

it's amazing. Chattanooga,

3:43

Tennessee, single mother.

3:47

We got some people here from Tennessee. All

3:51

right. Been working since he's what, 12 years

3:53

old? Eight? Especially,

3:56

I think I started like maybe

3:58

at eight, but I wasn't getting. properly,

4:01

you know, rewarded

4:03

for what I was doing. You got

4:05

your kids here, you know, they have chores

4:07

and you probably just don't really pay

4:10

them well, right? Okay. No,

4:12

no, I do. I do pay them pretty good. No,

4:16

but yeah, my story does start

4:18

and it's very odd to come

4:20

this far and hear someone

4:23

scream like that about Chattanooga, Tennessee because

4:25

it's...

4:28

Now we've become the awkward bunch in the crowd,

4:31

okay. No, but definitely

4:33

the spirit of Chattanooga.

4:36

Samuel L. Jackson is also two from Chattanooga,

4:40

Tennessee. And they're not a

4:42

lot of entertainers or entertainment wasn't

4:44

necessarily the thing to

4:46

think of it. As a matter of fact, the only neighbor

4:48

that we know musically is Nashville. So

4:51

if it wasn't country music, what was it? And in that time,

4:54

you know,

4:54

the forms of music that we listened to be it

4:57

R&B, rhythm and blues, you know, were

4:59

a little bit older, right? And

5:01

hip hop, it was born around

5:04

the time I was a baby and then I

5:06

found my way in time. But

5:09

Chattanooga was a hard, hard start for

5:11

me, man, because there's this... I mean, we had Atlanta

5:13

and I didn't even know anything about it until

5:15

later. Obviously, my career blossomed when I went

5:17

to Atlanta. But coming

5:20

from a single parent home, you know,

5:23

there weren't a lot of like

5:26

pluses there that were just like, okay, you can

5:28

make it work if you can. You know, you're gonna

5:30

have a nine to five job or you're gonna graduate high school.

5:33

You know, maybe one day, you know, you'll be

5:35

a... You know, you'll have a job that

5:37

can, you know, take care of your family. But

5:40

the type of ambition that was required

5:43

for me to be the type of entertainer that I am,

5:45

it was in the spirit of my mother first

5:47

and foremost, right? So as a

5:49

result of her, yeah.

5:57

And also too, in addition

5:59

to my

5:59

mother, like I'm southern, so everybody's

6:02

like, all of your neighbors are like family.

6:05

If you get in trouble, everybody is mad

6:07

at you, you know. So

6:11

having that environment, and that didn't

6:13

change, as a matter of fact, as I grew, I understood

6:15

that as a result of having a village

6:18

around you, you become stronger. Being

6:20

in an environment where people are like-minded

6:23

in terms of what they want, if they're ambitious

6:25

in music, if they're ambitious in business,

6:27

if they're ambitious in life or

6:29

whatever it might be, as a result

6:32

of being in that environment, you become a little bit

6:34

more daring,

6:35

you become obviously successful

6:38

if you can just focus on something. You

6:41

said to me backstage, you

6:45

always thought about being a superstar.

6:49

I don't hear many people claim that, but can

6:51

you share with them like what you were thinking about

6:53

the legacy, about the big usher, not

6:55

just to

6:56

get paid this week usher?

6:58

Well maybe not every person is bold enough to

7:00

tell you, but yeah, they probably

7:02

feel that way when they're singing in the shower, or when

7:05

they're singing in the mirror, or when they're making up

7:07

their face, and they're thinking about

7:09

the people who have inspired them to look

7:12

or feel or be like that, because all things that we

7:14

see, they become inspiration

7:16

for what we choose to be. And

7:18

yeah, I can

7:20

remember at the very young age of,

7:23

I think it was seven or eight, I'm

7:25

looking at footage of

7:28

Michael Jackson overseas in

7:30

some foreign country, and

7:32

there's like a sea of people and there's a

7:35

box, like this small

7:37

in the audience is an entire stadium, but

7:39

he's in this little box, I'm like how could

7:41

you even,

7:43

you can't see it from the back of the stage,

7:45

but managed to entertain

7:48

all of those people. I'm like that's what

7:50

I want to do, I think that's what I'm passionate

7:52

about, you know, I tried many different things,

7:54

I mean I couldn't try a lot, seven,

7:58

but flag football.

7:59

It was okay. Baseball,

8:02

I almost knocked out my front teeth. And

8:05

football, I just couldn't quite

8:08

develop yet, you know? I'm still working

8:10

on it. So in my mind,

8:12

I said, you know, this

8:15

is something that I'm just passionate about. I love

8:18

listening to the music on the radio and I sing each and every song

8:20

that comes on and I try to sing

8:22

better than each and every person there. So,

8:24

yeah.

8:26

So how did you know? Like,

8:28

what's the first thing you do? To

8:31

start moving in the direction of that? Vision. Just

8:34

vision, just thinking of legacy. You know, for me,

8:36

it's like, I can't think about

8:38

being,

8:39

I can't just think about, I don't know what it was. And

8:41

maybe it was, once again, that environment of people

8:44

who were around me who instilled these ideas,

8:46

these mantras in me, to think bigger

8:48

than what you can see. You know, and the access

8:51

that you guys have in comparison to what we had in that

8:53

time, I mean, I

8:55

could have only, I could say, you know, I may be

8:57

the number one artist in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

9:00

Had to think outside of the box. How could

9:02

I, if I'm gonna do this, how

9:04

do I get to that audience that I saw Michael

9:07

Jackson have in that stadium? That's

9:09

what I want. You're how old when this

9:11

is going through your head? I'm eight. Yeah.

9:17

Do you think people should be dreaming that big?

9:20

Yes, I mean. Yeah. Yeah.

9:23

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

9:27

I mean, you know, what's

9:29

wrong with dreaming? I mean, if you

9:32

shoot for the stars, you'll land on the moon. You know what

9:34

I mean? Doesn't cost anything.

9:37

To shoot for the stars? To dream. Yes,

9:40

that's true. Yes, it does. It's not,

9:43

it just, it does take focus.

9:47

And this is these mantras that I've picked up throughout

9:49

my life. It does take focus. It

9:52

does take accountability,

9:54

integrity, gratitude,

9:56

and facts matter. amount

10:00

of time on anything, I have

10:02

to become great at it. If

10:04

I can share the science of life around

10:07

the idea of what it is

10:09

that I'm trying to go after, I should

10:11

be able to succeed. So those

10:14

mantras, they carry me. And I

10:16

gathered them when I was much older. But

10:18

the idea of doing something that I felt was

10:20

integral, being

10:23

able to be accountable for my mistakes, you

10:25

know? Man, I thought I was going to win, but

10:27

I didn't. Should I give up? No, I could have done

10:29

better. What could I have done better? What

10:31

is it that I could do to make myself better as an

10:34

entertainer, as a perp? Whatever.

10:36

Those mantras, that

10:39

idea of living that way, led

10:41

me to this kind of regimented

10:44

concept of just, I got to figure it out. I got

10:46

to keep going. I got to keep going until I figure

10:48

it out.

10:50

Where did the work ethic come from? Where

10:52

did that, because your single mom, she had to be, I

10:55

imagine she's like, my mother was just

10:58

terrified, dude. She's worried

11:00

about money every day. So

11:04

who's giving you this? I

11:09

mean, there's no other option when

11:12

you feel you're at the bottom, right? Um.

11:21

If you don't invest in it, then

11:24

you can't challenge the people who are with you

11:28

to invest. It's like, OK, you're not giving

11:30

enough where you're not. I want to be the first one

11:32

there, hopefully, if I can be on time.

11:35

And I'd like to be the last person to leave every

11:37

time I do anything. Yeah.

11:40

So because you feel like that inspires the rest of your

11:42

group to say, wait a minute, he's here early. He's staying

11:44

late. Yeah. You see the work

11:47

is the investment. Work has always been

11:49

the investment. What you put in, you get out. I mean, that sounds

11:51

like a simple mantra. I think you've heard a

11:53

million or one times, right? Yeah. But,

11:56

um,

11:57

you know, it's. I

12:00

think that it's so important to find passion in

12:02

what you choose to go after as a career,

12:05

right? Because you see it

12:07

as long work hours. I see it as I'm enjoying

12:10

doing and going after what it is that I love.

12:13

So the time doesn't matter. It doesn't matter

12:15

how much time I spend. As a matter of fact, I have

12:17

to fight myself now that I'm a father, you

12:19

know, to get back, hey,

12:22

no, I got my kids. But

12:24

that time investment is like, it's such an

12:26

honor to be able to do it because I'm doing

12:28

what I love.

12:29

And how important, Usher,

12:32

because I see you giving back so much. Yeah,

12:35

give it up. How does

12:37

a guy as famous,

12:40

you

12:43

can't go anywhere in the world, right? So

12:46

how's, you can't, there's no place you're gonna be able

12:48

to go. No, it's

12:50

not really, you're right. So how

12:53

do you give back without

12:56

being exploited? Being just

12:58

taken advantage of. How

13:00

do you find the balance and

13:02

still take care of you and your legacy and your career

13:04

and your business and your brand? I

13:06

mean, I think you just choose to make the most of it because

13:09

exploiting whatever opportunity is perspective,

13:13

right? If you could choose to look at that, I

13:16

could walk out here and people not respond.

13:18

How do

13:21

I manage to find the balance?

13:25

Well, understanding that it's not just about

13:27

the goal that is accumulating

13:29

wealth or finding

13:32

ways to transfer that wealth, right?

13:35

The wealth now is my children.

13:38

So that tree is

13:41

how I find a balance. I

13:45

think that, again,

13:48

time investment, man, you

13:50

try your hardest to

13:53

do it all, but you can't. It's

13:55

like you manage your day as much as you

13:57

possibly can and realize that

13:59

at the end.

13:59

the day I want my children to

14:02

look at what I'm doing as an example for them. Alright,

14:04

so if I stick to this, maybe they're gonna find something

14:07

that they love and they're gonna stick to it as well, but

14:09

they are a priority and they're why I'm doing this because you

14:11

can make a billion dollars, have

14:14

all access and have people screaming your name all

14:17

over the world, but if you're not happy internally,

14:20

then why did you do it? Why are you going

14:22

that way? If you can't enjoy any of it, right?

14:26

No, I'm with you. And

14:30

that's what I found when I'm, you know, when I have

14:32

this conversation or these types of conversations

14:35

with people who are successful, it's like, man,

14:37

how do you how do you find balance? You

14:39

know, it's so hard to trust.

14:41

You know, I say you trust a very

14:43

specific group of

14:45

people, right? It's called the Soul Circle.

14:48

Those people who are in that Soul Circle, it's your wife,

14:50

it's your sons, your daughters, for you,

14:53

your family members, those people who you know you

14:55

are invested in continuing to grow

14:58

and because they are invested in you,

15:00

but it's not about all the things, it's not about the ancillaries

15:03

and things I say, where does it come from right here?

15:05

Passion. That passion is family. That

15:07

passion is finding beauty

15:10

in that because no matter how much money you have,

15:13

if you're not happy, you're not

15:15

happy. Yeah. Yeah. This

15:20

is a guy that's had a little bit of success.

15:23

A little bit. A lot of money. You

15:26

know, when did you first know you were

15:28

going to be a superstar? When did you know it became

15:30

real to you?

15:32

Not just in your head, but. I'm

15:35

a dreamer, so I was seven. I thought I was a superstar

15:38

already. And

15:42

let me tell you why.

15:44

At one point,

15:46

I swear to you, it was not cool to have the name

15:48

Usher. No,

15:50

literally. I mean, you guys go to church, right?

15:55

Usher? Tell

15:57

you funny stories. As a matter of fact, it's cool now.

15:59

I tell

16:02

you, when I first started, I was with

16:04

a group of kids. We were doing

16:06

something positive in our cities, an anti-youth drug

16:08

group, who would go into high schools and

16:10

we would sing and dance because we wanted kids

16:12

to have a positive alternative, not to turn to

16:14

gangs or drugs, violence

16:17

and stuff like that, right?

16:24

I feel like I'm setting myself up here because y'all clapping

16:26

already. So I

16:29

wasn't happy about my name Usher, so

16:31

I gave myself a name

16:34

in the group. My

16:36

name was Cha-Cha. Where

16:41

I came up with it, I don't know. So

16:46

I thought I had to think big. So

16:49

eventually, my mother, she

16:51

took me out of the group and

16:54

we moved to Atlanta, Georgia and my career started.

16:56

I think I'm around 11 or 12 years old. I've

17:00

been winning talent shows. We had a record

17:02

deal, so we had music and I felt

17:04

like my world was being taken away from me. She's

17:07

like, no baby, your world is only beginning because

17:09

you are a solo artist and there's something incredible

17:12

in you and I'm going to go to Atlanta with you and we're

17:14

going to figure this out. We're going to do it. I

17:16

will start all the way from the bottom. I'm like, you took

17:18

my dreams away. She's like, no,

17:20

I'm giving it to you. So

17:25

was your mom acting like a manager? At

17:27

the time, she was acting like a manager.

17:29

She was not a manager, didn't want that responsibility. Introduced

17:33

me to a guy by the name of AJ Alexander who

17:36

began to pour

17:38

everything that he had into me. He

17:40

was a bodyguard. He worked for Bobby Brown. So

17:43

he introduced me to him, introduced

17:45

me to people. I sing around town and try

17:48

to make a connection. Anyway, I ended up winning

17:50

a talent show and

17:53

met L.A. Reid, babyface, and that was the

17:55

beginning of my career. But I

17:57

meet L.A. Reid and he's like, okay.

17:59

So, well, you

18:02

know, what do you go by? I know you have a great voice, man, we love

18:04

you. You know, you have a, you know, you

18:06

look cute, you look great, man. So

18:09

we were naming ourselves, I'm Cha-Cha. He's

18:13

like, well, you know, I don't know

18:15

if there's any other ushers, but

18:17

maybe you should just be who you are. Just

18:20

be Usher.

18:21

So,

18:25

I think at that point, that's when

18:27

I all of a sudden had my blindness come

18:29

open. Yes, my ambition was there, but at that moment,

18:31

it was like, wait a minute,

18:33

I'm the only one of myself. So. So.

18:36

So. So. So. So.

18:40

So. Your name doesn't have to be Usher

18:42

in order to feel that way. We are all uniquely

18:44

one of ones. And

18:48

that time and investment that we spend getting

18:50

to know ourselves and not looking out, I

18:52

think makes us more special, makes us more empathetic

18:55

and helps us connect to each other. And

18:57

I think it also too gets to something

18:59

that's deeper and that is intention. That

19:02

is the other way that you find your way to success. When

19:04

you find purpose, you find intention

19:06

and connect to that, that's passion. So.

19:10

And

19:14

so, like, along the way, have you ever lost

19:16

your passion? Like, have you ever lost? Hey,

19:19

what am I doing? Where am I going

19:21

here? Why am

19:23

I doing it? I

19:26

think there have been times where I felt discouraged.

19:30

I don't think I ever wanted to completely give up.

19:32

I think, if anything,

19:35

I didn't feel like I had

19:37

enough family around me. And I

19:39

think this is when I began to understand that I'm

19:41

not just doing this

19:43

for the money and the diamonds and the

19:46

cars and the planes and the

19:48

things like that. That's not why I'm here. I want

19:50

to be around my family. I want to make my

19:53

family feel the same way that I

19:55

feel. I want to look over and know that I'm sharing

19:57

this success with people that I care about. People

19:59

who will.

19:59

go to war with me, people through their hard

20:02

times, and my hard times, we've been able to fight

20:04

and make incredible moments. And

20:06

that made me love it again. That

20:09

made me feel like it's worth it. I began to

20:12

just only deal with my friends, only

20:14

deal with the people whom I know I could trust, only

20:16

people who I know loved me up

20:20

or down. How?

20:23

How? How? How?

20:25

He's a great cues for business too, by the way, yeah.

20:28

This passion thing that he's talking about, you guys don't find

20:30

the passion thing, you're done. Yeah. You

20:32

gotta find your spark. You absolutely have to find

20:34

your spark, and what that is, is something

20:37

that gives you purpose. You know,

20:39

what can I offer that I feel

20:41

is necessary?

20:43

What is it that

20:45

I can do that makes me feel

20:47

love and passion no matter what? It's

20:50

like a love story. It's like I fell

20:52

in love with this thing. When

20:54

you fall in love with a woman or for a girl, a guy,

20:57

or for a guy, a guy or girl, a girl. So

20:59

complicated. You see it, it can be complicated. But

21:04

when you find that passion, you find the

21:06

center of success,

21:08

yeah.

21:11

And how do you mix that with the accountability? You've used

21:13

the word accountability accountable

21:15

three times. Yep. So how do you mix

21:17

that, oh, sensation, it feels so good, but

21:19

I need to pay bills. Yeah. So

21:23

that means I'm gonna have to work a little bit harder. I'm

21:25

gonna have to make sacrifices and

21:27

maybe not have it all right away. You

21:30

know, if for the most part, people

21:32

think, hey, you make $10, you spend $10. No.

21:36

We know that's not true, right?

21:39

So being accountable not

21:41

only for yourself, but

21:43

the team that you have and nurturing

21:45

those people. See, I make investments in people,

21:48

not just things, right? So,

21:51

thank you.

21:55

And part of that is a lot of the communities that

21:58

African American men and women. and come from are broken,

22:01

so all we have is family, right?

22:04

So I try my hardest to be

22:07

accountable for what I

22:09

know is necessity, finding

22:11

the way out, finding a new opportunity,

22:14

finding a way to change the mind

22:16

state of the world, the

22:18

people whom I not only come

22:21

from, but also to advocate

22:23

and speak for,

22:24

which is why I started my 501c3, Usher's New Look. As

22:27

a matter of fact, I have a really great story to tell you guys about

22:29

Make-A-Wish Foundation. So Make-A-Wish

22:32

was the first foundation that

22:34

I ever associated with in kids

22:36

with chronic disorders. I would come and I would

22:38

sing with them and come visit them at hospitals.

22:41

And at that point, I began

22:44

to realize, wait a minute, greater than just what

22:47

I can offer these kids, what is it that I feel is

22:49

necessary? So that then,

22:52

because of Make-A-Wish, that's

22:54

why me and my mother decided to start

22:57

Usher's New Look. And from that, I

22:59

began to mentor young men and women just like myself

23:01

who come from underserved communities about

23:04

the opportunities that are there, building future leaders

23:06

and being a mentor to them.

23:09

Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah.

23:12

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

23:15

It's Usher, man. It's fucking Usher. It's

23:19

Usher.

23:19

Mm-hmm. I

23:23

have heard everybody that's been up here

23:26

for the last two days talk about giving back,

23:28

man, finding the passion, finding the connection,

23:30

and finding an example. Examples

23:32

for me

23:33

have always been the thing that's like, I wanna be that. Like

23:36

it took a second. Like Michael Jackson.

23:39

Yep. Then you said,

23:41

hey, you saw the Make-A-Wish thing? It inspired

23:43

you. How important is

23:45

it for these people, these 11,900 people to

23:48

leave here and create success, not

23:52

for the money, but for the example?

23:56

Hmm. Well,

23:58

you gotta do what you gotta do, but at the same time,

23:59

You gotta understand the magic of waiting for

24:02

great. You gotta wait for great.

24:04

No matter if you have to put in the time

24:06

or rather you have to wait for the right moment.

24:09

I think that gratitude also too plays a

24:12

very major important part of

24:14

that as well.

24:17

For each

24:19

and every person who is

24:21

listening to us, yes, we are an example to

24:23

them again, but I go back to

24:26

you are your own example. You are one of one. The

24:28

idea that is inside of you starts

24:30

with you connecting. And sometimes

24:32

the environment and the people who are around

24:35

you can speak to the negative

24:37

that you could be or either the positive that you will

24:39

become. So be very careful, one,

24:42

about the environments that you're in and

24:44

your product

24:46

of your environment. I

24:51

wanna make billion dollar deals too. So I'm here with

24:53

you, you know what I'm saying? So it's

24:55

like, yeah. So

24:58

how do you bring those new people in? How does a guy

25:00

like us share that's got, how do you know

25:03

to bring somebody new into your group?

25:05

And you know, how

25:08

do you stay hungry enough to say, I wanna grow to the next

25:10

level? Like-minded interest, being

25:13

willing to talk, share, get to know each other. A

25:16

lot of times people feel like

25:18

they're afraid. Collaboration

25:22

starts with a step, right? A

25:24

conversation. Most of the time if you're

25:27

in a room with someone, introduce yourself. They may not

25:29

look like you. They may not be the same, come

25:31

from the same place you do or understanding,

25:34

but you may get something within that conversation. Meet,

25:36

speak, talk, connect. That is

25:39

very, very important.

25:42

Can anybody be a superstar if

25:45

they put in the work? Well,

25:47

it all depends on what you wanna be a superstar at. Yes,

25:51

you know, in your own right, yes you can. You

25:53

can be famous or infamous,

25:55

you know what I'm saying? You can be, you

25:58

can be,

26:01

It all depends on what success is. But

26:03

can anybody make it to the top of the game? Like

26:05

you've made it to the top of the game, man. Yeah. So

26:08

I want to be sure you guys don't say, hey, he's all sure he's made it to the

26:10

top, but you can't relate. You got to figure out a way to relate

26:12

to this guy. Yeah, well, no, I'm the only

26:15

one of myself and you are the only

26:17

one of whom you are. And yes, everybody

26:19

can have success, but not everybody

26:22

can sustain it. Yeah.

26:27

How have you fought

26:29

through some of the like, I imagine

26:31

the temptations in your space are just freaking

26:34

like

26:35

crazy. So how do you walk

26:39

that? Man, I'm

26:42

trying to figure it out. Still,

26:46

temptation will meet you every single day if

26:48

you let it, you know, but if you

26:50

have a plan, you know, I

26:52

do say this. It's important

26:55

to at least have a plan and

26:58

be willing

26:59

to allow that plan to change as a result

27:02

of the good energy and the effort that you put in

27:05

to whatever you're doing. Most people

27:07

say, hey, that's what I want to become. But

27:09

the truth is there

27:12

is no destination. The journey

27:15

is the destination. What

27:21

are you telling your kids right now? I got two kids. People

27:24

ask me all the time. Hey, how are you going to bring your

27:26

kids up? Sit down. Don't

27:28

touch that. No. Yes. Look,

27:31

I'm busy. I'm on the phone. Okay.

27:34

What do you need? Okay. What else? Do

27:37

you worry about like, do you worry about them with this too much? Oh, absolutely.

27:40

As a matter of fact, my kids are on like

27:42

suspension from it right now. They're back there watching

27:44

mad because they got to watch. Yes.

27:48

Sit down. No,

27:51

but no, but listen. How old are they? 11 and 12.

27:55

Usher, Raymond the fifth and Naviad

27:57

Eli Raymond. You guys want to come out. Come on out.

27:59

You all can hear me. You wanna come out, come on

28:02

out. So, access

28:05

can cripple, and also to be unrealistic, right?

28:09

It does take hard work and

28:12

focus, right? So these are the things

28:14

that I tell my kids about life,

28:17

right?

28:18

I was having a conversation with them just last night, man.

28:20

And more than anything,

28:23

I'm like, because

28:26

they were having this argument about one

28:28

got something, the other didn't get something, and he's got

28:30

two of these, and I don't have enough of this, and I want

28:33

that. Like, well, first of all, don't compare

28:35

any of it. You have what you have, and he has what

28:37

he has. But the reality is, what your brother

28:40

did is he found something that he was passionate about.

28:42

And as a result of him finding something he was

28:45

passionate about, I invested

28:47

in it. You gotta find your passion,

28:49

man. You gotta find what it is that makes

28:51

you happy. Something that makes you, you know what I'm

28:53

saying, drives you. Something that makes you feel like

28:56

I

28:56

can take over the world, and because I do this, I

28:58

do this better than anybody else. You find that, and

29:01

it'll take care of you. When I was eight years old, man,

29:03

I found it. And to this day, right

29:06

now, it's taking care of you, me, all of these

29:08

people,

29:09

as a result of just finding that passion. So

29:11

if there's anything I can tell you is to find

29:14

something that you really love, and stick to

29:16

it, man,

29:17

other than video games. Yeah, do

29:20

they listen to you, or are they listening to you? Like,

29:23

these people are listening to you. Do the kids listen? Are

29:25

you listening to me? Yeah. They

29:28

are, for sure. Go

29:31

ahead.

29:32

You know, what'd you say? Except

29:35

for video games. Yeah, yeah. He's

29:38

making a fortune? Well,

29:42

here's the thing. I think that that is a really great

29:45

thing, right? But it also, too, is a

29:47

treat. And it starts with

29:50

understanding that that is a privilege, right?

29:53

It's a privilege to be able to do that, to sit on your butt,

29:56

and be able to play games, and be great at it. It's cool.

29:58

I want my kids to be active.

29:59

I want them to understand something greater than just

30:02

what's in this box. I want them to know people.

30:04

I want them to connect, not just here, but

30:06

I want them to get to know each other because we live in a

30:08

world right now that makes us all different. We

30:11

live in a world that obviously creates segregation

30:13

in many ways, disconnection,

30:15

lack of empathy, right? And

30:18

this tool, this tool that stands in between

30:20

me and you

30:22

is not allowing me to see you, to

30:25

connect with you. You get it? So,

30:33

and by the way, I like

30:36

playing video games too, man. But

30:39

the reality is I just want my

30:41

son to know that,

30:43

you know, even though these options are here, because we

30:45

didn't have those options as a kid and as a result,

30:48

the sustainability of what came out

30:50

of that,

30:50

it seats me here. So

30:53

I want to let him have that opportunity too,

30:55

not just to reap the benefits of

30:57

that luxury that he has. By

31:06

the way, you're lucky that my stage is spinning

31:08

because I'd still be over there talking to you.

31:13

We took our 10-year-old Sabrina off the phone.

31:16

I thought she was like turned into a little crack addict

31:18

like, yeah, man, going through withdrawals.

31:22

How do you do a 16, 18-hour

31:24

day and stay in such good shape, man? Because

31:27

you always look good, like you're looking fresh

31:29

and young and how

31:30

good does the guy look? Energetic,

31:36

like how do you do that? How do you balance all that stuff?

31:40

I love you too. Chattown,

31:44

that's right. Man, a minute ago you

31:46

guys were over there, sorry. So

31:49

no,

31:50

how do you stay young? I

31:55

think that movement is a major

31:57

part

31:58

of staying healthy, but I also too. I think

32:01

that sometimes not moving is important,

32:03

just as important. I meditate a lot, actually.

32:06

And it's something that I

32:09

found to be very therapeutic because

32:11

there's so much that we think about,

32:14

right? Our minds don't turn off. Most of the time

32:16

when I'm speaking to people, I'm thinking of something else. Matter

32:18

of fact, I'm thinking of the next word, or if they're saying something

32:20

to me, a word cues me and then I'm thinking about

32:23

this other thing, I'm not present, right?

32:25

So meditation

32:27

has allowed me to feel present, and

32:29

connected, and more empathetic

32:31

in a way that I think is

32:33

doing something greater than just allowing

32:35

me to make money and be

32:37

successful. So I think that

32:40

might be one of the major things. But the other

32:42

one truly is the fact that I

32:45

love getting home. So those

32:47

hours that I have to work

32:50

all night,

32:51

I still look forward to coming home. And even if

32:53

I've only had two or three hours of sleep that night,

32:55

I still wake up in the morning and I take

32:57

my boys to school. And I look at them

32:59

and I say, you're gonna be great if

33:02

you choose to be.

33:03

Go in there and

33:06

do the right thing. Now they don't always do the right

33:08

thing. Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course not. You

33:10

didn't either. No, none of us do, right? But

33:13

yeah. Y'all

33:16

love him? Yeah. How

33:18

does, how

33:19

do you, I imagine at some

33:21

point, being usher is an asset,

33:24

obviously, open any door, but at

33:26

what point does it become a liability to be you? Hmm.

33:32

It's a deep question, man. I mean, more

33:34

money, more problems, man, you know? Oh,

33:37

you think so? Yeah, yeah,

33:39

absolutely. You know, you obviously

33:41

have to become

33:44

more deliberate in your choices and

33:47

very specific about how you move with

33:49

your brand and

33:51

who you associate with, yeah.

33:57

I love that. Yeah. How do you

33:59

train? How do you train? transition from

34:02

entrepreneur, from artist to entrepreneur. How

34:05

do you make that transition and have the world take you

34:07

seriously? Is it just the results

34:10

or is it just?

34:12

I think

34:17

those things, once again,

34:19

focus, accountability,

34:21

integrity, those are

34:23

all things that you will want in a brand, right? So

34:26

if I'm able to do those things as a person, there's

34:29

a possibility that we may be able to do

34:31

that together as business, in business.

34:35

Any business relationship

34:38

is a collaboration. And like

34:40

minds move in the direction

34:43

of success if they can see clear. And

34:46

those are the ideas that I just try and

34:49

make a part of everything that I do. And

34:51

also to make it a mandate for each and every

34:54

person who works along with me to follow.

34:56

Again, I invest in people. I don't just invest

34:58

in things. And

35:01

those relationships become more

35:04

than anything. And then as a result of that, then there's

35:06

business. So the entrepreneurial

35:08

spirit started the moment that

35:10

I said I wanted to do anything. I

35:14

look at some of the

35:16

investments that I made. I

35:18

know that Scooter Braun is actually gonna be here on

35:20

the panel if he hasn't done it already. Yeah, he was here yesterday.

35:24

Right, so me and Scooter.

35:27

Do you guys like Scooter yesterday? Yeah. Yeah.

35:30

John, John today, talking about

35:32

collaboration and these people, how small the world

35:34

is, John sold his house to Scooter in

35:37

Bel Air. You're here today because I know you

35:39

guys have worked together as well. Yeah. So go

35:41

ahead. Yeah. Well,

35:43

I'm also to, I'm here because

35:46

I wanted to be in an environment of someone that

35:48

I think is doing what's necessary. This is purpose

35:50

work and I appreciate it. I really

35:53

do appreciate it. For you

35:55

guys.

35:59

But investing.

35:59

Bringing people then gives you opportunity

36:02

to have access, and you gotta be ready for

36:04

success. That's the other thing,

36:06

right? So Scooter and

36:08

I, you know, we're just two young kids in Atlanta

36:10

trying to find our way. He's a local promoter.

36:13

He has an artist that he's working with, and

36:15

I meet this guy, and

36:18

things don't go well. We actually fall

36:20

out, and then along

36:22

the way he meets this kid. He

36:24

has this incredible kid

36:26

that everybody's trying to get. Justin Timberlake

36:28

is trying to get him. I think Akon was

36:30

trying to assign him as an artist, but he said, I

36:33

would like to do business with you. And

36:35

I said, okay, cool. Well, in

36:37

what capacity, you know, are you

36:39

working? He's like, well, I just like this kid. I

36:41

just really believe in it, found him online.

36:44

So what are you doing looking at kids online, Scooter? No,

36:49

but... So as

36:52

a result of that investment

36:54

in him, I look at all

36:56

of what he has and where he's gone, and

36:59

I can celebrate too, because I

37:01

can remember a time when Scooter couldn't

37:03

see himself the way that he is. I

37:06

said, man,

37:07

you should be his manager. He's like, what?

37:10

No, man, I don't have to... Yes, you

37:12

should be his manager, and let's take this kid, and let's

37:14

go all around the world. Man, I think

37:16

people are going to love him. I know how to teach him my part, and

37:18

you're going to do your thing, and let's go. And that kid

37:20

was Justin Bieber.

37:26

What do you look for, man? When

37:28

you do something with people, what are you looking for in

37:30

that people? You've said you invest in people, not things.

37:32

What are you looking for

37:34

in a partnership, in a collaboration?

37:38

An amazing deck. First,

37:42

no, but that's a business term, right? What

37:45

does that term mean? A deck? Yes,

37:48

a formal deck, where I can look at

37:50

it and be able to completely

37:52

get an idea with clarity what

37:55

it is that you're going after. I mean, there's things

37:57

to collaborate on and brands to

37:59

associate with.

37:59

and ways to invest seed money into

38:02

different things like that. But I'm more

38:04

or less into long-term relationships and finding,

38:06

like,

38:07

what are these things, what are some things that we can do that

38:10

are purposeful? What is

38:12

it that we can do that our kids, kids

38:14

will enjoy, and also to feel

38:18

great about continuing to keep it afloat?

38:22

So what are some things we can do together? How

38:24

many of you would like to partner

38:27

with us, Scott?

38:30

Well, you tell me where you would start. What do you

38:32

see? I need to show you a deck. I gotta get a deck

38:34

first, though. Look, I just

38:36

wanna help people. We do this conference

38:38

once a year. I brought you here because I see

38:41

you as an American success

38:44

story, an international success story, like,

38:46

where you came up, how you came up, who

38:48

you became on the idea that you could

38:51

be someone. With no proof,

38:53

no evidence, nothing. Hard

38:55

work, accountability, responsible,

38:58

busting his ass.

39:00

And you guys are here

39:02

with him. Yeah. So it says

39:04

something about you guys, too. Well,

39:09

I mean, I don't

39:11

know exactly what type of business is

39:14

out there, but I'm open. You know, I remain.

39:18

Love you, too. How

39:20

many times have you been told from the audience

39:22

that people love you around the world? It's

39:25

pretty odd, I always just hear, I love you out of nowhere, but

39:27

you just feel responsible to say, I love you back. Yeah,

39:29

yeah, yeah, thank you. But

39:33

it's something that I really feel grateful for.

39:36

I really am grateful for you guys, the

39:38

ones who know me, and the

39:40

ones who don't. The fact that you took this time to

39:42

be able to sit here. Yeah, you could've got up and went to the bathroom

39:45

or went and got something to eat or took a call or did

39:47

whatever you wanted, but the fact that you

39:49

sat here and you were willing to listen to my story and

39:51

also to learn something about someone you didn't know,

39:54

I have an appreciation for that. Thank

39:57

you.

40:01

You mind if we take a question? No, no, go ahead.

40:04

Come on up. It's rolling. I

40:17

want to thank you because after hearing, oh my

40:20

God, Cardone University, one

40:22

of the 100 ways

40:24

to feel motivated. One

40:27

of the things was

40:29

face your fear. This

40:32

is number one. Number two is do something

40:34

you thought you would never do and it's

40:36

meet him.

40:38

Thank you very much. Can

40:41

we sing my boo? Later.

40:52

Can I tell you what she asked? She

40:56

asked could we sing my boo together? She

40:59

asked what? It's a song that I have. Should

41:03

we do it?

41:04

Yeah. Yeah.

41:10

Okay. Let

41:15

me see that mic.

41:19

I don't know if the DJ has my

41:21

boo queued up by some way. I

41:23

think it would be really interesting and a really

41:25

great mantra for all of us to know that

41:28

if you face your fears, something can happen.

41:30

Amazing. She faced her fears,

41:33

came to the front. I

41:35

don't know how you got through the bodyguards. I don't know how you

41:37

got up here. I'm short. So

41:42

we're singing my boo?

41:43

Yes, we are. So we just sing acapella

41:45

or we want to wait for the music. You want to do

41:47

it, acapella? We can.

41:50

Okay. We're singing my boo. Yes. Always

41:53

that one person that will always have your

41:55

heart. You've never

41:58

seen it come in color. You're

42:00

blinded from the start. Yeah,

42:02

no that you're that one for

42:05

me. It's clear for everyone

42:07

to see I

42:15

don't know about y'all

42:17

but I know about us and

42:19

it's the only way we know how to wrap I

42:21

don't know about y'all but I know about

42:24

us and this the only way we Do

42:27

you remember girl? I was

42:29

the one who gave you your

42:32

first kiss cuz I remember

42:34

girl I was the one

42:36

who said put your lips like

42:38

this Even before

42:41

all the famous people Screaming

42:45

your name girl.

42:46

I was there and

42:48

you were my baby It

42:51

started when we were younger

42:53

you

42:54

were mine But

42:57

another brother's taking over

42:59

but it's still in your eyes Even

43:03

though we used to argue

43:05

it's all right

43:08

Now you know there's another who's

43:11

in my life you will

43:14

always be my boo

43:16

All

43:20

right You're

43:24

welcome

43:30

Ladies and gentlemen usher Thank

43:38

you guys last thing my friend

43:40

last thing okay, thank