Welcome back to the Criste Cast, episode number two. What's up, guys? My name is Caleb Chris. Today I am honored to have Tony Shriller as a guest, and I'm super excited to talk about comedy, culture, and all kinds of different things with Tony. Comedy is something that I'm super interested in, not only stand-up comedy, but being an actor, and all kinds of things that he does are interesting to me. I actually met him because we were doing something similar, right? He also works as a videographer and a media specialist, and I met him doing those things at a biohacking conference a few years ago. So you can actually see some footage where I saw him for the very first time, and the first thing Tony did was he walked up to me and said, hey, you know, I think we should make a video about how many videographers there are at this place. It's ridiculous, right? First thing he does is start cracking jokes and making some things just light and making the mood fun and enjoyable. So one thing I want to say about Tony is that he's an absolutely great guy. Ever since I first met him, I knew he was somebody who was not only interesting, but somebody who I wanted to get to know better and talk to and talk to people about comedy. And actually, just, you know, trying to find more out... about him, right? So that's what this podcast is where I get to just spend a little bit of time with him and ask some questions that were on my mind. Not only that, but Tony is somebody who is. full of wisdom and really insightful information. So I'm excited to get that from him. Let's jump into the podcast right now. Again, as I said, I met Tony and under great circumstances and ever since I've been following him on Instagram, he's got so much fun comedy. So take a look at some of the comedy he's got right here in the next few clips and I hope you enjoy the podcast. I'll see you in the next episode. Thank you. Bye. Today on the cast, we're joined by Tony Hsieh, also known as Tony Shriller, a world-class comedian, actor, dynamic entrepreneur, digital media strategist, and founder of Shriller Creative and so many other things we could say right there. Tony's. background is a fascinating blend of technology, e-commerce, marketing, and the performing arts. As a TEDx speaker, award-winning musician, and seasoned content creator, he's worked alongside industry giants like Hugh Jackman and Beyonce and performed at prestigious events such as the Academy Awards. Tony's background is a fascinating blend of technology, e-commerce, marketing, and. He's also a passionate Latin dancer. Watch out, ladies. Tony is a storytelling expert able to foster emotional connections and social change. We are thrilled to dive into his journey and insights today. Tony, thanks for coming. Thank you for having me, Caleb. Absolutely, absolutely. Well, I just want to jump right into it. Your first comedy special was taped recently at the Golden Laughs Festival. I took a look at an article online. How did it feel to perform in front of a live audience while filming, knowing that this would be part of your comedy legacy? I love this, man. Diving right into it. That's right. It's still hot. And, man, it just happened a few weeks ago. It was actually live taped at the Ice House Comedy Club, which is such a legendary comedy club. Very privileged to have done it there. And in terms of the overall experience, it's just like any other show, right? It's just another show with live audiences, and you're just taping it so you can really capture those beautiful moments. that you get and, you know, releasing to the world. So I would say overall, yeah, I'm very grateful to have had the opportunity working alongside with some really talented seasoned comedians as well. And the team, you know, from Golden TV was very professional to helping it all done. So it felt great, man. For sure. And tell me a little bit about that. The people that were at the event, the team, I noticed the, you know, the comedians, people from all around, different backgrounds, right? Was that something that was kind of part of the show that was, you know, were they trying to be very inclusive or is that just naturally what comedians are? Is it just naturally that kind of a bunch? What was that all about? Yeah. So I was very fortunate to have won the Golden Laugh Festival, basically the grand prize from the Golden Laugh Festival, right? Where it was, you know, many, many comedians and we all did the competition, right? And, you know, I have a whole thing about creative arts and competition, right? Just because I was lucky enough to have won it doesn't mean I was the, quote unquote, the best comedian, right? It's just the right time, right place, right people, right vibe, right? Right. Very grateful to have. I've been able to win the grand prize, which I was actually originally going to produce my own special, but ended up having an entire team produce it for me and really just focusing on being in front of camera as an artist. In terms of the lineup, it was actually specifically AAPI, so focusing on AAPI comedians. That's really what Golden TV is about, really highlighting the diversity within the AAPI community. So even Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, there are just so many different styles, so many different lifestyles, so many different ways of thinking, so many different occupations. And just overall, it was very cool to see so many amazing AAPI comedians sharing the same stage with me. So yeah, overall, it was really good. And yeah, shout out to the team out there really crushing it with the production as well. For sure. And as you mentioned, obviously, you have the ability. You have the ability to do production things yourself, which we're going to get into, but the fact that somebody else was able to do it. Hey, that makes it a little bit easier, right? It makes a nice little opportunity. And when it comes to, as you mentioned, the kind of comedians that were out there, you yourself, in your actual set, you touched on the topic of being Taiwanese versus Chinese, which had your audience in stitches at different points. How do you approach cultural comedy? And what's your process of balancing humor and potentially sensitive subjects, such as your culture identity? Right. That's a great question. And I want to kind of give a little point about the having the background of like, you know, in production. And obviously, you know, I have my own agency when it comes to having a production capability. I would say it's a very good experience and exercise in general for anybody, right? Anybody who is whether is probably really common in creative field, right? Like in front of the camera to behind the scene, right? You know, actor, director, director, actor, etc. I think it's a good exercise for number one. Really experiencing perspective, right? Number two, practicing humility in a way. Sometimes there are so many moments where I'm like, oh, I would have done things differently, but guess what? I'm not on the other side right now. Let's focus on what is this right now. Just focusing on being the talent, crush it so they can really letting people do 100%. I focus on getting 100%. I'm very grateful for opportunities like that. Whenever I get acting, modeling, or comedy gigs, I try to think of that. Once in a while, you'll have those small sparkles. You just see people. You want to point something out, but it's like, dude, you know what? Let them have it. I think this translates to entrepreneurship in general. How many entrepreneurs out there often we are doing so many things, and it's very hard to delegate. It's very hard to let go of things. It's a very useful skill to have just in general, whatever occupation you're in. Now, going to your question about comedy, cultural, it is... This is very important to me in terms of, like, my Taiwanese-American identity, right, is absolutely vital, and it is a big part of my stand-up comedy identity in the sense that, you know, I do think it is a sensitive topic, obviously, politically, culturally, but that's what comedy is about, right? Comedy is about bringing up topics that people might not want to talk about. It is about not just making people feel great, but making people question things, right? And to me, the best comedy is really about 50% of the people laughing and 50% of the people feel, like, very uncomfortable, right? And that's when you know you are pushing the boundaries, right? That's when you know you're becoming a better comedian. Shock factor. That's right. So that's really the big part for me. And in terms of topics, yeah, absolutely. I think most of the topics come from my personal experiences and then observational sometimes, but I would say I write down anything that comes to my head, you know, often. I'm just walking down the street. and walking my dog or taking a shower or sometimes when I'm out dancing and I would just think of an idea, I have to just really capture that and then craft it around. So I do think we're at a stage where comedy is really coming back in a sense of stand-up specifically, in a sense that people are starting to get a little bit tired of canceling everything. So I'm very lucky in that sense as well. Yeah, and as you said, the comedy world has always gone through ups and downs and different areas where some things can be off-limits and other times nothing's off-limits. And when it comes to comedy, do you believe there are limits or should everything be open to discussion? Should this be a free speech space, when it comes to mediums? Yeah, that's a deep question, man. I think anything is off-limit. There shouldn't be any limit when it comes to when you are at the context of stand-up comedy. Right. Because in order for a comedian from the comedian perspective to be good, right, to become a better comedian, you have to take risks. Right. It's like entrepreneurship. Same thing. Right. Like it's like if you're telling entrepreneurs that like, dude, like if you want to start a business here at all the limits. Right. Then then they're never going to start. They're never going to make mistakes. You're never never going to learn from their failures of falling down. Right. So I would say it is a very fundamental and healthy thing to have no limits when it comes to stand up comedy, specifically when it comes to topic. Right. And the bottom line is this, dude, like freedom of speech comes with freedom to offend people and to be offended. Right. So we're blessed to have the opportunity to say whatever we want. If you don't like it. Cool, man. You know, you don't have to be there. Right. You can leave. Right. What you cannot do is tell people to limit the other person's voice. So. Right. No. And as you said there, I think that's a great way to kind of summarize that whole aspect of things that, yeah, in this context, right, in this framing of things, right, of comedy. Yeah. I also believe that we need to be able to have this freedom of speech because at the end of the day, when we stop communicating, that's usually when the fighting starts to happen. Right. The wars get fought, not when we're in actually peace or negotiations. No, no. They're when we've decided and already made our decisions and then decided to act in unruly ways. So anyways, not to go into that whole tangent, but I think that comedy has a big thing when it comes to creating social change. And I know that you're a big component of social change in the world and being able to use media, not only media, but specifically comedy as something that can be a tool right there. So tell me, what's what's kind of your your maybe overarching goal for yourself when it comes to wanting to do things? Is it because, you know, you want to make big change to the world? Do you want to become, you know, something where you're just a great comedian? What's what's your big kind of focus? When it comes to, I guess. Yeah, that's a deep question, man. I kind of have to take my glasses off for that. So there are only three things that I'm very passionate about, and it's my sort of life's mission, right? Well, number one, being a stand-up comedian is fundamentally being who I am, right? And it took me a long time, and I'm sure it takes a lot of people a long time to really embrace who you truly are, right? And I grew up as a musician, performer, evolved into a filmmaker, and the stand-up comedy thing was always in the back of my head. So truly being who I am and living my purpose and passion is very, very important. So that's like the fundamental sort of structure around it, right? Now, the three things that I'm very passionate about, number one, obviously, like the Taiwanese-American identity, right? I do think it is very important to have conversations, right? Plenty of people disagree with me, right? But hey, guess what? To agree and disagree, right? And having that conversation, that's number one. Number two is this whole idea of masculinity, right? Being an Asian American male, there is, unfortunately, in the U.S., at least during my time growing up, there is a lot of misrepresentation of what Asian American male masculinity is, right? Asian American men typically are not supposed to be masculine. And there's just so many things, right, that I personally am affected but also been lucky enough to have gone through the experience to learn how to go to the other side, right? How to really sort of evolve and just be who I am, right? Because I believe the most masculine thing you can be is to just truly live who you are, right? And I hope to bring this to the table to show people, right, not just Asian Americans, by the way. And I believe in our society today, there is a huge problem. with masculinity in general, right, masculinity, femininity, because when it comes to masculinity, you know, it obviously affects your personal choices, your personal lifestyle, it affects your relationship, it affects the entire society, right, so that's something I'm also very. passionate about, how can I bring the topic up, and then number three is, I'm sure you're aware of this, you know, being a musician as well, classical and Latin guitar specifically is my thing, right, I grew up playing that, and very passionate about really spreading the love of guitar, right, and that's a big part of what I really want to be able to do, to show people that, hey, you know what, this is what guitar can be, right, most people don't know what guitar is capable of, you know, most people have very limited understanding of what the guitar is, right, so specifically showcasing classical Latin guitar is something that I'm very passionate about, so yeah, those are the three sort of categories of things that really drive me, right, but ultimately, You know, being a stand-up comedian, fundamentally being who I am, constantly challenging myself, right, and being able to tell stories, connect with people. I just love that, man. I've been blessed to have the skills and the talent, right, and it's a disservice for me to not do that. Well said, right? Yeah, when you have the skills and the talent, right, and you don't actually apply them, wasting an opportunity, right? Come on. Life's all about experiences and opportunities and actually trying to progress yourself into a place of not just happiness but to advancement, not just for yourself but for others, right? It's a cooperation. And that really ties into, you know, kind of go back to the Asian-American identity thing too, right? A lot of Asian-Americans, it's not alone for Asian-Americans, but a lot of people don't really pursue their passion, right, because there's a lot of limiting beliefs around that. But I want to show, at the very least, hope. Hopefully, Asian-Americans, that, hey, you can go after what you really. enjoy what you love, and you can make something out of it, right? By being an example, playing the game rather than complaining about the game, that's the way I choose to really hopefully make an impact. Absolutely, and I really am happy that you're able to express it in such a confident way because at the end of the day, really the people we can affect and truly get to understand us the most are the people that are the most similar to us, right? Not that we can't reach other audiences. Of course, we can, right? But I think that you're very smart to identify with where your core is, and of course, as you said, not just Asian Americans. We've got so many other people that are looking at you, watching you, seeing how you're doing things confidently, and then learning from that process. Having said that, you did do the Publix TEDx talk a little while ago. That was in 2019, actually the same year as my talk. I thought that was pretty awesome. You talked about getting out of your comfort zone, right? So this is something you've been practicing not just for the last five years, but previous to that, right? Before you could do that talk, you had to be practicing this to get noticed. To be able to get to that point. So how... long do you think it's been how many at what point did something happen in your head where you said hey i gotta stop being this way and i gotta start living the right way the real way the way that makes me feel authentic right as you kind of mentioned before in your previous answer yeah that that's a great question when it comes to let me just clarify and verify to make sure i understand it correctly you're saying that what was the moment that made me sort of make the snap or like this decision to truly live uh yeah kind of that breakout moment right where you started. feeling right the connection between that true happiness right versus got it what you were doing before right yeah so i would say to most people it's probably like a paper cut kind of thing right where like most people this is likely unfortunately the situation people get a job right and then just stay there as long as they can you know getting the paychecks stability etc etc and then knowing in the back of their head this is something they need to be doing but then they're like maybe tomorrow maybe tomorrow the next thing you know 10 15 20 30 40 years after right i was actually very. lucky that at a relatively young age you know soon after college um maybe like two jobs after um you know i got i got two full-time jobs before um the relatively speaking for my age during that time i was actually getting paid a lot of money uh for a full-time job and um but like probably like three four years in i was like dude i'm this is not for me right and that was actually a interesting moment to truly realize hey you know what like money money is very very important. but money cannot uh provide you fulfillment right and i was like you know what that that was i was making more money than i ever thought i could right but i wasn't fulfilled right and again i'm going to repeat that again you know i do think money is very important but if there's a saying in taiwanese um that you know don't be so poor that all you have is money, right, don't be so poor very wise all you have is money right and, Unfortunately, a lot of people are like this. They have a lot of money. They accumulate a lot of wealth and constantly – but they don't really know who they are, what they want, what they're about, right? And the way you see it is like after you pass, like who are you, you know? Like besides the money you leave behind, right? So it was kind of a gradual thing. But during – in my 20s, I made the decision to sort of do my own thing, freelance, entrepreneurship. But when it comes to connecting to the TEDx talk, it was – and I talk about it specifically in the TEDx. It was a few years after – a few years right before the TEDx talk. It was a really rough time for me personally. I went through a lot of personal journeys, which you can see in the TEDx talk. And during my deepest and darkest moments, I realized and remember the power of micro challenges, right? What does that mean? It means like the tiniest, tiniest change, the tiniest, tiniest discomfort, right? jumping out of that comfort zone could have a macro impact, right? And it's like the saying is that drips of water could one day break a snow, right? It's like just make that tiny little change, right? For me personally, it was the cold shower thing, right? And I know that's like a whole thing people have a problem with nowadays apparently. But taking the cold shower was that one small change with a huge impact for me, right? I'm still doing it, by the way, since that day, right? Every single morning, cold shower. It's just a nice routine for me to start. Self-discipline. Exactly. And it builds up, right? There's so many things. So when it comes to really embracing the challenging yourself outside of your comfort zone, that really snowballed to everything else, right? I mean I went all in, dude. TEDx was like my first big public speaking. It wasn't like – I never thought I would be like a public speaker, right? It was just – I was like, dude, fuck it. Why not, right? Right. And then – And then I did it. I was like, hey, that was actually really, really fun. I really enjoyed it. And that also tied into my stand-up as well, right? And most people would probably be like, whoa, you went from TEDx talk to stand-up. I actually believe stand-up comedy is way more difficult, right? It's probably one of the most, if not the most challenging public speaking format. So yeah, man, I think when it comes to making a jump, a lot of people going through the paper cuts, but I can't remember whose quote this is, but Denzel Washington said it in one of the motivational videos, is that if you don't make the jump, you can never fly, right? So you got to just make the jump. Right, right. Insert some quote about failure so that you can actually succeed. Yeah, here we go, right? Yeah, there it is. The price of actually success is failure at the end of the day, right? You have to sit there and do that. And that's kind of one thing I said this year. I told a lot of people. I said, what? What are you going to do 2024? I said, I'm going to fail a bunch this year. Let's go. Right. Translation. I'm going to do a bunch of cool stuff and I'm going to try really hard to do new things. Right. That's kind of the thought process. But you said this in a nice way as far as being able to transition one thing. Right. That one small stepping stone kind of transitioned into the snowball effect of all of a sudden you're doing TED talks and you're doing stand up comedy, which, as I agree to you, is the most difficult stepping stone of public speaking. Something I've never done myself. It scares me. It's a scary place to go. Right. When we jump over to that little area. And then when it comes to even acting. Right. This is something you've had an opportunity to play with a little bit. Tell me. You're in L.A. Right. You're in California. How did you get into acting and is that something you always wanted to do or is that something you kind of just stumbled into after you jumped into the public speaking world? How is that all? Yeah, that's a it's interesting one because acting wasn't something that I've always wanted to do. I've I've always just done it in a sense of like I did it in my own skits, you know, because the fastest way to really. Achieve my vision when it comes to like comedy sketches. So that's something I've always enjoyed doing. It wasn't something that I sort of aspired to become an actor professionally of any sort. But I think this is kind of the interesting path that life takes you. Sometimes it's like as you go, as you evolve as a person, as a professional, as a creator, I am having more and more opportunities to really express who I am through acting. And, you know, I'm still relatively speaking very new when it comes to acting professionally, right, for a project that is outside of my own. But, yeah, I very much enjoy it. And, again, going back to that very first question about perspective, right, it's refreshing because I'm constantly behind the camera directing or producing projects when it comes to commercials, et cetera. So it gives you that refreshment. Fresher and reminder of. just appreciating the work on the other side, you know. So I very much enjoy it, and, you know, it's always seeking for interesting opportunities, collaborations with people, so. Yeah, and I think to add to your point right there, you're being very humble, right? The fact that you have this experience on this director side of things and on the camera side, we could call it, right, of the media, right? The moment you start becoming the talent or the actor, everything that used to be kind of maybe difficult for beginning actors, I feel is a little bit easier for you, right? You actually have an idea of what needs to be done and where your mark should be and how the faces need to be looking, right? So there's a little bit of that benefit because of what you've done previously that's not only going to make you, right, maybe have an advantage, but possibly somebody extraordinary, right? Now, I think, Tony, when it comes to everything you're doing, and I mean this, your overall performance and the way that you kind of just naturally are, your authenticity definitely shines through, which is one of the reasons I want to talk to you because I like talking to authentic people. not only shine with that, but are doing really cool things. And the fact that you've been able. to come from this relatively short period of time, right, from not public speaking to all of a sudden being on screens, right, I think is pretty amazing. You know, at what moment, right, did you sit there and decide for yourself that, I guess, you were going to actually jump on stage and go into comedy, right? Because again, this is kind of jumping even farther because acting is one thing, right? It's kind of private behind scenes. But that moment, you're going to go live in front of people and start performing in that way. What was that decision like and where did that come from? Was that something that was always there? I'm interested. Yeah. So when it comes to stand-up comedy, that was something I was always interested. That was one of the main avenues where I learned my English, right? I came to the U.S. when I was 15 years old and, you know, I didn't speak English. And the best way for me to learn English was watching a lot of movies and watching a lot of stand-up. And I've always grown up, I've always enjoyed making people laugh, not necessarily getting people's attention so they can pay attention to me, but most of the time releasing tension in some ways. Sometimes it could be people fighting or whatever, and just me being able to resolve that, I enjoy that sort of experience. Now, when it comes to really stepping on stage, I was actually going to start doing it around 2019. I was about to just continue doing stand-up around 2019. This is a funny story. I was actually on a date, and I happened to be at a bar that had open mic. I was telling her because I told her about how I was passionate about stand-up comedy. Then she was basically like, hey, if you go up on stage. Well, I'll hook you up later tonight. So I went up on stage, and that was the last time I saw her. No, no, actually. I did. I did. Okay. I did. Okay. But, uh, yeah. And then obviously 2020, you know, something happened. Um, and there was no standup for, for a while. And, uh, I picked it back up as soon as, uh, the pandemic pandemic ended, uh, around 2022 was the end of 2021 or 2022. Yeah. End of 2021, I believe. And I was like, I told myself if I am remotely good at it, I will never stop. Right. I just got to keep going and get better and better and better. I mean, I watched my first five minutes that now I'm just like, dang, how far have I come? You know, I'm very proud of myself in that sense. Right. I, I'm typically the type of person that's very hard on myself. And I'm sure, you know, this personally experienced like as an entrepreneur, right. It's so easy to just beat ourselves down, but learning to celebrate the progress, you know, is a big thing for me. Right. Learning to, to say like, dude, you know what? You did a mic today. Good job, bro. Maybe you got 1% better. 0.1% better, right? Maybe you're staying the same level when it comes to the same joke. But guess what? You got more reps in, right? You got more time in, right? So really recognizing that and celebrating success is huge. And yeah, man, since that day, I started doing it. I haven't stopped since. I've been just evolving. And I had a very clear vision of like I treat my stand-up comedy career like a business, right? I have like phases, you know? It's like the marvels of the universe. I literally have phases, you know? And I always see on my calendar like, okay, this is the next phase now, right? What is next, right? And obviously, go with the flow as you need, right? As you evolve, right? So like now I've completed another big quest when it comes to having to stand up special tapes. I'm super excited to share with everybody once it's out. Go check it out. And yeah, just developing new stuff, man. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. When it comes to the stand-up comedy, I think it's going to be a lot of fun. special itself. I know it's going to be on. TV, right? It's going to be on Chime TV and Golden TV? Golden TV, that's right. It's going to be on Golden TV, yeah. And also, as you kind of just right there said, you've got not just the pandemic that kind of shaped the ability to give your thoughts some time to just brood, before the time came, but exactly how do you believe that in today's world with social media and digital technology, right? How do you think that is helping push the boundaries for comedians specifically, right, in this genre for getting information. and communication, right, out there? We've got this fast device. Is that something that you think is very important? And the reason I ask, because you use it a lot, right? This is a big tool of yours. So, yeah, go ahead. Yeah, when it comes to social media, I do think it has obviously, like any platform or any technology has like benefits and, plus and minuses, right? So, when it comes to just information, excuse me, when it comes to accessing, to information, definitely helpful, right, like, I can't, I cannot remember how many times there are. where, like, I am curious about something, I think of something that is, like, super random, and it's a joke, I can just have easy access, you know, pull up my phone, pull it up, search for it, and then I can write something, right, like, I mean, back in the day, like, I don't know how people did it, you know, you have to go to the library, you know, search, do research to find out, right, because for me, usually, comedy, you still have to base on facts, right, so you have to have a basis of truth, right, so easy access, very great, and also gets a lot of inspirations, right, inspiration when it comes. to, like, content out there, right, now, the flip side to that is also, number one, is definitely a lot more saturated when it comes to just the overall, like, entertainment, right, that people have, right, so as audiences, you're constantly bombarded by that, right, so how do you truly stand out, just where the authenticity really comes in, right, I don't see that as a, bad thing. necessary it's just something that really uh forces you to be aware of that right because i mean people were talking about back in the day you know when you do like shows and stuff you know. even if let's say if a comedian steals somebody's joke right like you won't find out they're like way later you know right right so nowadays you know it requires uh because content is out there all the time just be yourself nobody can steal who you are right and and i don't you know i don't believe in like you know the scarcity mindset of like if somebody does it like that takes away my opportunity to right it just opens up more opportunities right and then lastly obviously it affects you know mental health for sure uh from from my personal experiences also like talking to. people right like when it comes to as creatives in general because i i don't i don't think it's just just creative people but overall like people who are consuming there's stats on it right like just constant, comparison you know uh whatever, Whatever you're seeing, right? Sometimes you might not be like, oh, they're so much better. Sometimes you're just like, oh, I should be doing that, right? Oh, I should be, right? So that definitely affects me. And for me, when it comes to the main platform that I'm really most active on is Instagram, right? I do this practice where I set a timer. Every time I see myself going on Instagram, I set a timer of three minutes. It would just ring, right? Because how many of us fall into the pit of like the doom scroll, right? And it was designed that way. It's designed for us to get addicted to it, right? So being aware of that. And then also every time I post, the only time I would go to that post itself is to respond. I do my best, by the way, to respond to every single comment. And so shout out to all the people who are commenting. I truly do my best, even with the ones that go viral. You know, I'm very lucky. Just past like six months, I've got like over, you know, close to like 100 million views now probably. I have like quite a few. I have quite a few like viral videos and then on top of that. that everything else but i do my best to respond to every single one of them those are great numbers thank you thank you man and i i don't let it get to me though when it comes to um there are times where i post you know and then you see the viewership is like way lower but like that's what it is you know uh in the beginning it definitely gets you like when i was posting i would have. like one viral video and then the next day post something you barely get like a thousand views right and then you'll get to your get to your head oh what's wrong you know there's nothing wrong dude like if a thousand people show up and like that's a lot of people man you know so i would say that's another uh sort of issue people have to deal with and then i guess i can wrap it up with specifically for stand-up comedians right stand-up comedians not just comedians that the format um has definitely bring out people's opportunity and sort of people's. awareness to be more creative when it comes to how they craft their performances too right and you know i think that's a big part of it and i think that's a big part of it and i think that's obviously like you know uh the reason why, work clips are so uh popular out there number one from the comedian standpoint you know you're not giving away your material right and number two from the audience standpoint is that you're experiencing it live in a way right you feel like you're in the audience you don't know what's going to happen right so that's why it's so popular but you know i've heard i've heard comedians out there. saying like oh like like it's it's like not cool i'm forced to you know like i'm forced to make social media content i'm forced to like post crowd work i mean dude you don't have to do anything man like i mean is it important yeah but you don't have to do anything if you don't want to right you have to find your own way right like for me personally i really enjoy creating skits some of the dumbest like you know ideas i have they're all like you know the skits or memes right and i also post stand-up um but yeah i would say that's overall how it affects the the ecosystem. from the creator's perspective and the audience perspective you, yeah what are your thoughts everybody, Yeah, man. Very, very, very good. I like, yeah. Very, very multi-faceted approach, right? Thank you. Right? Yeah. Comment, subscribe, hit that bell. So when we talk about these things, authenticity is obviously something that's shining through even in the sentiment of the answer that you have right here. And, you know, just to relate back to the beginning of the conversation, you know, comparison is the thief of joy, right? If we are constantly comparing ourselves to others and what are they doing and what are they doing, where's our joy at, right? So that transactional. living is something I definitely try to teach with my own students and something I talk about a lot because, yeah, at the end of the day, we need to be able to actually just have a purpose, follow through, and then what happens, happens, right? And that's just the way things are. So I think that when you are showing that to the people, that's something that, again, shines through with what you're doing. When it comes to actually stand-up itself, being able to do the skits, being able to show these different sides of you, I think it really not only expresses who you are as a person, but really also allows people to get to know you a little deeper, a little faster, right? So again, when it comes to the. conversation, I think it's really important to be able to show these different sides of you. I think it's really important to be able to show these different sides of you. Where does confidence come from for you? There are different types of confidence when we really talk about the, I guess, the term. There's the confidence of how you talk to yourself. There's the confidence of how you walk outside, how you talk to people. And then there's the next level of confidence of being on stage. And then the next, next level is being on stage doing stand-up comedy. Right. So overall for me, I think a big part of it is self-acceptance. Right. And, oh, this is fun. I talk about this. Is it accept or accept? We'll say, you can say whatever you want, but my friend, acceptance. We'll say acceptance. Acceptance. Acceptance. Right. So self-acceptance. The moment you truly are able to embrace. Who you are unapologetically. that's when you are the most confident, right? So I have always been shameless in a sense of like, you know, I don't have a problem complimenting people, right? Back when I was single, I don't have a problem approaching a lady if I find her interesting, right? I want to learn more about her, right? I don't have a problem going up on stage, you know? And don't get me wrong. It's not like I'm just like a brainless, like no emotions, you know? Of course, I get nervous here and there, right? Which, by the way, nervous and excited is the same like physiological response, right? The only difference is neurologically, right? If you believe you're nervous, you're scared, you're scared and nervous, right? If you believe that you're just excited, you're just excited, dude. You're pumped, you know? So when I feel that, right, when I feel the butterfly, right, I just remind myself like, dude, let's go. I'm just pumped, you know? So it's not like I don't feel that. But the confidence thing, I think life experience definitely, right? Self-confidence. Self-acceptance. and also life experience. And I would say lastly is just knowing and remembering, and accepting that it doesn't matter what you say, what you do, somebody's going to say some shit, right? Somebody's going to say some shit just by you being who you are, right? And for a long time, for a long time when I was younger, I couldn't accept that, right? Like I need to, like there's the people pleaser, right? But accepting that it doesn't matter, dude. Somebody's going to say some shit. People are too busy worrying about themselves. It becomes a lot easier. So I would say that that is really the big part of confidence come from. And going back to like, you know, trying things out, right? It's only failure if you fail to learn from it, right? Trying things out and if it doesn't work, try it again, you know? And once you realize that you can already see it work, you are less worried about it. what is in front of you, if that makes sense, right? Because you already know that, dude, so what if I fall on stage, right? So what if my jokes don't work, right? So what if I blah, right? You got to reject it, whatever. I've already done through enough of this. Who cares, you know? So that's a big part of where the confidence comes from. And unfortunately, tying back to the sort of identity thing, right, like Asian Americans, a lot of Asian American men are just not very confident. You know, unfortunately, right? A lot of it is cultural upbringing, a lot of societal shaping it, right? And a lot of it is like representation, right? They don't see enough of people who are just out there. So that's also helped me to like, sort of give the extra boost, right? Like this is my mission, you know? It's my mission to show that, bro, let's go, you know? And there's men in general, or boys, you know, so. And you kind of said it without saying it there. I mean, if you are experiencing this like-mindedness, yourself and you don't see the representation in your own life growing up, it's like, wait a second, well, there's a lack there because I don't see it. And so if I could be that thing, then why not, right? And I believe that that's kind of the same thing that drives me as well. Even though I see representation in the form of race around me, the way that I feel internally, right, growing up. and the way that I saw the world kind of as a more of an introverted person, right? I didn't see, people, right, always wanting to understand and be a people pleaser, right? No, everybody wanted to be the best and the best and push everybody aside. So again, finding other people that are like-minded such as yourself is something that you realize eventually, eh, it's easy. And then other things such as pushing yourself to do stand-up, well, after you do it five, six, seven, eight times, maybe it's not so dark and the lights have been turned on and now you see, right? Now it's easy. So I think that's a good way to see it. And when it comes to things being scary for me, right, it's always a question, do I want to turn the lights on or not, right? Because anything in the dark is scary, right? So I have to sit there and find a way to do that. So the best way that I can do that personally is by having communication and, And by speaking with people such as yourself and by asking questions and by trying to find answers to that. So kind of this rolls me in. My next question here is where do you get most of your information, right? Where do you get most of your knowledge from? Do you sit there and read a lot of books? Are you a podcast listener too? You know, what kind of methods do you use to just embrace knowledge? That's an interesting one. So when it comes to knowledge, I do my best to have, like, active learning sessions every day, right? I'm a curious mind. And so sometimes it's just the most random, right? It could be, like, I'm just walking down the street, I see something, and I think of, like, literally the most random thing, you know? Like something to do with nature or something to do with cars or something to do with people. The Internet is great to do, like, spontaneous, you know, researches. I do my best to spend time to read. I was doing really, really well for a few years, but I kind of fell off the wagon there. So that's something I want to challenge myself to get back into that. And, yeah, definitely listen to that. whether it's podcast and or like watch videos or audiobook whenever i'm driving i try to listen to audiobooks but lastly i would say talking to people i enjoy same thing and i very much appreciate this opportunity hopefully whoever's watching here you find this helpful so far that learning from people man like like whatever it is that you do right, find somebody who is already successful at it or already on the path and learn from them right and. sometimes people have this scarcity mindset of like oh like if somebody's already doing this why would they want to share the secret or whatever right which by the way is a part of my upbringing right uh where like i had this limiting belief of like hey don't give too much don't share don't share too much you know keep it to yourself right because somebody might, you know it took me a while to shave that right uh to shake that off of my sort of subconscious, is that the more you give the more you're going to get right so so being able to you know be able to be able to. Learn from people, have informational interviews. Whenever I meet some random people that I find interesting, hey, just set up a coffee thing. Hey, we love to pick a brain. I think that's just a healthy thing to do. Not everybody is like that type. By the way, shout out to you being considerate of it as an introvert, reaching out to do this kind of stuff. I think it's very, very important to constantly learn because the more you learn, I almost heard Tai Lopez over there. The more you learn, the more you earn. It's true, though. The more you're learning, the more you realize how much you don't know. It's like the people who think they know a lot are the people who don't. The Dunning-Kruger effect, right? Where you start to sit there and you learn a little bit, right? Then you think you're the expert at it. Your confidence level is at its peak. But then you jump off Mount Stoop. But you keep learning, and you fall into the valley of despair, right? And you realize, oh, my God, there's way too much knowledge out there. And as you slowly, slowly start to lift yourself up, they call it the slope of enlightenment, right, and learn your trade, your confidence grows a little bit. And all of a sudden, you're a master over here. And, my gosh, you're finally at the confidence level you were when you first started to learn that thing, right? But some people, they sit over here on Mount Stupid, and they never jump off. They just sit over there all day long. And I feel like the world's kind of scary times because, hopefully, I've jumped off Mount Stupid most of the time. And I'm sitting down here in the valley and trying to raise myself up. So as we're speaking now, right, it's kind of helping me get over the slope with some other things, right? And, again, as you said, with other people listening, that's the idea is to just get people to, hey, don't be afraid to jump off, right? Don't be afraid to start this learning path because this is where the fun actually really begins, right? Absolutely. And, like, it applies to everything, dude. Like, it applies to stand-up. It applies to my entrepreneurship, right? Like, just being able to realize that there's so much to learn. And, like, if you don't. You know, like if you don't open yourself out there, it's very easy to get stuck. You know, I mean, this is something that probably a very unique perspective from like a stand-up. comedian sort of standpoint is that like I have seen many friends or comics in general when they first start stand-up comedy, right? Like, you know, there are these shows called the bringer shows, right? Where you have to bring your friends, right? Which is great, right? But sometimes people bring like so many of their friends to like one show and it actually becomes an issue, in my opinion, like that, again, like you can see, I approach it very systematically. Like I always just brought like the most limited amount, whatever the requirement, sometimes. like, oh, you got to bring two people, cool, I'll bring two. I never bring like 10 people or five, you know, whatever, because your friends are going to be supportive of you, right? So your friends are there to be supportive of you. They're always going to support you. In some ways, right? So. So you're not getting really the most authentic feedback, right, if you are bringing half the room into the show, right? So all of a sudden, like, sometimes people have a false sense of progress, right? They think, ooh, I am, you know, I'm there, right? And they stop learning, you know what I mean? And, man, that's such a dangerous thing, dude, like when it comes to for stand-up comics. Like, because all of a sudden, if it gets into your head, dude, it's a vicious cycle, man. Like, if all of a sudden, like, every show you go, you have a lot of friends, they're always laughing. You're like, oh, dude, I'm very good, right? And all of a sudden, some show, you don't have as many friends, right? And then people are not laughing at your jokes. Sometimes people start blaming the audience, you know? And I'm like, dude, that's not how it works, man, you know? Like, I never blame the audience in a sense of, like, number one, does it matter? Yeah, absolutely. Like, the audiences are different, right? But it's our job as a stand-up comic to. to adapt right as we go so yeah man really tying to that learning thing dude like you just gotta be able to like hey what else can i learn what can i learn today what can i learn from these comics right these comics before before and after me right so when it comes to learning it's definitely something i'm always trying to do not just when i'm watching other people but. even recently have you seen the the new metaglasses right you can use the ai to sit there and like actually check your environment and learn things about it is that the ray is that the ray ban ray yeah the the ray ban meta ones yeah when you're when you're talking about going outside and kind of looking things up the i started thinking ah he needs to get those he could walk around and just hey meta what is this what is it again hey what up you want to sponsor us another pair by the way by the way get them in here yeah no yeah when it comes to the cool technology it's something out there but no uh yeah i love those by the way all right i was just. random random uh random uh fact is i love gadgets i love like random small gadgets, uh i, I do my best to be very conscious when it comes to what to buy and what not to buy, for sure. Speaking of cool tech, obviously there's always new tech coming out right now. And this could be a question that's always going to have a different answer, right? Depending on when I ask it. What's the newest, coolest piece of tech you've seen recently that comes to mind? The most recent. Have you seen how different my iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 is? I'm just kidding. I'm an Apple user. I'm trying to think. I mean, there's a lot of really cool AI stuff. I've been kind of trying to consciously not to keep following up. For example, I'm very into productivity stuff, right? I'm very into. And anybody who is maybe not necessarily in the creative field, but if you have ADHD tendencies or are actually diagnosed, sometimes you get into this rabbit hole of. like, oh, man, I just get obsessed with, like, productivity, you know? Yeah, exactly. Yeah, man, for a while, I was, like, finding all kinds of shit to, you know, set up systems and all that stuff, but then instead of, like, doing the stuff, you know? So, it's like that meme of, like, the Olympics, you know? Like, these guys with all these gears, and then the Turkish guy just, like, the glasses in one shot, right? Right, right. But, yeah, I can't think of anything off the top of my head, man. I mean, Apple just launched their new stuff, just some really cool camera stuff. I think that that's enough of an identifier for me right there. The fact that we have such a futuristic world and all these cool things and nothing really pops out kind of tells me, right? There's nothing really new and special that we need right now, right in this moment, right? Yeah. Yeah, I agree. We've got the phones that are pretty powerful, that do amazing things, and as far as being creators, we have a lot of opportunities to create with cameras, 360 stuff, and, you know, I've got one of these, like, the AI, like, recorders, right? You know, I won't say the name, but yeah. We have the ability to do stuff like that that you're kind of mentioning that are nice, but at the end of the day, there's not a whole lot that comes to mind. Yeah, it's been a while, man. It's been a while, honestly, now that I think about it. It's been a while since I was mind-blown by it. I mean, I guess the last one I saw was Vision Pro, which, again, I would never buy a Gen 1 of anything from Apple. You got right in my next question. Did you try it? Yeah. No, I did not, but I've heard amazing things, though. Okay. Have you tried it yourself? Yeah, I went to the Apple store to give it a go, right? Made sure that I actually had the experience because being an avid virtual reality user and for many years covering virtual reality and podcasts and talking about it, I knew people were going to ask me about it. And, of course, almost every student I've had over the last six months has asked me about my experiences with it. And, yeah, the technology is great. The only thing about it that I can say is there's nothing in it that was actually new, right? I mean, other than the clarity of the screens, eye tracking, the ability to do what it was doing was all stuff that we were able to do. on previous headsets with previous hardware at different price points, right? But they were able to take all those things and put them into one unit, which was amazing. But then again, at the price that it was, not really feasible for the average person, right? Oh, yeah, yeah, absolutely. And also slapping the Apple logo on everything is just so much better. I mean, it's branding, right? So that's the power of brand, you know? Right. Do you like that ability, that idea that you could sit there and put screens around your room and walk around and see your media around you? Is that something that you think would actually be beneficial, though? I think if it's something that, like, as it evolves, it's definitely something that, like, I'll have to think two to three times, depending on price point, right? Like, there's stuff that I just don't think, just get it, right? But, like, for something like that, I will have to really experience it to see how I can utilize it to its maximum capacity, right? That would be probably the biggest thing. Right. For entertainment purposes. don't really need that but like productivity I would love it you know and going back again like I'm like obsessed with like productivity stuff right like it would be so cool to be like we just drop drop you know just interact like that but yeah I think I think recently just just like the. past couple of days I started doing a little detox and like wind down on my like complexity when it comes to technology right I tried to like simplify my workload simplify excuse me simplify my like organizational tools simplify my tech right um a little bit just because like I was at a point was like okay like that's just too much too much stuff to do in too many places you know already so um yeah man sometimes you got to do a little cleansing right yeah and good way to put that right you have to digital detox is very important do you. have a team of people that help you with content or is that something that you're always putting out there that you're always putting out there that you're always putting out there when it comes to my stand-up, So my stand-up comedy stuff, I shoot and edit everything myself until a point that I have the resource to be able to. But when it comes to my business and the content we work for clients, I have a team of people, very lucky that I've been working with them for a while to help me execute. Yeah, for sure. And when it comes to actual digital media tools today, what do you think is the most important tool for creators such as yourself? People that are having to edit and do these kinds of things. What app, what tool, what tools, I would say, do you think are the most indispensable? Well, I was about to say your brain, man. I was about to say, bro, you've got to be careful with AI, man. You've got to be careful because it's easy access, it's convenient, right? But sometimes… Sometimes it's you yourself sitting somewhere with a notebook and a pen, right? I think that's very, very important. not lose our humanity in that when it comes to being a creator. Not to say not to use AI. Obviously, use AI, right, as a tool, right? Like we're talking about tools. But not being reliant on it so much that, you know, I mean, can you picture, you know, a month without your phone, you know? I don't know what it's like, you know? So we're at a point where we're, like, sort of reliant on it. But when it comes to content creator, no, I think almost all the built-in, well, you can use, like, yeah, almost all the native apps have, like, really good, you know, editing. I do a lot of editing in just Instagram itself. There's CapCut. There's DaVinci. There's Premiere, you know, all these. It depends on what I'm doing, right? For client work, most of the time we use DaVinci, Resolve, sometimes CapCut. But, yeah, there's plenty of tools out there that you can utilize. I would say. Those are probably the most fundamental and basic. Got it. Gotcha. I certainly use a few of those myself. There's a lot of things that I even, as you said, that are built within the apps themselves. And that's actually the stuff that's, I would say, the most unknown to me. I know these programs like the back of my hand, but the apps and their features, they're starting to confuse me. And some of the videos I see everyday people make and I start to go, wow, all right, I've got to look into this stuff, right? One thing I wanted to ask you, because we mentioned the apps, but what about the trends, the styles? Because we can have the editing tools all day, right? But if you don't know how to edit a trendy or a video that's actually going to engage with an audience, it doesn't matter, right? And again, I'm not going to be somebody who is ever going to be a proponent of thinking that everything is about engagement. I think creating is for the purpose of creating and not everything needs to get a thousand views or a million views or ten million. Some things are just meant to be, right? Because you want to create it. But if we are thinking about engagement, if we are trying to grow our audience and our community, right? How do you keep on top of trends and the reason I ask this question is, And I ask this specifically is because I've noticed watching your material as a fan and as somebody who watches your stuff, you are very trendy. You're good at keeping on top of things. And even at some points, you're doing things that nobody else is doing, right? So you're not afraid to go above and beyond and try to create your own new stuff, right? So where does that come from and how do you feel like you're on top of that and not repeating what's already there, right? Yeah. So when it comes to – let's just speak it from like setting the context around like if you treat it as a business, right, which every creator should treat yourself as a business, right? There are like creating for the creative sake, right? Creating for sort of your artistic needs, fulfillment, right? That's absolutely important, right? But as a business, right, as an artist who is a business, it is important to sometimes let go of that. And I hate using the word but it is true. Let go of that ego, right? Sometimes so many artists is like, I am too fancy for – I'm like, dude, you can sit there and be all fancy all you want. If nobody sees your shit, nobody cares, man. Like I don't care. care how good you think you are, how funny you think you are, whatever it is, if nobody sees it, nobody cares, man, I'm sorry, and coming from, like, the being the artist sort of type, right, like, sometimes I notice myself having that, right, like, hmm, my stuff is so good, how come nobody likes it, I'm like, what, it's not their problem, you know, figure. it out, right, as a business, so when it comes to trend, just overall content creation, for like, for my, so obviously, different types of people are different, right, if you're a comedian, obviously very different, if you are, you know, we work with a lot of, like, speakers, right, motivational speakers, et cetera, right, that's very different, right, coaches, speakers, if you're a product, that's also very different, right, but overall, I would say, absolutely, I mean, trends are important because it's already, like, a built-in thing, right, and it kind of removed this one layer of, like, sort of complexity when. it comes to content creation, right, and actually, it's, I, I, I, Anyway, during my college years at USC, there's a really famous class by I think it's Professor Casper, I think. He talks about like just the overall like cinema, right? And he talks about how like we were entering this age called the postmodernism cinema, which means that you're taking whatever already existing and then you create around that, right? And that was like the class was maybe 2010. It was barely – Instagram was barely coming out, and it was so funny. I always randomly think about it. Damn, this guy is on top of his shit, dude. Like he's like the history of cinema. He's like studying and he's like figuring it out, and he goes really deep into it. But when it comes to trends nowadays, that's what it is, right? The postmodernism, like we're just following a trend, and then like you're just doing it in your own spin, right? And I'm going to repeat that. With your own spin, it's very… Very important because I do my best even when… When I'm doing trends, right, even if it's just a sprinkle of my own, like, thing, twist to it, in writing, in style, in performance, right, in editing, whatever, that is super, super important. I mean, you have no idea how easy it is for me if I just want to, like, copy the exact same thing, you know, without changing a thing. Like, that's very easy. And it's good for business, by the way. There's nothing wrong with that. But I think that's where the artist type, right, where it's like, okay, you know, I want to at least put in the effort, right? So I think it's very important. When you're following a trend as an artist, nothing wrong with following a trend. I think it's great. It's important, right? That's why it's called a freaking trend, right? Like, nobody will complain when you're wearing fashion, right? But put your own spin on it. When it comes to original stuff, yeah, I mean, for me, I get bored if I just do trends only, you know? And all my original stuff just come from, like, random ideas I have or observational. Or sometimes, again, this might not be a trend but inspired by other people. But then, like, you create based on inspiration. Right? So that's perfect. Probably the biggest thing when it comes to, like, just overall content creation, if you're talking about something that really helps with engagement, I think overall, specifically for, like, speakers or personalities, people are getting tired of, like, the hyper-edited stuff now. For, like, the past two years, it was very popular, right? It's, like, the, you know, like, really, like, fancy edits, like, graphics popping up everywhere, like, cut to B-rolls and, you know, like, transitions and all that stuff. It was very popular for a while, but now people just want, like, just this, you know? They just want, like, you sitting down, sometimes in a setting like this, sometimes you're just in a car, right? And, again, going back to authenticity, I think people really enjoy that now. People are kind of tired of, like, just all the flares, you know? They just want to see, like, dude, like, who are you, right? No filters, nothing. Just you, you know? So that's overall trend. It's going. Yeah, that's overall trending that is going. And, you know, I think that's why I like stand-up. stand-up comedy clips, people love the crowd work. Again, you know, it's just because to people who don't know, it just seems very authentic, right? It seems very, like, in the moment, just raw, you know? So that's the overall trend, I would say, I've noticed. Right, right. And again, I do want to compliment you on that. When it comes to the crowd work, I've seen a little bit. I haven't had the opportunity to see you in person. When I was in California, you know, it was before the stand-up, you know, Tony existed. So, no, I'm excited to hopefully see you in the future. But, yeah, as I was saying, your crowd work right now, it seems to be pretty comfortable, pretty confident. Luckily, the places that you're at seem to be pretty friendly for the most part, so you don't have to worry too much. When it comes to just, like, stories of things that you've tried, could you give me one example of something that you tried maybe recently that failed, that totally didn't work, something that you tried to put out there that you were like, man, that didn't go to my expectations, right? And then what was kind of the thought process after that? When it comes to stand-up or anything? Basically, stand-up or social media. Yeah, kind of the process of putting content. out there for yourself right self-branding yourself right yeah uh so i mean there's plenty of stuff that we try for like different clients that you know we experiment right and then like you can learn from there's a lot of learning to do and then for me for myself i can speak more personally like i mean there were um there were a couple of skits that i did it was like more. darker humor and maybe because it's darker humor i was like overthinking a little bit right and then i put quite a bit of like mental time into it and then it turned out like it just didn't perform very well at all and i was like hmm you know like was it because i overthink it too much or is it what was it right but at the end of the day it's like dude move on you know so that's probably my learning lesson it's like something when it comes to dark humor stop stop overthinking it right just do it because i was like oh man is this too dark. am i gonna get canceled you know no no right just doing it so so yeah i was gonna say that my learning lesson from that, is, um, it's all part of the process, man. Like just put it out there, you know, um, you'll learn from it. Right. And obviously you have the self-reflection as you talked about before to be able to do that. Um, and, and kind of just jumping away from the conversation where we had, uh, right now, you talked about earlier having kind of this growing up with a scarcity mindset and then slowly being able to evolve that into the mindset that you have right now. And I want. to touch on that a little bit, just because I feel like I also went down that path of not only growing up with a scarcity mindset, but how that affected me mentally and making me feel kind of depressed and scared of the world and thinking there wasn't always an opportunity for me. Right. Until the place I feel right now, whereas there's so much, there's an abundance, right. And we, as people, when we work together, we have synergy. We can create more, right. Then we possibly could ever use by, by ourselves. Right. So when we work together, this, again, there's this factor of understanding that that's actually true, right. Where did that come from for you? How did you. learn that? Right. Uh, cause that's something that some people, never learn. Yeah, like being able to jump into the abundance mindset, changing away from the scarcity mindset, I think it was an evolving process where there were so many small moments where – and I still experience it here and there, but there were so many moments of my life where I started seeing other people's successes and I started to feel bad about myself. And at one point I was like, bro, why? I mean, dude, I remember, man, when I was in my 20s or whatever, I was like, if I don't – by the age of 30, I haven't like made it, you know, if I haven't made it, if I'm not in like – Just to be on the 30 list, you know, if I haven't made like at least $10 million, you know, whatever, right? Then what's the point? You know, just I didn't actually try anymore. You know, man, such a cocky and arrogant little shit thinking, you know? And, you know, at one point I was like, bro, that's like really tiring. You know what I mean? You can always be better. You can always become better. And constantly comparing yourself with others and thinking that like somebody is taking away opportunities from you, it just doesn't help, right? And this happens in like stand-up and entrepreneurship, right? So I would say it was a gradual perspective shift from like also learning, right, reading books, right? And realizing that like it's just such an abundance world that there's really no need to have the scarcity mindset because it doesn't help you. It only works. It only limits you, right? And, you know, from my upbringing, there are just so many small things that, you know, your parents say. day that like just stuck in your head, right? And being able to, number one, I guess the first step is be aware of it, right? Be aware of some of these subconscious beliefs that just there, you know, is very important. And sometimes the awareness come from somebody that you were close with, friends, intimate relationships, sometimes come from professional experiences, right? But. being aware of it and accepting that exists, that's the step two, right? Like, okay, you know what? I do have this thing, you know? And number three, it's like to do something about it, right? If you're not going to do something about it, you're just aware of the fact that you have this mindset, but you're refusing to change, then you're just going to get stuck there, man. Because any progress comes with, you know, it's just like working out, right? In order for you to build muscle, you have to tear some muscle up. So, So I would say, like, those are really important steps to have. It doesn't matter what field you're in, man, like breaking out of that scarcity mindset. But for me specifically, I can speak as a creative entrepreneur, is that letting go of this idea that somebody is taking away opportunities from you, you know, because you constantly have to go through it, right, as an actor, you know, like, right, as an actor, director, whatever it is, you know, like stand-up comedian, right? Like, people are not taking away opportunities from you, man. People are just going on their own damn paths and actually open up more opportunities, you know? So I'll give you one example that was very clear. Like, I remember distinctly that when Parasite, the movie Parasite, the Korean movie, won the Oscar, being the very first, like, country, foreign country to win the Oscar Best Picture, right? Right. I remember. I remember it. There was just one split moment. I was like, man, I wanted to be that. I wanted to be like the first. Like Taiwan. I want to be like Taiwan, best picture, Oscar. Literally, it was maybe quick, like two seconds. I was like, jealous. You took it away from me. But then I immediately, I was aware of it, and I switched it. I was like, dude, that is awesome. You know what I mean? Finally, there's like, you know, in Asian country, it could be foreign country. I'm pretty sure it's foreign country. But finally, people see like, wow, like Asian countries can make foreign films that can win the best picture, right? And I was like, dude, that's just opening up, you know? That is just like opening up, you know? And yeah, man, so I would say that really applies to, that will help you. You, for your own mental state and help you become better, right? And everybody's different. Some people give up very quickly. easily, right? They're like, well, what's the point, you know? So that's my perspective from like transitioning from like scarcity to abundance. Yeah, and I like how you kind of showed the path there. As you said, with your parents and the things that you get told as an early, you know, adult. or an early kid, right? Those things usually stick with you, right? The values of our parents. And again, we have to remember they're a product of their time, right? And not just the product of their time, the product of location, right? And proximity to the things that were available to them. So, you know, when it comes to our parents, we have to say, okay, those are their statements. And now, right, where's our opportunities and where can we possibly go? So, you know, one thing I really liked, as you also kind of mentioned too, is that you read books and not only by reading books, you know, especially at the time that we didn't have the podcast world, we didn't have YouTube, but by reading books, you were able to kind. of push your mindset and able to see things in different perspectives, which then of course shapes. And again, the reason I talk this way is because I care about this path. I find a lot of people get stuck in this path and don't really. know where to go, or they get lost in it. And I want to like the people that are listening, wherever they are on that journey, I want to make sure that people have the tools that are available so that they can also do really cool things. Because just as you and I are talking about, and you and I have done some cool things in our lives, right, the potential for everybody out there is also, you know, there for them to do those really cool things. And, and I kind of want them to piggyback off of you. And I want to piggyback off of me and then, you know, a future. guest of the show. And that's kind of the purpose of, again, why I want to communicate in this way. Right. So I really appreciate the way that you expressed it in that way. I think it's a, nice way to for people to understand that. Right. Again, I also noticed you said something there that was also pretty important, which is that, you know, and very honest, I appreciate you being very honest, right? We get jealous in a crazy situation sometimes when people are finding success, right? And then all of a sudden, Parasite finds success and oh, no, not them, right? But this feeling of being able to catch yourself right away, and then be able to transfer that. immediate thought into something else, right? That's what actually shows the wisdom, right? We're all people that feel the, jealousy, but the people that actually are able to then transition that into the reality are people who can give themselves logic statements, right? And so where did you get that base from? And when I ask this, do you feel like you had a parent in your life that kind of gave you this ability to think this way? Or is this something you kind of developed on your own through time, through teachers and, you know, just through your own education? Where did that come from? Yeah. So going back to real quick about the honesty, vulnerability has a lot of power to it, obviously. So I do my best to be like as authentic and vulnerable as possible, because I do think that that connects with people and overall outcome is better, right? Now, when it comes to that trait, I'm not sure if my parents have, how would you describe it in one word? If there is a word to describe this specific trait? If there's a word to describe a specific trait, a characteristic, right? One characteristic. Yeah. So. Having the characteristic. Yeah. of being that i'm not sure if it's from my parents i think maybe the fact that i've been uh and by the way are you affected by the noise do you hear the outside noise at all no we're all good we're all good um california everybody it's california this is real life all right enjoy it um so i think just being alone by myself for so long like i mean i i moved away from my parents since i was like 15 years old you know so being alone and being forced to be more independent i guess uh that has. shaped me who i am and i guess introspective is that the right word to describe the characteristic like being like observant introspective and absolutely observe um yeah i think i think that's a product of spending a lot of me time you know and and sometimes you know and you i believe you're in relations do you live with your uh partner or no yeah yeah i live with my girlfriend right now and okay, got it my son and brand new daughter with her right now so yeah congrats on that and, And, I mean, you know, I live with my girlfriend now, so sometimes we talk about this, right? Like, we just say, hey, meantime, you know, we need space. You know, we need to just have, like, something to think and do your thing, right? So I think that is also very important that affects your relationship, too. But I would say my characteristic of that probably shaped from, like, just being alone, being independent. Being independent, I think that's the right word, at a young age. Yeah, powerful. Right? Important to say. I think there's a lot of people out there that kind of go right out of school, and they feel like they need something, and they become dependent, right? And get in relationships or get stuck in things, and they never really develop, again, that characteristic that we spoke about because, you know, it has to come from somewhere, right? It doesn't just appear, and this is something that, you know, luckily, that's why we say we're raised by a community, right? Luckily, it comes when you have enough people that you communicate with, but when you're stuck by yourself, it's really hard to develop that skill, you know, in a genuine way. And so I know we have to wrap up here in just a moment. Yeah. I just want to end it with our few last important questions. One of the most important things, actually, one of the most important things I wanted to talk about this entire cast, but it's been on my mind since the beginning, and we just spoke about family, so it's topical right now, and that is you're a dog dad. You're a dog dad, my friend. So tell me, what brand or what breed dog we got over here, and what's the name? She is a McNab, which is like a Californian Border Collie, and she, what was the other question? She's a breed. Name, a name. Oh, Aurea. Aurea, yeah. So Princess Aurea, that's her name. Aurea, like Aureo for a lady. She, yeah, man, I mean, she in many ways, you know, changed my life. I mean, it's just unconditional love, man, like that they have, and I don't care what people say about, you know, and all that, but like dogs and pets in general, but, but. But dogs, you know, is something that makes you as a human to see so many things that you normally don't see, right? And, yeah, man, I'm a proud dog dad. Yeah, she's chilling down there right now. Gotcha, gotcha. And the reason I ask is because as you kind of just alluded to, I think that all these things are really important to life. And the little things about how people live and the things that are involved in our lives really make up who we are, right? And as you kind of mentioned, a lot of these things on how you're confident and how you're able to do what you do, at the end of the day, I think all of it's, you know, you got a dog, my friend. She gives you all the confidence now, right? It really is that. Basically, I've also got a dog, right, Casper. And, you know, when nobody else is there for you, the dog's there for you, right? When you need some confidence, the dog's excited to see you, even when you feel like you fail, right? Yeah. Being rude, the dog treats you or teaches you how to be, right? Which is just kind, right? So, no, the reason I mentioned. And that, again, is because you made sure to put it on your profiles. And people that put that on their profiles, they've got a connection with reality. Yeah, dude. I mean, it's something – I'll tell you. I'm going a little deep here. But, I mean, I talked – I actually – I was originally going to talk about it on my TEDx talk. But here's an insider for you guys. So, during the darkest time of my personal life and sort of challenge, you know, she was a really big reason also what sort of dug me out of the darker phase, right? Because it was just this, again, the unconditional love that she has, dogs in general have, but, like, just that connection that we have, right? Like, you know, it was like just that one morning. And that was the same morning that I decided to do the cold shower, the ice cold shower. And it was like 3 or 4 a.m. I was looking at her. She was looking at me. And it was just a moment of, like, she just – reminding me that, I'm glad you're here and I'm glad, you're good enough. Thank you for being here. I am her purpose. Who the fuck am I to think that I got nothing. going on? Sometimes you're in a dark place like that and just your dog reminding you that you, just being you, existing is their purpose. Man, that's a powerful thing. It's just that. I'm holding it up right now, but man, that was a really, really powerful moment for me to remind myself that, it's like. they just provide this. spirit that humans sometimes don't have. I like to say this, the three-legged dog spirit, have you heard of that? When you see a dog with three legs and you throw a ball, they are, run, man. They would go for it, right? They don't sit there and be like, oh, I got three legs. Oh, man, I'm so sad. Only humans go like, I'm injured. I'm tired today. I don't feel like going to the gym. Oh, my muscle is so sore from yesterday. Only we're like, but like, man, be a three-legged dog, man. You know what I mean? Just have that spirit, you know? And I think that's something. I love about dogs, you know? And nothing against cat people, but, you know, I think cats are cute. I don't mind having a cat, but I think there's something about dogs that, you know, I just love. So proud dog, dad. That's right. Again, I think it's important to say, and yeah, and just for anybody who is listening, if anybody, you know, doesn't have a dog or a cat at home to cuddle up with, you know, we'll be the voice of it right now. Yeah, you absolutely can do it, right? You got this, right? No big deal. Get yourself a dog. You got it. You're missing out if you don't have one. Let me see if I can get her. Right, right. Otherwise, we have to show the dog photo. I was already going to ask you this. We, have to show the dog photo when we talk about Aurea. Aurea. What's up, Aurea? Oh, see, the Aurea name makes sense now. What's up, Aurea? All right. Hey, hey, hey. Thank you for making comedian Tony Shriller. All right. Yeah. Right. It's the people that support us that really make us who we are at the end of the day, right? And they really help us. So, yeah, this is dog. That's a good one. She's a drama queen. Well, the last little question I have for you or the last little tidbit I want to put. here is actually more of a question for you in the specific way of, do you have a recipe, when it comes to success, right? And when I say success, this is a very broad term because success is different for everybody, right? When I say recipe, I'm talking about ingredients and they can be very basic, they can be very broad, or they can be very specific, right? But if you could on the spot, what would be kind of a quick, simple recipe to success if you could give one? Yeah. I would say number one is knowing what it is, knowing what you want, you know? Number one. Number one is having that vision, right? that's number one in order for you to be successful whatever it is that you want to achieve you need to know what it is that you want to achieve, and then number two is having the grit I have a, thing over there, it says grit, leader and grind having the grit to know that you are willing to do whatever it takes to get there, there's going to be ups and downs, lots of ups and downs mostly downs, being able to say yeah, who cares, keep going. having the grit of that, and consistency having the vision, having the consistency the grit to go through, and then yeah man, you just gotta, be the leader for yourself, be the leader for the people around you, and lead yourself to go through, the process of, being consistent and putting in the effort and support the people along the way, Bringing the people around you up together, like give rather than take. The more you give, the more you take. The more you give, the more you get, I guess. And being able to focus on providing whatever that's already in you, I would say that's a really key ingredient, kind of starting off full circle back. Like being fulfilling, living your purpose, living your fulfillment, and sharing your purpose with the people out there. I would say that's a very big key to being successful at anything. And we're all taking one step at a time, achieving one thing at a time, celebrating along the way. That's probably the last reminder. Celebrate along the way. I have to constantly remind myself, dude, good job. Pat on my own shoulder. Enjoy the party. It's a process, right? Yeah, so that's how I would say it, man. Absolutely, and you beautifully said that. Tony, the last question I want to ask you real quick. I see that it's Tony Hsieh and Tony Shriller. What would you like to go by them? What's the way that you're going to go moving forward? What do you want people to address you as? Yeah, you can go by Tony Shriller. Just because Tony Hsieh, number one, is hard to pronounce. It's hard to dispel, to remember. This is just my public stage name. H-S-E-I-H, right? H-S-I-E-H. Ah, you're right. It is too hard. No, we're going with Tony Shriller. Yeah, see, most people still, yeah. But, yeah, especially we talk a lot about comedy and stuff like that. So, yeah, we can just go by Tony Shriller. Absolutely. And so, for the people listening, how can they find you? You can just find me on the Gram, IG Tony Shriller. I also started a brand new YouTube channel, actually, that's going to be like all things comedy, entrepreneurship, anything in between. So, stay tuned for that. Brand new YouTube channel that I'm going to start doing. I started doing like a couple of videos, but it's going to be like comedy and entrepreneurship. And anything in between. So, Tony Shriller in general. And, uh... Thank you so much for having me, Caleb. Absolutely. It was an honor to have you here. Ladies and gentlemen, Tony Schiller. That's right. Okay, guys, and that's the end of the podcast. Thanks for sticking around until the end. I really appreciate it. I certainly had a good time talking to Tony, and as you can see in the podcast, he is just full of insightful things to say and just lots of really good information, really good vibes, good energy, being around him, and I just can't wait to have more talks with him in the future and to see how his journey unfolds. And no doubt about it, when you see him on stage, when you see him performing, you can see not only the genuine appreciation that he has for the people that are around him, but just the ease and the fun and the authenticity that comes from him, which is not only important, but just seems like natural from somebody like him. So it's inspiring to see that, and maybe someday I'll be able to put myself in similar situations and do things after getting such coaching from such wonderful people. Thank you so much. so anyways thanks for watching i will see you in the next video hopefully every wednesday we're going to try to keep up with that as much as possible so i'll see the next cast until then bye