Youth Marketing Masterclass: Four Under 20 Influencers Reveal The Right Way To Connect and Engage With Young People with Connor Blakley, Jesse Kay, Madison Bregman, Ishan Goel, and JP Sears - Genius Network Episode #119

No one cares that you bought it at Dick's Sporting Goods. You know what I mean? Like, it's the ignorance of brands thinking that like, oh, they want to come here because we're good, we're good. No, no, you're probably not, because all the good stores we're not walking into, we're buying online.

Does influencer marketing intrigue you? What do entrepreneurs need to know and understand about Generation Z and younger generations to connect and engage with that audience? At the 2018 Genius Network annual event, Joe Polish brought four amazing under 20 influencers to his stage for a Youth Marketing Masterclass panel. Remember to subscribe to Genius Network so that you don't miss a Future episode. Visit geniusnetwork.com subscribe for more.

This panel of young entrepreneurs is very unique, especially when you compare their ages to the three most famous, successful and richest American entrepreneurs and business owners alive today. Warren Buffett was 40 years old when he took control of Berkshire Hathaway. Jeff Bezos was 30 years old when he founded Amazon. Bill Gates was 20 years old when he co founded Microsoft. That puts their average age of starting their businesses at 30 years old. Yet the average age of the panelists sitting with me in just a moment is only 18 and a half years. Imagine their future. First, however, let me give you an insight into their past and and present entrepreneurial activities so that everyone knows who they are. I'll introduce each of them and ask them to come out. First is my good buddy Connor Blakely. Two years ago, I invited Connor to come to a Genius Network meeting and speak to our members. At that time, he was named the number one high school entrepreneur to watch in 2016. Inc. Magazine called him a business phenomena and tycoon. Connor's company, YouthLogic, was recently acquired by campus agency. He is now serving as the Chief Marketing Officer, helping brands understand the used culture and how to engage in Generation Z. Connor's work with Microsoft, 3, M7 11 and Toyota, just to name a few. Connor's much older than he was the last time he was at Genius Network event. He is now. How old are you now?

19.

19. A whopping 19 years old.

19. Okay, cool. Hey, one second, one second. Cameron Harrell, you in the room. Stand the hell up. I just want to say thank you. Obviously there's been a lot of people in the room taking chances on me since I came when I was 14. But I watched a TED Talk, Cameron's TED Talk when I was 14. I didn't know anyone but I annoyed. Cameron emailed him seven times in like Three days he got back to me, got on a call with him. Literally, months later, he introduces me to Joe. I find my way at Genius Network, and I was like, kind of like the first tribe of entrepreneurs that I ever, like, align myself with. And, like, it totally changed my life. So thank you. And thank you.

You're welcome. Thank you. Youngest guy to ever give a 10 minute talk a Genius Network. All right, now give it up for Jesse K. He was just nine years old when he started his first business, flipping sneakers on ebay. Now Jesse produces a podcast titled 20 Under 20s. The Huffington Post called his podcast interviews of successful young entrepreneurs from across the globe, paving the way for a new generation. His podcast has over 100,000 listeners. Jesse's company helps Fortune 500 companies, professional athletes and entrepreneurs monetize and engage their digital and social media audiences. Keep in mind, Jesse's only 18 and a freshman in college. What's up?

Thank you. Not for long, though.

Okay, next is Ishan goel. Ishan was 13 when he started his first company, Slackers. I mean, really Slackers. Today he runs IG Marketing ll, connecting top influencers with brands like Mark Cuban Companies, College Boards, and build the super bowl selfie Kid from Scratch. He's been featured in Forbes Business Insider and is one of the top 10 ranked Gen Z marketers in the country. Ishan is 19 years old.

Thanks, Zach.

You know what?

You'll have to actually teach me. Like what? So there's gotta be some weird thing that I used.

We'll go over it.

Yeah, yeah, seriously, we can. And then next time when we're not doing it live, we'll choreograph it and then we'll be. We'll be good.

Okay.

And now, Madison Bregman. Madison quickly gave up her lemonade stand and decided there was a lot more money to be made going door to door asking if her neighbors needed their cars washed. Then at 16, she started a talent management company focusing on the entertainment industry. Now Madison owns Girl Z, helping brands better connect with today's young women. She's worked with the NFL, Darden Restaurants, and the EA, the video game company, and gets retainers of 10,000amonth. Madison is our senior panel member at 20 years old, so she's the old one in the group. And you know what? I actually would like to invite someone else to be up here on this panel with us because I think this individual would have had a whole nother element of perspective, because I think all of you are going to have your perspectives absolutely changed as a result of our Conversations that are about to happen. And let's give it up for JP Sears.

Jp.

All right, awesome. So here's what we're going to do. I'm going to ask you guys a few questions, guys and gal. Referring to JP of course. So what we're going to do is I'm going to ask you some questions and then we'll open it up for a little Q and A with the audience. Okay. And we're gonna. We're going to. This thing is live right now. So what do you guys recommend for everyone to share this?

Ishan.

What should they do?

We should just share it right now.

Share it right now. Okay, so on Facebook.

Facebook.

All right, so please share this.

Wait, do people still use Facebook?

I think they do, you guys.

No, it's footage.

Yeah. All right, so what's the most. Let's start with. We'll do like quick versions of this. What's the most exciting things that you guys are doing that you're doing or with your clients that are working to connect with young people, your generation?

Yeah. I think the thing that's most fun for me is in every boardroom and everywhere that I go and everyone I talk to, it's all about social media and digital, digital, digital. I'm actually a massive, massive fan of traditional marketing. So tv, direct mail, billboards. The problem has never been the actual medium. It's just that all of the creative got messed up in the medium. The only time during the year that we pay attention to TV commercials during. During the Super Bowl. So why the hell wouldn't they make those kind of commercials all year? Yeah, billboards. I mean, like, Brandon Steiner has this funny thing they did in New York in the 90s where he'd be driving down the highway and it would be like, we got balls. You drive another 30 seconds, be like, we have more balls for another 30 seconds. Then it would be like, we have the biggest balls. And they're a collectibles company. It's like things like that, doing things that breed real human interaction that people will authentically share on their social media to generate user generated content, which is the game. So I love traditional content as long as it's done the right way.

Connor, do you still believe in Santa Claus?

That was ruined for me a long time ago.

Okay.

I just wanted everybody get on the same page here. Proceed.

Going separate from Connor because, yeah, I never believed in Santa Claus. But in terms of what we're doing with some of the brands and clients, I think focusing on digital and social is huge for People, especially if they've never dug deep into it, but they've tested and they thought, oh, it might not have worked. I don't think it's that social or digital didn't work for them. I think they did it the wrong way. So discovering with brands the way that they can actually go in and use digital to both connect with their clients, connect with their customers, and engage with other brands to do really cool influencer activations and other product launches and paid advertising and all that, all just through kids phones. Like we've grown up with it our entire life in the next generation. That's all we know. So I think you have to get on that now before it's too late.

Yeah. And to piggyback off of Jesse, I definitely believe some of the stuff you definitely said and influencers is a huge thing, is how do you use influencers that can connect with your brand, your target audience and how can you implement a strategy using them? Because influencers are a currency now. The power's shifting a little bit out of the billboards, unfortunately, and the TV ads. And it's come and the TV shows, specifically the actors are now shifting into influencer roles. Their Instagram accounts, their Twitter's, their Facebooks are becoming more stronger and now companies are paying top dollar to run campaigns through them. And that's basically what I believe. And that's a huge shift in dynamic. And how do you build a strong strategy around that?

So we're focused on helping brands better connect with young women. You know, in today's political atmosphere, I think that women are becoming a focus for a lot of brands. And so that's our focus right now, how to engage with women differently than perhaps men and women.

Yeah, I think we've all learned a lot so far. So basically y' all are just recommending, use MySpace a lot, run ads on it.

That's what it comes down to.

Okay.

All right. That was powerful. Thank you. So biggest mistakes that you see people making when trying to market to Gen Z.

So I read this study a couple years ago that talked about how we have the attention span of a goldfish. And, and we're the first generation that has grown up with the ability to FaceTime our friend, order a pizza and call our mom all at the same time with the phone in our hand. And we're multi screened. So we've developed a really good BS meter when looking at content. That attention span, that six to eight seconds isn't how long we're consuming content, it's how long we're Looking at all of the information to decipher if we want to spend more time on it. So it's creating micro content in that six to eight seconds that not only breeds consumption, but also engagement to create a real community and capturing that six to eight seconds.

Yeah. I think there's tons of misconceptions about our generation and people our age. I think the biggest one is we don't like to communicate in person. And the only way you can get us is through our phones. Sure, we use our phones, but I'd still prefer to go meet with somebody in person or talk on the phone. Like, just because we use our phones a ton. That's a way for us to connect with people. But I think everyone thinks that's all we're limited to, when in reality. I mean, I love Face to Face just as much as anyone else.

Yeah.

And a lot of people say that Gen Z is lazy. And they say that we really don't do anything. We sit there and we plan our phones, but with our phones, we're able to reach someone across the world in real time and have a conversation with them. And I think that we're the most connected generation out there in the sense that we can put out information and it can be seen, it can be distributed to millions of people in a matter of seconds. A lot of companies tend to, or a lot of people tend to think that we are being lazy, but we're continuously creating content, sharing it, and distributing it. So companies out there need to figure out how we. How they can get into that culture and we can share their content in an organic way.

Like, like, because of that, just for an example for you guys, we turn moments into movements. So think about parkland. Me too. And all. And all these different things where we have the ability to activate really, really quickly, to have real, real impact in real time because of that.

That's a very interesting line. Turn moments into movements.

I copyrighted it, Joe.

Awesome.

I actually didn't.

So one of the biggest misconceptions is brands who are trying to get us to meet them where they are. And you know, when people are making the marketing messages, it's often older people and just trying to meet Generation Z where they are and create marketing messages that are applicable to Generation Z in a way that is authentic to both the brand and to the generation.

And what's really cool is this. It's like we can talk all day about generational differences. People get paid way too much money to go speak on stages and show a bunch of data about Differences between Gen Z and baby boomers. I don't think that that shit really matters that much. I think that there's like two really big differences between Gen Z and all the other generations, which we've already covered. We. What matters is the culture and youth culture that influences not only bleeds into all the other generations, but gives brands the ability to cling onto something that can make them cool and relevant and timely. So, for instance, Fortnite, right? Ishan was talking about we play Fortnite probably every night.

Every night? We played it last night.

Yeah, literally. No, we flew out one of my friends from high school so we could bring a freaking Xbox and a gaming computer so we could all play Fortnite together on a gaming computer. I swear to God. It's a way that. That's just one example of the many ways that, like, we can stay connected, talk about other things, but, like, still have fun and, like, just do random.

I use that as like a great way to chat with our business friends. Like, if we try and connect every day, like, we will literally get on Fortnite for like 45 minutes and just talk with each other while doing something like multitasking.

They might not know what fortnight is.

Yeah. So I don't think there's a single person who doesn't know.

So. Who has kids in here? Who has kids?

Keep your hands up. If they play Fortnite. Wow, that's actually not as bad as I thought.

Yeah, you're really into it. So, like. Yeah, no, that's a great example. And it just shows like, the future of esports and how big that's actually gonna go.

What I heard these guys say is basically, you're old and they're not.

Translation, that's a good way to actually.

Is Harvey McCann here? Because that dude is one of the youngest people I know and he's like 86. So, like, I swear to God. And it's weird because some of my good friends are like, old, but, like, I feel like if I like went out with them, it would still be like, actually kind of fun.

So that you've not spoken to already. What are misconceptions people have around Generation Z and what's the truth?

The truth is, is. Wow. No, I mean, honestly, like, at the end of the day, it's about. I think what Madison said was really brilliant. It's. Everyone's trying to get us to meet. So here's a perfect example. So I'm going shopping with my 13 year old sister because I'm probably like the Least fashionable guy on the planet. So I need a filter. And now we're going shopping for her. We're walking through Hollister and then Abercrombie and Fitch, and we're looking at these shirts, and the shirts say Abercrombie on the shirt. And I'm like, that's so whack. Why would they put Abercrombie on their shirt? And then I listened to it and I was like, okay. The only reason they're putting Abercrombie on their shirt is because they think it's cool that they're Abercrombie. So I think the biggest mistake that brands are making is they're assuming that they're cool when no one really cares. No one cares that it's Abercrombie. No one cares that you bought it at Dick's Sporting Goods. You know what I mean? Like, it's the ignorance of brands thinking that, like, oh, they want to come here because we're good. We're good. No, no, you're probably not. Because all the good stores we're not walking into, we're buying online, then we're returning them. Yeezy Supreme. Yeezy Supreme. Those are just some of the ones. Off the top of my head.

I think a huge thing, too. People think that our generation has a ton of, like, brand loyalty and all that. I mean, personally, from the people that I work with and talk to on a daily basis, it's about convenience for us. Like, I could be wearing Levi's jeans every day for 20 years, but if I need jeans and the Levi's is a mile away in the city and 7 Jeans is half a mile away, I'm going 7 jeans every day. Like, I think brand loyalty is something that. Sure, you'd prefer something, but I don't think. People think our generations die hard. If you love a brand, you stick with it forever. And I just don't think that's true.

Yeah, definitely. That's a really good point. And it's accessibility. At the end of the day, if I can get something quicker, faster, better, I'm going to do that. And that's Generation Z. How can you put your product in front of them? And it's useful. It's a usage. The brand we're shifting away from, oh, I want to wear definitely that brand no matter what. And we're shifting to, how quickly can I get this in my hands? How fast will they ship it to me? When can I get it? Those are the questions we're asking. And it's also back with Is this a big brand that other people are definitely wearing? So they want to stay with the trend, but they want shortcuts. We want stuff quickly in our hands, and we don't care how we get it.

Yeah. I think an example of this is Uber Eats. We don't care. We're just going for the cheapest one out of Uber Eats. Doordash. And whatever the other ones are, they're all terrible. They all. The food all comes cold and soggy, and it's disgusting, but it's all about that convenience.

Very true.

Madison. Do I. Do I intimidate you?

Yes.

Okay.

I just wanted to feel better about myself. I think we should move on. Joe.

What advice would you give to young people that want to make a difference in the world? Or perhaps be like JP Sears? We'll start with the advice first.

All right. Don't listen to people who haven't done it. That would be the first one.

And that's actually quite.

Convince yourself. And in your head, you need to convince yourself that you're the greatest thing that's ever walked God's green earth. Here's what I mean. Because when you're. When you start this whole thing and being. When I was 14, keep my. I had literally nothing, like, nothing like, other than sports. And, like, my GPA was a 1.63 in high school. So when I'm saying, I'm gonna be a millionaire, I'm gonna work with Pepsi, even my dad was like, connor, man. What, bro? And all my best friends were like, oh, yeah, buddy thinks he's Mark Cuban. Like, just all that stuff all the time. All the time. People start to make you think that, like, man, am I. Am I, Am I? Should I be doing this? But if you convince yourself in your head that you're so fricking good that it doesn't matter, obviously not treat people cocky. Stay home. But, like, in your own head, think that way. It's. It's the only way to do it. And the reason I say don't listen to people who haven't done it because I guess I'm an adjunct guest lecturer at John Carroll University. Every Thursday, I teach an entrepreneurship class. And I actually got my first big complaint. And my first big complaint was because I asked about their other professors, who they learned from. And she goes, oh, my God, I absolutely love my business professor. He's the best. I go, well, what business did he run? And she goes, oh, none. He was just a professor. And I go, why the hell are you listening to him? Would you let a Fat person teach you how to get ripped? You're like, no.

I feel like you're ripped. Shaming me because I have such a six pack.

And I mean, that's the biggest problem. And what's even scarier is this. Here's what's even scarier is kids are taking it. Not all advice from rich people is good advice. And we're living in a world of democratized content. And you guys can talk about, like, the Lambos and Rolexes and all that bullshit that we see on Instagram, and it's like, don't get me wrong, like, that stuff's awesome, but holy shit, they don't talk about it. What? It's like when all your friends go to college and you sitting in your apartment and you're like, holy shit, I'm alone. And you're on a plane alone for two weeks. And the only. Like. You know what I mean? That shit sucks. Like, it sucks and no one talks about it. So, like, that's one of my things. I'm gonna start to talk about that stuff. Like, people message me all the time, and this is why I take breaks from Instagram sometimes. And we have these conversations all the time where we feel like we're sharing things. So then people message us that our lives are sick. And I catch myself doing it. I take a picture of where I'm sitting on a plane, and then I'm like, shit, was I sharing that because I'm in first class, or was I sharing it because I wanted to share it? And, like, these are the things that, like, we really need to start to think about.

Yeah, I mean, to start just about the terrible stuff that's on Instagram every day from kids that want to be entrepreneurs or pretend to be entrepreneurs. Like, people will rent private planes to stay on the ground for an hour so they could take pictures in it. It's that bad. But I. But I think in terms of. I don't even know what we were talking about. Hundreds went on.

Well, it was. It was advice. Advice for young generations.

Okay. Yeah, totally.

Advice for young people who actually want to make a difference in the world, not just try to look cool.

Yeah, totally. I think, first off, staying away as much as you can from the people I just described. But second off, I think everyone in here is already doing it, but somebody told me, I think my dad told me a while back, like, surround yourself with who you want to be. Always be the dumbest person in the group and try and find people who are way smarter than you, way better than you. And all of that. And in my high school, like, I'm from a town of, like, 7,000 people. Like, in my town, I'm like the entrepreneurial kid, but that didn't mean anything to me. So being able to find kids like Connor, Eshan, Madison and all that, even though we live around the country, being able to surround myself with people like that, and also just finding a mentor, like, there's. So I'm sure everyone in here, you'd love to help kids if they came to you and said, hey, I've looked up to you for a while. I'd love to be like you. And I'm older. But so many kids are afraid to reach out and do that. They're afraid that they'll get a rejection or something like that. And I think it's the best thing any kid can do. You can watch where you want to be in 10 years right in front of you and do whatever you can for them.

By the way, let me mention, too, for Genius Network members, we've got new Genius Network members. During the meetings that we do, the smaller meetings, you can bring one of your kids, one of your young people to the office, and they can be downstairs where we stream it. And that has been an absolute life changer for many of the young people that have come to Genius Network, because that's. That's one of the reasons I'm doing this. I mean, everyone here is interacting with young people all the time, and we all used to be young, so definitely that's huge.

It's a lot of parents tend to think their kids aren't ready or they shouldn't bring them anywhere, and then they're looking up to these people on social media that are in the private jets that are sitting on the Runway not moving.

Okay, first of all, there's nothing wrong with private jets, but just how people post them to look cool sitting on.

The Runway not moving.

Yeah, well, yeah, if they're sitting on the Runway not moving. But, like, an actual private jet is like, that's dope. Like, I want one, that's fine. But.

We'Re at a point in time where content is like king, but there's content that isn't real, that's being put out. There's a lot of things that are being manipulated in the public eye. And when you look behind the scenes, you tend to see, okay, this was total bs and unfortunately, that's the truth. I've met people. I met the Tai Lopez team. I've met Gary Vee's team. I've met all these people that are at the top and of the content world when it comes to content consumed by Gen Z. And I noticed, like, a lot of the content that's being put out is very good to get people started, but the guidance isn't there. And you guys, as parents, it's in your hands to definitely get out there. Take your kid to work, show them what you do. Don't be scared. Oh, he's just a dumb kid watching Netflix. No, like, bring him up, take him to your workplace. Like, get him involved in what you're doing. Even though he might not be excited or she might not be excited, try to spark that within them because that's what's going to carry through.

Like, whether, whether you know it or not. Like, yeah, they might be watching Netflix, playing Fortnite, drinking beers in a basement with their friends on Fridays and Saturdays, but you got to understand that they're craving that. Like, that's inside of them. Like that sparks inside of them. I was, yeah, they want, they want to be that like me. I, like, I'm kind of an anomaly. And I was super blessed to like have that turn on at like 14, but like, that something needs to happen to kind of like light that. And if you're not going to take the opportunity, then I think that's a shame.

And I think that today with social media and technology, we're constantly hearing a lot of different messages. And I think the best advice is to just trust yourself and follow your intuition because you know what's best and you know who you are.

Yeah. Being a part of this panel has really inspired me. Where now, like, I've been 37, but now I identify as a 19 year old. So I feel like, hey, it's 2018.

You can do it.

I'm very much a part of Generation Z. And so, Jesse, I just want you to know also your story about your dad telling you never be the dumbest kid in the room, that inspires me because my dad always told me I was the dumbest kid in the room and his advice to me was wrong. He said, try not to be the dumbest guy in the room for once. So I'm going to take you. I now identify as your dad's son. I'm you. Who are you now?

We're brothers.

Wow.

Yeah.

My mom's here. She didn't tell me I had another brother.

Where. Where is she?

Where is Helene?

She's in the back.

Mom, you didn't tell me I had another brother.

Mom, it's me. I. I'm your. It's me, J.P. j. Pessy. I'm the new Jessie, kind of. I have a crush on my own mom now.

Mom's.

You're beautiful, Mom.

I think my sister's here too. She didn't know that she had an older brother also. So Lily's got another brother.

Has your mom ever told you the story about, like. Because I've known his father, Brian K. Who actually we started in strategic coach together. And so I used to leave extraordinarily inappropriate messages on Brian's voicemail. We're going back, you know, before even the Internet and stuff. And I think Helene used to listen to these and be like, who is this guy? And then I think one day I had to, like, contribute, I don't know, some amount of money to some run for something she was doing. And I think that sort of smoothed.

It over a little bit.

A little bit?

A little bit.

I don't know if she's fully been accepted into the family. But anyway, no great parents. At least you have that advantage now. Here's the thing. So as all of you know, when I was your age, I was extremely struggling. I was a drug addict. I had a lot of challenges. And surprisingly, through seeking out, reading a lot of books, learning from other people, I was able to pull myself out of a hole. And there are many people that are young, that are depressed, anxiety ridden, suicidal, just feel hopeless. What advice would you give those people?

So I think it comes from. And I think if someone's feeling like that, it can obviously come from a lot of different things, but you have to get out of a defeatist mindset. And that's what it was for me because, like, that was me, like, in the. It started for me, like in the seventh grade, like when I went to middle school. I remember, like, this kid was sitting alone at lunch who was like, probably the biggest loser in the school on the first day of school. And then I went over and sat with him and then all the popular kids and all the kids in the school, because I went sad with them, thought that I was a loser. So I had no friends for two years in middle school.

None.

And I know it sounds like, oh, it wasn't middle school like that. Like, those adolescent years are like, while your brain is doing its highest level of transformation and all those things we all have. I guess it's the theory of, like an inner kid controlling us. Like, that stuff really just messes you up. And so that was me. And the way that I guess I can't tell anyone like exactly what to do or how to get out of this stuff because it's obviously super subjective. But what I can say and how I got out of it was when I had everyone around me saying, I, ah, you can't do it, you can't do this. Like even like teachers who just be like people are supposed to look up to and learn from being like, no. Like why would, why would you miss class to go talk on the phone in the bathroom? Like I would literally make phone calls in the bathroom. I was like, I was on the phone with Mark Cuban end of my sophomore year of high school. The librarian came in, I said it, they didn't believe me and then they threatened to kick me out for the first time. Like it's bullshit. Like the school thing is bullshit. If your kid gets bad grades and you're like yelling at them, you need to do a serious look in the mirror. Serious look in the mirror. No. And like, like that's real talk. Because if all you guys went back to school, don't get me wrong, like there's some people like, like who did really well in school. Like Tucker Max went to Duke. Like, you know what I mean? Like I would never. So I'm saying like a lot of you, if you went back, you'd be shit shows. So don't set because you're successful. And by the way, I had a 1.63. So I'm saying like just because you're successful, you can't put your own insecurities in your things and shove that on your kids. Because what you're doing is you're creating a level of toxic energy that's gonna stay with them.

I mean, totally agree with everything Connor said there, but I think in terms of like kids that are struggling, ever since I was like 8 or 9, I had terrible panic attacks, anxiety, separation anxiety. Like I literally would not sleep out of my house, at my grandparents house for a night. Like it was terrible. Could not go to school, wouldn't go to middle school for first days of school. Like it was terrible. And I think it all comes down to if you have a kid that's like that or anyone that's listening, it's finding what you're passionate about and where you, what you love. Like I played sports, I was good at them, I had good grades, all of that. But it never really connected that that was my thing. And when I got into business stuff, hardcore, I guess you could say junior year of high school, it all just instantly clicked and it just went away. It's like, it felt like, yeah, I'm at home with my closest friends, even if they're across the country. I think it's all just clicking on, finding what you're super passionate about and testing a bunch of stuff until you can find that 100%.

And I think it's like captivity neuro negativity, like you're stuck in a loop whenever you're in that situation. I broke out of it. I was a Boy Scout. I'm an Eagle Scout, and I was able to find a program that I was able to attach myself to. And when you're outside, far outside with a bunch of guys, and the only thing you have is yourself and what you really are built of, that's when your true self comes out. I think it's taking a kid or anyone that's in a struggling situation and pulling them out of that environment. Once they're outside of that, then you can start to rebuild them. And I'm thankful I was able to go through that program. And I did that from seventh grade all the way till 12th grade, and I went on every camp. I was the best thing I've ever done.

Pressure creates diamonds.

Correct.

Love that.

Yeah. I think that it gets better is terrible advice. It gets better if you make it better. And it's sort of about finding connection that goes beyond the three bars on your phone and finding what really lights you on fire and what you love.

Yeah, go ahead, J.P.

Yeah, if I could say, Ishen, when you said you were in Boy Scouts, I felt pain in my heart. I just felt like that was hate speech against women.

Ah.

Like it hurt here. And I also. I feel. I love everything y' all said. And, Madison, I love what you said about connection. I think, you know, is there anybody in here who didn't have a childhood? So I think 100% of us went through struggles as a child. And some of us wake up and realize, like, I still have a child inside of me. And I don't think there's a person out there who doesn't have the struggles Joe mentioned of depression, sometimes suicidal thoughts. I mean, it can get pretty dark as part of the human condition. And I think a big piece of the remedy is what Madison mentioned, connection. I think the worse we get with our connection, you know, we feel disconnected, then we tend to do things that make us feel more disconnected. But we're trying to remedy the disconnection. So suicidal thoughts, like, we're trying to potentiate the disconnection as a way of solving the disconnection. And of course, it doesn't work. So I think seeking out real human connection is so important. It's something we all need. And that might be, especially in a real trying time, it might be a coach or a therapist or a genuinely compassionate friend who might not be in our current friend circle. We might have to look outside of it if that's not what we have right now. But I dare say we all need connection.

Russ said, people don't want to die. They just want the pain to stop. Yeah.

You know, and let me say this, since we're doing this live, and this will give me an opportunity to talk a little bit about those that are struggling with addiction. Because when I was young, I mean, I nearly did, I nearly died. I was at 18 years old in my worst state. I weighed 105 pounds from freebasing cocaine. And back then I just thought I was this. I mean, I looked at myself as this degenerate that could not figure out how to stop self destructing. But looking back, it's like my friend Gabor Mate says, who I had at Genius Network last year, the question is not why the addiction, but why the pain? So not why the anxiety, but why the pain now? Why the depression? But what's the pain? What is going on underneath it? And if you have a young person, I mean, you going and sitting with that kid who's by himself, I think is an act of compassion. I think it's an act of kindness. I've never quite understood why kindness and compassion isn't cool. Well, no, no.

Well, here you.

I'd love to hear your perspective on this. So for instance, when I would see fights at school, in high school, even though I was a skinny kid, if I wasn't going to get, you know, killed in the process, I would try to split up the fight. While a lot of people would be like, kick their ass, kick their ass, beat them. I hate seeing people get hurt. And I would always try to interject. And if I saw someone picking on somebody, I would literally try to interject and stop that. You know what I mean? Because I don't like seeing people being cruel to other people. And so part of the whole thing is if you're around someone that is by themselves, go sit with them, go talk with them, do that sort of stuff. And it's interesting how in the process of doing that can get viewed as being, oh, you're just this uncool kid and you get treated the same way.

Yeah, well, here's the thing. I look at it as like a lot of I used to think like this. And to be honest, in some of the decisions I've made, I do think like this sometimes in like a three to four year window or maybe even a 15 minute window instead of a 20 to 30 year window. Right. And what those kids are doing is they're thinking in a five second window to get a laugh from their buddies, to get some clout. Like, they're not thinking like, oh my God, like I'm setting up the foundations for how I'm actually gonna live the rest of my life. Like that. Like, that's not. And it's definitely not being said in their freaking history book or whatever the hell they're reading. Like. Like these things aren't being taught and the parents are just assuming a lot of these things. Like, a lot of you guys are great parents. You're not assuming this shit. But like, I. My mom teaches in like a not so good part of Cleveland. Like, my mom's most compassionate lady ever. And should the stories that she tells me about some of the things that these parents say, these kids, it just breaks your heart. And it's like, I feel like everyone's just assuming that, like, it's being talked about and everyone knows, like, what the right thing is and how to get the building blocks to make that happen. No one knows shit about it. Like, people actually have to talk about it. And I'm not saying being, like, being kind is ever going to be cool, to be honest with you. I think being kind a lot of times is cheesy because now people are being kind to be cool on like a very professional level. Like, oh yeah, like, I just donated X amount of money to this. Okay, like, like, did you. Did you go build houses with pencils of Promise? No. Because you were too busy in the Bahamas in your villa, smoking cigars with your, like, fiance. Like, I don't know, like, whatever.

Like, no, it's the difference between cosmetic kindness and genuine kindness. Yeah, that sort of. Okay, so is that it? Is that all you're gonna say, Connor?

Yeah, dude, I. But here's the thing. I have to stop myself because I can go on for another hour. Like, I'm gonna be like, I could just go. So I'm just like, need to be like, all right, I said enough.

Like, Connor, watch your mouth. I don't appreciate swearing on Joe Polish's.

Stage, you know, so inappropriate. Okay, what we're gonna do in just a moment, we're gonna do some questions. We'll just do a handful. So if you do have a question get up to the mic. And what I'd like to do. A real quick answer to this. What's your perspective on the future of youth marketing? Like, is there anything people need to know, should know? Because there's a lot of people in here that are entrepreneurs want to connect. I mean, a lot of this I think is just simply about connection and going into the addiction thing. The opposite of addiction is connection. Right. So how do we connect? Because we got some of the world's greatest marketers here. But advice you would give in that area and then we'll do some Q.

And A. Yeah, I mean, I think it used to be all about you'd get pro athletes to endorse your stuff and kids would go look at it. I think now with influencers and YouTubers and all that stuff, people could say whatever they want about them. But there's still millions of kids who would prefer whatever an influencer says to do. Hey, Connor's story rather than what their parents would say to do. So I think targeting the right micro influencers in your in your space and pushing it out hard to that group, I think is going to be the biggest thing in the next five, ten years.

Yeah, and I think that creating experiences is the biggest thing. A lot of companies tend to want to put out content and the content doesn't really push an experience. Gen Z specifically loves the experience side of everything that you guys are putting out. The content, the stories, the success stories, everything that's going on, we breathe stories. So if you can create an environment where a story can be created, that's what gets shared and that's what distributes.

Influencer marketing. But done the right way. I think a lot of brands have heard that it's cool and you have to do it authentic to both the influencer, the brand, and the influencer's audience. And then second is video and experiences like Ishan said.

Awesome. Cool. Let's start with Dina.

Hi, guys.

First of all, thank you guys. You're awesome. You did a great job. And obviously you can tell it's your wisdom is needed for all of us.

That are trying to tap into that market.

I deal with a lot of professional practices like orthodontics practices and dental practices.

And their hiring force right now or who they're looking to hire is either your generation or moms.

Going back to work is typically the two spans. The biggest challenge is tapping into how can they get your generation not only.

Interested, but number two, how can they get the best out of them working.

In an environment where they have to.

Work a 9 to 5 or 8.

To 6 or whatever it might be in medical practice like that. So I'd love to get some of your ideas on that.

Yeah, so I'm also an EMT and I've. My parents are both like in that field, so I definitely know exactly what you're talking. They personally come to me and say, how do I get people in that environment? I think it's showing what you do. And again, there's like HIPAA and all the other cool stuff that you have to deal with on a daily basis.

Ping pong tables.

Yeah, I mean tables. But the biggest thing is how can you create an environment that they want to be a part of? What is something you can do? Look, this is a flexible environment. We have some awesome drinks come out. Like, enjoy working for us and allowing people sharing that, like sharing that enjoyment, what you're doing. And if you're not excited about what you do, how is anyone working for you that's going to come work for you? Excited? I think excitement is the biggest thing that's lacking in the medical industry because they're all like, tired and they're just done with whatever's going on. It's just repetitive. It's like wash and recycle every single thing that happens. So I think it's having that excitement is the biggest thing you can do to attracting that kind of audience.

I just think you take away the line between personal and business.

Thank you.

Dimitri.

What's up?

Hey.

So I used to run a young entrepreneur group for basically people like you, 18 to 25, really epic entrepreneurs. And I remember last year I mentioned this is my first time here, I was like, oh, we should get some young entrepreneurs in this room and how impactful that would be. And I offered to do something about it and help support. And I've done nothing about it over the past year and didn't help support. So I love that you're all on stage. And I remember JP said something you. Yeah, yeah. He said something really profound. He said, you know, people say that kids are the future, but I disagree because when those kids grow up, they're going to be adults and that's in the future. So I think adults are the future.

It's true, it's true.

My mind is blown right now.

I'm lost. What's happening?

So, firstly, I just wanted to recognize Joe and JP for whatever shift of heart you've had in the past year, because I've had the opposite shift of heart. I've started caring more about myself. Than the youth. So thank you for passing that on to me. And then the.

Do it for the kids.

The comment I have this is less of a. Less of a question, but just for you, for out of all the young entrepreneurs that I've worked with, there's been one book that I think has had the greatest influence on their journeys at this age. And it's not a business book at all. It's called Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday. What happens when you're successful at a really young age? This thing creeps in and starts fucking things up at various stages. And the earlier you develop a healthy relationship with that, the more your success will continue and the less painful the next several years will be because it creeps up in a way that ends up just being both destructive and completely unnoticeable until it's destructive. So that's the suggestion and then I'll leave that as a prompt for any. For you. 4. Just maybe now on this panel discussion of ego and how. What's your relationship been to that so far?

Yeah, I mean, for sure, there's. I think it all comes back to. In any environment, there's always going to be the super egotistical people and the. Not so much. But it's something that when you're in a school or in a town and you're the one person that everyone looks just like, oh, he did it at a young age. Obviously the fear comes in that it's gonna hit you. And I think tons of young entrepreneurs and young successful people deal with it. I think it's just if you're. It's. I like that. I think it depends on what you're focused on. Like, I'm just, I'm not really focused on the next, like two years of what I'm doing. Like, I don't think that's the end. I hope that it's just the beginning for me. So I don't really think I've done much yet in terms of to build an ego out. I just. I'm sure some people do, but I just. That's not something I'm focused on.

Yeah, I mean, ego is definitely something that is in everybody, but controlling that is the biggest thing. You don't want it to let out and control what you do. And I know we have a lot of questions in here, so we definitely want to start firing these off.

So.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Wait, I got one last thing. I actually, I actually disagree with the premise of the book. I don't think ego is the enemy at All I think ego is a driver for all the good things that you can do in the world. I think I have a massive ego, but I don't think it's a toxic one. Right. Like, I think the book was written on the premise that ego is it. Keep in mind I haven't read it but like, I get all the questions about this. Talking about ego is ego is everyone. Well, whenever ego is brought up, it's in a negative connotation. Oh, he has a big ego. I have a massive ego. I just don't think it's a problem because I love myself, I think I'm amazing, I think I'm the best. But I don't. But because people sometimes, like, I can understand how I could get misconstrued for cocky sometimes. Right. It makes sense. Like confident, cares about whatever, but cocky is when I go, I'm the shit, but I think I'm better than you. I go, I think I'm the best, but I think all of you are the fucking best too. So, like, I don't, I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing. I should probably read it and see if like what I said is accurate.

Well, yeah, the headline is for you.

To read the sales.

Thank you, Connor. First, first off, I wanted to say thank you for reaching out to me three, three plus years ago and asking me to mentor you. I've learned more from you. Thank you. Than I think I've given in those three and a half years. So thank you because I've learned a ton. I'd like you to actually talk to the group about why you have become so referable and why you were able to endear me to mentor you and Gary Vaynerchuk that same day. How you got both of us to mentor you and agree to keep doing it. What you kind of have as your referability habits and then also want you to share the one thing I told you where I was going to cut you off. What was the one kind of rule that I would cut you off from any mentoring relationship as well.

So I texted Cameron, kind of having a problem. It was actually a girl problem. And we talked about it, this is a couple years ago, and he said, connor, there's one rule and you can't break it. And he said, no hookers are blow. No hookers or blow. If any of those things are in the picture, you're done. And I haven't broken it. Will not break in it. The reason why I think that I'm so referable in your words are That I read a book called Never Eat alone and Swim with the Sharks Risk getting Eaten alive. And I became friends with both those people who wrote those books. And I learned that, here's the thing, I could come in here and like, sell the shit out of all of you. I think I'm like a master. Like, I think that I could be the biggest whore in this room when it comes to that. However, I also think that that's the one mentality. Then the other mentality is like. Like there's. I hate the word networking for that exact reason. I just think it's like relationship building. But even then it's like, why would I want to build a relationship with a douchebag? So it's like, I just want to find cool people that I can do cool stuff with and then end up helping them. Because I think that there's. And the reason I came up with that mentality is like, there's two ways that in my eyes, you can change the world, right? You can. There's actually three. You can be someone who's a total behind the scenes dude. Like total behind the scenes, connecting people behind closed doors, making impact that way, and saying, hey, you guys, go make the impact. I'll be the backend guy. Then there's someone like Joe, who is the backend guy, but he also puts out content that changes people's lives. So you can do a little bit of both. And then the other one is the personal development, Tony type, Gary V type content that was like, in your people's face. And I honestly, like, I looked at all of that and was like, I don't think it's all mutually exclusive. Like, I don't think it's all separate things. I think you can do all of them. And I think it's. It would be super naive, especially for all of us up here so early in our career, to like pick one. I think when you do the right things and surround yourselves with the right people, those kind of things come natural to you.

Thank you. Awesome. Hi there. Hey. I agree.

Connor Never Eat Alone is one of my favorite books too, by Keith Farozzi. It's incredible. I've read it multiple times.

And I also have had the pleasure.

Like Cameron, I met Connor when he.

Was 15 and had the honor to.

Pick his brain in this world of Gen Z marketing.

I've. In my career, I've worked in professional skateboarding. So we align on a lot of things that we think is awesome and have some common interests.

But my question for you guys is.

Is having Been consulting for these top.

Fortune 500 brands for a couple years now. Who, who are some of the brands you've seen make the biggest transformation where.

They were like at the bottom and.

They look really dumb and pretty whack.

And now whether they've worked with you directly or or not, that you've seen them make a shift and really doing it right.

One company that I love is Starbucks. You know, I think that no one liked the unicorn Frappuccino. Terrible. But everyone went and bought it, took a picture with it and threw it away. So they created that like Instagramable experience that everyone was posting.

So I think creating stories is the biggest thing. Like, I've already said that twice now, but again, that Frappuccino. Who, who tried it? The unicorn Frappuccino in here? Anyone?

No. No. Wow.

Whose kids, Whose kids bought it though?

Who's. Whose kids bought them?

Yeah.

Okay, some more hands go up. Okay, so the whole story behind that was it was just an Instagram worthy moment. How can you create an Instagram worthy moment in whatever you're doing? And we spoke about Darden, we spoke at Olive Garden headquarters about this. How can they create moments?

It's why Starbucks always messes up your name on the cup, because you're gonna take a picture of it and post it. Like, I've never seen somebody spell Jesse G E S, S, E. But apparently it was good and I took a picture of it, posted it. I think they have millions of pictures a year ago up of false names. I think they train their people to put false names up, but it works.

One thing that's really cool that I think a lot of you guys should consider is the number one thing that companies are reaching out to me for is they're saying, hey, so I guess an example of this is PepsiCo. Hey, Connor. We're creating an in house brand that targets Gen Z because we understand all of our other brands are so screwed that we can't make them cool for Gen Z. So we're gonna create an entirely new one in house. So not necessarily like changing what you. What you already have, but kind of like tearing it down and making something totally new might actually be a better idea in a lot of cases.

And by the way, I have to make a judgment call here because we're already three minutes past. So we're gonna go another eight minutes and then we'll be done. If. Are you guys gonna all be here on Sunday?

Yeah.

I think we should start firing these questions off like one person answers and move on to the next.

Okay, let's get through. Okay, Brandon.

So my name is Brandon with Superhuman Enterprises, and I'll be completely honest, you guys gave me a little bit of an identity Crisis. So I'm 22. I was born in 1996, so I literally don't even know if I'm a millennial or a Gen Z.

You're Gen Z. Oh, really?

Okay, so now I know. But I'm kind of curious just because, like, if you look back, like, five years ago, all these companies are talking about millennials and how to adapt the millennials. And I'm very curious to see what you guys say as the delineation between the millennial generation and the Gen Z generation, because I think that that's an important thing to understand as you market and move forward as a company. Okay, Connor hates this topic, but I'll try to fill in the blanks here. So real quick. So Gen z starts around 1996, 1995. That's basically the generation that I would say grew up with a cell phone or connected to the Internet versus millennials that adopted it. I grew up with Snapchat or Instagram. I basically had that since I got my first phone. And I know every single program in there. I know every single button, every single thing does in my phone. And that's the difference is the adoption. And then Gen Z kind of just grew up with that technology.

And by the way, on Sunday, we won't do it until we get mine figured out. You know, something that almost everyone here in the room has not. Don't mention it yet, though. So we're going to keep that one till Sunday so that no one tries to snag it from the different. But we'll.

Yeah, it's a secret.

No, it is. Actually. He showed me yesterday that this thing that just happened online that those of you that have your own brand, if you have not captured this 100%, it.

Helps out Wikipedias up for businesses and all kinds of stuff. We'll get into that later.

Yeah, so we'll do that on Sunday. Okay, thank you, Winford. Hi.

Firstly, you. You guys all just inspire me because.

My passion is about finding the hidden.

Potential in young people, and you just are the epitome of that.

So thank you very, very much for sharing that.

I also, as part of my project is I own a private school in England. I'd love to know what I, as.

A school owner, could do to help.

Bring out the potential that you show.

Because for every one of you, there's.

100 others or more who don't show it. So what can I do differently?

I think giving kids the opportunity to pursue their passion rather than put them in a box in school. Not only common core and all that stuff. I'm trying college right now. My mom's not gonna like to hear the word trying, but I'm in college right now. I'm a freshman. And even in a business school. Yeah, she's upset. Even in a business school, you're put in a box with, like, common classes. And I have to take English and science and history. That's all great, but I don't care about it. And it's. I'm not passionate about it. I'd say let the kids pursue what they want, try and fit stuff around them. Rather having instead of having them fit around your core classes, work towards their advantages instead of trying to make them fit to their disadvantages.

Yeah, 100%. And I think the answer is, like, you have to have structure for you to, like, have that. And a lot of schools without structure would fall apart. I understand, but having. Allowing students to have a voice and encouraging them to do what they want is the biggest thing. I got a bad grade in an art project because I didn't follow a rubric. What? Like, that's just. I did the project. I even went to finals, but my teacher said, you didn't follow these categories, so it's not good. So allowing students to be able to get outside that box and encouraging them and not failing them because they didn't get that requirement in, and also just.

Letting them do work in the way that works best for them, not making them follow a certain schedule. Like, oh, yeah, you need your first draft this day, your next draft this day. So many are like, there's specific times you have to do it. Some kids work better under pressure. Some kids work better with three months notice. I think too many schools try and hold them to. You have to follow this pattern. It's the same thing of holding them in a box. I'd give kids the flexibility and potential to pursue it however they want because they're gonna have to learn it one way or another. So I think they should be able to develop there.

And also, just this is for context. When I was in the second grade on a science test, one of the questions in Mrs. Wallace's class, my mom's gonna love this as she's watching, was, so what can insects be used for in the world? And, like, there was a very specific answer, but I wrote down medicine. And the teacher was like, no, it was marked Wrong. And I brought it home to my mom and she goes, what this is right. Insects are used for medicine. So it's like, it's like. I guess the whole metaphor is like, yeah, it was right in the grand scheme of things. But what's funny is the grand scheme of things is what actually matters.

Also, Winford, I would add to it that having animal crackers in the school, the ones with the pink frosting, really engage motivation. But if they're the frosting list, animal crackers, it just kills the spirit of the young ones.

Yeah, I think everyone just got their 250k right there. Absolutely.

Thank you.

I'd like the opinion anybody in the panel. I'm 62 years old, so obviously I'm older. I've been in the wealth management for business for years and we control billions of dollars for wealthy families in the New York City area. But what are the challenges I'm here is that I know that these people are going to die and it's to be passed on to people of your generation. If you were sitting in my shoes, how would you design the firm of the future to attract that to want to do business with us? And what would appeal to you?

I think education, I guess educating the youth in terms of how to do it correctly is the biggest thing. How can you arm them with the information visually showing them like, look, this is what's going to happen. If you see Acorn, if you see all these small apps that are out there that are pushing out like, oh, the last five cents can go towards your portfolio. That's really big. Because they don't want destruction. Like, it might, they might be hot heads or they might come off and like mess things up. That's been sitting there for 30, 40, 50, 60, 100 years. But your job is to be able to basically come out and say, look, this is how you do it. This is what happens if you don't do it this way and just educate them. That's the biggest thing.

I think you're asking the wrong question. I don't think it's a question of what's the future of wealth management. I think it's what's the future of money. So I would look at like what the landscape in the next 30 years looks like doing. I don't know shit about crypto either, but I know that like a big, I just feel it like a massive shift in like the way that we're using money like Venmo, like all these crazy things like, what's that gonna manifest into? And then Be prepared to be like the dude for that.

I think in terms of the actual side of having kids and young people that are gonna turn into adults as your clients is I think it's all around convenience. Like we said before, like if they have to go in and sit in an office for three days and go through it, nobody's going to do it. Whether that's through digital or doing something online, making it as easy as possible I think is the biggest thing.

Thank you.

Yeah. Okay, this gotta be quick. We got two minutes and then so real quick.

So I have an 8 year old son and so I'm super proud of.

You guys for what you've accomplished as.

A father of an eight year old.

If you could go back in time.

To when you were eight, what do you wish your parents had told you or advised you or how do you wish they encouraged you?

I wish they had told me to just like go all in on what you're passionate about. Today we're told to be good at everything and I think you obviously have to be competent in some areas, but just to go all in on what the kid loves. And obviously that changes from 8 to 18 or however long, but just to try different things and go for it.

Well, I actually think it's something my parents did an amazing job at. It's that they never said no, they said do this instead.

Okay, awesome. Thank you. Thank you, Terry.

So I apologize for being the person who's not going to ask a question, but I think that this, I feel so passionately about this subject with regards to kids and youth in school. Brian and I are doing the tireless work of trying to get our mindset curriculum into schools with so far success. And very recently we pulled both of our kids out of mainstream school because our 13 year old was lying in bed crying so stressed out about her exams that she had started cutting herself a very well balanced 13 year old. And our 15 year old came home from school one day in tears. A very stoic boy who doesn't normally cry because his math teacher just didn't understand him. And so I thank you guys for bringing this to us and helping us understand you better. But I stand here as a parent asking every parent in this room to look at your kid's life and the academics that they're in and the school they're in and to really accept that it's not okay to say it's going to get better and that they just have to get through it. Because these kids only get one life. And as entrepreneurs we're so good at looking outside of the box in our business, but we have to do the same thing for our kids and look to see that it's okay to go outside the box and not be pressured by the social influence that your kids have to go to school this way or you're a bad parent. Because we face that. We got asked all kinds of questions. We've had them out of school for a year now and their happiness factor has soared. And that is the most important thing to the success that you're going to have in the future. Your happiness and your mental well being. So I just wanted to say that.

And you're teaching them to settle, and you're teaching them to settle. If you say get through it, that's settling. If they won't let you go to the bathroom, walk the hell up and go to the bathroom.

Yeah.

Who are you to tell me I can't pee? Like, you know what I mean? Those are all the little things that just made me so, like, I've never been in a boardroom and had to raise my hand for shit. You know what I mean? Like, I don't know. I. Thank you.

Do you think schools are like, they're nurturing competition instead of collaboration? Like, why are we competing for the top 10%? And like, they need to collaborate, allow an environment where they can work together. Project based learning schools, I've studied, I'm huge on school reform. I'd love to talk to you after this. And I have tons of content out there about that.

Thank you so much.

So some of my little insecurities lie here is we have two people. We already are past time, but I'm not sure. Do we tell them to go away or do we ask? Okay, do it quickly because this must be. This better be a good one, though, if it's not.

Hi, I'm Dr. Sharon Melnick and I help women get in their power and get into power. So my question is for you, Madison. What can we be doing to help more girls and young women have a voice online so that they can become influencers? They can be on stages, they can grow into our future leaders. So how can brands be encouraging that and how can we shape the conversation so women or young girls are having more of a voice?

Yeah, I think that showing people, showing women who are in power like you said, and showing people who are on stage and it's just kind of about the representation. I had an amazing teacher in high school my junior year who told me who was a woman and she basically said, you can do anything. Just like, trust yourself, own it, do it. So it's really about finding people who these girls can look up to and be like, oh, I want to be like this person. I watched Cat Cole on Undercover Boss when I was 15 and was like, whoa, she's badass. I want to be like her. So just giving people someone to look up to in that way.

Thank you.

First off, congratulations for being you. That's fantastic. I've got three boys and learn a lot from you all, so thanks for that. Couple questions. Well, one is a statement. I am trying to convince my children to not go to college and instead travel the world. My oldest is almost 16, and then my middle boy is 13 and my 10 year old, we haven't had that conversation, but he's listening to my conversations with a 16 year old, and my 16 year old is thinking, well, I really want to go to the University of Washington. That's where I went, Go Huskies. But I pulled out of the University of Washington end of my junior year to travel the world. And from traveling the world, I found my passion and I went back and I finished and I went back to med school. But it was going around the world which identified that, hey, their type of medicine in India is what I want to specialize in. And then moved on to genetics and so on. But I would not have discovered that if I stayed in a classroom where I'm being told what to learn versus living and experiencing it. So that's one first statement. I'm curious on that. I know we're short on time. I'm going to just plug that into your heads. That was not a good statement. Jp, don't. Don't throw anything back at me. And then the next one, the next one is how do you value health with your generation?

So it's gonna sound super corny, but it's about, like, holistic health, so physical, mental, and spiritual. And I think that we're the first generation that is still consuming the Oreos and the bad things, but we're aware of the fact that they're not good for you. So we're trying to focus on health, but that doesn't necessarily mean not eating certain things, and it's just about connecting those three things.

The real quick thing, just from thinking what you said about the college thing, I think traveling with the world would be super cool. The only thing that concerns me from a kid perspective is regret for him. Like if he really wants to go, and that's a social thing or whatever. Like, even if he tested it For a semester. Like, I feel like if you don't do that and you're forced to do that, there may be regret there. Like, oh, I wish I could have done that. Just a thought.

Yeah. The more you tell your son to do something, the more likely he's not gonna do it.

And just.

And really quick.

Sorry, that's just.

No, no, no, no. It's. I want to be clear. It's a suggestion. Because I feel that a lot of parents pressure their kids to go to school. And I'm giving him the option to say, I want you to not feel pressured to have to go to college. I would like to give you the option of feeling okay. If you do not want to go and travel the world instead, you need.

To talk to my dad and tell.

Him really quick story. I know we're a long time. My friend Adam. My friend Adam worked a job and went to local college for the first two years. We'd hang out all the time, and he's on a Snapchat, seeing all his friends get. Get hammered, like, six days out of the week. And it's so cool and fun. So he went to Ohio University this year. After the end of the first semester, he calls me. He goes, dude, I gotta come home. I go, why? He goes, dude, like, literally all this is, is, like, sex, drugs, and alcohol, and there's nothing else to do in Athens, Ohio, other than, like, hook up with people and, like, skip class because I'm too hungover. So, like, it. Get it. It gets to a point where you get sick of it. So, like, I wouldn't pigeonhole anything.

He'll figure it out 100% and, like, 100%. What Connor's saying is colleges have shift so much. Like, I know this kid who's really good, 4.0, perfect SAT score. He went to the school he really wanted to. Now he's struggling with drug addiction. And how did that happen? Like, what. What went wrong in that path? I think school, like colleges, the whole colle, should definitely be looked at, torn apart, and redone because there's something definitely wrong there. And there are a lot of students falling into that bandwagon.

Let me say this. So one of the things. And there are people that are watching this live, what I want to do for people watching it live and also for everyone here as a starting point is this is just the beginning of. Through Genius Network, and as much as I can through these individuals here, that we start sharing what we know, how we know it, and have an entrepreneurial sort of school for young people. And secondly, not just for entrepreneurship, but also for what my goal is, is to change the global conversation about how people view and treat addicts with compassion instead of judgment, as you've heard me say, and find the best forms of treatment that have efficacy and through the right Genius Network, that requires engaging with a lot of young people. And so Ben Hardy has written a couple of articles about some of the people that are here on the stage with us. And he's going to do a deep dive with all of these individuals and through you guys and gals, including you, J.P. what I want to do is have you bring in young people and let's literally turn this into something amazing. I know there's a lot of people here that still have questions, so, so we'll continue that. And one of the things I did mention, and we'll do this later, is what advice would you have given your 18 to 20 year old self for all of them? Because I think they would find that kind of interesting. And so for people that want to follow you, just articulate it so people live, can actually hear it. And for people here. So where do people get more of you guys just to follow you on this thing called the Internet? It's this new thing.

My Instagram is Blakely Connor. You can find out how my name is spelled on any of the materials or if you're on Facebook live, I'm tagged.

Yeah, Instagram's probably best for me. J E S S E then the period k a y11 and would love to talk with anyone 100% if anyone.

Wants to come up to me and talk to me. I love talking and networking.

So yeah, that too.

Meet me. Meet me in person. But the best way to get my information would be my website is H A n g o e l.com and.

The best for me is Instagram. Madison Bregman M A D I S O N B as in boy R E G M A N and you.

Guys are supposed to already follow me. So that's good.

Give it up for the panel. Thank you. Look at this.

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