In this motivational video, Matthew Hussey reflects on his journey from creating a viral dating‑advice video to building the "Get The Guy" brand and a transformational retreat. He recounts how the video on who should pay on a date attracted 15 million views, brought a new audience, and also sparked harsh criticism. Using that experience, he illustrates a broader life lesson: people spend too much time waiting for external permission to pursue what they want. He shares personal anecdotes from university—missing out on activities because friends weren’t there—and from launching his business despite doubters. Hussey urges viewers of any age to give themselves a "green light," whether it’s returning to school, dating after 60, or reclaiming personal hobbies as a parent. He explains that his five‑day retreat works because it creates a space where participants can finally grant themselves permission to be great. The video ends with a call to apply for the retreat and a final encouragement to stop caring about others’ opinions.
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So it turns out we made a viral video. We make videos every single week. And our particular video on who should pay on a date, men or women, went absolutely bananas. It got 15 million views in the space of three days across Facebook and YouTube. It brought in an entirely new community of people that we had never reached before. Most of these people were perfectly lovely. Then there was the thing that I have put up with since I was 17 years old and started going after things that I really wanted in life, Started going down the path that I really dreamed about going down. There were the group of people that said, who is this guy? Why am I listening to this young moron with stains on his shirt? They were makeup stains, by the way, because I hug women before the show. And why am I listening to his obnoxious advice? Why does he deserve to be giving people advice? Over the years, I've learned a nuanced and delicate response that's appropriate for these people. Fuck you. I don't need your permission. We spend so much of our lives waiting for permission from other people to do the things we want to do, and that permission is never coming. This isn't high school where somebody is going to be standing, hovering over us, trying to make sure that we get an A. Trying to make sure that we expand ourselves and get what we're capable of. I remember the first week of university, going into a big room where they had all the different societies signing people up. Football, basketball, drama, languages, you name it. They had every different type of interest represented. I would have loved to have done so many of those things, but I didn't, because my friends weren't doing them. Because no one was standing next to me, encouraging me, saying, matt, you know what? You should really go and take Japanese. You should go and do that. That would be great for you. So I didn't do half the things I wanted to do. I look back now on my university days, and I think I could have made so much more of it if I gave myself permission to do things instead of waiting people to give me permission to do things. When I came out of university, I realized this, and I said, I'm not gonna live my life this way. I can't be waiting for other people to give me permission to do things. When I started get the Guy, nobody thought it was a good idea. The people around me, even people who cared about me, told me that I was wasting my time setting up this organization. How fucking great that I didn't listen. The only way to truly live a rich life is to stop waiting For a green light from something or someone else to go and do the things you want to do and start giving the green light. You're middle aged and there's a degree you always wanted to do. Give yourself permission. Go do it. You're 60 years old and you want to go date again. Stop waiting for people to tell you that it's okay for you to date again and you're not over the hill. Go date again. You're a parent and you're saying, I'm gonna wait till my kids graduate before I take up that hobby, before I go and do that thing for myself. Get a life. Go do it. There's not gonna be a perfect time to do those things. Even when your kids graduate, you know they'll always be something else. You know it's an excuse. Start giving yourself permission. We are adults. We have to wake up. I have a five day retreat that I run twice a year, and I'm often asked why it is that that program gets such dramatic results for people. Now, there are many answers to that, as anyone who's been on a retreat will tell you. But there is one big answer, which is that for once in their lives, people get to an environment and a place where they can actually give themselves permission to be great. Where they can truly explore the possibilities that are open to them as an individual and what they might be capable of, their lifetimes, which is maybe a way that they've never truly challenged themselves before. Some people never even get to a retreat because they're too busy worrying about what everyone else thinks, justifying it to everybody else instead of just deciding, this is good for me, so I'm gonna do it. The first step to giving yourself permission to do this is to apply. So if you want to apply for my retreat, I'm gonna put a link up right here. Matthewhusseyretreat.com check it out. Green light that growth for yourself and see what it could do for you if you don't, as always, I will see you in the next video. I can't wait. Thank you so much for watching.
