Gary Allen, host of The Express talk show, shares how he built a career where work doesn't feel like work. He credits loving what you do, staying prepared, and taking advice to slow down early on. His core belief: if you're having fun and sharing with friends, you'll never work a day in your life.
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Welcome to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I am your host Tyler Wagner. Today I'm with Gary Allen. He's the host of The Express, which is on Tuesday nights at 10 PM Eastern. So welcome to the show, Gary.
You're welcome, man. I forgot to tell you, it's all tm— tmz— tmv— excuse me— cafe.com. That's on tmvcafe.com. And if you go to my website, GaryAllenTalkShowHost.com, that's A-L-A-N, you can get all the information from there.
Perfect. So yeah, we'll get it kicked off. The first question that I have for you is, what's the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
I think I, I think I learned it early in life. My uncle was an entertainer in Miami Beach for many, many years. And I always wanted to be where he was, um, in the limelight. It didn't matter to me if it was radio or stand-up comedy or whatever it was. Um, I was always in a hurry to grow up. And I think the best advice I ever got was when I tried to do comedy in front of him, of all people. It was— Tubby Boots was my uncle who was on Miami Beach Forever, and it was in front of another grand house of comics. Like Sammy Shore, etc., and Don Rickles before Don Rickles was Don Rickles. And I bombed miserably. And they all gave me the best advice: slow down, don't be in such a rush to get somewhere to be a success. It takes time, it takes years, and slow down and learn your lessons along the way.
And what is the most valuable piece of information that we should know that is within your expertise or industry?
As far as what I do now as a talk show host is to always keep the conversation moving, try to keep it lively, keep it informative, and keep it entertaining. Because the worst thing you can do, whether you're a stand-up comic— which, by the way, I eventually did do that in Las Vegas— is to never bore your audience. It's always to keep it going forward, always make it interesting, always make it— it doesn't have to be compelling or life-saving, but just keep it interesting. Keep people interested in what you're talking about and keep them informed as to what you're talking about. And don't go off to some obscure place in a conversation that only you and the guest understand. Keep it neutral.
And what's your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily industry-specific.
Always be prepared. Always be on time. Never be late. To me, if I'm at work, say I'm doing a 9 to 5, which I haven't done in years, and I show up 10 minutes before my shift, I'm already late in my eyes. That stems probably from my time in the military, but also too in show business. And I know you said outside of that, but if you, if you really love your job and you like what you're doing, and even if you don't like what you're doing, show up, be there, be prepared to give it everything you got every day because you can't have that day back again.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Think about what you want to do before you make a move. Don't just leap with a leap of faith. Sometimes that can work well, but think about it. Think a couple times about it. You don't have to consult with everybody in the world, but just think about it. Is this really what I want to do? Now, if it's just a part-time job while you're going to school, that's one thing. But as far as a career move goes, because you know as well as anybody, Tyler, that if you make a move today, it could lock you in for the next 3 to 5 years if you make the wrong decision. So think about what you want to do. Think about the skills you have. Think about where you want to be and try to make the right moves in the right direction. You don't have to complicate it by— it's not rocket science, but just think about your inner side, the inside of you. What's your ambitions? What's your ultimate goal? What's the payoff to you?
And it might tie in with this next question, but in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
Love what you do. Have some fun with it. Share it with your friends if you can. And you'll never work a day in your life. And you don't have to have a million dollars. You don't have to make a lot of money. I know, I know school teachers back in my day, they were only making $25,000, $30,000 a year and were happy as can be. And I know people that make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, if not millions. A lot of my friends who are actors out in LA, and they're miserable because they're handcuffed to what they do. If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life. And everybody's heard that before, but it is true. You will never complain about working a day in your life. Oh, you might get bored and need a break from time to time, but you overall, you'll love what you do.
And what's the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
Boy, this was a tough one because I've read a lot of books. I'm a reader. I love to read a lot, but I think the one book that has meant more to me in my life than any other book is the Bible. I'm— I know anybody down there in Miami that's listening to this that knows me They'll say, what? But it is the center of my faith, which I walked away from for a lot of years. But I've managed to slowly find my way back to God, and it is the center of my life. I don't necessarily pick it up every day, but I always have a conversation with God. And but, but the Bible has been an anchor for me in many, many ways.
And what's your favorite quote and why?
This one comes from Johnny Unitas. And it was a quote that he gave to somebody, and I picked it up, and I've been using it ever since. It was when somebody asked him to do something, and he turned to the guy and said, "Maybe." And the guy walked away, and he grabbed him by the arm, and he said, "Hey, if you take no the first time, you'll never get anything done." And it's true. If you take no the first time in life, you'll never get anything done because the first thing that comes out of a lot of people's mouths is no, No, you can't do it. Why are you doing it? You got to believe within yourself. So there are times when the door closes and you should accept the no. It happens, but never take no for an answer. Keep moving. If you believe in yourself and you believe in what you do and you know you have the skills and tools to do it, do it. Life is too short, man. When I was your age, Tyler Wagner Wagner, I thought I had the world by the tail. And now here I am a whole lot of years later and I'm going, boy, there's more years behind me than in front of me. And, uh, it can really get to you. So if you take no the first time, forget it. And number 2, this one came from Jackie Gleason. My mother decorated one of his homes once, and it's a true statement that he's accredited with, which he borrowed from somebody. And it is, be nice to the people on the way up because you're going to meet them on the way down. So being a diva and a spoiled brat doesn't get you anywhere. Doesn't. I like it because it may open doors, but you better get through those doors and be nice on your way in because people appreciate that a lot more than they do somebody who's throwing a tantrum or, or being a diva. And I know that, Tyler, that's part of the entertainment industry today. Everybody throws a fit. It doesn't really get you anywhere in the long run because it catches up to you.
Yeah, man, thank you so much for coming on. There was so much value in this episode. Um, last question I have, you kind of mentioned it in the beginning, but I'd just like to wrap up like this is, where's the best place offer people to find you online?
You can find me on GaryAllenTalkShow.com, and there has an email address connected with it. No phone number. I get enough phone calls as it is. You can find me on Facebook, Gary Allen The Express. You can go to LinkedIn, Gary Allen. But if you go to GaryAllenTalkShow.com, that'll give you my email address. Also all the links for all my podcasts, tells you a little bit about me. And by the way, I just want to say that being a member of the family from the U, I'm so proud of that football team and I'm proud of the university. And once you've gone to the U, Tyler, I don't know where you went to college, but once you're a member of the U, you're always a member of the U.
Awesome. Thank you again, Gary. We appreciate it.
You're absolutely welcome, sir. Thank you.
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