Reacting To The Kanye Documentary On Netflix

Sam Parr

It just comes with the territory. When you're creative, man, you're gonna be crazy. You gotta accept the craziness.

Shaan Puri

do do you

Sam Parr

wanna talk about kanye

Shaan Puri

I do wanna talk about kanye

Sam Parr

Yeah, so I only watched the first episode because I have this rule. I've got two rules. The first rule is if there's a movie that involves animals as the protagonist...

Shaan Puri

I don't know where you're going with this

Sam Parr

I don't watch it I don't watch it

Shaan Puri

the lion king

Sam Parr

I don't watch movies where animals always die, so I have a rule: if there's a war movie set in a time where they had horses, like *Braveheart* or *The Patriot*, and the horses die in the war, I don't watch it. It's just too much for me. I don't like seeing horses die; I don't like seeing the line get trampled. I don't watch that stuff. The second thing is, if it's generally either scary or sad, I don't watch that either. I'm not paying money to get freaked out, right? I'm paying money to be happy. Yeah, my life sucks sometimes anyway, so I don't need to pay money to make it not suck. I knew that in episode 2, that was when his mom died, so I was like, "Nope, I'm not going to watch that." So, I only watched episode 1.

Shaan Puri

but by the way I've I've watched simpsons his mom does diet that that part so

Sam Parr

they made it I thought they made it they're playing the song hey mama like over the preview version I was like

Shaan Puri

so so you haven't seen any of the scenes with his mom because those are the best scenes

Sam Parr

The well, yeah, where she's like, "He's like, I bought a..." She's like, "You don't own a house, but you bought this chain." And she goes, "Okay." She's like, "I like the..."

Shaan Puri

chain kanye it's nice this is nice kanye

Sam Parr

yeah she was very supportive of them

Shaan Puri

Yeah, so I did. So, dude, okay, let's talk about the mom. Alright, so this Kanye documentary is frankly great, and I'm kind of mad more friends didn't tell me, "You gotta watch this." I could see why maybe some people don't like it, but this is like... this is up my alley. This is my alley.

Sam Parr

Did you see the idea about how they're basically... it was just a guy? Dude, because you asked yourself, "Why is this?"

Shaan Puri

where's this footage from

Sam Parr

Why is this guy just walking around like he's got a camcorder on his shoulder? Why is this guy with Kanye when he's on the street? Basically, this guy was like, "I saw... I forget the movie that he saw. It was called 'Hoop Dreams.' There's a movie where, yeah, 'Hoop Dreams' follows four young high school kids or eighth-grade kids. He's like, 'Let's see if they're gonna make it to the NBA.' And he's like, 'I was inspired by that, and I thought Kanye was gonna be famous, so I just decided to follow him around.' This is before YouTube was around, so it was weird that a guy was with a shoulder camcorder.

Shaan Puri

To totally weird... what luck for all of us that that guy—so, shout out to Cootey, the guy who did it. He basically... and by the way, I think they explained this more later. I haven't seen the whole thing, so I might not know something that's said in the documentary, but I've only watched the first couple of parts. So, he basically sees Kanye and thinks, "This guy's cool." Then he drops everything and says, "I'm gonna film this guy." He's going to film this random guy from Chicago who wears a retainer and is trying to be a rapper. He's like a cool producer, but you know, who knows, right? Most people don't make it. As Kanye says in the documentary, he goes, "Yeah, where I grew up, there's a whole bunch of guys who are just finna get signed. And guess what? They're still finna get signed. They're just almost finna get signed." So, that seemed like the most likely path. But like, that's amazing! This documentary is incredible because he's got footage from before everything—when he has nothing, when nobody believes in him, and he's trying to make it. Because of that, he's got all this footage. Other people also view it as harmless. It's like, "Oh, I don't know why this guy has a camera. What are you doing with a camera out?" And he's like, "Oh, I'm filming a documentary for Kanye." Alright, that's weird, but I guess come on in. You know, who knows? And so you see Jay-Z, you see Pharrell, you see all these legends in the game early on, in the studio, because they just have this footage. It's amazing.

Sam Parr

That was awesome! I love this documentary. It was cool that he looked up to a couple of guys like Mos Def and Common. Now, those folks aren't even in the same stratosphere as what he is now.

Shaan Puri

he's yes and he surpassed them they asked for his audition

Sam Parr

Yeah, and they were like, "Alright, fine, Kanye, fine. I'll come with you to this thing," right? And it was awesome. It's easy to say, like, when I watch it now, I'm like, "Oh, this is so obvious. This guy has the 'it' factor." Of course, that's easy to say, but there was one scene where he was in a record label's reception room, I think. Yeah, and there's this woman just standing there. He was like, "Hey, can I talk to whoever?" and she kind of ignored him. Then he just started rapping. He was like, "Well, let me show you my rap," and he plays "All Falls Down."

Shaan Puri

right I think

Sam Parr

And which is like the hit of hits. He's rapid, and she's like, "Get cameras up for a minute." Then eventually, she just...

Ben Wilson

like starts making phone calls

Sam Parr

and she's like working

Ben Wilson

and then she's like excuse me like has

Sam Parr

To walk by because there's someone at the door, and he's playing "All Falls Down" before it became a thing. It made me think of two things: 1. That's crazy that he kept getting after it. 2. Even though "All Falls Down" is a total hit, I understand how if you heard it, you'd think, "Oh, that's stupid," because it sounds like some crazy guy. It really makes me respect people—whether it's those who invest money in a product or those who find an artist, art, or a trend. People who can spot something and say, "I think that's it, and if we position it in the market this way, this is gonna be a home run." It really shows you how hard that is. There were like three different ladies walking around the room who were 100% fans of that song. They looked like young people in the music industry, working their way up. They were all about that song when it came out, but then it didn't click. That is what I try to imagine. I'm like, "What is my 'All Falls Down' today? Did I skip over anything today?" I found myself asking that after I saw that documentary.

Shaan Puri

100% because you just see people who are writing them off. People who are just too busy doing their work that they miss this absolute gold mine. It's like literally, he's putting it in your face saying, "Please, please check me out!" When something's popular, it's easy to appreciate its greatness. However, when something is just some random guy in your way, it really takes someone special to spot that talent. It made me want to be that guy. It made me want to be that parent. So, I wrote down a bunch of notes, which is weird because who writes notes while documenting? But there were things that stood out to me that were real-life lessons or just amazing moments that were in this. I'll give you one: he's rapping with his mom. His mom was an English teacher, and she's like, "What's that one you used to say? I was at the playground, and then they said boys came around..." and she's like doing it, and he does it, and she's like, "Oh, I love that one, Kanye!" It's like an audience of one; that's all he really had at that moment.

Shaan Puri

Was one fan, it's like his mom, and she's like, "That's $1,000,000 right there." She goes, "I always used to tell you that, right? I said that's $1,000,000 right there." He laughs and goes, "Ain't got $1,000,000 yet." And like now he's a billionaire, right? And so it's like, and she's like, "No, I'm telling you that's $1,000,000." Then he tells her some good news. He's like, "Mom, MTV is gonna film me for their, like, you heard it here first thing for emerging artists, like unknown artists. Can you believe they're gonna film a documentary, Mom? Mom, can you believe that?" And she goes, "I can believe it the way you are." She goes, "You writing tracks, it's like watching Michael Jordan shooting free throws." Then she goes, "You know, you worked so hard. You kept going, you keep going up, it's bound to pay off. So yeah, believe that, Kanye. People like you, you're special, Kanye." And like, and she's not saying it, there's no difference when you say it in favor.

Sam Parr

you're doing a really good job with this

Shaan Puri

yeah this is good

Sam Parr

I you've got me bought in this is really good

Shaan Puri

And so, there's a difference when somebody says something like, "No, you're great," versus when somebody genuinely believes in you. They're not just trying to pump you up; they have a quiet confidence about them. She wasn't going overboard, and she wasn't saying, "Don't worry, you're gonna make it." She was just saying, "Of course I believe it." Like, yeah, I'm not surprised.

Sam Parr

And she wasn't critical. So he comes back and she goes, "Kanye, when are you gonna buy a house?" He goes, "I don't know yet, but check this out." He pulls out this chain. I don't know what was on it, but he was like, "I could've bought a house, but I bought this instead." And she goes, "Well, that's alright. It's pretty nice. Good job."

Shaan Puri

I like that Kanye. Yeah, I like this. And she's so supportive and such a believer. That's like a, you know, a thing that moms do. But it's just like, you know, that's mad respect on that. And so she...

Sam Parr

most moms don't do that by the way I don't think most moms do that

Shaan Puri

I feel like, you know, a lot of people are like, "Dude, I have the best mom." It's like, well, you know, yeah, yeah, yeah. Trust me, there's a lot of...

Sam Parr

I think that there's a lot of **shitty parents** out there. Then, I think that most parents are just okay. It's just like a distribution, just like everything else. She was very special and, right, a single mom too, right? No dad.

Shaan Puri

single mom and a you know he opened up her fridge and there's like literally like like a

Sam Parr

like wine and milk

Shaan Puri

There's a wine, well, there's a quart of milk and a quarter of rosé or something like that. Why Zinfandel? And then he uses that in his song later or whatever. So there are a couple of other things. He goes... so I'm just going to... can I read you some of these notes? I was just blown away.

Sam Parr

yeah keep going keep going

Shaan Puri

So there's one scene where he's... oh no, she goes, she's trying to warn him. She says, "You have this confidence to kind of like, you know, but I want you to make sure you stay humble." And obviously, that's been a challenge for Kanye over time as he's like, "I am Jesus now." Then she's like, "Remember, a giant looks in the mirror and sees nothing." To this day, I still don't know what that meant, and Kanye clearly also didn't know what that meant in the moment. Then she tries to explain. She says, "Don't make yourself less of a star. A star is gonna look like a star. You can't be a star and then say, 'I'm not a star.' You gotta have some oomph about you." I just love that! That's a phrase to live by: "Have some oomph about me." That can mean anything in any situation, and it's the right thing. Then she goes on, "Don't just go to the mirror and say, 'No, I'm not all that. Thank you very much. I'm not a star.' Yeah, you'd be a star, but be humble at the same time." He responds, "You're saying I don't do a good job at that?" She replies, "No, you do a good job at that, but you gotta make sure you keep doing a good job of that." Those are like... you know, kind of like that's a seed that's been planted, right?

Sam Parr

gosh he's great

Shaan Puri

So there's that one. Then there were all these moments where... alright, the importance of identity, right? So he says, from the beat, at the time he's known as a great producer. He produces the beats that Jay-Z uses on his big *Blueprint* album, and people know him as that. Everyone loves him as a producer; everybody wants him as a producer. But he wants to be a rapper.

Sam Parr

yeah he was upset about that

Shaan Puri

he's upset and so he goes into this one he's in the hallway at the record label

Sam Parr

Which, by the way, a lot of people forget. Do you realize how much he produced before he actually got famous? No, that's crazy! It's pretty crazy. Like, the big one was "H to the Izzo," right? And there were like dozens more. I can't think of anything off the top of my head, but there were a dozen more where you were like, "Wait, you did that?" And he did it before he had his own thing.

Shaan Puri

yeah exactly exactly and he was great at it and then he's like he talks about it he's like yeah people want my beats say oh oh I want oh can can I get one can I get I need a beat give me a beat he's like and then they then they hear my song they're like yo I hadn't heard this where'd you get this he goes that's my shit I use that for me and he's like he's like trying to like on one hand he needs to sell beats to pay for life but every time he does it's a step away from where he wants to be in a way like to be a rapper and so he's in this hallway and this guy's trying to hype him up because he's like oh you got the documentary crew so he puts his arm around him it's like the the the managing director at at rockfella records and he's like you know this right here kanye west he's the best rapper producer in the game best rapper producer in the game? And then kanye's like kinda like upset and he's like what and he goes why you guys say that man that's like saying I'm the best kid rapper in the game he's like wait man I said you're the best rapper producer in the game he goes I'm just a rapper if I'm the 50th best rapper just say he's the 50th best rapper don't call me the best rapper producer in the game that's whack call them a whack I'm not that I'm a rapper and like think about what's going on in that moment right he's like fighting to get a record deal where most people are in desperation mode like they'll take what they can get and instead he's got this identity and the whole world is trying to pull him to just be a producer because that's what's in it for them like that's proven and that helps you know helps them make hits and you know why aren't you just happy pat you on your head and say you're a great producer and he had this identity in his head so strong that I think 99 people out of a 100 in his position would just become a producer because the whole world was pulling him in that direction there was a faster quicker path to success and the money was there and the success was there and he didn't have to grind as hard as he did to try to prove himself as a rapper but he had it in his head no I'm a rapper and if I'm the 50th best rapper I'd rather be the 50th best rapper than the best rapper producer and I just it was such an example to me of like people will stay consistent with their identity and so you kinda gotta ask yourself like what is my identity like if I said sam are you what's your job sam what do you do

Sam Parr

right now my job is I no do podcast

Shaan Puri

if I just say what what like who are you what do you do for work what do you do for a living

Sam Parr

I'm a business person

Shaan Puri

Okay, you're a business person. So, if all of a sudden, it doesn't matter what HubSpot offers you, right? Like, okay, you're vesting out your deal. That's great. But let's say any company comes to you and says, "Sam, we'd like to make you the Vice President of Marketing Operations at the biggest company in the world, and you're going to get this and that." You're not going to do it because it's not consistent with your identity. You're like, "I'm a business person. I'm an entrepreneur." Yeah, so, as an entrepreneur, I can't be an employee. They're just two separate things. In the same way, you know you're not going to do heroin because you're someone who doesn't do heroin. You don't even have to weigh the pros and cons of it. It's just really not a discussion for you. It's not part of who you are. It's not like, "I'm trying not to do it." It's, "No, I just don't do that. I do this, and I don't do that." So, those lines you draw for yourself are so important for your identity.

Sam Parr

and I would argue so there's this book called 48 laws of power have you read it

Shaan Puri

no but I've heard of it

Sam Parr

Alright, it's awesome. He has this one chapter where he says you always have to reinvent yourself. He gives a bunch of examples about that. The reason why you want to reinvent yourself is that the person who you can't peg down typically becomes the most powerful. There's something about changing yourself that does a couple of things: 1. This whole "act as if" thing is real. If you act like you're going to be an expert artist or something and you work hard, you can eventually become that. But you kind of have to act as if. 2. It reinforces habits. You see, like, "No, I'm a healthy person; therefore, I don't do unhealthy things." 3. It gives you this aura of mystery. People who have mystery surrounding them typically are powerful. There are a ton of good examples about this. A really interesting and easy one, because she does it so clearly, is Lady Gaga. Oftentimes, she'll reinvent herself. At first, she was this kind of normal white lady playing on the piano. If you see her when she's a little bit younger, then she becomes this weirdo person who puts meat on her body. Then she transforms and starts playing jazz with Tony Bennett. You're like, "What the heck? Lady Gaga's doing that? What the hell is that?" Now she's just done some acting, and she was a great actor. So, constantly reinventing themselves, I think Arnold Schwarzenegger has done a really good job at that.

Shaan Puri

where you just

Sam Parr

Yeah, you just... you've gotta reinvent yourself consistently. Kanye has done that; he's actually changed himself. I think inventing and reinventing yourself requires making a decision. You gotta be like, "I am this now. I am this."

Shaan Puri

exactly that's

Sam Parr

okay you gotta

Shaan Puri

choose that identity

Sam Parr

And after a while, you could be like, "Alright, great. That season was... this season had a beginning, a middle, and now it's come to an end. What's the next season of me?" You can actually pick and choose what those inventions are. When I read that, when I was a little bit younger, that kind of changed my perspective on things.

Shaan Puri

When I went to the Tony Robbins event, it was a perfect example of what you're talking about. He tells the story, saying, "You know, there was this kid I was working with, or this kid I met. The kid was overweight and he wanted to be fit, but he was talking about, 'Oh, you know, it's hard. I'm working so hard, I don't have time to exercise,' blah blah blah." He wanted to be in a relationship, and we saw a beautiful woman. I said, "Well, go talk to her then." He didn't want to go talk to her. He said, "Why would she want a guy like me? I'm too young. She looks older than me. I don't have a good job. She probably wants a guy who's got something going for him." He looked at his clothes and thought, "I don't look good." So, he didn't want to go talk to her. He talked about all these aspects of his life: his health, his relationships, his career. I asked him, "You're working as a busboy right now at a restaurant. What do you want to be doing?" He replied, "I want to run that dealership over there." I said, "Well, why don't you go apply for it?" He responded, "Why would they hire me? I have no college education." He kept coming up with all the reasons why he couldn't succeed, labeling himself with all these identities that he wasn't: "I'm overweight, no college education, too young, too dumb, too fat," too whatever. People do this all the time. He basically talks about the turning point in his life.

Shaan Puri

For this kid, he's like, he drew a line and he said, "No experience." Like, "No experience? What are you talking about?" "Yeah, no experience. I don't have... I'm not stuck in all the old ways like all those other motherfuckers, right? I got fresh ideas. I got the energy of a young stallion. I'm not like some 50-year-old guy who’s dragging into work every day." "Yeah, I got no experience. I got the best experience: no experience." Or like, "Why would this woman want to be with me?" Really, because I got that, you know? And he just turns it around. Like, "What's the truth? Is the truth that you have no experience, or the truth that you have fresh ideas and young energy? And you'll hustle harder than anybody else to prove yourself because you have this track record?" And so he does that for each one of the things. And then it's like, "Oh, you know, that kid's me." He shows a picture of himself before, where he was living, and how he was working, and he turned himself around.

Sam Parr

that's good

Shaan Puri

And he says in this thing, he goes, "You know, right now you guys see me on stage and I have this energy and confidence. I have all this insight and wisdom, or all these things that people praise me for." He goes, "What people don't realize is I created this Tony Robbins motherfucker. I created him." I just thought that was such a powerful way of thinking. You can create that thing you want to be, that ideal version of you. You get to create that. The people who've done it, they just created it. They chose that identity and then they just lived up to that day by day. You know, there's Kanye, who is a great example of literally speaking it into existence. He says a ton of stuff on there, like, "People are going to know me without my last name. It'll just be Kanye at some point." And he's...

Sam Parr

go ahead

Shaan Puri

no no go go for

Sam Parr

It, when I was watching that, it also reminded me of this other thing. Here's a really small example. So, you, Sean, are... I don't know what you are. Creative is one word, but that's not the most effective word. I would say you're whatever it requires to be a good storyteller and podcast host. That's what you are. It's like a mixture of creativity, performing, and a bunch of other stuff. What I've come to accept is... I always joke that Sean is usually 2 minutes late. He's usually always 2 minutes late to stuff. At first, that made me angry. It doesn't make me angry anymore now because what I know is, in order to be good, in order for you, Sean, to be Sean and be good at these things, that means by nature you're going to be the opposite of good at these other things. That's just what it comes with. If you want someone to be an amazing athlete, you can't have time to do all these other things. In order to be an amazing athlete, you have to train all the time. So, I just accept that. I want him to be good at this; therefore, I accept that maybe sometimes he'll just be 2 minutes late. And when Kanye acts like a crazy person online and he says all this crazy stuff about Kim Kardashian, typing in all caps on Twitter and stuff, people are like, "This guy's crazy! What's he doing?" I'm like, "Well, that's what we need. Being crazy is good. That's why we got all this gold." I love those crazy people. So, what I've learned is that in order to be great, you're going to be messed up in some other categories.

Shaan Puri

the the beast or beast thing I was talking about at the beginning he said something just like this he goes like joe rogan asked like you know what was it like you know what what'd your friends think or whatever he goes he's like at first my friends just thought it was weird like nobody that wasn't a popular thing to make videos and then they just got sick of it because all I ever wanted to talk about was making youtube videos they would ask me about other stuff or try to talk to me about other stuff I just didn't have any interest in anything else I was just obsessed with making great videos and it's all I wanted to think about and I remember there's a there's an interview with conor mcgregor it goes on bbc it's like one of the bigger like it's like not just like an mma guy covering conor asking about mma it was like bbc world or something like that was going to interview and they asked him some question or there was like some small talk you know about like about like the news or the game and he's like oh yeah you know both teams play hard he just says something generic and then the camera cuts and his documentary crew's filming because I have no clue who those teams are he's like I don't follow any I don't say I don't follow sport I don't follow news he goes he goes I don't know anything about anything and I don't wanna know anything about anything I just am obsessed with my with my craft I have lost my mind to my craft and I've seen that and and so you know it's like this kind of inspiring thing that you see as like a common what are the common denominators of greatness you I wouldn't say you have to do anything because there's many ways to win but these these things do show up often right they sort of rhyme with success is like these are this obsession the sort of singular obsession with something or identity seeing yourself as big becoming something even when the rest of the world doesn't see it having that one believer like your mom right like so like if I was gonna say like the lessons from kanye which I think is what this episode is turning into was like you know number 1 is like you know the power of that one believer like his mom number 2 is like the power of identity number 3 is is like so he has this moment where he goes some somebody said something they go they go you know do you think it's harder for you because you're from chicago and because you have this background as a producer so people don't take you seriously as a rapper and he goes he just goes he goes the way I feel is anything that anybody ever tells me is a disadvantage I'm a make it my advantage and then he basically if you watch the documentary that's exactly what he's doing he's like okay I'm pigeonholed as a producer well I'm a make the dopest beats for myself and I'm gonna use my beats as currency so he's like yeah I supply beats to jay z guess what I get jay z to do a hook on my first album which he's not gonna do for like some random no name rapper but because I build this credibility I'm gonna I'm gonna use that as my currency or like he gets in this car accident and his jaw is wired shut and he's like I'm a turn that to my advantage so how did he turn a disadvantage like for a rapper to have his jaw wired shut through the wire he creates a song called through the wire rapping about his time and then like you know the first line is like you know about drinking ensure or like you know other people make pancakes I just drink scissor but you know just the syrup because he can't eat solid foods right so he writes his hit song when he's got the broken jaw and he he also says this other thing he goes I was laying there I couldn't do nothing back there there's no no like cell phones or anything so he's and no smartphones so he's just like saying sitting in the hospital doing nothing for 7 days he goes I was laying there and I decided I'm gonna be the best dressed rapper in the game he's like because he was watching music videos so they they put music videos on there but they couldn't put the volume high so he couldn't like bump to the music he was just watching other rappers so he turned the disadvantage into advantage which was he realized all these rappers dress the same way and it's this one style I'm gonna dress different then and that was a fashionable billionaire you know

Sam Parr

And back then, rap fashion was horrible. It was just like a basketball jersey and baggy jeans. Yeah, it was the worst. So he did a good job. Let me ask you a question real quick. Don't say their names because you might have to insult them, but who are the three wealthiest people you know?

Shaan Puri

k

Sam Parr

what are is what around what do you think their net worth is each

Shaan Puri

about the the ones like I know like I know well like somebody not just like somebody I've met

Sam Parr

yeah

Shaan Puri

someone that's like a friend

Sam Parr

who you know about some of their personality traits and their personal life

Shaan Puri

Yeah, I would say somewhere between **300 million** and **700 million**. I know them; I know about their real life, not just the surface-level stuff.

Sam Parr

Of those people, how many of them have this trait of being obsessed? To the point where if a normal person, a non-wealthy person, saw their life, they would be like, "Dude, you're weird," or "The way that you're handling this is wrong." You know? How many would say something like that? A hundred percent of them.

Shaan Puri

100% of them what are

Sam Parr

I'll give you some examples so yeah

Shaan Puri

So, one of them worked so hard on their business that they were so obsessed, family members would come to the office and say, "You gotta come home! You're working too hard. We're afraid." When they sold their company, just 45 days later, they had to undergo heart surgery because they had worked themselves that hard during that time. Another one, I remember the day after they became worth over $100,000,000. I knew them well. That same night, they were up till 3 in the morning working on their new project, which had less than 100 customers. Clearly, they had already made it, yet they stayed up fixing bugs in this test flight product at 3 in the morning. Most people would be chilling hard or going on a bender for a year, but they were wired very differently. The third person is not just obsessed with their work life; they're obsessed with anything. If they get into some random hobby or sport, they take it to a level that's not common. They're hardcore gamers, or they just get really into whatever catches their interest. They have an obsessive personality. It's not just an obsession with work or money; that just happens to be the game that pays out in points called dollars. They get obsessed with any game that captures their interest.

Sam Parr

yeah that that rings true to all the people I that I know do you

Shaan Puri

have an example

Sam Parr

I'm trying to... yeah, so our mutual buddy, I wonder if I could... I'm actually not gonna say his name. So, well, I'll say it. Yeah, I could say it: Jack Smith. So, he's the chair... like he...

Shaan Puri

the building of the chair right that's that's an example

Sam Parr

Well, I'll give you a different one. He's obsessed with buying things. If he buys anything, he'll buy 30 of them. At his house, I've seen it; he's got a Google spreadsheet where he tracks every item and every category of things that he's bought. He ranks them. So if you ask him about chocolate, he actually has a spreadsheet with literally 100 pieces of chocolate. He goes, "I tested all of them. Here's the best one that I think is the best." When we got married, my wedding gift from him was roughly $1,000 worth of stuff that he considered the best. It was so weird—like the best socks, the best underwear, the best lotion. He's so obsessed with this that Amazon has banned him from having an account multiple times. He has to create different credit cards just to continue getting an account. So he's just obsessed with stuff, right? And he's incredibly wealthy. He probably got wealthy when he was 28—really young. But he's just crazy obsessed with stuff to the point where I just accept that he's an oddball, right? So yeah, that's one example.

Shaan Puri

Let me give you another lesson that I thought was significant. **Lesson number... I don't know where we are now, but let's say lesson 5:** "Closed mouths don't get fed." I don't know if you've seen this scene where Kanye goes into a situation with his record label. They weren't paying for his studio time because they had kind of put him on the shelf. They weren't sure about him and didn't want to invest money into promoting him or getting him to record. So, he's pulling in favors somehow. He goes to Jamie Foxx, who he's made beats for before, and says, "Hey, I want to come over. Oh, you have a studio in your house? Do you mind if I just record something real quick?" Boom! He uses the studio and gets Jamie Foxx to do vocals, which then become part of one of his tracks.

Sam Parr

slow jams

Shaan Puri

All those dropouts... Yeah, slow jams. Then there's one with Jay-Z. He gets into the studio with Jay-Z, and Jay-Z's recording. He's like, "Yo, you mind if I rap for you real quick?" And he's like, "Yeah, okay, I guess. I'm not gonna say no." He just freestyles on the spot with no backtrack for Jay-Z, right to his face. It's like a one-on-one, basically just ripping one man or writing a poem to another man. It's kind of an amazing thing that's happening. Then you see Jay-Z start to nod his head. He just starts to like it. He lets him do a hook on Jay-Z's track and then Jay-Z says out loud in the studio, "I had no idea." He goes, "But that just shows you, closed mouth don't get fed." Then they catch on the documentary, the guy Cootie, the recording guy. He goes, Jay-Z is like leaving, and then Cootie shoots his shot too. He goes, "Oh man, what do you think about Kanye West?" And he goes, "He's a Kanye West man. He's got it. He's gonna be big." Then he goes, "You think so?" Jay-Z replies, "I'm putting my money on it," and he walks out. He does like the Jay-Z laugh and walks out of the studio. They capture that, and they're like, "Yes, we got basically an endorsement from Jay-Z that's gonna help us keep going." It's just one instance after another of like, in the moment of truth, he didn't sit around and wait. He shot his shot. You know, closed mouth don't get fed. I just think that's like how...

Sam Parr

how did how did you remember all this did were you literally just with a pen and paper taking on your phone

Shaan Puri

I would write notes. I'd just write like... it literally says "closed louth" because I misspelled it. I'm typing fast. "Closed louth, don't get meth, don't get fed, JZ." And then I thought about it, right? Like... because this...

Sam Parr

is on your on your iphone app's notes app yeah note and and do you do this for all your all things like that

Shaan Puri

I just have notes for everything. I have a section called "Jokes," and I'm slowly building a stand-up comedy set over time. Eventually, I'll collect enough funny things and think, "Oh, that could be a joke." I'll put it there.

Sam Parr

god I find that to be amazing I because I watched the same thing but you remembered so much more than I did

Shaan Puri

I was just up... I was into it, man. I just saw so many lessons. I remember there are so many moments in my life—like I bet you have one too—where it's like, "If you have a closed mouth, you don't get fed." Does one jump to mind, or should I tell you mine? I bet you have one.

Sam Parr

I probably have a few, but I've, you know, as you can expect, because I have a big mouth, I typically have always done a good job of speaking up. What's yours?

Shaan Puri

Like when I was in college, at the time I thought I was going to be a doctor, so I was premed. I took the MCATs, I was ready to graduate and go to med school. Just for fun, I took a blow-off class. The easiest class offered on Duke campus was called "Getting Rich," and obviously, that changed the direction of my life. One of the classes, the teacher would basically bring in somebody who had made it in some world, and they would come and just talk to us. So this guy was a...

Sam Parr

was this the most popular you told me about this was it the most popular one

Shaan Puri

To get into, because it was the highest rated in terms of easiness and fun. On RateMyProfessor.com, that professor had a chili pepper next to her name, which means she's hot.

Sam Parr

so she's hot

Shaan Puri

So, it was like all the high scores. I got in, and I was sitting in class one day. There was a guy, a hedge fund guy, I think, and he was talking about his career. He said, "Alright, enough about me. What about you guys? Who's doing something cool? Who's got a business that they're trying to run or a business they want to launch?" He started looking around the class, scanning from left to right, and he said, "Pitch me! That's what I do; I invest. So, pitch me." He scanned from left to right, and it was crickets. Nobody was saying anything. You’ve never seen a quieter group of smart people. Nobody raised their hand. I was at the very edge of the class on the right, so I had the advantage of having a moment to assess the fork in the road. The night before, my friends and I had that dumb idea: "Why isn't there a Chipotle for sushi?" Oh dude, we can make that! There was a Chipotle on campus, and there was a Subway on campus. We wanted to build a version of that fast-casual thing for sushi. I thought it was a funny idea. I had been pitching it the night before to my friends, where I felt safe. Now, here was this guy saying, "Pitch me an idea," and nobody was saying anything. Then I had this thing in my back to identity... I had this thing which was like...

Sam Parr

you know you're the cool kid or something not the

Shaan Puri

Cool kid... I mean, I definitely wasn't a cool kid in school, but I just felt to myself, "I'll take the shot." In basketball terms, like in the clutch moment, I'm not gonna be afraid to shoot. I might miss, but I'm not afraid to shoot. So I did it. I raised my hand, and he goes, "Alright, finally, what you got?" I pitched the idea, and he goes, "That's a terrible idea." He just blew me off. But he's like, "Let me tell you..." He gave this lesson, which was like, "This is America. It's the only country on earth where you get rewarded for failing. You can go fail at a business, and people will give you positive credit for trying." He's like, "Most countries, that's just not how it works." He goes, "You know, the other thing is a lot of you guys might want to work in a hedge fund someday or an investment bank or whatever. Guess what? The first three-fourths of your resume is all gonna look the same. It's only the bottom section that's gonna have anything different between you and the next kid who also was an honor roll student, did good on the SATs, and graduated with a 3.35 GPA." So, like, that's the only way that you're gonna get differentiated. "So you go do your sushi restaurant. It'll lead you... you know, it will help you in what you want to do, even if it fails." And that's like pretty much exactly how it played out.

Sam Parr

This was a good conversation because of how much you care. I thoroughly enjoyed this. I just... I barely said a word, but I enjoyed it. What do you think, Ben? It's so evident when one of us is incredibly passionate about the topic.

Ben Wilson

Yeah, and what do you guys feel like is the Kanye pod in the zeitgeist? Do you think that most of your friends are watching it right now?

Sam Parr

well everyone knows what it is I think

Shaan Puri

I think a lot of people are watching it. I've talked to maybe, I don't know, it's one of the big things on Netflix. It's always like, "Oh, you're watching the thing on Netflix that's at the top?" Yeah, like I am.

Sam Parr

yeah wait ben you you you haven't seen it

Ben Wilson

I have seen it yeah I watched it

Sam Parr

yeah I think that like I'm

Ben Wilson

I'm the only one of us who finished it. Actually, I watched the third part, and it's not as good as the first two, though.

Sam Parr

so you guys the first part was great so have you are you guys watching euphoria

Shaan Puri

no but I've I've seen I've seen a couple episodes at the beginning

Sam Parr

dude that shit got me shook you gotta watch that like yeah apparently if you're a

Shaan Puri

parent like it's just like yeah a nightmare scenario

Sam Parr

Well, it's this lady... what's her name? She's like half white, half black. Zedalia or something? Zedalia, Zedalia. She just knocks it out of the park, man! This girl is so freaking good. It was wonderful acting; she killed it. I was really... Sara and I both cried watching it.

Shaan Puri

wow and that's got like a bunch of seasons right

Sam Parr

like 2 or something

Shaan Puri

a little bit too okay yeah

Sam Parr

I think 2 you gotta watch that it's so good man this lady is such a good actor

Shaan Puri

then why'd you ask if it's in the zeitgeist you you think it's not or why'd why'd you ask that

Ben Wilson

Yeah, I just thought that it would kind of reach, like, maybe not "Tiger King" because that was like a phenomenon, but I was hoping, because I loved it so much, that this documentary would be the next big thing on Netflix. I found that like a third of my friends have seen it.

Sam Parr

That's true. It's not as popular, but his craziness is popular. Like the whole thing that he's doing with the guy who's dating Kim... what's his name? Pete Davidson. That thing is kind of overshadowing it.

Ben Wilson

yeah that could

Shaan Puri

be right

Sam Parr

his crazy is coming out hard

Ben Wilson

I think part of the reason I liked it is part of the reason it's not getting that big. Essentially, for the first episode, for the first part, he just has old footage of Kanye and kind of just lets it run with a little bit of narration. So, it's not that much of a narrative story arc that sucks you in. He just kind of lets you be a fly on the wall.

Sam Parr

Ben, knowing what you know, you had a podcast called *Raising a Genius*. Is it possible to raise a genius? I didn't... I didn't like that podcast because you didn't do the best job of just telling me the answer. So, like, I...

Shaan Puri

I listened to that. Also, he did get to tell the answer, but I feel like it was too narrow. It was like the guy raised three chess champions. Okay, I get that you can raise a chess champion.

Sam Parr

and he played chess yeah

Shaan Puri

Does that mean you can raise a genius or that you can out-practice people at a game of chess? Right? Like, you know, I think those are two different things.

Sam Parr

Well, can the encouragement that Donna... whatever Donna West gave him be a huge factor or a small factor?

Ben Wilson

I think it's a factor. The Polgar method, developed by Laszlo Polgar, had a very specific approach. I don't think it would work all that well for rapping because it is oriented towards outcome-driven results. It would be good for raising a guitar player, a chess champion, a swimmer, or a tennis player—those kinds of skills are very discreet and can be taught exactly. But for a rapper or something more creative, I don't know if you can teach that. It's almost like if it's creative, it has to come from within. You can't have someone else come in and try to raise that.

Sam Parr

Your hand, that her encouragement of him made him confident, or he was born confident.

Ben Wilson

I think watching that documentary, it was crazy to see some of the mannerisms that were the same between her and Kanye. I was like, "Oh, there's something genetic about this." Yes, it was her encouragement, but it's also like whatever he has, he kind of got from her and probably would have had it anyway.

Sam Parr

I read this book called *The Blueprint Gene*, and it kind of changed my opinion. Where like 85% of everything is genetics, that's kind of where I am now. I'm like, even if she was rude to him, maybe he still would have killed it.

Shaan Puri

Dude, when she was rapping, she was good. That was just... she was just like reciting his rap. Oh yeah, my mom would not be able to do that.

Sam Parr

was an she she was an english

Shaan Puri

teacher right

Sam Parr

so clearly she was interested I mean it's very related

Shaan Puri

And also, he said he's been making beats since like 6th or 7th grade, around 11 or 12 years old. So, it's the same sort of thing. By the time you're 25, you're going to be really good at something you've been doing for over 15, you know, over 10 years basically. At a formative stage, when you're 12 and you get obsessed with something, you can kind of just do it pretty much nonstop. You get really good at it because you can pick things up so fast and you don't have any other things to go do.

Sam Parr

Right, no, it was a good documentary. It got me thinking a lot. That was a good one. I'm just not going to... I just couldn't watch the rest because I knew she was going to die. It made me sad just watching them together. I choked up a couple of times seeing them together.

Shaan Puri

yeah it was it was she was like touching

Sam Parr

yeah yeah she was special

Shaan Puri

the the

Ben Wilson

The third part is kind of interesting because it features a 20-year time jump. It then delves into a lot of the stuff he's going through now, including the weirdness of running for president and all that. I feel like at the end, Cootey's just kind of like, "Yeah man, I don't know. Pretty weird." You know, he doesn't really have anything to say about it; he's just kind of baffled as well.

Sam Parr

Dude, it just comes with the territory. That's what happens when you're creative, man. You're gonna be crazy. You gotta accept the craziness. He's so crazy! Do you remember when he went to Trump's office to show him his version of Air Force One? He drew up what Air Force One should look like. He's a master.

Shaan Puri

man genius he's a true genius

Sam Parr

alright that's the episode