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0:00:48 Welcome to Office Hours with Prabhji.
0:00:51 This is the part of the show where we answer questions about business, big tech, entrepreneurship,
0:00:53 and whatever else is on your mind.
0:00:56 Just a reminder, you can now catch Office Hours every Monday and Friday.
0:00:58 That’s right, two episodes a week.
0:01:02 If you’d like to submit a question for next time, you can send a voice recording to
0:01:03 officehoursofproftgymedia.com.
0:01:06 Again, that’s officehoursofproftgymedia.com.
0:01:12 Or post your question on the Scott Galloway subreddit, and we just might feature it in our next episode.
0:01:13 First question.
0:01:19 Our first question comes from The Relevant Elephants on Reddit.
0:01:21 God, the best names in the world.
0:01:21 They ask,
0:01:26 Hey, Prop G, you said mandatory service could help the nation’s loneliness epidemic.
0:01:31 I volunteer at animal rescues in LA, and I’m literally the only man there.
0:01:34 I’ve asked on Reddit how to get more men involved, and the top answers were,
0:01:37 that’s a woman’s job, or I don’t have time.
0:01:39 I don’t buy that, and I don’t think you do either.
0:01:41 So how do we reach these men?
0:01:44 How do we convince them that volunteering is masculine and actually good for their social
0:01:45 lives, too?
0:01:47 First off, thanks for doing that.
0:01:52 I feel a little bit self-conscious, like lecturing about volunteering, because I give a lot of
0:01:54 money away, but I don’t give much of my time away.
0:01:58 I like to think that I’m generous with everything but my time, so occasionally I’ll do some volunteer
0:02:04 work or spend time with young men, but I don’t show up to food kitchens and shit like that,
0:02:05 and I should.
0:02:07 I just, I don’t know, lazy, selfish.
0:02:09 So I don’t want to lecture people about it.
0:02:16 What I would say is that I had Dan Harris on the pod, and he writes about anxiety and purpose.
0:02:17 Very thoughtful guy.
0:02:24 He has a really wonderful podcast called 10% Happier, and he, a couple things that he said
0:02:26 really stuck with me is that, one, action absorbs anxiety.
0:02:31 If you are, I have someone in my life right now that has, like, crazy tooth pain and is worried
0:02:36 at something with her head, had a head injury, and I’m like, okay, let’s get you in to see
0:02:42 a neurologist, like, tonight or tomorrow morning, and a dentist, like, and immediately she felt
0:02:44 better because action absorbs anxiety.
0:02:47 If you’re worried about something, just immediately move to action to try to address it.
0:02:48 And you’re going to feel better.
0:02:55 Also, the other thing you said that a great way to sort of practice to sort of help you
0:02:57 get out of a funk or depression is to help others.
0:03:00 And that is, it gives you a sense of purpose.
0:03:05 You get out, you meet other people, makes you feel important, makes you feel masculine.
0:03:11 I think that if you’re feeling down, getting out of your own head and start focusing on service,
0:03:16 helping others, I think is a great way to kind of address maybe if you’re feeling a little
0:03:17 bit down or a little bit depressed.
0:03:20 So I think volunteer work is an outstanding idea.
0:03:25 In terms of how to get more people to volunteer at dog shelters, you know, I don’t know, go
0:03:27 on your social media feed and show all the cool dogs.
0:03:29 And it’s funny you say that.
0:03:34 I spoke at a conference in Palm Beach about three months ago.
0:03:37 And we were talking, I was talking about mating and the dynamics of mating.
0:03:41 And he came up to me and he was this shorter guy, like not unattractive, but not attractive.
0:03:44 Like not the kind of guy I would think would do well on dating apps.
0:03:49 And he said that he met his wife at a dog shelter and that his wife, he claims is much higher
0:03:50 character and much hotter than him.
0:03:56 But she was really drawn to him because of his kindness and his service, which I thought
0:03:57 was actually pretty interesting.
0:04:00 I do think, I’m trying to think how you appeal to dudes here.
0:04:02 I do think it’s probably a really good way to meet friends.
0:04:06 And also it’s just a great rap at a bar.
0:04:10 You know, well, when I was volunteering down at the, when Bosco, the rescue dog who I was
0:04:15 saving from the kill shelter down at the animal shelter I volunteer at.
0:04:17 Anyways, I think it’s probably a great way to meet friends.
0:04:24 And I would say social media and these accounts, these rescue shelters having accounts and
0:04:28 opportunities or calls to attention around opportunities to volunteer.
0:04:35 And again, just more broadly, I think that a fantastic way to address mild depression or
0:04:39 if you’re feeling down is to get out of your own head and start serving in the agency
0:04:39 of others.
0:04:41 Thanks for your good work.
0:04:45 Our second question comes from RedLegs05 on Reddit.
0:04:50 They ask, Prop G, you joke about being a narcissist.
0:04:53 I think most of us raised on social media are, but we rarely talk about it.
0:04:56 Maybe because if we’re not successful, it just feels shameful.
0:05:00 So how do you think narcissism fuels achievement or results from it?
0:05:03 And would you ever delete your social accounts other than Twitter?
0:05:04 You call them toxic.
0:05:08 What’s stopping you from actually logging off and signaling some virtue while you’re at it?
0:05:09 That’s an interesting question.
0:05:14 So a narcissist, I think, is someone who thinks, you know, looks out the window and sees himself
0:05:20 to an extent where they lack empathy and they can even become somewhat sociopathic because
0:05:22 everything is just about them.
0:05:29 they don’t really make much of an effort or think, look through the lens of other people’s emotions or success.
0:05:36 And I think I suffer from some of it, but I think even if someone states they’re a narcissist, it probably means they aren’t.
0:05:54 And one thing that has having kids, working with people, having had some adversity in my life, having friends from different economic backgrounds, going to a public school where there are people from all different ethnicities and economic backgrounds.
0:05:57 So I think you’re more inclined to become less of a narcissist, is that true?
0:05:59 What’s the opposite of narcissism, empathy?
0:06:00 I don’t know.
0:06:13 But I think that some of the self-absorption, I feel, or vanity are also embers such that I want to be more successful.
0:06:21 The affirmation or the approval of others in being impressive in other people’s eyes is definitely a motivating force for me.
0:06:25 And I think it’s interesting to look at what motivates you around things.
0:06:33 And my primary objective or purpose the first 40 years of my life was economic security, which is Latin for get more money.
0:06:35 And why is that?
0:06:43 One, in a capitalist society, all the signals are trying to encourage you to make more money and be more productive such that you’ll go out and buy more Chipotle
0:06:45 and go to Disney World and fuel the economy.
0:06:50 So every signal is, all right, how do you aggregate more money, more power?
0:06:53 Well, if you aggregate more money and power, your kids are going to have more opportunity.
0:06:56 You’re going to be, men are going to laugh at your jokes.
0:06:58 Women are going to want to have sex with you.
0:07:01 I mean, all of these things are pretty strong motivators in a capitalist society.
0:07:04 And so I very much bought into that.
0:07:09 And also in a capitalist society, you get to take care of your own when you have money.
0:07:12 And my biggest source of stress growing up and even into my 30s and 40s with kids,
0:07:18 was feeling like I was economically vulnerable, whether it was investing in companies that were going poorly
0:07:26 and worrying that I was failing my children or really my first sort of fear and anxiety around money when I was a kid
0:07:29 because me and my mom didn’t have enough, but the real fear set in when my mom got very sick.
0:07:37 And I felt those natural masculine protective instincts to try and take care of my mom.
0:07:44 And it was very hard and humiliating because I wasn’t able to do it at the level that I expected for myself.
0:07:48 And so I figured out pretty fucking early, okay, money matters a lot.
0:07:52 And I became very focused and that was my purpose.
0:08:01 But as I got older, wanting to be loved, wanting to impress people, wanting to have relevance, all of that.
0:08:01 I mean, that’s a form.
0:08:02 Is that a form?
0:08:04 I think that’s more vanity than narcissism.
0:08:06 But those things are very motivating.
0:08:14 And I have thought somewhat to your second part of your question, I thought at some point, I’m just going to go dark off of social media.
0:08:15 This is just so fucking stupid.
0:08:17 And I’m addicted.
0:08:19 I don’t have an addictive personality.
0:08:20 I drink a lot of alcohol.
0:08:22 I don’t do a lot of drugs.
0:08:25 I do some THC, but I don’t think I’m addicted to any of it.
0:08:29 I’m one of the 95% of people who manage their substance and their professional and personal lives fairly well.
0:08:34 Where I do have an addiction is I’m addicted to the affirmation of others.
0:08:38 I care too much about people who I will never meet or their opinion of me.
0:08:42 And sometimes it gets in the way of what really matters.
0:08:47 And that is the affirmation, love, empathy, and care of people who are close to me.
0:08:48 You know, I work.
0:08:54 I will trade off personal time for work because I want to impress people and I want to make more money.
0:08:56 And then I do slow down and think, what the fuck am I doing?
0:08:59 Here’s a nice thing about money.
0:09:00 God, I’m going off script here.
0:09:01 There’s three buckets.
0:09:03 There’s things you want to do.
0:09:10 I want to hang out with my kids and go to, you know, the, you know, the Arsenal game or Chelsea game or Spurs.
0:09:11 We’re a house divided.
0:09:13 How the fuck did we end up with three teams?
0:09:16 Anyways, there’s things you have to do, right?
0:09:17 Jim Bancop is going to be a can.
0:09:21 He’ll want to, he’s, he’s the CEO of Vox who distributes our podcast.
0:09:22 He wants to get together.
0:09:23 I have to do that.
0:09:24 And I say have to do that.
0:09:25 I also want to.
0:09:25 I like Jim.
0:09:26 He’s actually a reasonably nice guy.
0:09:28 And there’s things you should do.
0:09:34 I’ve been invited to all this shit at can that will be a bunch of people and it’d be good networking and good for my business.
0:09:38 And I’m like, the great thing about having money is you can eliminate the should bucket.
0:09:39 I no longer do shit.
0:09:41 I should no longer do shit.
0:09:41 I should.
0:09:42 Oh my God.
0:09:42 Isn’t that nice?
0:09:56 I do think though, that at some point I would like to go dark and just hang out with friends and maybe get involved in, I don’t know, trying to add more value on the nonprofit side.
0:10:00 Maybe write more, hang out somewhere beautiful and just wait for the ask answer.
0:10:08 This whole social media thing, it definitely, after I do a lot of it and it’s so important, you’ve got to be on social if you want to market your product, have relevance.
0:10:09 I get it.
0:10:15 But at some point I’m going to, you know, every time I spend more than a few hours on social media, I feel like I need to shower.
0:10:17 It’s like eating a big bag of Skittles.
0:10:18 You’re like, oh God, is that a good idea?
0:10:24 So, yeah, at some point I will, but right now I’m still desperate for your affirmation.
0:10:26 Thanks for the question.
0:10:28 We’ll be right back after a quick break.
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0:11:41 One of the hardest parts about moving to a new city is finding your people.
0:11:45 You can look far and wide, but it’s hard to find the people who just get you.
0:11:47 And the same goes for you to be marketers.
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0:12:51 This week on Net Worth and Chill, I’m joined by Saweetie, the Grammy-nominated recording artist and entrepreneur who’s turned her hustle into an empire worth millions.
0:12:57 From attending USC to pursuing music to securing major deals with McDonald’s and Matt Cosmetics,
0:13:03 Saweetie breaks down how she transformed her icy girl persona into cold, hard cash.
0:13:07 A money goal is to have passive income in the millions.
0:13:12 Listen wherever you get your podcasts or watch on youtube.com slash yourrichbff.
0:13:18 Welcome back to our final question from Tana on Reddit.
0:13:24 Hey, Scott, I was laid off from my job three months ago and I’m having a lot of trouble finding a new job.
0:13:25 I work in tech as a product manager.
0:13:30 It seems like a lot of white-collar workers are also having trouble in the current job market, especially in tech.
0:13:34 What would you suggest are the best ways to go about regaining employment these days?
0:13:35 Thanks in advance.
0:13:37 I don’t think there’s a silver bullet here.
0:13:45 The one thing I would correlate with a job search that sometimes people don’t necessarily correlate with is,
0:13:49 one, it’s okay to be vulnerable.
0:13:59 I think especially men put up this front of, oh, yeah, I decided I didn’t like them and I left and I’m fielding other offers when the reality is I got laid off and I really need help.
0:14:01 Do you have any idea of anyone who’s looking for a job?
0:14:07 And I mean, you don’t want to come across as desperate, but it’s okay to be, yeah, got laid off, looking for a job.
0:14:09 Let me know if you know of any opportunities.
0:14:09 Here’s my CV.
0:14:11 This is the kind of role I’m looking for.
0:14:24 And I think it’s okay to call people you’re close with and say, if you have any ideas or to call and say, what I tell people are looking for a job I’m close with, I’m probably, there’s probably opportunities in my universe that I’m not thinking of.
0:14:32 If you want to meet someone at X company or you think, I had a friend of mine who is the chief revenue officer of a well-known tech company, but it’s not working out.
0:14:32 He doesn’t like it.
0:14:35 Call me and say, do you know anyone at Reddit?
0:14:36 There’s a job there.
0:14:39 And he forwarded me the job description and it ends up, I do know someone at Reddit.
0:14:43 So, one, don’t be afraid to ask for help.
0:14:46 Two, every day, just a list of shit you’re going to do.
0:14:50 Send out this many emails, go on LinkedIn, contact this many people.
0:14:56 Success in anything is a small series of disciplined efforts every day, right?
0:15:05 Working out every day, cutting back your food intake a little bit every day, sending nice messages to people every day, showing you care, saving a little bit of money every day.
0:15:10 That is what success is, small acts of discipline every day.
0:15:14 So, every day, before you go to bed or in the morning, write up a list, do certain shit.
0:15:24 Now, here’s the thing I find that’s most interesting about the job search dynamic is that I love that study that came out of Google that when they post a job opening, they get immediately at 100 applications.
0:15:26 They shut it down 20 minutes later or take it down.
0:15:28 They invite in the 20 most qualified people.
0:15:40 And then 70% of the time, the person they ultimately end up making the offer to is someone who had an internal advocate, someone who already worked at Google, who said, I know Lisa and she’s fantastic.
0:15:49 And just trust me on this, because here’s the thing, most hiring managers have figured out, interviews are fucking useless, literally fucking useless, or at least they are for me.
0:15:51 I mean, occasionally someone comes in and you’re like, no way.
0:15:54 And occasionally someone comes in and blows your socks off and think we should try and find a way to hire this person.
0:16:00 But anyways, I find the 80% in the middle just doesn’t work.
0:16:04 I’ve been fooled a lot in interviews, both of the upside and the downside.
0:16:06 So it’s about reference hiring.
0:16:14 If someone calls me, Ed Elson, who’s the co-host of Prop G Markets, my friend Joanna Coles, called me and said, you must hire this young man.
0:16:15 And I’m like, to do what?
0:16:17 And she’s like, it doesn’t matter.
0:16:24 And she’s like, literally, I called him and said, I don’t know who you are, but I’ve been told to hire you by someone I trust.
0:16:25 So I hired him and she was right.
0:16:26 He’s great.
0:16:32 So the key when you’re hunting for a job in general is to be as social as possible.
0:16:33 Go out.
0:16:40 Go out, meet as many people as possible, have fun, contact people, make as many contacts as possible and let people know that you’re looking.
0:16:46 And it’s in some, the most popular kids in high school aren’t the best looking, the smartest or the best athletes.
0:16:49 They’re the ones that like the most other people.
0:16:53 So to a certain extent, networking and looking for a job is a popularity contest.
0:16:58 And how do you become most popular and put yourself in a room of opportunities, even when you’re not physically in it?
0:17:00 You like as many other people as possible.
0:17:02 You’re as social as possible.
0:17:05 So one, a series of small disciplined acts every day.
0:17:12 Two, don’t be afraid and let your ego get in the way of calling out or calling people and reaching out and asking you for help.
0:17:16 And three, be as social as possible and let people know that you’re looking for a job.
0:17:18 Anyways, best of luck to you.
0:17:18 Thanks for the question.
0:17:22 That’s all for this episode.
0:17:27 If you’d like to submit a question, please email a voice recording to officehours at propgmedia.com.
0:17:29 That’s officehours at propgmedia.com.
0:17:37 Or if you prefer to ask on Reddit, just post your question on the Scott Galloway subreddit and we just might feature it in an upcoming episode.
0:17:44 This episode was produced by Jennifer Sanchez.
0:17:46 Drew Burrows is our technical director.
0:17:49 Thank you for listening to the Prop G Pod from the Vox Media Podcast Network.
0:17:56 We’ll see you next time.
0:17:57 We’ll see you next time.