In this candid conversation, Casey Neistat, a pioneering force in the evolution of YouTube and vlogging, reflects on the peaks and troughs of his career, the intoxicating yet burdensome nature of fame, and the complexities of creative fulfillment. Neistat delves into his backstory, from a tumultuous childhood that fostered independence to his relentless pursuit of goals, often driven by necessity rather than choice. He discusses the dichotomy between achieving traditional success and finding genuine happiness, emphasizing that the latter is not guaranteed by the former. Neistat also shares his experiences with the tech startup world, including the sale of his company to CNN and the subsequent feelings of both victory and disillusionment. Throughout the dialogue, Neistat offers insights into the importance of patience, authenticity, and the realization that one's journey is intensely personal, often independent of external validation. As he navigates a period of self-professed indulgence, Neistat contemplates his future in content creation, aspiring to return to his roots of making videos for the pure love of the craft.
"It got scary. We had to move into a higher security building, and I didn't know what to do. That's when it got dark."
The quote illustrates a period of uncertainty and fear in Casey's life, prompting a move to a more secure environment to ensure safety.
"The word I've been using is patience, because patience is so unattractive. And I think you need to remove this idea of success being this romantic, beautiful thing. It's not."
Casey emphasizes the importance of patience over the commonly held romanticized view of success, suggesting that true success requires enduring unglamorous and challenging periods.
"That's when it got hard. Because the only goal that anyone should have in life is one of happiness and fulfillment. And like, this idea that you have to win to be happy could not be further from the truth."
The quote captures Casey's realization that happiness and fulfillment are more important life goals than merely winning or achieving status, which does not guarantee happiness.
"Casey is a legend. He's a legend to so many people. He's one of the originals as it relates to creativity, content, video, and YouTube."
The speaker acknowledges Casey's status as a pioneering and influential creator, setting the stage for a discussion on his journey and the lessons he can share about success.
"So my whole childhood was just completely unsupervised. Like, there was no. Did you do your homework tonight? There was no dinner at six."
Casey describes the freedom and lack of structure in his childhood, which played a role in shaping his independent and entrepreneurial spirit.
"And I think if you're ten and your parents all of a sudden are absent, you're just forced to figure shit out."
The quote highlights the role that parental absence played in forcing Casey to become self-sufficient and entrepreneurial from a young age.
"Yeah. That's when things got really hard."
The succinct quote conveys the significant emotional and practical difficulties Casey faced during his parents' divorce, which had a profound impact on his life.
"Yeah, I remember that vividly. I can picture the table we were sitting at. I can remember his posture. I can remember his response to it."
The quote reveals the intensity and clarity of Casey's memory regarding the moment he confronted his father about his mother's infidelity, emphasizing the significance of this event in his life.
"The sole mission of my life, and this was defined then when I was a little kid. The sole mission of my life is to realize all the promises I made to myself as a kid."
Casey articulates his lifelong mission to fulfill the promises he made to himself in childhood, demonstrating his deep-rooted determination and focus.
"I always say that I had nothing to lose then. I had nothing."
The quote underscores Casey's perspective during his teenage years, where he felt he had nothing to lose, which fueled his fearlessness and resilience.
"I've got a 10th grade education, no high school diploma, no work experience, no life experience, and a two year old. What's the best thing I can do right now? I know. Let me move to the most expensive, challenging city in the world with no plan."
The quote captures the bold and seemingly irrational decision Casey made to move to New York City, which, in hindsight, played a crucial role in his path to success.
"If you're born in the United States of America, if you get to sit at a table and do this now... I'm like the luckiest person in the world to get to do that."
The quote reflects Casey's awareness of the opportunities and privileges he has had, despite any personal or financial hardships he faced.
"I think, like, in life, you can get whatever you want, but you can't want whatever you want if you don't want it."
The quote emphasizes that genuine desire cannot be forced or fabricated; it must be authentic for one to pursue and achieve their goals.
"I think failure is, like, the greatest gift. I think failure is, like, it hurts so bad, but failure is a part of life, and if you're not willing to accept, like, failure is part of it, you've got to keep failing."
The quote conveys Casey's belief that failure is not only inevitable but also a beneficial aspect of the journey toward success, as it teaches resilience and determination.
"Had he given up at any point in time, the documentary wouldn't have been interesting. We're just in another person who threw in the towel. But they made this, like, a filmmaker saw this story and was like, that's crazy. I need to tell that story. And it yielded that success."
This quote emphasizes the pivotal role that persistence played in Anvil's eventual success. Without the lead singer's refusal to give up, the documentary that catapulted them to fame would not have been compelling.
"I think failure is overrated. I think failure. People are so scared of failure. And I think the fear of failure is that it's the fear of what other people are going to think about you."
This quote captures Casey's belief that the fear of failure is overemphasized and that the true fear is often about societal judgment rather than the failure itself.
"Patience above every. Because if you're not willing to give up, if we're willing to stick with it forever, you will find success, or you'll die trying, which case, fuck it. Like, whatever."
This quote underscores the importance of patience in the pursuit of success. Casey suggests that a relentless commitment to one's goals, despite the lack of immediate success, is crucial.
"I think, very simply, it comes for me, and I think probably for Jimmy, too. We've talked about it, he and I have talked about it, but there was no plan b, there was no other."
This quote reflects Casey's belief that the absence of a fallback option was a driving force in his and Mr. Beast's pursuit of success.
"And if there was ever a case for this psychology, and they've done this multiple times in multiple studies, but it is pretty solid evidence that even the presence of a plan b can reduce motivation towards your plan a completely."
This quote explains the psychological basis for the claim that having a Plan B can undermine the pursuit of Plan A, which is relevant to Casey's own experience of not having a backup plan.
"But when people aspire just to get that view, count up, to me, it's a race to the bottom. I fucking hate it. I hate it. And I do think it's because of people not knowing what to do. So they look to see, well, who's successful. That's how I'm successful. Let me be that. And it will never work."
This quote highlights Casey's disdain for content creation driven solely by the desire for views. He argues that such an approach lacks originality and will not lead to lasting success or fulfillment.
"I think that truth lasts. Truth matters. There's no correlation, rather, between the movies that have won best picture, the Academy Award for best picture over the last 80 years, and the highest grossing movies."
This quote illustrates Casey's belief that truth and artistic integrity are more important than commercial success. He points out that critically acclaimed work is often not the most financially successful, yet it has a lasting impact.
"If you want to do it because your little girlfriend at school did it and she got 35 likes, and you want to get more likes than her, then pump the brakes, kid."
This quote underscores the distinction between pursuing art for intrinsic satisfaction versus extrinsic social media validation.
"Fame is a very weird, very strange thing. And I think that the most strange thing about fame is it's not what you think."
This quote highlights the elusive and often misunderstood nature of fame.
"Protect them as long as you can, man. Keep the kids so far away from that."
The quote reflects Casey's protective stance on shielding children from the pressures of social media validation.
"I wasn't really doing anything different... But then all of a sudden, the moon's aligned like the fucking planets align, Pluto is lined up, the sun shined through like pradesh of the lost arc the light came through, and like 2015, YouTube was just becoming something more."
This quote captures the serendipitous moment when Casey's years of preparation met the right opportunity on YouTube, leading to his explosive growth.
"Luck is where preparation meets opportunity. I had just been preparing myself for that moment for 15 years, and then the opportunity opened up and I was right there."
This quote illustrates the concept that luck is not just chance but the intersection of being prepared and seizing opportunities.
"I think you learn something about life by learning how to build and do things."
This quote suggests that manual labor is not only about the physical task but also about the life lessons and character-building it provides.
"A million failures, though, for that one success. And the failures keep me up way more than the success puts me to sleep."
This quote conveys the weight that the failures and challenges of his tech startup experience have on him, even after achieving financial success.
"The reality is the reason why we didn't succeed under CNN was because of me and only because of me."
This quote highlights Casey's acceptance of personal responsibility for the failure of the venture with CNN. He recognizes that his lack of leadership and awareness were key factors in the outcome.
"Eleven months later, it was just exhaustion. I wanted to get out."
Casey describes his emotional state eleven months after the acquisition, which was marked by exhaustion and a desire to move on from the venture.
"The fame was fucking insane. We had to move into a higher security building in city."
This quote conveys the overwhelming nature of Casey's fame and how it led to significant changes in his personal life, including the need for increased security.
"This isn't it. I wasn't running the marathon because I wanted to get across the finish line. I loved it."
Casey expresses that his motivation was not just to achieve his goals but to enjoy the journey, and he felt lost when the journey seemed to end.
"So much of my enthusiasm to leave New York was just like, I need to get away from all of this."
Casey discusses his reasons for moving to LA, highlighting his need to distance himself from the challenges he faced in New York.
"Mostly she's willing and supportive, but not all the time."
The quote illustrates the dynamic between Casey and Candice regarding her involvement in his work and how it sometimes placed a burden on her.
"I'm just coasting through life right now. It's fantastic."
Casey summarizes his current state of life, emphasizing the ease and enjoyment he's experiencing, despite recognizing it as a temporary phase.
"I just want to put my head down and make the things that I think are great."
This quote captures Casey's longing to focus on creative work that is personally fulfilling, regardless of external validation.
"Nobody cares about you is something that was never made clear to me."
Casey provides a piece of advice to young creatives, emphasizing the liberating realization that they should not be overly concerned with others' opinions when creating.
"What could have been something virtuous turned into something, I think, much less interesting, and that crashed and burned."
Casey critiques the trajectory of daily vlogging and how it deviated from its potential to become a more genuine form of reality television.
"When you set up a studio in New York City, don't do it 40 minutes out into fucking Brooklyn."
Casey offers candid feedback to the host, suggesting a more central studio location to make it easier for guests to attend recordings.