Shaun Gold Shares his Unique Journey From Nightlife King to Renaissance Man

Pamela Bardhi
Hello, everyone, and welcome to another episode of underdog. Today I have an awesome guest here with me, Shaun, Shaun, how you doing my friend?

Shaun Gold
I’m very good. Thank you for having me on. It’s a pleasure to be here.

Pamela Bardhi
It’s a pleasure to have you. And so I guess, I got to start off with the first question, like. What led you on your journey to sort of where you are today? That’s a loaded question.

Shaun Gold
That’s one question in 37 parts. So thank you. Okay, I mean, I’ve always been a serial entrepreneur, always. Ever since as far back as I could remember. Just I always want to do my own thing and follow my own path. And I got used to the ridicule and the scorn and the envy and the strange looks at a very young age. Which is something that most people that want to pursue an entrepreneurial path. Or just the creative path or just going their own path. It’s something that holds them back. You know, they worry about what other people think. Which is silly. I mean, the old quote goes, you’ll stop worrying about. What people think about you, when they realise they seldom do. You don’t have 200 million followers, nobody cares about you just do your thing.

Focus on yourself, so with that being said, I just have a lot of experience in different vectors. So, I used to sell candy when I was a kid, I had my own e-commerce business when I was 13. PayPal when it launched, I was like 14, everyone was all worried. Why are you giving the money to PayPal? You don’t know what this could be? They could take your money and no one understood how it worked, you know, cuz it was so new. It was so new, I was like, What is this? After the e-commerce business. I had an educational assistance business at that for about two and a half years throughout the later stage of high school. And then, getting out of high school, I got into nightlife which is what I’m primarily known for.

Even though I’ve done a million other things, everyone will always come back to like, oh. Tell me about the parties and the celebrities and all that. It doesn’t matter if I have the cure for Corona, I could have the cure for it in my pocket. Here it is the cure to take a pill people like that’s awesome. So which celebrity Do you like hanging out with and we’ll always go back to something like that, which is fine. I did it for a very long time. And that was just my main objective.

My main endeavor was taking over the South Beach nightlife scene and really running it. And doing all the fun celebrity stuff and working with major brands and doing the marketing and the guest list in the VIP parties. Everything that you can think of when it comes to Miami nightlife. I did, whether it was a penthouse, yacht. Or a performance or a club or a day club or a pool or a hotel or a lounge. All that. That was just my life from the end of high school to mid-adulthood. Not that I want to refer to myself as an adult. But I guess that’s the way to do it.

I mean, that was just my gig, and by doing that. Because it was extremely great for networking. It was extremely great for learning, it was extremely great for really wearing a lot of different hats. But through doing that, through meeting so many people, I got into doing other stuff. So that’s how I got into guest lecturing at different universities. That’s how I got into writing my books, that’s how I got into writing screenplays. I mean, everything kind of stemmed from that. And none of those were goals. None of those were all I’m gonna do this one day. It just kind of happened and it happened from taking action and doing something that I want to do. So that’s kind of what led to a lot of different paths. And then, that also led to working with different startups and a variety of different vectors.

Whether it was luxury transportation, whether it was education, tech, event tech, whether it was FinTech. There’s so many different startups that I worked with, either as a consultant. Or in a role where I was able to learn a lot and connect the dots and really make things happen. So it all stemmed from, you know. Just a crazy idea of like, I want to go to Miami and take over the scene. And by doing that led to so many other different opportunities. So if you’re out there listening, you have a crazy idea, do it, do it. The crazy ideas are what lead to stuff, doing the traditional path doesn’t lead to anything. It doesn’t.

Working your way up and getting a promotion and being a number and a big company. Yeah, that might be great, but it’s not going to lead to anything great. It’s not going to lead to anything crazy. You got to go on a traditional path, you have to follow your own path. I mean, the path is made by walking. And the problem is nobody wants to walk in. Nobody wants to take that first step, so yeah. I mean that’s the kind of hope that answers the question. It’s a pretty long-winded answer to your question. But I hope it addresses what you were trying to get out from it.

Pamela Bardhi
Of course no, no I thought it was perfect cuz I know you do so much. So I was like, oh boy, it’s gonna be interesting to see him answer this question. But you did it so beautifully, I thought it was wonderful

Shaun Gold
Okay.

Pamela Bardhi
Yeah, you’re rocking and rolling my friend. So basically, so you were selling candy as a kid. Because I always asked this question, because I find it, so fascinating how it correlates to where people are now. So what did you want to be? When you grew up as a kid?

Shaun Gold
That question doesn’t really correlate to me, because when you’re a kid you don’t know anything. You don’t like what do you want to be like when I was like seven. I wanted to be like Swarzenegger. Not an actor, just want to be like a terminator. It’s like I want to be rocky or like you want to do something. I want to be a paratrooper or I want to be, you know an astronaut. Like all these different things that like they’re cool and you’re six or seven. But then, as you get older, that they don’t correlate. You’re ,like, wait I can’t be a terminator. And I can’t be an astronaut, I mean I could be an astronaut, but I’m like, oh, I got sick on space mountain I don’t think I can be an astronaut. It’s like that’ll mean the ride.

I mean just waiting in line, I was like man I’m really dizzy it’s all black in here. The things I wanted to be when you’re young. Unless you really, really follow them, I mean life happens while you’re waiting for it to happen. And things change, so it wasn’t really something. Where there was an objective that I specifically wanted at that young age. Even as a teen, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I didn’t have any endeavours for anything beyond the next year, I was just focused on what I was doing. And as things change new opportunities arise, new interests arise and by exposing yourself to those interests and opportunities. Your path changes and you have to be flexible.

You might stumble upon something that you had. No idea what you wanted to do and then, it just hits. It clicks and there’s a quote by Carl Jung, which says you know until you make the subconscious conscious. it’s going to direct your life and you’re going to call it fate. So you have to kind of know yourself and know what you want to do. We’re all just kind of going to be lost. You’re just going to be there trying to go after every little thing that you think. You want to wait until you realise that I’m just wasting my time.

I don’t want to do this, I don’t want to be in accounts receivable, I don’t want to be a lawyer, I don’t want to be a doctor. And I don’t want to be any of that, I want to do something that is not expedient but meaningful. That’s what it comes down to, we’re also going to hit a point where it’s like what have I been doing. What have I been doing? Everyone has to hit that point. But the earlier you hit that point the better.

Pamela Bardhi
Yeah. It’s interesting. The thing is like when you’re a kid right, like you said you wanted to be the terminator so and now you write screenplays

Shaun Gold
But I don’t write Terminator screenplay, so it’s kind of like a chance. I mean when you say that, I mean I wanted to be yan actual cyborg. You know, medic poly alloy is very tough to kill. It mimics anything it touches, something like that, I didn’t want to write anything. I wanted to be the guy that could run really fast and drive all the stuff. And walk out of the fire and do all that. But you know, you have to have a fantasy to go after. Because the single fantasy could impact millions of realities. So I think that’s a major issue right now. People don’t really have fantasies anymore, they do have. They’re more personal to them and they don’t have a net benefit on the world. So it’s kind of like I want to be the richest person ever.

But that’s not to help other people, so that they’ve been weaned on seeing everybody will have a Ferrari or a Lamborghini or a yacht or a private jet. So it’s like I want to have 10 of those and it’s like, well, what are you going to do to help society to obtain that goal. What are you going to do to ease someone’s burden? Whether you create a product that makes their life easier, makes their business easier. Makes them laugh, makes them happy and makes them feel good. I mean you people need to get to the source than just I want to do this, I just want to sit here and do this. So yeah that’s just kind of my opinion on it, I mean like i said, you have to do what’s meaningful not expedient.

Pamela Bardhi
Absolutely I love that so much and I feel like that’s why the millennial generation is so powerful. Because they are thinking about the greater good, a lot of them. They are thinking about how to give back to society. And that’s why I think our generation is gonna change the world forever. Because it’s like we’ve been at the brim of technology and real life. So it’s like I remember middle school without cell phones, you know. Kind of thing or like and I went through high school without texting.

Shaun Gold
It’s a blessing. I mean by the time texting came around, it was 10 cents a text. Nobody could afford It and It wasn’t like a thing you did, It was like, okay. I’m gonna send the text because I can’t hear someone or I couldn’t find him in class. He did it like a few times a day. No it’s too expensive and it wasn’t as advanced then. It just just called someone that was it and now, it’s just like boop, boop. How does the phone work? There’s a green button. I don’t know if there’s a button with the shape of something on it, I don’t understand what it is. I’m gonna text that person.

Pamela Bardhi
I love it, though. But I really do think so, I love that your thought process and like, okay. Don’t just do something just to make money. Do it out of passion and like, how is this gonna help the world. And I really do believe our generation has the power to really do that and make the change. Because it’s like they understand technology, they also understand the importance of the worldview.

That’s why, I just think the millennial generation is set to just transform this world and already is. But I think it is just like major sound waves, especially with the help of technology. Which I think is so so cool and I mean, in your worlds. You started selling candy when you were a kid, like what inspired you on your entrepreneurial journey, so, so young. Because I know for me, like, I started working at my parents restaurant. When I was like,10 years old. And that’s how I got thrown into entrepreneurship.

Shaun Gold
Like, you, I want some, that’s it, it was very, like, at a young age, I want that I can’t afford that, I need money, ultimately you know. That’s kind of what it is I want, I want the same things I want. Now I want a Sega Genesis CD and I can’t afford it. You know, I want a video game, I want a comic book, I want something. I mean, you need money for stuff, so it’s kind of like, you can sit back and get an allowance of like, $3 a week. So I can sit back and get $3 a week or I can try and you know, hustle. And I understood the power of hustling and really just kind of came about from that. I mean, I never wanted to have to ask people for money.

I always wanted to do it on my own and I never wanted to work a job, like me. Because when I was like 10 or 11, I would get my parents’ friends to offer me, Oh. You want to work the job, I was like. How much would it pay? It’s like $5 an hour and it’s like, No, I’m not doing that. And that just compounded like high school. Where it’s like people are just working jobs, and I just didn’t want to do it. And then it follows in college or it’s like, I want to do my own thing that falls into adulthood, I want to do my own thing. I mean, it’s just something that you know what you want.

So you have to make it happen. Like for instance, people say to me, I wish I could do what you do. And I say to them, I wish I could do what they do, I wish I could wake up and go to a job. That I don’t want to do and spend eight to 10 hours there five days a week doing it for years. I can’t do it and the hour, it’s not for me, I mean. Life is a truly short affair, you know, you don’t really want to spend it doing. What you don’t want to do. You don’t want to look back and be like, Oh, right. I helped the accounts department save X amount of dollars in 2021. It was great.

What an accomplishment, what a great story to tell everybody and it’s kind of like a lot of that stuff. It’s funny, because just being an entrepreneur, a lot of the business world kind of just rubs me the wrong way. It just rubs you the wrong way. There’s a lot of people that have, especially like on LinkedIn. We have a lot of people that have like 50 million certificates and it’s like. Why do you waste your time getting these certificates? Like, okay, you have stuff that’s applicable and stuff that works. But then you have stuff that are just like, that doesn’t impress me. This is just like you paid for a course you took.

And that’s it, you have it like it doesn’t do something, again. That you started yourself that you’re making, trying to grind out, you’re trying to make happen. Not something that like, Okay, I’m going to go click the button and get my credit card and I’m going to take this six week course. I’m gonna have this certificate and it’s like, Okay. So to me it’s like, you have to be worthy of your goals. I feel like a lot of people are not worthy of their goals.

And you have to have these goals, that you have to strive for. Yes, I have these lofty, ambitious goals that are really, you know. A painful slog because all lofty ambitious goals are a painful slog. You have to be worthy of them and rise to them. That’s at least my opinion, that’s how I kind of focus and do things, you know. Just by having these crazy dreams and going after them. When nobody in the world thinks it could work.

Who Inspired Shaun The Most?

Pamela Bardhi
I love that in like, throughout your experience like what. Who or it could be multiple people has inspired you the most?

Shaun Gold
Are we talking about historical figures? Are we talking about people that I actually know,

Pamela Bardhi
Either one?

Shaun Gold
I mean, that’s, I guess, here’s one question and 37 parts. I mean, so I read a lot. My history, again, is one of my topics that I enjoy. So I mean, if you say historical figures, there’s just a variety of people that have inspired me to do. And most of the listeners probably never heard of them. Enough, I should mention them. But if you want it’s kind of like, it depends where I’m at in my life. When I was younger, I was more inspired by military figures. So Caesar, for instance, Alexander the Great’s Cyrus, the great ancient history figures, and then moving forward. It would just change with the times that of someone just being like, wow, and I think the one person that really inspired me when I read about it years ago.

And that’s how I kind of not emulate, but just like kind of set me on the path that kind of confirms. My path was the right one was Casanova. Because when you read about Casanova, Casanova knows he’s a ladies man. But even the most interesting part. The most interesting part was that he was like the real Forrest Gump. He was like a soldier, a spy, a professional gambler, he hung out with kings and queens. Anhe liked to debate philosophy with Voltaire, he hung out with Benjamin Franklin at a hot air balloon exposition.

You know, like he met Catherine the Great. He met Frederick the Great, he created the National Lottery, he escaped from an inescapable prison, and wrote a best-selling book about it. You’re on a science fiction book in the 18th century. When no one even knew what a science fiction book was. He translated the Iliad into Italian from ancient Greek, played in an Italian orchestra composed with Mozart. Everything you can think of he was a lawyer, a friar, a soldier like he did everything. I’m like, it was just so fascinating to me because it reminds me of all the stuff that I’ve done.

And a lot of people don’t know what to do when they come across me. Because I’ve just done so many different things and most people have just been set on one thing. They were set in just one business, one industry, one vector and that’s it, like, well. I was doing something similar, but then I got tired of it. And moving on your path can always be always going to change course. Because you’re the one walking it and it just depends where it ends up. It’s up to you. So I’ve done a lot of cool stuff and I’m always interested in doing more cool stuff.

You know, I’m always interested in trying to see and have this experience. I mean, Henry David Thoreau said, life is an experiment. And the more experiments you make, the better. So to me, it’s like, okay, that’s perfect. Because I can do something fail, I don’t have to put it on social media, put it on LinkedIn, do anything. And just if it works, great, if it doesn’t it fails and I forget about a week later. Most people fail, they’re like, they’re gone for life, they’re done. I’m never dipping my toe in the water again and you can’t have that attitude, just an experiment.

So you know, I’d say definitely cast it over for, you know, just all the things he did. But other polymaths as well and then in person. There’s just a lot of people I’ve worked with over the years, that as I was younger. I kind of follow their lead. And then took their philosophies and their strategies and their thought processes and kind of made it my own. That’s kind of how people I worked with in nightlife. Or whether it’s people I worked with in different businesses and whatnot. I kind of just learned from everybody.

Try to soak it in, it’s very difficult to learn from everybody. Because most people are going to meet are just terribly stupid. It’s terribly stupid. You can learn what not to do for most people. When you find someone that knows what they’re doing, like take notes, follow their lead, thank them for their time. Because to get to that one person is incredibly hard, incredibly hard.

Pamela Bardhi
I love that, I love that you mentioned Casanova. And it’s amazing. Because I also like to look at historical figures, because I’m like that. I mean, these people have conquered through time, I mean. They’re amazing, but for me, it’s a lot of transcendentalisms. Like I love Transcendentalism, Thoreau, all the teachings, I thought it was just really incredible. Because it’s like, it teaches you to go inside yourself, like the powers within you.

Shaun Gold
Of course, like self-reliance. I mean, self-reliance is one of the most important books I think, written in the past 200 years and nobody’s read it. And it’s really not that hard. It’s like 32 pages, that’s it, you get the Kindle version for like13 cents and it’s self-reliance, great book, Love, self-reliance. But there’s so many others and I feel like you have to stand on the shoulders of giants. You know, a lot of people don’t want to stand on the shoulders of giants. Cuz that means they have to climb, you have to climb up to them. Nobody wants to take that first step or, you know, grip the ladder.

And when you have the audacity to do it and when you dedicate yourself to learning and reading and absorbing everything. I mean, your life changes. It’s just that’s what happens to most people when they don’t like to read. If they do read it’s like one book a month or one book here and there is fine. And you got to use your time wisely and read every great book that you can. Because once you do you just your mind locks, you open yourself up to the thoughts and theories. That you never would have experienced before and it’s really not that hard to do. Especially now, in this day and age ebooks. Not to go to a bookstore anymore, just go to Amazon, if you want a physical book, I mean. You can stack them up.

I mean, during the height of the pandemic, I was like stacking it up one book a day, just every day. Just reading was starting in the morning and just reading it. Taking notes and absorbing it and checking it off and going to the next. You really have to use your time wisely and you really have to kind of use every advantage you can get. And history provides that advantage. You know that the greatest lesson that history teaches is that no one learns from history, you know. Pick up a book and learn, you’ll thank yourself and you’ll thank me. That’s what I recommend.

Pamela Bardhi
I love it so much, I love it so much. And you know, and then in terms of figures who have inspired you in your own life. Who has been that for you throughout your journey?

Shaun Gold
Again, it’s changed. I’ve had different mentors and different people that as soon as I was younger, I said. I want to be that person. And then I was like, No, I want to surpass that person and that would just be something that I wanted to do. Because the problem is like once you get to really know somebody, you see like that you’re either or you if you think that you’re beneath them, you’re going to be on that road already. And if you think that you can start to pass them. You have to earn something that you can’t just like. I’m gonna surpass them and do it, you have to kind of earn that.

All individuals are the same except for the inner belief in themselves. That’s it, I saved everyone, the self-help books. Even though that one quote, you don’t have to read any self-help books. Especially modern ones with face on the cover, don’t have to do it. So it’s about having a good mentor and learning from them. Then kind of going your own way and there’s a quote from the DAO de Jing, which says. When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. And then the other quote is, when the student is truly ready, the teacher will disappear.

You know, so Nietzsche has a quote, which says. One disrespects a teacher by always remaining a pupil. So there’s a variety of people, I mean, just that I’ve met. That I’ve encountered the different industries, that have helped me and that I’ve learned from. And that they’ve set me on the path and a lot of times. It’s not even like a mentor figure or anything like that. The greatest connections I’ve made and the greatest doors that have been opened was someone I met. Just made a referral to me, just opened the door, and made an introduction.

And that wasn’t for me trying to be like a social climber or anything like that. It was just me. Just getting along with people and having a relationship and saying. Oh, you should meet my sister, you should meet my uncle or you should meet my friend. And through that, it would lead to an opportunity, which would lead to another opportunity. So networking is always a major thing. You know, again, right now, it’s you’re kind of running the gamut. Because there’s a million platforms out there and again. There’s a lot of just devoid people, just devoid people to have just the lights are on but nobody’s home. You can’t learn from them, you could learn not to be like them.

And you can learn that these people have nothing to offer. You can open your entire Rolodex to them and they would just take it and run. They would never repay it and you kind of have to navigate. Through who you want to talk with, network with, and possibly work with. When you can just avoid, even if you can easily get 100 people. I feel like three are going to be solid, I mean, I’ve met 1000s and 1000s of people, and out of the 1000s 1000s of people. There’s just a handful, less than a dozen, I think of people that I would trust and do business with and help out.

And refer with like real big deals or stuff like that. It’s really just you have to be careful and you have to kind of know. Is this person real? Is this a referral? Real? What can I do to help them and I feel like if I’m gonna have this mentality of like. Whatever I can help you with, just ask. I mean, I tell everyone, listen. There’s something I can do for you. Like, it’s no problem for me to take a 10-second email and introduce you to somebody.

Unless it’s an arrogant ask, there’s a lot of arrogant ass going around, you know. I need to meet this person and he’s a millionaire. That’s like, not leave me alone. You’re gonna burn a bridge? Or it’s like, oh. Can you introduce me to somebody here? And this that? No, if it’s an actual genuine request and a genuine ask. That you can help with and make someone’s burden a little lighter than. Yeah, it’s no problem. I mean, I do it all the time. But when they start sending you a five-page email for what should be a five. A five-paragraph set, requests or less, you know, you’re in trouble.

Pamela Bardhi
That’s interesting that you say that, like a genuine asked versus

Shaun Gold
arrogant ask. I coined that term. I’m the only one who uses it. But now your listeners can use it in an arrogant way.

Pamela Bardhi
So how do you not put together an arrogant ask them? How do you put together a genuine one? Because throughout your experiences, you’ve seen it all,

Shaun Gold
In an arrogant ask is like. Do you know the CEO of this company? Because I want to meet him. Like, that’s an error, gonna ask especially if it’s from someone. You’ve only talked to once or twice that’s arrogant. A genuine ask is like, Hey, I’m looking to get into this field. Do you know anyone that would take 10 minutes of their time? To talk to me and guide me in the right direction. Someone that’s looking for this, like something that’s just genuine.

You want to come off and be like, Hey, you know. Get me the President of the United States and oh, like sure. He’s on speed dial, but there’s a lot of that because words are open to interpretation. So if you have a genuine conversation with a good, you know. Relationship with someone, there’s anything I can do for you. Just please ask a normal person, like, that’s really nice. I’m gonna reciprocate and I’ll ask people just like, wow. They take that in, they’re like, wow. That means his entire network is now open to me. I can ask anything I want.

Maybe he knows some investors and some founders, some programmers and all he can. He can build it for me and it’s just, I get a lot of those people just like. Okay, well, now that means all your contacts are my contacts. And it’s kinda like, no, it does it, does it? So it just about again, being humble and genuine and that’s something which it’s missing. You know, it’s definitely missing. We need a little humility that doesn’t hurt and just being polite about if I can do it, I will have no problem. I connect companies and people and all that stuff all the time.

So if I can help, I will. No, it’s, no big deal. But at the same time if it is something where it’s like really, like say to yourself, if you’re going to ask someone for a favour. Make sure it’s kind of like a real legitimate kind of genuine thing like, hey. I need help moving a couch, okay. Not like, hey, you’re not moving a couch to Panama. So you gotta take it to the airport and put it in storage. No, it’s gonna take you maybe a day. It’s like no, like, come on, so pick up a translator. Got into business. Now that’s, that’s how I tell people to think about it.

Pamela Bardhi
I love it, I love it. And you’ve had such an interesting journey throughout your career, you know. Going into nightlife after high school and then getting into serial entrepreneurship and kind of all over which I love and respect, and now, throughout your journey. What have been some of the challenges that you’ve sort of come across? And how have you overcome them?

Shaun Gold
The challenges are usually the same. You know, first and there’s a quote from Hegel. Everyone should tap through their eyelids to be independent of public opinion. Which is the first stage of achieving anything great. And you have to be independent, whenever you want to do it because the first challenge. There’s going to be overwhelming resistance from everybody that you know, for whatever you want to do overall. If you think that you’re going to be universally accepted? Wow, your ideas are genius, this is amazing. You’re going to be the next Jeff Bezos, you’re wrong. It’s gonna be met with ridicule, it’s gonna be met with disdain, people are going to ignore it, you know.

So you have to kind of have this rhinoceros skin and this inner belief. What I’m doing is right and I’m gonna do it. Everybody throughout history, everybody that’s ever achieved anything. They just, they knew what they had to do, they knew that it was possible. It’s, there’s the old Henry Ford saying. If I listened to what my customers wanted, I would have built a faster horse and most people don’t realize I was like, oh, Henry Ford. The assembly line and great American capitalists. Well, he failed twice, took investor money and he failed. Couldn’t do that leave that part out of the story, which is the most important part.

We’ll keep it old school because everyone kind of. If you’re on Instagram, there’s means all of the current people. We’re going to not use any means they’re going old school. So we have like Milton Hershey, who wanted to create a factory and put his life savings into creating a chocolate bar company. And make chocolate for the masses at a time. When chocolate was a luxury item. You know, it was a 1% item. It was a once-a-year holiday treat and he said, No, we’re going to make it available to the masses. We’re going to use fresh, locally sourced milk, we’re going to create our own process.

And everybody will say That’s impossible. We already have a process for chocolate, we don’t use fresh locally sourced milk. You’re wasting your time and your fortune and he said No, I’m not. He hired all this chemists then as engineers and he found the process and now we have the Hershey bar. Everyone knows what a Hershey bar is around the world. It’s synonymous. You know, let’s keep it with the food. Henry Heinz ketchup. When you think of ketchup, it’s always like Heinz ketchup and Henry Heinz was bankrupt. Who was a failed entrepreneur and wanted to create a sauce. That kind of made food taste better because, at that time, food tasted bad. Okay, there was no refrigeration, meat tended to spoil. It wasn’t the healthiest thing.

People often had stomach problems. Because the food was rotten or the food didn’t taste good. So hey, why don’t we just take some tomatoes, mix it up and create a formula. And we can create something that tastes good, not this fish oil. That we just put on the master to taste and smell spoiled food? You know? And again, why are you going to do that? We already have tomato sauce. So it’s always throughout history, that the great thinkers and the great entrepreneurs are just saying. Thank you for your consideration time.

I’m going to do this and it goes up. Do you really want to go into modern times with Steve Jobs? Why do we want a computer? I have one at the office and I don’t know how to use it, I don’t want it at home. Why does everyone want a computer? What do you do with it? You know, and he’s like, trust me, you’re all gonna love it, it’s gonna be great. You’re gonna have a keyboard and a screen-through like, nobody cared. So you have to have this inner compass that points true north and that guides you. And it’s extremely important to learn how to take a No, I mean, I have a unique background.

So I advise everybody, if they want to be an entrepreneur or if they want to do something creative and go to Hollywood. Or if they want to, just learn how to be persistent in the face of overwhelming resistance is to do both, because I do both. Okay, you need to go into Hollywood and you need to learn how to hear a note. So no, we’re not interested, it’s never gonna work it, you’re just not the right writer for it. We don’t do this kind of thing, we don’t think people are gonna like it. No one’s gonna watch this, so you got to hear that. And if you go into entrepreneurship, you have to hear no, we don’t want to fund this, this isn’t gonna work.

This is something that we already have a solution for. You don’t have any experience, you have to really accumulate all of the nose. So that way, you’re like, Alright, no problem. Because an average person hears it though, they’re going to be crushed, you’re going to be crushed. They’re going to be shattered, they’re going to be scarred for life. And I mean, it applies to anything, even if you want to go to famous authors. I mean, if you think of horror, Stephen King, synonymous, nobody wanted it. Nobody wanted anything to do with it. He had a story, where he had a thumbtack on his wall and he had all the rejection letters and it became so heavy that the thumbtack fell.

So the hang-up stuck a nail in the wall, with all the rejection letters. He literally threw the manuscript into the garbage, he said, I’m not doing this. I’m not doing this. Then his wife pulled out to try one more time and then, it became Karin. It launched this career and now he’s, synonymous with horrid, he’s famous and everything. But you know, if you go to Rudyard Kipling, someone told Rudyard Kipling about, Man Who Would Be King, The Jungle Book, world-famous. It told him that the agent said that you have no command of the English language. So it’s kind of like, our F Scott Fitzgerald on The Great Gatsby. This book is great, but the Gatsby characters got to go. He’s not working for us.

So it’s kind of just like, with everything you have to go forward in the face of overwhelming resistance. You have to go forward and challenges help you grow. Challenges are there to make you think outside the box, how can I do this? How can I outmaneuver this challenge? So with me, it’s always been about Okay, well, no one thinks you can do this. You have no connections, no experience, no resources, no funding, you’re just an idiot with an idea. Prove me wrong, so it’s kind of like I’m gonna prove you wrong. And it was just a matter of there is always a way, whether it’s the longest way around. Sometimes the shortest way home, there is always a way. When I decided to get the nightlife and had no context or anything.

I just treated it like, I was apprenticing. You know, I was like, Okay, I want to learn this, I want to meet people, I want to network with. And by just meeting people and networking again. It came from referrals that came from someone I met once. Who just saw how ambitious and how hungry I was and what I want to do and I said, meet this guy. And then that would be a job and then another person like you’re great to meet this guy. It would just go from there. So you have to just keep going. I mean, and it’s very tough in this day and age. Because most people, look to social media, where everyone’s a serial success story. You know, every, every single person is happy, smiling, rich, famous. Then on the private jet and everything.

And it’s like, that’s not real. Okay, the real people are not posting that stuff. Because they’re too busy working and trying to close rounds of funding and writing or doing something. Something that’s meaningful to them. It’s something that matters. And you kind of have to realize that listen. Everything in this day and age, technology has made instantaneous. I want a meal, I want a place to stay, I want a car, I can summon everything but success. Success is not going to be a summit, there’s a sharing economy. You can share everything, everything, everything I want a purse, clothes, video game systems, place, the state. Whatever I can share everything except profits, nobody shares the profits.

Not a single app is like, we’re going to share the profits with our users. So you have to really have this, long-term mindset. And you have to really be patient and you have to be resilient and you have to keep moving forward. I mean, because you’re gonna have countless challenges and it really took me I think, three years before, I think I really like consider myself successful when I was doing the nightlife. And that was a lot of failures. But it was like three years when it was like a thing and then, it grew from there. Most people have the patience for that. Three years, come on, I got three hours, let’s do something. It just everything’s because everything’s on-demand. You know, the patience is gone.

And I always tell people, listen. If you want to know how powerful patience is, look through the trees, and if you want to know how powerful persistence is, look to the grass. So it takes a long time and you really need to have this ability to kind of focus on what you want and go after it. No matter the setbacks, the challenges, or anything. I mean, a lot of people like to say, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and in fact, its people should really expand into that. Not only was Rome not built in a day, Rome got it but kids, okay, Rome was not like this. Oh, I watched Gladiator. Rome is great.

And all this stuff. No, Rome had losses after losses, after losses. If you read the history, they were terrible. Okay, the record is horrible. They can’t even get it to a bowl game, okay. Terrible. All right. So it’s not like Rome wasn’t built in a day. It was that Rome kept being built, despite the fact that it kept getting its butt kicked by everybody. Even though everybody was kicking his butt. So you really have, I tell people, like, you have to prepare for this long slog. And if you can’t, you’re just gonna drown and nothing is ever over until you say it’s over.

Pamela Bardhi
Right? I love that, I love your insights on overcoming and basically going on to the next thing. Because I feel like a lot of people sort of lack the drive to just keep going with stuff. And a lot of people are like Pam. How do you just like to start businesses and do what you do? I’m like, I just keep going. Like, I just like, I understand that there’s going to be a time investment. But if I’m interested in something and somebody else has been successful, that means a way exists. Success exists in some way, shape, or form. So now, like with all your diverse experiences and everything that you’re up to, Shaun. What would your older self tell your younger self as a piece of advice?

Shaun Gold
How old and how young? When people say that to me that I’m just like, don’t eat that sushi restaurant. Don’t go to that sushi restaurant, don’t go to it. Like that’s the kind of stuff that comes to me. I mean, it’s really something, I guess I would tell my younger self to read these different books. And kind of explore more and more things like earlier on. Because I was just laser-focused on what I wanted to do at the time. That was it, that was the only thing that mattered.

And as I explored other options, I discovered other things that I became passionate about. So I guess I would say, try and explore this passionate stuff, maybe six years earlier, maybe something could happen. But my younger self would be like, your kind of man-made me alone. And then my younger self would probably be like, wait. So if you’re here, I don’t remember meeting you. Does this mean, this has happened? It would get into this whole ontological cosmological discussion with physics and everything. We wouldn’t be really meeting, it would be really weird. The space-time continuum would be all messed up.

Yeah, I mean. I don’t really have any regrets. It’s not like I should have taken that job with Uber when it was just two guys. But that stuff doesn’t happen. People are very hard on themselves, you know. They are the most cruel to themselves in the world, could ever be. And I’ve never had an opportunity that I turned down that I ever regretted. I never had that there was never like, Oh, I could have been doing this. Because I knew, I wouldn’t have been doing that. It’s easy to connect the dots looking backward. But it’s very hard to connect them looking forwards.

Looking backward, it’s kind of like. Don’t eat that sushi restaurant and read these books and do this. But you don’t know that, because you’re living in the present looking to the future. I just tried to prepare for a life that I want and more importantly as a society that I want. And that’s kind of I don’t tend to look back, I tend to look back to the thing about what I learned, instead of what else I could have changed. I don’t really have that mindset.

Pamela Bardhi
And now. What are you up to in the world now? What’s next for you?

Shaun Gold
So I’m still doing the super-connector thing, so like I said if it’s not an arrogant ask or if you have a startup. I always encourage people to reach out, so I can see how I can be of service and how I can help them. And we’ll announce it right here. Because not many people know about, so I’m launching that utopian journey. Is the world’s first comic book slash graphic novel for mental health, for self-improvement, for overcoming obstacles, and for becoming stronger.

So I’m launching it on Instagram, it’s gonna be free. Just gotta subscribe. Also, launching a substack newsletter, gonna send out weekly wisdom. Have a new book coming out, probably this spring that has to deal with the post-pandemic mindset shift, focusing on all these concepts. That’s a lot already, I’m waiting for Hollywood to call me back. Because I still kind of shut down with the screenwriting thing. But we’re just eagerly awaiting it. They also shut down my game shows to get people outside the LA area, I want my revenge. I’m coming back there. So look for me, hopefully on ABC in six months.

You know, I never did just have some other cool stuff and stuff that I’m working on. Which you can find out about, you know, by following me on LinkedIn. I tell everyone just hit me up on LinkedIn. Say I found out about you from here, I heard about you from here, send a message. So I know that you’re not trying to sell me on some service that I obviously don’t need and not going to want and it’ll be great. I’d love to hear from you. And no one, no one, this pandemics all over you can follow me and personally give you a high five would be great.

Pamela Bardhi
I love it. Shaun, you’re up to some amazing things. I’m so pumped for your screenwriting, see where that stuff goes in your books. This utopian society, which is so cool. I think it’s so cool what you’re doing for mental health, I think it’s so needed. And I’m just pumped for what you work on next, I know you’re always working on some amazing things. So I mean, the world needs to connect with you ASAP. Because you just you bring so much value.

And so much love and wisdom like this whole time, have been so blown away. I’m like, I feel like Shaun is my Sensei and I’m here listening in and like it’s so cool. I love it so much, I just want to thank you so much for being here today. And for your wisdom and for your entrepreneurship and just your hustle and just the things that you continue to do for the world. Just thank you for that and I’m pumped for everybody to meet you and just thank you again.

Shaun Gold
Well, thank you for having me. It was fun being here and whatever you need me to do, I know I’m more than happy to come through the talk shop. And like I said if anyone you know you can follow me on LinkedIn. I think that’s the best way cuz I really don’t, I don’t really check much on Instagram or Facebook. Or anything LinkedIn and definitely follows a utopian journey. I think everyone’s, gonna it’s something that’s never been done, I think it’s unique. And as the kids say. It’s super dope, super dope, I think everyone will enjoy it and will help a lot of people.