Joe Rogan Kevin Hart Podcast Transcript May 25, 2020

Joe Rogan: (00:00)
You come in here and moving and shaking, man, you come in here making deals you’re on the phone already.

Kevin Hart: (00:04)
Got to do it, Joe.

Joe Rogan: (00:04)
You’re always moving.

Kevin Hart: (00:06)
Is there anything else to do? Is there anything else to do besides move?

Joe Rogan: (00:11)
Not if you want to get ahead.

Kevin Hart: (00:12)
No, no, especially not now, man. Hunters hunt.

Joe Rogan: (00:16)
Yes.

Kevin Hart: (00:17)
Those that don’t get ate.

Joe Rogan: (00:18)
The last time you were here, man. That was one of the most inspirational podcasts I’ve ever done. I left that…

Kevin Hart: (00:23)
Great time.

Joe Rogan: (00:23)
… I literally had a shift in the way I was looking at things. You put an extra gear in my step that day. I was like, “Oh, I love being around people like you.”

Kevin Hart: (00:32)
My guy.

Joe Rogan: (00:33)
People like you, you’re going for shit all the time. And it’s infectious. It’s like you give off energy. And when people are around you, they want to get shit done too.

Kevin Hart: (00:46)
It’s contagious.

Joe Rogan: (00:46)
Yes.

Kevin Hart: (00:46)
It’s contagious.

Joe Rogan: (00:46)
Yes.

Kevin Hart: (00:47)
It’s not just me putting that out. I think that the last time I was here, our conversation was such a great conversation because we both had point of views, right? And when we shared the point of views, you elevated the other person’s POV. When we were talking and I was telling you why I live the way I live, why I am the way I am, you springboarded. And then you said, “Yeah, because, Kev for me, I’ve been doing this.” And we had this ying and yang thing going.

Joe Rogan: (01:20)
Yeah.

Kevin Hart: (01:20)
And it drove the conversation. I told you before we jumped on, one of the best interviews that I’ve ever done. And from a feedback perspective with people that just loved what the discussion was, loved the tone of the interview, the things that were said, felt inspired, motivated after. It was just great, all around for me. Checked all the boxes.

Joe Rogan: (01:42)
It was for me too. And I got a bunch of great responses from my friends. That’s what I know it’s good. When I get friends and my friends were all like pretty unanimous. They’re like, “That is a motivational motherfucker.”

Kevin Hart: (01:51)
Wow.

Joe Rogan: (01:52)
“That dude gets shit done.” When people hear stuff like you, or someone who’s excited about life, excited about doing thing, there’s something about that. It’s fuel. We need that. Everyone needs that.

Kevin Hart: (02:06)
This is not a cheesy segue, all right? This just makes sense from what you just said. What you just said is the reason why I did the decision. You said, “People need that, it’s fuel.” Right?

Joe Rogan: (02:22)
Yes.

Kevin Hart: (02:22)
I feel that in today’s time, what people are most selfish with is information. Nobody wants to give information. You got to ask for it. If you ask for it, then, “All right, maybe, maybe I’ll tell you some stuff”, but it’s a search and find.

Joe Rogan: (02:37)
You mean real, good information?

Kevin Hart: (02:39)
Real information. Information about how to get to success. That’s the want from everybody across the board, on some level.

Joe Rogan: (02:48)
Right.

Kevin Hart: (02:48)
Okay. Everybody’s success is different. This doesn’t mean fame and stars. I’m not talking about that level of success for everything. I’m saying, whatever your version of success is, to get it, information from someone that’s done it, or that’s partaking in it in some degree will only add to the value of your journey. It’s only going to make it easier.

Kevin Hart: (03:11)
It’s not to say that you got to do what they said, but with that information, you’re able to process it. Maybe use it, maybe not.

Joe Rogan: (03:18)
Right.

Kevin Hart: (03:19)
But you got it.

Joe Rogan: (03:20)
Right.

Kevin Hart: (03:20)
That’s what I wanted to do. I said, “Yo, I got a life. I got a hell of a life that I lived full of ups, downs, potholes, cobblestones, speed bumps, flat road U-turns some smack brick walls that I’ve ran into, some revolving doors of back and forth.” And through it, all, my mental has only gotten better, because I feel like I’ve been in the mental gym. The mental fitness that coincides with life.

Kevin Hart: (03:53)
It should get better. You should get wiser. You should get smarter. You should be able to make better decisions. And all of my decisions came from the massive amount of fuckups. And I can now share those fuckups. I can now share the rights and the wrongs and the way that I handle all of the things that I’ve done. And people can just take that information and go, “Wow, I never looked at it like that.”

Joe Rogan: (04:18)
Well, it gives them a better view of the landscape.

Kevin Hart: (04:20)
Yeah.

Joe Rogan: (04:20)
Especially when someone like you… You almost seem like an unattainable person. “How does he do that? How is he doing that? How does this guy go from Philadelphia to be one of the biggest movie stars in the world? How does he become one of the biggest standup comedy stars ever? How the fuck do you do that?” You almost seem like an alien.

Kevin Hart: (04:36)
Yeah.

Joe Rogan: (04:37)
To people on the outside. But then when they hear you talk about your real life and to talk about these fuckups, and talk about these successes and talk about the lessons that you’ve learned, man, that’s fuel for folks in a way that nothing else is. Because there’s a lot of people that are bullshitting online. There’s a lot of these motivational speakers that haven’t done shit. And it’s a weird thing.

Joe Rogan: (04:55)
It’s like they’re trying to give you motivation by reciting things that they think are going to work.

Kevin Hart: (05:04)
That they think that they think you want to hear.

Joe Rogan: (05:04)
But they haven’t done anything. As someone who’s done something, when you say it, people are going to listen. They’re going to go, “Oh.”

Joe Rogan: (05:11)
And you’re so honest about everything. That’s everything to people. Because when you’re pure, when your words are pure, people take them right in. They come right in. There’s no like, “Oh, this guy’s fucking selling me something. Oh, this guys full of shit.”

Kevin Hart: (05:25)
I’m not selling shit. Yeah. I got nothing to sell. I had a talk with Chase, JPMorgan Chase are partners of mine. We’re doing this thing called advancing Black Pathways, where we’re trying to cure financial literacy in the black community. We’re on like year number two right now. Right?

Kevin Hart: (05:46)
And there was a conversation where they wanted to have said, bankers, go and talk to the kids in the inner city. And I was like, “You can’t send a white man that works for JPMorgan Chase to the inner city of said, community, hood, whatever, to talk to these young black kids that has no idea about the life that the black kids live in. I said, “What you need is people that have actually come from these environments, they have made it out of the environment and now understand how money works.”

Kevin Hart: (06:26)
Because now when I talk to you, I’m not talking to you with hypotheticals and I’m not preaching to you about what you should do and what you got to do. I said, “I’m telling you what I did that didn’t work.” I’m telling you I fucked off money. And I’m telling you what I didn’t know.

Kevin Hart: (06:40)
Hey guys, here’s a fact, there is no education that comes with money in the black communities. It doesn’t, you can go search for it. There isn’t one. It does not exist. There is no one that is outright teaching the kids in the black community how to operate financially, how to set up for your future. There is nobody talking to you about ownership, homes, mortgages, investments, stocks. That doesn’t exist. It doesn’t exist. It’s not until you get out of that environment that you meet some people that are planning their life accordingly, that you start to ask questions.

Kevin Hart: (07:19)
It’s not until maybe college, and on the later side of it, that you’re with people that are getting jobs in the future that you start to do it. There is no prep, or education at a young age. I said, so you need a fucking man that can go there and go, “Hey, man, let me tell y’all why y’all got to stop taking these free credit cards. Let me tell you why you got to stop putting a cable in somebody else’s name and continuing to fuck it up. Let me tell you why you got to stop being okay with not having a bank account. Let me tell you why you got to stop using the check cash places.” There’s nobody giving that information.

Kevin Hart: (07:55)
I said, “That’s what I am. So if we’re going to have a relationship, let’s build it off of something authentic. Let’s build it off of something that people can go I get that.” Since then, to go back to your point, my relationship has been based on me telling the truth. I told JPMorgan Chase, “I want to go to the inner city and I want to have these discussions, but let me have them my way. I don’t want to have it in a JPMorgan Chase way.”

Kevin Hart: (08:22)
And I got to credit them for backing me, because they aligned me with other people that share the same stories, that have achieved certain levels of success, that speak to the same thing. So everything that I’ve done, everything that I’m trying to do, when I do talk about it, I come proven. I’m only talking about this because I really got knowledge about it. I don’t got knowledge about it because I’m the smartest motherfucker in the world. That’s not what the knowledge is coming from, Joe.

Kevin Hart: (08:47)
My knowledge is coming from, “Hey, man, yo don’t walk through door number one. I walked through that door…”

Joe Rogan: (08:55)
There’s a monster in there.

Kevin Hart: (08:55)
Yeah. “There’s a bunch of shit in that door.” It wasn’t till I came out that door that I saw those monsters that I knew the other monsters weren’t as bad in door number two. But door number three is finally where you should go. I messed up, man. I went to the first two doors wrong. Why can’t I give that to somebody that hasn’t experienced those doors yet? Why can’t I just give that information and possibly prevent them from walking into those doors?

Joe Rogan: (09:21)
And that’s what’s really valuable for people listening.

Kevin Hart: (09:24)
Yeah, man.

Joe Rogan: (09:24)
That’s what’s really valuable.

Kevin Hart: (09:25)
Yes.

Joe Rogan: (09:25)
Somebody who’s actually done it. And done it wrong and done it right. And like, “Hey, listen, I fucked up. This is how I fucked up.” That means so much to people. You’re advancing people’s possibilities.

Kevin Hart: (09:37)
I think that’s what life should be about.

Joe Rogan: (09:40)
Yes.

Kevin Hart: (09:43)
As adults, we have a job to do, whether you want to admit it or not, your job is to set up the next generation. That’s our job. Whether you want to fucking admit it or not. It’s your kids. It’s your friends. It’s whomever. You’re supposed to live a certain way, do certain things, to set up for the next generation to come and to be able to do better. If you don’t, then you’re not doing your part.

Kevin Hart: (10:16)
And if the world never fucking grows, you got to raise your hand and be responsible, Because you’re a part of the lag. You’re part of the delay. If we look up in 15, 20 years and we’re in the same spot, well that means that our fucking groundbreakers, that was doing all the shit during that 15, 20 years, never shared the information, so that these new people come through and break new ground.

Joe Rogan: (10:39)
Yeah.

Kevin Hart: (10:40)
Somebody got to do more than what the fuck I did. I don’t care who it is.

Joe Rogan: (10:44)
Right.

Kevin Hart: (10:44)
But you got to do more.

Joe Rogan: (10:45)
Right.

Kevin Hart: (10:46)
Somebody’s got to fucking do more. Somebody’s got to break these records in.

Joe Rogan: (10:49)
You already blazed the trail.

Kevin Hart: (10:51)
Yeah.

Joe Rogan: (10:51)
Keep going.

Kevin Hart: (10:53)
All I did was show you, “Hey man. Hey, they stopped here, but I kept going to the left and I started to haul ass. And look what I found.” Now that I’m over here. That means there’s more.

Joe Rogan: (11:02)
Did you have a time in your life where you realized that you were doing the right thing? A time in your life where you realized, in your comedy career, in particular, where you realized like, “Oh, I’m getting some fucking traction. This is really rolling.”

Joe Rogan: (11:15)
In the beginning, you, probably like all of us, were not sure what was going to happen. You’re trying, you’re doing open mics. You’re trying to make it. Was there a time where you were like, “This approach. This is happening. I’ve got traction.”

Kevin Hart: (11:29)
I think the noticing of, “Oh shit, something’s happening right now. And I think this is a success. I think I’m in it.”

Joe Rogan: (11:44)
Was it around the time of your first special?

Kevin Hart: (11:46)
It was when I did the Shaq All Star Comedy Jam.

Joe Rogan: (11:51)
Oh.

Kevin Hart: (11:52)
I just told somebody this story. I was talking to Gary Owens, actually, a good friend of mine, comedian. And we were talking about the past and Gary was like, “Kev, there was a moment where you just fucking ran past everyone.” And he was like, “I don’t remember exactly what it was that did it.” He said, “I just remember looking up and you were gone.”

Kevin Hart: (12:16)
And I remember it was the Shaq All Star Comedy Jam. The lineup was Cedric The Entertainer, he was hosting. It was DeRay Davis, Tommy Davidson and myself.

Joe Rogan: (12:29)
That’s a hell of a lineup.

Kevin Hart: (12:30)
It was DeRay Davidson, Tommy Davidson, myself. Cedric the entertainer was the host. And I closed out the show. And I remember going to do the show, it was in Phoenix, it was in the round and this when I was about to tape Seriously Funny. My next special after Grown Little Man. So Seriously Funny I was taping in like four months. It was already on the books. So this is supposed to be it. This is my big coming out party. This has to be it, man.

Kevin Hart: (12:57)
I feel like I’m ready. I’ve been working hard. My jokes are hitting. I’m raw. I’m edgy. This is it. This is the one. I’m fucking funny, seriously. That’s why I titled it, Seriously funny. I was ready. I get the call from Jeff Clanagan. “Shaq’s All Star Comedy Jam, we’re taping it, Kev. Dude, it’s like 15, 20 minutes. Can you do it for me?”

Kevin Hart: (13:18)
And Jeff and I had a relationship and I was, “Jeff, I’m about to tape my special. I don’t want to burn that material.” He’s like, “Kev, look, you can use some other stuff. 15, 20 minutes. We tape it. But these things get some good traction, good views, it’s some good eye candy. You should just have it out there.

Kevin Hart: (13:33)
“All right, whatever.” I wasn’t even taking it serious. This was not something I was taking serious. And this is an example of sometimes you don’t know what it’s going to be. You don’t know what the fuel in a rocket is going to be. You just got to fucking buckle up and be prepared for the takeoff. Now, if it takes off and you don’t know where the seatbelts are and you don’t know where the lights and shit at, well now you got a fucked up rocket ride. You’re going to crash. It’s over. It’s over if you’re not ready.

Joe Rogan: (14:03)
Yeah.

Kevin Hart: (14:04)
I do it. This thing airs. And I remember watching it and at the end of the show, something so small seems so fucking big.

Kevin Hart: (14:16)
I say, “Good night.” I put up two fingers. And as I’m walking off the stage, they put it in slow motion. They put me in slow motion, walking off the stage. And it was a separation from everything else that was on there. It was almost like this guy’s the guy. It was a small tweak in editing. I had nothing to do with it. I just saw it. And the slow motion walk off, the crowd getting up, clapping. You see people’s faces. Slow motion, pointing, screaming. And I’m walking off with like a bob. And it was almost like a coined, “This is it. This is going to be the guy.” I didn’t do it. I didn’t mean for it to happen. I didn’t know it was going to happen. God bless the editors. God bless the Shaq All Star Comedy Jam. After that aired, I remember doing a show at Caroline’s. Joe, this is a true fucking story. Shout out to Lewis from Carolines Comedy Club. I was just doing a weekend. Weekend, you supposed to be doing three shows. We sold out 15 shows.

Kevin Hart: (15:28)
We sold out 15 fucking shows.

Joe Rogan: (15:33)
How the fuck did you do that?

Kevin Hart: (15:35)
We didn’t know. Listen…

Joe Rogan: (15:36)
How many days?

Kevin Hart: (15:37)
We were there for like eight days. We were there for eight days. Lewis can confirm this. Carolines comedy club.

Joe Rogan: (15:46)
That’s crazy.

Kevin Hart: (15:47)
Michael Berkowitz can confirm this. That’s my public appearance agent. We just kept getting calls. We’re gone. We just put the tickets up for another show. They’re gone. “What?”

Kevin Hart: (15:59)
“What do you want to do? We can add another. You want to try to do a Wednesday night?”

Kevin Hart: (16:04)
“Yeah, go ahead.”

Kevin Hart: (16:05)
“It’s gone. Kevin, we added the Wednesday. It’s gone. What do you want to do? You want to see if we can add a late show Wednesday?”

Kevin Hart: (16:13)
“Yeah, fuck it. I guess.” It’s gone. It went Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. We was in that bitch till God damn Wednesday.

Joe Rogan: (16:24)
Holy shit.

Kevin Hart: (16:26)
15 shows, Carolines Comedy Club.

Joe Rogan: (16:28)
What’d that feel like when it was happening?

Kevin Hart: (16:29)
I’m going to say 12 to 15 shows. I remember, because some of the days we could do one, some we could do two, but you don’t know. I’m like, “I can’t even understand this.” Carolines Comedy Club was a big comedy club. This is New York city. This is the melting pot where you got some of everybody.

Kevin Hart: (16:47)
After that is when me and Berk said, “Is this a New York thing? Did the word get out in New York?” And we found out the Shaq’s All Star Comedy Jam was playing on Showtime, around the clock. It was just being pumped all day, all night. And we put up some shows outside and the comedy clubs start firing, was adding shows. And we said, “Let’s do small theaters.”

Kevin Hart: (17:12)
And then I did small theaters, and right after that moment, I taped Seriously Funny. So Shaq’s All Star Comedy Jam hit so hard, that by the time I was ready to do Seriously Funny, which was in three to four months, people were so hyped and ready to see me do something else that that became a massive attraction.

Joe Rogan: (17:30)
Wow.

Kevin Hart: (17:31)
Seriously Funny took and blew as well.

Joe Rogan: (17:33)
That’s crazy that it was something that you weren’t even really thinking of.

Kevin Hart: (17:36)
Not even thinking about it.

Joe Rogan: (17:38)
Maybe that’s why it was so free. No pressure.

Kevin Hart: (17:43)
Now, by the way, Seriously Funny, I damn near shitted myself before the show.

Joe Rogan: (17:46)
The pressure was on.

Kevin Hart: (17:47)
I damn near defecated on myself before the show, because I’m like, “Man, these people are here. The theater sold out so fast.” I had LeBron, Shaq, the whole Cleveland Cavalier team was there at the time. It was unreal. I was like, “This is it. This is my moment. I got to make this a thing.”

Joe Rogan: (18:09)
Wow.

Kevin Hart: (18:10)
“I can’t fuck this up. I cannot fuck this up.” The show ended up going great. And then from there, the fucking star just continued to rise. And that’s when the engine within myself started the click of go get, right?

Joe Rogan: (18:30)
Is that something you always had? The go get.

Kevin Hart: (18:33)
Always had that. I always had that. I told you before, that’s my mom. RIP Nancy Hart. Don’t tell me I can’t do something, because now I’m pissed. Now I’m going to do it. Don’t tell me that. And that’s a gift and a curse. That’s a gift and a curse.

Kevin Hart: (18:46)
I don’t know if you saw, but in my documentary, I put it all out there. That’s a curse. “Kev, don’t put that video up. Don’t do that. Don’t tell me what the fuck not to do. I’m going to do it.” And sometimes it don’t do what you think it was going to do. You don’t know everything, you don’t know everything. And you’re not that great to think that you do know everything. And you can get bit in the ass by thinking that. But you got to get bit to go, “Ooh, let me get better at that.”

Joe Rogan: (19:12)
Yeah.

Kevin Hart: (19:12)
So my go get, comes from me just saying, “What’s my reason not to go after everything that I possibly can?” I will stand on a fucking building and say this man. It’s a game. This thing is serious, but it’s got a game-like quality to it. This thing called life. It’s got a game-like quality to it. And if you don’t fucking see that, you got to open your eyes. You got to open your fucking eyes.

Kevin Hart: (19:45)
Because in this life, the moves that we’re making, allow you to do more. To get more, to see more travel, more, explore, experience. Or, some people were dealt a different hand and it’s tougher. It’s a darker road and it’s, “Dammit.” It’s, “Fuck. I want to get out of this. I can’t. How do I get out? I made it, Oh, it looked like I wasn’t supposed to get out, but I’m out. Everybody say you can’t get out of this shit. I did. I’m out. I’m out. I’m one of the people that got out.”

Kevin Hart: (20:24)
It’s got a real game-like quality to it. And that doesn’t mean that you play with it. Understand what I’m saying here. It means that you can do what you put your mind to. And if you continue to put your mind to it, the game opens up new levels. Tell me I’m fucking saying something wrong.

Joe Rogan: (20:45)
You’re saying something right.

Kevin Hart: (20:46)
You get a new level, ann each new level that gets opened up, you’re able to adapt a different mindset and a different approach. You can stop at that level, or you can go, “I want more levels. I want more fucking levels.” I don’t like seeing hit that I have no idea how to obtain, or gain access to. That frustrates me. That frustrates me when people do things and I don’t know how they do it, or did it. Whether I’m going to do it or not, I want to know. When you’re around people that work in different atmospheres, “What do you do, man?”

Kevin Hart: (21:27)
“Oh man. I’m the guy that takes these labels right here, several labels right here. I have a manufacturing company where I do these, but I do them in bulk. So we do a thousand labels, every 30 seconds. And I built a manufacturing lab. And this company here pays me X on the dollar, and I got 35 companies doing the same thing. I’ve built a multimillion dollar business based off labels.”

Kevin Hart: (21:53)
People don’t understand how important labels are I did at the young age, so I started manufacturing labels. You can manufacture fucking labels? Now I’m intrigued. Even if I didn’t want to do that, I’m intrigued that that’s a thing. I’m intrigued. I’m intrigued that you found a way to do that. This table, is it handmade? Does a company do these? Is it fucking custom? Where’s the wood from? If you really dig into everything, it comes from a broken down thought.

Kevin Hart: (22:27)
You can be a person that’s just around a bunch of brilliant thoughts and never ask questions, or you can soak some of that shit up. You know what this pandemic showed me, Joe? How our economy really fucking works. Once again, I’m coming from the perspective of a young black man from the hood. I’m from the bottom. I don’t know shit about stocks. I don’t know nothing about investments. Never have. But I know through this pandemic, now that I’m at a point where I’m actually into stocks and I’m investing, and putting a portfolio together, well I’ve really looked at the way the world moves. I really looked at how we move as people.

Kevin Hart: (23:06)
How are we fucking still going? What are we using? What do we fucking use? And this is what I said to my kids. I said, “What are you still using?”

Kevin Hart: (23:14)
“What do you mean?”

Kevin Hart: (23:15)
“On a day to day? What do we have to use? Tell me the things we have to use?”

Kevin Hart: (23:20)
“Toothpaste.”

Kevin Hart: (23:21)
“Who makes the toothpaste?” They told me who made the toothpaste? “Is that a company that you can invest in? Do you feel like everybody uses this toothpaste? If you do that means that this is a company that has been successful and may be successful for a long time, because this is a necessary need of everyone. That’s an investment kids. What else do we use? What else do we use every day? What do you go? What do you like. In a mornings?”

Kevin Hart: (23:46)
“Starbucks.”

Kevin Hart: (23:47)
“Is that an investment? Do you feel like everybody drinks Starbucks.”

Kevin Hart: (23:52)
“We drink it all the time.”

Kevin Hart: (23:53)
“You feel like everybody else does too?”

Kevin Hart: (23:55)
“I think so”.

Kevin Hart: (23:56)
“That’s an investment. That’s what you put money in, because you feel like it’s going to last, it’s going to grow. What stores do we go to? Where are we always at? Target? How many people are at Target when we go a lot?”

Kevin Hart: (24:09)
“A lot.”

Kevin Hart: (24:10)
“Is that an investment?”

Kevin Hart: (24:12)
“I guess.”

Kevin Hart: (24:13)
“Why do you guess? At this point, you should know. We talk about it all the time.”

Kevin Hart: (24:18)
“Why do you think it’s an investment, Dad?”

Kevin Hart: (24:19)
“Why do you think it’s not? I’m talking to you about putting money in places where you feel like it’s going to grow. Do you feel like Target’s going to shut down tomorrow? Or do you feel like they’re going to open more stores? How do you feel?” This is a thing that I watch. And this is the thing that I also watch people ignore. This is what is wrong with our world because we don’t talk to people enough like this. We don’t give them the simplicity behind the way we fucking move, and the way the world goes around.

Kevin Hart: (24:52)
If we did get the simplicity, then we could have people taking $20 out of their check and creating a portfolio. We can have people taking 40 to $50 out their check and putting in said thing, said stock, whatever it is, you can be doing it at a younger age. You don’t have to have the most crazy amount of money. It can start off with the smallest amounts of money, but you can learn and that can grow.

Kevin Hart: (25:16)
I watch it. I pay attention. That’s what gets me fucking going, Joe. I pay attention to everything. My question is, why don’t most of us? Why are we comfortable with letting the world just go by?

Joe Rogan: (25:34)
I think a lot of people don’t have the framework. They don’t know how to operate in that realm. They don’t know how to get going. They don’t know how to get started.

Kevin Hart: (25:40)
Information.

Joe Rogan: (25:41)
Yeah, but I love what you said about it being there’s a game-like quality to life. That’s such a perfect way to look at. It really is.

Kevin Hart: (25:48)
You play the game.

Joe Rogan: (25:49)
Yeah.

Kevin Hart: (25:50)
You played the game for how many years, Joe? How many years you had your podcast?

Joe Rogan: (25:54)
11.

Kevin Hart: (25:54)
11 years. Right? I’m going to give you a very true story. And to my brothers, the Plastic Cup Boyz, we got a radio show straight from the heart.

Kevin Hart: (26:03)
I’m constantly preaching to us about, it’s not about now. It’s about tomorrow. Our radio show is a good radio show and we have a following, but it’s not about now. It’s about tomorrow. We got to put the work in today, so that when tomorrow comes, we are well equipped for the conversation that may be.

Kevin Hart: (26:29)
I said, ” Joe had a fucking long ride of preparing for tomorrow. And when tomorrow hit it had to hit correctly because Joe never not did the work on a day to day basis to prepare for tomorrow.” I got everybody fired up, just off of the fact that you continue to do your thing, the way that you were, regardless of conversations, regardless of other offers and possibilities, you felt something else was on the horizon for tomorrow. But you knew it would come, based off of your energy and effort that you put into the thing that you have.

Joe Rogan: (27:09)
Realistically, I don’t look at it that way.

Kevin Hart: (27:10)
How do you look at it?

Joe Rogan: (27:12)
I never look at a destination, or a thing, or something happened, I just keep doing it. I’m one of those weird grinders.

Kevin Hart: (27:18)
That’s not weird. That’s A weird way for you to go.

Joe Rogan: (27:21)
But I trust the process, but I don’t ever look at it like there’s a destination, like a success moment, like a big thing hits. I just keep doing it. And those things find their own way through management and agents. And I’ve put very little thinking into that. I put almost all my thinking into just doing the thing, the best way that I can do it.

Kevin Hart: (27:42)
Metaphor for you, then. You’re an amazing fucking fighter. I don’t know how many black belts you fucking got, just know I wouldn’t fuck with you, but you got some shit with you, right?

Kevin Hart: (27:56)
And if you are practicing a kick, or a move, if you do it, let’s say 200,000 times to make sure you get it perfect. Are you doing that and figuring that out for the unknown, or is it for, “If I ever have to use it I want it to be so fucking right that…”

Joe Rogan: (28:18)
Yeah. That’s always there. That’s always there. But the thing is always the technique. The thing is always the process. I think that’s where I got this from, podcasts and then even from standup. It’s just the grind.

Kevin Hart: (28:30)
The process.

Joe Rogan: (28:31)
Comes from martial arts. The grind is like, you got to be there every day. If you’re there three days a week, it’s not as good as five. You got to be there five days a week. And five might be better than seven, because sometimes seven, you burn out. You want to keep enthusiasm, because that’s a fuel. Enthusiasm. There’s something about enthusiasm that you got to balance discipline and enthusiasm. Discipline’s critical. You have to be able to show up, but you also have to enjoy the shit out of it.

Joe Rogan: (28:55)
And so enjoying the shit out of it with discipline is the key. But you got to ride those babies out. You don’t want to fuck every day, take a couple of days off off.

Kevin Hart: (29:05)
Take some days off.

Joe Rogan: (29:06)
Want it, want. People fuck every day, you don’t even know what fucking feels like. Take three, four days off and smoke a joint and make out with your woman.

Kevin Hart: (29:15)
Get some energy back into it.

Joe Rogan: (29:18)
Yes, yes. Feel it.

Kevin Hart: (29:19)
Do you feel like, and this is something that I have an okay answer, but I don’t feel like it’s ever the best answer. When people say, “Well, what are you doing when you’re not doing what you love?” And what I’ve said in the past and in the present as well is, I think in order to do what you love, you got to get through the obstacles of the things that you don’t love.

Joe Rogan: (29:47)
In life.

Kevin Hart: (29:48)
Right.

Joe Rogan: (29:49)
As you’re trying to come up. Yeah.

Kevin Hart: (29:50)
Yeah, that’s what I was going to ask. Do you agree with that?

Joe Rogan: (29:52)
Yeah.

Kevin Hart: (29:52)
Like getting over those hurdles and then eventually they lead you to the thing where you’re like, “Okay, now I’m ready to pursue said thing that I want to do.” Or if you’re in a job, or a career and you’re like, “I fucking hate my job.”

Kevin Hart: (30:07)
What I feel is like, even if you hate your job, you’re supposed to be using that job for something to get to something. And if you’re, then that should be the thing that you’re figuring out. “I don’t like being here, but now that I’m here, I’m going to do all that I can to get said thing, so that I can then be comfortable enough to move here.

Joe Rogan: (30:36)
Yeah.

Kevin Hart: (30:37)
If you just go into those things with hate, because you were talking about enthusiasm, this made me think about it. If you just got hate and you’re just angry about what you’re doing every day, then you’re not even allowing yourself to figure out the plan of how to escape the thing that you hate to get to the thing that you love.

Joe Rogan: (30:54)
Yeah. I think it’s important to have those jobs that suck, man. They cement your foundation, [crosstalk 00:31:02] because you don’t want to go back to those fucking place…

Joe Rogan: (31:03)
… cement your foundation, because you don’t want to go back to those fucking places. You don’t want to go back to those terrible jobs. Where you have to get up and be uninspired all day long. But if you can get through that, there’s a rigid structure of discipline that allows you to apply that discipline on the things you love. If you can apply discipline and learn how to apply it to something that sucks and get free, have a game plan and get free. Once you get free, you have that ability to get up and do things that suck. Guess what? You’re going to get up and do things you love easier.

Kevin Hart: (31:32)
Even more.

Joe Rogan: (31:33)
You’re going to remember construction sites and delivering newspapers and all the stupid jobs that I worked. I think about those fucking things when I get up in the morning. When I’m brushing my teeth, I think about them.

Kevin Hart: (31:44)
That’s the fucking game, though. That’s the game.

Joe Rogan: (31:48)
That’s why you got to get through it.

Kevin Hart: (31:48)
You have to. I say this man and it’s the story. You’re just putting that story together. I don’t think… Without the stories, what do you talk about? What do you talk about? What is the interesting side of conversation about your growth or your journey? If it’s just the easiest, I got took the highway and got off of the exit and right through the exit I found the gold. Everybody else… What is that?

Joe Rogan: (32:23)
Or my dad was rich and I have a trust fund and I never have to work ever.

Kevin Hart: (32:29)
What is the interesting side to that? There is no bonus in that. Yeah. I just fucking broke my goddamn back, right? The dopest thing for me about doing that was not being able to walk, but then being told that if I’m patient, I can recover fully. I can get back to myself and me instantly thinking in my head, I can actually be better than what I was. If he’s telling me I can get back to 100% I’m going to be better. So the game instantly clicked on. All right. Tomorrow we start, we play new level. I can’t fucking walk. God damn. Here we go. Can’t wipe my ass. I’m not fucking getting it. They say I can’t get into gym. PT is some weird shit. I’m just taking two steps on a fucking booster ball. All right. This is a little discouraging, but I know they said I’m supposed to do it three days. I’m going to listen to them. But on those other four days, is there anything else that I can do to be working on. Kevin, you can strengthen your lungs out, working on you’re breathing. Here’s a breathing machine.

Kevin Hart: (33:35)
Okay. What about my hands, is there anyway, my sense is tennis ball. Can I be squeezed into, should I be doing anything? No, we don’t have anything like that. We don’t recommend it. So if I found something and I research, if it’s just motor skills and working on, is that fine? Yeah, that’s fine. But it’s okay if that’s what you want to do. Okay. I saw that. Yeah. I’m not getting. The doctors are just telling me the stuff that I need to know. Stay within those lines. I’m going to find out the things that I can do, because I’m playing the game now. I’m never going to overexert myself, but the game is to be better. How do I be better than what I was? Because if I do that, oh fuck for me. I just beat me.

Kevin Hart: (34:16)
Yeah. This ain’t about nobody else. I don’t give a fuck about nobody else. I just beat me. If I can keep beating myself, pause. If I can keep doing that, then that means that I’m in a battle with the only person that fucking makes sense. I’m in a battle with the only person that I really want to fucking beat and that’s me. I don’t care about anybody else. I have no worry or gripe about the next man or woman’s journey or their level of success. That’s not what I’m up against. If I can continue to outdo me from the day before. Then I’m ahead. Then I’m ahead. That’s the new found energy that I got out of life now. I’m on this amazing Rocky story. Is in my head, nobody else is watching this movie, but me it’s in my head. This is Rocky. This is the comeback. This is exactly what I saw moving. I’m going to come back better than ever. I’m going to be 41. My body’s going to be ripped up. I’m going to be about 8% body fat. And then I’m ready. Ready for what Kevin? I don’t Fucking know.

Joe Rogan: (35:36)
Ready to be better than you were before.

Kevin Hart: (35:37)
I don’t know. But that’s what I want. I want that day to be like, “Yeah. Now what?” And then I figured out what? I figured out what is then?

Joe Rogan: (35:48)
Well, tell me when you got injured. You were explaining it to me before the podcast, but I don’t want to talk too much about it, because I wanted to hear it now so everybody could hear it. What exactly was the injury?

Kevin Hart: (36:00)
So I fractured my spine, right? It’s either from my T10 to my L1 or my L1 to my T10, whatever order that goes in.

Joe Rogan: (36:14)
How many fractures is that?

Kevin Hart: (36:15)
I mean, that’s fucking… That’s your spine. That’s about-

Joe Rogan: (36:18)
So your fractured, basically everything.

Kevin Hart: (36:19)
I mean, you got this much space in my back. So you got to think, first of all, I’m already small, right? So does it practically my whole back, if you look at this right here, if you look at this is practically my whole back. So all of this fractured and what happens is they had to fuse my spine.

Joe Rogan: (36:39)
So they have to remove the discs in between.

Kevin Hart: (36:42)
They basically had to fix… So the bones where it’s fractured, basically your spine is now out of whack. The things that keep your spine connected and that allow you, the flexibility are out of whack. I got pieces of those bone fragments that are out of place out. So they got to fuse that shit back together. I got eight screws.

Joe Rogan: (37:06)
Do they take the disc material out and compress it and then screw them all… So is the bone, all one piece now.

Kevin Hart: (37:12)
I think I’m one. I don’t know about the disc. I don’t have that answer. That’s a little too technical for me. I should know that because it was my body. But what I do know is that this thing that’s, my spine has eight screws and these eight screws now hold it together. So through this time of healing, because I now have metal in my back, it was about getting your back to be comfortable with the metal, but also back to a normal level of flexibility. So where people fuck up when you get this type of energy and you stay still, you allow that metal to get stiff. You’re not moving it.

Kevin Hart: (37:54)
So now your movements become robotic with it. So, because as soon as I got out the hospital, I started, I didn’t have days off. As soon as I got out, I started physical therapy. I did not wait. I got off medication. I said, I’m not taking on meds. My dad was on drugs. I was like, “I’m not fucking around with that.” So I dealt with the pain, but that’s how I got to start now because every day that I wait makes it harder to go. So, because I was back and forth side to side, doing all of those things, I got my body to get accustomed to it and I got flexibility. So now when you see me working out, it looks as if I’m back and I’m probably 98% back to myself right now. But the work that I put into my core and my upper body over the years are what saved me outside of God, of course, in that situation.

Kevin Hart: (38:52)
Because I want to tell these people just for you to know this health and wellness shit is so much bigger than what you may think it is. Taking care of your body, you don’t know when all of that stuff comes into play and adds up correctly. The human body is amazing. Recovery, the ability to snap back and go back to what it once was the body muscle memory, all of that stuff plays a major factor. So my healing was a lot faster because of the years of work that I put into it before. Now, if I had enough and I didn’t have that core, well, I’ll be paralyzed. I’ll be fucking paralyzed. I mean, you’re literally talking about this much. Doctor looked me in the eyes. You’re lucky to be walking. You’re this much.

Kevin Hart: (39:45)
If your core wasn’t in the shape that it was and if you didn’t have the strength to take whatever that impact was and stay, you would have been snapped and you’ll never be walking again. So that instantly, thank God I go, “You know what? Thank God for my trainer who jumped into my life at a certain time and changed my way of thanking.” Boss, Ronald Boss Everline. We’ve been rocking for seven years and the consistency of four years before, of every day, every day. So now I’m like you’re not wasting your time ever. So when those people say, what are you working out for? What are you getting on shape for? Why are you going every day? You don’t know when you’re going to need to fucking tap into all the little work that you’ve done. You don’t know. You don’t know if you’ll ever need it, but to just know that you’ve taken care of yourself, to know that you’ve given yourself a chance to fucking not only survive, but perform.

Kevin Hart: (40:54)
You’ve given yourself a chance to perform at a high level on a day to day by taking care of your engine. This is my machine. So I’m taking care of the engine, just like any car oil changes, just like your brakes, your tires, the rotors, all of that shit. You taking care of that. So that is a great ride every time. You got to do the same with your body, don’t ignore that shit people. We dropping like flies right now, heart attack, strokes, kidney failure. You got people with diabetes, you got people getting legs, arms cut off from bad eating. From bad eating over the course of years. Take that shit serious. Don’t wait till the end. That’s serious. That’s not a joke. So when I look at people dying around me, we have no control over when the day is going to come, but I’m going to try to help amplify my time here as much as I can.

Joe Rogan: (41:56)
That’s the big one, right? Amplify your time. You have energy. You have a different kind of energy than someone was unhealthy. You have the ability to push forward. You have the ability to get shit done. You have more enthusiasm because your body feels good.

Kevin Hart: (42:09)
Why don’t you not… I want to be careful when I say this, because I don’t want to seem like I’m coming down on anybody, that’s not… But why don’t you want to take care of yourself?

Joe Rogan: (42:20)
I think they do. I think it’s just habits are very hard to break. There’s a lot of comfort in just the same thing every day, open up the cabinet, Twinkies, fuck it. I’ll start tomorrow. Fuck it. I feel like eating those chips and you just settle into it. And then there’s this disappointment that comes from settling in and it’s comfort and it’s disappointment at the same time. You really… Well, I guess that’s me and you accept it. I think sometimes people are scared of improvement because they’re scared of failure. So if they can just kind of slide into the same bullshit every day, it makes them feel less uneasy.

Kevin Hart: (42:54)
You know what? What I say and what I will say goes back to the decision, goes back to information. It’s not bad if you want those things. I don’t think that people are supposed to live a robotic life. I don’t eat this ever and I don’t do this.

Joe Rogan: (43:13)
Why I always point to the Rock in his fucking cheat days. Jesus Christ.

Kevin Hart: (43:16)
I mean, first of all, he eats for a village that son of a bitch.

Joe Rogan: (43:19)
Well, he’s a village.

Kevin Hart: (43:20)
It’s Unreal what he puts down when he puts down. That’s why I’m saying, you should enjoy yourself and enjoy your life. But I think that there should be a give and take. Like, “All right, I’m going to eat the way I want to eat. I’m not compromising that because I love food. But let me put a half hour in a day of walking. Let me do something so where I’m active.” So there’s at least a give and take. That’s what I would say to people out there. I’m not saying in no way, shape or form, don’t do this ever. And that’s wrong and you live in… You’re going to destroy yourself. No, that’s unrealistic. That’s unrealistic. I think you should definitely be happy. You should definitely do the things that you enjoy. Because like I said, in my mind, this is the game, you playing the game. Be happy while you’re playing it. Don’t be miserable.

Joe Rogan: (44:11)
One way to play the game is to challenge yourself, give yourself a month, write down for a month. For one month, I’m not drinking a single soda. For one month, I’m going to do something, some exercise every day. I’m going to write down what it is for one month.

Kevin Hart: (44:22)
The fucking game. Here’s how I think. I don’t know if that’s a book title or not, or if it has been or hasn’t, but God dammit. That could be my next one, the game.

Joe Rogan: (44:35)
Even if it’s a book title, that’s-

Kevin Hart: (44:36)
Now I know you guys are hearing this. I think it may be, but maybe, the game of life, that’s something. But it’s something there. It’s such a synergy within that.

Joe Rogan: (44:50)
Maybe just call it a game.

Kevin Hart: (44:51)
Something it’s there.

Joe Rogan: (44:53)
Because your statement of there’s a game, quality to life resonates.

Kevin Hart: (44:56)
It’s true.

Joe Rogan: (44:57)
As soon as you said that, I was like, “Ooh, that’s it. That’s the way to look at it.” To don’t just look at it like life, look at it like you’re trying to succeed. You’re trying to get ahead and win. The game like quality of life. That’s it.

Kevin Hart: (45:09)
It’s adult thing. I’m going to really harp on that.

Joe Rogan: (45:13)
So you’re recovering from your back injury. How long ago was the injury? How long ago was the crash now?

Kevin Hart: (45:18)
September. So what does that, September, October, November, December, January, February, March, April, this is May.

Joe Rogan: (45:24)
Yeah, only eight months.

Kevin Hart: (45:27)
It’s about to be June, so is about to be nine. I’m going to get in to nine.

Joe Rogan: (45:30)
You said you’re like 98% now.

Kevin Hart: (45:30)
98%, I’m down to probably 10% body fat right now.

Joe Rogan: (45:37)
And as far as movement, you can basically do everything.

Kevin Hart: (45:41)
I’m doing everything.

Joe Rogan: (45:42)
Wow.

Kevin Hart: (45:42)
I’m doing everything. I’m up to running again. I’m probably a three… I can go three and a half miles straight before I’m like, “Oh.”

Joe Rogan: (45:50)
The back starts to bother you.

Kevin Hart: (45:51)
Before I get tight.

Joe Rogan: (45:52)
What are you doing for the back, are you doing yoga? Are you doing… What kind of exercise are you doing.

Kevin Hart: (45:55)
I got a physical therapy, that’s random shout out to Dr. Pat. I make sure that getting the massages, getting the work done, because I’m doing so much within working out. I don’t want to not take care of that as well. So from heating it, from treatment, just literally doing things to make sure that I’m constantly working on those muscles and not forgetting them. I’m getting older. I don’t want to act like that’s not the case or that’s not a reality. I’m 40 now. So how do I take care of this machine? So at 50, I’m not moving as if I’m 70. I would say that’s been a great adjustment, but one that’s really made me feel better like stretching.

Kevin Hart: (46:47)
I didn’t understand the importance of stretching, of actually resting. I was, “I got to get it. Let’s go. It’s go time. Weights, hit it.” Clanging and banging baby clanging and banging. But now make sure you get your rest time so that you can come back and give the energy, your cardio changes, roll machines. I’m on a bike. I’m Pelotonia. I’m hydroing. I’m running. So the workouts change and you become more consistent with your system, with my new system. So I think by July, my goal is for my 41st birthday. That’s July six to be around eight and a half percent body fat at the age 41.

Joe Rogan: (47:38)
So it’s all about body… It’s all about looking good with the body fat.

Kevin Hart: (47:41)
For me the body fat means that I’ve just been super focused. I eat. I don’t want people to think that I don’t eat. I’m not a foodie though. So it doesn’t really count. But I’m not on some strict, crazy diet.

Joe Rogan: (47:54)
You’re not a foodie, you don’t enjoy-

Kevin Hart: (47:56)
I’m not a foodie, man. I don’t eat red meat.

Joe Rogan: (47:59)
Really?

Kevin Hart: (47:59)
No red meat, no fish, no seafood. I’m a plant-based eater.

Joe Rogan: (48:06)
Everything’s planned.

Kevin Hart: (48:07)
I’ll go chicken every once in a while. I’ll dabble into my chicken. That’s what people don’t understand. I don’t think people really get that or understand that. It’s like, just because you make the decision to go and try plant-based doesn’t mean that you have to engulf in that world, learn it, understand it and see if there’s benefits that work for you. I stopped eating red meat so much because I learned that I didn’t have to have it. I thought that I needed it to survive. That’s what I was under the mindset.

Kevin Hart: (48:39)
If I don’t eat this, things are going to change for me. That’s what I thought. But once I found out there was protein and things in other foods and other resources. And then I started to learn more about the plant base food space. I was like, “I’m going to give it a try.” I started trying to beyond meat and I fucking fell in love with the beyond meat. I was like, “I don’t feel a difference.”

Joe Rogan: (49:02)
Just let me tell you something right now. Those beyond meat things are not good for you.

Kevin Hart: (49:04)
I love them.

Joe Rogan: (49:05)
I’m sure you do.

Kevin Hart: (49:06)
I love them.

Joe Rogan: (49:07)
I’m sure you enjoy them. That’s fine.

Kevin Hart: (49:08)
I love them.

Joe Rogan: (49:08)
But if you’re going to be plant-based that’s not the way to go in terms of the overall health. It’s not bad. If you want just taste. If you enjoy just mouth pleasure, but they’re not good for you. It’s all oils. It’s all plant-based oils and it’s all processed and weird. Just eat vegetables.

Kevin Hart: (49:26)
What you are is a very smart man. So I would never challenge the information that you may have that I don’t have. So now, after being told such a thing, I would look and see for myself. But I can say to date, I love the beyond option because it’s not only taking the place of the meat. I like the different versions of it that’s available.

Joe Rogan: (49:54)
As long as you’re enjoying it, nothing wrong with something you enjoy and you’re obviously very healthy, bit-

Kevin Hart: (49:57)
Yeah. I can say I haven’t seen… I put it this way since going plant base and jumping into that space and choosing that because there was a moment where you had the impossible, you had to beyond, and you had all this stuff that was out there and you’re trying everything. I like that one the most. So after liking the beyond, when the most, then I said, let me see if I can be more consistent. Since doing that I’ve seen a significant change and just being more vibrant, more up and add it. My days were always long. So there used to be a wall that I would hit, when I was eating and now it was red meat. Whether it be the burger patty without the bun, whether it was steak in aides for protein, whatever it was. I would always hit a wall a day where I’m dozing. I’m dozing and I’m crashing. I don’t have those crashes.

Joe Rogan: (50:55)
Maybe you weren’t getting enough carbohydrates.

Kevin Hart: (50:57)
Could be once again, Joe, you’re a very smart man. So I’m not going to challenge your knowledge because I know that this is a space where you’re well equipped. You do your research, you read. I’ve heard you talk about things various times in this space. I’ll just say, it’s one of those things where I was like, “Okay, this is a pattern that I fell into has been comfortable, but I’ve seen the results.”

Joe Rogan: (51:17)
That’s all that matters. There’s bio-variability that everybody has to take into consideration. Your body’s going to be different than Jamie’s, is going to be different than mine. Everybody’s body’s going to respond different to different kinds of foods. It’s really different. Some people were great off of just fish. I know people that are on a carnivore diet and they’re in the healthiest shape they’ve ever been in their life. All they eat is red meat. They just rib-eyes all day long and you go, “What the fuck? That doesn’t make any sense.” Meanwhile, they look great and they’ll swear to you. They’ve never felt better. Psoriasis has gone, joint pain gone, healthier than ever.

Joe Rogan: (51:52)
And then I know other people that are all 100% plant-based and they’re like, “I got off my meds. I feel great.” I think focus on eating properly, whether it’s eating properly plant-based or eating properly with the carnivores digest, cutting out all the bullshit and focusing on the fact that you’re eating for health and for vitality. That’s a big part of it.

Kevin Hart: (52:14)
You just said the key thing though, the key thing is you just said is people are doing different things that work for them. There is no right or wrong way. I think that’s the biggest misconception. The misconception is that you’re doing it wrong.

Joe Rogan: (52:28)
There’s one way.

Kevin Hart: (52:29)
There’s only one way. Don’t do that. Don’t eat that.

Joe Rogan: (52:31)
There’s a lot of ways.

Kevin Hart: (52:32)
You mess up. There’s so many different ways that can work for you. Don’t be afraid to try or just experience what those options are and find your comfort space. That’s why I say within that plant-based space, people that go, “Yeah, man, I’m plant base, but I feel bad because I ate certain thing.” It’s like, you don’t have… There is no rule to what you want to do for you.

Joe Rogan: (52:58)
You got to be open to making adjustments too. Do you know, CT Fletcher.

Kevin Hart: (53:01)
I do know of him. I don’t know him, but I know of him.

Joe Rogan: (53:04)
Love that guy to death.

Kevin Hart: (53:07)
Hulk.

Joe Rogan: (53:07)
His motivational as anybody that’s ever lived, he had a heart attack, had his heart replaced, got a new heart. I don’t think he’s confirmed it, but he believes it’s an Asian woman. I don’t know that’s how he feels or he’s had some weird feelings about having this other person’s heart inside of his body. He went a hundred percent plant-based. Just changed everything, changed his entire diet and puts all these videos up about it.

Kevin Hart: (53:32)
He thinks his heart came from an Asian woman.

Joe Rogan: (53:34)
He believes his heart came from an Asian woman. I don’t think he’s confirmed that because I don’t think they tell you. But I think he just-

Kevin Hart: (53:40)
Would you want to know? Do you want to know?

Joe Rogan: (53:42)
Yeah. I’d kind of want to know. Yeah. Maybe he knows now. I don’t believe he knew last time I saw him in here, but the first time I met him, I mean, he’s a powerful guy. It’s still your motherfucking set. He’s that guy. He’s just always this booming voice and just gigantic muscles and he’s all drive and go. And then when his heart failed and then he had to have his heart replaced. I saw him about a year later and he had this remarkable, calm that had come over him. He was just like, it’s different person, very loving and embracing and had all this happiness and all this joy and all this appreciation. Now all he eats is plants. I mean, and he swears by it.

Kevin Hart: (54:26)
It’s that light.

Joe Rogan: (54:27)
For him that’s the way to go.

Kevin Hart: (54:29)
No, I’m talking about that light. I saw that light. When you come close to that light and that light that I’m talking about is death. If you come close to that light, when you do, and if are fortunate enough to come back from that light, you value life differently. There are no bad days for me. There are no bad days for me. My biggest cry in life came from the first day that I came home from the hospital. Because I never had to see that house again. There was an option. I mean, never seen that home again. There was an option of me never walking on that driveway again. There was an option of me never seeing my wife and my kids again… I mean, it wasn’t a buildup cry. It was pull up, get out, feet touched the ground. What the fuck just came over me. Boo hoo. What the fuck? What just happened? By the way, a painful cry, because my back was fucked up.

Kevin Hart: (55:47)
So I’m crying hard and I’m in pain. But the realization of none of this has to be, you’re not in control. Hey Kevin, you’re not in control, buddy. You thought you were, you move for a minute. Like, “Nah, I got this. I’m going to do that. Don’t worry about it. I got it. We’ll be good. I’m going to make sure it happens.” As if you were in control. That’s what it is. It’s literally that. At any decision, at any given time, it can be over. It’s not until you get close to that light that you truly respect that. I respect that there are no bad days. Amen. Miss me with any bullshit. I’m smiling because I have no reason to be angry, because I don’t have to be here.

Joe Rogan: (56:35)
You appreciate that sunshine, because you’ve been in the pouring rain.

Kevin Hart: (56:39)
Man, hey, hey, that’s a… Yes. So when you talk about CT Fletcher and you talk about his calm, you know what man? I’ve been on the other side. He’s been, “Yeah, let’s go.” That’s great. That doesn’t mean that he doesn’t still have that. But now there’s a different energy and a different level of relaxation that can come because I know how fortunate I am to be taking these steps.

Joe Rogan: (57:06)
Yeah. It’s not just a theory. Every day really, truly is a gift.

Kevin Hart: (57:11)
And you take it for granted.

Joe Rogan: (57:13)
It’s real. It’s real.

Kevin Hart: (57:13)
You take it for fucking granted, man. I’m going to tell you not being able to wipe my ass changed everything.

Joe Rogan: (57:21)
Do you got one of them, but [inaudible 00:57:22] in your house, you pressed the button and just get the water up your ass.

Kevin Hart: (57:24)
I couldn’t even do that.

Joe Rogan: (57:25)
Really?

Kevin Hart: (57:25)
I couldn’t do that. I’m talking, you take it for granted. You take it for granted, man. All of this conversation, this clapping is easy. “Oh, hey, come here.” All this shit here.

Joe Rogan: (57:41)
All the movement.

Kevin Hart: (57:42)
You just think it’s okay. Go through a situation where it’s compromised.

Joe Rogan: (57:49)
How long did it take before you can start walking again, normal or semi-normal.

Kevin Hart: (57:56)
I lied in a hospital because I didn’t want them to know that I was having pain, because I thought that they were going to stop me from letting me continue to try my walks. It was day seven in the hospital and I had the walker and it was slow walks, but I was dragging. It was upper body. I was masking it as if I was fit, right? Because I didn’t want to stop trying. That was my goal. Get my drive for anything was that half hour or 40 where I could get up and go walk because I was just laying in the bed all day. God bless man, my wife and my kids, there’s times like if this is the remote control and I’m in the bed and I just want to get to the control. Well, I can’t get to it.

Kevin Hart: (59:00)
If you didn’t position a control down here by my hands so I could get it. This here throws my whole fucking eye. So now I can’t press the button to corners. And every second is, “Babe, can you grab the control for me?” Have, do. There was a time where my son was like, “Fuck it.” My son just slept in the bed with me. My son, he was like, “I’m here dad. I’m up.” My son didn’t want to go to school. My daughter didn’t want to go to school. They didn’t want to leave my side. They stayed there. And middle of the night, if they heard me, “Y’all right dad, what do you want.” They were up. My son doubled as nurse. My daughter doubled as nurse, Nico doubled as… They were there.

Kevin Hart: (59:47)
My brother came and that’s when the care about what was important, really changed. The shit that I thought was important. The things that you think are important, you get to looking around at a hospital room with four walls. None of that shit that you think is important is in there. It’s one of these people, none of the other shit was in there. None of it, none of it was fucking in there.

Joe Rogan: (01:00:13)
That’s also got to make you feel great. That there’s that much love. That they cared about you that much.

Kevin Hart: (01:00:18)
That’s what gets you through it. So those little steps that I was taking, the discomfort of not being able to do. The love and energy made me go, it’s going to be all right. I’m going to get there, because you definitely feel defeated a little bit.

Joe Rogan: (01:00:35)
So how long before you were walking without a walker?

I was stubborn man. So probably two and a half weeks.

Joe Rogan: (01:00:45)
Wow.

Two and a half weeks. I should’ve had the walker.

Joe Rogan: (01:00:48)
Wow.

I should’ve had the walker. But it was I’m giving the perception that it’s better than what it is. I had the back brace on.

Joe Rogan: (01:00:59)
You faked it till you make it.

I definitely was, “Hey.” Smiling. “What’s up y’all? Good morning, everybody.” Giving this perception of-

Joe Rogan: (01:01:11)
Bill Burr told me he went to visit you.

Yeah. They all came to see me.

Joe Rogan: (01:01:14)
He said, he goes, “The fucking guy’s already walking around.” He goes, “It’s crazy.”

Yeah. I had given a perception because I don’t want you to worry. It’s me. I’m going through it. I’m going to figure it out. I don’t want that worry placed on anybody else. I told you I stopped fucking taking meds. So every night was a horrible night.

Joe Rogan: (01:01:37)
That’s so much better for you though. Just accept that pain.

Every night.

Joe Rogan: (01:01:41)
I did that with my knee surgery. So obviously a much less painful thing, but I took that shit once for one of my knee surgeries one day and I was like, “I feel so fucking stupid.”

Fuck this. I slobbered on myself. That’s when I said, “No, no.” I was talking and a piece of-

Joe Rogan: (01:01:58)
I was by myself alone in my apartment and I was thinking, this is… Back when I lived in New York…

Joe: (01:02:03)
… alone in my apartment and I was… This was back when I lived in New York and I was like, “I am not doing this again. This is one day. I’d rather be in searing pain and have my senses than to be stupid.” I felt so dumb.

Just felt dumb.

Joe: (01:02:15)
Damn and just like…

Yeah. At the-

Joe: (01:02:17)
I’m like, this is not me. I’m not into escape. I don’t want to escape. I want to dig deep.

… Not that bad.

Joe: (01:02:23)
Yeah. I’d rather just feel the pain.

I’m not looking for it that bad.

Joe: (01:02:26)
It’s a sensation. It’s a terrible sensation, but I know what it is. This is letting me know that there’s a problem and we’ll fix that problem eventually.

I don’t like the look that comes with being high. Like when I see what people look like that are… I don’t like that look. This shit-

Joe: (01:02:45)
The pill high? I like the weed high.

… No, I’m talking about this shit here. That when you don’t know what… This shit here, you don’t know what’s going on with your hands. I don’t like that. I don’t want to look like that.

Joe: (01:02:58)
Yeah. I think that’s people that are in so much pain all day, just emotionally that they just need some sort of escape from it instead of embracing it.

One thing, I will not knock anybody that is dealing with any type of mental struggle, because that is something that’s so serious because nobody understands what that is except that person. So, I never talk as if that’s an easy thing, I talk as if that’s a thing that I don’t fully know about.

You can only have some type of remorse and feeling of understanding for people that are battling any type of mental illness or mental health, because it’s a different monster and a different machine. So whatever the reasons to escape that are for you and from you, that’s something that’s TBD, to be determined, between you and whoever’s trying to help you. People on the outside, we got no right. We got no right if you’re not fucking dealing with the same thing, you got no right to judge that ever. Stand down.

Joe: (01:04:00)
There’s no way we can understand what’s going… No way I can understand what’s going on in your head other than you telling me about it and me trying to decipher it and trying to put it into words. But that’s one of the more interesting things about talking to people. It’s like when you talk to people and you find out how they feel and think about things, it shifts your own ideas of what life is. And I’ve tried to look at life through other people’s eyes, and the only way you get that is through them talking.

I’m dealing with now my kids. I got two teenagers. My daughter got mad, this is a while ago, she got so mad. She was just, “Forget it.” And it was like a little rage. I didn’t attack her for it. I said, “There’s something that made you do that. It’s bigger than just this. It’s not about what we’re dealing with now.” I said, “That was something else that I’ve never seen.” And I said, “I’m going to give you a second. Take some time to yourself.” I said, “Later, if you want to talk about anything, your dad is here.” I said, “Let’s talk if you want to.” And we got this thing called free speaking zone in our house. Free speech zone means, as a parent, I can’t get mad at you about what you said.

I got to give you a conversation based off of what you said, and I got to act as if you’re not my child for that moment. You cannot abuse free speaking zone though. You can’t abuse it. That don’t mean every time you are in trouble, “Free speaking zone.” You’re abusing it. And now you risk free speaking zone going away.

Joe: (01:05:29)
I liked that idea.

[crosstalk 01:05:30] So you got to use it correctly. So my daughter came to me and in the nicest voice, she was like, “Free speaking zone.” And I was like, “Yeah.” I said, “What’s up?” And she just started talking to me about some things that were bothering her. And when we talk, what I found is I can relate to my daughter because I know for sure that where I come from, it’s allowed me to see exactly what she’s seen plus so much more.

And this was a time where the hair was an issue. My daughter went through a big hair thing. She wanted her hair to be a certain way and there was no way that her hair was going to be able to look like what she wanted it to.

Joe: (01:06:22)
Collaborate.

So the discussion was, “Honey, as a young, black girl, your hair is not going to do what your friends here does.” My daughter goes to a private schools. There’s white girls here, you got some mixed girls here and these girls are out and they can jump in the pool, get out and their hair is a certain way. I’m like, “Honey, yours isn’t going to do that. But if you want a different look, then that means that we can work on ways to obtain it. But honey, it’s not going to happen overnight.”

And I had to make sure that my daughter understood how beautiful she was. I had to make sure that my daughter understood why it’s okay for her hair to be different and be unique and not the same. I had to go into a full father programming of making you understand your value. And my daughter needed that. But it wasn’t something that just came out of nowhere, like dad, “I want to talk to you about my hair.” It was an anger that she later then came and wanted to discuss. But if I didn’t have the free speaking zone, that’s some shit that just would have been in and never talked about.

Joe: (01:07:32)
And never talked and never talked about.

But I gave her something that she used as a reason to say what I don’t like and don’t judge me, dad, but this is really making me mad.

Joe: (01:07:42)
Well, it seems like you’ve developed this philosophy that applies not just to work and not just to success, but also to family and relationships. There’s a lot of carry over in all of this. It’s like accepting things for what they are, but looking at a positive way to improve them, even in terms of just communication with your family.

That’s priority number one. I mean, it’s so dope to be able to build what we’re building because it’s not a tradition. We don’t have a family tradition, we’re the first, this is the first. I don’t come from mom and dad same house, kids, dogs, and dinner at night at 6:00 PM. I don’t come from that. I don’t know how to do that. So we are now learning that. Divorced, ex wife, new wife, step-kids, new kid, brothers and sisters, coincide with ex wife, new wife, make sure that we all understand this is our world. How do we co-parent? Bumps? Of course. Figuring it out? Of course. Kids, household, and our household has build something.

Dinners, let’s make this a thing. Conversations, no phones. Let’s make it a thing. Movie night, taco Tuesdays, game night, all this silly shit that you may look past are memories. Family trips, family walks, walking the dogs together, all of this shit we’re building. So I’m fascinated at giving my kids stories to hold on to when they get older. Remember that time when we did said things said, things said thing, where are we at that summer? Remember when such and such happened and you fell into thing and dad had to come get you? Oh my God, you know what? Dad, you know where I want to go back to? You know what we want to do? We’re building it. So, my hope is that as I grow older, I’m able to look at a new era within a Hart, within this Hart family name, this Hart legacy. I’m looking at generations.

I got two sons. I got two sons, man. That’s an unbelievable thing because this name goes. I got a daughter, that’s my oldest. I’m about to have another daughter. Now it’s like, “Fuck, Kev, it’s bigger than you. It’s about this. And it’s about what they have. But it’s about what they remember.” I’m doing my part in life, to go back to what we talked about earlier, by making this generation better than what I was. I’m giving you the fucking tools, guys. You don’t got to do what I do, you don’t got to be what I am, but I’m giving you the tools to at least want to aspire to be.

Joe: (01:10:58)
Is there a struggle to find time, like to manage the time between work and family, relationships?

[crosstalk 01:11:05] Not after that accident.

Joe: (01:11:06)
No.

Not after that fucking accident. Accident was the best eye-opening experience ever. You know what I mean? I was married to my career, dating my family, right?

Joe: (01:11:22)
Yeah, right.

Like I’m all about this work and all about this hustle. Granted, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a good thing. But after a certain point, you got to prioritize accordingly. When you get to a certain point where the decisions that can be made are a little more controlled and you have the ability to maneuver differently because of the success that you’ve obtained, make those adjustments. I didn’t make those adjustments. I was still hustle, hustle, hustle. Granted, great dad. We’re doing stuff. I’m home. I’m getting back home. But my in and outs, three days and I’m out. Two days, three days, I’m out. “I got to go film the movie, y’all come down for the weekends. All right. I see you guys. We’ll eat dinner. We’ll do stuff. And it’s great.” Crammed it all in.

“All right y’all, I got to go. I’m working.” And it’s not bad, but now, all right, I’ll film a movie, after I’m done filming a movie, well, I need to take 30 days off, I need to take 40 days off. That shit is with me and the fam. Now, hey, you go tour, it was just, year and a half we out. Four days out the fucking week. I’m out year and a half. I got to get it. Well, now let’s go a month and a half, let’s stop for three weeks. I’m with the fam. So I still have my three days a week that I was here, but then I’m a stop for three weeks. This is dedicated the fam time, don’t nobody do anything with me or talk to me. I’m home. Now, my office, I was in that office when we fucking open. Office open at 9:00 and I’m there at 8:00, there’s a chance that I may be in that office till fucking 6:00.

Now, you, no matter what guys, that day in the office has to end at like 3:00. I got to be home for dinner. I got dinner with the fam. My priorities have changed, but it brings me back to the decisions that you’re now able to make based off of life’s circumstances, life’s lessons. So because of all this shit that I went through, because of the things that I now got to see, because of that hospital room and those four walls and missing my family and what that love did for me and to me, well, I’ll be damned if I fucking look past that. I’ll be damned if I not do what I’m supposed to do and give that the same amount of attention in return, because my eyes got open. Fuck, is that why that happened? What are you saying to me? Was that supposed to… What?

Okay, I’m going to assume. I’m going to assume. And I’m going to look at the signs that are clearly being given and I’m going to try my best to do my part. I’m going to try my best to grow. So my time now is so valuable, but the priority within my time are making sure that the people that I love and that love me have some time. When it’s all said and done, I want to know that I made those adjustments. I want to know that I did my part.

Joe: (01:14:40)
You achieved that balance.

Absolutely, but it was learned. It was learned. Now this is information. It’s fucking information. And there’s one side of information that I had, which was go get it. I’m out. I’m out. I got to go get it. I ain’t got time to be fucking staying here, man. Got shit to do, which I still do. I don’t want to make it seem like that isn’t in me, but there’s a balance. There’s now a balance.

Joe: (01:15:07)
That’s the trickiest shit in life.

It’s…

Joe: (01:15:09)
Yeah, it’s to find that balance.

Find a balance but-

Joe: (01:15:11)
Not just be a fucking Savage out there, grinding and attacking all day. But to have that balance and appreciate, especially appreciate family, right?

It’s something that I’ve had to learn, and that I’m still learning. It’s not something that I’ve knocked out the park completely yet because it’s a growing fucking-

Joe: (01:15:30)
It’s a living thing.

… Yeah, you got to just keep being a sponge and being willing to fucking grow.

Joe: (01:15:38)
Tell me about this Audible thing.

Audible is an amazing partner of mine now. My first book, I Can’t Make This Up: Life Lessons was a New York Times number one bestseller and I got bit by the bug. Wow, as an author, I wanted to write a book. I did it, look at the success that it had. The opportunity came up for me to voice that book on Audible and the Audible success was just as good, if not greater, than my hard cover. And people love the fact that the stories were real, but hearing my voice and hearing me be personable while being real was a bonus from other things than they’ve ever had the privilege of listening to. So I said, “I want to do another one, man, but I’m big on this motivation, self-help, inspiration thing. I’m really big on trying to do my part.” So, as I was telling you earlier, I said, “In my life, man, I got so many stories of all of my twists and turns and right moves and wrong moves and decision making that enhance those moves or that devalue them and made them incorrect.”

Ultimately, if I were to give information, it’s just to open up people eyes. It’s to open up your eyes to the reality of you competing with you. I want people to understand that we lose because we are okay with ignoring our faults. It’s not until you can accept your faults, your bullshit that you can grow and do better. We point the finger a lot. By we, myself included. I’m an example of it. Yo, I didn’t do that because nobody told me. I didn’t get up. I didn’t hear the alarm. Why didn’t you call me and get me up? You, I didn’t know we was going to go eat. Didn’t nobody told me we was going to go eat? I would have came to eat, but y’all didn’t tell me. I didn’t know we had a test today. Why didn’t you tell me we had a test today? I didn’t study because nobody reached out and tell me.”

There’s so many things that we place the blame on others for that a truly our responsibility. And it becomes a habit. It’s a force of habit. So it’s not until you break that habit that you can do bigger and better shit. So this Audible original of my call, The Decision, is about making you look at shit differently. Making you realize the tone of today and making you understand how much you’re a part of it. I got a big thing on social media in there where I’m like social media is mine, fuck people and to people now thinking that it’s what the world thinks. Social media has mind fuck people into thinking that the comments below a post are what the world must be feeling and thinking about you. The insecurity levels have raised to an all-time high because my belief is now I posted something, people are saying these things underneath, I don’t want to go outside because this is how they feel.

So I’ve now put this shit in my head that as soon as I walk outside, if you look at me, “You’re talking about my posts, ain’t you?” “What post? Fuck is you talking about?” “You saw my post, didn’t you? And that’s why you looking at me like that.” “What?” We now think that this is the way of the world, and we’re so engulfed into it that the negative is so loud that you don’t even see the positive.

Joe: (01:19:33)
Even if it’s overwhelmingly positive and it’s few negatives, you concentrate on those negatives.

You don’t see it. There was a black billionaire that paid off student loans. It was a story for about a day and a half. Another story popped up of [Reality Star 00:01:19:46], suck somebody’s dick in the bathroom. It went on for three weeks. It was fucking crazy news. It’s breaking fucking news. What? It was all over the place. The reason why is because we spread the negative. As people, we’ve fallen in love with bad information and bad conversation. We’re intrigued by it.

Joe: (01:20:04)
Well, it’s a natural human instinct because those are the things that can kill you. From the days when we were living in small villages, worried about animals attacking us, you had to be always worried about negative. Negative was a thing you had to concentrate on because that could take your life. Positive with something that’s great, that’s good and all, but really got to concentrate on negative. And unfortunately, that human instincts carried over into this time where we don’t really have the same fear of danger that we had before for the most part. But we still concentrate on these negative things. We still concentrate on negative comments, negative stories, these negative things carry more weight because we have a natural inclination to keep an eye out for danger. It’s like our human reward system has been hijacked. It’s been hijacked by social media, this new thing that we’re not prepared for. Reading anonymous written things that are negative and fuck…

Joe: (01:20:59)
There’s a book called The Coddling of the American Mind by Jonathan Haidt. And he wrote about this with children, about how many… Especially girls. So many girls are experiencing super high levels of self-harm, suicide, depression, all because of social media, because they’re writing things and their friends are commenting on them, and people are anonymous saying, “You stupid fat bitch,” and it fucks with their head in a way that other generations before didn’t have to deal with. Before social media, there was nothing that could affect them in this way.

And it’s tough because there’s gifts and there’s curses to it.

Joe: (01:21:36)
Of course.

There’s an amazing benefit behind it. And of course, now we’re seeing the bad within it. So what I encourage any and everybody to do is just understand who you are, truly understand who you are, learn yourself, learn yourself, learn your pros and cons, get your flaws, get them out the way but with you, nobody else. This is a you and you thing. Of the shit that you need to work on, I’m telling you people, when you really look yourself in the mirror and you start to pick yourself apart by yourself, there’s only room for improvement. It’s easy to ignore your bullshit.

Joe: (01:22:24)
Also, other people can’t tell you things you don’t already know.

Fuck. You’re a thousand percent right. You’re a thousand percent right, and that’s what this is. My audio book is not a live like me tutorial. It’s not a do what I did to tutorial. I would never do that because I don’t have all the answers. All I have is stories and information that you can now be privy to, that can allow you to make different fucking turns on this road to life.

Joe: (01:22:59)
What was the motivation to do this? Was there a one thing, was it a buildup?

Me being one of the only black guys in the entertainment space, because there’s a handful of us that get to look behind the curtain. There’s a curtain, there’s another room. And there’s a curtain. And in that room is some shit. You’re like, “God damn. I didn’t know y’all was fucking doing this back here. I didn’t know y’all was getting this type of money back here. Y’all been doing this for how long?” This is how it happens. There’s a room that you get in, and the information and understanding that comes in it, it’s unreal the stuff that you start to discover, but it’s a discovery. It’s a discovery.

You got to stumble upon this treasure of information and discovery. And if you don’t, maybe you’re in a right environment and you hear some stuff, you can ask some questions, but nine times out of 10, it’s not offered. It’s a search and find. And when I was constantly in those situations and I find myself saying, “How, but why? Well, then what did you do? Damn, after that then what? What the fuck did you… How did that even work? I was in a room with Jeff Bezos and Robert Kraft.

This was the [inaudible 01:24:25] patrons. I won a Super Bowl. And we’re in this little private room after, and Tom Brady is like giving a speech, thanking Robert for all. Robert thanks Tom. And I’m with my wife and a friend and Jeff Bezos walks in and my friend go to Jeff Bezos. I said, “Oh shit. I was going to go say what’s up.” I said, “That’s the motherfucker, I would love to pick his brain. That’s an interesting individual.” “Now don’t do that.” “What do you mean don’t do that?”

Joe: (01:24:56)
Who said don’t do that?

My friend. “No, no, no, no. Don’t do that.” “Why? What are you talking about?” “Why are you going to do that, Kev? It’s a room full of people. Don’t look like the dude is thirsty.” “Thirsty for what?” “For fucking information, dick face?” Who got into little fuckers back? For what? For fucking information? I want to fucking say, “Hey,” I want him to see my face. I want to ask him some questions. I am not going to see this man no more. I don’t know him. We’re not on a phone number to phone number basis. I’m going to say what’s up to him. “All right, Kev. I’m just saying, and this is environment is just chill and it’s relaxed.” And that shit start to click to me. That’s the problem. Everybody’s too cool. Everybody’s too fucking cool. Everybody wants you to think that they know. You don’t know. You don’t know shit. We don’t know shit.

Joe: (01:25:46)
There is one Jeff Bezos.

There’s fucking one almost trillionaire.

Joe: (01:25:48)
He’s right there.

Hey Jeff?

Joe: (01:25:51)
Come here, man.

Hey man, first of all, explain the trillion to me. What is that? How many zero… What is that?

Joe: (01:25:58)
First of all, do you know how excited he must be to talk to you too?

Who knows? I’m going to fucking find out. I’m going to find out. You know what I did, Joe?

Joe: (01:26:08)
What?

“Hey man, I’ll be right back. Babe, come on.” Took my wife with me. “Hey Jeff, I’m Kevin Hart. How you doing, man?” “Hey Kevin, how are you?” “Jeff, this is my wife, Eniko.” “Hey?” “Hey man, I admire you. I don’t fucking know anything about that world and death, but I admire you. I admire you for being a guy that fucking created and accomplished some shit. That is a phenomenon. I want to shake your hand. I would love to talk one day.” “Kev,” “Hey man?” “Good meeting you. Quite sure we’ll ball pass one day.” “Hey, if we do it, you’re going to remember this? I just want to tell you I admire you. I don’t need shit. I’m not asking for anything,” but what I did, I set myself up for another conversation for when I got the opportunity. You’re talking here, but I’m going to come over, man. I admire you. I want to fucking ask you a bunch of questions about this Amazon shit and ask you how you came up with it. I don’t think this is the time or place, but I want you to see my face.

Joe: (01:27:05)
Have you ever seen the photo of him sitting at his desk and there’s a banner behind him, a plastic, nylon, hanging banner that says amazon.com?

Jesus Christ.

Joe: (01:27:15)
It’s in the 1990s when people were like, “What the fuck are you doing, selling books on the internet?” And this is a shitty looking IKEA desk. Look at this… Look at him. This is him here. Look at this.

Jesus Christ.

Joe: (01:27:28)
amazon.com.

In marker.

Joe: (01:27:30)
Yeah, it looks like spray paint.

Spray paint. Look at this shit here.

Joe: (01:27:33)
Look at that shitty bullshit desk, that dorky looking dude.

Look at the court.

Joe: (01:27:37)
Yeah. Now he’s off buffing, jacked and shit.

Jesus.

Joe: (01:27:41)
Now he’s a savage that’s basically conquering the business world. Richest man… Well, richest man publicly. I think there’s a bunch of them oil billionaire, trillionaire dudes that-

That’s got some shit too.

Joe: (01:27:54)
… They don’t have the-

They just shut up.

Joe: (01:27:56)
… Yeah.

They don’t want to say anything.

Joe: (01:27:57)
Yeah.

Either way, I was in a room with that man. There wasn’t a level of cool that I had that would keep me from just going and saying hello or asking a question for that matter. And it’s being in those spaces that intrigued the thought. I was like, “Dude, this is what I’m going to do. I’m going to do my part. I’m going to do my part and say it.” I’m going to say, “Hey, when it comes to producing and production, here’s what I’ve done. Here’s the walls that I’ve hit. And here’s where it’s really hurt me. But here’s what I learned. And here’s why I do it this way. My ambition is fueled from possibility. I’m giving you all this shit. I’m giving you all this shit. What am I going to do? I’m going to die and take you with me? I’m going to keep it in the coffin with me? I’m like, “What I’m I going to do?” I’m going to do it. I’m going to fucking give it.

Joe: (01:28:47)
Well, also the possibility that some young kid could listen to this audio thing, listen to you talk about these things. And then one day succeed and run into you the same way you ran into Jeff Bezos, running into you, “Kevin Hart, I got to tell you, I got where I am because I listened. I listened to you talk about your life. I listened to you talk about your fuck-ups and you made me feel like you are human. I thought you were just Kevin Hart.”

Oh my God.

Joe: (01:29:15)
Like when people see you, you’re Kevin Hart, you’re walking the red carpet, you’re in Jumanji, you’re all over the place. Fucking comedy specials for 50,000 people in arenas and shit. People don’t know that you’re a human. You don’t seem like a human because you’re not like a human that they know. But when you talk and you talk about your life and some kid might just get a spark off of that and blow that spark, make that amber flame up and take over. And next thing you know, you’ll run into that person at some other Super Bowl party. And it’s-

I can’t even tell you that’s the-

Joe: (01:29:47)
… That’s the [inaudible 01:29:47].

… I mean, that’s what it’s about. That’s what it’s about.

Joe: (01:29:52)
You’re offering fuel.

That’s as strong as anything else. That’s impact.

Joe: (01:30:00)
It’s going to impact some people. There’s going to be people that don’t have room for it, right?

Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Joe: (01:30:05)
They’re all closed up like cup. There is no room in their cup. They’re full of their own shit. And it’s not going to get in there. But there’s other people they’re going to have a spot for you. They’re going to have a spot and you’re going to make that engine better. You’re going to make the whole engine of their life better. There’s things that I think about all the time when I’m working out or when I’m tired or… I think about inspirational things that people have said, and they get me through this shift, it shifts my mind steals me up. Makes me think about things in a different way. And I can accomplish more because of those thoughts, I can accomplish more because of that energy that some person…

Joe: (01:30:41)
And you did that to me, man. You did that to me the last time we had a conversation. I remember leaving our conversation, going, “That motherfucker is motivational.” And I got a lot of text messages from a lot of friends, a lot of people. That was a great one, but there was a shift like when someone is really getting answered in their life and you’re around them, there’s a shift in your own life.

Joe: (01:31:03)
And it’s a tangible thing. It’s like, if you could see it on a meter, it’s almost like your meter goes up and you feel it, but you don’t quantify it. It’s not something you put on a scale. It’s not something you’d see on a meter, but it’s real. And you got to believe it’s real and know it’s real. And when you’re doing this, when you’re putting out this audio book and even these conversations that you put out, when people know what you’ve accomplished and you put these conversations out, it resonates, man. It’s so valuable.

Did you watch the [Jordan Duck 00:29:33]?

Joe: (01:31:35)
No, I didn’t.

You got to watch the John Duck [crosstalk 01:31:37]

Joe: (01:31:36)
I know, everybody has been telling me that.

No, you have to.

Joe: (01:31:38)
I Know, I have to.

You have to watch [inaudible 01:31:42].

Joe: (01:31:42)
Okay, I’ll watch it.

Because he’s an alien. He’s one of us. He’s one of those aliens that other aliens identify with. And for people listening [inaudible 01:31:58], when I say alien, it was a metaphor people, it doesn’t mean that we’re fucking embracing aliens here. [inaudible 01:32:04] I get so much shit for everything I say, okay? It’s a metaphor, okay?

Joe: (01:32:10)
Right.

But he’s different. He’s fucking different. And what this shows you is how different MJ was. That man was a fucking winner. He was a winner. And that’s it. That’s it. MJ won. There is no other conversation. When you watch this doc and you watch how he approached his days and why he approached it and the things that he did and his reason for doing them and ultimately what he wanted and what his priority and what his goals were, you go, “Fuck, he did it. We know why he did it…”

We know why he did it. It’s not a coincidence that he’s a champion. It’s destiny. There was no other option. It was champion or bust. There was no six-time MVPs, All Star, and Defensive Player of the Year, and most likable player in the league, and most marketable. No. No. If it’s not a champion attached to my name with several fucking trophies attached, there is no other conversation. And you motherfuckers around me, if you do not understand why I am the way I am, then this is not the place for you. Do your job. I’ve never heard Michael Jordan talk the way the documentary showed him talk. Do your fucking job. When I pass you the ball, hit the fucking shot. That person now has to get better, because I’m so nervous that if Mike passed me the ball and I miss this fucking shot, I’m never going to get a shot again.

Joe Rogan: (01:34:13)
Yeah.

Do your fucking job. When Mike is talking to you like that, I thought we was just playing basketball. I thought I was out here having a good time. Oh wait, this is my job. This is my profession. I’m supposed to do this, this, and this. If I don’t do this, I’m failing at my job. You see these players today and you see the way that they are. I promise you, man, rest in peace, Kobe Bryant, every bit of the same. They give my guy LJ flack and shit. I promise you, LeBron James is nothing short of that. I promise you, these people that are winning, fucking win because there is no other option. You have to watch this doc, and Joe, you got to text me after.

Joe Rogan: (01:35:04)
Okay.

Text me after and just go, “holy fucking shit. Holy shit, man. I get it, Kev.” And the fuel that you’re talking about and that meter, I promise you your meter… Fuck it. I got to, after the doc, I got up. I was, “Where my laptop at? I got to… Shit. I’m over here watching the doc. Let me think of what the next thing is.” It instantly, instantly fuel. Fuel. Instant fuel.

Joe Rogan: (01:35:33)
Last time I felt that was the Tyson documentary.

That was strong. That was strong.

Joe Rogan: (01:35:38)
Dude, there’s the time when he’s talking about walking into the ring, that as he steps in the ring, all the nervousness, all of the things that’s going through his head, and that as his confidence builds as he gets towards the ring and he steps through the ropes, “I’m a God.” When he says that, I’m like, “Holy shit. My goosebumps are popping up.” I was like, “Oh my God.”

That’s the Dos Equis man to me.

Joe Rogan: (01:35:56)
Yeah.

That’s the Dos Equis man to me.

Joe Rogan: (01:35:58)
It’s crazy he’s fighting again.

That is the Dos Equis man, to me. The most interesting man in America. That. Mike Tyson is that. There are so many different levels and pieces of death to Mike Tyson in his story. It’s one of the strongest docs I’ve ever seen.

Joe Rogan: (01:36:23)
Well, he’s one of those guys, one of those super winners, that just, when he was young, I mean, everyone knows the story, but if you don’t, he basically had no love in his life until he met Cus D’Amato and Cus D’Amato became a father figure. But also, Cus D’Amato was a hypnotism and a psychologist in a lot of ways, and a fantastic boxing coach as well, and took this young kid and showed him that you’re going to get love from accomplishment and you’re going to conquer and you’re going to become the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time. And through his tutelage, up until the moment that he died, Mike Tyson was just a phenom. A thing that we had never seen before.

He was the pit bull with no leash that respected one person.

Joe Rogan: (01:37:17)
Yes.

And anybody else at any given time feared the fuck out of this pit bull because nobody else knew. “Hey man, who’s… What is… Hey. Somebody got to get this… Hey, who… What… What is this with? Who? Who?” And until this day if I see Mike, there’s a little nervousness for no reason.

Joe Rogan: (01:37:41)
Oh, for sure. He’s terrifying.

It’s not like he’s coming in with this thing, like “I’m killing everybody.” No.

Joe Rogan: (01:37:46)
No, he’s gentle.

He’s the most loving man in the world. You talk to him, he’s soft-spoken. But there’s still a little thing, like, is Mike going to hit me?

Joe Rogan: (01:37:54)
My friend Kevin Lee said it best. Kevin Lee fights for the UFC. He said, when he’s sitting next to him, he goes, “That’s a lion.” He goes, “I’m sitting next to a… Is that Mike Tyson?” He says, “That’s a lion.” He’s sitting next to him, like, “Okay. I hope everything’s cool.”

Oh my God. You know, this fight, man, I just wish him the best. I know he’s back to training and stuff.

Joe Rogan: (01:38:16)
It’s weird, right?

You just want him to be safe and healthy in his time, but that’s a man I don’t ever count out, but God damn. Seeing him put up those little displays of-

Joe Rogan: (01:38:26)
Terrifying.

… fight, it’s what?

Joe Rogan: (01:38:29)
It’s terrifying?

Heat seeking missiles coming from his shoulders.

Joe Rogan: (01:38:31)
Well not only that. He wasn’t doing anything like a year ago. When I had him in here for the podcast, he said he didn’t want to stoke his ego. He didn’t want to work out. He goes, “Because if I work out, my ego fires up.” There he is.

Look at this. Look at this. Look at this shit here.

Joe Rogan: (01:38:48)
But see, no, that’s interesting. But that’s just shadow boxing. What was crazy is, he’s training with a Rafael Cordeiro, who’s one of the best MMA trainers, one of the best striking trainers in the world. He came from a legendary camp out of Brazil, [Portuguese 01:39:04] Brazil called Chute Boxe. It’s the legendary team of marauders from Brazil. They were like the golden glory days of Pride. Pride was a competitor to the UFC, was defined in a lot of ways, the glory days are defined by this one team from Brazil, that Rafael Cordeiro was a part of. And then that guy training Mike Tyson now. And he’s been super successful training mixed martial arts fighters too, but I found it very interesting that Mike chose to train with that guy and to see the way they’re going at it. I mean, he’s not boxing. He’s trying to destroy motherfuckers.

Listen. I respect the trainer. I respect the trainer for standing in the way of that shit.

Joe Rogan: (01:39:49)
Yeah.

One accidental, oops. Oops. Oops.

Joe Rogan: (01:39:53)
Missiles. Just missiles are coming right at his head.

No.

Joe Rogan: (01:39:57)
Boom, boom, boom.

Listen. You got to just bow down and, you know what man? We’re still in the presence of greatness. And as people, I don’t think we should ever forget that.

Joe Rogan: (01:40:09)
Well, what’s crazy is he’s 53 years old. He’s doing this and he’s only been doing this, again, for like less than a year. So it’s only been like four or five months that he’s really been training hard. And everything’s just coming back. I mean, I wonder. I wonder what it is. I wonder if he just was bored. I mean, I really wonder. This is the crazy shit.

Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ.

Joe Rogan: (01:40:35)
If you saw that guy training and he was a 22 year old kid, you’re like, “Man, this motherfucker’s going to be something.” Because he’s just got an intensity that you rarely see from any fighter. There’s a fury that burns inside of him that you can’t manufacture that. You either have that, or you don’t. And he found a way to reignite it.

Reignite it. I swear you beat me to it.

Joe Rogan: (01:40:56)
Yeah.

You beat me to it. But isn’t that what we hope for, or we hope that we get? I think at that age, 50, that’s a very pivotal… How do you say that word, Gus?

Joe Rogan: (01:41:11)
Pivotal.

Pivotal.

Joe Rogan: (01:41:12)
Yeah.

Pivotal, right?

Joe Rogan: (01:41:12)
Yeah.

That’s a very pivotal word. Pivotal word. Pivotal point in your life. Because from when you’re born to 50, that’s, okay. All my years of fun are out the way. My craziness, my growth, my maturity, and now I’m supposed to start to be a little complacent. And I’m now at that hill where I’m looking on the other side of life. Now it’s time to go on that other side. And when you on the other side, even if you’re still on a high about living and about career and everything, you’re on the other side. It’s a different thing when you’re on the other side. I made it here. Now how many more years? It’s a blessing to get more time after this, because I made it to the top and now, on his other side, is it relaxing? Is it not? Am I comfortable? Am I a little depressed that I’m getting old? Am I not? Whatever those emotions and feelings are, they’re real. And a lot of people experience and have them. So to find something else to make you go, “I’m ready again.” Will Smith did it. Will Smith kicked in.

Joe Rogan: (01:42:28)
Yeah.

Will Smith. Something clicked. Something clicked on Will Smith. For years Will Smith wasn’t around and Will’ll talk to you. Will’ll talk to you, Will’ll tell you. But something clicked, and he said, “At this age, at 50, I’m going to go get it again. I’m a go after it again, because I can.” It’s something in there that Will Smith realizes that he has. And at any given moment I can. And that’s what Will Smith showed us. Will Smith wasn’t on social media. Will Smith wasn’t in the Generation X. He wasn’t in our face. He wasn’t up in the fucking vlogs and shit and YouTube on a day-to-day. He didn’t have more movies coming out. It was very far, few, and in between.

And then he said, “I’ll do it when the fuck I want.” And he turned it on. 30-something million followers, 40-something million followers, whatever. Vlogs on YouTube. “I’m on Snapchat. I’m on it all. Twitter, Tik Tok. I’m going to show you how to do it. I got my own team. We showed you guys a new way to do this shit. I’m producing it different than it was. I’m back to doing movies. Here’s my new movies. We using a new technology. Gemini Man. Young me, old me.” He’s fucking doing what he wants because he said he can. Everybody doesn’t have that. Everybody can’t do that. You got a lot of people that try, but they don’t do that. You don’t go from being number one and saying, “I’m not going to do it. And I had some failures or whatever in here and it fall off. Fuck it, I’m ready to be number one again.”

Joe Rogan: (01:44:15)
That’s some of our favorite stories though, are someone that comes back. Like Dave Chappelle’s a perfect example of that.

I can do what the fuck I want.

Joe Rogan: (01:44:24)
Not only that. Dave did it in a legendary way. They offer him all this money to do this Comedy Central show in a different way. They want him to change it and tone it down. They want to make it more suitable for advertisers. Too many voices. And he’s like, “You know what? I’m just going to go to Africa.”

I’m out.

Joe Rogan: (01:44:41)
He just went to Africa.

I’m out.

Joe Rogan: (01:44:42)
Just took off and then came back and said, “I quit.”

I won’t do it.

Joe Rogan: (01:44:45)
And then stopped doing standup. He was doing, I don’t know if you know, he was doing standup in a park in Seattle. He’d show up with a fucking box,-

And just do it.

Joe Rogan: (01:44:53)
… plug a microphone into it-

And just do it.

Joe Rogan: (01:44:55)
… and just start doing standup. And people would gather around like, “What the fuck is happening here?” No, he didn’t want any money. He would just show up at shows. If he wanted to do a show, he would show up at a comedy club. No money. Just show up, do a show after the show was over.

Are you ready to laugh? Here’s a great Dave Chappelle story. I’m in Seattle. I think I was in Seattle. Sold out some arena fucking thing I’m doing in Seattle. And we got two shows. Same night. We do about 30,000 people. It’s fucking great day. I’m in Seattle. I get word that Dave Chappelle is in Seattle and Dave Chappelle randomly put up a theater show and he’s performing. Tonight? Yeah. He’s performing tonight.

Call Dave. “Dave, are you fucking in Seattle?” “Yeah.” “When did you book a show here? I would’ve fucking came. Dude. I’m here. I’m at the theater.” “Oh, I didn’t even know, man.” “What do you mean? Dave. I’m at the fucking arena.” “What?” “All right, I’m going to see if I can get down there to you.” “All right, man. Y’all just put them up. What time do you think you going to get here?” “I don’t know. After my show.” “All right, I’ll push the time back, man.” “Dave? Push the time back? What did you put on [inaudible 01:46:14]?” “I don’t know, man. I just tell them I’ll do it and I show up, man. I just call them, tell them we’re going to push it back, man.”

I get to the fucking theater. I rush after our show. Dave has a trailer and there’s a little motor thing on the back of the trailer. It’s a little bus, fucking motor train like bus. And then was the things that you pull shit in attached to it. I said, “What are you doing here?” He’s like, “I don’t know, man. We’ve been doing cross country taking our bikes. We’re riding across country. When I need money, I just book a show and [crosstalk 01:46:53].” I said, “What? What? What? What the fuck?”

Joe Rogan: (01:46:52)
He’s so different.

He’s so different. And he sold him. But the freedom.

Joe Rogan: (01:47:04)
Yeah.

Dave has a level of freedom. Me and Chris Rock talk about it, man.

Joe Rogan: (01:47:09)
No one’s like him.

His level of freedom. I’ve put myself in his place. I got the corporate relationships and the CEO hat and the companies. So I can’t do certain things because the consequences aren’t just for me, it’s for the people that are underneath this umbrella, if something were to happen. I have to be responsible. I have to understand that it’s not just about me. And I’m envious and jealous of Dave’s ability to go and be free as a comic in the times where we desperately need to be.

Joe Rogan: (01:47:48)
Yes.

We desperately need to be. And Dave can be. And I bow down to him. I called Dave. “I don’t give a fuck about these numbers or anything I got.” Dave, in my opinion, you’re the GOAT. In my opinion, your last special has allowed you to surpass the Richard Pryor, in my opinion. Dave Chappelle, I got to witness, do groundbreaking, controversial movement as a comedian in the times where comedy was being frowned upon. Comedians were being held accountable for doing what we thought we would never be ridiculed for.

Joe Rogan: (01:48:45)
Right.

The one person that stood on a pedestal that got the attention that no others can get outside of a myself, a Rock, a Seinfeld. He said, in the time where the fucking fire is the hottest, I’m going to do what nobody else will. You got to fucking applaud that.

Joe Rogan: (01:49:11)
He stood up for comedy.

He stood up for comedy. Whether you want to see that or not.

Joe Rogan: (01:49:17)
Right.

He did that.

Joe Rogan: (01:49:18)
Yes, he did it when there was the most pressure.

When it was the most fucking pressure, and when the times of, “We could cancel you.” By the way, which is the stupidest shit that I’ve ever fucking witnessed in my 40 years of life. The whole idea of, “I can kill you today with the goddamn click of a button. I could end your life.” By the way, this is a real feeling that people have.

Joe Rogan: (01:49:40)
Yes.

“I’m in control of your life. If I want your life to stop and be over, I’ll cancel you. And that means you can’t live no more.” This is how ridiculous it is. Think about the meaning of cancel culture. So you’re saying that my life is over. I can no longer survive or provide for my self? “Canceled. I don’t know, figure it out. You’re canceled.” Dave Chappelle said, ” Fuck all that. Do what you going to do. I’m going to do me.” That is Epic. That is groundbreaking. That is GOAT-like behavior. So I bow down to Mr. Chappelle.

Joe Rogan: (01:50:14)
He’s very important. He’s one of the most important figures in the history of comics.

Absolutely.

Joe Rogan: (01:50:19)
Because of the fact that he’s willing to do this when the scrutiny is the highest. And also just his story. The way he did it, the way he walked away for 10 years, and then came back and immediately went right to the top.

That is my brother from another mother. I love him.

Joe Rogan: (01:50:40)
I love him. I love that guy.

Chris Rock. Chris Rock. I’m going to give you one more. Me and Chris Rock, we’re at the Comedy Cellar. I call Chris, “Hey Chris. Come down to the Cellar man. I’m going to work on some jokes tonight. I want to see what you think.” “All right, Kevin. I’ll come down.” Chris comes down. He’s like, “Yeah, I’m going to get up too. I got some shit I’m working on too. So tell me what you think.” “Bet.” I go on stage. Chris Rock sits in the back of the Cellar. Get off stage. Chris like, “Funny shit, Kev.” I was like, “Yeah, you like it, right?” Got some stuff, got some notes. He’s like, “I’m about to go up.” “All right. Done. I’m sitting here. I’m watch you.” Chris goes up. Chris got some funny shit. “Fuck, Chris. Funny. I like it.”

Me and Chris have a nice conversation, go upstairs. We about to eat. Dave comes in. “What up Dave? What you doing?” “I was going to go up.” “Ah, fuck, man. Chris went up. We going to come down and watch you.” “All right.” Dave goes on stage. Dave does about an hour. There’s a moment where Dave is probably at about 40, 45 minutes in. Me and Chris both look at each other, and at the same time without saying a word, balled up the material that we just worked on. We fucking, without saying it. Without saying it, I ripped the page that I had in my little book and Chris just balled up his little fucking thing, and we were like, “He’s unbelievable. We came in crafted. We got some shit that we wanted to fucking work on. Dave just went up there and talked.”

Joe Rogan: (01:51:57)
It’s like he’s living like a legend. You know what I mean? Like if you wanted to have a legend of a comedian, you would talk about a guy who created the greatest sketch show of all time. I mean, it only went for two seasons, but when you talk about sketches like Clayton Bigsby, when you talk about the Rick James shit, these are so classic. They’re unstoppable. And then he goes away. He goes away like a fucking mountain man. He vanishes. He’s in a farm in Ohio. You hear, “Where is he?” “He’s on a farm.”

He got a fucking farm.

Joe Rogan: (01:52:31)
“He’s on a farm in Ohio.” “What? Is he doing comedy?” Sometimes randomly. Just shows up.”

At his barn.

Joe Rogan: (01:52:38)
He does this for 10 years. I was in Denver. And this was before his comeback. I was in Denver and I’m doing standup and I get off stage and I open the green room and Dave’s there. I go, “Dave, what are you doing?” And he goes, “Oh, Hey Joe. I just decided to fly into Denver.” I go, “You don’t have a show scheduled? Nothing?” He goes, “Nah, man, I heard you here. I decided to fly in.” I go, “Do you want to go up?” He goes, “Oh, should I?” I go, “Fuck yeah. Hold on a second.” I run back. People are leaving. People getting up. I go, “Come back, come back. Tell everybody to come back.” I go, “Dave Chappelle’s here.” And you’re like, “What?” They all come back, sit down, and he does 40 minutes and destroys.

The best part of that story is, “You want to go up?” “Should I?” “Dave. Dave. You just took a flight to Denver. Yeah. Dave, why not?” “I guess.”

Joe Rogan: (01:53:29)
So then he takes me out. We go out on the town to all these fucking spots that I didn’t even know existed in Denver. He knows where all these after-hours places are. You go behind the alley, you knock on a door, they open it up. Everything’s velvet lined. There’s a small private bar. He’s plugged in.

He’s one-of-one. He’s one-of-one.

Joe Rogan: (01:53:49)
One-of-one. One-of-one.

One-of-one.

Joe Rogan: (01:53:51)
One-of-one.

This is what the fuck it should be. Like, you see? This is us embracing. This is us embracing. We’re embracing someone.

Joe Rogan: (01:53:59)
Yes.

Embracing. There’s nothing wrong with that, world.

Joe Rogan: (01:54:03)
It’s important.

There’s nothing wrong. There’s nothing wrong with embracing someone that’s doing fucking what you can deem as great shit.

Joe Rogan: (01:54:12)
You’re supposed to.


Joe Rogan: (01:54:14)
You have to. You have to. It’s a part of the thing. You have to-


Joe Rogan: (01:54:17)
… sing praise, shower praise, on people that are doing it the right way. And no one’s ever done it better than Dave.

No.

Joe Rogan: (01:54:23)
He’s doing it the right way.

No.

Joe Rogan: (01:54:25)
And even, like I said, even the legendary story. He’s like a character in a book. You know what I’m saying?

I love you said, “A mountain man.”

Joe Rogan: (01:54:32)
He’s like a mountain man.

Yeah.

Joe Rogan: (01:54:33)
He goes off to a farm outside of Dayton, Ohio. Who the fuck does that?

My boy tells me, “Kev, you got to come down to the farm.” “Dave, I don’t. What? I don’t.”

Joe Rogan: (01:54:43)
No one has the kind of time.

“Dave, I don’t want to… What do you want me to do down there, Dave? What do you want me to do?” “You got to come down, man. It’s a good time. We’re going to have good time, man. It’s the barn, fires, music.” “Dave, it’s a farm.” “You got to promise me.” “All right, I’m coming Dave.” I literally, I can only hope to be remotely close to as creative as he is at that point in my career and find this jello. He’s in an amazing jello right now.

Joe Rogan: (01:55:15)
He knows who he is.

Mm-hmm (affirmative). And he’s not compromising that.

Joe Rogan: (01:55:18)
And no one can tell him any different. He is who he is. I mean, he’s unapologetically himself and he gets it. Part of his brilliance is not just being a brilliant observer, and a brilliant orator, and a describer of life, but also in being who he is perfectly. He doesn’t have any conflict in being who he is. He knows who he is.

He knows that’s who he is.

Joe Rogan: (01:55:45)
He knows how to do it. He knows how to do it right.

And he’s okay with not having.

Joe Rogan: (01:55:49)
And when he walks on stage, man, he strolls on that stage like he belongs there.

He’s okay with not having.

Joe Rogan: (01:55:56)
He doesn’t give a fuck.

You know, Eddie Murphy?

Joe Rogan: (01:55:58)
I’ve met Eddie Murphy. I don’t know him very well, but I knew his brother Charlie very well.

Listen. Eddie, we had a dinner one night and it was Eddie Murphy, Dave Chappelle, me, Chris Rock, Chris Tucker.

Joe Rogan: (01:56:15)
Holy shit.

And Dwayne Wade, Gabrielle Union, and Usher had came.

Joe Rogan: (01:56:21)
Wow.

Right? So where we’re at this dinner and me and Chris was like, “Yo, let’s just put a dinner together where we all just come out.” Because me and Chris love to fucking just hear Eddie go. Eddie is pound for pound the funniest person you can ever be around. Effortlessly. Not trying. Just in story. This dinner goes down to history as the funniest night of my life in conversation. And you got to see comics be in awe of one another. You got to see us appreciate each other. Everybody talked and this wasn’t a one-up story.

Joe Rogan: (01:57:08)
Yes.

This was a conversation. But you saw why the GOATs were the GOATs.

Joe Rogan: (01:57:12)
Yes.

You saw why the GOATs were the GOATs. You clearly saw that I was young in class and I’m the guy that’s coming up in the rear and I’m like, I’m happy to be there, and I’m like-

Joe Rogan: (01:57:29)
Fucking must be ecstatic to be there.

Man, I’m fucking smiling ear-to-ear, man.

Joe Rogan: (01:57:32)
Oh, you got a picture. There’s a picture of it.

Yeah. That’s it right there.

Joe Rogan: (01:57:35)
Holy shit.

I’m smiling ear-to-ear.

Joe Rogan: (01:57:37)
Wow. Damn Jamie. Skills.

I’m smiling ear-to-fucking-ear. And I remember there was a moment where we were talking and Eddie would say something and then Chris said, like “Come on, man. You know, damn well, Eddie, ain’t nobody doing that.” And then you would fucking hear Dave, “Shut up, dammit, Chris, with your Rock.” And then I’m just there quiet. I’m just fucking quiet.

Joe Rogan: (01:57:59)
Wow.

And then I would have moments where I would tune in, but literally you saw why the GOATs were the GOATs.

Joe Rogan: (01:58:06)
Wow.

I’m telling you, one of the most epic dinners. I have this picture framed at my house.

Joe Rogan: (01:58:12)
That’s amazing. That’s amazing.

Framed in my fucking house.

Joe Rogan: (01:58:15)
God, I hope Eddie comes back. I know he’s been talking about it.

He’s been talking about it.

Joe Rogan: (01:58:19)
Did you see that one thing they did? There was some sort of an award show where he came up and talked on the podium and he was doing material and he was talking about them taking away Bill Cosby’s degrees?

No.

Joe Rogan: (01:58:30)
You never seen it?

No.

Joe Rogan: (01:58:32)
Jamie find it. Find it.

Jamie: (01:58:33)
Yeah, yeah. It’s the… I got it.

Recent? It’s recent?

Joe Rogan: (01:58:36)
It’s within the last couple of years. Bro, his timing is on point.

No, he has it.

Joe Rogan: (01:58:41)
He would just get up there right now and murder. Murder.

Well, you saw it also in his SNL sketch. He did the one SNL sketch where he did the, it was the holiday family. And it was like the black family and his daughter brought the white guy home, and it was the black family’s reaction to it because he was staying there over the weekend. So Eddie was the dad. But you saw his timing.

Joe Rogan: (01:59:03)
His timing was amazing.

It’s still there, man. He’s still fucking Eddie Murphy.

Joe Rogan: (01:59:07)
Hey, we’ll play this and we’ll wrap this up. We’ll just end it on this. Your shit is available on Audible-

Yes sir.

Joe Rogan: (01:59:12)
… now?

Yes sir.

Joe Rogan: (01:59:13)
Right now?

Right now. Go get it.

Joe Rogan: (01:59:15)
Kevin Hart, you’re a brilliant person. I really appreciate you. I really appreciate you being here.

I fuck with you, Joe. I’m serious, man. I want to say this. I couldn’t be happier for you and for all of your listeners, all of your supporters. I want to thank y’all for staying with this man and riding with this man through the years, because, to build something and have that something mean something, that’s valuable. Dude, you serve a very strong purpose in today’s time. I’m a fan and I’m happy to call myself a friend. I fuck with you, Joe.

Joe Rogan: (01:59:50)
Thanks bro. I appreciate you.

I mean that, man.

Joe Rogan: (01:59:51)
I appreciate you.

All right man.

Joe Rogan: (01:59:53)
Eddie Murphy, ladies and gentlemen. Listen to this.

Eddie Murphy: (01:59:56)
Bill? Bill has one of these. Did y’all make Bill give his back? No, because I know there was a big outcry from people. They was trying to get Bill to give his trophies back. You know you (silence) when they want you to give your trophies back. You want him to give his trophy back too? He should do one show where he just come out and just talk crazy now. I would like to talk to some of the people who feel that I should give back my trophies.

Joe Rogan: (02:00:46)
Oh, so that’s only a piece of it, huh?

Oh my God.

Joe Rogan: (02:00:48)
The whole thing’s on there but it’s [crosstalk 02:00:50] Mark Twain speech.

Oh my God.

Joe Rogan: (02:00:51)
Okay.

Wow.

Joe Rogan: (02:00:52)
Okay. Well, if we play more they’ll probably pull it down anyway. That’s good enough.

Oh my God.

Joe Rogan: (02:00:55)
It was brilliant.

Strong. Thank you so much, man.

Joe Rogan: (02:00:57)
Thank you brother.

Always.

Joe Rogan: (02:00:58)
Bye everybody.

Joe Rogan Kevin Hart Podcast Transcript May 25, 2020

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