Kevin Hart: They're Lying To You About How To Become A Millionaire! I Was Doing 28 Sets A Weekend!

Steven Bartlett (0:00)

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Kevin Hart (1:07)

You can't be afraid to verbalize your ignorance. That's holding you back.

Steven Bartlett (1:12)

Give me an example.

Kevin Hart (1:13)

I can give you several, like investing. Like you're telling me that if I put this money in here right now, I get 30X, 20X, what the f***? It's a f***ing scam. I know a scam when I see one. You'll find you another idiot, because it ain't happening over here, buddy. But when you go, you say, I don't know what that means. How does investing really work? I don't know where to get it. Now you're a part of the right conversations. You're a part of the right opportunities. But you get there by being the dummy in them. And now look at what I'm able to do.

I love it! I love it!

Steven Bartlett (1:47)

Kevin, it took 13 years from where you did your first standout to you having your moment. But why didn't you quit?

Kevin Hart (1:52)

Because of the lessons that my mom gave me from being very scarred for my brother. So let's go back. I grew up in North Philadelphia. My brother sold the drugs. My dad was always in jail, out of jail. My mom wasn't going to let that happen with me. So we had an agreement. I had a certain amount of time to make comedy work. And in my mind, it wasn't going to be hard because there was no other option. I will figure it out. So I was driving from Philadelphia to New York every day. I wasn't coming home until 4 a.m. I was doing 25 to 28 sets a weekend.

I worked that for a very, very long time. And the struggle left you with days of, What am I doing? Can I pay my rent? F**k this, man. But my mom's biggest lesson was you're not quitting. And not many people are going to do the 13 years of hard s**t. Most people opt out at year two and want to go find a quick return. Or you keep quitting to start something else that you think is the idea. It's just a cycle. You're never completing anything. You got to make a choice of the day you're going to do a finish. I made the choice to stand up comedy was what I was going to finish. Because if I focused and did it well, that would open up the doors for me to do everything else that I want to do.

Steven Bartlett (2:55)

But they say that you can't have everything in life. So what is the cost? Have you struggled with your mental health? What advice have you got for young men in terms of what it takes to be a good man?

Kevin Hart (3:04)

That's a weird thing that's happening where the definition of a good man is so foggy. It seems that in this time today, more men are being forward, wanting to express and talk, but the fear of being judged after.

Steven Bartlett (3:19)

Do you have that fear?

Just give me 30 seconds of your time. Two things I wanted to say. The first thing is a huge thank you for listening and tuning in to the show week after week. It means the world to all of us, and this really is a dream that we absolutely never had and couldn't have imagined getting to this place. But secondly, it's a dream where we feel like we're only just getting started. And if you enjoy what we do here, please join the 24% of people that listen to this podcast regularly and follow us on this app. Here's a promise I'm gonna make to you. I'm gonna do everything in my power to make this show as good as I can now and into the future. We're gonna deliver the guests that you want me to speak to, and we're gonna continue to keep doing all of the things you love about this show. In so many ways, you're clearly an anomaly. For you to be the way that you are, there must be some kind of early context that people need to be aware of. A certain wiring or a cauldron that has sort of shaped you into who you are. What is that context that I need to understand?