#127 - Nicky Cass - The One Fear That Runs Your Entire Life

Nick Cassano (Nicky Cass) is a comedian and entrepreneur whose sketches reach millions across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

Being funny is what built his name, embracing fear is what built his life. Nick Cassano, known to millions as Nicky Cass, argues that everyone carries one core fear that quietly decides what they do and don’t do, and that facing it is what sets everything else free. This conversation explores how to identify that fear, what elite athletes taught him about falling in love with the process, the loneliness that comes with entrepreneurship, and what it actually feels like when fame arrives faster than you can process it.

Timestamps:

00:00 Embracing Fear

4:35 Identifying Your Big Fears

6:30 The Power of Play

9:50 Losing What You're Passionate About

13:32 How Creating Content Makes You an Observer

16:54 Work as an Act of Well Being

19:59 Faith

22:58 I'm Not Your Friend, I'm Your Father

28:24 Entrepreneurs Need to be Delusional

33:28 The Challenge of Success

41:29 The Lonely Feeling of Entrepreneurship

45:32 What Nick has Learned from Athletes

54:47 The Genesis of Entrepenicky

1:02:16 Recognizing the Signs

1:04:37 Closing Thoughts

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Transcript

Nick Cassano, known to millions as Nicky Cass, has built one of the biggest comedy brands on the internet, but this conversation is about far more than making people laugh. We explore fear, faith, the hidden loneliness of entrepreneurship, and why success doesn't always bring peace.

Tim (00:06.658)

Being funny is how you've built your name, but how is embracing fear how you've built your life?

Nick C (00:13.718)

Whoa. You're getting right into it, huh? I love it. No, I love it. 

Tim (00:16.91)

That's what we do here.

Nick C (01:03.362)

yeah, I think that fear is one of the most powerful feelings a human being could feel. And I think fear is very misunderstood by a lot of people. it controls all of our decision making and it controls how we view the entire world and and through all of the work that I've done.

I've sort of come to the conclusion that everybody has one giant fear at the core of who they are that dictates what they do or what they don't do. And I think for me, I have leveraged fear to work for me instead of against me. And I always say that fear is kind of like a high school bully. And if

You'll you'll be afraid to walk the hallways and and you won't want to go into the locker room or into the cafeteria because you know that the bully is gonna be there. But the day you get up and turn around and look at the bully in the face and maybe punch him in the jaw a couple of times, then it loses all power. And that's a dramatic example. But I think that fear is deathly afraid of the day where you turn around and say, I I I feel you, I see you, but I'm not gonna let you run my life. Because now

It's lost all power. so f I I think I've done a lot of things of fr afraid, very, very afraid. but I just embrace it and lean into it and recognize that it's a feeling. And I just feel like fear will never kill you. So if it's never gonna kill me, but it'll make my heart rate go faster, it'll make my mouth dry, I'll get butterflies in my stomach, you know, that that's that's leverage on perspective, because then you could say like

I'm afraid or I'm excited. Like I always talk to his name's Brian Miles. He's a good friend of mine. he's a mental performance coach. He's worked with some very high performers in sports and in the military. And the byproduct of fear is all these things that happen in our bodies. But the feelings that we feel in our bodies, we can give them

Nick C (03:25.952)

the the power through the definitions of the words that we use. So I don't like to say I'm afraid. I like to say I'm excited. and so I think going into performing and and situations where I'm in boardrooms with executives as a 22-year-old kid that doesn't know anything about anything. I've just accepted fear as a byproduct of like doing something out of the ordinary. And it could really be a

Tim (03:32.238)

Mm.

Nick C (03:53.392)

an acquaintance rather than an enemy, if you let it.

Tim (03:56.994)

Yeah, our body simply feels physical sensations and then it's the story that we put onto those sensations. And we can either see that as fear or like you were saying, we can see it as excitement and, you know, ready for what's in front of us. What was that? You talked about this one everyone has this one giant fear. What was it like identifying that one giant fear in your life?

Nick C (04:03.104)

Amen.

Nick C (04:20.658)

I think it's scary I again, I think it's scary. I think for me, I was a very normal guy. still am in many capacities, but I had a very abnormal and I have a very abnormal life. And I think with that come up, so to speak, there's a lot of things that you get to experience along the way. And one of those things is the the perception of

How people's perception of view. And I think for me, I always was afraid that I wasn't going to be liked because now I have this success, right? And now I'm doing all these crazy things and I must behave a certain way. So people still like me and think that I'm normal and haven't switched up. And so I would do things and I would say things and I wouldn't do things and I wouldn't say things because I was afraid that, you know, I'm being now watched under a microscope. And if I

if I do anything minuscule, it could be tarnished by the people that that care about me most. But all of the majority of our core fears, I'd say ninety five percent of our core fears are so beyond irrational. And for the things that aren't irrational, there's more than likely a solution. So recognizing I mean, we're talking about three, four years of like diving through this sort of stuff, but the ultimate

conclusion for me was I wanted to be I wanted to maintain my likability because more than ever, because now I'm exposing myself to the I mean, a billion people look in my face every year. So when that sorts sorts to like come into your personal life, it kind of begs the question, like, I hope, I hope people don't look at me different. And that's kind of what

drove all of my decision making for a lot of

Tim (06:25.346)

The only thing special about me is I don't care if I win or lose. I just want to play. I'm a big believer that the language that we use manifests into the actions that we take. And if we're focused on that fear-based language, that's gonna lead to fearful actions. But how is using this word play within your life allowed you to take your hacks at life, so to speak?

Nick C (06:36.748)

Amen.

Nick C (06:50.154)

man. I think and and and that's still true to this day. Like I I think the with all that stuff being said about likability and being being caring more than I used to care about how people perceive me. and I'm still working on it as as the days go on. I mean it the whole environment of what's happened over the last six years is absolutely crazy. and it happened so fast and there's no real roadmap. but one of the most valuable

Points of leverage that I have with myself and in business and in everything external is at the end of the day, I genuinely don't care what the result is. I'm fully detached from any sort of result. Like results, statistics, they they are not me. They and I've never been someone to care about that sort of stuff. And my base level, I'm lucky, like my base level of happiness is very easily attainable. So like

I have my my family, my girlfriend, my people, my working out, my eating and food. I love to eat, I love food. I mean that doesn't really take much to make me happy. So with that, I never I've never and I have my faith and my faith keeps me very grounded. And so w when you have all of these like anchors, it's very

It's very it was very easy and it is very easy for me just to enjoy playing the game, right? So for me, success in business is fun, but it's also not like if we have a bad day, I don't get in my car and think about it for twenty four hours. I'd look in the mirror and I'm say, Hey, like we're not doing heart surgery, our health is good, we got all the the necessities in life. Like, dude, like let it go, play again tomorrow. and that's been

major because if you could go into a room with people in negotiations or in just partnership talks or any sort of situation where there's there's two people trying to achieve something and you at the end of the day you could say if it works out, great. If not, great too. Unlimited leverage and power comes from from that. but it's hard. Like it's it's hard not to give a fuck. And it's just the truth.

Tim (09:15.086)

To contrast that, playing base playing baseball when you were younger, something that felt so intrinsic to who you were at your core, to the point of senior year of high school and you're not going to your homeschool homecoming dance, and you're calling your coach to be like, hey, can you have the town turn on the light so I can take some BP? What was it like then losing that love of play for something? Because I feel like people who have that mindset for, playing is so euphoric.

Nick C (09:28.299)

Yeah.

Tim (09:45.004)

When you lose it, it can feel so much crappier on the other side.

Nick C (09:49.598)

Yeah. Yeah. Well, my whole life I was a baseball player. That was my identity. That's who I was. And when you come away from that, you're sort of left with like, well, who am I like, who am I? What what what do I I mean, this consumed majority, it drove all my decision making. It was everything to me. I loved ball. And through years of like reflection and unpacking all that.

I've learned that the game it it's not the game itself, right? Like it's what it gave me. And what it gave me was something that I could work at every single day and then see the results in real time. Right. And when I say results, I don't mean like batting average or like home run, like nothing like that. More of like, I I I'm I'm I'm improving.

Like my I I could feel myself improving. exactly right, exactly. And I think the but you only got to see that in in a game, right? Like that was your play. Now Sunday to Sunday is my play. Like I get to work on life. Like I get to work on me. I get to work on the business. I get to work on my health. I get to work on my mental, my faith, everything. I get to work on it all the time. So the

Tim (10:51.692)

Intangible factors.

Nick C (11:18.972)

That's really what I'm obsessed with is like the the work itself and the improvement and being able to chip away at the stone every day, but then also feel the improvement and feel the the gratification and fulfillment of like disciplined work and because in baseball you could take a thousand swings a day and you could fail seven out of ten times. And that that's just kind of

I loved that aspect. I knew I would never be perfect at it, but I knew I could hammer the stone every day and just get a little bit better. So now I get to do that all the time. It's up to me. I'm huge, hugely fascinated with self improvement. And so I think back then, being a little bit more immature, you think like, like, my life's over, like I can't play the game anymore. And then you think like, Well, I really love baseball because of what it gave me, not because

Of going out there and and like I was a kid, like game time was cool, but like 10 o'clock at night, like I was saying, like taking batting practice when I knew nobody else was, like, that's the the stuff. Cause then it builds it builds confidence. It makes you, it teaches you a lot of things about just life. You could do hard things, you could do things when you don't want to do them, and that transcends into into everything. So very thankful for the game, but and and I'm thankful that after

the years of not playing, I realized what I truly loved about it.

Tim (12:50.176)

It's interesting. It's almost like

Losing that love of playing baseball allowed for the it internal and external space for another type of play to enter into your life. And like baseball gave you that data point of like, this is what love of playing something looks like. So then when you got into creating content and your comedy, it's like you could almost reflect back on your baseball days and be like, I'm getting a similar type of feeling from this. How has your comedy and your work?

Nick C (13:16.546)

Hundred percent.

Tim (13:21.614)

Creating all your videos, how is it really grounded in being an observer of like the everyday and intimate parts of your life?

Nick C (13:29.886)

I mean it's ninety-eight percent of it. I think the the w one of the gifts that I was given by God is the ability to observe. And I can be anywhere and put myself in a mindset and just kind of naturally see things happen and unfold. it's one of my most favorite things to do is like people watch and and just like be in new environments and see how people interact and see

who's doing what and why they're doing that and I love to to study that game. but it's been monumental with all of the best like pieces of comedic content that we ever put out. It's like going to the pizza place with my buddies, but also seeing how the guy over the counter talks to the the customers and how it's cash only and the ATMs around the corner and watching these

old infomercials growing up with my buddies and like us talking about how funny they were and then thinking like how can we recreate that. It's it's been monumental in in all of it. But also too on the flip side, just in life in general, like being observant of the the people I think are interesting and and the people that I think have seen success, has been really great to and a privilege to observe them as well. Like I love reading

autobiographies and watching documentaries and just sort of like seeing how people operate and then seeing what I could take with me in my own personal life and and what improvements I can make. But that's a little bit of a a dangerous game because you can become obsessed with that and before you know it, you're forty seven different people that are trying to all accomplish the same thing, if that if you kinda get what I'm saying.

Tim (15:13.314)

Hundred percent. Is that something that you've seen from experience that you've struggled with?

Nick C (15:17.152)

Yeah, for sure. Yeah, for sure. I I wouldn't call it like a struggle. I think it's it's interesting. Like I'll dive myself deep into people that I look up to and like before long I'll start like analyzing like the foods they eat and like their routines and what they do and then I'll try and replicate it and think that it's gonna work for me. And a lot of the times shit doesn't work for you. And if it doesn't work for you, that's okay. I think

But it's fun to dive deep into that. But the more and more I dive deep into observing people that I think haven't figured out or I want to kind of learn from, the more I've built a filter system of like, this is interesting, but I don't need to apply it to my life. Like you could you could observe someone and and see the things that work for them, but

At the end of the day, like I'm making the decision of what I want to do. Like I don't need to do this to be successful. It's just a good day to

Tim (16:16.078)

Understanding the actual factors of what makes a good observer, you've shared stuff like, you know, you don't listen to music with lyrics until like the afternoon, or when you drive to the gym in the morning, just complete silence. So you're allowing your mind space to come up with ideas or observe things. And you've shared a little bit on it here, but I want to dive deeper into it. I mean, how do you see your work not so much just as

Nick C (16:25.078)

Yeah.

Tim (16:44.406)

an act of entertainment, but really about personal well being.

Nick C (16:48.278)

great question. I think that the comedy is one area that worked for me because I know I'm good at it. I think that the deeper level is entrepreneurship for me is the greatest teacher of life. And you learn how to talk to people, deal with different personalities, see how things operate.

Understand what drives people, understand what people want, what they don't want, how to be a good leader, what that means to you, and understanding what you're good at and what you're not good at, and understand systems. I mean, there's just so many things that entrepreneurship gives you as a human being, for me personally. and one of those things is recognizing what my biggest

point of value is. And right now, my the the most valuable I could be to any setting is through creativity, leadership, culture, and motivating others. And so if that's my biggest skill set to the team, I need to create an environment that allows me to tap into that as much as possible. And how I do that is by creating an a an environment where

I can be creative. So like yes, you were saying on the way to the gym, I don't listen to music. I don't like to have any noise going on in the morning. I like quiet mornings. walking the dog, no phone, no nothing, just nature. I'll meditate a little bit sometimes, pray. when I'm trying to lock in on work, like any noise, like we live in a world now where everything is noisy. You open up your phone and there's just this insane amount of cognitive load that's just

right dumped on you without you even having the chance to to barricade yourself from it. And because of that we ha I I have to build a moat of protecting my creative space, my energy, my peace, all of that stuff. Because if that's out of whack, then the flip side is I can't be the best asset to the team. so I love I love getting quiet. I love to

Tim (18:44.598)

Mm.

Nick C (19:14.092)

get get as much because words, videos, images, like all that stuff messes with your subconscious over time. and I feel like we're just so used to it nowadays that it almost feels weird to be bored. And when I was growing up, I was bored all the time. But when I was bored I figured out like the best things to do. So it's very important for me to to cultivate an environment that allows for my biggest skills to

To be maximized.

Tim (19:45.954)

To mirror that material environment with a more intangible environment, your faith, you've shared I had no idea where I was going, but I knew exactly where I was going. What does that mean to you?

Nick C (19:57.558)

Yeah. Oof. That's that's faith in a nutshell. I think for me, I one of my one of the other gifts that I think I've been I've been blessed with is the ability to have real faith. And I think faith is a gift. and I I've learned through reading the Bible and learning about Jesus and and

I'm by no means a a preacher, and I don't I don't intend to be one, but when it's brought up, like I I enjoy talking about it. I think that God created the universe. And if you look at everything, nature, everything in in sort of life, everything sort of points forward and and the seasons they come, the sun rises every day and the moon comes up at night, like all of nature is is a a a sign, like hey.

It's gonna be all good. And I don't think that and this is this is where it gets crazy and weird. Like when problems arise in my life and situations happen, my first thought is thank you. And that's the and I'm not that's not some bullshit. I've laid up in bed at night after some pretty horrendous things have happened in my life and

for one reason another, just out loud said, like, thank you God for the the obstacles in my life. Thank you for this, thank you for that. I don't know, I don't know why it happened, but I trust that it's for something good. And that's hard for for people to accept and just to talk about because, you know, death happens and and shit comes up where you never thought could happen and it happens.

And then to turn around and say thank you or this is gonna be there's gonna be good that comes of this is a very weird and uncomfortable thing. but I'm lucky that I do feel that. And I think in this whole journey that I'm on in my career and just in life in general, like I've always in the back of my mind just trusted that I'm going the right direction because I feel like I'm tapped in with with

Nick C (22:20.468)

with Jesus, my faith. Like I I read the Bible, I pray, I talk to God, and I just kinda I let go of the timeline and I just let things unfold.

Tim (22:32.298)

A deeper knowing and a deeper groundedness, I feel like, that you can't always bring language to. And I think that's what faith is. It's kind of just a deeper trust to couple faith with something else, your dad. He would tell you growing up, and it's something that my dad actually told me once too I'm not your friend, I'm your father. How do you think that's shaped you as a man?

Nick C (22:38.836)

Exactly right. Yep.

Nick C (22:54.369)

Yeah.

Nick C (23:01.794)

try and gather myself before answer this question. Yeah.

You know, like growing up, you don't know shit. Right? Like you you just you grow up and your dad tells you what to do and you just kinda like you s okay, sure, dad. And then you get older and you start thinking about like how you were raised and you start saying like, whoa, like I I mean, Superman. This guy this guy's Superman. And my mother too.

my I think my mother is the the glue of of this whole picture here, but my father is the greatest gift that God's ever given me. And he's taught me so many things without saying a word. growing up, no matter what was going on in his life, the second he walked through the door, it was hugs, kisses.

And dad loves you. And then at the same time, it was you have to do X, Y, and Z this weekend and if you want to go get the new Madden you have to clean all of our cars and do X, Y, and Z and he put

Nick C (24:28.652)

He he created through action respect, but he also gave you respect as well. And it created like this perfect balance of I never questioned if my dad loved me. I never questioned if he had a plan. I always trusted him and I still do to this day. We we're business partners.

And it's just been monumental for the maturity that I've experienced and the things the way I think about things have stemmed from just him knowing in my mind exactly what to say, exactly what to do. And to others looking from the outside in, maybe call job protective services sometimes. but no, nothing obviously nothing ever

Tim (25:22.222)

Ha ha.

Nick C (25:27.456)

really extreme to that to to that extent. But yeah, like was was definitely not my my friend growing up and but always made me understand like I never in my in my childhood, teenage years said to myself like he's just doing this 'cause he's being the fucking meanie. Like, no. Like I I every single time I was like, I get it. Like I he's right. Like at the end of the day, he's right. and he continues to be right. But that that guy's my best friend. And

Tim (25:27.702)

Tough tough love.

Nick C (25:56.674)

I'm just lucky. Like if he wasn't my dad, I would just be just as lucky to just know him as a person, let alone to be able to call him my dad. And and I think that yeah, he's just been everything. Literally the reason I'm standing here.

Tim (26:17.986)

How was he the one that really helped to see yourself as a businessman?

Nick C (26:22.912)

He's one himself. my dad has this insane gift of being able to see things ten thousand yards out before they happen. And he talks ten thousand yards out sometimes when people are talking fifty yards out. And so it's hard to see at some time at some points. But then when you get to ten t ten thousand yards.

You think like, holy shit, he said this a year ago and and and here I am. and so it was kind of just a a situation where it just he kept kind of bringing up the opportunity and and kind of said like it's you you could do this and you can do that and why don't we try this? And he was just kind of like planting like little

seeds to where I would like pick it up and okay and then I pick the next one up and before long like it turned into something real. but, you know, my dad said to me when I was very young, God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason. So just shut up and listen. And I've done exactly that the past five years. And I think because I've been able to become a student of business and life in general and and dropping the ego and just listening and and observing,

I've been able to take those practices that he's always had and always has tried to teach me and implement it to the point now where yes, we are business partners and we talk every day and we work on big things and it's the most fun you could possibly have as a son. but at the same time I'm very confident and if tomorrow he said, Hey, like, I just want to fish and I don't wanna do this anymore, like I'd feel confident to be able to move forward.

Tim (28:12.214)

It's interesting though. It's almost like because you weren't focused on business when you started, it almost allowed for like the business to naturally unfold the way it has for you. Do you do you feel like that?

Nick C (28:25.684)

Absolutely. I think that entrepreneurship, I think entrepreneurs need to be delusional. Like I think my delusion as to what what I was doing in a sense to where like I was like, this is great. I'm just gonna make people laugh and I'm gonna do like all this sort of stuff. Like I only cared about making people laugh and making funny videos and that was my delusion there. And then once I got a taste, I always tell

my friends excuse me. I always say business is kinda like

w you you walk by it one time and you're kinda like you know it smells good and then you you see a little bit of success and you're just like and you want to smell that shit all the time. So like I didn't I didn't smell nothing. I was just making people laugh. And then I saw okay, this I could see how this could work. And then from there it was just the other side of the delusion where it was like I'm gonna make this

the best thing since sliced bread. and like delusion is so great because it's literally like Disney World of Opportunity. You think everything can happen and nothing's gonna go wrong. And if you truly believe that when things go wrong, it doesn't matter because you're like, No, no, no, they're just gonna go right. And I've not yet lost my delusion and I hope I never do.

Tim (29:59.148)

It goes back to love of the game. If you see everything as a game, it's like, all right, this is part of the level, it's part of the level. W was there a specific business moment or accomplishment early on where it really locked in for you where okay, you shifted from identity of okay, I'm not just a creator, but I truly am a business now.

Nick C (30:01.302)

Hundred percent. Hundred percent. Hundred percent. Absolutely.

Nick C (30:20.126)

yeah. Yeah, I think I think when I started like having like my f my work my work friends like my circle in in the the work field were not creators. They were founders and CEOs and high level entrepreneurs where I was like and and in those environments I felt the most comfortable.

Like the the events where there'd be more creators or other sort of content creators there and and those kinds of like T V personalities, I felt like a fish out of water. And when I was at a dinner with the founder of this company and CMO of of X company and we would talk about things, I'd be like be able to put my shoulders down and be like, this is I mean, these are my people. I'm not so much

Of the like I don't want to be an actor. I don't want to be a stand up comedian. entertainment. I can entertain people all day long. Like I I don't I'm not really focused on doing that for me. Like I have no I don't want to be the thing that everyone looks to. Like I want to build something that everyone can find value in and benefit from. I want to be part of that. because I I genuinely don't think that

People should be like worship. Like I don't think like celebrity and fame is really great because you could do a lot of cool things for cool people and and with your like friends and family. But like when you're the the center of attention all the time and whatever you say goes and anything for you, how much you want all the time, when it like I don't I think you you get comfortable quick and you can get really sucked into that life. But that's a little bit of a tangent. I guess when I started to

look in my circle and realize that there were no actors and other creators in my sort of like work friend group. It was all just businessmen and women. is what I really 'cause it's like a sport. Like business is a sport. and I've just always had that mindset.

Tim (32:39.404)

You've shared that when you did start gaining a lot of success, it was a challenge for you early on to really hold that. Do you think that was because you were more so focused within those public sort of entertainment arenas and you really hadn't stepped into the business arena yet?

Nick C (32:56.202)

Yeah, I think yeah, like there's no there's no blueprint. So like overnight I'm waking up with fifty, seventy, eighty thousand new followers a day. And so people are recognizing me on the street. And pe and I before I was creating content, I was working at a gym and my plan was to start my own gym. I had my own personal training business where I was like training clients out of my parents' garage and then up at school I was training clients. So I thought

after college, I'm gonna open up a gym or I'm gonna be a PE teacher and kinda like do the gym on the side. and I was extremely passionate about fitness and and health and wellness. And then next thing you know, like I'm shaking people's hands and they're saying like I'm never washing this hand again. And I'm like, dude, like literally three weeks ago I would have swiped you into the gym that I was working at and you have no idea who I am. So it was like a very shift of the identity of like because again, like I didn't

I didn't know how to act. Like I didn't know what was right and what was wrong. And I was a very, I'm a very impressionable person. And I was way more impressionable back then. So like I was just kind of in this like weird spot of like, I don't really like this because a million people are coming up to me all the time. And then on top of that, like I don't know how I'm supposed to act. And so I didn't know what the the next move was there.

But I'm so thankful for it because, you know, you swim out to a different buoy alwa only to come back to the same one that you like to hang out at. So like I I definitely changed for a period of time because I there was no other option for me but to go that way until I realized like well I ain't I'm not about this. Let me just swim back to where I like being. so yeah, it definitely it definitely was was a weird time for me.

Tim (34:52.182)

Interesting experience that you had that I think sort of reflects those feelings. You would golf with your dad every Wednesday morning, and you look at the grounds crew one morning, and your gut instinct and the gut thought that you have is, I wish I was them. How did you navigate those feelings and emotions?

Nick C (34:59.246)

yeah. Yep.

Nick C (35:14.882)

my faith, therapy, mental performance coaches. it came it came to like that's that's a pretty powerful thing to say, like to yourself. Like you're everyone around you is saying how great this whole thing is and how you should this should be your next move and like this is the most crazy shit I've ever seen and

Are you kidding? How could you not do that opportunity? This that and everybody knows the right thing to do and the right thing to say, but has never lived it and never experienced it. and

you get to a point where like you you you you think the answer is to just be what you think you're supposed to be. Right. And that's now I'm I'm a celebrity. So like when I walk into places, like chest up, like be this big old tough guy. When you go into the city, make sure you drive a a a black escalade and like make sure you pay for everyone's tabs 'cause that's what you do when you start getting famous. And then before long you start to change who you are.

And I navigated it like just by getting punched in the mouth. Like, why do I wanna be these guys working in the sand traps? And that's a that's I mean, that's a lot to face. Like you you but but the only way out is through. So you have to face it. but you should not face it alone. Because at the end of the day, I was a kid. I didn't I I'm I'm very emotionally in tune and and I I'm very

grateful to be self aware in a lot of situations. But one thing that I'll never say is like I can do it all by myself. So I was like, I need to find people that know more than me because I have no idea. And thankfully I have guys that I've I spoke to that were in the industry in terms of like athletes and really athletes that have been in the spotlight that were able to s shed some light. But the difference between them and my situation is

Nick C (37:23.998)

They're in a locker room with a bunch of other guys and girls that are all feeling the same thing. And here I am in my small town at the house I grew up in where like this wasn't supposed to happen and everywhere I go, people are all over me, all about the whole thing. So like it it was a weird way place to navigate. But, you know, Tim, at the end of the day, the only way out of most problems is to go through them.

No matter how afraid, no matter how uncomfortable. And I always had faith that I was gonna come out on the other side. So if I had God, nothing was going to be able to defeat me because I was gonna win no matter what. But that sounds way easier said than done than to be able to look in the mirror and say, like, what do I need to change about this whole thing? How should I look about it? 'Cause it's at at the same time you're trying to process it process the whole thing, more's coming.

And it's not stopping and it's gonna keep coming out. It's gonna keep coming. It's gonna keep coming. so it was it was interesting. And it was a lot a lot of moments where you're like, I I don't really know what these feelings are, what these emotions are, but again, you know, you just have to trust and have faith that it's it's all like I always would say to myself, like, this is happening for me. This is not you because the second you say, this is like why me, why then then you're screwed. Like I never had that mindset, thank God.

Tim (38:50.356)

It's so easy to romanticize from the outside looking in. And I feel like it would probably create even more friction for you of okay, I have gained so much success, so many accolades. I should be happy. Everything should be going right in my life, but it feels like everything's going right.

Nick C (38:58.114)

For sure.

Nick C (39:09.826)

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it's like 'cause then you start to feel bad. You're like, well, why do I not give a shit about what's going on? Like why do I wish it would just hit the pause button just for one second so so I can breathe. and but but I'm glad I I had to figure that out on my own. Like I I'm glad I kept going because I think in in the the

the one foot in front of the other. Even I tell people all the time, like, even if you gotta crawl three inches, at least you're going forward. Sometimes you you're gonna have to crawl, sometimes you sprint, sometimes you briskly walk. Like the moral of the story is you keep trucking along. So as I was crawling through this whole thing, I'm glad that I like I would not change an a a thing at all. and it just a very interesting dynamic.

Because, you know, you you you just yeah, you you question like, well why why do I not think that this is great? Like conceptually I think it's great, but like it's so bizarre. And mind you, this is before all like it's it's it's it wasn't as saturated back then. Like the the for you page on Instagram wasn't even a thing. Like there was like none of Instagram reels weren't a thing. I was posting Instagram post videos.

so like it was it was more whoa to have a following on social media than it is now. So it was it was wild, man.

Tim (40:53.09)

Something else that was unexpected throughout your journey, especially getting into the entrepreneurial side of things. You said that you didn't expect to have that lonely feeling that came from entrepreneurship. How have you gone about embracing that and also moving through that?

Nick C (41:02.796)

Okay. Yeah.

Nick C (41:08.904)

man, it's my one of my best friends, loneliness. You gotta you gotta just invite him with open arms. I think I think today, back then it was a little bit different because it wasn't talked about as much. Like today, everybody can be an entrepreneur and everyone talks about being an entrepreneur, and I love that because I'm I'm an entrepreneur advocate. Like entrepreneurship, like I've said in this podcast, and I continue to say, is one of the greatest things ever. The problem is there's

the the the down the the downsides, not really a downside, but like the things that aren't talked about seem foreign when you start to experience them, like the loneliness. And when I was working in my parents' garage and in my college dorm room and I was at my computer for ten, twelve hours a day, like reaching out to brands, creating content, creating serious ideas, learning how to edit, learning how to film, learning what all this shit means.

You feel like you get to a point where you're doing all this and you're just like, like why why am I doing well? I hate doing this. Like, why am I doing all this stuff right now? Is this even worth it? This is a waste of time because there's no one that's coming to to help you out. There's no one that could see the vision. There's no one to tell you if you're doing a good job or not. You don't know what the hell is going on, and you just feel this overwhelming, like just loneliness.

all the time. But when I feel that in the back of my mind and my heart of hearts, I'm hype because I know that this is where I need to be. Because right here is where shit gets built. And this is the exact reason why majority of people will not work for themselves because of how lonely and how difficult it can be at times. But I will continue to say as someone who is lucky enough to been on the be on the other side and look at a a year, two, three years worth of work.

And to to feel what comes of it, there is no better fulfillment feeling on earth. It is 100% worth it all the time. Every time. Like the the we just got a a a puppy, me and my me and my girlfriend. And she's a she's a lot to to manage. And there's a lot of new things that we're learning. But at the end of the day, it's worth it. And I'll always say like the the

Nick C (43:35.776)

The pain I'm feeling now is not even monumentally gonna come close to the feeling of success in the future. and and also the feeling of regret if you don't try. So that's kind of just, yeah, loneliness is yeah, you got I mean, there's no loneliness and entrepreneurship, they they come with each other. If if you don't you're not feeling lonely, I don't know if you're doing it all in.

Tim (44:02.68)

Like vanilla and chocolate.

Nick C (44:04.31)

Amen.

Tim (44:05.9)

It's almost like the analogy of do you know the metal sphere where there's like a motorcycle in it and people ride all around it? And like you go like upside down pretty much. It's almost like your life has been lived in that analogy of okay, right before that tipping point where most people, you know, slow down on the bike, you need to accelerate the bike.

Nick C (44:17.354)

Yes, yes, yes, yes.

Nick C (44:27.34)

Yes.

Nick C (44:31.616)

You gotta accelerate a hundred percent. A hundred percent and like the the it's a it's a lesson only learned if you do it yourself. Because now when I'm building new things, when I get to that point, I know like bingo, give it just a little bit more time and here we go. Like, exactly right, exactly right.

Tim (44:51.106)

You have the data points and the evidence now.

You talked a little bit about it earlier, you know, working and relating with athletes and them helping you guide. I'd love to learn a little bit more about that just because what I find really impressive just from like looking at you and your work, especially when you're working with athletes, it's pretty impressive or it's pretty cool. It seems like you've gone from, okay, these aren't just working partnerships, but these are true relationships now.

Nick C (45:18.71)

Yeah. I appreciate that. Yeah, I I I think the beautiful thing about athl athletes and and sports in general is you could tell very quickly who puts in the work and who doesn't. And athletes are just high performers. Like they're they're the highest level of performers, professional athletes. And high performers sh all share the same traits. And

no matter the medium, no matter if you're playing a sport, no matter if you're in business, no matter if you're working for NASA, mil military, there's always high performers everywhere. And well not everywhere, but there's high performers in each category. And I've been so incredibly lucky to be around these guys. But I also think like in the beginning I was like, why am I here? Like why am I hanging out with so and so and why are are we doing

why am i in these in these circles and then like you realize well I'm I mean I'm I'm like r relating to everything I I guess I'm one of them and it's weird for me to say that because like in my mind like growing up a professional athlete like those guys are like superheroes but it's really the traits that make them successful. and we all sort of share in those same traits. But I think that you you learn very quickly that the

The hardest, the most high the the highest performers are the most normal down to earth human beings you could possibly be around. But when it comes time to work, get the fuck out of the way. There is no stopping the focus. There is not one thing left up for chance. They look at every variable and they they basically say.

I'm going to dump every aspect of my professional life into my work and when it's done, I'm going to to let it go. So I mean I have I have buddies that play professional sports that will be out to dinner and someone will bring up something about the season and they'll be laughing.

Nick C (47:43.806)

and and having a good time, someone brings something up about the season, their whole facial structure just militant, like starts talking about ball. Like that's just a that's just a switch. And they all everyone has it in that that category. And I think for me, like growing up, I'm thinking I gotta do all this sort of shit and I I can't be well like lax a days go. I gotta wake up at five and I gotta make sure my diet this, that, and the other. Yeah, sometimes. But when you're when you don't have to like relax, rest.

Like rest is rest is a monumental component of high performance in every category. The the best example is going back to nature. The king of the jungle sleeps twenty hours a day. But for those four hours, he's killing everything in sight to feed his family. But when a lion's not hunting, we're resting. And I think it's very it's been very refreshing for me.

Because I always thought that I need to go a hundred and fifty miles an hour and all the time. But the highest performers that I've been around go sixty miles an hour majority of the time and then two hundred and fifty when they need to. That's in my mind the the the biggest thing I've learned is is know when to turn it up, but then unplug it when it's over. And I think

I got lunch one time with Mike Mancias is his name. He's LeBron James's trainer. He's been with LeBron for twenty-two years now. and I asked him, like, how is LeBron still able to perform at the highest level? He's one of the greatest athletes I've ever like in this world has ever seen. And he said, Nick, LeBron found the sweet spot. I was like, Well, what the hell is that? He's like, he does intentional work every day that's hard.

But doesn't exhaust him and then he recovers the rest, wakes up and just does it over again without fail. And I think that's kind of the the real like you go on Instagram and it's like you're not up at five o'clock and doing this and that and the other like then you're not gonna make it. You're just not. Like that's that's a scare tactic. That's propaganda, that doesn't make sense. Like, show up, get your work done, intense focus, rest, recover, do it again.

Tim (50:07.062)

You have to be in love with the monotony of it. And I feel like that's the biggest data point that people can tap into, where it feels like if you're not energized when the doors are closed and you're just doing the small everyday tasks that nobody would even think of and it energizes you, then it's like, okay, I've truly found something here.

Nick C (50:10.305)

Hundred percent.

Nick C (50:15.276)

Hundred percent.

Tim (50:30.36)

Who's the athlete that comes top of mind for you that you've been exposed to that you really think of where it's like, Yeah, he does this?

Nick C (50:38.658)

Christian McCaffrey, running back for the San Francisco forty Niners.

he he is he's been monumental for me in a lot of areas. I always thought I was crazy growing up. I always thought that no one like I like going back to loneliness, like no one gives a shit enough to to care about life and things and all these sorts of things. And that's really ignorant of me to say. It's just my method of

being happy and fulfilled is when I'm like doing work and being disciplined and and in my routine and he's made me feel very normal and it made me feel like I can I can be that but he's also taught me how to how to care about the things that matter and how to not care about the things that don't. And he is someone who loves

Football loves it more than anything on the planet. Probably not as much as his wife and his daughter. but pretty much up there. and

I've I I I'm just enamored by his ability to have the utmost passion for one thing and give it literally everything he has and then so gracefully make it known amongst the people around him. So what I mean by that is it's hard for me to say, hey.

Nick C (52:27.454)

I gotta go work or I gotta go do this or I can't do that tonight because of X. And because I feel like I I I'm letting somebody down. And I think he's taught me very very well how to tr like you like illustrate that message without coming across as selfish or or to maintain like that's just who he is. and

He's also taught me like if there's a point one percent chance that this is going to make you better, try it. And he's opened me up to try things that I'm scared of trying. and you know, we've somehow lost the the opportunity to just try things. Like nowadays, if you start something, you should turn it into a business. Or if you

start this, you should be the best at it. And he's been he's helped me kinda just be like, Well, I'm just gonna try 'cause I wanna try it and there's no end goal. so he's just yeah, he's somebody I look up to as a friend and as a professional, as a high performer. And I'm very grateful for him and then also Brian Miles, the the mental performance coach that I that I talked to, kind of extremely monumental.

for me as well 'cause he's given me a lot of tools and roadmaps and frameworks that actually make sense for me, that I take with me every day.

Tim (54:09.546)

It's cool that you have these people within your life that can really guide you through your journey, but now you've also kind of stepped into the role of guide a as well for other people and being a consultant and helping them within their journeys. Talk to me more about the work of Entrepreneur Nicky.

Nick C (54:25.089)

Yeah.

Nick C (54:30.07)

Man, I love it. I think for me I I got I'm over here living what I've seen people talk about that I know that they've never lived through what they're talking about when it comes to content creation and personal branding and things of that nature. and I felt and entrepreneuric has been an idea for like a year after I started really like making content on social media.

and the reason why I wanted to start it was because I do feel like this whole experience has been so wild that to to just keep all of the things I've learned to myself makes no sense and is a disservice to anybody who's going to get into this space and the space of content creation, the space of entrepreneurship, the space of just self-help and self-improvement. I

For one, can't stand gurus. Like I don't like the whole guru persona. I'm not a guru. I'm none of that. I have experienced something wild that I would like to take all the the learnings from it and then share it with whoever wants to listen. And for me, I I've take great pride in talking about things that I've specifically experienced. And

I it also is like it's also like fighting the good fight too, because y you know, I I've seen people and they build massive followings and they talk about things and it's a it's a mind trick. They're trying to trick you into thinking that what you're doing is not good enough and the only way to get good is to listen to them. Whereas I would just want like I'm here to share my experience. What you do with it is up to you. I'm never gonna tell you.

You go you you should do this. If you're not doing this, then you're that. Like that is when you start playing mind tricks. And I feel like we, myself included, get caught in this this trap of like, maybe I maybe I should do it like this. And and this guy's making X amount of dollars doing that. And this guy just, you know, like all of these different selling tactics. And then when you actually read books and when you actually learn yourself, you you start to realize that.

Nick C (56:54.24)

These people are regurgitating information that they learned in books and playing it off as their own and and just in a different sort of form and it and it's all sales language. It's all sales tactics. Like I always say the best way to have somebody listen to what you're saying is talk from experience and talk with passion. Like that's level one. You wanna have a a a good hook in your video, like talk with a little bit of passion, talk about something you care about. so without going off on too much of a tangent.

I just I'm a student of life. I love improvement. I love reflection. I love learning, growing. I love being a part of a team. I love creating. and I do it every day and I'm much more than the funny guy. I I love a bunch of different things and entrepreneur is a way for me to take all of the people, all of the experiences, all of the the systems that we've done and give it to people if they want it. and I have

plans to to create. we're working on Entreprenei Academy, which is a community that is going to teach you how to actually grow on social media. Number one, how to monetize it, personal branding, but also my network of individuals of their expertise, mental performance. if you are a small business, a restaurant, like anything, and putting it all into to one.

because I think that there's a lot of outlets out there that offer that feeling, but I don't think they deliver on the value and I wanna over deliver on the value.

Tim (58:33.87)

You talked about how you're more than just comedy. Do you feel like part of the reason why this work and this new name of Entrepreneci energizes you so much is because I don't like to use the word counteract, but kind of show that you're more than just a persona.

Nick C (58:52.82)

Yeah, I think in a way, for sure. Like for me

It's it's hard sometimes being like I'm I'm good at being an extrovert. I'm good at being funny, but I'm I'm a little bit more introverted than I am extroverted, contrary to popular belief or what you would see on social media. For me, it's it's sort of a way for me to just to express like my full vertical of of who I am. Like I think when you're only known for the comedy, like when I go

out in public sometimes it's hard because like people just w want the funny and and maybe there's a day where I'm flat, you know, like I'm just kind of trying to get get going. and I think the it it it does energize me more not because it counteracts the comedy because the comedy is a huge part of who I am but it energizes me because I d truthfully because I think it can have a

a massive impact and I could serve more. Like I know and like I I know that the comedy

Tim (01:00:02.542)

It goes it goes to that ten thousand yards mindset again. F l like i in a way it's almost like okay, comedy is the appetizer. This is like fifty yards out, but if I'm thinking for you know, if I'm gonna be an eighty year old man or am I if I'm thinking in decades, this is what that can be.

Nick C (01:00:06.046)

Exactly right. Exactly.

Nick C (01:00:17.28)

Yeah. Yeah, I think you hit it right on the head. And I think like I I was kind of looking at it from a standpoint of like I don't really want to be thirty-five years old and I don't want to be someone who puts the the blanket under my stomach, not because I'm afraid of what people are gonna say, because if that was the case, I mean that I would have never have done this a long time ago. but more so just I don't wanna have to be the guy all the time.

You know, like I I wanna I wanna be able to to be a part of something that's bigger than me. and that's why I didn't name the the channel or the page like Nick Cassano, like I created entreprenei because it is me, but it's also a brand. And then when we have the brand, we can do other things with with the brand. But taking business away from it, the the goal and the mission

is to just serve the experience and and make people feel understood, give people guidance, give people a catalyst to to maybe go start something. Like I got a message this morning from someone saying like I s I I started creating content because I was watching your stuff and XY and and like that that stuff's unbelievable to me. so that's the true impetus for all of it.

Tim (01:01:38.594)

Your aunt would tell this story that when you were younger and the two of you were in Target, you saw this guy walking funny, and right away you picked up on it and was able to start impersonating him. And the takeaway from that she said was, there were signs, there were signs that this is the life he was gonna live. What does it feel like you have the signs for in your life right in this present moment, but haven't manifested yet in reality?

Nick C (01:01:56.395)

Yeah, for sure.

Nick C (01:02:09.122)

Wow, that's good.

I think I think that I it's just like weird to say 'cause I'm not like I'm just not this guy. Like I don't like think about like things that I want to accomplish. I just kinda like like the work like we were saying. But I do feel like I have I feel like at some point in my life I'm gonna write a book, but like not because I wanna be an author, but because like I love to write and I wanna

I I I have this concept that I'm not going to share because I don't want people to take it. I I want to write a book. I want to open up at least one restaurant and I want to speak. so I think those three things I haven't haven't really come to to fruition yet. And in in due time they will. but yeah, I would love to I would love to write a book because I love books. Like, I mean these are these are none of the books that I like this is like a one percent of all the books.

That I have in my collection, but I love reading. and I love authors and I love the process of writing a book. and I think I may start like a a vineyard accompanied with the the restaurant as well. Cause like I love I I'm I'm Italian at the end of the day. Like I love hospitality. Like I love taking care of people. And with entrepreneurs too, it's like that to me is like it's it's a I'm coming at it as like this is more than like I'm

I'm serving my audience but in a way of like, let me take care of you, please. Like people are shocked when I respond to messages and DMs and I'm like, No, no, no, like this is this is it. Like this is what I love to do. So I think that's the yeah, the hospitality aspect I I think is one and and writing a book and speaking is another.

Tim (01:04:01.154)

Nick Cassano, Nikki Cast, it's been absolutely awesome talking with you today. Where can people go to learn more about you or just any final thoughts you'd like to share?

Nick C (01:04:12.278)

Yeah, no, thanks, Tim. It's been it's been fun. I love I love checking in with the internal and this has been a good place to do it. And congratulations for all the things that you've built and I feel like this is just the beginning for you. And if there's any way I can help, you let me know. But you can find me at entrepreneique. I know it's not spelled entreprenei, 'cause I say entrepanicky. that's how it's spelled on Instagram. and then you can go to entreprene on that

entrepreneckey dot co to join the the newsletter if you want a little glimpse of how I write. But yeah, or if you want to laugh you go to the Nikki Cass page. and if you like baseball you can follow ball player on Instagram. That's me.

Tim (01:04:55.702)

Awesome. Great talking with you today.

Nick C (01:04:57.9)

Great talking with you as well. Thanks, Tim.