Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee) on making it happen

Sometimes, you just need a little push. Just a little one.

I mean, you know what you want to do it. You think you’re capable of doing it. It’s that you might not yet know that you’re capable of doing it—but you think you are. And, regardless of what “it” is, you could just use that little push. That little pearl of wisdom to get you off and running.

Enter Gary Vaynerchuk. And Legion of Talk, the new series of smart people telling us about their experience from Portland’s Legion of Tech.

So if you’re sitting there, feeling like you need that little push? Watch this.

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Need more? Watch parts two, three, and four.

Vaynerchuk leads—and inspires—by example

Vaynerchuk (“vay…ner…CHUK”) is known to millions as that wine guy from Wine Library TV and thousands of Twitter types as @garyvee. And he’s truly a Web 2.0 and social media Cinderella story.

But his story isn’t about the media, it’s about good old-fashioned following your passion and succeeding. With a little bit of tech thrown in for good measure.

(For those of you not familiar with Gary’s story, he managed to take his love of meeting people, added his interest in online video, and combined them in a way that increased his wine business tenfold in a few short years.)

And the public is taking notice. Public with a big “P,” like traditional media outlets. Like Nightline. Like Ellen. Like Conan. And that has catapulted Gary—in a relatively short time—from being atop the tech community to becoming a household word.

In fact, he’s easily joined the ranks of the Web 2.0 crossover stars.

“I am blown away,” said Vaynerchuk. “That I have been able to sign a six-figure book deal, have been offered over 100 television deals… [been] paid ungodly money to speak and consult… All because I sat and talked about what I knew.”

And while that’s impressive, it’s not half as impressive as the energy and enthusiasm Gary brings to the table when he shares how he’s done what he’s done, how he works to stay in touch with his community, and how he thinks that you, too, can make it happen.

Long story short, Gary leads by example.

Portland, Garyvee, Garyvee, Portland

And last week, having Gary in Portland to share that story with us was a memorable experience, to say the least. Having him hang out with us for another hour or two outside of Wieden + Kennedy, answering questions and sharing ideas—while ultrahip Blue Hour barflies shoved their way past—was unforgettable.

And sure, I may seem a little star struck. I may be a fawning a bit. But just because I’m gushing, doesn’t mean I’m wrong. You see, I’m not the only one who thought it was great.

• Betsy Richter: Gary Vee brought the thunder
  “More like an old-time ‘come to Jesus’ stomp your feet and belieeeeve! prayer revival session – only peppered with blasphemies and exhortations of the most-definitely-not religious type, especially to the tech and/or marketing types in the crowd.”
• Dawn Foster: Gary Vaynerchuk at Legion of Talk
  “If you aren’t loving what you do right now, you need to embrace your DNA figure out what you want and do it now. Figure out what you want to accomplish and work backwards from the goal.”
• Bram Pitoyo: Legion of Talk – Gary Vaynerchuk on New Media, Personal Branding, and Promotion
  “This goes without saying, but the only way to be great is to be patient. Garyvee spoke about the fact that the facet of work that is both unglamorous and unknown to most people is the [thousands] of emails he answer[s]… everyday.”
• Beantime: The Plight of the Passionate
  “Vaynerchuk’s take-away was this: if you are passionate about something, you can take that passion, and with time and attention spent on branding and promotion, turn that passion into ‘crazy’ success. ‘Crazy’ success, here I come….”

With Gary, Legion of Talk definitely started with the thunder. So who’s going to keep that thunder rolling? Funny you should ask. Next up for Legion of Talk is Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu and the second “tourist” in space. If you’re interested in attending, please RSVP on Upcoming or register for your ticket.