The Big Bang Theory star faced an existential crisis after his huge success, despite earning $1 million per episode: ‘You feel empty’

“I remember ordering rosé champagne from Laurie-Perrier — just bottles of it — and feeling like a king, and having a really lavish dinner with truffles on everything, the most expensive, whatever it was,” he recalls in an exclusive interview with . luck.

It was a dream come true for Nayyar, who immigrated from India to the United States when he was 18 to attend college, his eyes shining. Made big in Hollywood. “I didn’t do it just because I wanted to create a piece of art that no one would see,” says the 44-year-old actor, producer and founder, adding that he wants to be “the greatest.”

But eventually, the champagne bubbles go flat, the applause fades, and the silence that follows can be louder than the fame.

“I was in my early 30s, and I had everything,” he adds. “You think it will be the thing that pleases you. You think: When I do this, I will finally wake up in the morning and there will be butterflies and rainbows.”

“But the truth is, nothing can satisfy you, and it can be a sad and scary place to realize that the thing that was going to give you the answer isn’t “thing” Nayyar admits.

“You’re faced with this existential crisis of what’s next, and you feel empty.”

How to stay motivated when you achieve all your dreams

Today, Nayyar’s fortune is estimated at $45 million. He’s since starred in numerous roles on our screens, written a book, and has a string of projects to his name, including Good Karma Productions and, most recently, document storage app, IQ121.

Staying motivated once you’ve reached the top — especially when you have the financial freedom to walk away — means first learning how to live with stillness, he says.

“The next step was met with a lot of anxiety and fear. I had spent my whole life achieving, achieving, achieving, and then when I achieved it, I had to realize that there was more to life than just this,” he explains.

“So I turned inward to figure out who I really am; and that’s the advice I always give people, is to take the time to discover who you really are, because that’s the person you’re going to live with for the rest of your life.”

Nayar has learned that fulfillment doesn’t come from another audition, another deal, or even another million-dollar paycheck: “You have to realize what’s real in your life. You have to realize that it’s not just about the money and fame.”

“It’s spending time with the people you love. It’s cultivating honest, real relationships. It’s spending time with good people, as well as spiritual practice, meditation, spreading love and kindness, and cultivating silence in your life…”

And if you’re lucky enough to have a huge fart, Nayar suggests trying to actually enjoy it.

“Just enjoy yourself. If you’ve been fortunate in your life to work hard for something and achieve a certain status in your life, enjoy yourself, literally. That’s the point of it,” he adds.

“If you keep achieving and chasing and chasing and chasing, and one day, your time comes and goes, and your last breath won’t, then I’m so happy that I’ve achieved as much as your last breath will. I really wish I could spend time with the people I love, or I really wish I could do more for humanity, or I would really miss this thing about life.”

“So no matter what, if you’re lucky enough to get to the top of your career, enjoy yourself.”

from Airbnb For Wingstop UK, millionaires agree that success can feel hollow

Nayyar is not alone in feeling the emptiness that can follow great success.

After co-founding Wingstop UK and Selling a majority stake For £400 million ($532 million), Tom Grogan admitted that achieving wealth was surprisingly “boring”.

“For seven years, your whole mind was on making this work,” Grogan said. luck.

“That’s all you think about. And then when you get there, it’s a little surreal. It’s like, ‘Okay, it’s over now.’ Now what? And money doesn’t necessarily fill that void either.

Likewise, Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, previously admitted that his company’s IPO — despite making him a billionaire — was “one of the saddest periods” of his life.

Growing up, Chesky admits he “desperately wanted to be successful” because he thought it would bring him adoration. Additionally, having social worker parents who were by no means wealthy, he also believed that a large sum of money could “solve every problem.”

But in reality, when Airbnb’s valuation reached $100 billion, and “everyone in high school” knew what he had done, he became lonelier than ever, having poured all his energy into his work for up to 18 hours a day.

“At the bottom of the mountain, you have hope,” he concludes his journey from scrappy startup founder to billionaire. “But the problem is when you get to the top of the mountain, a lot of times you’re at the top alone, disconnected.”