
I do not live with regrets but if I were to find myself 18 years old again I would do things differently.
For starters, I would disregard all advice from friendly friends and family. The advice to “get a degree, get a good job, save for retirement” is bad advice from a decaying era. The thought that simply getting a degree and getting a job will lead to a good life is ludicrously stupid.
Like so many other young (and dumb) men I listened. I did my time in college, which I hated every second of, working jobs to pay my way.
And then I worked. I worked jobs that I hated. They were soul-killers. But hey, they helped me pay my rent, my truck payments, my insurance payments, my credit card payments and left me with enough to go get drunk on the weekends.
I have known since I was a teen that I never wanted to work a dead-end job my whole life. Saving for retirement sounded like a scam and I never believed it. “You want me to work hard now and eat shit so I can live like a king when I’m 65? Why don’t I just do that now?” Yet I still followed the path.
I had my first brush with self-employment when I went into the insurance industry. It did not work out so well and I went broke as a joke. I got a recovery job that paid me to surf the internet all day. It was not such a bad job, in fact, it was the cushiest job I have ever had. Naturally, the job was unsustainable and my whole department (of 2 people) was laid off and given a severance package.
Getting laid off or fired has never bothered me. I could go find a job in a few days if I wanted. Finding a job is easy. What isn’t easy is letting your soul go.
So, of course, I went and found a new job. It was while surfing the net at this new job that I struck gold. Innocently, I stumbled upon what would eventually become my method of generating cash. After two months at this job I had done enough studying on the net to know that my method was solid. I walked into the boss man’s office and said “Boss man, I have to quit”.
I had enough money to pay for an entire month of bills and that was it.
30 days after quitting I had made twice my monthly salary at the best paying job I had ever had.
I was 26 years old.
It took me 11 years of working jobs I hated to figure out what I had always known: You do not have to have a job to make money.
As an entrepreneur I have made more money in one single day than I made all year at any job I ever had.
Those 11 years I spent in Hell were a learning experience and I do not wish to change anything.
However, if the magic time man sent me back to 18 years old this is what I would do:
I would skip college.
I would dive 150% into internet marketing, the new Gold rush.
I wouldn’t listen to a single word my family said to me. I wouldn’t even tell them my plans.
I would travel all around Asia, South America and Europe and I would live like a free man rather than a wage slave.
I would have become free at the age of 18 rather than 26.
The internet is the greatest freedom providing tool in the history of the world. If I could change one thing I would have told this to my 18 year old self.
My younger self was under the delusion that to be an entrepreneur you had to invent a product that served a need. What I never knew is that you can piggyback on the profits of others and provide for yourself while creating absolutely nothing, if you didn’t want to. All you have to do is get someone to click a link.
100 years ago you had to find oil, or gold. Now all you have to do is get someone to click a link.
I have been online for 15 years. Most of those years were a complete and total waste of time. I could have been building something that whole time.
It’s never too late, though. It wasn’t too late for me and it’s not too late for you.
Good luck friends. I hope you will do now what I waited 11 years to do: TAKE THE WORLD INTO YOUR HANDS.
Sincerely,
Victor Pride
PS - It is a summer Friday afternoon and I am smoking a cigar on the patio and playing around on my computer. Years ago I would be watching the clock so I could drive home in rush hour traffic, hit the gym, have dinner, go get drunk, and then spend all day Sunday dreading Monday morning.
Now I am excited as can be for Monday. This Monday I will show some of you risk-takers how you can start earning a living just by playing around on the internet. It’s never too late.
Picture by Victor Pride. Laoshan Mountain, Qingdao, China. 2011.





I owe my job to working out. I always had some real shitty jobs, then one day I walked into Advanced Auto parts to buy some wax for my car. The guy who was at the register was asking me about getting in shape since it was obvious I was into bodybuilding. He said he needed to get in shape for his job. Auto parts? “Nah, this is just a little side money, I work for the fire dept full time” I started asking him how he liked it and he made it sound pretty cool. I went straight to city hall that day and got an application, and 6 months later I found myself in the academy. Man am I glad I walked in there for some wax that day!! I love what I do, I work 24 on/48 off and I have all the time in the world to persue side money or run a business. Even from work!! There is so much down time there that you have so many opportunities to make extra money. Plus I have a kitchen to cook and eat throughout the day, perfect job for a bodybuilder!! We have so many guys in good shape, its the perfect thing for making money and building a body!! And throughout the year, I frequently have shifts off, making it a 5 day break(or more during vacations, which I have about 4-5/yr). Its really like being on vacation all the time!! I would strongly encourage anyone who loves working out and still wants freedom to persue other money making outlets to try this
Sounds like we need have too many workers in the fire department. Sounds like the most inefficient job. Oh well, I guess taxpayers exist to be taken advantage of!
Russell, try going to a suicide where a young girl hung herself in her closet, and as your doing CPR her parents are crying and screaming standing over your shoulder. Or running into a burning house that is 1500 degrees and hot enough to melt the plastic on your facepiece, Or driving an 80,000 lb ladder truck through rush hour traffic without hitting someone. Or waking up every couple hrs throughout the night while you holier than though taxpayers sleep. Yes, I do have a lot of downtime, but maybe now you get my drift sweetie :)
haha! I would much rather my tax dollars go to firefighters over any other government workers. When my house is on fire I sure as shit want a firefighter on call. On the opposite side I absolutely never want to see a dmv worker, a tax auditor, those lazy slobs at the county clerk or the annoying census takers.
I have a buddy who is a firefighter. It took him years to get on at a station but he seems to dig it. It seems like a great job to have to stay in shape. And the chicks dig the uniform like crazy.
Victor,
firstly I’d like to say thanks for this awesome blog, its greatly changed my mindset
I’m 17 and want to start affiliate marketing asap,
unfortunately my parents, friends and everyone around me are from this school of thought:
‘go to university, get a job, move up the ranks’, so I applied for an accounting and finance degree before I saw the truth and found this site a few months ago, however I want to start online marketing young so I never have to truly worry about being free from a stupid ‘job’, maybe I can prove to people just from real numbers that they can’t mess with till they’re 65 (money) that I’ll make a living doing this and not in a cubicle/office aka prison.
My main problem is it is hard to know where to start and I realise from common sense that many ‘get rich using this strategy’ programs are scams so I haven’t wasted time and money on them.
Instead I read inspiring books, train and listen to motivating music to get pumped up day in and day out. Currently I’m reading the millionaire fastlane by mj demarco as well as think and grow rich, I’ve also read the education of a bodybuilder, I have followed 30 days of discipline as well as body of a spartan and continue with the habits you preach e.g. cold showers, dressing well, no porn, to do list etc. daily and they have made a significant impact
What would you do if you were in my position? Where would you start in terms of affiliate marketing and how would you approach things from there?
If any other readers that make money online could shed some light I’d also appreciate it,
all the best
As someone who studies venture capital I would recommend against affiliate marketing…the space is really crowded now plus revenue vehicles in advertising change really rapidly on the internet.
There are plenty of other options though for a low BTE business…check out some MLM companies if you have a strong drive for that sort of thing.
“As someone who studies venture capital I would recommend against affiliate marketing…the space is really crowded now plus revenue vehicles in advertising change really rapidly on the internet.”
Not true at all. I don’t know where you get your info from but that is not true. Space is really crowded? compared to what? Have you seen the estimates of new online businesses in the next decade? The internet will increase in it’s offerings and it’s end users. Your logic if faulty my friend, very faulty.
As long as there is demand and someome stumbbles upon your affiliate link- which was ALREADY PRESOLD by YOU, , Affiliating works- - simple- sale made
The key is driving traffic so there is no stumbling, that’s the tricky part. You should use every avenue to publish your blog and links. Craigslist has been a tremendous help to me.
hey dude its been one and half years you wrote this. i am quite curious did you continued with all this?
Victor, I completely agree with the fact that college is mostly a waste of time with most degrees, but what do you think about actual degrees like structural engineering? I’m right now 17 and starting to think about what to do after I graduate
That’s a very useful degree.
Thank you Vic this articles is a help for me when I
Turn 18 thank you
HI Vic, nice blog.
I’ve noticed you are positive in getting some degrees like engineering ones, which that makes me think: What’s your major?
Victor Pride has a PhD in…
Life: improved and applied.
hahaha! GreyWolf got it.