From the desk of Victor Pride
Subj: No hope, no wish, no dream, just plans
Pictured: Victor Pride horsing around in Cambodia
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There’s a contradiction of success that I don’t often discuss.
The seeming conundrum of being lazy and being a high achiever at the same time.
I often say I’m the laziest workaholic who ever lived, but I’m not conventionally lazy. I don’t sit around the television eating snacks and getting fat.
On the other hand, I’m also not a conventional workaholic putting in 16 hour days at the office and schmoozing with the top brass.
I always work and I never work at the same time. My work and my life are so completely intertwined that I don’t actually do any work, because I’m always working.
Huh?
That’s the seeming contradiction I told you about.
I work every day, every hour, every minute, but my work isn’t real work. It’s my life.
I can’t not live my life and I can’t not work. Life and business are so completely intertwined I couldn’t take a day off even if I wanted to.
Every second I’m alive is another second I’m working.
But then again my business is the simplest business model in the world…
I live my life, then I put my life into words.
That’s all I do. I do it constantly, because all I’m doing is living my life.
I’m kicking ass and taking names across the world, I’m not drilling cavities or pouring concrete ten hours per day.
If I stopped working, I’d stop being me. I never go to work (too lazy for work) because I’m always at work.
I get guys saying they want to retire by 30.
I say “Why? So you can sit around for 60 years doing nothing?”
Work is the only thing that’s good for a man’s soul.
But not just any work - work that fires you up, work that drives you to achieve more.
There’s one more contradiction of success. It’s ok to be lazy and it’s not ok to be lazy at the same time.
Work can be terrible and work can be great. You can be lazy and work 16 hour days at the same time.
You’ll never have a “problem with authority” if you are the authority.
— Victor Pride (@victor_pride) October 29, 2014
Lazy with benefit vs lazy without benefit
I told you I’m lazy, but I’m not lazy in the slightest. I just don’t do things I don’t like to do.
A perfectly reasonable reaction to doing something you don’t want to do is malaise.
A perfectly reasonable reaction to doing something you like to do is joy.
Sitting in an office all day working for someone else will make you lazy and give you no benefit. Working for yourself will make you rich and bring you joy.
So be lazy to work for someone else and don’t be lazy to work for yourself.
Working for yourself builds your bank account, it builds your character, it builds your future, it builds your mindset, it builds your confidence. When you succeed you feel euphoric. No real work required.
When you’re so obsessed with your work it stops being work and it becomes something else entirely - that’s when you’re on the lazy man’s path to riches.
And once you’re on you can never get off. You’ll reach a point where there is no difference between your life and your business.
The other day I asked my apprentice “Have you ever seen me not working“?
He said “no“.
Then I asked him “have you ever seen me do any real work?”
He laughed and said “no“.
It sounds like a contradiction but it isn’t.
I work constantly, but my work isn’t real work, it’s my life, so I work and I never work at the same time.
And I get everything I want or have ever wanted.
I started by just taking one step in the right direction.
I simply decided to be an entrepreneur. I changed my thought process from employee to entrepreneur.
When you make the change in your thought process, everything else follows.
Success, money, women, freedom. All of it. It comes to you when you believe you’ll get it.
But there’s another contradiction of success - you have to do more than just believe, you have to take steps to achieve your goal.
Belief without action is useless. Action without belief is also useless.
Doing all the hard work of building your business is as easy as anything you do in your day. It’s as hard as jumping off of a cliff and as easy as taking one step in the right direction.
One foot in front of the other, you just start today. You just start acting like a successful man. You don’t side-step, you make the step.
Picture not drawn by V. Pride. I’m too lazy to draw, so I worked hard enough to hire full time employees to make simple drawings.
If you plan for success you get success. It’s not “acting” if you’re going after your plan, it’s just fulfilling your destiny.
The dummies will call you lucky. They won’t understand that it’s not luck if you work every day towards a goal and then achieve that goal.
You’ll explain that and they still won’t understand. They’ll say “I wish I was that lucky. I wish I could catch my big break“.
That’s another conundrum of success - you work towards a goal, when you achieve it you’re lucky.
How do you get started on the path to luck and wealth?
That’s what everyone wants to know but it’s the wrong question to ask.
You’ve already started. You started when you were old enough to form thoughts.
Most people have just started walking away from what they want instead of walking towards it.
They think it’s a giant leap and they don’t believe they can make the leap.
But it’s not a leap. It’s just one step in the right direction. Then one more step. Then one more. It’s just one step like all the thousands of other steps you take in a single day.
Then one day they’ll be sitting around the water cooler talking about lucky Johnny who quit working and started living.
Why don’t people take steps every day?
Because they’re waiting for a step-by-step formula when all they need is a one-step formula.
They think it’s a huge leap to go from A to B in a straight line, so instead they go from A to A in a circle.
There’s no blueprint to success that everyone on earth can follow but there are habits of success.
There are steps. Steps in the right direction.
I can’t turn a loser into a winner, and I don’t want to…
…but I guarantee I can turn an almost-winner into a big winner.
It’s easy.
All it takes is one step in the right direction. What could be lazier or easier?
Until next time.
Your man,
-Victor Pride
The hardest thing for me to understand was that in order to start working for myself, I had to actually start working for myself.
I just mentioned it in a recent post, but this guy I used to work with, Gerald, has this business and it’s all about motivational speaking, entrepreneurship, and “empowerment”. Except Gerald still works where I used to work, making $45,000 a year in a call center environment.
I met Gerald when I started working there, and we promised each other in a year we’d be out of there. I spent the year saving, working on my business model, doing research, and getting my wife comfortable with the idea (that last one paid off exponentially).
That year, Gerald bought: A car, a McMansion, a motorcycle, a big screen TV, a new computer.
15 months later, I was putting in my two weeks notice. I used up all of my vacation days in my last week so I got paid for not showing up. And by the time I got my last paycheck from that place, I had already paid myself twice the amount with my own clients.
Gerald still works there.
He posts motivational and entrepreneurial stuff to facebook all day long. Quotes about wisdom, and happiness, and achieving your goals, but all he does is mental masturbation because he never puts any work into it.
Great post, Vic! Your blog and Mike C.’s are what gave me the kick in the ass I needed.
Another great comment, Remy.
Thanks, Vic! And thanks for the blog. You put it all here, man. The keys to the kingdom. How does that Bible verse go, though? “Though they had eyes they could not see. they had ears but failed to hear.”
Thanks Remy for your comment.
Remy, your site is down right now and is pointed to the admin page.
Thank you. It’s an issue with HostGator - been happening on and off since yesterday. I’m currently in the process of backing everything up and moving to a new web host.
Wow, great comment.
Another great blog from you Victor. Am starting my own blog on a artists website and you are helping my just telling about you.
thanks
Diane
Great story.
It’s always funny to think about the people working in food service jobs when you were a kid will be working there the rest of their lives.
Great post Victor Pride!! This is such a solid point and rings true to me as well. I’ll often “work” on http://inebriatedapparel.com/ nearly every waking moment. It’s because I have an obsession, a desire for my “work”, desire to be better. The ride becomes a part of you. That burning desire is being brought out by Vic Pride in many men, and don’t think it’s under appreciated in any of your readers. This blog has so many THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT IVE BEEN THINKING/WANTING but nobody has fucking said it moments. That’s what makes it great, but you already know that. Thanks a lot buddy, you’ve been a true inspiration.
Found you through Danger & Play. Glad I did.
Years ago, my blue-pill self would have seen you and read your words and said, “This dude’s a pompous ass giving unrealistic. Now after the red pill, I know you’re just a confident dude doing your own thing and teaching young men what they need to hear - to succeed, and to counteract the feminist programming they’ve endured their whole lives.
Subscribed!
P.S. You say you’re into music. I wish someone like you would write some red-pill songs and put them out there. Hell, you could even do the Weird Al Yankovic (Red Pill YankaBitch) route and rewrite popular songs with red pill lyrics.
Nice one :)
Very cut to the chase no BS content as usual, keep up the good work Vic. It’s really no wonder that you don’t have flashy social media and pop-ups everywhere your writing and topics bring people to the site.
Looking forward to future posts…
Simon
I just hired my first employee. I’m to lazy to take an engine out of a car. Great article Vic.
No difference between living and working, I’m starting to feel more and more like that. It’s good to know that it means I’m moving in the right direction. I’m always impressed at the quality of your posts, Victor. Keep it up (I know you will).
For some reason, I had the feeling that Victor was going to update his site today and yup I”m right. This couldn’t come in most important time. But that’s not what’s important. Every of his post is made from quality. You notice he doesn’t need to post everyday. And here is the kicker for new readers. If you really want to understand how Victor Pride succeeded, I recommend the new readers to read EVERY articles in this website. They are all interconnected. You notice how he makes money from his blog and if you carefully notice the links in every of his article, they are literally interconnected and makes sense. His soft style of promoting his own work is genius. You don’t see the typical “BUY NOW BUY NOW” crap. What you see is every of his posts has good quality article that makes you so fired up to keep reading his other links and ultimately end up buying his product.
Also he said he can be lazy and make money at the same time and bold determined is his life because he lives like a MAN. When you don’t work for any boss and you are put in a situation of discomfort and face a lot of fear from having no “job”, a man can either crumble down or become much stronger than before. It forces the man to think in creativity and take action. This is literally the survival of the fittest.
What you see of his outside is what you see of him inside. I believe that man needs both brain and physical power and strength. Mind and body has to be aligned into one.
Reading his article reminds me of the quote
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” - Lao Tzu
Every time I apply from what I learn in this website, it only helps me go forward in the right direction. I’m glad I found this website and I’m proud to know that by reading his website, my time wasn’t wasted at all.
If his website doesn’t fire you up then I don’t know what will.
Man, I love this post.
Every thought, action, and word you waste is energy and time you don’t get back.
Once you actually start recognizing your own value you begin to realize how many of the “important” things are just a waste of time.
I have reflected on this stuff myself, but never seen it written about. Awesome post.
interesting site you have there Ian. I have always been interested in growing a full beard. Right now I do have “full beard” but they are not as thick. I’m looking at your website right now. Does your product help stimulate new hair growth or does it just develop the current facial hair to thicken more?
Hey man, I really appreciate the interest - contact me through the site and I’d be happy to tell you all about my products.
Just want to respect the post.
Thanks
Hey Ian, that’s one wild animation you’ve got going on on fresh front page. How did you do it if you don’t mind me asking?
“Do the work!” - Victor Pride
I remember the first time I heard Victor say it in his first podcast.
I live by those words now.
It’s so simple when you realize that all you have to do is take action and not quit.
Patience is required, most people give up the first moment it gets hard.
I went through hell learning and installing WordPress for my blog, I didn’t know s*** about it!
Did I quit?…. NO.
I went onto Youtube and read articles online.
Now I can create a blog with no problem, but that’s only because I taught myself how.
I did the work!
I am still learning everyday and making modifications and improvements to my blog.
Victor mentions above: “They think it’s a huge leap to go from A to B in a straight line, so instead they go from A to A in a circle”
People have fear of taking action and expect things to “just happen.”
You must make it happen.
All skills online and business are LEARNABLE.
If you can log into Victor’s website, you can learn any skill necessary to get what you want.
With patience and dedication, you too can have what Victor has, but it’s not going to happen in a week, month, or year.
I am busting my ass working on my website everyday and learning as much as I can.
Following everything that Victor has written about in his articles was how I started my own blog and I hope to inspire as many people as possible to push past the inertia they face when trying to make a change and better themselves.
I want to motivate people not to quit.
I use to be the biggest procrastinator, now I’m fired up and making things happen!
Do the work!!!
http://www.inertiawillhurtya.com
So sorry to tell you, but the only Victor Pride copycat making a living from a blog is Victor Pride.
Gotta agree with you there Johnny. So many dudes trying to do the same thing Vic is doing. Copycats are jokes
Here is your original comment:
Hey Guys, Long time reader here. So after months of non-stop work I finally launched my first website and my second entrepreneurial venture, it’s called SellRadar. I’m not asking anyone to sign up but if anyone could give me a brutally honest opinion I’d really appreciate it. Here’s a link http://www.sellradar.com
Well, as a seasoned entrepreneur, the first thing I’d ask is: Why should I bother with you? Why are you better at sourcing products than I am? I’m a relentless psychopath when it comes to finding the best deals and I have access to networks most people can’t touch. I know marketers who run campaigns for the top nutritional supplement companies on the planet, why would I want your company’s marketing help? Now James, in no way am I trying to be a dick but these are the kinds of questions you need to be able to answer. If you can, then maybe you’ve got something. If you can’t, then it’s time to ask yourself why you can’t. Just my 2 cents.
I just started reading “The Rise of Superman” its about getting into the zone or “FLOW” as they call it. I think that is where you are at Victor. There are different levels, but its the feeling that your life is being fulfilled with every action you take. When you have complete focus on what you are doing and your creativity runs wild that is the ultimate feeling.
Thanks for sharing Justin, that sound like a book that I would like to read. I’ma go buy it now online.
“I live my life, then I put my life into words.”~Victor Pride
Legendary.
Great article Vic, totally agree. I hate the word work because it conjures up images of doing things you hate doing, I prefer the word creating…creating shit you love all the time and getting $$ for it is a great life.
Hey Vic, I wanted to chime in with some honest feedback and try to be a little different from all the guys who will inevitably show up and write “great post!” no matter what.
Although your last few entries have no doubt been inspiring, they all sort of encompass the same theme - “how to be successful.” “Do the work - get rich.” “Be yourself, be a man.”
One of the reasons I was originally drawn to your site was the variety of topics you touched on, such as actionable weight lifting tips, books to read, tips on money, or something out of the box that was unique but not necessarily on the exact subject of “do the work - get results” even though it was implied.
I’d love to see more posts about specific events or obstacles you overcame in great detail. For example, when you read “How to Get Rich” by Felix Dennis, he cites exact moments in negotiation or health concerns etc. that caused him to act differently. I would love to hear more of that kind of thing, from your unique journey because there is no doubt you’ve been through thick and thin.
I thought the Connor McGregor post was your strongest one in recent weeks because it was quite unique but still powerful, and it showed how taking a gut-risk can pay off.
Just wanted to share some thoughts. Take it as you will. You’ve inspired me plenty already and I thank you for that.
I second what Riz has said.
There is much about your life that you could write to really accentuate your rise from average to legendary.
For example;
Write about your high school self in depth. We know you were a loser (that is what you say), explain more about how you were a loser. Let people relate (if they can) or see things from a different perspective, then talk about how you turned your life around.
Talk about how you networked with worthwhile, ass-kicking people.
You say you live life and then write about it, but one does not just go from point A to B. You lived a life vastly different from the one you live now; you had to change.
Write about the change.
I know you’ve said that “the journey” is a term that losers use, but your journey was literally your steps, however small, towards greatness.
The principles are painfully simple and some of us as readers get it, “Do the work, get the results.”
To quote Riz, “I’d love to see more posts about specific events or obstacles you overcame in great detail.”
The least popular post in the last 5 was without question the McGregor post. The most popular, without question, was Success Rebel. Kids in high school are playing it as part of their presentations. Guys are playing it to their therapists. The beauty and the beast of what I do is that the reader takes from my work what he wants or needs, if one sentence clicks with them and gives them what they need. Regardless if what was really the theme to my piece or not. Personally, I thought the McGregor piece would be a big hit. I planned it out for weeks in advance. I never thought Success Rebel would be such a hit. Even I can’t predict these things.
I hear you. One of my shortest posts which I thought many people wouldn’t understand was in fact very well received and considered “extremely deep” which was my goal.
Keep being you. Just wanted to share some thoughts as an honest and frequent reader.
Great Post Vic!
Success is not a clear path. Its not even a visible path. If it were then everyone would be their own man and not respect success.
I’m glad success is hard which because only the strong, motivated and ambitious get to be on top and I’m on my way!
So true. There is no blueprint for success, but there are blueprint(s) made by successful men in the form of autobiographies and practical advice.
There is a blueprint. Youtube “Felix Dennis-Words of Wisdom”
Good post Vic, keep it up
Another amazing article Victor!
You writing keeps getting more motivational. Finding your site is one of the best things that has ever happened to me.
The only direction is forward.
You should be the best thing that has ever happened to you.
Reread what I said good friend.
‘Finding your site is ONE of the best things that has ever happened to me.’
Thanks, Victor and co., for helping me get my blog up and running, and for providing first class motivational reading. I’ve been here from the beginning and appreciate every word.
I no longer understand the concepts of laziness or stress either.
When I am doing what I really want, I notice that I can work 12+ hours per day and not feel tired or stressed.
When I am doing something I don’t want, I try to avoid it with all kind of mind games.
Just do what you want all the time and all the silly IDEAS about stress, laziness, sacrifice etc disappear.
Laziness can definitely be a good quality.
Without laziness, none of us would be quitting our jobs and working online.
This post makes perfect sense to me. Self employed entrepreneur for over 7 years and my work and life are fully intertwined. I love all of it : the art of the deal, the thrill of chasing new opportunities, the skills learned , value created etc.. all of it invigorates me. There are times where cash flow can be very tight and I wonder how things will come together, but when you come out of it, you’ve once again conquered fear and anxiety and feel nearly invincible. It’s those moments I feel most alive. My destiny is not at the hands of others, it is being forged by me and me alone!
Encouraging words once again. When I get fed up or discouraged, your blog always motivates me to keep going and push even harder than before. Thank you!
http://www.SurvivingOurDebt.com
Hi Vic,
How do you feel about top middle, or top management positions. I was en route to it myself, but started business instead, which failed because of my naivety when I was younger.
Got experience and picked up again though. The thing is, entrepreneurs can be very wealthy, successful and free people, no doubt.
On the other hand, if I compare some “businessman” who has small company, which is the size of up to, say 5 people, even though it operates over 10 years or more, like for example some micro construction company and successful manager with 500k package+ who is making decisions about other peoples lives, I wold go with later. Not even to compare to top management positions, some of these guys earn well over 1M$ and once they built name for themselves, can easily get top managerial job wherever.
Sure, route to there can be hard and demanding, but so is creating business.
Off topic comment to a guy who posted in one of the articles comment, that one should not ask about opinions of others… : Well my friend, getting perspective from different angle is how you learn. If you think you are smarter and all knowing and all wise, you are limiting your growth. I love to hear opinions of competent and successful people, especially in the fields where my knowledge is limited. What is important, is that you make decision at the end by yourself.
I’ve already written my opinions on the subject. But I’m not everybody on earth and I don’t write for everyone on earth. Find what works for you.
Well, I guess one can be both, I’d be happy with that. Jack Ma comes to mind, it’s amazing what one can do through persistence and determination. Reading how that guy started and built empire is just mind blowing.
Jack Ma comes to mind as a top manager? Jack Ma is an entrepreneur.
What I mean, he is both, entrepreneur and executive of his company/ies, since company went public. Surely he is entrepreneur first, since he built it all. Anyway, some nice quote to learn from this guy:
Jack Ma: If you’re still poor at 35, you deserve it!
I relate to this post, being a recovering info junkie.
People’s biggest fear is change. You’ve said in previous posts that people are more scared of success thsn failure. In my case, it was both. The status quo is alluring because there is no risk. Here today, here tomorrow.
The mindset change that people need is to realise that success and failure aren’t the enemy. The status quo is. You only need to take the first step because that is all you need to see change is possible.
Go out, take the first step. If you fail, you fail. If you succeed, you win. The fact is though that once you have a taste for chsnge there is no going back.
You have intimite wisdom and you know who you are. Too many people don’t know who they are because society has dictated who they will or should be. Thanks keep writing it refuels me.
I’m glad this emphasizes the idea of the little things and the small steps that are required to get what you want. Everybody only sees the end goal, the prize. Their lack of insight and action makes them blind to the process and all the time it took to get there. That’s what I tell myself everyday, just focus on the process and not the end goal, one step at a time. Nobody ever climbed Mount Everest by looking at the peak the whole time.
Victor my man,
Its great to come across an other amazing post. I have been following your blog for over 6 months now.
I have bought your book as well.
I am a loyal fan of yours and I plan on meeting you someday in Thailand.
There are a few questions that I have, for which I would love to get your opinion (these have not been covered in any of your blogs).
Is there a way I could discuss with you in private?
Why don’t you ask it in public? Right here? If your question truly holds weight, Vic will answer it and it will forever be here for the world to see and partake of that knowledge as well.
Such a great business model. I really like the part about always working, but never working at the same time. You’re ALWAYS working so you never have to “work”, by traditional standards.
That’s what living a life of choice is all about.
How does Cambodia fare compared to Thailand price wise ?
Thanks !
Cambodia is more expensive in many ways, in some ways it’s cheaper.
Cool hair cut, why you don’t like skinny jeans?
Skinny jeans are for girls.
Correct.
alright guys, Victor what’s your opinion on teeth whitening?
In one of your post you mention having a 10,000 watts smile, did you bleach your teeth?
Your answer is important to me, after this I’ll get back on track with the comments. I’m a winner in the making bro!
I have porcelain veneers.
Some people have no choice than to work in a corporate environment (engineers, teachers, civil cervants etc). But there is also a plase for the lazy guy. You must just appear to be very busy while in fact you are doing next to nothing.
Its called skirting in the UK , shirting in the USA and gyppo in South-Africa. Tricks include leaving your jacket on your chair all the time, making people believe your there early and is the last one to leave, or staring at your computer screen while actually playing games.
Some okes are quite good at it. A Swiss guy was found dead in his chair. He was dead for 3 days before they realised. Or the German who on his retirement admitted he had done nothing for 14 years!
An Australian guy was in the background in the newsroom during a newscast, “working” on his computer. But one viever noticed the poor fella was actually watching girls in bikinis! He was fired. Not clever.
Brilliant was the South African engineer who clocked in every morning, having a coffee with his boss and then left to organise his workers at his own construction company. Then it was of to the beach to surf the rest of the day. He was only found out when he unfortunately won a surfing competition that was held one week and was televised.
Read the 48 laws of power. There’s quite a few laws that touch on what you’re talking about. While they’re not exactly about how to be lazy, they cover how to appear indispensable while doing as little as possible.
I ran a full time business, on the side, the entire time I spent in the corporate world. While sitting through another useless circle jerk meeting, my men would be out busting ass , making me passive income. There would be weeks my salary from my side business was equal to what the corporation paid me.
I do agree that you need to market yourself at your workplace, but this just sounds like decadent laziness. No man with self-respect would pretend to work all the time and stay there contentedly for long. He’d be better off starting out something for himself or working and educating himself so he can be a manager and go on with the “doing rounds with a coffee mug” as part of his actual job.
Interesting, I remember the news about that guy watching girls in bikinis
The models offered to pay the Australians salary till he find another job while the South Arican was also fired but was sued because he was earning money from his business while also getting a salary. I think he was fined to pay back some money.
Hey Victor,
Love your site…great value and originality. Between you and Danger and Play I got my ass energised and am back in the studio. I even posted a new entry on my blog. My acronym/motto has become: GOYA!…(get off your ass!)…I’m back in the gym and basically focused on action, followed by…more action. I’m 67 yrs old and feel like a man who just woke up from a very long nap!
Thanks again for all your hard work, you are making a difference!
Respectfully,
Jim Noel
Is the Spartan Entrepreneur going to be coming soon Vic? As in, within the next 2-3 months possibly?
Yes.
Vic,great post!!
Ahahahah I just watched your beef body video it was sick but which book were you reading at the end?
First of all, I love what you’ve done with the place, Vic. Congratulations on the upgrades and bravo to the new additions. You’re growing. It’s lovely to see.
Second, great article. No wait. Amazing article. You’ve put in simple words what other people have tried expressing in entire works of books, often misguided works. Genius, my friend, genius.
A few quick comments,
“Because they’re waiting for a step-by-step formula when all they need is a one-step formula.
They think it’s a huge leap to go from A to B in a straight line, so instead they go from A to A in a circle.”
This exposes the herd instinct in the majority of people that follow and seek gratification by pleasing others. They’re sheep, not lions. I spoke of this in my first comment on this site. The biggest obstacle one faces is himself. Know thyself. Know what you want. Know where you want to be. After you set everything straight, stop giving a fuck and detach yourself. Only then will you be able to take action. Vic has done this. I have done this. Every progressive person has done this.
For those who want some insights on the individualistic thought process. Redirect your reading to authors like Nietzsche, Machiavelli, Robert Greene, Anton LaVey among others. Oh, not to forget, Victor Pride.
“There’s no blueprint to success that everyone on earth can follow but there are habits of success.
There are steps. Steps in the right direction.”
I also spoke of this in my first comment. There is only one Victor Pride. I’ll let Nietzsche take this for me: Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche — ‘You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.’
“I can’t turn a loser into a winner, and I don’t want to…
…but I guarantee I can turn an almost-winner into a big winner.”
The importance of mindset. I, Victor or any other progressive person, can identify a loser on sight. And a winner on sight. To be fair, a few conversations and you’re exposed. A winner can lose gracefully, but a loser can only win shamefully. A winner is shameless, but a loser is graceless. And then we arrive to the problem of choice. Causality. Cause and effect. You decide your place. You can choose to be a winner, or a loser. A first, or a second. A lion, or a sheep. But you should know, you’re living a process, not an event. Success as Victor put it, is a series of habits, a process, and is surely not fortune, an event. But it makes people feel better when they blame things they cannot control on superstitions. It makes them feel… special. Or less worthless. Or less afraid. Or less weak.
As Victor put it, a winner has always been a winner. He has the potential to be a winner, all he needs is a way to put that potential into use. Once he does, he’s a flower that has bloomed.
A loser on the other hand, is missing the potential. No matter how much he tries, he can’t bloom. Because he doesn’t have the seed.
Know thyself. Find your seed. Fix your shit. And finally, bloom.
Keep walking gents. Earn your dicks.
Peace, Vic.
Very astute, James. Great comment.
Very clever way of putting things. So true though.
Living in Asia you must have your pick for women I would guess?
A friend of mine is living there now teaching English. He’s about 6ft, in shape, white and good style. I’ve seen some of the women he’s been dating and he’s on a totally different level than when he was in North America.
Great post Victor Pride!!!
Hi Victor,
I’m 18 years old and studying in university right now. I’ve been following your blog ever since I found it a few months ago. Recently I decided to take a step towards changing my life for the better and decided to buy body of a Spartan. Body of aspartan is great and very inspiring and I was really exited about putting it into practice. However I have a few questions:
Firstly I am around 6ft give or take and About 65 kg(it fluctuates a lot, sometimes I go down to 60 and goes up to almost 70) and really skinny. Luckily I’m not weedy and twiggy skinny like some others but still way too skinny and I never ever gain weight even though I eat fairly large amounts. I have also never lifted a weight in my life before I started this. But basically I am the type of build that is about 60-70 percent ecto and 40-30 meso which means I am more athletic and tougher boned and bodied and more broad shouldered and big and powerful looking than the normal skinny ectomorphs. I’m also a really fast runner if that means anything. My body generally responds positively to exercise very quickly.
So my questions are mainly about my complete beginner status and the beginner’s routine. How long should I be doing it for?
Can I move onto the spartan routine within a week or so as soon as I have the form down?
Is a minute rest between each set in the beginners routine acceptable?
Also the Beginners routine talks about doing 5 sets of say 20 reps to start with and gradually add weight and decrease reps. But what if you can’t even do that? What if you can’t manage those 5 sets in the beginners routine? Like say I start with just the bar when bench pressing for my first set and even when adding minimum weight increments to each set I can’t go past or even finish the 2nd or 3rd set? Or even the first? My friends kept telling me bench press isn’t for beginners. What should I do then? My question also applies to all the other lifts in general.
however I have the form down so should I just move onto the spartan routine and just work on improving what I have?
Also does it make a difference whether I do 3 day beginner routine or 4 day beginner routine?
Your answer will help a lot bro
Respect,
Khal
You gotta start with body weight training man! Do pushups, body squats, pull-ups etc. then you will be stronger to get under weights at the gym.
A good way to progress for pushups is you do one set of pushups until failure to find your max you can make in one set, you take 70-80% of that max and you do 4-6 sets of that number everyday for one week (you can spread the sets throughout the day), then next week you do another set of pushups until failure to find you new max, then you take 70-80% of it and do 4-6 sets ED etc etc etc, every week. When you can make 30-50 good slow pushups with good form for your max you’ll be more than ready to take on weights in the gym.
you also do the body squats, pullups and situps everyday too and eat a lot more.
I always tell people “I dont stop, even when I sleep.”
You ever try Dream Yoga or Locking the Gate of the Immortals(http://www.whale.to/a/locking_the_gate.html) in your sleep? Lets you work around the clock. You can tap into resevoirs of energy and motivation that are unparallelled.
Will you be releasing another Q&A Podcast anytime soon?
I doubt it, unless someone emailed me 20 great questions.
Like what has been said here many times: Usually,you can’t get rich working for other people but you are making them get rich. Outside of having a VERY valuable skill to offer that is. And at that point, why not just start your own biz?
Years back I worked at this law firm as a young guy. They had me do everything. One day they had me deliver stuff to the boss man’s wife at his place. The place was amazing. A huge townhouse on the upper east side of Manhattan in New York City. Huge BUCKS.The Elevator took me up to his place directly in front and when I got off there was a security guard greeting me. Then he let me in.I was blown away by this place.By the time I got back to the office, the boss still did not even show up for work yet. He was so rich he could do what he wanted. He would come in around 10:30 Am and go to lunch with a client around 12:30 PM.The go home by about 4 pm tops.
I was too dumb to figure out the guy was so good at marketing and meeting with the high rollers of life and getting things done that he could set his OWN hours. The “hours” were not just at the office. Gee, doesn’t everyone slave at 9-5 work and then go eat and watch a game after work? Ummmm.. NO. This guy was so good and so into building the business that he hit the point where it all just flowed while others bitch and moan about the 2 dollar per hour raise because they have worker bee mentalities. Then the worker bee has the nerve to call the creative one who took the chance and build the “lazy” one. No, getting a job( unless you truly LOVE that job and always wanted to be that) is for the lazy and the non thinkers. Not to mention very limiting financially and freedom wise. I now gag when I hear people talk some nonsense in a supermarket about having the “day off” and back to the slave mill the following day. What a hideous way to live your life. Once again Victor is speaking of FREEDOM! Freedom financially, socially and internally! And in this freedom creating internet age, Nothing beats it! Awesome!
Featured comment.
Great article! It is quite inspiring to young people (including myself) to be reminded that success isn’t necesarrily achieved by studying a fancy degree, working 9-5 in a company, and after 30 years of being the personal bitch of your boss you might start to earn some serious money.
“Working for yourself builds your bank account, it builds your character, it builds your future, it builds your mindset, it builds your confidence. When you succeed you feel euphoric. No real work required.”
-just summs it all up!
I am glad to find people that expect more from life, than having an average job, getting married and having 1.5 kids. Nothing is necesarrily wrong with those things, but they surely aren’t the ultimate goals we should all have!
I am looking forward to your next post Vic!
Vic, what’s your opinion on social circles/groups versus being a “lone wolf”, as you call yourself?
Do you believe a young man should focus on circles, whereas once that man grows up he should divert his focus towards being a lone wolf, or should the young man also focus on being a “lone wolf” for his better interest?
I wear a size 13 shoe. When I go to the shoe store they typically carry shoes up to size 12. So I don’t buy any shoes. There are plenty of guys who wear a size 12 shoe, but I’m not one of them and I wouldn’t be comfortable wearing shoes that don’t fit. A size 12 doesn’t work for me, even if it works fine for others.
Victor, next post should be : “How to bet on winners at the UFC” :-P
Hendricks vs Lawler : What do you think?
Cheers!
I have been thinking this exact same thing all day today. Hendricks, and I’ll put my money where my mouth is. The secret is always bet on champions. Johny Hendricks has the will, the desire and the fire to win and remain a champion.
Vic, what will be happening to you and to B&D when you are 60?
Grandfathers will be reading it to their grandsons.
Vic,
I completly agree with all that was said here. Some people really belive they can purchase a PDF instruction manual to build wealth or be succesfull. Being succesful and acheiveing goals is all about putting in the work, FAILING, and getting up and doing it all over again.
“The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried” – Stephen McCranie
How fast and how well you come out a failure is gonna determine how long you will take to become succesful.
Thank you for all your valuable information Vic. It has really come in handy in all my business ventures. Specially with the new blog. I hope to continue to build knowledge and learn thru your experiences.
Regards,
Louis
http://www.RealBankingAdvice.com
Nice post Vic,
I see nothing wrong with laziness as long as you’re healthy and financially independent with a long stream of passive income into the future. That’s the end game after all, is building a life you enjoy, not living to work. But if you’re broke, you better be working 7 days a week.
On a side note, I was reading one of your other posts where you said not to get involved with Thai girls. I’m planning on moving to Thailand by next summer and wanted to know what the deal is. I’ve read the horror stories on stickmans forum but figured that was for old, out of shape guys trying to wife up former bar girls. Are Thai girls as a whole just un-dateable?
“Are Thai girls as a whole just un-dateable?”
No, they are un-trustable. Remember that and you will be fine.