From the desk of Victor Pride
Subj: My favorite subject, TCB (takin' care of business)
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The Website for Winners ™ receives a lot of questions about how to make money online. What's the best method, how can you do it, where do you start, how much money can you make etc.
These are all valid questions for a “just-starter-outer”, but I also get questions from desperate “give-uppers” who impatiently ask me questions along the lines of “How do I make money yesterday?!?!”.
I'll tell you but you may not like the answer. Let me explain a little…
Bold and Determined has been in existence for just under three years. I have made my living solely from Bold and Determined for one and one-half years. Before that was one and one-half years where I made nothing or next to nothing for my work.
Bold and Determined is actually the third blog I started. I registered my first blog domain one year before I registered Bold and Determined. That means I have been at this for four years.
Do the math….
It took me over 2.5 years to crack the code and make a dollar and a cent online. And not just make a dollar but make a very nice living.
I get asked questions all the time and I see these types of questions all the time “I want to quit my job and work from home NOW! What can I do?”
The answer is you could have started two and a half years ago.
There's nothing wrong with taking the easy way because it's really not terribly hard to go out and make an income on your own. It's far easier to wake up on your own schedule without the sound of the alarm reminding you of the impending doom waiting for you at the office. But if you want to be your own boss and make your own rules there is one thing that is absolutely required of you, that one thing is sweat equity. Your time. Your effort. There is no such thing as a day off for an entrepreneur.
But then you've got the impatient, “I want it now!” types. Day after day, year after year they'll give their time to their boss and they'll give it away for pennies. When they wake up and realize that ain't no way to live life and they're ready to start their own little business and find freedom they'll say “But I want it NOW! What can I do NOW to make money???”
Hey, I understand. When I want something I want it now too. When I want a haircut I can't do anything at all until I get my hair cut. A little haircut sounds minor but it makes all the difference in the world because if I really want something I won't stop until I get it. Whether it's a haircut or a check for 10 grand. I want it now, sure, but I'll be damned if I stop before I get it.
It took me 2.5 years to become a pro blogger. It took me 7 years to build the body I wanted. I took me a dozen years to finally quit my job and go into business on my own. You can believe I wanted everything right then and there, but I did the time and stuck around and I finally got what I wanted.
I used to be the world's worst insurance agent. I barely ever worked. I was so bad I made $15,000 one year. No joke. A grown man made $15,000 dollars for the whole year. The next year I made over $100,000 dollars.
What was the difference?
The difference was that I quit the job that I hated, and thus spent zero time trying to build and improve, and I started my own gig and spent 150% of my time working for myself in a very lucrative field. I took massive action. It was do or die, and I did every single day.
I went from lolly-gagging my way through life to kicking ass through life.
So you want to know the secret code to making money for yourself?
Start kicking some ass.
Kick some ass every single day that you're alive.
Oh, and start yesterday.
The longer you wait, the longer it takes.
A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week. -George S. Patton
When Friday rolls around most people will be excited to go out partying for the weekend or to sit at home and catch up on all the missed television shows. Then when Sunday rolls around they're going to bitch and moan, “Oh man, the weekend goes by sooooooooo fast! I have to work tomorrow!“.
I spent my fair amount of time partying too. It got me a lucrative job making 15k a year. When I was making real money you know what I was doing on Friday nights? I was out at 12am-3am putting up bandit signs all around the city.
If you've ever driven around a major US city you've seen those signs that say “We Buy Houses” or “We Buy Cars”. Those are called bandit signs. They're called bandit signs because they're illegal to place on street corners without city permission so only bandits go out in the dark of night to place their advertisements.
The reason people place those signs on street corners is because the signs work as intended. People who are desperate to sell their house or automobile call the number listed. The guy who answers that phone number is working his tail off to do a deal and make some money.
I'd have to go out on Friday nights to place the bandit signs because city workers would collect them on Monday morning and throw them away, so I had a narrow window of opportunity to get the signs seen.
My Friday nights were bandit nights and I did that type of thing for a long time. One of those signs on a street corner somewhere was how I made my first ten thousand dollars. I needed that money too, that check got me out of debt in one afternoon.
I worked on that one single deal every single day and night for one month to get that pretty little check and if I'd needed to I would have worked double that.
4 hours, 40 hours, 80 hours, the amount of time spent working is irrelevant. Do what you need to do to get what you need and then you can enjoy the spoils of war. When I need something I'll work day and night and I'll work through the whole weekend as well. I'll work right up to the finish line.
How about you, friend, what are your weekend plans?
Until next time.
Your man,
-Victor Pride
PS - There were two real breakthroughs I had while working my way to pro status and achieving total mental clarity.
#1) I started following all the habits laid out in 30 Days of Discipline and it made a huge difference for me in terms of mental clarity and focus. In fact I am re-following and re-doing the program this very month.
Well said Uncle Victor, your desires and dreams are ripe for the taking, but only to those who hustle hard and put in the great amount of time required to do so.
There are no days off, you get what you put in and those who want it now do not deserve to reap the greatest of rewards. The winners are patient and know the true intrinsic value of long-term gratification.
Too many suckers always want it NOW, becoming increasingly impatient and constantly consuming short-term gratification. These are the people who go nowhere.
Also I love the twist on Tim Ferriss’s 4-Hour series. Too many fools take his title literally and it’s a damn shame. Keep up the good hustle Victor.
-Tony
Damn Victor, you brought back fond memories of driving around on Friday/Saturday nights putting up bandit signs! Did it every weekend for several months, I got calls but all of them wanted way too much or were upside down on their mortgages (this was 2009 so everybody owed more on their homes than they were worth).
If you want success you have to work hard at it until you achieve it. There is no way around it or no easy way to accomplish it.
Work
Work
And work some more!
It will make you appreciate it more
Great post Vic
Victor, I like Your haircut from picture where You are in “american t-shirt” (3rd in a timeline). How is it called? I wanna get some like that but I don’t know how to explain it to my barber (I can’t show him a picture, I don’t own any fancy phone… or should I say “I’m not owned by any fancy phone”). Cheers.
I just take a picture to my barber and say “do this”.
Every post on this web site is awesome
Thanks for the inspiration.
My favorite quote: “Kick some ass every single day that you’re alive.
Oh, and start yesterday.”
Awesome!
Another fucking good post Vic, I love your discipline and your will to kick ass, it’s refreshing. I think working for yourself and making chunks of money through no means other than hard work is the only time working that hard is enjoyable.
As always StrengthInConfidence.com is open for comments and feedback, I’d appreciate it greatly.
Vic-
Do you have a website/affiliate link for modafinil? I went through the comments and the links of that post, and tried everything, but it seems like most of the links are inactive.
Clear your browsers cache and try again or go to https://boldanddeterminedarchive.com/superdrugsaver , I have just today replaced links because the old place stopped selling modafinil.
What is it though? They say they use generic, but I’ve tried Modvigil (from HAS, India) and it was horrible. Modapro is supposed to be better…
Do you know what “brand” it is?
The brand is modafinil. Modafinil itself is a generic of provigil.
Hey Vic,
I really appriciate your blog. I havr learned so much. I have two questions for you though. They are:
1) How does the new obama health care crap affect you?
2) I know you have shared in the past some nice tax loop holes that you take advantage of, Can you list some to help out your fello bros who are going into business for themselves? The current environment is not too friendly to entreprenurers. Thanks Vic. Keep up the fantastic work.
Leon.
1) It doesn’t. I broke out of that looney bin already.
2) If the environment isn’t friendly you can set up your biz where the environment is friendly. Wyoming, Delaware, Hong Kong, Singapore, Seychelles, BVI, Nevis…..
Thanks Vic. Also, Please elaborate a little if you can. How did you break out of the obama health garbage. Only if you can bro. I really want to learn.
Thanks Vic.
Leon.
I don’t live in America.
AAHHH, Got it. Thanks Bro.
This is awesome… I’m new here, I just found this blog and am a relatively successful businessman (in the traditional American sense). But lately I’ve been feeling like a “corporate slave” and stumbled onto this blog. Reading a book called Free Agent Nation about this concept right now and am very focused on creating a business and breaking free. What articles should I read first? Health/ fitness is not a problem I am more concerned with the business articles… I keep myself at about 9% body fat, lift 5-6 days a week, and eat salad greens and eggs/ meat.
Read the Fastlane Millionaire by MJ DeMarco.
I second that, Fastlane Millionaire is a life changing book.
What a great book, I was lucky enough to get it in 2011 before it was famous and it’s honestly the best business book out there. It’s simplistic in it’s elements, but really you have to travel your own road so the basic outlines are more important than technical details like tax laws that can change rapidly.
I like Dennis Felix, but it’s more of a “Mindset” book, like Napoleon Hill’s, DeMarco’s is actually something you can apply.
Yes, I really can’t say enough good things about the book. And the Felix Dennis book is a mindset book, and mindset is highly important.
Whoops, I meant Felix Dennis.
Thanks for more words of wisdom Uncle Vic.
Even if you could give these kids ALL the secrets to your success, it still means a LOT of hard work which most people would give up on after they found out.
Remember kids, Modafinil is the SSRI equivalent for Dopamine, which is part of the stimulant family of drugs that effect that neuroreceptor. Other drugs in that category are things like adderal, ritalin, meth, cocaine and bath salts. Modafinil although is a lot better than those specific drugs because it’s not a huge dump like the other ones. Treat it with respect like any other drug or power tool!
Comparing modafinil to adderall and even cocaine shows how clueless and inexperienced you are.
That is saying comparing comparing molly and SSRIs is ‘showing’ how inexperienced I am, even though they work on the same neurotransmitter.
Modafinil is not an ssri, and doesn’t have the same effects of one. There are some risks with it, and checking wikipedia is probably the best way to figure out what they are.
In my experience with it, is… It makes you feel, and function, as if you’re fully awake. It doesn’t take away physical sensations of being tired: sore eyes will be sore. This is the experience of someone who took it due to fatigue issues.
I had the side effect of… It not working for me after a few dosings. That happens to some people apparently, which isn’t a big deal if you’re just looking for an edge, since it’s usefulness comes back after a few days.
Olmifon (adrafinil) can be legally imported for personal use if you’re Canadian. Modafinil itself is prescription only here.
But you’re right about treating it with respect. There’s no value in just cranking the dosage up for example. If it’s losing effectiveness, instead back off. Try smaller doses, and or waiting a few days for it to clear your system.
I know it’s not an SSRI. I said the SSRI _equivalent_ for Dopamine. SSRI stands for Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor. I’ve taken SSRIs for a month or two many years ago, I didn’t feel anything either, and when I took them, the doctor had me scale up the dosage with pill cutters and similarly scale them down with pill cutters. SSRIs are _subtle_, but you still shouldn’t just take them 24/7. On the other hand you for sure feel a lot when you take MDMA, which dumps serotonin into your brain all at once, like meth/adderall dumps dopamine into your brain all at once.
Modafinil can be called a Selective Dopamine Reuptake Inhibitor, but I’ve never seen that actual term used. One interesting thing about it is it doesn’t cause inflammation in the brain like adderall/meth does. Modafinil can be said to be closer to cocaine than to meth, since they both prevent reuptake.
What is dangerous about messing with dopamine it is the neurotransmitter of focus, drive, care and reward. Someone who has a non-typical amount of drive since birth will probably go farther in life than anybody, since it’s drive that really determines success in everything if you don’t have any disabilities from birth.
You don’t want to replace your ability to focus with meth or crack for example as your brain down regulates dopamine to respond to the imbalance caused by the drugs. Modafinil is show to be safe in practice, but all I want to say is you should respect it as a power tool, especially as a dopamine power tool.
This Gif image gives a good visualization of the mechanisms that dopamine stimulants give. Something like an SSRI / Modafnil are a bit more complicated and don’t fit well with this visualization.
http://i.imgur.com/P4csH.gif
Yeah, and it will make your hair fall out too. Modafinil is decent but adderall is hands down insane. First time I took it, (I don’t have ADD), I was in a bookstore. Took 10mg and spent the next 11 hours reading. Finished 3 books, (about a thousand pages.) It gives you the kind of focus that you forget what time it is, or day. I’ve had days where I work for 15 hours straight without getting up once only to realize that I haven’t eaten anything.
I’ve had the same thing on modafinil, the difference is that there are no side effects or withdrawal symptoms.
Of course adderall is a lot stronger. I would of tried a much smaller dose than your friends 10mg full pill. Probably a quarter 2.5mg pill, cut with a pill cutter, especially that was probably your first time taking adderall. You have to ramp up on these kinds of drugs. Therapeutic doses are often far smaller than recreational doses.
30 days of discipline is a MUST for anyone who wants to follow the advice given in this article.
Victor is the small talk post still in works?Thanks.
Probably not, I’ve got a lot of things to cover. Personally, I hate small talk and if you’re like me and either don’t like small talk or don’t know how to small talk the secret is to just ask the other person questions and get them to talk. “oh ya?”…”uh huh?”…”so how did you?…”. Ask questions and let them talker talk themselves out.
Good advice. Whether you’re a police interrogator, a job interviewer, a man prospecting a woman, or you’re being interrogated by the police or an interviewer or a bitch, or any other situation, the number one thing is: SHUT THE FUCK UP. Let the suspect, the applicant, or the bitch do the talking. Whoever has their fucking mouth open is giving up information, even if they’re lying or they think it’s irrelevant; the one listening is the one in control.
Everyone has something they want to tell you, and even most liars think that they are really in the right. What they really want, more than they want to fool you, is to justify themselves to you.
1. Shut the fuck up and let your subject talk. Listening is always first.
2. If she/he isn’t talking, ask open-ended and questions. Either subtly accusative or subtly approving, depending on the situation.
3. There are other techniques for resistant subjects…
Well that may not be exactly small talk. But if you want to get in a woman’s pants (and by “pants” I mean “pussy”) the path of least resistance (unless she’s a wild drinker, and maybe even then) is to get her to talk about herself. Same if you want a confession from a killer. Let them talk, be vaguely sympathetic, show concern, ask sympathetic questions. Be patient and persistent, be sparing with approval but never judgmental. “Small talk”, like any other “talk”, consists of listening and asking questions.
If the subject asks /you/ questions, it’s a sign of interest. Respond as minimally as you can; reflect the question back to the asker. Remember: the listener is in charge, the talker is vulnerable. BE RECEPTIVE and SHUT THE FUCK UP.
Abgrund, you’re a sharp guy. What’s your story buddy?
That’s a good example: complimentary without being obtrusively flattering, an open-ended question, and nothing to guide or distract the subject. I like open-ended or ambivalent questions because you can learn a lot from how the subject interprets a question like “what’s your story”, without them even realizing they’ve given anything up. Even if they change the subject or deliberately misunderstand the question, you’ve learned something.
Sure that works… If you have nothing to say.
That’s true .normally I just let the person I’M taking to carry the weight of the conversation.I thought that their was something more to it I also read this recently
http://www.returnofkings.com/13363/3-quick-tips-to-protect-yourself-legally
“The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, the second best time is now.”
Time waits for no man, you’ve got to take control of your own life today or be condemned mediocrity forever.
condemned to*
Hi
I want to try and start my own website and maybe make a little money off it.
My question to you is, aside from “30 Days of Discipline” and “Body of a Spartan,” how do you make money off B&D?
Read this series: https://boldanddeterminedarchive.com/2013/03/20/so-you-want-to-be-a-professional-blogger/
@Paul,
Read the link Vic shared with you. Study and analyze the whole thing a few times. Create a flow chart and work from there. Starting a blog is not hard. Content is key. If your readers enjoy what you’re writing, they’ll come back for more.
I started a blog to share my thoughts, Victor lit the fire under my ass with that exact article. I haven’t even monetized it yet ( I will soon once I figure out exactly how) but I find it rewarding in itself to share my thoughts with men who have similar, ass-kicking thoughts as me. It was thrilling to see the first comment on my blog. That means, some random guy, somewhere in the world, came across my blog, found it intriguing enough to leave a comment. It all starts there. Read the work from Vic, and just jump in. You have nothing to lose (except, at most $100) and just go for it!
Wow Victor thanks for this present!
I’m gonna weigh in for a bit here. I see a mess of comments about this and that health care. Seriously? What the hell do you care? So you get health care on the cheap? Big deal. I got full coverage for $20 a month and I haven’t had healthcare for 3 years and I smoke like a chimney. But I digress.
After going through job #7 in 12 months I realized something wasn’t working. I had been vicariously living though my millionaire younger brother’s lifestyle using the old bullshit excuses: “Oh if I only had the chance, I could make magic happen.” and “Oh, I wish I could start a business.” I’d read all the books, twice. Pretty much EVERYTHING Vic has recommended and then some. I’ve read or listened to EVERY major biography of every billionaire and surprise surprise, they all said the same damn thing. I’m not going to tell you that, but if you read a few dozen biographies of successful billionaires you’ll figure it out.
Anyway back to the story.
After being vocationally relocated for the 7th time in a year, I decided it was time for a fucking change. I had 3 goals, but I realized that the dude who I saw in the mirror was not the dude who was going to get those goals.
So I killed him.
I got rid of all my lose friends, fought and won unemployment and leveraged the only damn thing I owned for a $7000 loan.
I now had a means of funding, and a means of supporting myself.
Then I went to work.
I wrote out a dizzying, difficult modification of Vic’s 30 day’s of discipline, that plotted and planned 10 hours of my day. Everyday.
I even downloaded that Keep Focused Productivity tool Vic recommended.
I then took a page from the 50th law, from a story about Demosthenes and shaved half my head and half my beard so I would be so damn embarrassed to go out in public, that I would never slack off.
One month later, of pure work sometimes working for 24 hours at a time, I had a product and a company.
I’m not here to tout my own horn so the name of the company and product is not necessary. The only advice I can give is “Fucking go for it”.
Stop reading like some twat in a coffee shop and go out and seize your idea by the balls. Imagine you are a warrior and your competition must be murdered in order for you to succeed. Treading lightly will get you fucking nowhere.
You can plan all you want to but until you dive headfirst into the shallow end of the pool, all that book knowledge is useless.
Normal people don’t change the world, crazy people do.
So what are you waiting for. Get crazy!
Joey,
That was awesome to read brother.
interesting and awesome! whats your company, whats your product?
Hey Vic, I’ve got a question about a response of yours to a comment on your “How Winning Is Done” blog post. Somebody asked if Spartan Entrepreneur would be put up for sale again and you responded “No, but I’ve got something brand new in the pipeline. Coming soon” I know you probably don’t wanna give away too much yet, but I’ve gotta ask, will this be more information related to making money?
Cheers.
Good post,
As owner of a new web startup it is always interesting to see how long it took other successful websites to get there.
So many people don’t realize the time and dedication that goes into it.
- Sean
Hey Vic,
What business are you in? How do you personally make money?
Thanks.
Victor,
I recently read your “how to be a professional blogger” series, and have a question. How did you make so much money from affiliate marketing so few products? Couldn’t you make more money from marketing more products? I am confused. Even with your 2 e-books, how is it possible to make a living from this?
1 good product is worth more than a thousand shit products.
To true, to true.
A wood chopper does not submit one violent axe stroke in the hope that his tree will come crashing down. Instead the wood chopper understands that the tree is to big and strong for that avenue. Instead he submits axe stroke, after axe stroke over time. As he knows this is the only way to reach his goal.
Continuous effort.
Hey Vic,
Do you know of any wordpress plugins that let you edit the font size of your posts?
I’m using the Font plugin right now. Wanted to see if you any recommendations.
Steve
Dunno bud, ask goog.
Gotta ya. Found one after I sent posted this. Google always has the answer.
I like TinyMCE advanced - great plugin that lets you do quite a few changes in terms of word editing.
Also, this is the best blog I have ever read… and being in the MMO niche working from home full-time I’ve seen a lot of blogs.
Maybe one of these days I’ll reach out to do a JV. I have a good audience in the fitness niche.
Cheers,
Karson
Amazing blog Victor. I’m still reading thru your archives, saving some articles for days when I need to have the blinders bitch slapped off my head. Correct a fool and he will hate you; Correct a wise man and he will love you.
I don’t usually comment on blogs & message boards. In fact my #1 rule is to Never comment on blogs & message boards. But Bold & Determined hit a nerve, and I could not resist praising something so powerful & rare. Being a lone wolf, and a thinker of my own thoughts is no easy task.Your writing is a great source of motivation for me.
I’ve learned the hard way that the real secret to success is understanding that success and failure are intertwined. To not be experiencing success or failure at this very moment means your not taking action. Failure does not make you a loser. Giving up makes you a loser. Even the best laid plans can blow up in your face. Shit happens. Dust yourself off, do your post-mortem quickly, and move on to the next hopefully better plan.
Keep up the good work.
This is motivating and help keeps me on track to building my investment business both offline (hedge fund for high net worth individuals) and online (a trading newsletter that helps average investor and financial advisors follow my trade). The finance business takes time to grow, but i know my work will payoff like a rolling snowball. Three years out of the rat race and still going.
I got into the directly using-money-to-make-money game myself, after failing miserably at internet marketing. Did not love it. Actually hated it. I wandered in the wilderness for years before I found something that I did love. Horse racing. Still seems like a crazy idea, even tho’ I’m making money from it, albeit on a small scale.
I got the idea while reading the obituary of Alan “Mr Huge” Woods. He earned mega-millions by creating a number cruching, probability prediction program. Betting using statistics instead of superstition. Doing the opposite of what the herd does. I became obsessed with the idea.
The problem with reverse enineering guys like Woods is that they don’t write how-to books. But I understood his approach, which pointed me in the right direction. I began stitching together a Frankenstein’s monster. Using bits & pieces from various sources, mostly from outside the racing industry. I read articals on mathematical law & probability theory, studied Bill James’ sabermeterics, I even used the book “Beat the Dealer” to develope my money management strategey.
Took me 4 long years to build a database & work out the kinks. It was only 6 months ago that I experienced that “it’s alive” moment.
George S. Patton huh…that’s where I’m at in my avatar pic his memorial museum in Indio, California.
Ever since I came across B&D I swear I come across coincidences more frequently it’s odd.
This is definitely up there in my top 5 B&D posts. You really nailed it on this one. Just curious, were you able to work 80 hour weeks before using Modafinil, or would you say it helped you forge your work ethic?