When I was a kid I had perfectly white teeth. I also had allergies. My mom took me to an “Allergy Specialist” who put me on about 10 different medications.
I guess to “see what worked”. None of them did work, unless the intended goal was to turn my teeth yellow and spotty and put me in the hospital for a week.
Over the years I have used almost every commercially available teeth whitener with zero success. I have also paid over $300 for professional laser whitening which did not work either.
It wasn’t until I stopped using fluoride toothpaste, in fact I stopped using toothpaste altogether, that my teeth whitened.
In an effort to stop ingesting fluoride I stopped using toothpaste and I used a new miracle drug to brush my teeth. What is this new miracle drug?
Good old fashioned Baking Soda
Not only did my teeth get an excellent cleaning I also noticed after a few months that my teeth were a full shade whiter.
For a particularly effective method of teeth whitening you can brush with Baking Soda and hydrogen peroxide 1-3 times per week.
The combination of the baking soda and hydrogen peroxide form a chemical reaction that breaks down film growing on your teeth and uncovers hidden bacteria, making brushing far more effective. To brush your teeth with baking soda all you need to do is get a cup or glass, pour in a bit of baking soda, add some water, stir with your toothbrush and brush your teeth with the mixture the same way was with toothpaste.
On the days you use hydrogen peroxide just don’t add any water.
Don’t swallow the solution.
Before you throw away tons of money on professional whitening and expensive over-the-counter products why not give baking soda and hydrogen peroxide a shot? It’s worth it even just to get off the poison that is fluoride.
Everywhere you look someone is trying to get your information. Your name, your date of birth, your social security number, your driver’s license number, your mother’s maiden name, your favorite pet, your address, your phone number, your company name, your vehicle license and registration, and even your eye color (Green like July).
They collect this information so they can sell to you better. How do they do this? They watch you. Paranoid? Yes. With good reason? Yes. Keeping private is of utmost importance!
Why should you stay private?
A better question would be why shouldn’t you stay private? Everyone in the world does not need access to your intimate details and information. Those details can be used against you whether you do any wrong or not. You can be SUED FOR ANYTHING in our world. If you’re as handsome as me you will have trouble with stalkers. Any crazy person can try and track you down and sue you for any bit of nonsense. Not to mention all the Government agencies are watching you and spying on you, YES YOU!
Below we will discuss some very basic, but rock solid, strategies to stay private in an ever increasingly non-private world.
Alias’s
An alias is a fake name. It is not illegal to use a fake name unless under oath. When should you use an alias? All the time. Think of all the times you are asked for your name online. Do you just give it freely? I used to. Now I don’t. I always use an alias unless they are sending me a check and then I use my real name. My rule is: Only use a real name when you must. That goes for when you’re dealing with Government, taxes, and someone who is paying you. Otherwise, use a fake.
Ghost Address’s
BOLD & DETERMINED is of the opinion that you should NEVER give out your physical address (where you live). No one (aside from friends and family whom you trust) should have this information. You should always use a ghost address.
A ghost address is a place where you can get mail but is not where you are located physically. Using a ghost address your real address cannot be traced back to you. An example of a ghost address would be to use a PO Box or a Mailbox Etc. to receive your mail. A PO Box is pretty dirt cheap for the security it provides. Another option is to use an online company which will receive your mail (in another State), scan it and email it to you, and depending on what you tell them to do they will forward it to any address you choose or they will shred it. Here at the premises we use Mailbox Forwarding.
Cell Phone Privacy
Smart phones are a spy’s wet dream. Any hacker worth his salt can get into your smart phone using the Bluetooth capabilities, the wireless internet, the instant messaging. Anything. Hackers will set up free Wi-Fi access in public places such as libraries, cafes and airports. Unsuspecting users who log onto the hot spot are then monitored for passwords, credit card numbers and account information. Those apps you download can be harmful too. Many cell phone users leave their Bluetooth signal constantly on, and never change the default passcodes, usually “0000” or “1234.”
For these reasons I no longer use a smart phone. I have been using a plain Jane phone with no extra capabilities except for phone calls and text messaging (and I’ll be damned if the charge doesn’t last 4 times as long as a smart phone. I charge the thing once every four days instead of every day).You can pick up track phones at the local gas station (what ghetto’ites call a “burner”) for $15 and renew minutes as you go. This past year I have saved at least $1400 not using a smart phone with a full data plan. If you want to go the extra mile you can pay with cash and use an alias when you set up service.
Never put personal information on your cell phone. No social security number, credit card numbers, date of birth, passwords, or compromising pictures.
Online Privacy
Nearly everything you put online can be traced back to you. That’s why you must take double-special-extra precaution when you put any information online. Remember, NOTHING YOU PUT ONLINE IS SAFE. It can all be traced back to you, and that INCLUDES emails you write. Yes, all emails are read and stored by papa gumment. Before you put something on the internet, think to yourself if you would like it read back to you five years later (don’t be like BOLD & DETERMINED and say the unpleasant truth, at least not under your real name). Anything can come back to haunt you.
The only way your emails are safe is if you use an encrypted email and the person you are messaging also uses encrypted email. You can get a free secure email address at Hushmail but remember, it is not private unless BOTH parties use encrypted email.
Always use several emails. Have a real email you use for friends and family and use several baloney emails with fake names for all the endless sites that ask you for an email (but use a real email for the BOLD & DETERMINED email updates. We don’t sell emails or give out info).
Social Media
Facebook is a stalkers heaven. You check in and they know exactly where you are. They know exactly where you were last Friday at 2pm. They know your name, your date of birth, your email, maybe your address, your company, your favorite TV shows, and most of all they have crystal clear pictures of your pretty face to go right alongside your full name.
Just say no to social media unless you are using it for business purposes. If you have tons of pictures online and can’t get rid of them what you do is add those same pictures, with tons of different names, to tons of different sites. That way, you dilute the impact and no one knows which is the real name and the real you. Of course, it’s best if you never use your pictures with your real name in the first place!
Rules for Online Privacy:
Always use aliases.
Never use social media with your real name and face.
Never, ever use your real address. Always use a fake address (123 Jerkwater st. Nowhere, IA) unless something is being shipped to you and then you can use your ghost address.
Never, ever use your real date of birth with your real name, and never use your social security number (unless it is an absolute must).
You do not want your real name associated with your real face. Social media is a no-go unless you are using it for business purposes, and I would use a fake name or fake pictures.
Stay away from social media
If your pics are online and you can’t get rid of them, put many pics with different names online (especially if you have an uncommon name)
The only reason you should have your real name and face online is if you are selling your services online. If you are a consultant, a personal trainer, or something like that and you are drumming up business online then it is acceptable to use your real name and face but you can modify: If your name is John Daniel Franklin you could use JD Franklin or John DF.
Always buy privacy protection when you buy an internet domain. The world does not need to know what websites you own.
Online Purchasing
Rather than use a real credit card or debit card for purchases, giving hackers in a who-knows-how-far radius access to you, you can use prepaid debit cards that can be purchased at your local store.
Remember, you want NOTHING to be able to be traced back to you.
IP Address:
Your IP Address can be used to track your physical location. Unless you use a Proxy or a VPN (Virtual Private Network), each time you visit a website or leave a comment the webmaster knows almost your exact location (remember that next time you leave someone a nasty comment). A proxy is a piece of software that changes your physical location to a faraway location. A proxy or VPN is like a ghost address for your computer. I use two proxies: a free proxy called Freegate and a paid VPN. The paid one is far superior to Freegate, which is always in need of updates for it to work, and VPN’s are extremely cheap. You can purchase a VPN by the day, week, month or year. The longer you go, the cheaper it gets.
Obvious:
Don’t click on links from emails you don’t know.
Never click on a link from a banking institution or anywhere else asking you to put in your credit card information again.
Never give out information over the phone. Social Engineers (today’s con artists) will call you, pretending to be from a company you use, to “confirm” your details about a purchase or something. They won’t forget to confirm your date of birth, your credit card and CVC number, bank account, and your name.
Offline Privacy
Keeping private offline is much easier than keeping private online. Some things to remember: Never use your physical address, only your ghost address. That goes for the pizza delivery boy. Pizza joints keep your address on file. You’re better off going to pick up the pizza. Say you have a stalker, and they have your phone number but not your address, they can call up some pizza joints and say this:
Stalker: Delivery please.
Pizza place: What’s your phone number?
Stalker: 555-5555
Pizza Place: Is your address still 123 Jerkwater st?
Stalker (with a big smile): It sure is!
And now they have your address. You may think you will never have a stalker, but you would be naive. Just because YOU would never stalk anyone does not mean the crazies, weirdos and psychopaths would never stalk anyone. Our world is full of crazies and lawsuit happy lunatics. Or maybe someone wants to sue you or blackmail you and hires a Private Detective to do all their dirty work. They will be happy to go through your garbage looking for any pieces of mail that they can use to harm you with. Always, always, always shred your mail when you are finished.
Just like online, you should never give out your information offline. Some stores will ask for a name and phone number and/or address just before you checkout. Just say no, or give them fakes.
Remember, make sure the person you give the information to deserves the information.
When I was in College there were a bunch of dirty hippies signing up people for credit cards in exchange for a free submarine sandwich at a local restaurant. Tons of college kids gave them their name, date of birth, social security number, and drivers license number all in exchange for a free sandwich! If you want the free sandwich, only give fake info!
You should carry a passport, rather than a State issued ID or drivers license, as your main identification. A passport does not have your date of birth or address. A date of birth is almost as good as your social security number, keep it hidden! The only person you should show your State issued ID to is a law enforcement officer who asks for it.
Cash is King
Always pay cash. Cash is king. Cash is untraceable. When you make purchases online you can buy prepaid debit cards and use them, rather than your real debit or credit card. If a hacker gets ahold of a pre-paid debit card, big deal! If a hacker gets ahold of your real credit or debit then that can be a VERY BIG DEAL!
Don’t carry all your cash in the same spot. Hide it around the house, hide it in your car, hide it in your shoes. If you get robbed just give the robbers the token amount you carry in your pocket. Depending on where you are you can be pick-pocketed as well. Keep your cash, and your passport, safe!
ATM’s
Always cover the screen when you put in your pin number for your ATM card. There are a lot of sophisticated criminals in this world who can do a lot of bad things with your card number and pin number. I got in this habit in Asia, I would protect my pin number like a prisoner protects his food. As a consequence, I never got robbed or scammed except for the time I got pick-pocketed by two trannies in Thailand.
Offline Rules:
If it can be read, you must shred!
Make sure every person you give info to deserves that info.
When dealing with law enforcement keep your mouth shut! Lawyer up before you say a word. They will just usually let you go with a warning. Never admit to anything (like speeding) and don’t give out your social if they ask for it. Say “Officer, am I required by law to give my social to you?“.
Never associate your real address and name.
Cash is king.
Never apply for credit cards out in the open!
Keep your ATM pin private and hidden.
Social Security and Date of Birth
Never give out your social security number and date of birth unless you absolutely must. You will need these things when you file for taxes, deal with the government, deal with your employer etc. but everyday people do not need this information. Just say no to giving out your social and always use a fake date of birth.
Conclusion
Lot of bad people in this world, friends. They don’t care who they rob, steal or scam from. You could be next if you don’t take precautions. Keeping yourself private is keeping yourself safe. You never, ever know what someone will do with your private and personal information.
Let me give you one example: I have had death threats from this very website. From both left wing loonies and right wing loonies. Some real insanity has come to my inbox.
Anything can happen. Keep yourself prepared, keep yourself safe, keep yourself smart. Keeping your information private is essential.
PS – How do you keep ownership of your house and car completely private and anonymous?
What if you accidentally cut off some maniac while driving, he remembers your license plate number, and then one night you get a visitor calling on your home?
What if your wife or loved one does?
What if someone has your license plate number and wants to sue you for bogus reasons?
American Indians, and other indigenous peoples, would head off into the forest all by themselves where they would spend time alone, searching for a vision to help them attain a new level of understanding. Some might go on a vision quest as a rite of passage, others might go on a vision quest because a change must happen and a vision quest can force that change to occur. The length of time can be anywhere from a single evening, to a week, to much longer.
In the world we inhabit, spending time alone in the forest is not an option for most. It can certainly be tried but the likely outcomes can be 1) Being arrested for vagrancy 2) Dying from ingesting poisonous berries or 3) You obtain your vision. In this post we will go over an Urban Vision Quest.
An Urban Vision Quest is a quest one takes in a city or other populated area rather than spend time alone in an unpopulated piece of nature. An urban vision quest can be had anywhere except for the city you live in. It must be an unfamiliar place where you know not a single soul. It can be the next city closest to you, it can be in the next State closest to you, it can be in the next Country closest to you. As anyone who has ever lived in a densely populated megapolis knows, walking through a crowded city can be every bit as lonesome as being in the forest. To go on an urban vision quest you only need to be alone with your thoughts, it matters not how many people are around.
The amount of time is up to you. You can choose to spend a single evening in a new city, a few days in a new city, a week, or months. The rules are simple: pack as light as possible. Only bring necessities like a few pieces of clothing, toiletries, and money. Arrive at your destination with no plans whatsoever. End up wherever you end up. Just let yourself be guided. The very likely outcome is that you have a brand new appreciation for what you have. You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone. Spending a night alone in an alien city is a surefire way to make you thankful for everything great you have in your life.
If one is only doing one-day, mini excursions then one will not be enough. Going on a mini vision quest once per month is ideal. Take the time to get away from all the nonsense of the daily grind, live life anew, if only for an evening, and return with a new sense of appreciation.
A week in a foreign place is great. Perhaps the greatest thing a one week vacation can do is help you realize you have been slaving away like a racing dog for this one week vacation per year when you could have a vacation like this all the time. Spend a week on the beach in Thailand and then go back to work Monday morning and pretend you don’t want to yell “I QUIT” at the top of your lungs. This could light a fire under your ass and motivate you to start your own gig where you are making money for yourself and, more importantly, have more of your most precious commodity – time.
The most extreme option, and, therefore, my favorite, is to go live in a completely foreign place for 6 months to a year. A few months of savings in a western country can equal 6 months to a year of living in a 2nd or 3rd world country. After living in a foreign country you can never be the same person you were before. Whether good or bad, a change will occur. In this author’s humble opinion, everyone should spend at minimum 6 months abroad to live life in a different way and obtain your vision.
If a change is needed, an urban vision quest is the answer. Get going because time is wasting.
“I’m a thousand miles from nowhere, time don’t matter to me.
I’m a thousand miles from nowhere and there’s no place I wanna be.”
Wouldn’t you like to become location independent and work from anywhere in the world right from your laptop?
Most people probably would.
If I were a smart man I would sell you this information, but I’m stupid and I’m going to give it to you for free.
What is location independence, anyway?
Location independence is a cool buzzword that means you make money from the internet and you do some travelling.
So what’s the secret to becoming location independent? It must be really hard to make all that money to afford traveling all the time, huh?
Before I tell you the secret, let me go over a few things with you….
Location independence doesn’t really mean you can work from anywhere in the world, any time. What location independence really means is that you can work from a 3rd world country or countries.
The vast majority of location independent bloggers do not make very much money by western standards. They are not flying back and forth from New York City to London to Paris to Sydney.
Location independent entrepreneurs spend most of their time in Southeast Asia or South America.
Why do they spend their time in Southeast Asia and South America?
Because it’s very, very cheap to live and spend time in those countries, those countries are fun, and location independent entrepreneurs can’t afford to live in high priced countries.
How much does it cost to live in Southeast Asia or South America?
A whole lot less than you probably make every two weeks.
You can live in and travel around Southeast Asia and South America for between $500-$1,000 USD per month. And you can live very well on that money, way better than the locals.
Which is great because most location independent entrepreneurs make between $500-$1,000 USD per month.
That’s the secret.
You don’t have to make very much money to live very well in those countries.
How do location independent entrepreneurs make their money?
That’s easy. They have blogs and ebooks, just like this article, that they sell to you so you can learn how to become location independent just like them. For only $39.95 per month you can learn how to become location independent just like them!
Being “Location Independent” is their job. That’s how they make their money.
Do you want to become location independent?
Great! All you have to do is make the decision, and then sell yourself, your articles, your e-books, your forum, your whatever to other people who also want to become location independent.
How can I do that?
First, you start by learning the ins and outs of blogging. Check out the No Bullshit Guide to Making Money Onlineand use the resources to start your first blog(s).
If you are new to internet work then you will need some time to learn before you jump on a plane to the Philippines.
But it can be done, and it can be done quite quickly if you put in the time and effort.
Making $500-$1,000 per month is chump change and any person reading this article can do it. The question is do you want to?
There are much better ways to make money than by becoming a location independent entrepreneur.
But there are no other ways, that I know of, to go and travel the world and have it paid for.
How can you get started?
Think of it like this: People want information. What information can you provide?
Everyone is an expert in something. Everyone has a particular hobby they are knowledegable about.
If not, then you can learn about something and write about your findings.
Recently someone asked me what possessions I travel with.
I travel with very few items and the items I do travel with all have a purpose.
All of these possessions can easily fit in one piece of carry-on luggage and one backpack (with room to spare).
Here they are…
Macbook – The Macbook is the one thing I NEVER leave anywhere. I make my living on my MacBook and to me it is the holy grail of everything I have. As a professional blog artist, without the Macbook I’ve got nothing.
Over the years I’ve traveled with many different Macbooks. I first started my travels with a 17′ MacBook pro. This thing was so heavy it nearly broke my back carrying it, but what a great computer it was. I then switched to a MacBook 13′ and this was also a great computer. I then purchased a Macbook air 11′ just for fun but didn’t use it too much. Then I bought a newer Macbook that was a piece of shit. I hated it and when it broke I didn’t care (it fell from my motorbike probably 25 times). I still had my old Macbook air 11′ available and basically still new.
Now I carry this Macbook air 11″ that was purchased in 2015 in Vietnam. Amazingly I’m able to record podcasts and edit video on this little machine! The newer Macbooks are terrible so when it comes time to buy a new one I will be buying a used machine from 2015 or prior. What about windows? You could not pay me to use a windows machine!
Tom Binh Synapse 25 Backpack – Tom Bihn sent me this backpack for free in early 2014 and I’ve been carrying it ever since. I’ve even looked for new backpacks multiple times, I have never, ever found a better one than the Tom Binh.
iPhone – I’ve found the iPhone to be invaluable when traveling because I can use the map app in real time and never get lost. It is great when I don’t speak the local language and the local population doesn’t speak english. I also use the Kindle app to read books on the airplane and the podcast app to listen to podcasts. I also use the camera very frequently. And of course I use messaging apps, especially Line. Regarding which iPhone I use, I don’t give a damn what model it is. In fact, my iPhone screen is cracked from dropping it 10,000 times and I have no intention of replacing it until it absolutely stops working.
Portable Phone Charger – The external charger was a life-saver while I was traveling by Jeep through Kyrgyzstan and needed the Map application to get me around, no one in the country spoke English. The map app was running the entire time I was driving and drained the battery. Without the external charger my phone would have died and I would have nee stranded in the mountains with no idea where to go. Without modern maps and my external charger I would have never been able to travel by Jeep in this crazy mountain country.
My jeep in Kygyzstan
Siang Pure Oil – I don’t go anywhere without this oil. It can be used for many things but I use it for one thing – bug bites! Mosquitoes always try to eat me up so I use this oil on my mosquito bites to “cool them down” and get them to stop itching. I buy this oil in Thailand but you can also get it online.
Natural Bug Spray – I keep a natural bug spray that I purchase in Thailand just in case some bed somewhere has too many buggies for my liking. NOTE: My bug spray exceeds the limit allowed by airports and has to be checked in luggage. If I bring only carry-on luggage then I do not bring my bug spray.
Notebook and Pen – I keep a regular old notebook in which I can write notes and write my daily to-do list. I prefer writing down my daily to-do rather than keeping it all in the computer.
Shure SM7B Microphone – This is my podcast mic and I’ve traveled with it since I’ve purchased it, even when I wasn’t recording anything. I like to always keep it with me for when inspiration strikes. of course now I release a new Bold an Determined Podcast every Thursday so it’s an absolute must that I bring my mic with me everywhere. This is a big, heavy duty mic but I’m not prepared to trade quality for size and use a small mic.
MS-12 Mini Mic Stand – To hold up the mic I use a nice, little desktop mic stand that works well and weighs basically nothing. This thing is awesome for recording audio while traveling!
Apollo Twin Audio Interface – The Apollo Twin is what allows me to power my mic and get sound from it and actually record podcasts. The Apollo Twin is basically way too expense to be a traveling audio interface and if I were starting a new podcast today I’d buy the Audient iD4 interface. However, I do already have the Apollo Twin and it works fantastic so I keep it and use it!
Headphones – You need headphones to record a podcast and they come in handy if you want to listen to something or watch something in a quiet coffee shop somewhere in the world. I personally carry some headphones I bought in Bangkok many years ago. They’re falling apart but they still work well so I keep them! If I were buying new headphones today I would buy the Audio-Technica ATH-M50xheadphones.
Travel Gadget Bag – I keep all of my audio gear in this little bag and it works great! It easily fits into a piece of carry-on luggage and I’ve got plenty of room to spare.
Baby Wipes – I don’t go anywhere without baby wipes. I don’t know how you dirty savages wipe your butt with dry paper and pretend it’s clean. It’s disgusting and not clean. I bring baby wipes EVERYWHERE. They are always in my day backpack. I keep a large size baby wipes in my suitcase and a small size pack in my backpack. Also, many places in the world don’t stock toilet paper in their restrooms. It’s best to always be prepared.
DSLR Camera – I used to travel absolutely everywhere with my Nikon D90 DSLR camera. Somewhere along the way I switched to only using my iPhone for pictures which was a big mistake. The phone quality is vastly inferior to a good DSLR camera. I got rid of my Nikon D90 but I’m looking at buying a new DSLR and bringing it with me everywhere. A good picture cannot be underestimated, especially in the blog business where you are always writing new articles that benefit from great photos. I have been traveling with the Canon VIXIA HF G40 Camcorder but I’ve used it exactly zero times. A DSLR is what you want to travel with. What camera do you think I should buy?
A crazy back-alley snake show (photo taken with my Nikon D90)
Bar Soap – I don’t mess with liquid soap. I buy bar soap and keep it in a plastic bag. I’ve been using the same dozen bars of soap I bought in Thailand but Nubian African black soapis a great soap!
Toiletries Bag – In this bag I keep my deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrush etc as well as my supplements.
Dental Floss Picks – I NEVER go anywhere without my dental floss. I floss at least one time per day and I usually floss after every single meal. I hate regular dental floss so I always use the dental floss/toothpick combos and they work fantastic!
Mini Umbrella – It only took me a few years of living in the rain in Thailand to learn this valuable lesson – always keep a small umbrella in your backpack! I bring an umbrella with me everywhere (it’s always in my backpack) no matter what the forecast says. I’ve been caught in the rain too many times to skip the umbrella. I’ve heard many people say “you aren’t a man if you carry an umbrella.” I see these same kind of morons soaking wet all the time. When in Thailand I also always carry a small plastic raincoat.
Clothes – Obviously you have to being clothes with you when you travel! I bring clothing based on the climate. If I’m going to a hot country I bring shorts and t-shirts. If I’m going to a cold country I’ll bring a coat, hoodie, sweaters, long pants, etc. If I’m going to a country with good hiking I bring hiking boots. I always bring house slippers with me as I’ve been in Asia far too long to walk around the inside of a house without slippers or sandals. Regarding t shirts, I’ve been wearing nothing but my Red Supplements T-shirts for the past year and a half. They are the most comfortable shirts I have ever had and won’t buy any new shirts until these Red Supplements T-shirts turn into rags.
Passport + Cash + ATM Cards – Don’t want to be anywhere without money and without a way to get money. Also, you obviously need to travel with a passport.
Kingston DataTraveler Flash Card – These external memory drives come in super handy when you’re traveling! I use them to keep photos, important documents etc. I also use them to print out ticket and itineraries (you don’t carry a printer when you travel). I’ve been carrying this exact flash drive since 2011 and it has never let me down.
3D Sleep Mask – I cannot sleep without a sleep mask. And I cannot live without this sleep mask in particular. I’ve tried many sleep masks over the years and this one is by far the best sleep mask I’ve ever used as it covers my entire eyes when I sleep and absolutely works to make everything black.
Supplements – I used to always travel with a bottle of Red-PCT and a bottle of Red Monkey. Now that Red-PCT has been banned, and I’ve run out of my personal stash, I no longer travel with it. However, Red-PCT 2.0 has come in and I will be keeping it in my backpack for all future travels.
Rogue Fitness Green Exercise Band – I love these bands for working out, I even bring this band with me to the gym. I use this band 3X per week to do seated leg curls and to train my neck. It has been phenomenal for my legs and neck! Because so many of us sit down too much our hamstrings can shrink and atrophy, it’s very important to work them frequently just to get blood in them and keep them strong. Because we stare down at phones and computers our necks are messed up. I make sure to always train neck and hamstrings. To do this I use the green band from Rogue Fitness. When you get to RogueFitness.com, type in Rogue Monster Bands and look for the green one, it’s the perfect sized band. You can also use this band to train arms, shoulders, and chest. It’s very versatile and I always use it. Here is an 11 second video that shows you exactly how I perform leg curls with a band.
Fingernail Clippers – I swear there is something about travel that makes your fingernails grow faster. Every time I’m at the airport my fingernails are way too long and need to be cut. Thankfully I always bring fingernail clippers with me when I travel.
That’s it, friends! That’s everything I carry.
How about you? What do you carry when you travel? What items can you not live without? Let me know in the comments below!
If you’d prefer both you are in luck because I’m going to show you how to dress for actual billionaire success.
This billionaire style guide will show you how to dress for serious business.
In this guide you will get the 6 rules of billionaire style and you will get specific examples of billionaire clothing styles for all occasions.
Examples of clothing styles included in this guide are: the everyday business look – the black tie business look – the athletic look – the vacation look – and the billionaire’s weekend outfit.
But first, a few notes on billionaire style…
HOW TO DRESS LIKE A BILLIONAIRE
Real billionaires dress down, “fake it ’til you make it” billionaires dress like clowns.
There is a big difference between dressing well and dressing like a clown. That big difference is color.
Business is never done in colorful suits (unless your business is fashion). Business is done in subdued, non attention-seeking color.
In business, you have 3 colors to choose from…
Business is done only in black, grey, and navy.
Your shirt should be white and your tie can be your one piece of colorful clothing.
Remember, the billionaire is subdued in his dress not rude in his dress. Colorful suits are worn only by gaudy entertainers and con men.
The colorful suit acts as a magical trick. It makes the person getting conned think the con man is richer and more important than he actually is.
A colorful business suit is misdirection. If you are too busy paying attention to the colorful suit you won’t be paying attention to the con job you are getting yourself into.
Real businessmen practice a “less is more” approach to business style.
As a billionaire, you have to make yourself appear to be LESS not more.
The joker in the colorful suit has to make himself appear as more.
If you have to make yourself stand out it is because you are lacking, the real billionaire tries to make himself look normal.
I never do business with a fool who comes to a meeting in a colorful suit.
Colorful business suit = fake businessman
In fact, real billionaires don’t always need to dress up.
A simple combination of white or black t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans does a lot more talking than a colorful suit does.
The t-shirt and jeans combination is something only the confident can wear to a business meeting.
The most trustworthy business clothes are often your basic jeans and t-shirt.
The con men would never dream of dressing down, and that’s how you know the true from the fake.
Did you ever see Zuckerberg or Jobs wearing a fancy suit? No.
However, you do have to pay attention to public perception. If you are going to be in the public eye, it is better to wear a suit and tie.
When dealing with bankers, public officials, and bureaucrats it is always best to wear a suit.
If you are going to be in private, you can assess the situation and dress casual if the situation calls for it.
If you’re doing business one on one, with a small company or a private person you may possibly want to dress casual, assuming the casual clothing is spotlessly clean and well fitting.
No matter what you wear, you always have to look and dress your best for the occasion.
To dress sloppily is to signal that you do not care about business and that you are not “on the ball”.
You have to look good to attract good business into your life.
Like I said here: The ability to attract is a power on par with brute strength.
To venture outdoors not looking your best is is to invite misfortune into your life.
Dressing well is fundamental to your dignity, self-possession, and propriety.
ALWAYS DRESS YOUR BEST FOR SUCCESS!
You do need to always dress your best but that does not mean you need to constantly purchase clothing or constantly stay on top of branding trends.
The billionaire is the one who creates the brand, not the one who rushes out to buy the brand.
The billionaire gets others to wear and advertise his brand, the fool rushes out to wear the brand and give it free advertising.
The billionaire is there to take money, not to throw money away on fashionable brands.
Billionaires do not mind wearing the exact same suit over and over and over again.
Buy a few suits that fit well, are comfortable enough, are dim enough to wear multiple times and that is all you need.
A new suit everyday is for a Johnny Playboy (or a serious fashion aficionado), not for anyone who does serious business.
How much should you spend on a suit?
Billionaires do not become billionaires by being spendthrifts, they become billionaires by being a little stingy.
But…
You do want clothing that was made without cost cutting measures.
You should spend enough to ensure quality without simply paying for prestige or exclusivity.
Think of your clothing as a long-term investment and do not waste money purchasing throw away items.
What brands should you wear?
Personally, I wear what I like and what fits well.
I don’t pay much attention to brands and I make it a point to never let any branding show on my clothing.
My only rule on brands is: Wear any brand that looks good, fits well and is comfortable.
But I know that is not a good enough answer for you. You are here to learn how to do serious business and for that you want a serious answer.
To give you examples of the best brands and styles, I called upon my good friend Nate Lewis who runs Iron & Tweed.
Iron & Tweed is the go-to site for men who like to lift weights, eat steaks, and look good while doing it.
I asked Nate to share his businessman style tips with you and I asked him to show you some specific examples of a good business style look.
Here’s what Nate has to say about dressing your best for serious business success.
ENTER NATE LEWIS…
Hi. Nate is my name, style is my game.
Victor asked me to help present you some style tips for future billionaires.
I am delighted to help you dress your best for business success.
Before I show you some style examples, I’d like to show you my 6 billionaire style rules.
Arnold Schwarzenegger used an analogy about sports cars when talking about his own insecurities as an up and coming bodybuilder.
Loosely summarized, he says:
A guy driving a BMW, which is a good car, always races around trying to prove he’s fast. But a guy driving a Ferrari, which is a great car, can drive the speed limit because he knows he’s fast.”
When you’re a billionaire, you don’t have anything to prove with loud colors, patterns, and logos.
Details like trouser break, soft tailoring, elegantly draping fabric, and perfectly combined colors and textures don’t jump out at you individually, but the sum of the parts are impossible to ignore.
No one should be able to tell which brands you’re wearing.
Let your good taste in quality pieces and expertly curated wardrobe speak for themselves.
2) Develop a personal uniform
When money is no object, your choices for clothing are endless.
While this seems like a good thing, having the world to choose from can actually make acquiring clothing and personal style more difficult.
In order to avoid decision fatigue, successful people don’t waste time and energy figuring out what to wear.
They rely on a proven system of dressing, known as a personal uniform, that works for them every time.
Each tie goes with each shirt and all combinations look great with each suit they own.
I recommend that you spend some time thinking about not only what you like, but what feels like you.
Once you have this figured out, experiment with a few different pieces to see how they work in your everyday life.
When you find a winning combination, flesh out your wardrobe with similar items.
3) Always be appropriately dressed
When you’re a billionaire, or on your way, people are watching you and your image matters.
Whatever your business, you should always be ready to meet with clients and represent your brand.
It doesn’t matter if you’re going to the gym, running to the store, or sitting on a plane – dress your best every single day.
I don’t mean that you have to wear a suit for every situation, but rather dressing for the situation at a level or two above the average person.
For example, your gym clothes should be clean, well fitting, and of high quality (skip the stained undershirts, baggy basketball shorts, and dingy running shoes).
When you run to the store or the neighborhood bar, wear high quality denim, leather dress boots, and a v-neck sweater rather than sneakers and a sports team hoodie.
Being appropriately dressed for up to 16 hours per day means that you need to focus on the fit and quality of each item in your wardrobe.
Which leads to the next rule…
4) Be comfortable
Your style should look effortless, like your were born to wear your suit. If you aren’t comfortable in your clothes, it will be immediately obvious.
Fidgeting, pulling at your collar, and adjusting your pant legs each time you stand up draws the wrong kind of attention.
Just as being appropriately dressed doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to dress up, being comfortable doesn’t imply that you have to dress down.
Rather, your clothes should be appropriate for each situation. They should be carefully selected and immediately discarded if they don’t perform their intended purpose.
Pack whatever clothing items you need to change for different activities throughout the day.
This is essential if you tend to have long days consisting of workouts, office time, onsite meetings, dinner and drinks, and travel.
5) Be selective
Just because you may have the means to buy everything that catches your eye doesn’t mean you should.
The more items you own the less they’ll get worn and the more difficult getting dressed in the morning will be. In other words, you’ll simply have more clutter.
Most people are creatures of habit and will tend to wear their favorite clothes regularly, regardless of how many clothing items they own.
It is best to own only your favorite clothes and donate everything else.
However, this rule doesn’t apply to the enthusiast. If you absolutely love timepieces and wear each of your 30 watches regularly, by all means, own 30 watches.
This only becomes a problem if you only wear one or two items in your collection, letting the others occupy space.
You can apply this exception to shoes, glasses, cologne, or whatever else you truly enjoy.
6) Avoid the obvious brands and latest trends
Unless dressing trendy is truly “your thing,” in which case the nuances inherently make sense to you, it’s best to stay classic.
The last thing you want people to think when you walk into a room is “that poor guy has more money than style sense.”
Just because something is expensive doesn’t mean it’s stylish.
When I see guys who wears suits Monday through Friday hanging out on the weekend wearing flashy clothes that were designed for someone 20-30 years younger than them, it’s painful.
I’m talking about ill fitting and ripped t-shirts, curled and pointy toed boots, and studded jeans or whatever else has recently trickled down from runway fashion.
Billionaire Style Guide: Recommendations
With my 6 Billionaire Style Guide Rules I helped lay the framework for how you should think about clothing.
Now, to help you visualize how it all comes together, here are some specific examples of how I think a billionaire should dress for common occasions.
You don’t get to be a billionaire without doing business deals. And unless you’re already at the top and can rely on your reputation alone, you need to project professionalism.
This means that a suit and tie is going to be your go-to uniform for such occasions.
Everything about a suit is designed to project power and showcase the man wearing it.
The combination of dark suiting material, a light shirt, the v-shaped lapel, and a colorful tie all draw the eye towards the wearers face.
A narrow waist, lightly padded shoulders, and the v-shaped lapel exaggerate a muscular physique.
With suits, it’s best to keep shoes and accessories timeless and subdued. The last thing you want is to have people staring at your feet or wrist while giving a presentation.
Occasionally, it’s necessary for the billionaire and aspiring billionaire to attend formal events.
This is when you pull out all the stops and wear your highest quality items that also happen to be your most understated.
Your tux should all be black with satin lapels and of noticeably high quality.
Your shoes should be a lace up or slip-on design, as minimally styled as possible, and finished with a high shine.
A white shirt with a covered placket hides the buttons that would otherwise be visible beneath a bowtie and the french cuffs should be closed with elegant cufflinks (stay away from novelty cufflinks).
Your watch should have a slim case, elegantly simple face, and a black leather band.
Note from Vic: Of all the outfits Nate has presented, the billionaire black tie look is my favorite.
Even when you’re at the gym, I think it’s best to wear high quality items. Opt for pieces that have a vintage athletic wear vibe so you can keep the overall look timeless and practical.
Fitted joggers, plain t-shits, crewneck sweatshirts, and simple sneakers make achieving this look really simple.
Gym time needs to be kept sacred, so the busy businessman might want to think about keeping his phone in the locker and opting for a smart watch to use for music and fitness apps.
Sometimes you just have to ignore calls and texts.
Sure, the main idea behind going on vacation is to relax and have fun, you’ll still need to be ready to make connections or pursue business opportunities.
Even if you’re lounging by the pool or heading to the pier for lunch, make sure you’re dressed a notch above the average tourist.
Linen trousers paired with a short sleeve button down shirt are the perfect blend of casual good looks and heat management.
Espadrilles are one of the most versatile tropical weather shoes because they’re casual enough for the pool but also give you more walking around comfort than flip-flops.
Don’t forget a pair of classic sunglasses to keep the rays out of your eyes.
The key to making even a rugged weekend outfit look sharp is to choose pieces in timeless styles and subdued colors.
My number one weekend staple is a nice pair of selvedge jeans. They pair perfectly with a wool sweater and simple watch.
I like to make the whole outfit more rugged by adding a leather cafe racer jacket and work boots.
You could also swap the work boots for a pair of brown oxfords for a more business casual look.
Your New Mission: Start dressing your best for every occasion every single day.
Use my 6 billionaire style guide rules to help you choose from the clothing items that you already own so you can get started today. When you’re ready to make new purchases let the rules guide your decisions.
When you start acquiring new wardrobe items, feel free to copy my recommendations exactly or, if you have your own preferences, choose similar items from your favorite brands.
The important thing is that you start dressing for success ASAP.
Always remember your 6 billionaires style guide rules and you will always make a good style choice.
Don’t be too flashy
Develop a personal uniform
Always be appropriately dressed
Be comfortable
Be selective
Avoid the obvious brands and latest trends
I hope you enjoyed my billionaire style examples and I hope you get a lot of value form this guide.
You have just read the Victor Pride Billionaire Style Guide featuring tips and examples from Nate Lewis.
Now you know how to dress like a billionaire, you know the 6 rules to always follow, and you know some excellent examples of suitable & stylish business attire.
Follow this billionaire style guide and your amateur days will be over, you are now equipped to do business like a professional.
You now know how to dress the part of a billionaire.
Style is what makes the girls smile and giggle when you walk in the room (or sometimes they just open their eyes and drop their mouths). Either is fine with me.
From my website, to my wardrobe, to my house, to my electronic gadgets – everything must have style.
Classic style. I’m not trying to be a New York cosmopolitan spending all of my money on clothes. I want to look good.
When you look good, you feel good. When you feel good, opportunities seem to present themselves.
So what’s Uncle Vic’s rule?
Always. Look. Good.
I don’t leave my house in sweatpants and dirty t-shirts. I don’t leave my house with dirty shoes on. I don’t leave my house unkempt.
I’m always on when other people see me. When you’re alone, do whatever you want, but around people you need to be on.
First impressions, second impressions, and 37th impressions matter.
Always look good.
Some jokers are going to tell me you don’t need to wear a suit and tie every day to look good. I would respond: no shit.
You don’t need to wear a suit unless the situation calls for it. You dress for the situation, you dress for the event and you dress for your climate.
1) You should dress your best at all times. 2) I only wear t-shirts and jeans.
“But wait, Vic? I thought you wore a suit and tie everyday? Did you lie…”
I never wear a suit unless it’s for business. Even though I wear a t-shirt and jeans every day you should still dress your best at all times.
It might make me a hypocrite but it doesn’t make me wrong.
See, you dress up in the finest threads until you don’t need to dress in the finest threads anymore.
I don’t need to dress to impress anymore because I’m already there. I don’t try to impress anyone, people try to impress me (but I still always look good).
Not to mention it’s really damn hot where I live. Too hot for a suit. Remember, you need to dress for the situation, the event and the climate. The climate where I currently live (Saigon) is hotter than hell.
So how do you dress well without going overboard?
That’s an easy answer but it might be a tough pill to swallow.
You can dress modestly but still be the most stylish guy in the room if! you have a bold physique. I stand out because I have a physique. Clothes look good on me when they would look like slop on other men strictly because I have a physique.
Your physique is the basic element of your style. Everything you wear should be based off on and built onto your physique.
I dress modestly and I’m still the guy. The guy who walks in a room and everyone stares at.
I’ve got the style with a smile, but even better I’ve got the physique to pull it off.
If you’re built like Adonis you don’t need anything more than a form fitting t-shirt, nice fitting jeans, colorful sneakers, an expensive but understated watch and all of a sudden you’re the guy who everyone looks at.
When I walk into a room people stare and girls start giggling and whispering to each other.
Why? Classic style and good physique.
I have a very modest and simple wardrobe but it’s right for my physique and for my climate.
I also like to keep it simple. I wear the same clothes every single day. Currently, this is my entire wardrobe…
T-Shirts
I have about 35 t-shirts that I go through. Typically I wear two t-shirts every day. I wear one shirt in the morning, typically I will wear the same shirt to the gym, then I will shower and change shirts. I wear…
Uniqlo t-shirts and tanks – I buy single color t-shirts made by Uniqlo for about $7 apiece. I buy them in Bangkok, but if you did some digging your could probably find them online. I also like Calvin Klein tanks.
I have 4 pairs of jeans that I go through but I only really like one pair.
Levis 504 regular straight double stitch jeans. I wear Levis jeans size 34/34. I wear Levis because that’s all I can find that fit my long legs and my muscular thick thighs. I really have no other options for Jeans unless I get on a plane and fly somewhere. I used to wear Buffalo David Bitton jeans and they looked fantastic and they were the most comfortable jeans I’ve ever owned. Unfortunately they are made in China and both pairs I have owned developed a hole in the crotch within a few months of purchase. My Levis are extremely comfortable, they look good and they’re very durable (made in Mexico).
I have about 20 pairs of the exact same brand, color and style of boxer briefs.
2xist black boxer briefs. It always struck me as odd that men’s underwear never had a pouch for a package, I used to just not wear underwear until I found these that give you some room to breathe. You can purchase them from freshpair.com (worldwide shipping). You can also get them from amazon. Get black! Always black, never white.
Socks
I have about 25 pairs of the same socks.
Hanes classic black low cut socks. I wear low cut or no show socks. Personally I hate seeing socks unless you’re wearing slacks and dress shoes. With tennis shoes I don’t want to see socks. I also don’t wear white because white always appears dirty after a few uses. Black socks always look the same. You can get them from amazon or even Wal-Mart.
Shoes
I have 4 pairs of the same brand of shoes, each in a different color.
Onitsuka Tiger sneakers. These are currently the only sneakers I wear. I have four pairs in four different colors. You can purchase them from amazon.
Gym style
At the gym I wear my regular t-shirts or I wear tank tops and I wear sweatpants from H&M.
Pictured: These are Uniqlo shirts size XL (veins sold separately).
I use a sackpack rather than a traditional gym bag. In my gym bag I keep: one extra t-shirt, one pair socks, one pair boxer briefs, one bar of nubian black soap, one stick of deodorant, baby wipes (only animals use toilet paper), one razor and one tube of aftershave.
I wear one mildly expensive black Vabene watch. The watch looks fantastic, it’s understated and classic in style and the street thieves where I live don’t understand it’s value because it isn’t gold. The right watch for you depends on your personal. Pick one that you like.
Clark Kent eye-glasses at night (I’m blind from writing all this time for you), Ray-Ban prescription sunglasses when outside.
I keep a very modest wardrobe, but it’s very effective in getting eyeballs on you…
IF!
You have the physique to go with it.
And if you don’t have the physique it doesn’t really matter how you dress, you’ll still look like shit.
So fix the physique, then fix the wardrobe, then be the guy who gets all the eyes from all the girls in all the world.
Beyond the wardrobe you need to think about hair, skin, facial hair and teeth and all the other things that slobs don’t worry about.
Hair
I keep two hairstyles. I’ll call them shaved and classic.
Classic hairstyle:
I like a nice, clean style of hair. I’m often asked what the name of the haircut is, but I typically cut it myself so there is no name. I suppose you could call it the Victory haircut, but I just like it clean, simple, classic and stylish. To keep this hairstyle I use a light amount of American Crew pomade.
Shaved head:
Typically I shave my head with a zero guard about 6 months out of the year. I do this for comfort and simplicity. To keep this clean look I need to shave my head one time per week on a zero guard (no guard). You can pick up some hair clippers from amazon.
Skin-care
Personally I only use one soap, Nubian african black soap, for all my washing needs. You can buy Nubian African black soap from amazon or iHerb.
Baxter of California After Shave Balm – The best after shave I have ever used and I never get those nasty red bumps on my neck any more. I live in Thailand and I pay double to have this product shipped to me.
I said style with a smile. Bad teeth, ugly teeth, is ugly style. I never liked my teeth so I got them fixed professionally. Now I have Hollywood teeth.
Electronics
I try and carry the least amount of stuff I possibly can.
In the comments section of that article a simpleton wrote in and said:
“Guys, don’t listen to this stuff. There’s no money in blogging! Love the blog, Vic”.
Joke’s on him. In the month I published that article I made $35,804.47 from a blog.
What is a blog, anyway?
It’s just content.
Like a newspaper or a magazine. But it has 3 big advantages over printed media:
Low overhead – it costs nothing to start a blog.
Worldwide readership – People from USA, Germany, Singapore, India, UK and South Korea love Bold and Determined.
No one reads printed media – Everyone has a computer, a laptop, a tablet or a smartphone.
Common sense and a pair of eyes would lead one to believe that digital media is the future of media.
Digital media? You know, that thing that “doesn’t make money” even though people from all over the world read it daily.
If you aren’t smart enough to realize the value of internet content then I’ll show you a little game to play.
Go outside and tell me how many people are reading newspapers or magazines vs how many people are browsing the web via smartphones or laptops.
If you can’t make money from your digital content here’s why….
A) Your content isn’t good or your presentation isn’t good.
B) You’re concentrating on things that don’t matter and you aren’t concentrating on things that matter. You aren’t going from A to B in a straight line, you are going from A back to A in a circle.
C) You’re a defeatist that thinks that even though billions of people read online content daily there is no money to be made.
What matters and what doesn’t matter?
What matters…
Great content, great presentation.
What doesn’t matter…
Everything else.
Here’s the secret recipe, nothing else required…
Look great
+
write great
+
be great
=
a staggering income
How I did it
I get asked the same circular questions all the time.
Questions like how did you network, how did you advertise, how did you mathematically grow such a large readership, what’s the easiest way for me to make money now?
Average Joey wants to do all this extra nonsense work and none of the work that matters.
Average Jack wants the easy way to riches but he’s doing unnecessary, time-wasting work that gets him all the way from A to A in a circle.
All I did, and read carefully, was look great, write great and be great.
How I started
When I started Bold and Determined my expenses were nothing. I paid $10 a month for hosting and that was it. I lived on less than $800 per month.
Years ago I sold everything I had. What didn’t sell I tossed into a dumpster.
I let go of any emotional attachment to my “stuff”.
That detachment allowed me to live on a tiny amount of money while I built Bold and Determined.
Doing that, getting rid of everything, freed my mind to concentrate on what was important…
Building Bold and Determined. Doing the work required to turn a hobby into a money printer.
During the first year and a half of Bold and Determined I had no bills, no debt, no house full of junk to worry about, no nagging wife or screaming kids, no nothing.
All I had was a single, intense focus on Bold and Determined – The Website for Winners.
Was it easy?
That’s a question for losers.
Was it worth it?
That’s a better question to ask.
Answer?
Now I have everything I want – so how could it possibly not be worth it?
I only own a few things, but what I do own is the best – best phone, best computer, best clothing, best underwear, best desk, best everything. No junk allowed.
All the important things I own can fit into a suitcase and a backpack. The rest I could just get rid of and buy again later.
I have all the money in the world that I need, but I also have one very important thing – discipline.
The discipline to not waste my money on things that don’t matter but also the discipline to spend as much money as necessary to accomplish my goal(s).
The amount of money spent is not the issue, the result of that money spent is the issue.
Last month I spent $12,705.88. You know what that 12 grand bought me? It bought me a lot more money, a lot more freedom and a lot more happiness.
It didn’t buy me much stuff. I invested that money in people, in business and in travel.
The income gap is the Maximalist’s best friend
I want to see an enormous gap between expenses and income. That’s what makes me smile – a big green column and small red column.
I don’t like expenses but what I hate is a wasted expense. As long as my income is growing faster than my expenses then everything is going well.
My expenses are high, especially for a blog, so to make up for big expenses I MAXIMIZE my income.
That’s why I write a blog…
A blog has the biggest income to expense gap in the history of business.
What other business in the world can you run for such little expenses? Lemonade stands cost more to start than blogs.
A good blog is the best kept money making open-secret in the world. It costs nothing to start, the upside is limitless and there’s no barrier to entry.
From scarcity to abundance
I’ll be the first to admit that I used to have a scarcity mindset. I wouldn’t buy anything at all because I didn’t want to waste money.
That’s not the way to succeed. You have to spend money to succeed, you just have to spend it wisely.
You don’t need to spend so much money upfront, but as you grow, your expenses must grow to keep your income growing.
You gotta invest money into your business to keep it growing. You gotta make it rain money or that tree is going to wither.
You gotta make that shift from scarcity mindset to abundance mindset.
I made the switch. I attest under oath that I make a lot more money since making the switch.
I don’t worry about the expense of an item or investment, I worry about what the investment will bring me.
Amount of money spent isirrelevant. The return on that investment is what is relevant.
If the value doesn’t exceed the money spent, I don’t buy it.
If the value exceeds the money spend, I buy it.
Whether it’s two dollars or twenty grand, if it brings me value I invest in it.
If it doesn’t increase that pretty green line then I don’t buy it.
I’ve stopped calling myself a professional blogger. I don’t write that often, I don’t write about the news, I don’t do reviews and I don’t even consider myself a writer.
Here is everything I do to make money: I live life like a man and then I put what I do into words. You boys read it, become inspired and hopefully go out into the world and kick it’s fucking ass just like I do.
I don’t write for the guy who is going nowhere and happy with that, I write for the guy who is halfway there, or 25% there and wants 100%. If you don’t want it (success) then I don’t want you here and I don’t want your money.
Bold and Determined is for winners and future winners only. Bold and Determined is an elitist website and I’m very proud of that. You’ll never find advertisements for garbage here, you’ll never find links to products that are garbage and you will never see some nonsense, filler articles. If I don’t have anything good to say then I won’t say anything.
Fortunately for me I’ve built my business in such a way that I don’t need to constantly write new articles. If I want to take time off and, say, go visit Bali I’ll just go and do it and not have to worry about how to fund it.
Pictured: Victor Pride praying to the Balinese Gods of war
Here’s a recent email I got from an aspiring badass….
Hey Victor. Me again. After reading almost all your blog posts and ebooks I find I want to be just like you as far as an alpha male and successful entrepreneur. And I’m taking steps to do so but as far as business goes I’m having trouble. I started a blog and the premise is similar to yours. I want to inspire the masses. I’m no expert like you nor am I where I want to be in life but I want to make a blog like yours. That’s the problem. I can’t out do your blog, nor would I want to – it’s amazing. But you can’t tell me starting a niche bullshit blog like food trucking could be the least bit fulfilling. I want a blog similar in goal to yours but I don’t want to be a rip off or copycat. Any tips?
Yeah, pal. I got some tips for you. Grab a coffee and get to reading.
Live like a man
You can’t be a badass if you aren’t a man. So that’s your first step, live life like a man.
A lot of people will take offense to that, but that’s because a lot of people are pussies.
Men don’t “take offense”. Men take action and there’s a big difference.
I was just talking to an American here in Bangkok who accidentally bumped into a Russian at a market. One thing lead to another, the American yelled “fuck Russia!”, so the Russian spit in his face, punched him in the mouth and kicked his ass. Whoops.
When you mouth off to a man you get whooped. When men “take offense” you get whooped.
When women and dickless men take offense they run and tattle-tale to their employer, the police, the internet, the government, anyone with power.
See, the easily offended always lack a few things: strength, character, pride and most of all they completely lack self-sufficiency.
Men personally take care of their problems. Females and cowards cannot do that, but men can.
Anonymous internet wimps often accuse me of being a sexist or a misogynist.
As if words hurt me. As if I would apologize for offending a coward. As if I would try and prove I’m every bit as feminine as they are.
Ain’t gonna happen, boys. Words only hurt cowards, remember that. If you’re offended at words your testosterone to estrogen balance is messed up and you’re either a girl or acting like a girl.
As for being labeled a sexist, well, when it’s acceptable to hit a woman or when prisons become co-ed that’s when I’ll start to believe in the mental illness known as “equality”.
Until then I am going to believe what my eyes tell me: Men and women are fundamentally different.
Men are physically stronger and women are natural care takers. Men provide the resources and women nurture. Subvert this and you have nations of lost and crazy souls.
No matter what the confused little boys and girls pretend, women aren’t men and never will be.
All the grown-up little boys who continually emasculate themselves and all the grown-up little girls who behave like sailors can’t change biology.
Today’s modern American woman acts like a cunt because men allow her to, and those men allow her to because they are complete and utter wimps.
Let me give you an example….
I know an American couple, middle aged and married for a few years. The husband works like a dog to pay the bills and the wife doesn’t work.
One day the man came home from a hard day’s work ready for dinner. The wife had been not-so-busy watching television all day.
The wife said to him “I didn’t feel like cooking today so we’re just going to have leftovers“.
The husband replied, head hanging low, “OK, honey. Sounds great“.
At the end of dinner the man took his plate to the sink, rinsed it and put it in the dishwasher while the woman sat at the table doing nothing.
It was absolutely pathetic and my reaction was utter disbelief.
This is what “equality” has done to men, turned them into giant sissies.
When males act like broken dogs it disgusts me, just like it secretly disgusts their nagging wives.
Look fellas, living like a woman just isn’t an option so forget about it. Millions of “men” have chosen this option at their peril, learn from their pathetic mistake and live like a man without remorse.
The internet queens can call me sexist all they like, frankly it’s a compliment coming from them.
I don’t take offense to being called a sexist any more than I take offense to being called a tall, handsome badass with green eyes and a 100-watt smile.
Guilty as charged on all counts!
But you know what the funny thing is?
No one ever has a bad word to say to me in real life. Only online.
I wonder why?
The last time Victor Pride was spotted in the wild.
It sure was me.
I’m still waiting for someone, anyone, to call me out in real life and tell me how much of a meanie I am.
Money and Balls
Westerners always say to me “money isn’t everything, man“.
To which I reply “I know, dork. You need money and balls to be a man“.
When you have both you are 100% complete, if you have one or the other you are 50%, if you have neither you are nothing.
If you have money but you don’t have balls you’re an ATM, a eunuch, a schlub, like the married man I told you about above.
You need both money and balls to be a complete man.
I’m able to live the life I live, without a leash, simply because of money and balls. I have money, I have balls, I use them to get what I want.
What’s more important, money or balls?
Balls are more important. If you’ve got balls you can make money, but money can’t buy you balls if you’re a wimp.
Only balls will buy you love, for everything else there is money.
But…
As far as I’m concerned if you are broke and you aren’t actively doing anything to fix your situation you aren’t a man.
Men have money or men work, build and achieve until they have money. There isn’t an in-between. You’re an achiever, a man, or you aren’t.
Victor, do you have an example?
I’m so glad you asked. Yes, I do have an example.
I was recently in Bali, Indonesia. I was at a restaurant with my little girl, my little helper bee, my little chef, my little maid, my little angel.
We were at a BBQ restaurant. I was waiting on my whole roasted chicken, she was waiting on her grilled prawns.
At another table was a white, western man, an Asian woman and a toddler (race unknown).
Eventually, the woman got up to pay the bill, the man carried the baby to the car, the man put the baby in the car seat, the man got in the passenger seat, the woman got in the drivers seat and they drove away.
My little girl looked at me in a weird way and said “I’ve never seen that before. Maybe he’s the woman and she’s the man” and we both had a big laugh.
We ate our food. I paid. I got on the motorcycle, turned it on, revved it up, she got on behind me and we went back to the poolside villa.
While she was massaging my feet that night I was I wondering how a male could emasculate himself so much without even realizing it.
I wondered: How could you be an adult in years but a child in mindset. How could you be a man but allow yourself to be kept by a woman. How could you be a Mr. Mom and not feel pathetically embarrassed at your situation?
In my household I pay the bills. All of them. Fresh food is prepared for me daily. I haven’t cooked or cleaned a dish in years and I never will out of principle.
That’s because I have two things…
Money and balls.
If you’ve got balls you’re half-way there, but read this 2 part statement carefully:
If you are broke and not doing anything to fix your financial situation you aren’t a man.
So sorry to bear the bad news, friend, but if you don’t have money and if you aren’t working to fix that then you are a loser, an adult-child.
Being broke is OK, but never trying to fix the situation is not OK. Men fix their problems.
I know the language is harsh, but language only hurts you if you don’t have any balls.
So how do you fix that money situation?
Start a business, one business, and focus 100% on that business
If I’ve said it once I’ve said it a million times…
Focus on one thing only. Use your energy on one thing only.
Multi-tasking will get you a whole lot of nothing. No one ever got wealthy from multi-tasking, you get wealthy from building a business, not by starting 10 of them.
Being scatter-brained will not bring the money into the bank, FOCUS will bring the money into the bank.
The overhead is tiny, the profit margins can be huge and the sky is the limit.
Not everyone can make money from a blog, just the baddest of the bad, but anyone with a triple digit IQ can open an online store and sell things.
Look around you right now. Everything you own was sold to you. Everything you can see right now is for sale so there are no lack of opportunities, only lack of will.
Just a few weeks ago I bought a bunch of new supplements from Ebay to try out.
The owner of the Ebay store sent me this message out of the blue…
See boys, there’s a fella getting after it and making money. That guy made over $200 from me personally and now he’s probably going to have a jump in sales (FYI – zinc increases testosterone and semen volume. I take 150mg daily).
He’s making money, why can’t you do what he is doing?
What’s so hard about taking the initiative and ordering some supplements from China, ordering some packaging, designing some labels, opening a store and making some money?
Or selling one of millions of other products…
The only acceptable answer here is “Yeah, you’re right Vic. It’s time to cut out the bullshit and get after it“.
As far as I am concerned freedom is the most important thing a man can have.
Our freedoms are being slowly and systematically chipped away.
Many do not care, as long as they have a fresh supply of porn, big TV’s and video games then nothing else matters.
“They strip search children at airports? Big deal! I have 24 hour porn access”.
These things, these material things, are simply an illusion of choice.
I feel 100% fine knowing that those kinds of people will face very difficult times ahead.
I don’t feel fine knowing that BOLD & DETERMINED readers might not be fully prepared for disaster (economic or otherwise) or, even worse, think it isn’t going to happen.
If disaster doesn’t happen, great! You can be extra, super-duper free.
These are the areas you must work on to become a free man:
No Job
As far as I am concerned, a free man of the west is man who provides for himself. Under no circumstance should you rely on a job for 100% of your income and livelihood. A job can be taken away in a matter of minutes. I’ve gone in to work in the morning and left jobless several times.
Each time I was laid off I was provided a handsome severance package which allowed ample time to find a new job. This is not always the case and could be very disastrous for someone who lives paycheck to paycheck and who does not have a 2nd income source.
If you would like to have a job for some extra benefits and security, I see no problem with that. If you have 100% reliability in that sole job then it is a problem. All can be taken in a matter of moments. Be prepared for the worst, so when the worst comes you will be doing just fine.
Remember this golden rule:
Multiple streams of income.
Self-employment, entrepreneurship, flipping houses, flipping cars, internet marketing, personal training, investing, consulting, or building bird houses – you have endless options to make side money.
Things like equal opportunity, affirmative action and offshore outsourcing make you, the free man, redundant and possibly dependent on the State or debt to survive. To be a free man you’ve got to have the ability to provide for yourself.
Stay out of Debt
Debt is slavery. There is no easier way to put it. To be a free man you must, must, must stay out of debt at all costs.
If you want to get into the debt game – be the debt master, don’t be the debt servant.
I want to tell you about something called a Lonnie deal. A Lonnie deal is simple but it is beautiful.
Lonnie will buy a mobile home that needs some work. Lonnie will pay ALL CASH. Because he pays all cash he will purchase at a very steep discount from a desperate owner who needs to sell. Lonnie will then fix up the mobile home and make it nice and livable. Lonnie will then sell that mobile home for a higher price to a new buyer.
Here is the catch: Lonnie will not sell for cash, Lonnie will sell for terms. Lonnie will get a small down payment and collect monthly payments (with interest) until the entire balance is paid. If the new buyer stops paying Lonnie will kick them out, do a little fix-up work on the mobile home, and then get a new buyer in with the same terms and conditions.
Broken down, a Lonnie deal looks like this:
Lonnie buys a mobile home for 5k cash
Lonnie puts in 5k work to make the mobile home nice and livable
Lonnie sells the mobile home for 23k, with a $3,500 down payment and $225 per month at 7% interest rate over 10 years
Lonnie makes a grand total profit of $20,669.38 off of a 10k investment and a week or two of work
Lonnie does these deals again and again and again and spends the first week of the month depositing his many checks
Lonnie becomes the bank, the debt master, and his buyers become the debt servants. This type of transaction can be done with many things, not just mobile homes, but houses, cars, guns, whatever you can think of.
When you sell a mobile home on terms rather than on a cash basis it is called a Note. The note business is extremely profitable. You can look to the rich bankers for proof of this. The beauty is that anyone can get into the note game.
Lonnie Deals are named after fellow Texan Lonnie Scruggs, whose book Deals on Wheels was a big influence in my business model. Deals on Wheels is about flipping mobile homes but it is an excellent eye-opener about all the possibilities that exist.
Lonnie’s model can be used in many different industries and products. This book is a huge influence in the underground real estate investing industry.
Decrease your tax burden
United States taxes are a gigantic burden to the small business man. To combat this, the smart business man will move his assets and tax-base to an offshore tax haven where he can minimize his tax burden.
You can either move your business interests offshore or develop an air-tight system of writing off your profits in such a way that you will pass an audit by the gumment.
Your taxes only exist to make the wealthy wealthier and to provide for the sub-human scum of society who cannot work for their share. It is your duty as a free man to keep as much of your hard-earned money as you can.
To be a free man you must keep a good amount of your profits. Johnny Law doesn’t give a damn about you keeping your profits, it’s up to you.
Child support can mean 18 years of debt slavery. Child support burden is MASSIVE to a man who does not see his children often and whose ex-wife is out partying with new guys every night.
Now personally, I would not marry an American women for all the money in the world. They’re fun to play with, but when it comes time to get serious they do not currently make a very wise choice.
To be a free man you cannot have alimony or child support payments. You will likely go directly to jail if you stop your payments. Whether you can afford the payments or not makes no difference to Johnny Law.
2nd Passport or Residency
The US gumment is run by psychopath’s who care nothing for the average citizen. They will put their hand in your pockets every chance they get, right up until (and after) collapse. The worse things get, the more money they take from your pocket. For this reason, I see it as almost essential in getting at least a 2nd residency.
Some countries will offer citizenship or residency after several years of occupancy in their country. Some will offer citizenship with marriage to a national. Some will offer citizenship for a cash payment, investment, or home purchase in said country. There are a lot of options here.
There are many resources available on the resource machine we call the internet.
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Friends, if you make these 5 goals a priority you can rest assured you will be freer and more secure than the average man.
Stay out of debt, stay away from women who put you in debt, decrease your tax-burden, work for yourself and make your own money, and get yourself a “Just-in-case” 2nd passport or citizen option and you will sleep very well at night.
