[Valentine]

(12-17-2016 11:15 AM)Caractacus Potts Wrote:  

So what is the answer then?

I have never been truly passionate about anything.

I take that back...for a brief period when I was younger and hormones were kicking in I was a horny kid and all I could think about were girls. lol

But even that has lost its luster.

There are aspects of my job that I enjoy but I am not passionate about it. I have friends who are artists/musicians who talk about their passions all of the time. I envy them their passion. I have never had that.

I sometimes get in a funk and wonder what it is all about. I'd like to be in shape/more successful but I get by on both so there is no outside force pushing me. I get that others say it has to come from inside. I don't think it ever really has for me. I tend to operate in fits and false starts. I eat right/lift for a few months then fall off for a few months.

I work on outside ventures get close to making a go of it and then it dies on the vine for lack of follow through. This has happened three times in the past few years. And I understand that it is my fault/obligation/responsibility to see things through. But I don't have that relentless inner drive. That conation.

Motivation has no easy answer. There are many variables that can affect it and to a large degree it is always still subject to external events.

A few things may help here however:

1) There's an endless debate in motivation circles about work vs passion. I'm of the perspective that you should seek to do something that you have strong interest in + the market will pay good money for it.

Passion isn't a singular activity that you find then you're forever motivated. The best you can do is try to move towards doing work that interests you, because you naturally will spend your free time on that stuff anyway.

2) Support systems made a huge difference for me in not being so motivation-dependent. Not only people you can talk to regularly about an activity to give you support/guidance/accountability, but also systems which help you manage your life.

Don't break the chain, Stickk and habit tracking apps are some such examples, there's so many though you'll need to experiment with what actually has the greatest effect on you.

3) You're not motivated when you're comfortable:

Quote:

Treat Mediocrity as a Crisis

People are very good at doing two things – surviving crises and accepting mediocrity. To protect our egos, we use euphemisms for mediocrity. We say we are good enough rather than admit we have accepted mediocre life outcomes.

To some extent, we can blame evolution.

Our bodies are regulated by the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems. As everyone learned in 9th grade biology, the parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for your bodily functions when you’re at rest. You don’t need will power to breath, have a beating heart, or digest food. The parasympathetic nervous system puts us into “chill” mode.

Our sympathetic are responsible for the fight-or-flight response and give us huge doses of adrenaline. If you heard a gun shot outside, your body would automatically give you a huge dose of epinephrine, norepinephrine. Your heart rate would skyrocket, your body would release glucose for fuel, and you’d be ready to move – to fight or to flee.

In other words, our bodies are evolved to help us avoid dying and to conserve energy. Our bodies are not evolved to drive us to accomplish great things.
...

[Nascimento]

His latest post: "Nobody has a father anymore, which is why I'm your new daddy."

Yep... He's gone crazy.

[Marmite]

He seems to be trying to paint hims of as some sort of guru, and instead is giving off cult leader vibes at the minute.

My bullshit meter hasn't quite hit full as yet listening to his newer 'Godcasts', but it is creeping that way. I need to finish New World Ronin, and listen to all of the new podcasts fully before I can properly make up my mind.

[Menace]

As Roosh pointed out, the issue is that he has nothing new to say. He has effectively invented a pseudo-RPG for motivation with all kinds of new terms, etc. His target audience is really young guys, like 18-23. I used to really get annoyed by his tweets, etc. Then I realized the problem isn't really with him per se, but with me. I've just outgrown his stuff long ago. I think if you find yourself hating (as I did), it's a sign you're not the intended audience anymore.

I've since un-followed on twitter and unsubscribed from his youtube channel. My mental well being has improved as a result.

[Wreckingball]

I stopped having interest in his material long time ago. I think he became a victim of himself. However, every time I need a motivational kick in the face I go and read his older stuff. In order to re-capture me (at least) he needs to diversify the motivational things and go into other subjects. Perhaps restart the fitness/body building subject which I really liked.

[Designate]

Yeah he's definitely posted some lol-worthy titles for his pieces lately. Some regular gems like "How to Wake Up and Fuck the Day", "How to Grab Your Nuts to Make Sure You Aren't a Pussy" and "How to Help People Who Are In Prison For Drugs".

I also agree he seems to be going a bit off the rails with the pseudo-spiritual chanting stuff and the bizarre choices for terminology like calling himself a daddy and all the shark shit.

All of that said, I think some of the newer content actually has solid value that I wouldn't necessarily write off. Along with the typical motivational B&D content and the elements stated above, he's actually come out with some pretty interesting thoughts on entrepreneurship, productivity and work ethic in general.

The terminology is pretty childlike, but his whole thing about "Full Color Work" versus "Black & White Work" was actually quite illuminating. Full Color Work being the creative chaos that takes place during your most productive and energetic moments of your workday and the Black & White Work being the paper pushing/admin/repetitive work. The discussion of how to balance and how to harness the former is quite interesting to me because I definitely see this paradigm in my own day to day work. I'm sure this topic has been discussed elsewhere before, but the way he's put forth this sort of cut throat, yet creative, entrepreneurial styled philosophy is something I've not really seen.

While not heavy on substance, hidden within the insanity there is a message and a few great take-a-ways. I'm undecided if I'll give New World Ronin a read, but I'll be sure to update my thoughts if I do.

Maybe he'll continue to slide off the rails into total cult territory, maybe not, but regardless he's delivered some gold throughout the years. I remember when I was getting back into shape around 2011/2012 and I found his blog, it was a great primer on many foundational things. Lots of classics that I still return to occasionally:

10 Reasons to Stop Using Internet Porn

The Old School ‘Steak and Eggs’ Diet for Fat Loss, Balanced Energy, and Increased Testosterone

The Old School 70’s Bodybuilding Routine

[rockoman]

I am going to give a shout out here to 'Bold and Determined'

In his latest work - 'New World Ronin' and the 'Godcasts' Nick Kelly (formerly Victor Pride) is dropping some serious wisdom. It is couched in what 'Designate' described as childlike terms. That is because he is using symbolism in a way that reminds me of Jung's archetypes, which is of course a whole topic in itself. I find B and D to be ultimate Red Pill in many ways, especially valuable for young men in the 18 to 23 age-group. The following is a great piece. Click on the link for the details. If you are a young man here - or even older - it is an absolute must read.

https://boldanddetermined.com/18-things-...ould-know/

1) Don’t get married
2) Do not make women your priority
3) College doesn’t guarantee Money
4) You can make money on the Internet
5) World travel is not just a Fantasy
6) Gym time is critical while you’re Young
7) Your family is full of BS
8) Work ethic is critical to develop early
9) Everything is not just A or B, there is a C solution
10) You have a future
11) Pay attention to Money
12) Find older, accomplished men and pick their Brains
13) Feminism is a sick joke
14) If you need a job get a sales job or a manual labor Job
15) Don’t buy anything on credit
16) Don’t bother choosing a career
17) Nobody believes in you
18) Be proud of who you are

As for the point about 'nobody has a father any more' I don't think he's far wrong - especially in the Anglosphere and Western Europe

[General Mayhem]

I've started listening to these out of curiosity.

It's interesting because he seems to be just answering questions for the most part. It looks like he does it all pretty unscripted and seems to be enjoying himself. Good for him.

The stuff about walking and motion is the real deal. Simple but effective.

[Turnus]

Actually have never heard of this guy but may want to start looking at some of his older stuff per the suggestions on this thread.

[John Michael Kane]

I've purchased 30 Days of Discipline a while back. Some solid advice like avoiding jacking off and taking some cold showers to keep you motivated and on point. Some of his material is shamelessly self-promoting, but he's an internet marketer, you have to promote or you die. He's making a living off giving some decent advice, even if some of it is a bit corny or over-the-top. There's some real gems in his archives. His writing is simple, and straight to the point, unlike a lot of gurus who point meaningless fluff in there. He won't appeal to everyone, but I think to the certain listless male in need of a wakeup call, his bluntness might just be the kick in the butt they needed.

[Killer Joe]

I have high-respect for Victor Pride. He inspired me to take the dive and drop-out of college and enjoy the freedom from running an online business.

But there's something that's always rubbed me the wrong way about him.

(12-03-2016 02:49 PM)zoom Wrote:  

I also stopped reading his stuff a long time ago. He seems arrogant and rarely ever offers any concrete advice, only abstract 'motivational' writing. I also can't take any man seriously who posts duck face selfies of themselves.

Why the fuck does he do that? It's gay as hell

[nek]

Just curious, how's he making money off his blog? I saw on one of his posts that in the last 4 years or so he's made around a million dollars. I know he sells "Body of A Spartan" and "30 Days of Discipline", but I don't think he's making that kind of money off the books alone (note, this is before his new book, New World Ronin" was released).

[John Michael Kane]

He has affiliate links to web hosting, Amazon, and he also has his own supplements online store.

[Seth_Rose]

(12-20-2016 07:25 PM)nek Wrote:  

Just curious, how's he making money off his blog? I saw on one of his posts that in the last 4 years or so he's made around a million dollars. I know he sells "Body of A Spartan" and "30 Days of Discipline", but I don't think he's making that kind of money off the books alone (note, this is before his new book, New World Ronin" was released).

https://boldanddetermined.com/how-i-make...th-online/

[monerap]

I read his blog for years. 2014-2015 was the slow years of B&D. But after he published New World Ronin, he started to produce amazing content for almost every single day. Listen his podcasts.

[buja]

I'm new to his stuff. Read a lot of his blog articles.
I bought New World Ronin in January.

It's incredible. I'm reading it again.

[Mayweather]

His archive is amazing, but the daddy thing during the FCG podcast series made me take a step back. Like an earlier poster I like his archives when he focuses on motivation strictly. His girl advice is fairly generic, if I was heavy into fitness I would take his fitness advice seriously as well. Every now and then you'll read a line and have an a-ha moment. Those are priceless.

Also to anyone struggling to find motivation, another good resource would be "The Artists Way" by Julia Cameron. It's not just for people of an artistic inclination. It has a lot of excercises that everyone from lawyers to musicians have found useful, particularly the morning pages.

[Phoenix]

Just noticed he's taken down his "full color godcast" from everywhere without comment...

[RatInTheWoods]

Thanks for the heads up, will check him out.

[Ballr]

I applied a lot of LTR game from an article he wrote way back:

https://boldanddetermined.com/pick-the-right-wife/

Very good read.

[All or Nothing]

(12-03-2016 01:52 AM)Valentine Wrote:  

Dude bought too much into his own marketing. Stopped reading him about two years ago when every single article became about motivation. Typical internet marketer tactics. Also reminds me of another marketer who I stopped reading because he'd turn loads of every day behaviours into some unique brand word.

This is it. Bold and Determined along with Christian McQueen are like the last vestiges of the internet marketing era.

Internet marketing was huge as little as 4-6 years ago as a way to hawk books and various products, but with the proliferation of Youtube and Instagram, the game has been stepped up significantly.

The game is now all about content creation. All of the people I go to for entertainment now are generally on Youtube creating entertaining videos that cover a specific niche of modern culture. That is what I feel like internet marketing is evolving into. You need to develop an audience through Instagram, Twitter, and/or Youtube through content creation that is tied to some aspect of modern culture. Over time you will develop an audience tied to that niche (prank videos, technology commentary, political commentary, celebrity commentary). Once the audience is developed, you can start hawking products through your content.

Way better than internet marketing in my opinion, since the content creation is tied to modern developments.

[redbeard]

(04-17-2017 10:50 AM)All or Nothing Wrote:  

(12-03-2016 01:52 AM)Valentine Wrote:  

Dude bought too much into his own marketing. Stopped reading him about two years ago when every single article became about motivation. Typical internet marketer tactics. Also reminds me of another marketer who I stopped reading because he'd turn loads of every day behaviours into some unique brand word.

This is it. Bold and Determined along with Christian McQueen are like the last vestiges of the internet marketing era.

Internet marketing was huge as little as 4-6 years ago as a way to hawk books and various products, but with the proliferation of Youtube and Instagram, the game has been stepped up significantly.

The game is now all about content creation. All of the people I go to for entertainment now are generally on Youtube creating entertaining videos that cover a specific niche of modern culture. That is what I feel like internet marketing is evolving into. You need to develop an audience through Instagram, Twitter, and/or Youtube through content creation that is tied to some aspect of modern culture. Over time you will develop an audience tied to that niche (prank videos, technology commentary, political commentary, celebrity commentary). Once the audience is developed, you can start hawking products through your content.

Way better than internet marketing in my opinion, since the content creation is tied to modern developments.

Yes.

The way of the future is to have 1,000 True Fans who will buy anything you produce

If you have 1,000 True Fans who love everything you do and buy EVERYTHING you put out, you can easily make a huge annual salary by releasing one or two products a year.

1,000 True Fans x $75 course = $75,000/year

1,000 True Fans x $25 books x 3 times/year = $75,000/year

I learned this concept actually from Simple Pickup, they ran a video ad to me that looked interesting, so being an internet marketer I watched it (for study). Of course it ended up being a good ad that introduced me to "1,000 True Fans."

Here's the original article that discussed this:

http://kk.org/thetechnium/1000-true-fans/

Back 4-6 years ago like you discuss it was easy for CMQ, B&D, etc to produce a one-off $20 book, run a bunch of content with it, and profit. Now the market has become saturated that you have to sell YOU, INC. I could learn pickup from a million people, but if I don't like them personally, why would I buy their shit?

It's about creating a deeper connection with your audience, instead of building a bigger audience.

Which, by the way, Roosh does an *amazing* job at. Roosh runs a forum...then posts his own personal problems on here. He is actually one of us, out there gaming sluts and dealing with the hangups of modern women.

[Kratomite]

@All or nothing:

I'm not following your distinction between "internet marketing" and social media followings. The latter is just a subset of internet marketing.

Victor Pride produces great content. He gets absurd amounts of traffic. And while he's "salesy", I have no doubt that he makes more than 99% of YouTube stars who are usually flat broke.

[All or Nothing]

(04-17-2017 01:27 PM)Kratomite Wrote:  

@All or nothing:

I'm not following your distinction between "internet marketing" and social media followings. The latter is just a subset of internet marketing.

Victor Pride produces great content. He gets absurd amounts of traffic. And while he's "salesy", I have no doubt that he makes more than 99% of YouTube stars who are usually flat broke.

The distinction I am trying to make is between short-term thinking and long-term thinking.

Internet marketer and content creator are two different frames of thinking, where:
Internet marketer = short-term thinking
Content creator = long-term thinking

When I am talking about internet marketers, I am generally talking about people who creatively formulize sentences and blog posts in a way that gets an emotional rise out of people who come across their content. They take the emotional rise out of people and work to translate it into sales. Ultimately though, the videos and content they create have no deeper meaning or value beyond their ability to get an emotional rise out of readers, which leads to the audience of internet marketers dying off in the long term.

Content creators on the other hand, create content that in and of itself has some sort of innate entertainment or informational value. People who create content that has some level of innate entertainment value to it beyond getting a quick emotional rise, will have to work harder to create quality content that entertains an audience. Over time though, content creators will have more staying power and will be able to develop a long term audience due to the fact that the content they create has some level of innate value to the people who consume their content. This is in contrast to internet marketers whose content is like a quick adrenaline rush, but has no deeper value to it.

[Kratomite]

Victor is a content creator though. He blogs.

"Internet marketers", the slimy sort you're referring to don't bother with that. They send paid traffic to squeeze pages and spam your inbox.