Spartans were notorious for living a simple, frugal, minimalist lifestyle. They ate only what they needed, kept their bodies fit, did not spend money wastefully.
A minimalist lifestyle is much more rewarding than the standard consumer lifestyle. To live a minimalist lifestyle you get by on the least amount possible and don’t concern yourself with over-indulgence. That’s gluttony.
It’s quite easy to live like a Spartan. All you need to do is get rid of the junk, the clutter. Go through your belongings and sell or give away anything you don’t absolutely need.
Start small at first, but once you get rid of the junk it can feel quite liberating and you may want to have that feeling again. Great! Do it.
Take a look at your finances and see where you are spending money thoughtlessly and cut back on it. If you’re spending $40 a month on haircuts invest a few bucks on some clippers and cut your own hair. If you’re eating out all the time start actually buying groceries and making your own food. Restaurant food is garbage and will make you fat, quitting it is win-win.
If you’re paying $600 a month on the cool new car sell it and buy yourself a cash car. $2000 a month on rent, move to a less expensive place. It’s not as hard as it sounds. All it takes is the commitment to do it.
We have all been in the situation where we are having a difficult time making our outrageous rent payments, mortgage payments, credit card payments, car payments, lease payments. All for stuff that does not increase our happiness or make our lives better. That shit is like a weight on our shoulders, crushing us little by little. Get rid of all those burdens and it feels like a huge weight has been lifted off our shoulders.
How to Start a Business the Spartan Way
Imagine this scenario: a man wants to be self-employed, hates his job and wants to be in business for himself. He feels that he cannot do so because he has so many payments to make there is just no way he can make enough money right away to take care of all those obligations. So he just endures. He keeps at his soul-stealing job so he can keep making those payments, keep consuming, keep himself down.
The opposite scenario is this: a man wants more than anything to start his own business. He feels extremely passionate about it. He will do anything to make to succeed. He has all the same bills and junk to pay for as the other man.
This man, however, is willing to do what it takes. He sells his car that he is making payments on and he buys a cash car. He cuts up his credit cards and is determined never to use them again. He turns off his cable TV, and instead sends the money in to pay off those credit cards. He sells all his extra junk, electronics and so forth, anything that is not absolutely needed he gets rid of. He sells his house and moves into a cheap little apartment. He cooks his own food instead of eating out all the time.
He uses all his energy and resources to make his business work. He doesn’t care about having the latest cool phone, he knows it doesn’t matter. It’s hard but he finally makes his business work. It’s 5 years later and the man is basically retired. His business is on auto-pilot and he is living the good life. The other man who was scared to quit his job is still going into the same miserable job, buying the same miserable junk, living a miserable existence.
It’s hard to leave a steady job knowing you have bills to pay. But is it harder than living a miserable existence dependent completely on someone else?
If you’ve got a job making 50k a year and you have 30k worth of bills per year why not get rid of all those bills, make 20k on your own and live freer and happier?
That’s how you live like a Spartan. Get rid of all the bullshit and live with what you need, not what you have been spoonfed by advertising to think you need.
Simplify your lives, gentlemen. It makes things so much easier.
Hell yes. I’m glad to hear someone else feels the same way I do. So many guys I know waste so much time and effort to get the things that ultimately enslave them. As times goes on it gets harder and harder for them to go after the things they really want because they’re locked into the lifestyle they’ve chosen. It brings to mind what Thoreau said:
“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”
The saddest thing is they have no idea how close they are to having what they want. All it takes is smarts and a ball sack bigger than a pair of peas. I’m glad I found your blog. You have a kick ass attitude, and kudos to you for taking the time and effort to provide a place that kicks those guys in the pants who want more out of life.
Kill it everyday, I say. You’ll be dead before you know it. Might as well do exactly what you want, when you want, and with whomever you want. Keep up the good work.
One great thing I’ve noticed about BOLD AND DETERMINED as opposed to other ‘manosphere’ blogs is your Spartan attitude to writing. No bullshit. Every line counts. Every sentence has a purpose. No bullshit. Just exactly what the reader needs to know. Precise. Spartan.
People might think I am a nerd living in the back room of a friend’s apartment in the Bronx, but you know what?
I have my books, guitar, sleeping bag, aptop with internet connection, and other personal stuff in here with me and it’s cozy.
I work 4 days a wek and have a little more money in the bank every month.
I eat high quality mainly organic food and have time to read, lift weights, and sit and even just sit with some tea and look out the window.
Nerd?
Bum?
Crazy?
Not at all.
This stuff is seriously effective….I wasn’t aware of ‘The Spartan Way’ of going through life. But that is what i adopted out of instinct, and out of watching most of my peers chase idiotic and trivial emotional rewards from decoys of marketing. The result - i had enough money to get the highest accreditation one can get in my field, and now I own my own practice and make my own opportunities. In brief, I own my own life. Those who wanted to fit in, and have the lastest gadget, cars, and other petty trophy (paid with credit), have fallen victim to the mainstream way of living and dying. Now the are sunk to their heads in debts and have accomplished fuck all. If being a Spartan means being smart with one;s choices and resources, and employing foresight in our decisions, then Spartan it is!
Wow, I just ran into your blog and you and I seem to think very much alike! (Except that I am a vegan and you eat steak). But yeah, I love the spartan lifetsyle and take a cold shower myself. I just declutter the hell out of my apartment last week, and simplified my wardrobe (It’s just white shirts and jeans now). Also I do sungazing that pumps you up with so much energy that you need to eat only one full meal a day. Nice blog. Long live Spartans!
Here is my youtube channel if you would like to check out my videos:
http://www.youtube.com/user/rawfitsungazer
And forgot to mention…you did fire me up with your business idea. I have been seriously considering quitting my job and just going the self-employed route. I already have a book published, and a few guided meditation tapes out, but hardly make $500 a year on it. Hmm, maybe I will write a few more books or something and figure something out. But thanks for the inspiration! Keep up the great work!
BTW: DO you have a blog post on how you became self-employed? How much did you save before calling it quits with a day job? Etc?
Aaaawesome post victor
AND I HAVE THE SAME QUESTION
Would u please tell us how u did it all..how much u saved..u know knowing YPUR scenario and train or thought at that time would greatly benefit us all
Also i notice u’r always very dirrct kind of rude like i be when iam high on testosterone (when fapping n a call or skthing interrupts)
Is it becz of the TRT? ?? Cz i have seen thr main thing driving a superasskicker male like u is HIGH T
I didn’t save anything, I made money and then I put it right back into making more of it.
“Also i notice u’r always very dirrct kind of rude like i be when iam high on testosterone (when fapping n a call or skthing interrupts)
Is it becz of the TRT? ?? Cz i have seen thr main thing driving a superasskicker male like u is HIGH T”
I have always been this way but TRT amplifies it, yes.
Hi Victor
Love your website.
Just a quick question on your newsletter
12) Average people live beyond their means. Rich people live below theirs.
You say that one way to cut down your bills is Geo-arbitrage.
I assume this means that you live in a South east Asian country where the bills are are obviously a lot less than a Western rents etc.
You state that you live in a High rise condo with a pool, have a maid and pay very little.
I currently live in London and pay through the nose on rent, even though I do pay about as cheap as it gets on Rent in an area which is further out, it works out to be 1/3rd of my wage. However if I wanted to embrace this concept of Geo-Arbitrage and move I would have Visa issues with living permanently in a south East Asian country-depending on which one.
Did you have the same problems? If so how did you go about it?
Assuming you do live in a foreign country and gain your means online.
Yes, there will always be visa issues unless you have citizenship or permanent residence. I would never give up a western citizenship in favor of a 3rd world citizenship. In short, I just deal with it and live with it and understand that foreigners have no rights in Asia. Depending on where you live you just have to research the best visa options. I have to visit the immigration office once every quarter and hand them some money, takes about two hours out of my day.
Got it
MONEY + 3rd world country= Better chance of Visa application Success & cheap High rise condo with pool and maid-minus shitty London flat
Thanks so much
Keep up the great work, you have certainly inspired me!
Hi Victor,
great article and super inspiring blog.
In which country do you live? and what countries do you recommend that have very low costs of living, but of course with good internet connection and hot women would be great too.
Best Regards
What about spartan ethics?
” The world is my oyster.” =Spartan ethics
I went this route in June. It’s truly liberating once you get rid of all the crap you’ve accumulated over the years. I went through a pretty nasty break up, where my girlfriend of 3 years, left behind almost everything that was “ours”.
I sold it ALL. I made a couple thousand dollars doing so and have put that in the bank and bought assets. I didn’t waste the money on strippers and bar tabs like my buddies would have. I have since doubled this money.
Living simple doesn’t mean you’re not living well, it’s actually quite the opposite, when you don’t have a bunch of material possessions ruling your life, you can rule your life. I refuse for a PS3 or a DirecTV Home DVR to take over my life. I am in control.
Thank you Victor. You’ve inspired me.
Great article! I’ll definitely sell some stuff I haven’t used for a long time and probably will never use!
T from project3dom.com
I little anecdote. I just washed my clothes. I washed two expensive shirts that coasted about 250 dollars each (I think). When I took out the shirts they had shrunken to baby seize. For a few seconds I was pissed of, than I stoically thought about how king Leonidas would had reacted (he would probably never bought such silly and narcissistic clothes anyway) And I just feel cool and relaxed, but also very inspired to live more Spartan like instead of showing of with expensive designer wear. I will soon go to the gym and train like there is no tomorrow with the inspiration of the Spartan lifestyle! And finish my Saturday evening with the movie 300 (for maybe the 21th time)
This article is about as good as solid advice gets. A modern “Walden”.
Hi Victor,
when were 30 days to discipline and body of a spartan released?
I love this lifestyle. It gets you free so much faster. It’s not just wonderful for starting businesses. Starting a business can be substituted for learning any skill, building your own home, raising a family, traveling the world and so on.
Fire…
This is going to far. Minimalist life, or should i say, essential life, is not a competition to see who can get rid of more stuff and brag on it on the internet. Nor does It have to do with a “have less now in order to have more later” mentality.
It does not have to do with money or material posessions.
Get rid of any aspiration or desire to be, to have or to become. Only then youll be free to just DO. One byproduct of doing is being, having and becoming, buy by then you wont care.
Hell yea.
Tu spartan nahi tu chutiya hai. Kasam se tu lundfakir type ka hai. Ek no. Ka jhatu hai. Tujhe sab chutiye log hi follow karte hai BC. 😆😆😆😆