Victor Macias

Success

Self-love is critical for long-term success

The road to success is filled with highs and lows. In order to succeed, you need to have the stamina to stick it through. For this reason, it's critical to practice self-love and compassion. This will increase your self-esteem and make it so you enjoy the journey and

Habits

Build new habits by doing what's easy

To build a new habit, take the path of least resistance and make it easy. Building habits requires consistent repetition over an extended period. Often, the perceived difficulty of performing a new action prevents individuals from engaging in it. For example, an aspiring writer might dread the idea of generating

Track inputs to increase your odds of success

Tracking inputs encourages consistent monitoring of progress, leading to more effective goal achievement by fostering awareness and enabling timely adjustments. Examples of input activities: * Input (writing) vs Output (book) * Input (prospecting) vs Output (clients) * Input (dieting) vs Output (six-pack abs) For better goal achievement, implement the following daily input tracking

Productivity

Do more quality work with the Unschedule

The Unschedule is a concept developed by Neil Fiore, author of The Now Habit. It flips the traditional schedule on its head. Instead of scheduling work obligations first, you prioritize guilt-free play and other social commitments. By prioritizing guilt-free play, you remove the underlying causes of procrastination and reduce resentment

Make your habits so easy that it's laughable if you don't complete them

For Behavior Modification, the key is to just get started. One of the quickest ways to get started is to make something easy by breaking it down to its smallest component. For example: * Don't commit to working out, commit to one pushup every morning. * Don't commit

Success

What if resistance is life showing you what to subtract?

Derek Sivers, musician, entrepreneur, and TED speaker says, "I do things, but I stop before anything gets stressful... "You notice an internal 'Argh.' That's my cue. I treat that like physical pain, what am I doing? I need to stop doing that thing that

'Easy' is Life Showing You What to Add

I believe that if something is easy for you to do, it's a sign that you should do more of it. Here's why: * If it's easy, it means you're good at it:  What comes easy for you may be difficult for someone

The Power of Saying YES: How Juggling Multiple Projects Unlocks Your Productivity

Welcome to another edition of the Bootstrapped Newsletter. Here's what's happening this week: * The Power of Saying YES: How Juggling Multiple Projects Unlocks Your Productivity * I gave a presentation for CSUF's Startup Incubator on Crowdfunding (The video and deck below) * Using ChatGPT for conducting

Find Your Winning Startup Idea with The OSP Method

In my 15+ years as an entrepreneur, startup advisor, and incubator mentor, I've observed common themes in businesses that succeed in the long run. These companies have winning ideas. A winning idea targets the right opportunity, aligns with your strengths, and connects to a larger purpose. Missing any

Five Ways to Get Your First 100 Customers For Your Startup With $0 Budget

Announcement: Introducing the Bootstrapped: The Newsletter for Solopreneurs & Startups by a 7-Figure Shark Tank Alum We've rebranded our newsletter to better serve bootstrapped solopreneurs and startups like you. Whether you're a long-time subscriber or new to our community, get ready for valuable insights, tips, and

Crowdfunding for Startups: How We Raised Over $100,000 on Kickstarter (Includes Successful Templates, Tools, etc.)

"Wait, we raised how much?" In 2016, we were just a couple of cookie-loving entrepreneurs baking out of mom's kitchen. We began making low-carb keto cookies and were excited to discover that not only did mom love them, but so did everyone else we shared them

Interview

NFL Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu on Confidence, Respect, and Humility

Troy Polamalu, an NFL Hall of Famer, is best known for his 12-year career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. During his time at the University of Southern California, he was a two-time All-American. Polamalu's leadership as a defensive player led the Steelers to seven playoff appearances, five division titles,

Interview

Nely Galán, The Latina New York Times Calls The “Tropical Tycoon,” Shares Her Path to Success

You may think that successful people are born into riches, or have exponential powers that boost their profile above all others, but in a revealing interview with Nely Galán, the Latino New York Times dubbed “The Tropical Tycoon,” I discovered that it’s not who you aspire to be, but

How to Get a Startup Business Loan with No Money: Tips and Resources

Do you have a startup business idea, but don’t have the money to get started? Do you find yourself thinking, “If I only had the money, I’d be able to start my business?” I’ve been there. Over the past few years, I’ve run a few startups

Interview

Interview: USA Soccer Legend Landon Donovan on Meditation, Self-Doubt and Ego

When people look back on how soccer took off America, one name is going to be on everyone’s lips: Professional soccer player Landon Donovan. As a member of Team USA, Donovan became the all-time leader in scoring and assists, becoming the only player to reach the 50 goals/50

Entrepreneurship

The Best Books For Starting a Business: A Must-Read List for Entrepreneurs

Starting a business can be both an exhilarating and frightening task. Reid Hoffman, founder of LinkedIn says, "An entrepreneur is someone who jumps off a bridge and builds a plane on his way down." From coming up with an idea to testing product-market fit, finding the right team,

Interview

Interview: Actor Michael B. Jordan on Rejection, Building Confidence, and Leaving a Lasting Legacy

Michael B. Jordan is an actor and producer. He's best known for his roles as boxer Adonis Creed in Creed, and Erik Killmonger in Black Panther. I had a chance to sit down and interview Jordan for Male Standard. I wanted to understand the type of person that

Entrepreneurship

What Must an Entrepreneur Assume When Starting a Business

Starting a business can be an exciting and challenging journey. Entrepreneurs must be aware of the hurdles that they may face. This blog post covers the key assumptions that an entrepreneur must make when starting a business.

Featured

How to make steady progress toward your goals

I hit a bit of a wall. I realized that I've been making good progress on my tasks, completing between 90-95% of my list consistently. However, I'm not seeing notable progress towards reaching my goals. For example, I have a goal to increase client revenue by

Daily Notes: Streamlining Inbox Management and Chat GPT Experiments

Today, I spent some time searching for a tool that can bring all of my inboxes (Slack, Asana, Messenger) into one place. The volume of incoming communication has been increasing, so I want a streamlined way to check them all at once in order to batch tasks and leave more

What happened to Nui Foods?

Note: The video below was shot a few months back, but I haven’t been able to share much until now. Here’s the Nui Foods story… Ever since I can remember, I’ve wanted to be an entrepreneur. Something about creating a business has signified freedom and self-expression for

Fun

Guilt-Free Play Fuels Quality Work

When’s the last time you had fun? I mean, laugh out loud, throw caution to the wind type of fun. Our society tends to devalue play as we get older. We push it aside because we have more “important” things to do. Did you know? * Guilt-free play is one

Guilt-Free Fun

Make It a Treat

When’s the last time you’ve visited a landmark or major tourist attraction in your city? We tend to devalue things that are easily available. This means that a latte, cocktail, or favorite restaurant, becomes less enjoyable the more frequently you consume it. By limiting access to your favorite

Happinesss

Buy Experiences, Not Things

People who spend more money on experiences report higher satisfaction with their lives. Experiences provide more satisfaction than physical goods because experiences create a connection with others. Experiences also make us happier because they create memories. You’re likely to enjoy your experiences more if: * The experience brings your closer

Entrepreneurship

Document what you do

Whatever your work, you have a unique approach to your art. There are people who are interested in that approach if it’s presented to them the right way. Documenting and showing your process connects you with others and is most valuable when you’re still learning. How to document: