Victor Pride Told Me No And It Changed My Life Forever

When Victor Pride told me no, it felt like a punch to the gut. I didn’t understand it. I didn’t deserve it. Or so I thought. But that rejection became the single greatest thing that ever happened to me.

This is the story of how being denied by someone I admired forced me to stop asking for permission and start building a life worth respecting.

I Asked Victor Pride for Help And Got Shut Down

I sent Victor Pride an email asking to be mentored by him.

In my head the logic was bulletproof. I was loyal. I was willing to learn. I was hungry. Why would he say no?

He said no.

Not once. Twice.

The first time I asked what basically amounted to a free mentorship. The second time wasn’t much better. I dressed it up differently but the ask was the same. Give me your time, your knowledge, your years of hard-earned experience.

For free.

I still remember the words that changed everything:

“You ask everything from me, but offer nothing in return.”

I read that line and my stomach dropped. I was angry. I was embarrassed. And for a while I told myself he was wrong.

He wasn’t.

What I Didn’t Understand About Earning Your Way

Think about it from his side for a second.

How many emails does someone like Victor Pride get in a day? Hundreds. Maybe thousands. And most of them sound exactly the same:

“Hey Victor, check out my blog and tell me what you think.”

“How can I make thousands of dollars from my site?”

Every one of those emails is someone asking for something valuable while offering absolutely nothing in return. They want access to years of grinding, years of building, years of failing and getting back up, handed to them in a reply.

That was me. I just didn’t see it yet.

I told myself I was different because I was “willing to learn.” But willingness means nothing without action. Half the planet is willing to learn. Almost nobody is willing to do the work.

How Victor Pride’s Rejection Became My Fuel

Here’s something you should know about me. Being told no doesn’t make me quit. It makes me dangerous.

After reading that email I made a decision. If nobody was going to hand me the crown, I would take it.

I started hitting the gym and got my bench press up to 220 lbs. I dropped 25 lbs of dead weight off my body. I cut out the friends who weren’t going anywhere. I killed the TV. I uncluttered every corner of my life that was slowing me down.

I started reading, studying, building. I launched ventures that actually made money. I took my blog to levels I never thought were possible. I connected with people like Conner and Andrew who were on the same path.

None of it happened because someone gave me a shortcut. It happened because Victor Pride forced me to realize that no one owed me anything. And that was the most freeing realization of my life.

The Moment Everything Clicked

About ten months after that rejection I had a moment of clarity.

Victor Pride hadn’t done me a disservice by saying no. He had done me the greatest favor anyone could. He refused to carry me so I would learn to walk on my own.

Every result I had earned in those ten months, the strength, the discipline, the income, the self-respect, came because I stopped waiting for someone else to open the door.

I kicked it down.

What Getting Told No Actually Teaches You

Rejection stings because it attacks our sense of entitlement. We believe that wanting something badly enough should be reason enough to receive it. But wanting is not earning. Asking is not deserving.

The people you admire, the ones who have built something real, they can see right through the ask. They know the difference between someone who wants a handout and someone who is putting in the work.

Here is the truth that changed everything for me: the same people who tell you no will be the first to offer help once they see you earning your way. Respect is not given. It is built in public, one day at a time, through action that speaks louder than any email ever could.

You Have to Take Yourself Seriously First

Nobody will invest in you until you invest in yourself. That means getting your body right, getting your mind right, and working on your craft every single day. Whether that is blogging, making videos, building a business, or mastering a skill.

Unclutter your life. Remove the noise. Treat your goals like they actually matter and the world will start treating you differently.

Where I Am Now And What Victor Pride Taught Me

A lot has changed since Victor Pride told me no.

I went on to intern with him. I built my own business. I moved abroad and started living the life I used to daydream about.

But none of that would have happened if he had said yes the first time I asked. I would have leaned on someone else’s strength instead of building my own. I would have taken the easy road and wondered why the view at the top never came.

The dream is free. The hustle is sold separately.

I earned my way here. And if someone like me, a nobody with nothing but stubbornness and a refusal to quit, can start building the life he wants, so can you.

Stop asking for permission. Start earning your place. And if someone tells you no, thank them later.

Until next time, go and dominate.

Your friend,

Dylan Madden