The Entrepreneur Forum | Financial Freedom | Starting a Business | Motivation | Money | Success

Welcome to the only entrepreneur forum dedicated to building life-changing wealth.

Build a Fastlane business. Earn real financial freedom. Join free.

Join over 90,000 entrepreneurs who have rejected the paradigm of mediocrity and said "NO!" to underpaid jobs, ascetic frugality, and suffocating savings rituals— learn how to build a Fastlane business that pays both freedom and lifestyle affluence.

Free registration at the forum removes this block.

9 Dream-Killing Lies You Sell Yourself...

jjbiggs

New Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
33%
May 13, 2023
3
1
It's been a long, long time. But it seems like yesterday.

In 2007, I launched The Fastlane Forum. During this time, I've encountered 1000s of entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs. I soon discovered a complex reality that most people are liars—not to others, but to themselves. Here are the 9 common lies that want to convince you to sell your dreams for slaughter. And 9 easy paradigm shifts to insure your dreams stay alive and tracked for reality.

9 Dream-Killing Lies You Sell Yourself...

LIE #1: I'm not good at X.

Of course, you're not. No one is born an instant expert. We all crawled before we walked. Seinfeld's first words weren't a joke. Ronaldo didn't emerge from mom with a football. The question is, if you aren't good at X, what do you need to do to get good at X?

The fact is, "I'm not good at X" is not a fixed status but a variable one. You can suck at X today, but be better at it tomorrow. BETTER is the key; minor daily improvements create major results.

The sibling to this lie is, "Well, I just lack the education."

PARADIGM SHIFT: I'm not good at X today, but I can be better at X tomorrow.

LIE #2: I don't have time for business.

You don't have time because it isn't a priority. It isn't urgent. Other things come first. Game of Thrones. Call of Duty. Sleep and leisure. The 55th Yankees game you just watched. Would you "find time" if failure in the next three months meant the death of the loved one? You would. What's most important always finds time.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I don't have time with my current lifestyle patterns, but with the proper adjustments and reprioritizations, I can find time.

LIE #3: X just got lucky.

Yes, X did. Out of all the numbers in the alphabet, X was incredibly active, engaged, and committed to success. As such, X manipulated probability and gave themself a better chance of getting in luck's spotlight.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Luck is a function of probability, and my habitual actions can improve my chances for luck to appear.

LIE #4: Someday I'll start a business.

No, you won't. You're too comfortable, and comfort doesn't incite action. Most people allow their dreams to be bribed with a few hours of television, video games, or sleep. There will never be a perfect day, week, or month. Life is too aggressively chaotic with its own momentum. It is why Someday exists. Someday is a pacification to make yourself feel good for not quitting, but delaying. And we all know someday becomes never. Someday is a fat lie.

PARADIGM SHIFT: My best time to start a business is today. Someday is a pacifying excuse to disguise the truth of never.

LIE #5: There are no good ideas.

Never has there been one sentence that stinks of entrepreneurial ignorance. Most new businesses are built on marginal improvement and better efficiencies, not about becoming the next Steve Jobs. If life had no problems, there would be no ideas. Ideas are about solving problems, removing angsts, fixing inconveniences, delivering peace, sparking fun, and offering different ingredients.

PARADIGM SHIFT: If I see ideas as a function of life's imperfections, voids, and distress, I will have plenty of ideas.

LIE #6: I'm too old, stupid, or X.

If you have something I want or desperately need, I will not care about your personal histrionics or demographics. How much is it, and when can I get it? The injured man in the street comes to mind... if I'm bleeding in an alley and a man offers me a tourniquet, I'm not going to care how old the man is, how he's a bad father, or about his bankruptcy 24 years ago.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Relative value will be colorblind to my deficiencies and past transgressions. If I can provide value to culture, culture will overlook my self-constructed inadequacies.

LIE #7: I don't have enough money.

While this might be true, you also don't have enough discipline or focus. It's stunningly amazing how the people who claim to have no money also have no job, no education, no specialized skills, and no motivation to change the status quo. But you can bet they have the latest iPhone, a device that has instant access to unlimited knowledge.

I don't have money
really means no one will give me money, and I'm too lazy to earn my own through hard work, ingenuity, and persistence. To get money to start my business, I taught myself a specialized skill (web design) that 10X'd my earning wages. Money followed.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can increase my income and build capital by investing in education and teaching myself a specialized skill that will multiply my wages by several magnitudes.

LIE #8: I don’t have the right connections.

While having a solid network of connections can be helpful, it is not essential for success. Connections is always a function of activity. It is a function of productivity and results. Do you think someone with 1 million subscribers to their YouTube channel is struggling with "the right connections?" Be active and connections will follow, plus money.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can expand my network by consistently acting and moving on my goals.


LIE #9: Entrepreneurship is risk.

Starting a business is inherently risky, but avoiding the risk is riskier. As I like to say, the pain of regret is far greater than the pain of failure.

PARADIGM SHIFT: All of life is a risk, some risks have lifelong returns, others have lifelong regrets.

Stop lying and get busy doing.
Love your books and your values
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

MrE

Be. Create. Repeat.
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
129%
Jul 26, 2021
49
63
Colorado
LIE #2: I don't have time for business.

You don't have time because it isn't a priority. It isn't urgent. Other things come first. Game of Thrones. Call of Duty. Sleep and leisure. The 55th Yankees game you just watched. Would you "find time" if failure in the next three months meant the death of the loved one? You would. What's most important always finds time.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I don't have time with my current lifestyle patterns, but with the proper adjustments and reprioritizations, I can find time.
BINGO!!! I was using this excuse for years as I worked 50-55 hours a week driving around in a big brown delivery truck and it was sucking life out of me. I knew I had to make a change so I started getting to bed as early as I could after work (usually 930-10) and then getting up no later then 533 in the am to have focused intentional time. The 1.5 - 2 hours each morning has been life changing, which is making up for the life sucking J.O.B.
 

MJ DeMarco

I followed the science; all I found was money.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
448%
Jul 23, 2007
38,382
171,772
Utah
I was using this excuse for years as I worked 50-55 hours a week driving around in a big brown delivery truck

UPS? Do they MAKE you do those hours? Or do you choose them and get overtime?
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

ericlozada

New Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
76%
Nov 6, 2022
21
16
It's been a long, long time. But it seems like yesterday.

In 2007, I launched The Fastlane Forum. During this time, I've encountered 1000s of entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs. I soon discovered a complex reality that most people are liars—not to others, but to themselves. Here are the 9 common lies that want to convince you to sell your dreams for slaughter. And 9 easy paradigm shifts to insure your dreams stay alive and tracked for reality.

9 Dream-Killing Lies You Sell Yourself...

LIE #1: I'm not good at X.

Of course, you're not. No one is born an instant expert. We all crawled before we walked. Seinfeld's first words weren't a joke. Ronaldo didn't emerge from mom with a football. The question is, if you aren't good at X, what do you need to do to get good at X?

The fact is, "I'm not good at X" is not a fixed status but a variable one. You can suck at X today, but be better at it tomorrow. BETTER is the key; minor daily improvements create major results.

The sibling to this lie is, "Well, I just lack the education."

PARADIGM SHIFT: I'm not good at X today, but I can be better at X tomorrow.

LIE #2: I don't have time for business.

You don't have time because it isn't a priority. It isn't urgent. Other things come first. Game of Thrones. Call of Duty. Sleep and leisure. The 55th Yankees game you just watched. Would you "find time" if failure in the next three months meant the death of the loved one? You would. What's most important always finds time.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I don't have time with my current lifestyle patterns, but with the proper adjustments and reprioritizations, I can find time.

LIE #3: X just got lucky.

Yes, X did. Out of all the numbers in the alphabet, X was incredibly active, engaged, and committed to success. As such, X manipulated probability and gave themself a better chance of getting in luck's spotlight.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Luck is a function of probability, and my habitual actions can improve my chances for luck to appear.

LIE #4: Someday I'll start a business.

No, you won't. You're too comfortable, and comfort doesn't incite action. Most people allow their dreams to be bribed with a few hours of television, video games, or sleep. There will never be a perfect day, week, or month. Life is too aggressively chaotic with its own momentum. It is why Someday exists. Someday is a pacification to make yourself feel good for not quitting, but delaying. And we all know someday becomes never. Someday is a fat lie.

PARADIGM SHIFT: My best time to start a business is today. Someday is a pacifying excuse to disguise the truth of never.

LIE #5: There are no good ideas.

Never has there been one sentence that stinks of entrepreneurial ignorance. Most new businesses are built on marginal improvement and better efficiencies, not about becoming the next Steve Jobs. If life had no problems, there would be no ideas. Ideas are about solving problems, removing angsts, fixing inconveniences, delivering peace, sparking fun, and offering different ingredients.

PARADIGM SHIFT: If I see ideas as a function of life's imperfections, voids, and distress, I will have plenty of ideas.

LIE #6: I'm too old, stupid, or X.

If you have something I want or desperately need, I will not care about your personal histrionics or demographics. How much is it, and when can I get it? The injured man in the street comes to mind... if I'm bleeding in an alley and a man offers me a tourniquet, I'm not going to care how old the man is, how he's a bad father, or about his bankruptcy 24 years ago.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Relative value will be colorblind to my deficiencies and past transgressions. If I can provide value to culture, culture will overlook my self-constructed inadequacies.

LIE #7: I don't have enough money.

While this might be true, you also don't have enough discipline or focus. It's stunningly amazing how the people who claim to have no money also have no job, no education, no specialized skills, and no motivation to change the status quo. But you can bet they have the latest iPhone, a device that has instant access to unlimited knowledge.

I don't have money
really means no one will give me money, and I'm too lazy to earn my own through hard work, ingenuity, and persistence. To get money to start my business, I taught myself a specialized skill (web design) that 10X'd my earning wages. Money followed.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can increase my income and build capital by investing in education and teaching myself a specialized skill that will multiply my wages by several magnitudes.

LIE #8: I don’t have the right connections.

While having a solid network of connections can be helpful, it is not essential for success. Connections is always a function of activity. It is a function of productivity and results. Do you think someone with 1 million subscribers to their YouTube channel is struggling with "the right connections?" Be active and connections will follow, plus money.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can expand my network by consistently acting and moving on my goals.


LIE #9: Entrepreneurship is risk.

Starting a business is inherently risky, but avoiding the risk is riskier. As I like to say, the pain of regret is far greater than the pain of failure.

PARADIGM SHIFT: All of life is a risk, some risks have lifelong returns, others have lifelong regrets.

Stop lying and get busy doing.
Love this!
 

rjdgreat

Bronze Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
130%
Jul 28, 2022
228
297
It's been a long, long time. But it seems like yesterday.

In 2007, I launched The Fastlane Forum. During this time, I've encountered 1000s of entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs. I soon discovered a complex reality that most people are liars—not to others, but to themselves. Here are the 9 common lies that want to convince you to sell your dreams for slaughter. And 9 easy paradigm shifts to insure your dreams stay alive and tracked for reality.

9 Dream-Killing Lies You Sell Yourself...

LIE #1: I'm not good at X.

Of course, you're not. No one is born an instant expert. We all crawled before we walked. Seinfeld's first words weren't a joke. Ronaldo didn't emerge from mom with a football. The question is, if you aren't good at X, what do you need to do to get good at X?

The fact is, "I'm not good at X" is not a fixed status but a variable one. You can suck at X today, but be better at it tomorrow. BETTER is the key; minor daily improvements create major results.

The sibling to this lie is, "Well, I just lack the education."

PARADIGM SHIFT: I'm not good at X today, but I can be better at X tomorrow.

LIE #2: I don't have time for business.

You don't have time because it isn't a priority. It isn't urgent. Other things come first. Game of Thrones. Call of Duty. Sleep and leisure. The 55th Yankees game you just watched. Would you "find time" if failure in the next three months meant the death of the loved one? You would. What's most important always finds time.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I don't have time with my current lifestyle patterns, but with the proper adjustments and reprioritizations, I can find time.

LIE #3: X just got lucky.

Yes, X did. Out of all the numbers in the alphabet, X was incredibly active, engaged, and committed to success. As such, X manipulated probability and gave themself a better chance of getting in luck's spotlight.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Luck is a function of probability, and my habitual actions can improve my chances for luck to appear.

LIE #4: Someday I'll start a business.

No, you won't. You're too comfortable, and comfort doesn't incite action. Most people allow their dreams to be bribed with a few hours of television, video games, or sleep. There will never be a perfect day, week, or month. Life is too aggressively chaotic with its own momentum. It is why Someday exists. Someday is a pacification to make yourself feel good for not quitting, but delaying. And we all know someday becomes never. Someday is a fat lie.

PARADIGM SHIFT: My best time to start a business is today. Someday is a pacifying excuse to disguise the truth of never.

LIE #5: There are no good ideas.

Never has there been one sentence that stinks of entrepreneurial ignorance. Most new businesses are built on marginal improvement and better efficiencies, not about becoming the next Steve Jobs. If life had no problems, there would be no ideas. Ideas are about solving problems, removing angsts, fixing inconveniences, delivering peace, sparking fun, and offering different ingredients.

PARADIGM SHIFT: If I see ideas as a function of life's imperfections, voids, and distress, I will have plenty of ideas.

LIE #6: I'm too old, stupid, or X.

If you have something I want or desperately need, I will not care about your personal histrionics or demographics. How much is it, and when can I get it? The injured man in the street comes to mind... if I'm bleeding in an alley and a man offers me a tourniquet, I'm not going to care how old the man is, how he's a bad father, or about his bankruptcy 24 years ago.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Relative value will be colorblind to my deficiencies and past transgressions. If I can provide value to culture, culture will overlook my self-constructed inadequacies.

LIE #7: I don't have enough money.

While this might be true, you also don't have enough discipline or focus. It's stunningly amazing how the people who claim to have no money also have no job, no education, no specialized skills, and no motivation to change the status quo. But you can bet they have the latest iPhone, a device that has instant access to unlimited knowledge.

I don't have money
really means no one will give me money, and I'm too lazy to earn my own through hard work, ingenuity, and persistence. To get money to start my business, I taught myself a specialized skill (web design) that 10X'd my earning wages. Money followed.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can increase my income and build capital by investing in education and teaching myself a specialized skill that will multiply my wages by several magnitudes.

LIE #8: I don’t have the right connections.

While having a solid network of connections can be helpful, it is not essential for success. Connections is always a function of activity. It is a function of productivity and results. Do you think someone with 1 million subscribers to their YouTube channel is struggling with "the right connections?" Be active and connections will follow, plus money.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can expand my network by consistently acting and moving on my goals.


LIE #9: Entrepreneurship is risk.

Starting a business is inherently risky, but avoiding the risk is riskier. As I like to say, the pain of regret is far greater than the pain of failure.

PARADIGM SHIFT: All of life is a risk, some risks have lifelong returns, others have lifelong regrets.

Stop lying and get busy doing.

Thanks Mj for reminding us!
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

sravyasri

New Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
100%
Nov 9, 2021
7
7
This is a good writeup!
 

Sufi

New Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
71%
Jan 1, 2023
7
5
North America
This is fantastic MJ, thank you so much for surfacing this & being so direct with your points. I’m actually going to memorize these 9 lies so I can catch myself falling for them when I have a tendency to follow any of them all the way to status-quo-town.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Alessandros

New Contributor
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
94%
Oct 3, 2021
18
17
Germany
I think we need a poll about the 9 lies: which are the most relevant ones? In my opinion it is LIE #1 and #2, but I can be wrong.
 

Albert KOUADJA

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
83%
Mar 13, 2022
314
260
It's been a long, long time. But it seems like yesterday.

In 2007, I launched The Fastlane Forum. During this time, I've encountered 1000s of entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs. I soon discovered a complex reality that most people are liars—not to others, but to themselves. Here are the 9 common lies that want to convince you to sell your dreams for slaughter. And 9 easy paradigm shifts to insure your dreams stay alive and tracked for reality.

9 Dream-Killing Lies You Sell Yourself...

LIE #1: I'm not good at X.

Of course, you're not. No one is born an instant expert. We all crawled before we walked. Seinfeld's first words weren't a joke. Ronaldo didn't emerge from mom with a football. The question is, if you aren't good at X, what do you need to do to get good at X?

The fact is, "I'm not good at X" is not a fixed status but a variable one. You can suck at X today, but be better at it tomorrow. BETTER is the key; minor daily improvements create major results.

The sibling to this lie is, "Well, I just lack the education."

PARADIGM SHIFT: I'm not good at X today, but I can be better at X tomorrow.

LIE #2: I don't have time for business.

You don't have time because it isn't a priority. It isn't urgent. Other things come first. Game of Thrones. Call of Duty. Sleep and leisure. The 55th Yankees game you just watched. Would you "find time" if failure in the next three months meant the death of the loved one? You would. What's most important always finds time.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I don't have time with my current lifestyle patterns, but with the proper adjustments and reprioritizations, I can find time.

LIE #3: X just got lucky.

Yes, X did. Out of all the numbers in the alphabet, X was incredibly active, engaged, and committed to success. As such, X manipulated probability and gave themself a better chance of getting in luck's spotlight.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Luck is a function of probability, and my habitual actions can improve my chances for luck to appear.

LIE #4: Someday I'll start a business.

No, you won't. You're too comfortable, and comfort doesn't incite action. Most people allow their dreams to be bribed with a few hours of television, video games, or sleep. There will never be a perfect day, week, or month. Life is too aggressively chaotic with its own momentum. It is why Someday exists. Someday is a pacification to make yourself feel good for not quitting, but delaying. And we all know someday becomes never. Someday is a fat lie.

PARADIGM SHIFT: My best time to start a business is today. Someday is a pacifying excuse to disguise the truth of never.

LIE #5: There are no good ideas.

Never has there been one sentence that stinks of entrepreneurial ignorance. Most new businesses are built on marginal improvement and better efficiencies, not about becoming the next Steve Jobs. If life had no problems, there would be no ideas. Ideas are about solving problems, removing angsts, fixing inconveniences, delivering peace, sparking fun, and offering different ingredients.

PARADIGM SHIFT: If I see ideas as a function of life's imperfections, voids, and distress, I will have plenty of ideas.

LIE #6: I'm too old, stupid, or X.

If you have something I want or desperately need, I will not care about your personal histrionics or demographics. How much is it, and when can I get it? The injured man in the street comes to mind... if I'm bleeding in an alley and a man offers me a tourniquet, I'm not going to care how old the man is, how he's a bad father, or about his bankruptcy 24 years ago.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Relative value will be colorblind to my deficiencies and past transgressions. If I can provide value to culture, culture will overlook my self-constructed inadequacies.

LIE #7: I don't have enough money.

While this might be true, you also don't have enough discipline or focus. It's stunningly amazing how the people who claim to have no money also have no job, no education, no specialized skills, and no motivation to change the status quo. But you can bet they have the latest iPhone, a device that has instant access to unlimited knowledge.

I don't have money
really means no one will give me money, and I'm too lazy to earn my own through hard work, ingenuity, and persistence. To get money to start my business, I taught myself a specialized skill (web design) that 10X'd my earning wages. Money followed.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can increase my income and build capital by investing in education and teaching myself a specialized skill that will multiply my wages by several magnitudes.

LIE #8: I don’t have the right connections.

While having a solid network of connections can be helpful, it is not essential for success. Connections is always a function of activity. It is a function of productivity and results. Do you think someone with 1 million subscribers to their YouTube channel is struggling with "the right connections?" Be active and connections will follow, plus money.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can expand my network by consistently acting and moving on my goals.


LIE #9: Entrepreneurship is risk.

Starting a business is inherently risky, but avoiding the risk is riskier. As I like to say, the pain of regret is far greater than the pain of failure.

PARADIGM SHIFT: All of life is a risk, some risks have lifelong returns, others have lifelong regrets.

Stop lying and get busy doing.
Thanks dad MJ for sharing. I will keep them in mind and do my best to avoid them or at least overcome them.

I read your millionaire highway book, I had thought entrepreneurship would now be like water but when it was when I started to send emails without getting a response in return that I understood I I have bread on the board.

Try until you find a solution or nothing. if we don't succeed we will never stop.
 

Ing

Gold Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
103%
Jun 8, 2019
1,655
1,702
58
Bavaria
I've fired like 8 of my employees.

I've been fired from my business 0 times and will continue to be the boss's favorite forever and ever.
I had no employees, but I fired myself, when I started my last business.
I m too old and too stupid!

Joking, inspiring write up!
 
Last edited:

ADR

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
81%
Jul 23, 2016
110
89
36
Miami, FL
This is GOLD, MJ....Thanks so much.

Stupid question: Is there a way to pin or favourite this post?
You can “Watch” this post without email notifications. The button is at the beginning of the post.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Robin 133

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
188%
Dec 16, 2022
48
90
Awesome post. Like the straightforward replacement options.

Been selling myself some of those lies of late, so a timely reminder.
 

xxx22

Contributor
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
86%
Apr 28, 2022
43
37
It's been a long, long time. But it seems like yesterday.

In 2007, I launched The Fastlane Forum. During this time, I've encountered 1000s of entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs. I soon discovered a complex reality that most people are liars—not to others, but to themselves. Here are the 9 common lies that want to convince you to sell your dreams for slaughter. And 9 easy paradigm shifts to insure your dreams stay alive and tracked for reality.

9 Dream-Killing Lies You Sell Yourself...

LIE #1: I'm not good at X.

Of course, you're not. No one is born an instant expert. We all crawled before we walked. Seinfeld's first words weren't a joke. Ronaldo didn't emerge from mom with a football. The question is, if you aren't good at X, what do you need to do to get good at X?

The fact is, "I'm not good at X" is not a fixed status but a variable one. You can suck at X today, but be better at it tomorrow. BETTER is the key; minor daily improvements create major results.

The sibling to this lie is, "Well, I just lack the education."

PARADIGM SHIFT: I'm not good at X today, but I can be better at X tomorrow.

LIE #2: I don't have time for business.

You don't have time because it isn't a priority. It isn't urgent. Other things come first. Game of Thrones. Call of Duty. Sleep and leisure. The 55th Yankees game you just watched. Would you "find time" if failure in the next three months meant the death of the loved one? You would. What's most important always finds time.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I don't have time with my current lifestyle patterns, but with the proper adjustments and reprioritizations, I can find time.

LIE #3: X just got lucky.

Yes, X did. Out of all the numbers in the alphabet, X was incredibly active, engaged, and committed to success. As such, X manipulated probability and gave themself a better chance of getting in luck's spotlight.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Luck is a function of probability, and my habitual actions can improve my chances for luck to appear.

LIE #4: Someday I'll start a business.

No, you won't. You're too comfortable, and comfort doesn't incite action. Most people allow their dreams to be bribed with a few hours of television, video games, or sleep. There will never be a perfect day, week, or month. Life is too aggressively chaotic with its own momentum. It is why Someday exists. Someday is a pacification to make yourself feel good for not quitting, but delaying. And we all know someday becomes never. Someday is a fat lie.

PARADIGM SHIFT: My best time to start a business is today. Someday is a pacifying excuse to disguise the truth of never.

LIE #5: There are no good ideas.

Never has there been one sentence that stinks of entrepreneurial ignorance. Most new businesses are built on marginal improvement and better efficiencies, not about becoming the next Steve Jobs. If life had no problems, there would be no ideas. Ideas are about solving problems, removing angsts, fixing inconveniences, delivering peace, sparking fun, and offering different ingredients.

PARADIGM SHIFT: If I see ideas as a function of life's imperfections, voids, and distress, I will have plenty of ideas.

LIE #6: I'm too old, stupid, or X.

If you have something I want or desperately need, I will not care about your personal histrionics or demographics. How much is it, and when can I get it? The injured man in the street comes to mind... if I'm bleeding in an alley and a man offers me a tourniquet, I'm not going to care how old the man is, how he's a bad father, or about his bankruptcy 24 years ago.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Relative value will be colorblind to my deficiencies and past transgressions. If I can provide value to culture, culture will overlook my self-constructed inadequacies.

LIE #7: I don't have enough money.

While this might be true, you also don't have enough discipline or focus. It's stunningly amazing how the people who claim to have no money also have no job, no education, no specialized skills, and no motivation to change the status quo. But you can bet they have the latest iPhone, a device that has instant access to unlimited knowledge.

I don't have money
really means no one will give me money, and I'm too lazy to earn my own through hard work, ingenuity, and persistence. To get money to start my business, I taught myself a specialized skill (web design) that 10X'd my earning wages. Money followed.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can increase my income and build capital by investing in education and teaching myself a specialized skill that will multiply my wages by several magnitudes.

LIE #8: I don’t have the right connections.

While having a solid network of connections can be helpful, it is not essential for success. Connections is always a function of activity. It is a function of productivity and results. Do you think someone with 1 million subscribers to their YouTube channel is struggling with "the right connections?" Be active and connections will follow, plus money.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can expand my network by consistently acting and moving on my goals.


LIE #9: Entrepreneurship is risk.

Starting a business is inherently risky, but avoiding the risk is riskier. As I like to say, the pain of regret is far greater than the pain of failure.

PARADIGM SHIFT: All of life is a risk, some risks have lifelong returns, others have lifelong regrets.

Stop lying and get busy doing.

For myself I'd add not believing any of this is possible/or in my future, it's just a hunch that I will not achieve/do anything meaningful with this and it's just a good old job and retirement at almost 70, my family are very much risk averse and I grew up with the same concepts, at least I don't work for the government like my mother and grandmother
 

FluidWater

Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
165%
Jan 30, 2023
20
33
PARADIGM SHIFT: All of life is a risk, some risks have lifelong returns, others have lifelong regrets.
I resonate with this heavily.

It is risky to drive in your car, but, you receive much more value that risk by driving rather than walking.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Gib Berish

New Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
50%
Aug 15, 2018
4
2
One mental model I've started using to combat the belief of fear that's been helpful is...

Put a seatbelt on fear and let it ride in the passenger seat. It'll be an annoying passenger, but you control the vehicle..
Nice!
 

Simbad

PARKED
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
0% - New User
Feb 21, 2023
1
0
It's been a long, long time. But it seems like yesterday.

In 2007, I launched The Fastlane Forum. During this time, I've encountered 1000s of entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs. I soon discovered a complex reality that most people are liars—not to others, but to themselves. Here are the 9 common lies that want to convince you to sell your dreams for slaughter. And 9 easy paradigm shifts to insure your dreams stay alive and tracked for reality.

9 Dream-Killing Lies You Sell Yourself...

LIE #1: I'm not good at X.

Of course, you're not. No one is born an instant expert. We all crawled before we walked. Seinfeld's first words weren't a joke. Ronaldo didn't emerge from mom with a football. The question is, if you aren't good at X, what do you need to do to get good at X?

The fact is, "I'm not good at X" is not a fixed status but a variable one. You can suck at X today, but be better at it tomorrow. BETTER is the key; minor daily improvements create major results.

The sibling to this lie is, "Well, I just lack the education."

PARADIGM SHIFT: I'm not good at X today, but I can be better at X tomorrow.

LIE #2: I don't have time for business.

You don't have time because it isn't a priority. It isn't urgent. Other things come first. Game of Thrones. Call of Duty. Sleep and leisure. The 55th Yankees game you just watched. Would you "find time" if failure in the next three months meant the death of the loved one? You would. What's most important always finds time.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I don't have time with my current lifestyle patterns, but with the proper adjustments and reprioritizations, I can find time.

LIE #3: X just got lucky.

Yes, X did. Out of all the numbers in the alphabet, X was incredibly active, engaged, and committed to success. As such, X manipulated probability and gave themself a better chance of getting in luck's spotlight.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Luck is a function of probability, and my habitual actions can improve my chances for luck to appear.

LIE #4: Someday I'll start a business.

No, you won't. You're too comfortable, and comfort doesn't incite action. Most people allow their dreams to be bribed with a few hours of television, video games, or sleep. There will never be a perfect day, week, or month. Life is too aggressively chaotic with its own momentum. It is why Someday exists. Someday is a pacification to make yourself feel good for not quitting, but delaying. And we all know someday becomes never. Someday is a fat lie.

PARADIGM SHIFT: My best time to start a business is today. Someday is a pacifying excuse to disguise the truth of never.

LIE #5: There are no good ideas.

Never has there been one sentence that stinks of entrepreneurial ignorance. Most new businesses are built on marginal improvement and better efficiencies, not about becoming the next Steve Jobs. If life had no problems, there would be no ideas. Ideas are about solving problems, removing angsts, fixing inconveniences, delivering peace, sparking fun, and offering different ingredients.

PARADIGM SHIFT: If I see ideas as a function of life's imperfections, voids, and distress, I will have plenty of ideas.

LIE #6: I'm too old, stupid, or X.

If you have something I want or desperately need, I will not care about your personal histrionics or demographics. How much is it, and when can I get it? The injured man in the street comes to mind... if I'm bleeding in an alley and a man offers me a tourniquet, I'm not going to care how old the man is, how he's a bad father, or about his bankruptcy 24 years ago.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Relative value will be colorblind to my deficiencies and past transgressions. If I can provide value to culture, culture will overlook my self-constructed inadequacies.

LIE #7: I don't have enough money.

While this might be true, you also don't have enough discipline or focus. It's stunningly amazing how the people who claim to have no money also have no job, no education, no specialized skills, and no motivation to change the status quo. But you can bet they have the latest iPhone, a device that has instant access to unlimited knowledge.

I don't have money
really means no one will give me money, and I'm too lazy to earn my own through hard work, ingenuity, and persistence. To get money to start my business, I taught myself a specialized skill (web design) that 10X'd my earning wages. Money followed.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can increase my income and build capital by investing in education and teaching myself a specialized skill that will multiply my wages by several magnitudes.

LIE #8: I don’t have the right connections.

While having a solid network of connections can be helpful, it is not essential for success. Connections is always a function of activity. It is a function of productivity and results. Do you think someone with 1 million subscribers to their YouTube channel is struggling with "the right connections?" Be active and connections will follow, plus money.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can expand my network by consistently acting and moving on my goals.


LIE #9: Entrepreneurship is risk.

Starting a business is inherently risky, but avoiding the risk is riskier. As I like to say, the pain of regret is far greater than the pain of failure.

PARADIGM SHIFT: All of life is a risk, some risks have lifelong returns, others have lifelong regrets.
I apologize in advance for my English. automatic translator.

It's difficult, very difficult to lean towards an idea, especially when you're almost 40. I want this case to work out with 100% confidence. Or something really new and in demand by the masses. My partner has an idea of loft furniture, in fact, I don't see any problems in organizing this production with my own hands with minimal investments. But the market is already full of it, and there is no certainty that it will "shoot" with us.

There is my idea to open a self-service car wash, the place is great, the plans are grandiose... to build several premises for rent, etc. But there are no finances (.And so all my life, there is a possibility but there is no certainty, there is confidence, but there is no possibility..
 
Last edited:

sanas915

New Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
85%
Sep 13, 2022
13
11
Thanks for this great post , I found that I lie a lot to myself and I'll remember to correct myself !
 

The One

Bronze Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
117%
Feb 25, 2023
126
147
UK
It's been a long, long time. But it seems like yesterday.

In 2007, I launched The Fastlane Forum. During this time, I've encountered 1000s of entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs. I soon discovered a complex reality that most people are liars—not to others, but to themselves. Here are the 9 common lies that want to convince you to sell your dreams for slaughter. And 9 easy paradigm shifts to insure your dreams stay alive and tracked for reality.

9 Dream-Killing Lies You Sell Yourself...

LIE #1: I'm not good at X.

Of course, you're not. No one is born an instant expert. We all crawled before we walked. Seinfeld's first words weren't a joke. Ronaldo didn't emerge from mom with a football. The question is, if you aren't good at X, what do you need to do to get good at X?

The fact is, "I'm not good at X" is not a fixed status but a variable one. You can suck at X today, but be better at it tomorrow. BETTER is the key; minor daily improvements create major results.

The sibling to this lie is, "Well, I just lack the education."

PARADIGM SHIFT: I'm not good at X today, but I can be better at X tomorrow.

LIE #2: I don't have time for business.

You don't have time because it isn't a priority. It isn't urgent. Other things come first. Game of Thrones. Call of Duty. Sleep and leisure. The 55th Yankees game you just watched. Would you "find time" if failure in the next three months meant the death of the loved one? You would. What's most important always finds time.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I don't have time with my current lifestyle patterns, but with the proper adjustments and reprioritizations, I can find time.

LIE #3: X just got lucky.

Yes, X did. Out of all the numbers in the alphabet, X was incredibly active, engaged, and committed to success. As such, X manipulated probability and gave themself a better chance of getting in luck's spotlight.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Luck is a function of probability, and my habitual actions can improve my chances for luck to appear.

LIE #4: Someday I'll start a business.

No, you won't. You're too comfortable, and comfort doesn't incite action. Most people allow their dreams to be bribed with a few hours of television, video games, or sleep. There will never be a perfect day, week, or month. Life is too aggressively chaotic with its own momentum. It is why Someday exists. Someday is a pacification to make yourself feel good for not quitting, but delaying. And we all know someday becomes never. Someday is a fat lie.

PARADIGM SHIFT: My best time to start a business is today. Someday is a pacifying excuse to disguise the truth of never.

LIE #5: There are no good ideas.

Never has there been one sentence that stinks of entrepreneurial ignorance. Most new businesses are built on marginal improvement and better efficiencies, not about becoming the next Steve Jobs. If life had no problems, there would be no ideas. Ideas are about solving problems, removing angsts, fixing inconveniences, delivering peace, sparking fun, and offering different ingredients.

PARADIGM SHIFT: If I see ideas as a function of life's imperfections, voids, and distress, I will have plenty of ideas.

LIE #6: I'm too old, stupid, or X.

If you have something I want or desperately need, I will not care about your personal histrionics or demographics. How much is it, and when can I get it? The injured man in the street comes to mind... if I'm bleeding in an alley and a man offers me a tourniquet, I'm not going to care how old the man is, how he's a bad father, or about his bankruptcy 24 years ago.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Relative value will be colorblind to my deficiencies and past transgressions. If I can provide value to culture, culture will overlook my self-constructed inadequacies.

LIE #7: I don't have enough money.

While this might be true, you also don't have enough discipline or focus. It's stunningly amazing how the people who claim to have no money also have no job, no education, no specialized skills, and no motivation to change the status quo. But you can bet they have the latest iPhone, a device that has instant access to unlimited knowledge.

I don't have money
really means no one will give me money, and I'm too lazy to earn my own through hard work, ingenuity, and persistence. To get money to start my business, I taught myself a specialized skill (web design) that 10X'd my earning wages. Money followed.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can increase my income and build capital by investing in education and teaching myself a specialized skill that will multiply my wages by several magnitudes.

LIE #8: I don’t have the right connections.

While having a solid network of connections can be helpful, it is not essential for success. Connections is always a function of activity. It is a function of productivity and results. Do you think someone with 1 million subscribers to their YouTube channel is struggling with "the right connections?" Be active and connections will follow, plus money.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can expand my network by consistently acting and moving on my goals.


LIE #9: Entrepreneurship is risk.

Starting a business is inherently risky, but avoiding the risk is riskier. As I like to say, the pain of regret is far greater than the pain of failure.

PARADIGM SHIFT: All of life is a risk, some risks have lifelong returns, others have lifelong regrets.

Stop lying and get busy doing.
Top G.
 

Sebzmaniac

Contributor
X MODERATED X
Nov 30, 2019
186
72
In light of this thread...


Here's another lie.

LIE #10: I don't need true Fastlane financial freedom as long as I own my time; my basic needs of food and shelter are enough.

Beware of such idealism. This might work in your 20s, but as you get older, this type of strategy is the same as thinking your first winning hour at the casino will continue for the next 8 hours.

If you read Unscripted , you're aware of the story of the "Mexican Fisherman" who decided to fish most of the day and only create wealth to fulfill his most basic needs, all so he can spend time with his amigos and drink wine.

This idealistic sap story is now littered around the web as some type of lifestyle doctrine, a reason why people should lower their standards, lower their expectations, and just "get by" so you can chill all day doing nothing.

Well here's the part of the story that isn't shared, as I wrote in Unscripted .




Which one of these stories sounds more realistic?

In both stories, the Mexican has the same goal: freedom with his friends and family.

That's worthy.

Unfortunately, when money is removed from a real-world existence, idealism turns into a nightmare—a repeated reality found in every civilized country worldwide: bills, fees, taxes, life overhead, and money problems.

The problem isn’t the Mexican’s goal—freedom; the problem is he was lazy and disrespected money’s role. He didn’t save, prepare, or produce in excess of consumption.

Money buys happiness when you let it buy your a freedom not constrained by fiscal dramas, now, later, and in the distant future.
MJ, does this correlate to the "frugality scam"?
 

MrE

Be. Create. Repeat.
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
129%
Jul 26, 2021
49
63
Colorado
UPS? Do they MAKE you do those hours? Or do you choose them and get overtime?
Yes UPS. We are required to 'work as directed' which is ambiguous.
No more than 60 hours per week per DOT.
Drivers can opt to be on a 9.5 list which means they are not supposed to work more than 9.5 hours per day.
Anything over 8 hours per day is overtime.
The pay is really good. Mediocre comfort good.
 

Post New Topic

Please SEARCH before posting.
Please select the BEST category.

Post new topic

Guest post submissions offered HERE.

Fastlane Insiders

View the forum AD FREE.
Private, unindexed content
Detailed process/execution threads
Ideas needing execution, more!

Join Fastlane Insiders.

Top