Fast Lane Families

[White8]

How many of you came from a fastlane/middle lane family?

My father and grandfather were fastlane real estate developers with dad retiring from the development side of the business before40.

I have two cousins that own businesses and one who does contract engineering work for a company that builds mixing boards for the recording industry.

My brother and sister both have jobs in education. (I don't know what happen to this branch of the family tree)

 

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[wildambitions]

I can relate to at least the middle lane aspect of this. My father was a big time "S". I actually see a lot of similarities, maybe it is simply something I am familiar with, with my "process in life" in comparison to his. (I can only hope to be as wonderful a person as he was.)

The difference is that I am constantly working toward moving beyond that "S" mindedness... I do not want to be there, I want to be a "B or an "I". It is a constant check and balance for me. I take small baby steps and surround myself with fastlane mentality whenever possible. I will succeed in every aspect and have already in many areas (even if only in my mind, lol).

Ironically, my mother was, and my sister is, in education. I have two sisters, the other one is like a clone of me (really weird, another thread perhaps).

Makes me wonder if exposure to education, the education system or philosophies of education in general might be connected to the fastlane mindset and way of thinking.

 

[TaxGuy]

I can relate to at least the middle lane aspect of this. My father was a big time "S". I actually see a lot of similarities, maybe it is simply something I am familiar with, with my "process in life" in comparison to his. (I can only hope to be as wonderful a person as he was.)

:iagree:

I see plenty of similarities in myself and my dad, I have him to thank for everything I have and also wanting to strive for an "S" lifestyle(instead of an "E"), it is this, the TFTM "family", that opened my eyes to the "B" and "I" sides of life, especially after reading Cashflow Quadrant and B&P :coolgleamA:

BTW my dad just registered as CubbyGuy(hopefully an intro post is coming soon, but he's pretty busy this time of year being an accountant w/ an "S"), I thought this thread was going to be "how many families are on here?", I know the "O" clan is in full force as well as of course bflbob and kiddo :smxB:

 

[fanocks2003]

How many of you came from a fastlane/middle lane family?

My father and grandfather were fastlane real estate developers with dad retiring from the development side of the business before40.

I have two cousins that own businesses and one who does contract engineering work for a company that builds mixing boards for the recording industry.

My brother and sister both have jobs in education. (I don't know what happen to this branch of the family tree)

Well, I would be the first "entrepreneur" in my family unless you define being a farmer an entrepreneur. My dad's father was a farmer for almost half his life. He raised pigs, milked cows and then he sold the milk and sent the pigs to slaughter. He even slaughtered some of the pigs for own use.

 

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[Russ H]

Great question-- I too thought this was going to be a "how do you raise your family in the fastlane?" (perhaps we need to start that thread, eh?)

My mom and dad (and bro) are all educators. My dad is very much like the "real" dad of Robert Kiyosaki-- telling me to go to school, get good grades, find a secure JOB, and spend my life there.

That's what he did, and he wound up really getting scrod as the world changed around him (much like RK's dad, but different circumstances/details).

So you can say that the book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" was, to put it mildly, a spooky read for me.

I gave it to my dad about 7 years ago. He read it and liked it. Not sure if he saw the similarities!

I have "S" in my bones-- and spent a good chunk of my adult life "owning my own business" (which translated means, "my business owned me").

Since reading Kiyosaki's books, I've worked at adopting a more business-oriented mindset. I still do the "S" thing as a contractor, but our B&B is currently staffed and run by incredibly talented people (innkeepers, Cordon Bleu-trained chefs, and amazing housekeeping staff). I spend very little of my day-to-day on innkeeping these days.

This will change in a few months when our last development project is completed, and both my wife and I put our "innkeeper's" hats back on, to save on labor costs as we ramp up the B&Bs to ready them for sale down the line.

Of course, who knows what will happen w/the economy-- we're in the midst of re-evaluating our PLAN and making changes to accommodate what's happening to the world's economy. We don't have a hard and fast direction yet, in part because so much is in flux. But we are actively engaged at "turning the ship" (our financial freedom vessel) to a new course/heading based on the massive changes in outside forces.

Ironic note: In 2005, I called my mom up and told her to sell her house. It was worth about $550-600K at that point. She gave me the usual song and dance about "where would I live?", and I suggested she find a nice rental for a few years. She's still in that house, now worth less than she paid for it about 10 years ago (she lives in a suburb of Detroit).

I also called my mom last September and told her to sell all of her mutual funds/retirement accts, etc-- just convert to cash for the foreseeable future.

She still has all of those accounts/funds. They're worth less than half of what they were when I called her.

Lesson to me: Teach your children well, and be wise enough to listen to them/trust them as they gain wisdom.

-Russ H.

 

[Sid23]

Of course, who knows what will happen w/the economy-- we're in the midst of re-evaluating our PLAN and making changes to accommodate what's happening to the world's economy. We don't have a hard and fast direction yet, in part because so much is in flux. But we are actively engaged at "turning the ship" (our financial freedom vessel) to a new course/heading based on the massive changes in outside forces.

Ironic note: In 2005, I called my mom up and told her to sell her house. It was worth about $550-600K at that point. She gave me the usual song and dance about "where would I live?", and I suggested she find a nice rental for a few years. She's still in that house, now worth less than she paid for it about 10 years ago (she lives in a suburb of Detroit).

I also called my mom last September and told her to sell all of her mutual funds/retirement accts, etc-- just convert to cash for the foreseeable future.

She still has all of those accounts/funds. They're worth less than half of what they were when I called her.

New direction? How about investment advisor? With calls like that....

 

[Jill]

My father was VERY much and "E". Worked for the same oil company for 41 years.

My mother was a school teacher who later got frustrated with the system (unable to employ discipline), took a 2nd mortgage on the house, and opened a Hallmark shop. VERY, VERY "S"

My brother is very much an "E" also. He happened to get in with a couple smallish companies in Silicon Valley at the right time. But he will always be an "E".

I was somehow born with the entrepreneurial bug. I've understood conceptually that if I had to be present for my company to run, that I wasn't truly a successful business owner (by my definition). But I never knew quite how to define that until I read RDPD a few years back. I've tried working for the big blue chip companies. Just doesn't work for me. No idea where I got that "gene".

 

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[wildambitions]

Makes me wonder if exposure to education, the education system or philosophies of education in general might be connected to the fastlane mindset and way of thinking.

Hmm... isn't this interesting? So far every post specifying their family's history has had educators in the family. Very interesting.

 

[TaxGuy]

No educators here

Then again my dad wants to teach me his trade, something that could turn into a nice "B" if he can make a system out of it.

Jill- sounds like my mom, well she never had her own "store" but she's done a lot of collectibles sales in an "S" format

 

[Russ H]

I was struck, too, by the number of folks here who have teachers as parents.

Perhaps that relates to our posting on these forums-- the want/need to talk to others about what we're learning?

-Russ H.

 

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[Bobo]

Dad was a teacher.... Mom had the more carnivorous financial mind.

Neither really gave me the bug, I think for me it was that I didn't like being an employee. I had a minimum wage job ($3.35 I think) and busted my tail to really improve the small biz I worked for when it dawned on me, I was running around scrubbing and organizing and selling while the owner and a couple others sat behind the counter smoking and playing grabass. Rented the unit next door and started my (second) business. (First was tutoring.... OK, first was clipping pictures from my Dad's Playboys in third grade and swapping the pics to other boys for twinkies and quarters)

 

[Russ H]

Twinkies, eh?

I'da gone for Hostess berry pies, but that's just me.

Great point about the $/hr job-- one of my first jobs where I had no supervision, I realized that if I wasted (relaxed/vacationed/didn't work) for half of my shift, I was making like DOUBLE my hourly wage!!!

Did this for a few weeks, and it felt really, really wrong. Not that I wanted to work harder, mind you. But the way I'm wired, it just felt wrong being hourly (or even salary) and trying to intentionally "waste" time when someone else was supposedly paying me to work.

For that reason, I excelled at commission jobs (sales). If I didn't work, I didn't get paid.

And if I worked a LOT, I made-- a LOT.

It was a logical, and easy, arrangement for me.

It felt *right*.

That led to being an "S" (same arrangement-- if you want to get paid, you WORK).

And then I read RDPD.

I'd have to say that learning how to run a business has been really hard-- it doesn't come naturally for me.

But I'm glad I'm doing it. I can really see the potential advantages.

-Russ H.

 

[phlgirl]

My parents were both 'E's – as were my grandparents. On my mother’s side, it was ‘Ma Bell’ (bell atlantic, verizon, at&t). My grandfather worked there and when my mom and dad split up, she started working as a directory assistance operator (555-1212). She worked her way up to a fairly senior management level before she passed away, suddenly, at 45 years of age.

My father wandered around from 20-30 – working at shipyards, around the country and overseas. He finally settled with Boeing and has been there ever since. He works more than he should (often 7 days) and thinks himself a ‘working class hero’.

My great-grandfather was a real estate investor and owned some really great properties in center city Philadelphia. He lost them all during the great depression. One of my long-term goals is to acquire one of these properties.

My mom always talked about ‘getting out’. She wanted to own a B&B in Key West. She and her fiancé were seriously looking into it with another couple (who also worked for Bell Atlantic, at the time). My brother and I were still in college and I think my mom wanted to wait until she saw us through, before taking any risk. The other couple went and bought a B&B in Key West. They did extremely well and sold the inn a couple years ago.

I think all of these factors have influenced who I am today and the goals/aspirations I have in mind. I was on a similar path there for a while. I too did the directory assistance gig (summers throughout college) and, shortly after college, I landed a job with IBM. My parents so proud.

I read ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ while I was stuck at an airport (Buffalo), traveling home from one of my consulting gigs. I haven’t been the same since.

My dad now invests in real estate with us in Jacksonville. He still works too hard and I hope someday he will take a well deserved break.

 

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[Ron Solo]

i come from a low income family.
i intend to change that and introduce the first wealthy generation in my family line.

my parents are heavily conditioned with the employment mindset.
they have the "play the game of life to not lose, instead of playing the game of life to win" mindset. if ya know what i mean.

i really like this forum, it helps me expose myself to like-minded people. and that's really important for young entrepreneurs in my opinion.

 

[wildambitions]

my parents are heavily conditioned with the employment mindset.
they have the "play the game of life to not lose, instead of playing the game of life to win" mindset. if ya know what i mean.

What is (or was) their employment?

 

[LaughedAt]

Mom's a teacher, dad's a biologist (I had a rough time when I was young and was asked about what my dad did for a living I didn't really have an answer, try explaining a "biologist" to your 12-year-old classmate).
Not many entrepreneurs in the family, and also not many are happy with me aspiring to be one, however I've learnt that eventhough my family is important to me, I'm gonna end up with the decisions I make so going to medical school to satisfy my parents isn't really gonna do me any good!

 

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[Ron Solo]

What is (or was) their employment?

my mom has a medical condition, so she only works p/t to supplement an income. working a career type position won't be possible for her. my father used to work for a company setting up and maintaining severs for large companies. things like panago pizza (they might be a canadian company if you don't know them). unfortunately my dad was laid off. it's challenging for him to get a job in that work field again because all the younger guys have fresher knowledge, plus they're young, what company would want a guy in their 50s when they could have someone in their mid 20s right?

anyways i just believe that my parents won't be able to reach retirement properly, so i've been trying to step up the plate to change things around for them, and myself.

 

[hatterasguy]

My family has been devloping and investing in real estate for a long time around here, since my grandfather started getting into it after WW2. So its a natural conversation piece.

Before that it was oil, which very sadly was not pursued.:smxD: That one was disapointing, I could have been a trust fund kid, with trust fund kid cars!:fastlane: In the past we have had a couple politicians, a judge, and two Presidents way, way back.

One of these days I'm going to trace my name back to England, since it pops up quite a bit over there. I'm sure back in the 1600's someone pissed someone off, or was caught sleeping with someone and had to get on a boat for America! LOL.

 

[andviv]

Before that it was oil, which very sadly was not pursued.:smxD: That one was disapointing, I could have been a trust fund kid, with trust fund kid cars!

Isn't this exciting?

two generations from you they will be saying:

"Before that it was internet, which very gladly grandpa hatteras pursued, so now we are trust fund kids"

 

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[hatterasguy]

No thanks on the internet for me. If I have kids and they earn/want it they will get to buy into my RE business. If not its going to some charity when I die. Thats one of the reasons I admire Trump, he makes his kids earn there way in.


I have seen to many good business's ruined by spoiled kids who just want the life style without the work. I'm not going to work hard my whole life to have my kids blow it on BMW's.

 

[White8]

No thanks on the internet for me. If I have kids and they earn/want it they will get to buy into my RE business. If not its going to some charity when I die. Thats one of the reasons I admire Trump, he makes his kids earn there way in.


I have seen to many good business's ruined by spoiled kids who just want the life style without the work. I'm not going to work hard my whole life to have my kids blow it on BMW's.

Very true.

In my observation the life cycle of most S businesses goes in this order:

grandfather builds a new business from the ground up
father takes his dad's business and fastlanes it
grandson has never had to work and blows it all