If you would allow me to share my insight into the situation...
I proactively started my journey in the fastlane in my early/mid-twenties. I was going to be a real estate millionaire by the time I hit 30 for sure… Piece of cake, what could possibly go wrong?
Infinity: this post also addresses your desire to be financially stable prior to having children so that you may provide them with the life they deserve.
A little over two years ago (I was 28), my then new girlfriend of 2 months informed me that she was pregnant… I honestly thought my life was over. How stupid could I be? Though we had known each other and ran in the same circles for a decade, we had only been dating for two months. This wasn’t going to happen to me, no way… I was going places; I was on my way to becoming a fastlane success. How could I be both a devoted family-man and a raving success in business at the same time? As far as I was concerned at the time, the two were mutually exclusive. How the hell was I going to provide for a family? I wasn’t going to end up one of those dead-inside suburbanite corporate drones, slagging through life everyday to make ends meet just to put food on the table for his family…
So, I didn’t…
After the initial shock and a couple of months of mental adjustment, I realized that there were a great many individuals that have risen to the heights of greatness from beginnings far more humble and complex than mine; immigrant families coming to this country with literally nothing but the lint in their pockets, single mothers and fathers on welfare, those that through sheer will and determination fight and claw their way to freedom from the depths of poverty and despair despite all odds. I could still do it too… By the time my girlfriend was 9 months pregnant, I could hardly wait any more for my baby boy to be out (more so her though! Haha)! My son was born on my 29th birthday… I came to the realization soon after that I had a great many misconceptions about what this new life would entail. Different? Unquestionably… Better? Undeniably. Would I have had children had I waited until I was a millionaire? Who knows? What if it took longer than I had originally anticipated (and it is) and events transpired such that I ended up never having children and missing out on such a wonderful experience? When I was able to re-frame the way I perceived the situation, the benefits grew exponentially.
I make time to be a dad to my 9 year-old stepdaughter and my 1 year old son, do my schoolwork, work my fastlane plan, spend quality time with my wife, go to the gym 4 days a week and more and I still have some downtime (It hasn’t put an end to our weekend night life either). Family is everything and my family gives me more strength than I ever could have fathomed having on my own. Life is definitely very busy, but I love every second of it. It is also the reason I have no sympathy or tolerance for those that make excuses. If you want something to happen, make it happen or sit down and shut up. It is really all about enjoying life, whatever stage of the game you’re at and to never stop fighting as long as there is something left worth fighting for; I’d say freedom, regardless of age is always a viable cause.
Take comfort in the unexpected and the unorthodox and you begin to see opportunity and positives where before there only existed obstruction. We cannot possibly account for every single variable and permutation life throws at us in an effort to mitigate our exposure to risk... Life, like business is dynamic and demands a fluid, organic structure with regards to any designs one has on it (if one is to be successful). The lessons I’ve learned over the past six years (about which I could literally write a book that would horrify and sicken most), all the trials and the tribulations have only served to hone my acumen into an even more effective weapon and perhaps more importantly served as the catalyst to the evolution of my financial management skills and my financial sense of responsibility. In retrospect, I wouldn’t have wanted to learn these lessons by making millions in my early 20’s, and being bankrupt and back at square one by the time I was 30 (with a family) because of poor money management skills due to naivety.
If you don’t make it by mid twenties, thirties, whatever, who the hell cares? If you’ve genuinely been working on your fastlane plan the whole time prior and provided the lessons imparted therein are heeded, you’re light-years ahead of the competition and well on your way… And who knows; success might literally be just around the next corner!
Sorry for the novel, I couldn’t stop adding things haha…
I proactively started my journey in the fastlane in my early/mid-twenties. I was going to be a real estate millionaire by the time I hit 30 for sure… Piece of cake, what could possibly go wrong?
Infinity: this post also addresses your desire to be financially stable prior to having children so that you may provide them with the life they deserve.
A little over two years ago (I was 28), my then new girlfriend of 2 months informed me that she was pregnant… I honestly thought my life was over. How stupid could I be? Though we had known each other and ran in the same circles for a decade, we had only been dating for two months. This wasn’t going to happen to me, no way… I was going places; I was on my way to becoming a fastlane success. How could I be both a devoted family-man and a raving success in business at the same time? As far as I was concerned at the time, the two were mutually exclusive. How the hell was I going to provide for a family? I wasn’t going to end up one of those dead-inside suburbanite corporate drones, slagging through life everyday to make ends meet just to put food on the table for his family…
So, I didn’t…
After the initial shock and a couple of months of mental adjustment, I realized that there were a great many individuals that have risen to the heights of greatness from beginnings far more humble and complex than mine; immigrant families coming to this country with literally nothing but the lint in their pockets, single mothers and fathers on welfare, those that through sheer will and determination fight and claw their way to freedom from the depths of poverty and despair despite all odds. I could still do it too… By the time my girlfriend was 9 months pregnant, I could hardly wait any more for my baby boy to be out (more so her though! Haha)! My son was born on my 29th birthday… I came to the realization soon after that I had a great many misconceptions about what this new life would entail. Different? Unquestionably… Better? Undeniably. Would I have had children had I waited until I was a millionaire? Who knows? What if it took longer than I had originally anticipated (and it is) and events transpired such that I ended up never having children and missing out on such a wonderful experience? When I was able to re-frame the way I perceived the situation, the benefits grew exponentially.
I make time to be a dad to my 9 year-old stepdaughter and my 1 year old son, do my schoolwork, work my fastlane plan, spend quality time with my wife, go to the gym 4 days a week and more and I still have some downtime (It hasn’t put an end to our weekend night life either). Family is everything and my family gives me more strength than I ever could have fathomed having on my own. Life is definitely very busy, but I love every second of it. It is also the reason I have no sympathy or tolerance for those that make excuses. If you want something to happen, make it happen or sit down and shut up. It is really all about enjoying life, whatever stage of the game you’re at and to never stop fighting as long as there is something left worth fighting for; I’d say freedom, regardless of age is always a viable cause.
Take comfort in the unexpected and the unorthodox and you begin to see opportunity and positives where before there only existed obstruction. We cannot possibly account for every single variable and permutation life throws at us in an effort to mitigate our exposure to risk... Life, like business is dynamic and demands a fluid, organic structure with regards to any designs one has on it (if one is to be successful). The lessons I’ve learned over the past six years (about which I could literally write a book that would horrify and sicken most), all the trials and the tribulations have only served to hone my acumen into an even more effective weapon and perhaps more importantly served as the catalyst to the evolution of my financial management skills and my financial sense of responsibility. In retrospect, I wouldn’t have wanted to learn these lessons by making millions in my early 20’s, and being bankrupt and back at square one by the time I was 30 (with a family) because of poor money management skills due to naivety.
If you don’t make it by mid twenties, thirties, whatever, who the hell cares? If you’ve genuinely been working on your fastlane plan the whole time prior and provided the lessons imparted therein are heeded, you’re light-years ahead of the competition and well on your way… And who knows; success might literally be just around the next corner!
Sorry for the novel, I couldn’t stop adding things haha…