Think Big, and Then Think Bigger Than That.

[GPM]

Man this thread fires me up.

Think about business like a pyramid. 90% of the pyramid is in the base, that's where everyone plays. When you start reaching the top of that pyramid that's where the big bucks are, and the small number of players are. You don't need to screw around battling the masses, you just talk with the 5 people who are the ones who need to be talked to.

 

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[ChrisV]

Where my 90’s kids at?????

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T2d2FRh0BM

 

[YoungPadawan]

Where my 90’s kids at?????

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T2d2FRh0BM

?

 

[Kak]

?

I wish OP's could delete posts in their own threads.

 

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[ChrisV]

Guess there are no 80’s babies in here.

 

[MTF]

I like the idea of thinking big. One issue I have with it (and perhaps you can clarify it, @Kak, as I'm curious how it is in reality) is that when you're pursuing a big idea and more and more people enter into the equation, the less free you are.

You have investors to report to, employees to take care of, compliance is more difficult, the IRS is more interested in you, etc. In a way, it's no longer your company. Unlike with a lifestyle business, where you can give yourself a higher salary whenever you want, here you're constantly asked to prioritize the company over yourself.

Of course, in the long run a big idea can make much more money, but if your end goal is to build a business to achieve financial independence, I have a feeling that it's easier to achieve it with a small business (not a restaurant or stuff like that, though, but a proven business model, ideally online).

For example, my self-publishing company is just a small business, or maybe you could even call it an "entrepreneurial career." However, I don't have anyone to report to, can work as little or as much as I want to, I make money while I sleep, I can take as many profits as I can, and yet on average I often make more than a CEO of a large company who is overstressed, overworked, and can't decide for his company without consulting 10 other people.

Having said that, perhaps I'm just not a "true" entrepreneur as I've always valued freedom, without the headaches that come with dealing with a lot of people (being an introvert might have something to do with this as well).

I guess in the end it's about your preferences. I'm pretty sure that I would be much more excited about pursuing a big idea (I know that my little biz is not very valuable in the grand scheme of things and it doesn't really fire me up that much), yet it would probably cost me too much when it comes to my health and life quality.

Or is there a way to think bigger for guys like me?

 

[ChrisV]

I don’t know if there’s any hard/fast rule that Fastlane ventures don’t have to be huge. They’re 1 of 2 things...

The first is just a self-sustaining business that doesn’t need constant attention.
The second is a liquidity event.

But I think his point is... I mean you see so much dumb shit on this forum. Someone wants to do Affiliate Marketing, or order fulfillment, or importing products that 9,000 other people on eBay are already selling. Like yo, that shit ain’t entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is adding to the collective consciousness of humanity. It’s not doing the same cookie-cutter bullshit everyone else has done.

And I think that’s why the focus has changed from TMF to Unscripting. Unscripting means write your own damn book! It doesn’t even have to be particularly good. It just has to be yours.

I mean shit, if you wanna be Elon Musk, do it up. If you want to own a small tool repair shop... do it up. If you want to be a teacher... do it up. It’s not my job to tell you what you want or what your purpose is. Except dropshipping or MLM. Don’t do that lol. But to me Fastlane is about building something, then cashing out whether it be by income streams or liquidity events. Unscripting, on the other hand, is about writing your own story. The story you want. Not the one your mom or professor wants. It’s whatever you want.

I mean if you want to do something huge for humanity... shit, I respect that.

I guess it’s up to everyone to define their story and what works for them. It might be a small poem with a nice family life, or it might be The Iliad and The Odyssey and 10 mega-corporations. It’s really up to you to decide what’s in your story. Just don’t let it be someone else, or societies script. Unless that’s what you want. In that case, that’s okay too (I personally want to go back to college one day, just because I enjoy learning.) Point it, it’s your story.

 

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[Real Deal Denver]

For example, my self-publishing company is just a small business, or maybe you could even call it an "entrepreneurial career." However, I don't have anyone to report to, can work as little or as much as I want to, I make money while I sleep, I can take as many profits as I can, and yet on average I often make more than a CEO of a large company who is overstressed, overworked, and can't decide for his company without consulting 10 other people.

^^^^ This.

You are living the dream.

My plan exactly, times six.

Having a bunch of ATMs that run themselves is a great plan. Better than looking for that one hit wonder big win that you have to work 100 hours a week at.

Triple what you are doing, and run it from your laptop while you are poolside. I'm right behind you ~

 

[ALC]

I think you might find a far rockier road in the small business arena going forward, and I encourage you to think bigger. Often thinking bigger IS the path of least resistance. The likelihood of actual success is greater when you think big. I believe most of these small business folks build themselves a job.

That is very true and the way you say it puts in perspective.

I mean there's a lot of small minds that can open a small shop, but there's not a lot of people that can handle or think directly of opening the big one, the manufacturing business.

By that, you also mean that in order to open such businesses you have to request money from VC/PEquity right ?

Last one for you : Do you prefer to go solo on these type of businesses or find a partner ?

What is there to be afraid of? That is ridiculous. One day, 100 years from now, none of this will matter, because you'll be dead.

I need to print this one and look at it every morning, it puts me in fire everytime.

Thanks @Kak !

 

[Sevan]

Thinking big is a habit in the process. People start to think big and dream, but most times they give up. Think about your childhood nobody wanted to become homeless or unemployed. Children want to become rich (serve yourself, community), pilots to serve people to fly from a to b and firefighters to recue people from fire. But then people want to sell their reality to you. You become this and that. You can do this, but not that etc.

Moreover, thinking big is a process. It's like a boxing fight or UFC fight. You think big and get more and more confident by wining or learning (other word of losing). Losing shows you what to improve and change, but sometimes people quiet. The commonality between Elon Musk and Connor McGregor is that they had a big dream fought their fights won, lost and kept going on.

The habit of working on your dreams and the process along the way are determine for our successes.

 

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[MTEE1985]

I like the idea of thinking big. One issue I have with it (and perhaps you can clarify it, @Kak, as I'm curious how it is in reality) is that when you're pursuing a big idea and more and more people enter into the equation, the less free you are.

You have investors to report to, employees to take care of, compliance is more difficult, the IRS is more interested in you, etc. In a way, it's no longer your company. Unlike with a lifestyle business, where you can give yourself a higher salary whenever you want, here you're constantly asked to prioritize the company over yourself.

Of course, in the long run a big idea can make much more money, but if your end goal is to build a business to achieve financial independence, I have a feeling that it's easier to achieve it with a small business (not a restaurant or stuff like that, though, but a proven business model, ideally online).

For example, my self-publishing company is just a small business, or maybe you could even call it an "entrepreneurial career." However, I don't have anyone to report to, can work as little or as much as I want to, I make money while I sleep, I can take as many profits as I can, and yet on average I often make more than a CEO of a large company who is overstressed, overworked, and can't decide for his company without consulting 10 other people.

Having said that, perhaps I'm just not a "true" entrepreneur as I've always valued freedom, without the headaches that come with dealing with a lot of people (being an introvert might have something to do with this as well).

I guess in the end it's about your preferences. I'm pretty sure that I would be much more excited about pursuing a big idea (I know that my little biz is not very valuable in the grand scheme of things and it doesn't really fire me up that much), yet it would probably cost me too much when it comes to my health and life quality.

Or is there a way to think bigger for guys like me?

I would address a couple different points and then I’ll bow out and let @Kak respond.

First, don’t sell yourself short. On most every level you DID think big AND accomplished it. Sure it may not be the next Amazon but you’ve built something bigger than 99.9% of other small businesses out there.

The second thing would be that while the time to start thinking big is as early as possible, you're in a great position to start executing something bigger now that you have the successful business where money is not of concern. I would argue that with the right “why” it could possibly add to your health and life quality.

Most of the biggest businesses in the world are founded by people who are motivated by everything except money, sadly, for many, reality sets in, they have bills to pay and they let their passion fizzle while they get a job.

It’s like the question of what would you do with a billion dollars in the bank after you’ve bought everything and been everywhere? Me? I hate seeing sick kids and knowing kids die every day from a lack of food and water. My “why” for building something big is to make an impact on those things as much as I possibly can before I die. Imagine asking 1,000 what they would do? Zuckerberg wanted to easily connect people, Jobs and Gates wanted computer access for all. Bezos....he might be hell bent on world domination but that’s a story for a different thread. Many others would want to help homeless, addicts, poverty, animals, the list would be endless but they would all have a noble cause.

Humans have some spectacular ideas in them, it’s depressing that so many just give up. Like Kak says, you’re lucky if you have 100 years on the planet, after you die it’s just like before you were born. Remember that time? Me either.

 

[Kak]

I like the idea of thinking big. One issue I have with it (and perhaps you can clarify it, @Kak, as I'm curious how it is in reality) is that when you're pursuing a big idea and more and more people enter into the equation, the less free you are.

You have investors to report to, employees to take care of, compliance is more difficult, the IRS is more interested in you, etc. In a way, it's no longer your company. Unlike with a lifestyle business, where you can give yourself a higher salary whenever you want, here you're constantly asked to prioritize the company over yourself.

Of course, in the long run a big idea can make much more money, but if your end goal is to build a business to achieve financial independence, I have a feeling that it's easier to achieve it with a small business (not a restaurant or stuff like that, though, but a proven business model, ideally online).

For example, my self-publishing company is just a small business, or maybe you could even call it an "entrepreneurial career." However, I don't have anyone to report to, can work as little or as much as I want to, I make money while I sleep, I can take as many profits as I can, and yet on average I often make more than a CEO of a large company who is overstressed, overworked, and can't decide for his company without consulting 10 other people.

Having said that, perhaps I'm just not a "true" entrepreneur as I've always valued freedom, without the headaches that come with dealing with a lot of people (being an introvert might have something to do with this as well).

I guess in the end it's about your preferences. I'm pretty sure that I would be much more excited about pursuing a big idea (I know that my little biz is not very valuable in the grand scheme of things and it doesn't really fire me up that much), yet it would probably cost me too much when it comes to my health and life quality.

Or is there a way to think bigger for guys like me?

This is partially true. Eventually you have more responsibilities that come with more influence and more potential. There is nothing wrong with more responsibility. If you retain control of the company there is still a lot more you can do keep your personal freedom. If you don't, you have to be clear up front about your intentions and contractually prevent your fears.

I watched a guy get trapped in a business like this for 20 years. His board paid him like 150 grand until one day they decided it was ok to sell and he got his 20 million bucks. But still 20 frickin years. My answer to that, just don't be that guy. They would have had to pay at least $500k for a guy like him and he had leverage. He also could have retained more voting rights contractually.

I own 45 percent of my government business and I control 68. I don't report to anyone. I do what I want when I want and my responsibilities are covered. I golf ONLY on weekdays specifically because I can't stand weekend golf. With a business built to scale, you have the resources to be able to make sure the work is taken care of. If you are a good leader, you only have to handle more delicate situations yourself because you have filled ALL of the labor intensive holes in the organization.

Remember I'm not necessarily the CEO forever. There will come a day where I take my place on the board and hire my predicessor.

Clearly nothing is going to be more free then when you have no one asking you for things, nothing on the agenda. You sit and collect rent from an apartment complex or other more passive business and do nothing else. Much like residing on a board.

You are absolutely right that there is a difference.

Although... I will call bullshit on these "lifestyle business" types writing themselves a bigger salary. You need profitability first. Most of these small businesses are completely pillaged for every profit, leaving nothing to invest in the future of the business.

You can't have your cake and eat it too. You can't simultaneously want to be an entrepreneur and not want to be an entrepreneur. That said, I enjoy this, because I want to be an entrepreneur. Not ebayer on a beach with a laptop. What he leaves out of his Instagram posts is the fact that he lives in a housing project eating ramen noodles.

I see building the biggest businesses I possibly can as my duty. It's my responsibility. I am blessed with the propensity to work on things like this and I plan to use it.

The world only gets changed by people that try to change it.

 

[Shepherd]

Clearly nothing is going to be more free then when you have no one asking you for things, nothing on the agenda. You sit and collect rent from an apartment complex or other more passive business and do nothing else. Much like residing on a board.

You are absolutely right that there is a difference.

Although... I will call bullshit on these "lifestyle business" types writing themselves a bigger salary. You need profitability first. Most of these small businesses are completely pillaged for every profit, leaving nothing to invest in the future of the business.

You can't have your cake and eat it too. You can't simultaneously want to be an entrepreneur and not want to be an entrepreneur. That said, I enjoy this, because I want to be an entrepreneur. Not ebayer on a beach with a laptop. What he leaves out of his Instagram posts is the fact that he lives in a housing project eating ramen noodles.

This is what I'm currently working through. I started another side business on top of my farming business with my dad on top of my day job specifically so I can reinvest in the farm and not draw out resources more than necessary. I have sacrificed money in pocket for years, but we now have the facilities and genetics to have massive growth over the next 2 years.

It can be tough to bank it when personally you could use the money. I rarely golf anymore, just recently skipped a weekend away with friends and very soon will be getting up every morning to feed livestock well before the sun comes up. But I'm not a martyr. I love it. I love the focus required, I love the hustle and I love being the 5th generation in my family farm. I'm about 2-3 years from being able to golf in the middle of the week, which is part of the vision I have for my life.

 

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[Kak]

This is what I'm currently working through. I started another side business on top of my farming business with my dad on top of my day job specifically so I can reinvest in the farm and not draw out resources more than necessary. I have sacrificed money in pocket for years, but we now have the facilities and genetics to have massive growth over the next 2 years.

It can be tough to bank it when personally you could use the money. I rarely golf anymore, just recently skipped a weekend away with friends and very soon will be getting up every morning to feed livestock well before the sun comes up. But I'm not a martyr. I love it. I love the focus required, I love the hustle and I love being the 5th generation in my family farm. I'm about 2-3 years from being able to golf in the middle of the week, which is part of the vision I have for my life.

Great hustle! Rep+ Very cool.

Making sacrifices. Taking responsibilities. Being patient. Being shrewd. These are things NOT TO BE AVOIDED by someone that wants to build something special.

 

[Shepherd]

Thanks, Kak. I actually have thought about this thread a lot when I am riding a buggy across pastures checking livestock in the evenings when the sun is going down. I originally had a number in mind and a definite "finish line" as to what I wanted the business to look like.

Now I realize that the destination I had in mind is most likely only the starting point. I don't know exactly what that is yet, but I know I'm on my way to it.

 

[Kak]

Thanks, Kak. I actually have thought about this thread a lot when I am riding a buggy across pastures checking livestock in the evenings when the sun is going down. I originally had a number in mind and a definite "finish line" as to what I wanted the business to look like.

Now I realize that the destination I had in mind is most likely only the starting point. I don't know exactly what that is yet, but I know I'm on my way to it.

This is gold! Nicely done @Shepherd

 

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[MTEE1985]

Now I realize that the destination I had in mind is most likely only the starting point. I don't know exactly what that is yet, but I know I'm on my way to it.

This.

Some people want to have the liquidation event and sit on a beach, others want to build something that their children and grandchildren can take over. The work doesn’t have to end when the need for money ceases to exist.

 

[Shepherd]

This.

Some people want to have the liquidation event and sit on a beach, others want to build something that their children and grandchildren can take over. The work doesn’t have to end when the need for money ceases to exist.

My dad had a conversation with me a few weeks ago where he told me that all the ground and buildings we use will be left to me (he had a recent health scare - false alarm).

He expects that I will build on what is already there for my kids if they are interested down the line. He knows I won't sell it for quick cash to make my life easier. I have asked for years to buy all or part of the home property and he has always put me off, asking me why I would want to buy something I will inherit anyway. I really didn't want there to be any issues with my siblings when that time comes. I already took care of this with one property by buying the 50 acres behind my house from him a few years ago.

I have come to learn that I enjoy working, but I really enjoy working for myself and my family. Things really became clear for me when I pictured my ideal life and started working backward from there step by step. Do the next right thing. Simple, but rarely easy. A lot of screw ups along the way. Undoubtedly more to come.

 

[Kak]

My dad had a conversation with me a few weeks ago where he told me that all the ground and buildings we use will be left to me (he had a recent health scare - false alarm).

He expects that I will build on what is already there for my kids if they are interested down the line. He knows I won't sell it for quick cash to make my life easier. I have asked for years to buy all or part of the home property and he has always put me off, asking me why I would want to buy something I will inherit anyway. I really didn't want there to be any issues with my siblings when that time comes. I already took care of this with one property by buying the 50 acres behind my house from him a few years ago.

I have come to learn that I enjoy working, but I really enjoy working for myself and my family. Things really became clear for me when I pictured my ideal life and started working backward from there step by step. Do the next right thing. Simple, but rarely easy. A lot of screw ups along the way. Undoubtedly more to come.

THIS is what building a family legacy looks like. It sounds like you have a wise dad. THIS is the point of this thread.

I want more than selfish freedom. I have it if I want it. I want to free my family for generations. I want opportunity to abound from my family name.

 

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[MTEE1985]

THIS is what building a family legacy looks like. It sounds like you have a wise dad. THIS is the point of this thread.

I want more than selfish freedom. I have it if I want it. I want to free my family for generations. I want opportunity to abound from my family name.

Rockefeller
Carnegie
Walton
Kennedy
KAK

I start every day by asking “if they wrote a book on my life, would anybody read it”?

 

[ALC]

The world only gets changed by people that try to change it.

Well said Kak, "Go get em'!"

It's very interesting to get your POV on what you plan for the next decades, what you REALLY want from your business.

It's not about personnal freedom, but about the all next generations to come that will be free to continue what you would have done, or free to enjoy life.

It's actually making me think again about what i really want.

For example, i'm a car enthusiast and own some of these sporty cars, i enjoy them a lot and i want more.
I want also the POWER to enjoy the finest things of life in the next 5/10 years.

However i'm not sure that it would fulfill me on a deep level, like i actually own them and i want more from me, not just material things, but maybe a Legacy, or building something useful.

We got one life, why not use it to make the world a better place while enjoying the journey.

 

[Real Deal Denver]

You can't have your cake and eat it too. You can't simultaneously want to be an entrepreneur and not want to be an entrepreneur. That said, I enjoy this, because I want to be an entrepreneur. Not ebayer on a beach with a laptop.

When I was in fifth grade there was an event on how to make money after school. Being dirt poor, this went right to the top of my list. We were also promised a free gift just for attending. We met in a school bus to hear about this great opportunity. It was for a paper route delivering newspapers. Immediately half the group left. The remaining 20 or so kids listened to the presentation. About half of them signed up for a route when this was done. The free gift was a pen that looked like a baseball bat. I wish I still had mine - some things are just treasures, but I lost it a long time ago.

When it was my turn to sign up, I shocked them. What? Are you sure? They said. I said I wanted two paper routes, with the option for more. I got two and did well with them. For my age, I was a millionairre. There was nothing on my list I could not buy. I was in boy scouts and bought all the best camping gear - a candy bar any time I pleased - and the best comic books. I worked my butt off for it, and I enjoyed it.

At the tender age of 11, I also invested in silver ignots and rare coins. I planned on selling them in about ten years for a very good profit. Warren Buffet had nothing on me at that age. But I soon fell by the wayside, of course. The parable about the seeds falling on fertile ground is a good analogy of what happened. I sold my silver and coins for a loss 15 years later, but used that money to start a business, which did very well, so it all worked out. Screw the markets. Can't make a profit in 15 years? That's why I'm an entrepreneur, and not in investor - but that's another story.

I have never stopped working since, and I don't mean an 8-5 job filling a "slot." I mean difficult positions with a lot of responsibilities. I think over the past several decades that I have never worked only 40 hours a week.

What is the point of this story? This: I think, given my vast experience and work ethic, that I CAN have my cake and eat it too, at this stage. I have paid dues up the ying yang. I have worked to learn, not to earn. And I'm ready to put things into motion that WILL pay off for what I have went through.

Just had to explain this Kak, because if things do go according to plan, someone like you might see how I operate now and view me as lazy or entitled. To put it frankly, I have done much more than most people ever will, and I think I deserve the rewards from doing all of that.

Like you, I have been the boss. Most people think the boss has it easy and everyone else does all the work. I understand that feeling, and I realize it's pointless to try to change that perspective. But, running my biz from a beach is something I would not feel guilty about. I fully intend to do that.

I know a guy that owns three Wendy's hamburger franchises. He pays his general manager $100K a year. Pretty damn good for running a simple burger joint. Wish I was paid that well for what I have done in the past... However, he (the owner) makes bucko bucks for basically doing nothing. Everything is on auto-pilot. I don't fault him in any way - if anything, I'm jealous.

I am on "the hunt" for gold. I've been digging all my life, but not in a gold mine, like I should have been all along. Once I put my efforts into a gold mine, everything will have been worth the struggles.

Don't fault me for wanting the good life. I like cake a lot! I don't think I have to bleed and sweat for rewards. I've seen too many others that don't. In the end, I realize I was actually pretty stupid. I didn't know how to play the game - but I'm catching up fast.

 

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[Kak]

When I was in fifth grade there was an event on how to make money after school. Being dirt poor, this went right to the top of my list. We were also promised a free gift just for attending. We met in a school bus to hear about this great opportunity. It was for a paper route delivering newspapers. Immediately half the group left. The remaining 20 or so kids listened to the presentation. About half of them signed up for a route when this was done. The free gift was a pen that looked like a baseball bat. I wish I still had mine - some things are just treasures, but I lost it a long time ago.

When it was my turn to sign up, I shocked them. What? Are you sure? They said. I said I wanted two paper routes, with the option for more. I got two and did well with them. For my age, I was a millionairre. There was nothing on my list I could not buy. I was in boy scouts and bought all the best camping gear - a candy bar any time I pleased - and the best comic books. I worked my butt off for it, and I enjoyed it.

At the tender age of 11, I also invested in silver ignots and rare coins. I planned on selling them in about ten years for a very good profit. Warren Buffet had nothing on me at that age. But I soon fell by the wayside, of course. The parable about the seeds falling on fertile ground is a good analogy of what happened. I sold my silver and coins for a loss 15 years later, but used that money to start a business, which did very well, so it all worked out. Screw the markets. Can't make a profit in 15 years? That's why I'm an entrepreneur, and not in investor - but that's another story.

I have never stopped working since, and I don't mean an 8-5 job filling a "slot." I mean difficult positions with a lot of responsibilities. I think over the past several decades that I have never worked only 40 hours a week.

What is the point of this story? This: I think, given my vast experience and work ethic, that I CAN have my cake and eat it too, at this stage. I have paid dues up the ying yang. I have worked to learn, not to earn. And I'm ready to put things into motion that WILL pay off for what I have went through.

Just had to explain this Kak, because if things do go according to plan, someone like you might see how I operate now and view me as lazy or entitled. To put it frankly, I have done much more than most people ever will, and I think I deserve the rewards from doing all of that.

Like you, I have been the boss. Most people think the boss has it easy and everyone else does all the work. I understand that feeling, and I realize it's pointless to try to change that perspective. But, running my biz from a beach is something I would not feel guilty about. I fully intend to do that.

I know a guy that owns three Wendy's hamburger franchises. He pays his general manager $100K a year. Pretty damn good for running a simple burger joint. Wish I was paid that well for what I have done in the past... However, he (the owner) makes bucko bucks for basically doing nothing. Everything is on auto-pilot. I don't fault him in any way - if anything, I'm jealous.

I am on "the hunt" for gold. I've been digging all my life, but not in a gold mine, like I should have been all along. Once I put my efforts into a gold mine, everything will have been worth the struggles.

Don't fault me for wanting the good life. I like cake a lot! I don't think I have to bleed and sweat for rewards. I've seen too many others that don't. In the end, I realize I was actually pretty stupid. I didn't know how to play the game - but I'm catching up fast.

I'm really sorry that you wrote all that, but I think you took it a little out of context.

I totally understand and agree. With entrepreneurship you are free to create what you want or need out of a business. Period. To each his own. You may want it set up one way and I may want it a different way. No big deal.

I should have clarified. You can't want hands off and hands on at the same time. You can't want the hands on results with a hands off approach.

There are plenty of more passive opportunities out there and if that is what you want, make it so! They are great, just different. It can even be thinking pretty damn big. The market will decide how valuable these efforts are. Period.

My apologies for the confusion on that one.

 

[Real Deal Denver]

I'm really sorry that you wrote all that, but I think you took it a little out of context.

I totally understand and agree. With entrepreneurship you are free to create what you want or need out of a business. Period. To each his own. You may want it set up one way and I may want it a different way. No big deal.

I should have clarified. You can't want hands off and hands on at the same time. You can't want the hands on results with a hands off approach.

There are plenty of more passive opportunities out there and if that is what you want, make it so! They are great, just different. It can even be thinking pretty damn big.

My apologies for the confusion on that one.

Your apologies? You're sorry? Here's the truth, if you can HANDLE the truth...

This forum feeds my brain, and that gives me the fuel to push ahead into areas I not only do not know much about, but am also scared to being in uncharted waters.

I have my favorite people here that I read their posts, pause and think a bit, and then reread them again. You Kak, are on top of that list! It's a big list, by the way, which not only surprises me to no end, but amazes and astounds me.

I am sure you know a lot - but one thing you will never know is how MUCH you are appreciated here and how much you help so many people.

It is a privilege and an honor for me to partake in the back and forth commentary here, whether I may be a part of it or not. It is damn hard, if not impossible, to find the caliber of people that are here, anyplace else. And here, there are so many!

I have recently brought many of my convictions into focus, and the eating cake was EXACTLY one that I just discussed with my wife. I told her, honey, we are no longer going to choose what we do - we are going to do it ALL. I said we WILL have it all - we will have our cake and eat it too - and we will have second servings if we desire! So you kind of hit a topic that was super fresh for me, and I just had to respond. I could have explained my point of view much better - but, you know - the mood at the time steers the direction of the response... yada, yada, yada.

Right now I am kind of pissed off by being screwed so many times in life - but at the the same time I'm grateful for the lessons. I now have the tools to do some things much bigger than most people can even imagine. And - again - a lot of that drive and inspiration is fueled by being here!

Someday I hope we can have a few cold beverages together. And cake!

 

[ChrisV]

Re: thinking big

This is a Public Service Announcement on behalf of the Fastlane Forums..

If you sell somebody else's product, no matter how you slice it, whether it be on Amazon, eBay or Amway... you are not an entrepreneur. You are a salesman. You are working for commission.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GD6qtc2_AQA

Except worse because salesman don’t have to hold or buy inventory.

I’m not knocking it if it’s what you wanna do.. but it’s not entrepreneurship. It’s middlemanning.

 

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[Kak]

Your apologies? You're sorry? Here's the truth, if you can HANDLE the truth...

This forum feeds my brain, and that gives me the fuel to push ahead into areas I not only do not know much about, but am also scared to being in uncharted waters.

I have my favorite people here that I read their posts, pause and think a bit, and then reread them again. You Kak, are on top of that list! It's a big list, by the way, which not only surprises me to no end, but amazes and astounds me.

I am sure you know a lot - but one thing you will never know is how MUCH you are appreciated here and how much you help so many people.

It is a privilege and an honor for me to partake in the back and forth commentary here, whether I may be a part of it or not. It is damn hard, if not impossible, to find the caliber of people that are here, anyplace else. And here, there are so many!

I have recently brought many of my convictions into focus, and the eating cake was EXACTLY one that I just discussed with my wife. I told her, honey, we are no longer going to choose what we do - we are going to do it ALL. I said we WILL have it all - we will have our cake and eat it too - and we will have second servings if we desire! So you kind of hit a topic that was super fresh for me, and I just had to respond. I could have explained my point of view much better - but, you know - the mood at the time steers the direction of the response... yada, yada, yada.

Right now I am kind of pissed off by being screwed so many times in life - but at the the same time I'm grateful for the lessons. I now have the tools to do some things much bigger than most people can even imagine. And - again - a lot of that drive and inspiration is fueled by being here!

Someday I hope we can have a few cold beverages together. And cake!

View attachment 21556

Thank you for the kind words. I too enjoy your posts. Look forward to that cake!

 

[ChrisV]

Speaking of thinking bigger than big, did anyone watch the Elon Musk interview? This guy makes me feel like a total bitch. I mean this guy is literally launching rockets to mars in his backyard, digging tunnels through LA, and hooking computers into the human nervous system. He literally had a Neurallink product that’s supposed to be released in a few months. Like, those thoughts you have while taking a shower ‘wouldn’t it be cool if_____’ this guy just does. He doesn’t think twice. He doesn’t think about how h hard it is. He just figures it out. I think we just overthink things and make them harder than they have to be. He’s smart, but I know people who are smarter than him that aren’t doing that. I t think pert of the trick is eliminating the word ‘impossible’ from your brain, except when it comes to physics.

 

[Andreas Thiel]

He’s smart, but I know people who are smarter than him that aren’t doing that.

Do you know how smart he actually is? And what portion of his life he thought about issues before he actually started doing something about them? It is not even funny. I can recommend the WaitButWhy series on him: https://waitbutwhy.com/2015/05/elon-musk-the-worlds-raddest-man.html
Especially part 4 is very much on topic: https://waitbutwhy.com/2015/11/the-cook-and-the-chef-musks-secret-sauce.html

How do people here feel about an "Applied Big Thinking" thread ... or maybe posts in this thread with a given format?
I find it somewhat sad to see threads like these: Plastic pollution - I want to provide value
... and almost nobody contributing to a brainstorming process.

In many people's minds there still seems to be an event based mindset around thinking big / having that one biggest idea. Showing how big ideas can evolve, outlines for different possible approaches to execution and examples of how complex problems can be broken down by identifying what the first principles are could be a helpful exercise.

Maybe there already is a thread like that somewhere?

 

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[ALC]

this guy just does.

He said it, someone has to do it or we won't grow as humans.

He don't any mental barriers, you can feel it from how he speak and acts, he is very passionnate about he does and don't say that it's impossible, he just DO.

 

[Andreas Thiel]

He said it, someone has to do it or we won't grow as humans.

He don't any mental barriers, you can feel it from how he speak and acts, he is very passionnate about he does and don't say that it's impossible, he just DO.

He does think a lot about what is impossible and he does decide NOT TO DO something more often than he decides to do something. Don't think in such dangerous absolutes.