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 80,000 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.

26 years old, from Italy

Madame Peccato

Gold Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
311%
Jul 14, 2018
659
2,048
31
Morbegno, Italy
Greetings, my name is Walter, and I am 26 years old, I live in a small town in the north of Italy.

I am a youngster who has had quite the easy life leading up to this point, there have been some hiccups but overall nothing terrible, also easy meant boring for the most part.

I'm one of those kids who were treated as "geniuses" when they were young, which only cultivated complacency. My "gift" was quite impressive I think, my memory was unbelievable (at least for a youngster with 0 training). The most impressive example I can think of was reading the 5th book of the Harry Potter series twice and since then being able to recite all of it by heart, my parents would just ask me "what's written at page x, line y?" and I'd be instantly able to tell word for word the following sentences. Now I don't even remember the title of the book lol.

And then I lost it all around the age of 15, I never put much thought into it until way later in life, I thought it "just happened", but evidently my mind just "hid" the event most likely. Anyway, ever since then I've had an average memory. I finished high school with some hiccups here and there but overall I was still doing okay. I did not have much faith in life, as in, it was beyond me how it'd be possible for people to work for 35-40 years and not be miserable, but clearly it was possible, since everyone was doing it. But around 16-17 years old I realized that my beliefs were wrong. Everyone was miserable, they were just very good at hiding it. And then, after being miserable for 40 years due to their job, they'd be miserable for the remaining of their life, since they were old and couldn't really enjoy themselves as much anymore.

So I thought to myself "If I have to be miserable for my entire life might as well delay it as much as possible", I had completely lost any motivation for looking forward in my life. All I had were my online friends. I feel like I've never really loved my parents. They divorced when I was 12, and they tried their hardest to make me feel like I was the problem. Sometimes they'd treat me as if I was the reason of their break up, and then I'd be used as a "weapon" during the divorce process.

Nevertheless, fast forward a couple years, I had mostly forgotten about all of it, and so did my parents it seems. I went to university...and I dropped out after 2 years, I absolutely hated studying, but my parents really wanted me to get a degree, so I let myself get convinced in switching university, I went with what I knew best, which was Languages, despite the fact I believed a degree in languages would be utterly useless. And it showed. I dropped out of it after 4 long and terrible years, where I hated myself every living moment of it, and developed even further my hatred for studying.

I was left without direction until the March of this year, where a friend of mine suggested me to read "The Millionaire Fastlane ", thinking I'd enjoy it. I had started reading a lot more in the months prior to this, so I thought to myself "sure why not, I have been enjoying reading now more than ever" (I really hated reading in school). What an incredible read it was, it managed to completely change my view on life! I don't know what happened, maybe my mind was just "down" because of all these years and was ready to believe anything, but the book truly changed my way of thinking. I immediately read Unscripted right after, which is to this day my favorite book.

So you may be wondering, what have I been up to from March to this day?

I've lurked the forum every now and then, without really posting because I promised myself I wouldn't post until I actually earned some money for myself. Which I just did! It was some money from UpWork for minor translating work. But that's not the only thing I've been doing obviously. I tried my best to absorb the incredible amount of information that exists in this forum, I've read plenty of books, I started two online businesses that failed, and I think I know why they failed (mostly they were just...pointless).

I'm glad at least that the way my life shaped up taught me to listen to people, I'm not much of a speaker unless people actually ask me stuff I'm very knowledgeable about, so a lot of people just talk to me, since I'm usually their "problem solver". I like helping people out, since I know what it feels to be stuck there, completely helpless, and I don't want anyone else to go through it.

I'm trying to get myself in the right mindset for hustling, I've also lost a lot of weight, stopped eating garbage, and I look forward to every day, knowing I'm trying to get closer to my goals. I'm also very passionate about learning, something I loathed for most of my life until 6 months ago. I don't know yet what I'm gonna do with all of this, but at least I know what to look out for now: ways to help people and provide them value.

I've also been looking for a job, since of course my parents aren't totally happy with the fact I'm not really earning any "real" money yet. They don't believe in my business adventures, but it's fine, I've never really believed in the life they've lived myself, but they seem to be ok with it, so who am I to judge?

Anyway I don't think I'm going to post much on here, as I don't want to waste much time, I already waste too much of it, adding other sources of time wasting activities would be way too detrimental. I just wanted to end this long post with a sincere thank you to MJ because he changed my perspective on life, even if I'm going to fail for the next 15 years, at least it will have been one hell of a journey. Also a big thank you to other people on these forums, as they're also a big reason of why I'm here today, and why I'm trying every day to improve and better myself, while also attempting to improve the lives of others.

This was incredibly long and pretty awkward to write at some points, but I'm generally a cheerful person, I just felt the need to write my feelings down a bit I guess. I feel better just having written this.

Cheers,

Walter
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Madame Peccato

Gold Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
311%
Jul 14, 2018
659
2,048
31
Morbegno, Italy
Hey! Thanks for asking. I've spent the last year freelancing to build up my skills following Lex's advice and learning what works and what doesn't.

Right now I'm trying to get tax stuff figured (finding an accountant that isn't oblivious to the existance of the Internet has been a huge challenge, (the perks of living in the middle of nowhere hah) to go all-in on the freelancing path.

I'm going to build on what I know (how to write web copy and being overall knowledgeable of the Internet) and I have an idea or two on how to proceed, but first and foremost I need to get my taxes sorted out. I have gone to like 5 accountants in the past 3 weeks (I could go faster if only appointments weren't obligatory due to covid).
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

BlackMagician

Gold Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
236%
Jul 18, 2018
560
1,322
Mumbai, India
Hey! Thanks for asking. I've spent the last year freelancing to build up my skills following Lex's advice and learning what works and what doesn't.

Right now I'm trying to get tax stuff figured (finding an accountant that isn't oblivious to the existance of the Internet has been a huge challenge, (the perks of living in the middle of nowhere hah) to go all-in on the freelancing path.

I'm going to build on what I know (how to write web copy and being overall knowledgeable of the Internet) and I have an idea or two on how to proceed, but first and foremost I need to get my taxes sorted out. I have gone to like 5 accountants in the past 3 weeks (I could go faster if only appointments weren't obligatory due to covid).
Where is your progress thread? I would love to follow
 

TriathlonDreamer

New Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
125%
Feb 18, 2020
4
5
Greetings, my name is Walter, and I am 26 years old, I live in a small town in the north of Italy.

I am a youngster who has had quite the easy life leading up to this point, there have been some hiccups but overall nothing terrible, also easy meant boring for the most part.

I'm one of those kids who were treated as "geniuses" when they were young, which only cultivated complacency. My "gift" was quite impressive I think, my memory was unbelievable (at least for a youngster with 0 training). The most impressive example I can think of was reading the 5th book of the Harry Potter series twice and since then being able to recite all of it by heart, my parents would just ask me "what's written at page x, line y?" and I'd be instantly able to tell word for word the following sentences. Now I don't even remember the title of the book lol.

And then I lost it all around the age of 15, I never put much thought into it until way later in life, I thought it "just happened", but evidently my mind just "hid" the event most likely. Anyway, ever since then I've had an average memory. I finished high school with some hiccups here and there but overall I was still doing okay. I did not have much faith in life, as in, it was beyond me how it'd be possible for people to work for 35-40 years and not be miserable, but clearly it was possible, since everyone was doing it. But around 16-17 years old I realized that my beliefs were wrong. Everyone was miserable, they were just very good at hiding it. And then, after being miserable for 40 years due to their job, they'd be miserable for the remaining of their life, since they were old and couldn't really enjoy themselves as much anymore.

So I thought to myself "If I have to be miserable for my entire life might as well delay it as much as possible", I had completely lost any motivation for looking forward in my life. All I had were my online friends. I feel like I've never really loved my parents. They divorced when I was 12, and they tried their hardest to make me feel like I was the problem. Sometimes they'd treat me as if I was the reason of their break up, and then I'd be used as a "weapon" during the divorce process.

Nevertheless, fast forward a couple years, I had mostly forgotten about all of it, and so did my parents it seems. I went to university...and I dropped out after 2 years, I absolutely hated studying, but my parents really wanted me to get a degree, so I let myself get convinced in switching university, I went with what I knew best, which was Languages, despite the fact I believed a degree in languages would be utterly useless. And it showed. I dropped out of it after 4 long and terrible years, where I hated myself every living moment of it, and developed even further my hatred for studying.

I was left without direction until the March of this year, where a friend of mine suggested me to read "The Millionaire Fastlane ", thinking I'd enjoy it. I had started reading a lot more in the months prior to this, so I thought to myself "sure why not, I have been enjoying reading now more than ever" (I really hated reading in school). What an incredible read it was, it managed to completely change my view on life! I don't know what happened, maybe my mind was just "down" because of all these years and was ready to believe anything, but the book truly changed my way of thinking. I immediately read Unscripted right after, which is to this day my favorite book.

So you may be wondering, what have I been up to from March to this day?

I've lurked the forum every now and then, without really posting because I promised myself I wouldn't post until I actually earned some money for myself. Which I just did! It was some money from UpWork for minor translating work. But that's not the only thing I've been doing obviously. I tried my best to absorb the incredible amount of information that exists in this forum, I've read plenty of books, I started two online businesses that failed, and I think I know why they failed (mostly they were just...pointless).

I'm glad at least that the way my life shaped up taught me to listen to people, I'm not much of a speaker unless people actually ask me stuff I'm very knowledgeable about, so a lot of people just talk to me, since I'm usually their "problem solver". I like helping people out, since I know what it feels to be stuck there, completely helpless, and I don't want anyone else to go through it.

I'm trying to get myself in the right mindset for hustling, I've also lost a lot of weight, stopped eating garbage, and I look forward to every day, knowing I'm trying to get closer to my goals. I'm also very passionate about learning, something I loathed for most of my life until 6 months ago. I don't know yet what I'm gonna do with all of this, but at least I know what to look out for now: ways to help people and provide them value.

I've also been looking for a job, since of course my parents aren't totally happy with the fact I'm not really earning any "real" money yet. They don't believe in my business adventures, but it's fine, I've never really believed in the life they've lived myself, but they seem to be ok with it, so who am I to judge?

Anyway I don't think I'm going to post much on here, as I don't want to waste much time, I already waste too much of it, adding other sources of time wasting activities would be way too detrimental. I just wanted to end this long post with a sincere thank you to MJ because he changed my perspective on life, even if I'm going to fail for the next 15 years, at least it will have been one hell of a journey. Also a big thank you to other people on these forums, as they're also a big reason of why I'm here today, and why I'm trying every day to improve and better myself, while also attempting to improve the lives of others.

This was incredibly long and pretty awkward to write at some points, but I'm generally a cheerful person, I just felt the need to write my feelings down a bit I guess. I feel better just having written this.

Cheers,

Walter
Forza! you have to fail a number of times before to make it!
 
Last edited:

iamnoah_mz

New Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
31%
Jan 20, 2022
13
4
22
Morocco
I've spent the last year freelancing to build up my skills following Lex's advice and learning what works and what doesn't.
Hey @Madame Peccato! Yes, @Lex DeVille has some interesting threads on the subject.
Can you update us on your freelancing journey? I am also just getting started freelancing(web design).
I would like to know how did you get your first clients when starting out, was is through freelance marketplaces? And do you now get clients consistently?
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Madame Peccato

Gold Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
311%
Jul 14, 2018
659
2,048
31
Morbegno, Italy
I would like to know how did you get your first clients when starting out, was is through freelance marketplaces? And do you now get clients consistently?
Hey Iamnoah! Yes, my first client was on Upwork. I still mostly use Upwork to get my clients. I tried LinkedIn for a bit but I didn't put in enough effort. Still, I recognize the potential in it. I'll definitely get back to it soon.

I've had work for most of past year, though I can't say I got to where I wanted to be. It's a grind much like anything else. Anyway, I can (and do) get clients consistently. I suggest following Lex's YouTube channel.

I tried a bunch of stuff over the last year to get clients, but his approach is the one that's been working the best for me.
 
Last edited:

iamnoah_mz

New Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
31%
Jan 20, 2022
13
4
22
Morocco
Yes, my first client was on Upwork. I still mostly use Upwork to get my clients.
I am right now on Fiverr and most of the clients expect cheap work and I can't rely on working with them long term. I think I should get soon on Upwork. I know @Lex DeVille has some good content on Upwork, but as you may know getting clients on Upwork is a question of optimizing your profile and a lot other factors, would like to know how much time it took you to land your first client on the platform and what you did on that part to the point where you were getting your first clients.
I tried LinkedIn for a bit but I didn't put it enough effort. Still, I recognize the potentail in it. I'll definitely get back to it soon.
Yes, LinkedIn is a real GOLDMINE, especially if your services cater to the B2B niche.
 

Madame Peccato

Gold Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
311%
Jul 14, 2018
659
2,048
31
Morbegno, Italy
I am right now on Fiverr and most of the clients expect cheap work and I can't rely on working with them long term. I think I should get soon on Upwork. I know @Lex DeVille has some good content on Upwork, but as you may know getting clients on Upwork is a question of optimizing your profile and a lot other factors, would like to know how much time it took you to land your first client on the platform and what you did on that part to the point where you were getting your first clients.
I haven't tried Fiverr, so I can't tell you what's up with it. But let's assume you are right. Would you rather work for cheap clients, or grind a little harder for higher-quality clients?

My best clients have taught me much more—both about the craft and the world—than the mediocre ones.

It took me about a month to get my first client, BUT...

- I was completely clueless as to what I was doing
- My English wasn't the best
- I worked in a minuscule niche on Upwork: English to Italian translation
- I didn't move as fast as I could have

You can absolutely score your first client within your first week on the platform. Probably in the first day if you are willing to apply to a lot of jobs and are ok with doing the $5 ones. In fact, if I were to start from scratch today, I'd apply to at least 10 jobs everyday (which means I'd buy extra connects if necessary), and look for the easy $5 jobs. Build up a solid set of reviews, then aim a little higher.

I didn't do anything special. I just applied over and over to any job that could give me some money. I wasn't too picky, I just wanted 5-star reviews.

As for how I wrote proposals, I mostly followed Lex's old framework. There is a wealth of information on this on the web, I suggest trying different approaches and see which one works best for you.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Post New Topic

Please SEARCH before posting.
Please select the BEST category.

Post new topic

Guest post submissions offered HERE.

New Topics

Fastlane Insiders

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

Join Fastlane Insiders.

More Intros...

Top