Hey Fastlaners,
My name is Flo, I'm 35, from Austria, and I've been running a progress thread in the Insider section for almost a year. I didn't want to share all information to public in the past, but now i reached the point, where i think anything can be shared - more to this later! - so here's my full story, compressed into one post, followed by the progress in the next weeks, months and hopefully years!.
Upfront: Thanks to @MJ DeMarco for his input in the Books! You changed my life already, even if i'm not yet at the Point where i'd like to be, but i changed a lot in my life. I definitely had my "F*ck this"-Moment .. to be honest, even more than one! And Thanks to you i knew what to do next! Also some really hard decisions, but thanks to you i knew ... choose hard live easy, and this already works!
Who am I — and where did this all start?
I'm married, living with my wife Nina and our four dogs in Austria. Degree in Mechatronics, lots of business experience, and 9 years as a regional CEO of a social organization. On paper: the perfect script-life. Good salary, a house, a stable job.
The honest answer? I was miserable.
Before I ever picked up The Millionaire Fastlane — and to be clear, I only picked it up because I thought it was just another quick-money brochure — I already knew something was deeply wrong. I just didn't have the language for it yet.
Here's the reality I was living:
Reading Unscripted hit me like a truck. Not because it was new information, but because it named exactly what I was living. And it gave me a path out.
What is Shorty's Dogs?
A few years before all this, I started a business not to get rich, but simply to finance a dog trainer course. Over time it grew into something real. Nina and I meanwhile invested more than €150,000 in education, certifications, equipment, and expertise — and established ourselves as genuine experts in scent detection and canine fitness, for everyday dog owners as well as professional handlers.
But for years, we were stuck in the same trap: trading time for money. No leverage. No scale. My attention was split between a demanding full-time job and a business that needed more than I could give it.
After reading the books, the problem became obvious — and so did the direction.
The journey — compressed
In August 2025, I launched my first online course: "Scent Detective – Beginner." A structured, step-by-step scent detection training program. 10–20 minutes a day. Measurable results. My initial goal was 5 sales. I hit it before the Early Bird phase even ended — and finished with 6 conversions, spending about €50 on ads.
That was the proof of concept I needed.
From there I kept building. Cancelled a commission deal with a third party where I had zero control — they cut my rate without discussion, and I smiled reading that email, because I knew exactly what MJ would say. I started selling those concepts myself. More control, more margin, more leverage.
By end of 2025: ~€55,000 in total revenue, with the online segment just getting started. We opened our first dedicated training center. And I had a plan on paper — conservative projections — showing a clear path to €120k in 2026 and €190k in 2027. (for 2026: We're on a good path to hit the goal)
The hard parts — because they deserve to be said
This past year was not just momentum and milestones. It was one of the hardest years of my life.
I faced personal attacks from people I worked with professionally. I lost family members. I was managing a €3.5M budget and roughly 2,000 people at my day job while simultaneously trying to build something of my own, often stealing just minutes here and there. There were moments I questioned whether I had the capacity to keep going on both tracks.
I kept going anyway.
Where things stand today
I handed in my resignation. In a few weeks, I'll be out.
And here's what I'm most excited to share: together with Nina and a highly qualified colleague, we are in the process of founding a new company — focused entirely on professional scent detection dog training, delivered online and in person. The target market is initially the German-speaking world, with international ambitions already in planning. We'll be the first international company with training centers in more than one country in the german-speaking world.
Here's the part that still feels a little surreal: before the company is even officially founded, we've already generated about 50 k€ through joint online programs and live events. The model is validated. It works.
The long-term vision goes well beyond training programs:
A word to MJ
@MJ DeMarco — I want to say this clearly and publicly: without your books, I wouldn't be here. Not in this forum, not at this point. The Millionaire Fastlane, Unscripted, and Choose Hard, Live Easy didn't just give me a framework. They gave me permission to see my life clearly and the courage to change it. I owe you a genuine thank you.
One year of hard work. Several years of preparation before that. A lot of pain in between — personal, professional, and everything in between.
BUT:
It's working. I'm happy. And I'm just getting started.
Looking forward to sharing the next chapters here — publicly this time.
– Flo
My name is Flo, I'm 35, from Austria, and I've been running a progress thread in the Insider section for almost a year. I didn't want to share all information to public in the past, but now i reached the point, where i think anything can be shared - more to this later! - so here's my full story, compressed into one post, followed by the progress in the next weeks, months and hopefully years!.
Upfront: Thanks to @MJ DeMarco for his input in the Books! You changed my life already, even if i'm not yet at the Point where i'd like to be, but i changed a lot in my life. I definitely had my "F*ck this"-Moment .. to be honest, even more than one! And Thanks to you i knew what to do next! Also some really hard decisions, but thanks to you i knew ... choose hard live easy, and this already works!
Who am I — and where did this all start?
I'm married, living with my wife Nina and our four dogs in Austria. Degree in Mechatronics, lots of business experience, and 9 years as a regional CEO of a social organization. On paper: the perfect script-life. Good salary, a house, a stable job.
The honest answer? I was miserable.
Before I ever picked up The Millionaire Fastlane — and to be clear, I only picked it up because I thought it was just another quick-money brochure — I already knew something was deeply wrong. I just didn't have the language for it yet.
Here's the reality I was living:
- 60+ hour weeks at a job that was slowly killing me, surrounded by constant negativity and toxic dynamics
- A €250k renovation loan on my parents' house — taking it over was probably the worst financial decision I've ever made
- The "good salary" barely kept us afloat. Without it, we couldn't afford to keep our dogs. And giving one away was never an option. So also quitting this Job was not possible, as we couldn't affort it!
- On top of all that, for biological reasons that remain unexplained, we haven't been able to have children. That's something you just learn to carry.
Reading Unscripted hit me like a truck. Not because it was new information, but because it named exactly what I was living. And it gave me a path out.
What is Shorty's Dogs?
A few years before all this, I started a business not to get rich, but simply to finance a dog trainer course. Over time it grew into something real. Nina and I meanwhile invested more than €150,000 in education, certifications, equipment, and expertise — and established ourselves as genuine experts in scent detection and canine fitness, for everyday dog owners as well as professional handlers.
But for years, we were stuck in the same trap: trading time for money. No leverage. No scale. My attention was split between a demanding full-time job and a business that needed more than I could give it.
After reading the books, the problem became obvious — and so did the direction.
The journey — compressed
In August 2025, I launched my first online course: "Scent Detective – Beginner." A structured, step-by-step scent detection training program. 10–20 minutes a day. Measurable results. My initial goal was 5 sales. I hit it before the Early Bird phase even ended — and finished with 6 conversions, spending about €50 on ads.
That was the proof of concept I needed.
From there I kept building. Cancelled a commission deal with a third party where I had zero control — they cut my rate without discussion, and I smiled reading that email, because I knew exactly what MJ would say. I started selling those concepts myself. More control, more margin, more leverage.
By end of 2025: ~€55,000 in total revenue, with the online segment just getting started. We opened our first dedicated training center. And I had a plan on paper — conservative projections — showing a clear path to €120k in 2026 and €190k in 2027. (for 2026: We're on a good path to hit the goal)
The hard parts — because they deserve to be said
This past year was not just momentum and milestones. It was one of the hardest years of my life.
I faced personal attacks from people I worked with professionally. I lost family members. I was managing a €3.5M budget and roughly 2,000 people at my day job while simultaneously trying to build something of my own, often stealing just minutes here and there. There were moments I questioned whether I had the capacity to keep going on both tracks.
I kept going anyway.
Where things stand today
I handed in my resignation. In a few weeks, I'll be out.
And here's what I'm most excited to share: together with Nina and a highly qualified colleague, we are in the process of founding a new company — focused entirely on professional scent detection dog training, delivered online and in person. The target market is initially the German-speaking world, with international ambitions already in planning. We'll be the first international company with training centers in more than one country in the german-speaking world.
Here's the part that still feels a little surreal: before the company is even officially founded, we've already generated about 50 k€ through joint online programs and live events. The model is validated. It works.
The long-term vision goes well beyond training programs:
- Structured online education at scale
- Professional trainer certifications
- A potential licensing model for instructors — think franchise/affiliate, but for dog training methodology
A word to MJ
@MJ DeMarco — I want to say this clearly and publicly: without your books, I wouldn't be here. Not in this forum, not at this point. The Millionaire Fastlane, Unscripted, and Choose Hard, Live Easy didn't just give me a framework. They gave me permission to see my life clearly and the courage to change it. I owe you a genuine thank you.
One year of hard work. Several years of preparation before that. A lot of pain in between — personal, professional, and everything in between.
BUT:
It's working. I'm happy. And I'm just getting started.
Looking forward to sharing the next chapters here — publicly this time.
– Flo
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