I am a sidewalker determined to change lanes

[lbliii]

Hey everyone,

I'm 25 and I can't survive like this anymore. I'm a sidewalker making 33k and all of my attempts to climb or rise in the corporate world has left me jaded; everyone I see around me has settled -- at work, people don't want you to give them solutions they want you to accept problems and use bandaid-workarounds while complaining with them. They don't like passion and they only see you as a boxed in hard-skilled robot and not a human being who has the will and desire to rise. I feel like I'm dying because no amount of interest showed or proven skill has amounted to anything here. I'm breathing in toxic air, and everyone around seems just fine.

Without knowing what it was, I've railed against the slowlane for a long time because it felt deeply wrong to me. It's the mantra of my parents, and my grandparents (who died exactly how TMF points out: a few years before retirement). I remember as a kid seeing my mother fall into a deep depression and literally sob over her father's ~65 years of factory work toil and life savings disappear in the stock market. This system repeatedly fails people and all they want to do is rebuild.

My dad is a huge believer in the slowlane. He's going to retire with a massive 401k and a pension that will leave him making almost more than he does now. But he's 52, overweight, diabetic, commuting an hour both ways every day -- never gets himself anything that he wants, even though he can afford it. I'm proud of him and his accomplishments, he's slowlaned himself to being an almost millionaire and that's nice, but it's like TMF points out: $1,000,000 isn't what it used to be. And he's paid a big price for it -- and there's no guarantee he'll make it to retirement.

I can't live like that. I don't want that kind of success. But what I've been doing isn't working, either.

Change: A few months ago I found a glimmer of hope in a visual website developer tool. It reminded me that I love to build things, to create, to test and share. I work helpdesk at an older SaaS and I've seen the potential, the waste. I've been prototyping and launching (failing) projects since October. But, you know what? They make me happy. I literally dream about them sometimes.

My current project is a job board. Specifically, one that only showcases jobs that offer relocation packages. I launched it 2 weeks ago, before reading your book. Why did I pick this?

1. I have a burning desire to move/escape
2. Other people do, too
3. These jobs do not currently have their own niche board (google it; you'll only find filters for indeed or monster.)
4. Construction, IT, Health, Education -- a lot of these fields need to relocate talent more often than you'd think
5. After research, I've discovered I could start charging to post after ~8,000/visitors a month
6. Job board posting costs range from $50-$400 each.
7. Job/Recruitment is a multi-billion dollar industry. If I can get a fraction of a percent, I'd be free.

Why I'm here: I still don't know what I'm doing, but I want to surround myself with like-minded people and figure this shit out. Sales and Marketing and Business are foreign animals to me; I'm an idealist creator-type with a degree in Creative Writing. I've learned very quickly that you can't instill your passion or goals into other people -- you can't bring them with you. It's discouraging because I don't like to work alone all the time, but in this case I've had to because my whole social network is dream stealy.

I realized while reading your book that this was the exact thing I experienced on my journey to lose weight. In 2014 I discovered the ketogenic diet and wanted a change. My SO didn't care, my best friends didn't care -- one of them even said it was stupid and a fad; this was someone I considered to be fairly intelligent and open minded. No. No support, no encouragement. So I just quietly did what really made sense to me and wound up losing 60 pounds in 8 months. I also shed everyone around me: my SO, my "best friends."

So, here I am, joining your financial gym to achieve my long term goals.

Goals: Quit my stupid job. Pay off my car and my student loans. Move -- or be mobile. Last summer I found someone I really love and want to be with. I know that I need to change and amass the value/freedom to make that relationship not just possible, but successful.

 

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

[Young-Gun]

Hey everyone,

I'm 25 and I can't survive like this anymore. I'm a sidewalker making 33k and all of my attempts to climb or rise in the corporate world has left me jaded; everyone I see around me has settled -- at work, people don't want you to give them solutions they want you to accept problems and use bandaid-workarounds while complaining with them. They don't like passion and they only see you as a boxed in hard-skilled robot and not a human being who has the will and desire to rise. I feel like I'm dying because no amount of interest showed or proven skill has amounted to anything here. I'm breathing in toxic air, and everyone around seems just fine.

Without knowing what it was, I've railed against the slowlane for a long time because it felt deeply wrong to me. It's the mantra of my parents, and my grandparents (who died exactly how TMF points out: a few years before retirement). I remember as a kid seeing my mother fall into a deep depression and literally sob over her father's ~65 years of factory work toil and life savings disappear in the stock market. This system repeatedly fails people and all they want to do is rebuild.

My dad is a huge believer in the slowlane. He's going to retire with a massive 401k and a pension that will leave him making almost more than he does now. But he's 52, overweight, diabetic, commuting an hour both ways every day -- never gets himself anything that he wants, even though he can afford it. I'm proud of him and his accomplishments, he's slowlaned himself to being an almost millionaire and that's nice, but it's like TMF points out: $1,000,000 isn't what it used to be. And he's paid a big price for it -- and there's no guarantee he'll make it to retirement.

I can't live like that. I don't want that kind of success. But what I've been doing isn't working, either.

Change: A few months ago I found a glimmer of hope in a visual website developer tool. It reminded me that I love to build things, to create, to test and share. I work helpdesk at an older SaaS and I've seen the potential, the waste. I've been prototyping and launching (failing) projects since October. But, you know what? They make me happy. I literally dream about them sometimes.

My current project is a job board. Specifically, one that only showcases jobs that offer relocation packages. I launched it 2 weeks ago, before reading your book. Why did I pick this?

1. I have a burning desire to move/escape
2. Other people do, too
3. These jobs do not currently have their own niche board (google it; you'll only find filters for indeed or monster.)
4. Construction, IT, Health, Education -- a lot of these fields need to relocate talent more often than you'd think
5. After research, I've discovered I could start charging to post after ~8,000/visitors a month
6. Job board posting costs range from $50-$400 each.
7. Job/Recruitment is a multi-billion dollar industry. If I can get a fraction of a percent, I'd be free.

Why I'm here: I still don't know what I'm doing, but I want to surround myself with like-minded people and figure this shit out. Sales and Marketing and Business are foreign animals to me; I'm an idealist creator-type with a degree in Creative Writing. I've learned very quickly that you can't instill your passion or goals into other people -- you can't bring them with you. It's discouraging because I don't like to work alone all the time, but in this case I've had to because my whole social network is dream stealy.

I realized while reading your book that this was the exact thing I experienced on my journey to lose weight. In 2014 I discovered the ketogenic diet and wanted a change. My SO didn't care, my best friends didn't care -- one of them even said it was stupid and a fad; this was someone I considered to be fairly intelligent and open minded. No. No support, no encouragement. So I just quietly did what really made sense to me and wound up losing 60 pounds in 8 months. I also shed everyone around me: my SO, my "best friends."

So, here I am, joining your financial gym to achieve my long term goals.

Goals: Quit my stupid job. Pay off my car and my student loans. Move -- or be mobile. Last summer I found someone I really love and want to be with. I know that I need to change and amass the value/freedom to make that relationship not just possible, but successful.

Dude. YES.

I love your post, and I'm rooting for you 1000%.
Might not mean much (some random guy on the internet)
But trust me, I am sending good thoughts and energy your way.

It's very sad that we have to move beyond certain people in our life who refuse to grow.
I don't understand it either, it freaks me out and saddens me that people are so set in their ways - even when they aren't happy with the result of those decisions...

I have always been about moving forward and getting better and better every year.
But, it tends to alienate some friends over time.

You wrote "at work, people don't want you to give them solutions they want you to accept problems and use bandaid-workarounds while complaining with them. They don't like passion and they only see you as a boxed in hard-skilled robot and not a human being who has the will and desire to rise. I feel like I'm dying because no amount of interest showed or proven skill has amounted to anything here. I'm breathing in toxic air, and everyone around seems just fine."

I know what you mean, and it scares the hell out of me.
I've been my own boss for 7 years and despite all the struggles involved, I've NEVER regretted it.
One of the best parts? Freedom from "those type" of people.
If I accidentally hire one, I just fire them as soon as possible (it happened once before).

Also, there ARE more people out there, who will relate to what you're talking about.
My current GF started a business and quit smoking because of the time we've spent together.

But, I've also dated a girl who REFUSED to improve herself, despite all the open, loving encouragement I could give. Despite giving her every opportunity to work alongside me, both of us trying to continually better ourselves and improve our lives and fortunes.

Some people just don't get it. You can still love them, but yea.. you gotta get some space from them.

In terms of your business idea, that's a topic for another time.
Here are my two biggest keys for business success (but keep in mind I'm not 'successful' yet):
- DAILY action towards your main goal.
- Focus on the OUTSIDE world. Don't work on "imaginary problems." Find other people's problems FIRST, then build a big business around those problems.

Hey, if you have time come drop a line in my main thread: SaaS Startup, 2nd Time Entrepreneur
Maybe it will be interesting or helpful to you!
Hope to see you there

 

[Lex DeVille]

Awesome intro!

I launched it 2 weeks ago

Badass. Keep us updated and let us know how it goes.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Awesome intro, thanks for sharing and thank you for giving my book a spin around the block.

I still don't know what I'm doing

Ah ha, well welcome to the entrepreneur club!

 

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