Hello friends!
Greetings from Asia (Taiwan, to be precise)! I feel fired up to be joining this community, I really do. It's another step out of the comfort zone for me and part of my efforts to do a 180 degree turn around in mindset and behavior. I'm currently at chapter 43 of the TMFL book and have ordered UNSCRIPTED as soon as I jumped on this forum and learned there's actually a second book by MJ (YES!!!). I originally wanted to wait until I finish reading TMFL before I sign up here, but dammit, life's too short!
If MJ is actually reading this, I can't thank you enough for writing this book because I just love reading it. I find quotes, concepts and maxims on every single page that are worth gold literally and the only regret I have (as I'm sure many others who are late to the party as I am, I'm 46) is that I wish so much I had this book 20 or 30 years ago. Oh well, there's still hope in the second generation. My two girls are 8 and 10 now and I teach them the gold nuggets from the book on a daily basis. Again, thanks so much for generously sharing your knowledge with the world, MJ!
So here's my story and why I'm here:
As mentioned in the subject line, I'm deep in the Slowlane, unfortunately it's the story of my life. I became an attorney 15 years ago, spent two years at a law firm where the workload and stifling work environment was getting me down on a daily basis. I switched to an inhouse job at a multinational company where I've been for the past 13 years now. It's a decent job by Slowlane standards (meaning it sucks anyway) that I have endured more than enjoyed. Job satisfaction has diminished to near zero over the years thanks to stupid bosses and the daily grind. Exchanging my time (ie life) for money and 5 lost days in return for 2 free days week after week after week didn't bother me in the first couple of years, but now suddenly I realize I'm in "middle age" (damn!) and I clearly have enough of this corporate BS, especially after getting my brain washed (in a positive way) by MJ. You may ask, how could I let this happen over so many years? How could I be so blind? And you're right, I was sleepwalking through life and through my "career". After some soul-searching only recently I realized I had always tried avoiding the dreaded Rat Race. That's why I never did any job hopping after I got my inhouse job. I thought having a cushy corporate job with what they call "good work-life balance" would save me from the Rat Race, but it didn't. The only difference is I'm in a SLOW rat race that gets worse the older I get, rather than a fast one that makes you burn out sooner rather than later and that probably ruins your health and relationships along the way.
Two months ago (after taking my bloody "annual leave", a one week vacation with my family) it dawned on me that I just can't go on the same way I did in those past 13+ years. The thought of continuing for the same ride in the next 5-10 years simply scares the shit out of me. I decided I need to CHANGE, and change NOW. I've had similar phases, but at a lower intensity, already several years back. For that reason, in 2011 I started an e-commerce biz with my wife, importing stuff from overseas and selling it online locally. It lasted only a couple of years, but generally failed miserably for various reasons which are very clear to me now after having read TMFL. Nonetheless, it was a good experience in hindsight because of the many lessons learned (such as to NEVER hand control over your biz to an e-commerce platform that only has its own interest at heart, admittedly a no-brainer now).
But now I've decided to do a 180 degree turnaround mentally first. I can feel I'm already a different person now since my mindset is changing from the ground up and influencing my actions. I've become more active, seeking out people who are like-minded, starting networking and doing everything to immerse myself in the entrepreneurial mindset by attending meetups and of course joining this forum. All these things are moving me a little bit out of my comfort zone one at a time.
If you asked me what concrete plans (for a business) I have, I'll have to admit I don't know yet. Ideally I wish I could come up with some kind of widget that solves a problem that millions of people have. Helping other people solve their problems (mind you, in a Fastlane manner, not Slowlane, I've done enough of that) and making money from it is always a strong motivator for me. I hope to get inspired by this forum and maybe one day soon can even inspire other newbies like me here.
Ok, if you've read this far, I truly appreciate it. I swear it's not my intention to write a book...
well, see you around, my friends!
Overdrive
Greetings from Asia (Taiwan, to be precise)! I feel fired up to be joining this community, I really do. It's another step out of the comfort zone for me and part of my efforts to do a 180 degree turn around in mindset and behavior. I'm currently at chapter 43 of the TMFL book and have ordered UNSCRIPTED as soon as I jumped on this forum and learned there's actually a second book by MJ (YES!!!). I originally wanted to wait until I finish reading TMFL before I sign up here, but dammit, life's too short!
If MJ is actually reading this, I can't thank you enough for writing this book because I just love reading it. I find quotes, concepts and maxims on every single page that are worth gold literally and the only regret I have (as I'm sure many others who are late to the party as I am, I'm 46) is that I wish so much I had this book 20 or 30 years ago. Oh well, there's still hope in the second generation. My two girls are 8 and 10 now and I teach them the gold nuggets from the book on a daily basis. Again, thanks so much for generously sharing your knowledge with the world, MJ!
So here's my story and why I'm here:
As mentioned in the subject line, I'm deep in the Slowlane, unfortunately it's the story of my life. I became an attorney 15 years ago, spent two years at a law firm where the workload and stifling work environment was getting me down on a daily basis. I switched to an inhouse job at a multinational company where I've been for the past 13 years now. It's a decent job by Slowlane standards (meaning it sucks anyway) that I have endured more than enjoyed. Job satisfaction has diminished to near zero over the years thanks to stupid bosses and the daily grind. Exchanging my time (ie life) for money and 5 lost days in return for 2 free days week after week after week didn't bother me in the first couple of years, but now suddenly I realize I'm in "middle age" (damn!) and I clearly have enough of this corporate BS, especially after getting my brain washed (in a positive way) by MJ. You may ask, how could I let this happen over so many years? How could I be so blind? And you're right, I was sleepwalking through life and through my "career". After some soul-searching only recently I realized I had always tried avoiding the dreaded Rat Race. That's why I never did any job hopping after I got my inhouse job. I thought having a cushy corporate job with what they call "good work-life balance" would save me from the Rat Race, but it didn't. The only difference is I'm in a SLOW rat race that gets worse the older I get, rather than a fast one that makes you burn out sooner rather than later and that probably ruins your health and relationships along the way.
Two months ago (after taking my bloody "annual leave", a one week vacation with my family) it dawned on me that I just can't go on the same way I did in those past 13+ years. The thought of continuing for the same ride in the next 5-10 years simply scares the shit out of me. I decided I need to CHANGE, and change NOW. I've had similar phases, but at a lower intensity, already several years back. For that reason, in 2011 I started an e-commerce biz with my wife, importing stuff from overseas and selling it online locally. It lasted only a couple of years, but generally failed miserably for various reasons which are very clear to me now after having read TMFL. Nonetheless, it was a good experience in hindsight because of the many lessons learned (such as to NEVER hand control over your biz to an e-commerce platform that only has its own interest at heart, admittedly a no-brainer now).
But now I've decided to do a 180 degree turnaround mentally first. I can feel I'm already a different person now since my mindset is changing from the ground up and influencing my actions. I've become more active, seeking out people who are like-minded, starting networking and doing everything to immerse myself in the entrepreneurial mindset by attending meetups and of course joining this forum. All these things are moving me a little bit out of my comfort zone one at a time.
If you asked me what concrete plans (for a business) I have, I'll have to admit I don't know yet. Ideally I wish I could come up with some kind of widget that solves a problem that millions of people have. Helping other people solve their problems (mind you, in a Fastlane manner, not Slowlane, I've done enough of that) and making money from it is always a strong motivator for me. I hope to get inspired by this forum and maybe one day soon can even inspire other newbies like me here.
Ok, if you've read this far, I truly appreciate it. I swear it's not my intention to write a book...
well, see you around, my friends!
Overdrive
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