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2019 Fastlane Summit - Announcement

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Connor

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While I had not planned on attending in 2019 due to some prior commitments, I am saddened to hear that this event won't be happening. Definitely understand the reasoning though- hope this thread helps kick enough people in the pants to increase engagement and make a 2020 Fastlane Summit a must (with my attending that as well!).
 
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MJ DeMarco

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I attended the summit in 2016, and again in 2018. Made some great friends. Went to Africa with some of the people I met on the forum, and again to LA with them. I still text many members on a regular basis and keep up with what is happening with them. In short, the event has led to a cascade of events that has forever changed my life, and by extension will also change the lives of my family.

The forum was a great eye opener for me, and going to the summit really solidified for me that this lifestyle can be real, and you can bring others into it with you.

And that is freaking incredible. I've heard many similar stories!

What do you think this place will be or look like in 10 years from today?

Dunno, you'd have to ask the new owner. (I seriously think I'd be off doing other things in 10 years).
 

LightHouse

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Dunno, you'd have to ask the new owner. (I seriously think I'd be off doing other things in 10 years).

Really? That's interesting to hear and unexpected. How do you separate the forum from the book, which you wrote? Just selling the rights to everything to a publishing house?

As a follow up, Did you think this is where you would be at right now, 10 years ago when you were starting it, post RD forum era?
 

Andy Black

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On the subject of forum software... I did a lot of testing and research and chose Xenforo myself before joining this forum in 2014. I still think it’s the best forum software out there, and I think TFLF is the fastest implementation I’ve used (I’m in a couple of other Xenforo forums and this is by far the busiest yet still the fastest - so we’ll done MJ).


I can’t stand the nested comments that Reddit and Facebook has. It’s like a rabbit-warren of content I have no desire to consume.

Slack and Discord are “message” style platforms. They are great for small communities chatting. I see them as being like lots of little water coolers.

Forum software allows and encourages longer and more considered responses. I see them as allowing people to take the podium one after another.

Reddit and Facebook groups seem to be a mix between the pure messaging platforms, and forums. I feel they lean more towards messaging because it’s much harder to find content you might have posted a while ago than in TFLF for instance.


Following people you respect the opinion of and just checking your news feed works great for me. I don’t see much of the noise people seem to be complaining about, so I haven’t seen a change recently.

I combat lots of poor quality posts by trying to lead by example and post what I’d like to see. (Be the change you want to see right?)

I also prefer to respond to the good stuff I see rather than respond to crap. (Parents will know to “catch them when they’re good”.). That’s a hint btw. Aka “don’t feed the trolls”.
 
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Fox

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I messed up on this one. I should have committed 100% but thought no one would want to hear about some simple web design stuff.

If this comes up again I will be on it right away.

Also, I will try to kick off some new threads here on things I am working on. This forum gave me so much and it is a shame if numbers are dropping back.

Hope we have a 2020 meet up. Gives me a little more time to get over public speaking ha!

Thanks for all you do @MJ DeMarco
 

Dunkafelics

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It is unfortunate to hear that there will not be a Fastlane Summit in 2019.

As I mentioned to you at the Summit MJ, reading Unscripted was a defining moment in my life and helped shift a lot of gears in the direction that I was going.

Following that up, by attending the Summit in 2018 was a big milestone in paving the direction that I am headed.

That event has helped me build connections with some great individuals and have brothers in arms so to speak on this journey as we continue ahead.

GOING FORWARD

With 100% honesty, I've found it a bit of a struggle to stay engaged on the forum over the last six months.

With those connections I've made at the Summit, I tend to focus on providing support and communicate on a more regular basis with those individuals I've met in person and have an element of TRUST with.

A lot of the content I've seen as of late has been knocking content producers and has been focused on all the scammers, rather than focusing on business development and forward progression.

That has been frustrating to see.

It is my belief that those types of discussion are typically a waste of our time and energy.

Often times I end up reviewing the headlines on the main topic page and then leaving for that session.

When topics come up that I can contribute on, I do my best to provide useful information and do offer to have a discussion with forum members if needed.

FASTLANE SUMMIT

Having said all that, I did put my name in the hat to speak at the 2019 Fastlane Summit and will continue to do so in the future.

It was a bit of a jump and nerve-wracking to do so, but hey better time than never right?

It is important that no matter what stage we are all at in this journey, that we start to recognize we all have our areas where we can contribute to others in this community.

This is but a blip in the road, but let's put our collective minds together and find solutions to make this community flourish even more.
 

amp0193

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I have never been on reddit or any of the other sites that people are mentioning, but sounds like they might be on to something with people able to down-vote the sh*t that just takes up space.

Or at the very least, the ability for me to self-filter and "hide a thread" from the feed forever, with one click.

How many times do I enter a thread, and realize "damnit, this was that stupid thread from 2 weeks ago, and here I am again".
 
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csalvato

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So many thoughts going through my head right now, but way too much going on in my life to communicate all of them.

For those who don't know, I gave two talks last year, but haven't posted much since.

And seeing this thread, I actually feel an overwhelming urge to not post, and not contribute, rather than to make a post. While examining my feelings before pushing "POST REPLY" right now, I am feeling anxiety.

^^ These are simply observations of my own behavior and feelings. Nothing more, nothing less.

In reading this thread, I can't help but feel like I am/we are being shamed about not posting regularly. Based on other's comments, I think they feel the same.

I don't know the right way forward to get this community to a point where it's very engaging, but I don't think shame is the way to get the engagement going again.
 

million$$$smile

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I was also somewhat surprised at the lack of response for speakers
I really felt that there would be a few newer faces that would care to speak.

So why not?
And why to those of us who have attended the last Summit not shared a progress thread or even posted as often? Why?

I think there are a number of reasons.
I do believe this Forum is unequably a unique site, but it has changed, and I think a part of it is due to it's own success.

As users gain success and grow, they invariably become busier. It just stands to reason. If you are in the trenches and gaining momentum on a business endeavor, many times you're either too busy or too beat to post a progress thread or even respond. Believe it or not, some of us are still building and designing our dream.

Another reason I feel is because you can only share so much information with others in a public or even semi-private forum. I know that personally. Anyone that has garnered any semblance of success has got to be careful in how much they post of what they are doing. It is far easier to post AFTER the win than when one is still playing the game. We become more reticent in our how to's when we are designing the next 'unicorn' business.

I agree that there is more 'noise' on the forum. (especially the ad loading, that's way overkill lately, IMHO) But I still stop by nearly every day and 'scan the headlines'

Much of what I see most recently reminds me of a classroom of new students ready to learn and waiting on the teacher to teach. The problem is, the teacher has just become a professor of higher learning and preparing for that. Maybe he got tired of answering all of the newbie questions, or perhaps decided to limit his responses to that young grasshopper that he really felt would get it, I dunno, but time being the most precious commodity, I'm sure he has to weigh that according to the value imparted.

I too think this forum might have to evolve a bit to not become stagnant. I am not sure how, but perhaps some form of media?

This is still the greatest site online for aspiring entrepreneurs, and those wanting to break loose of the financial scripted status quo.

I would have loved to have attended the Summit this year. but I wholeheartedly agree and understand the why of not having it. I think there is a place for endorsed 'regional meetups' but understand why it wouldn't happen. Why build another business when one need only write another bestseller?

This Forum, the books, and the members I have met have changed and made me a better person, businessman, and given me value that I have found unequaled elsewhere.

On that context, when I have value to post and feel I can, I will.

Business creates 'busyness'. The more success, the less time to express

R
 
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amp0193

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I don't know the right way forward to get this community to a point where it's very engaging, but I don't think shame is the way to get the engagement going again.

This reminds me of this community orchestra I played in.

The board of directors thought it was our (the musicians) job to sell tickets. We thought it was their job.

They resorted to shaming and guilting us... "everyone has to sell 5 tickets". It never worked. My reaction was to try and sell less tickets actually. We played to pathetic crowds. I quit because I got sick of playing to empty seats.

Interesting observation @csalvato
 

amp0193

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I would suggest allowing non-sanctioned events to be promoted to further engage the community in a very personal way as well as doing 1-3 sanctioned events per year.

I love this, thanks for throwing out the idea @GlobalWealth

I don't remember, did C&B fizzle out on it's own, or was it a decision from the top?

Still regret not going to one.
 

theresgot2bemore

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Wow! Did not know that and hopefully things get better by 2020.

I post on here in my own thread to keep myself accountable as I embark on cashing out and joining the Fastlane for good. Every now and then I do chime in to contribute on some topics within reason.

Hopefully the annual meetups continue because the change in mental attitude from the books definitely have made all the difference. I can only imagine as to how the summit must be.

Its one thing to have one foot inside that Fastlane world when you are younger and knowing how awesome it can be. Its quite another when you know what life can be as a Fastlaner and do not have an idea as to how to make that reality yours. That is the reason why I am surprised at the under-appreciation.
 
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biophase

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I wasn't sure if I was going to respond to this thread as I'm one of the people that didn't reply on the speaker's thread. Personally, I just didn't know if I wanted to present again.

But with that said, I disagree with MJ about the summit and its cancellation on many points, except the part where if you don't want to do it, you shouldn't do it. If it's not something that you look forward to, there's really not a reason to do it. Why put yourself through all that work and stress only to not enjoy the finished product.

So here is where we will disagree. For one, the financial commitment being a huge risk. This event for the past 5+ years has always sold out. At some point you have to look at past data and make a calculated decision. I think we can reasonably say that the event will sell at least 100 tickets.

As someone who has run this event pre-fastlane, I've put up my own money many times and understood the risk. But here is where MJ and I differ. Even if I lost a few thousand dollars, the event was still worth it for me. This is why I had my entrepreneurial vacation company that did trips like safaris, which always ending up losing me money. But I didn't care, because I value the experience and time spent with others over money.

On the issue of people not active on the forum buying tickets... this is tricky, on one hand if they make up 20-30 tickets, would those spots be bought up by other active forum members? Or is it the core group of non-active members propping up the ticket sales? People come to events to meet people and to reconnect with people they met in the past years.

Let's say John Snow is on the forum alot in 2015 and is excited and goes to Summit 2016. He meets a ton of people, makes 10 close friends and then doesn't come back to the forum. In 2017 he wants to go to the event to see friends and come back to the awesome event. Do you say no to him? To me, it makes no sense.

This in my opinion is why you only had 29 replies on this thread... First, it's ironic that the only people reading the thread are the ones that visit the forum often. So it sounded like, "You guys reading this are contributing but it's just not enough. These other people buying up tickets aren't posting, so no cake for everyone." The first day I read it, I was like ok fine maybe I won't post as much then. After Chris S. made his comment, I knew I wasn't the only one to have that reaction. It makes it feel like we need to earn the event, and it doesn't sit well with me.

If you look at other annual entrepreneurial events that many people repeatedly go to year after year, there are no prerequisites that one must participate somewhere to be eligible to attend. I don't feel that forum participation should be a prerequisite, but this is MJ's forum and event so he can certainly dictate that.

And lastly, I understand that you f*cking hate Facebook and Suckerburg, but unfortunately that's where people are connecting. Yes, your 150k liked page has no reach now, but there are still people on there. There are people in old fastlane FB groups. It's your personal decision to not interact on there, but if that's where people are, you can't try to pull them back to something they don't naturally go to. This is a losing battle.

You state, "While I don’t deny that the incredible energy, camaraderie, and singularity of purpose of the event is awesomely breath-taking, it appears that this “energy” doesn’t stay on the forum, but goes elsewhere into personal networks, Facebook groups, Discord, etc."

Does it really matter that the camaraderie stays on the forum? Shouldn't it be satisfying enough to know that the event has changed lives and made lifelong friends. Does it matter where these friends are now communicating?

You state "The forum... ...still retains its fundamental purpose which is derived from my purpose to inspire people to live their best through business ownership."

Guess what, the event does the exact same thing, once a year.
 

SethLBender

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Bummer... gives everyone incentive to contribute and hopefully there can be another event down the road.
 
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lowtek

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I pondered tossing my hat into the ring, but after seeing so many great success stories last year I didn't think I could share anything on par.

Is there any way we can talk you down from the ledge? Is there any way to do something 20% smaller in a different venue?
 

Suzanne Bazemore

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I wasn’t sure how to address this but decided transparency and honesty would be the best approach.

With that said, it is with great disappointment (and some frustration) that I must officially announce that the upcoming 2019 Fastlane Summit has been canceled.

Yes, canceled.

I realize this will upset many (as it upsets me that I have to do it considering last year's event ROCKED) but here is the reality as see it.

As you may know, the event was also canceled in 2017 due to some health challenges I was having. However this year’s cancellation has nothing to do with my health, but due to a combination of reasons, all of which paint a bigger picture.

First, in THIS THREAD, I made a preliminary call out (probe) for potential speakers. In the past, the event has always featured forum regulars who were gracious enough to offer their time and expertise. Having a nice pool of speakers to choose from was never a problem. For those who responded in that thread to speak, I thank you for your generosity in offering your wisdom.

In this thread, a total of 16 people offered to potentially speak (as of last Friday, several volunteered others to speak but that does not count.) Now when someone offers to speak, usually you can count on slightly LESS THAN HALF to actually do so -- this is because of a person’s schedule, their financial situation (flights, hotels, etc.) and various other reasons. This means as of now using this conservative formula, 7-8 people would speak.

Last year, 16 speakers spoke.

I figured this number would change when the weekly forum mass email headlined this announcement. To my shock, it didn’t. This means in order for me to get to 16, I would need to go “off forum” and seek (plead / instigate / compel) speakers who aren’t regular forum visitors or contributors.

Second, holding this event is a HUGE financial risk for my company because it has always been an event that was NOT designed for PROFIT, but for COMMUNITY.

Ticket prices have been purposely kept low for this reason. Additionally, when you compare this event to other similar events, the average price is usually more than triple -- and those events don’t even bother to feed you. Additionally, the hotel makes me sign a guarantee for rooms and food -- and if they don’t sell -- I’m on the hook for 100+ nights plus the guarantee. This amount is nearly $50,000 that I have to sign my name to. This risk increases as the local attendance increases (they don’t book rooms).

While last year's event came out marginally in the green, it was a type of “bet” that I would NEVER make in the financial markets, in business, or otherwise. But I find myself doing it here. In order for me to accept the risk, the ticket prices would need to skyrocket, or significant services (food) would need to be cut.

Third, if the event isn’t beneficial financially or from a risk standpoint, surely it must be good for the community right? I mean, that’s the main reason I was doing it right?!

Unfortunately history (in recent years since the FB era) shows that the direct forum benefit for the event has been marginal and not sustainable -- limited to about 60 days, about 45 days during and after the event, and maybe 15 days around ticket sales. And then things return to a baseline whereas many attendees stop contributing, or worse, stop visiting, only to return next November when the Summit discussion returns.

To verify this, I actually looked at the user attendance history of the last 2 years of meetings and was woefully shocked to discover that a majority of attendees do not contribute content to the forum. And by content, I mean a periodic post every few weeks, not something daily.

While I don’t deny that the incredible energy, camaraderie, and singularity of purpose of the event is awesomely breath-taking, it appears that this “energy” doesn’t stay on the forum, but goes elsewhere into personal networks, Facebook groups, Discord, etc. It’s disheartening for me to see the FB group that represents this event is actually more engaged than forum it represents. In the past, I even created a separate forum for attendees to gab and post in order to sustain the energy, but the result was the same.

While user registrations are higher as are active users at the forum, deep communal engagement is not at a level where I feel comfortable holding this event. This may also explains why the response to speak was somewhat lackluster.

Fourth, I have a lot of irons in the fire, from writing 2 more books (Unscripted Book 2 and 3) to other business dealings, to starting the process on building a custom home in Sedona. And lets not forget, being an active, daily contributor to this forum to help other people live the dream that is made possible through Unscripted Entrepreneurship.

All of these concerns become more evident when I recently read Essentialism, a book which is a treatise into learning how to say NO! to things that aren’t benefiting your personal mission and the things most important to you.

As many know, I have zero interest in being a guru, public speaking, or having seminars. While I appreciate meeting readers face to face, socializing with cigars and liquor, and hearing accolades and kudos about my writing, as an introvert and someone who enjoys deep solitude, the event is very stressful for me.

Reading Essentialism forced me to face the truth in the matter -- I don’t do this event for me -- I do it for the community -- additionally, it is extremely nerve-wracking, it is not a profit maker (giving me a decent return on my time to compensate for stress/risk) and most important, it doesn’t appear to be helping the community long-term.

At last year’s event I thought things would change when Chris W (Lighthouse) made a plea to all attendees to start a progress thread and update as the weeks and months went by. I also tried to reiterate the importance of the forum as it related to the event.

To be specific, the EVENT exists because of the FORUM, the FORUM does NOT exist because of the EVENT.

Think about that dichotomy.

The event happens because of the forum and it’s standing as a community, not the reverse.

So this year’s event, I’m sorry to say, will not happen.

However, is this the END of the event?

No more parties at Talking Stick Resort?

I hope that isn’t the case.

I hope this is a ONE year kink in the road and next year, I will look at the forum and its engagement and say, “We NEED to have an event!“ Again, my main priority for this event since leading its charge was foremost COMMUNITY -- that headlines over profit, stress, and risk. Next year it would be nice to look at the forum and say, “Damn, I WANT to do this, and we NEED to do this!” I would welcome to be forced into a re-evaluation.

Ultimately I would love to blow it out and have 200, or even 300 people. I don’t think hitting those numbers would be a problem but this kind of ambition (much less 120 like last year) has to ORIGINATE and be grass-rooted at the forum, not elsewhere.

So if the forum and its message (and the event) is important to you, I would hope that you continue to make the forum a small piece of your life.

If this is your first time back in months and you’re reading this, I will just say thank you for visiting and hope you understand the decision.

Over ten years ago I started this forum to foster a message of freedom through entrepreneurship. The forum has gone through a variety of peaks and valleys, but still retains its fundamental purpose which is derived from my purpose to inspire people to live their best through business ownership.

If you believe in that message, I will kindly request what I request every year… visit the forum and contribute! Say hello. Tell us what you’re doing. Tell us what you learned, what you’ve failed, and what you’ve succeeded.

And to everyone who has done so and continues to do so, I thank you from the bottom of my heart …. thank you so much for sharing your journey.
@MJ DeMarco, I appreciate this forum and the time you take to read threads and post replies. The threads in this forum help me have more confidence to try something myself, so thanks also to the people who share their journeys. I will do the same when I do something post-worthy.
Your description of Essentialism reminds me of a coffee cup my daughter gave me - it says Stop me before I volunteer again.
 
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I have to say I find this forum far easier to read and post to using my mobile. The vast majority of my posts are via mobile.

Ironically, I'm posting this from my laptop. But 95% of my time on the forum is done from my phone. I find it much easier to read and navigate on my phone. The only advantage to using the desktop version is when I post long posts on my threads (formatting is easier) or need to multi-quote something.

Much of what I see most recently reminds me of a classroom of new students ready to learn and waiting on the teacher to teach. The problem is, the teacher has just become a professor of higher learning and preparing for that. Maybe he got tired of answering all of the newbie questions, or perhaps decided to limit his responses to that young grasshopper that he really felt would get it, I dunno, but time being the most precious commodity, I'm sure he has to weigh that according to the value imparted.

I feel like I've fallen into this category unfortunately. There are only so many times you can tell a newbie why value added entrepreneurship is better than money chasing before you get tired of it. Especially when the majority of those first time posters never come back to their thread or learn from it.

Like I've said before, I update my progress thread and two of my outside threads on wholesaling and the food industry, but beyond that, I find myself too busy working a full time day job, running my business, and being the main domestic chore doer in my house to post on the forum that often anymore.

The reason I got legendary status is because I posted a hell of a lot while I was bored, before this business started or while waiting on R&D during the beginning of this business.

So here is where we will disagree. For one, the financial commitment being a huge risk. This event for the past 5+ years has always sold out. At some point you have to look at past data and make a calculated decision. I think we can reasonably say that the event will sell at least 100 tickets.

@biophase I completely agree with this statement. I understand MJ's hesitation, but I just didn't agree with it. This past year, tickets sold out within hours, and there were threads 10+ pages long begging for tickets. I understand putting your own finances at risk for this event, but judging from historical ticket sales, the risk is negligible.

It makes it feel like we need to earn the event, and it doesn't sit well with me.

This is kind of how I feel too. I didn't know how to put it into words, so I'm glad Bio did. To me this feels like your dad saying "Well son, you didn't work hard enough for this trip to Disney, so apparently you didn't want it bad enough. I'm disappointed in you. Maybe next year..."


Will I find more time to post and contribute on the forum? Sure. Do I feel like I'm one of the forum members MJ was calling out for their absenteeism? No, not really. But, I could do more.

It's just frustrating because I've been told by so many how the Summit is life changing and how their business wouldn't be where it is today without it. Now that I have the means to actually attend this year, I wont get to experience that. So, selfishly, I feel disappointed.
 

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Is it not possible to host an organized webinar style summit for the people who are interested? I know this is not as personal and has security implementations for each of us but it would allow people to connect with ideas.
 

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I was at a meeting this past week, where it was mentioned that everyone had their own ideas for what things should look like, but when it came time to do it, nobody stepped up.

We're on page 4 of this, and what I haven't seen yet is a single person who is advocating the continuance step up and offer to run it. I am not stating that MJ would actually go for that (I don't know... we haven't spoken about it) but I do find it interesting that several are telling him it's the wrong decision, but not offering to be part of the solution.

It ran fine for a few years without MJ, (but the Houston one @Kak did and the stories are epic) and it could again. MJ wanted control of it, but perhaps if someone else stepped up and ran it with his blessing and armchair involvement ya'all could still make it happen. I am not speaking with authority to bless it, but just mindful of the fact that he's decided not to do it.

Here's what we know about MJ. If he doesn't want to do it, he isn't going to do it. His post was articulate and frankly maybe more than he owed anyone, but honesty is therapeutic.

It's a lot of time, a lot of coordination, a lot of money extended (yes with an anticipated ROI but still...) and I would imagine a pain in the a$$. However, with the emotion that welled up, I am just sitting on the sidelines and pointing out that everyone is the first to volunteer someone else.

Maybe there's a third alternative. Ya'all did it for years already. Keep the demise of RDPD (and the origins of the meetup) alive if you want.
 
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Andy Black

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I’ve never been to a summit.

Which elements make it the most lifechanging?

The talks? (I presume it’s not the “knowledge” gained that makes it life changing.)

Talking to people at your table over dinner and drinks?

Just surrounding yourself with like minded folks, at your level, and beyond?

Putting faces to forum names?


The live events I get the most out of have never been conferences where everyone listens to people on stage.

They’ve been workshops where a room of 20 business owners go through something specific and discuss what it means to them and their own business.

I’m curious how much of the essence of the summit would be retained if folks “just” turned up for food, drink, and a few workshop exercises?

How much of a headache is the organising of the talks? Can that be removed completely?

How much of a headache is the organising of the accommodation and food? Can that be removed completely?
 

GlobalWealth

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I wasn't sure if I was going to respond to this thread as I'm one of the people that didn't reply on the speaker's thread. Personally, I just didn't know if I wanted to present again.

But with that said, I disagree with MJ about the summit and its cancellation on many points, except the part where if you don't want to do it, you shouldn't do it. If it's not something that you look forward to, there's really not a reason to do it. Why put yourself through all that work and stress only to not enjoy the finished product.

So here is where we will disagree. For one, the financial commitment being a huge risk. This event for the past 5+ years has always sold out. At some point you have to look at past data and make a calculated decision. I think we can reasonably say that the event will sell at least 100 tickets.

As someone who has run this event pre-fastlane, I've put up my own money many times and understood the risk. But here is where MJ and I differ. Even if I lost a few thousand dollars, the event was still worth it for me. This is why I had my entrepreneurial vacation company that did trips like safaris, which always ending up losing me money. But I didn't care, because I value the experience and time spent with others over money.

On the issue of people not active on the forum buying tickets... this is tricky, on one hand if they make up 20-30 tickets, would those spots be bought up by other active forum members? Or is it the core group of non-active members propping up the ticket sales? People come to events to meet people and to reconnect with people they met in the past years.

Let's say John Snow is on the forum alot in 2015 and is excited and goes to Summit 2016. He meets a ton of people, makes 10 close friends and then doesn't come back to the forum. In 2017 he wants to go to the event to see friends and come back to the awesome event. Do you say no to him? To me, it makes no sense.

This in my opinion is why you only had 29 replies on this thread... First, it's ironic that the only people reading the thread are the ones that visit the forum often. So it sounded like, "You guys reading this are contributing but it's just not enough. These other people buying up tickets aren't posting, so no cake for everyone." The first day I read it, I was like ok fine maybe I won't post as much then. After Chris S. made his comment, I knew I wasn't the only one to have that reaction. It makes it feel like we need to earn the event, and it doesn't sit well with me.

If you look at other annual entrepreneurial events that many people repeatedly go to year after year, there are no prerequisites that one must participate somewhere to be eligible to attend. I don't feel that forum participation should be a prerequisite, but this is MJ's forum and event so he can certainly dictate that.

And lastly, I understand that you f*cking hate Facebook and Suckerburg, but unfortunately that's where people are connecting. Yes, your 150k liked page has no reach now, but there are still people on there. There are people in old fastlane FB groups. It's your personal decision to not interact on there, but if that's where people are, you can't try to pull them back to something they don't naturally go to. This is a losing battle.

You state, "While I don’t deny that the incredible energy, camaraderie, and singularity of purpose of the event is awesomely breath-taking, it appears that this “energy” doesn’t stay on the forum, but goes elsewhere into personal networks, Facebook groups, Discord, etc."

Does it really matter that the camaraderie stays on the forum? Shouldn't it be satisfying enough to know that the event has changed lives and made lifelong friends. Does it matter where these friends are now communicating?

You state "The forum... ...still retains its fundamental purpose which is derived from my purpose to inspire people to live their best through business ownership."

Guess what, the event does the exact same thing, once a year.
Best response yet. @biophase, this is exactly my sentiment as well, you just expressed it much better.

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I just want to point out that @GlobalWealth has given me one veiled compliment and multiple post likes in this thread. Maybe it's the rapture.

Carry on.
 
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GlobalWealth

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I was at a meeting this past week, where it was mentioned that everyone had their own ideas for what things should look like, but when it came time to do it, nobody stepped up.

We're on page 4 of this, and what I haven't seen yet is a single person who is advocating the continuance step up and offer to run it. I am not stating that MJ would actually go for that (I don't know... we haven't spoken about it) but I do find it interesting that several are telling him it's the wrong decision, but not offering to be part of the solution.

It ran fine for a few years without MJ, (but the Houston one @Kak did and the stories are epic) and it could again. MJ wanted control of it, but perhaps if someone else stepped up and ran it with his blessing and armchair involvement ya'all could still make it happen. I am not speaking with authority to bless it, but just mindful of the fact that he's decided not to do it.

Here's what we know about MJ. If he doesn't want to do it, he isn't going to do it. His post was articulate and frankly maybe more than he owed anyone, but honesty is therapeutic.

It's a lot of time, a lot of coordination, a lot of money extended (yes with an anticipated ROI but still...) and I would imagine a pain in the a$$. However, with the emotion that welled up, I am just sitting on the sidelines and pointing out that everyone is the first to volunteer someone else.

Maybe there's a third alternative.
I suggested allowed non sanctioned events.

Said another way, events where MJ allows them to be promoted and discussed but not involved in the hosting.

MJ took over the event a few years ago to protect the brand due to an unscrupulous member running "fast lane" event that turned into a shit show.

It was the right move at the time.

But maybe now is the time to let the community run it again.

I'd be in on managing an event.

@Kung Fu Steve?

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I just want to point out that @GlobalWealth has given me one veiled compliment and multiple post likes in this thread. Maybe it's the rapture.

Carry on.
It hurt me every time. Every. F*cking. Time.

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I suggested allowed non sanctioned events.

Said another way, events where MJ allows them to be promoted and discussed but not involved in the hosting.

MJ took over the event a few years ago to protect the brand due to an unscrupulous member running "fast lane" event that turned into a sh*t show.

It was the right move at the time.

But maybe now is the time to let the community run it again.

I'd be in on managing an event.

@Kung Fu Steve?

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Actually @MJ DeMarco that might make a lot of sense as those two yokels have run many successful conferences before.
 
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Scot

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Frankly, I have neither the means nor the time to spearhead an event. That being said, if someone like @Kung Fu Steve or @GlobalWealth were to take point, I would definitely volunteer to support that effort.
 

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Just so I am clear @Vigilante, I am volunteering the @Kung Fu Steve and I can organize the event.

Him and I hosted conferences together for several years so we are familiar with what it takes.

We have also been to the meet-up for close to a decade every single time so I think we get the format and expectations.

Now it's up to MJ to approve.

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