Life is hard. I wish I knew everything I know now 4 years ago. I live in South Africa, and I just finished my degree (Bachelors in Economics) a few months ago. After applying for endless graduate positions with no replies or unsuccessful applications, I find myself sitting at home. I always had dreams of being a millionaire, and living a good life since high school. Unfortunately when you're young and naive, you believe everything you see and hear.
My journey started with Forex. I had a friend who was trading, who constantly spoke about how much he is killing it making 15k a day (ha!). He had this notion that having a 9-5 is a complete waste of time and is for people who wish to be broke forever. Obviously being 17 at the time, I looked up to him (he was 24, in university, had girls, and came from a rich family). I wanted in, and he said to me that in order to really understand the markets I had to study economics at university, and he promised to teach me how to trade when I finished high school. I worked my a$$ off that year (2016) and got to university in 2017. However when it was time for him to hold his end of the bargain, he started making excuses and said I dont want it enough, and thats why he cant teach me. I was frustrated and didnt know where to start, so I decided to pursue something else; Amazon affiliate marketing.
So I bought this guys course I saw on youtube for 17 dollars. He stated that if done right I would see 2k-6k returns in months. I paid for web-hosting and found a product to sell. It wasnt that difficult for me because I had a part-time retail job that gave me some money to spend and to save. Long story short, the affiliate marketing venture cost me around 200 dollars in total, and after a year of no results, I decided that It wasn't for me. It was during this time that I stumbled across the Millionaire fastlane . I read it and completely forgot about it (lol).
In 2018 I decided to try and master the forex markets again. I saved up 500 dollars and opened my first live account. A cousin of mine, who was also learning Forex but a few years ahead of me gave me a few books to read and a video course which he had to pay 5k for absolutely free. He was so motivated and driven, and was working on his forex dream of turning a 500 dollar account into a 50 000 dollar account in a few years into a reality. He had a few successful trades here and there. So I believed it was possible and contemplated dropping out of university to make this money. In October that year I decided to quit my lousy retail job. The dream was alive baby. Tears in my eyes. I already knew which sports car I was going to buy in 2 years time. I was finally on the road to riches. Or so I thought..
After practicing for a few months, I started trading on my live account. It was a disaster. I would win 1 trade and lose 4 or 5. My account took some serious damage, but I wasnt too concerned. I knew that it would not be easy. So I kept funding my account and practicing. This carried on well into 2019. No matter how much I practiced, this pattern continued. Whatever money I made, I would lose again. I eventually asked my cousin how it was going for him. He was experiencing exactly what I was experiencing! I was shattered. After doing more research on the forex market I learned that top hedge funds are happy with a 25% annual ROI from their investments in the forex markets- And that flipping a 500 dollar account to 50 000 dollars is a fools dream-a scam! I fell into a light depression, and stopped trading. My entrepreneurial spirit was still high but waning. This is when I picked up unscripted and started reading it seriously.
Unscripted was such a breath of fresh air. After all my failures, it was exactly what I needed. It gave me hope without selling me dreams. It told me to reach for the sky, with a tone still grounded in reality. In January 2020 I completed my degree. I was ecstatic because I was tired of being stuck in the university system. The years of hard work finally paid off. I was free. My mom and Dad were so happy for me. My little brothers were super excited about which car I was going to buy first. I started looking for a job. I applied for opening after opening. The only responses I would get were to tell me that my application was unsuccessful. Days turned into weeks, which turned into months. My short term relief turned into hopelessness. Yet another kick in the face.
So here I am today. Unemployed, broke, unhappy. I now realize that entrepreneurship is my only hope. I still have big dreams but Im scared. Where do I start? I know that I need to sell something of value, but where do I start? How do I create my own cents business and really start living? I cant live like this forever. I wish I had the answers, and my hope is that I find these answers and more on this forum. It seems like it is my only option now.
My journey started with Forex. I had a friend who was trading, who constantly spoke about how much he is killing it making 15k a day (ha!). He had this notion that having a 9-5 is a complete waste of time and is for people who wish to be broke forever. Obviously being 17 at the time, I looked up to him (he was 24, in university, had girls, and came from a rich family). I wanted in, and he said to me that in order to really understand the markets I had to study economics at university, and he promised to teach me how to trade when I finished high school. I worked my a$$ off that year (2016) and got to university in 2017. However when it was time for him to hold his end of the bargain, he started making excuses and said I dont want it enough, and thats why he cant teach me. I was frustrated and didnt know where to start, so I decided to pursue something else; Amazon affiliate marketing.
So I bought this guys course I saw on youtube for 17 dollars. He stated that if done right I would see 2k-6k returns in months. I paid for web-hosting and found a product to sell. It wasnt that difficult for me because I had a part-time retail job that gave me some money to spend and to save. Long story short, the affiliate marketing venture cost me around 200 dollars in total, and after a year of no results, I decided that It wasn't for me. It was during this time that I stumbled across the Millionaire fastlane . I read it and completely forgot about it (lol).
In 2018 I decided to try and master the forex markets again. I saved up 500 dollars and opened my first live account. A cousin of mine, who was also learning Forex but a few years ahead of me gave me a few books to read and a video course which he had to pay 5k for absolutely free. He was so motivated and driven, and was working on his forex dream of turning a 500 dollar account into a 50 000 dollar account in a few years into a reality. He had a few successful trades here and there. So I believed it was possible and contemplated dropping out of university to make this money. In October that year I decided to quit my lousy retail job. The dream was alive baby. Tears in my eyes. I already knew which sports car I was going to buy in 2 years time. I was finally on the road to riches. Or so I thought..
After practicing for a few months, I started trading on my live account. It was a disaster. I would win 1 trade and lose 4 or 5. My account took some serious damage, but I wasnt too concerned. I knew that it would not be easy. So I kept funding my account and practicing. This carried on well into 2019. No matter how much I practiced, this pattern continued. Whatever money I made, I would lose again. I eventually asked my cousin how it was going for him. He was experiencing exactly what I was experiencing! I was shattered. After doing more research on the forex market I learned that top hedge funds are happy with a 25% annual ROI from their investments in the forex markets- And that flipping a 500 dollar account to 50 000 dollars is a fools dream-a scam! I fell into a light depression, and stopped trading. My entrepreneurial spirit was still high but waning. This is when I picked up unscripted and started reading it seriously.
Unscripted was such a breath of fresh air. After all my failures, it was exactly what I needed. It gave me hope without selling me dreams. It told me to reach for the sky, with a tone still grounded in reality. In January 2020 I completed my degree. I was ecstatic because I was tired of being stuck in the university system. The years of hard work finally paid off. I was free. My mom and Dad were so happy for me. My little brothers were super excited about which car I was going to buy first. I started looking for a job. I applied for opening after opening. The only responses I would get were to tell me that my application was unsuccessful. Days turned into weeks, which turned into months. My short term relief turned into hopelessness. Yet another kick in the face.
So here I am today. Unemployed, broke, unhappy. I now realize that entrepreneurship is my only hope. I still have big dreams but Im scared. Where do I start? I know that I need to sell something of value, but where do I start? How do I create my own cents business and really start living? I cant live like this forever. I wish I had the answers, and my hope is that I find these answers and more on this forum. It seems like it is my only option now.
Dislike ads? Become a Fastlane member:
Subscribe today and surround yourself with winners and millionaire mentors, not those broke friends who only want to drink beer and play video games. :-)
Access Restricted: Unlock 1,000,000+ Posts
Stop Peeking Through the Keyhole.
Open the Door.
You hit a wall because the best advice isn't free—it's earned. Since 2007, MJ DeMarco has been active here daily (99.9% active rate), building a war room for entrepreneurs who refuse to settle for mediocrity.
- Active Daily: Life-changing content posted dozens of times every day. No dead threads.
- MJ's Inner Circle: Direct access to the author of The Millionaire Fastlane.
- Vetted Network: Connect with founders scaling to 7 and 8 figures.
- Proven Roadmaps: Strategy over motivation. Execution over "hustle porn."
"SCALED TO 6-FIGURE MONTHS"
"Tips and advice here saved me from huge mistakes, others allowed me to scale my business to 6-figure months."— User MitchC
"INSANE QUALITY OF PEOPLE"
"The number of high quality people I've met from this forum has been insane. All of it predicated on building real value."— User Richard Peck
"You are the average of the five people you surround yourself with."
Are you surrounding yourself with success?
