Am I a Fastlane failure to want to go back and finish school?

[PizzaOnTheRoof]

Being Unscripted is knowing when it's time to go for it and start a business, but I also think it's knowing when it's not the right time too.

A couple years ago I was going to school for Mechanical Engineering and ended up flunking out due to a lack of motivation, discipline, and the fact that my parents were paying my way. I got sucked into the #HUSTLE entrepreneurship craze, dreaming of owning my own business, working on the beach, yet action faking the whole way.

I feel like I'm not ready yet, financially and emotionally, to start a successful business. I haven't developed the confidence and discipline to make it work.

2.5 years down the drain. Since I dropped out I've been working shitty jobs and grinding away towards nothing.

A recent conversation with a family member (who just graduated in Petroleum and landed a great job with great pay) has sparked the idea that maybe I should go back to school. I feel that since experiencing the other side (working shit jobs for shit pay), I have matured more and developed an actual work ethic.

I need something. Some kind of win. To prove to myself that I'm not a failure, quitter, can do the hard things, and finish what I start.

Maybe business isn't the right path for me at this moment and that's ok.

Maybe I need to climb the mountain that I quit at base camp years ago.

 

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[Captain Hoodie]

I feel you man.

I dropped out of civil eng tech program about 2 yrs ago too and it's been dead end jobs ever since. I also don't have much to show for my side hustles.

Unlike you though I dont think I'd ever go back to school or atleast not that field of study again. It was rough and I was definitely lacking some prerequisites (chem & statics kicked my a$$)

Seems like there are a few threads here that pop up once in awhile of people who can't wait to drop out of school or are looking for some sort of permission. I think post secondary education while sometimes divisive here can definitely be a great stepping stone to a side hustle or fastlane and it's why I often consider going back.

 

[Kevin88660]

Being Unscripted is knowing when it's time to go for it and start a business, but I also think it's knowing when it's not the right time too.

A couple years ago I was going to school for Mechanical Engineering and ended up flunking out due to a lack of motivation, discipline, and the fact that my parents were paying my way. I got sucked into the #HUSTLE entrepreneurship craze, dreaming of owning my own business, working on the beach, yet action faking the whole way.

I feel like I'm not ready yet, financially and emotionally, to start a successful business. I haven't developed the confidence and discipline to make it work.

2.5 years down the drain. Since I dropped out I've been working shitty jobs and grinding away towards nothing.

A recent conversation with a family member (who just graduated in Petroleum and landed a great job with great pay) has sparked the idea that maybe I should go back to school. I feel that since experiencing the other side (working shit jobs for shit pay), I have matured more and developed an actual work ethic.

I need something. Some kind of win. To prove to myself that I'm not a failure, quitter, can do the hard things, and finish what I start.

Maybe business isn't the right path for me at this moment and that's ok.

Maybe I need to climb the mountain that I quit at base camp years ago.

Based on what you have described, going back to school is a better option.

When I read biographies of successful business people there are usually two paths-the smooth path versus the painful path.

When I say smooth I mean it mentally from a risk taking perspective. Business and problem solving will be fraught with challenges for sure.

Imagine a CS graduate starting to work for google with rich stock option. By the late 30s he had enough money that he could retire he choose to raise money to start his own business, as he is very familiar with the start-up scene and savy with interacting with VC. Even if he fails there is nothing to lose. Five years later he can come back to work for a corporate job.

The scenario above probably do not apply for 95 percent of business people who made it.

Most actually went through a painful path that things had to become much worse before it gets much better.

I was reading about a bitcoin multi-millionaires who made it through ico and mining. Before he made it in 2017 rally, he was still paying down debts and finished paying the debt in 2016 for his mistake in 2013. He borrowed high interest loans to buy btc at 1000 the cyclical peak before seeing it crashing to low 3 digits.

Reaping high rewards requires balls of steel, and part of the price to pay is to been seen as a failure until you made it. If you care about how the society and people around you judges you, then going back to school is a better option. They look at the result and nothing else. Going back to school and seek incremental achievement, you can always strike back again.

 

[Ernman]

You're never a failure until you give up. So what you must understand is are you giving up on the Fastlane or exploring a different route. Only you can answer that question.

There's nothing wrong with going to college to gain the knowledge you seek, especially if you're lacking the discipline to learn it on your own. I would urge you to seek a degree in something useful such as computer science, engineering, chemistry, business, etc. But recognize the degree alone is not what matters. It's what you do with that knowledge.

If what you're seeking is discipline and confidence, the military is another option. Not only will you gain both, but there are processes in the military that do a very good job of identifying one's innate talents and skills. They don't always get it right, but on the whole do a good job of directing recruits into specialties where they can flourish. Many successful people got their start from what they learned in uniform.

Nobody said this was going to be easy...well at least not anybody that really understands the challenges...and no two paths are the same. Whatever route you chose, never lose sight of the destination. Odds are, there's more than a few more detours ahead.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

No, but to be cliche, it's the journey not the destination.

Unscription starts as a headspace and should manifest into action. If that headspace is still there, then I wouldn't say failure, but a work in progress.

2.5 years down the drain.

And you learned nothing? Doesn't sound right.

Leads me to believe it was more action-faking than a disciplined approach full of new info, learning, etc. But that isn't news since you openly confessed to action-faking.

I need something. Some kind of win.

Did you try the value challenge as I described in Unscripted ? Those are designed for small wins.

 

[PizzaOnTheRoof]

You're never a failure until you give up. So what you must understand is are you giving up on the Fastlane or exploring a different route. Only you can answer that question.

There's nothing wrong with going to college to gain the knowledge you seek, especially if you're lacking the discipline to learn it on your own. I would urge you to seek a degree in something useful such as computer science, engineering, chemistry, business, etc. But recognize the degree alone is not what matters. It's what you do with that knowledge.

If what you're seeking is discipline and confidence, the military is another option. Not only will you gain both, but there are processes in the military that do a very good job of identifying one's innate talents and skills. They don't always get it right, but on the whole do a good job of directing recruits into specialties where they can flourish. Many successful people got their start from what they learned in uniform.

Nobody said this was going to be easy...well at least not anybody that really understands the challenges...and no two paths are the same. Whatever route you chose, never lose sight of the destination. Odds are, there's more than a few more detours ahead.

Military might have been an option when I was fresh out of high school, but I couldn't do that to my fiancé. Thank you for the kind words and advice!

No, but to be cliche, it's the journey not the destination.

Unscription starts as a headspace and should manifest into action. If that headspace is still there, then I wouldn't say failure, but a work in progress.



And you learned nothing? Doesn't sound right.

Leads me to believe it was more action-faking than a disciplined approach full of new info, learning, etc. But that isn't news since you openly confessed to action-faking.



Did you try the value challenge as I described in Unscripted ? Those are designed for small wins.

I did learn something. I learned that I am not ready to own a business right now, as least one that's not mediocre. I do run an Etsy store though netting a couple hundred a month (and growing) to scratch the entrepreneurial itch for now lol.

It's hard trying to start something with no experience and little income. I liken it to running away from something rather than to something. I would tell myself that I was "starting a business" because I wanted freedom, but in reality I just wanted to escape my shitty job and impress people.

Honestly at that time if someone offered me an office job making a median salary I would've taken it in a heartbeat.

I think I'll find that through my engineering "career" I will find new opportunities and successes other than owning some hustle porn FBA business or marketing agency. Maybe it'll lead to bigger success than I ever imagined and I just need to wait my turn and put in the work to earn it.

Thank you guys!

 

[Happyheart]

You can absolutely go back to school and mechanical engineering is probably a good bet. But besides learning new skills, do not forget to get to know smart and ambitious people. With the right mindset, you will come up with great business ideas and you can always start a technical start-up and hire your friends.

 

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