Good evening from what is currently at the time of writing a very warm United Kingdom, where temperatures here have been not far off what you'd expect in Dubai or Phoenix!
My name is Alex, aged 26. I've finally taken the plunge from longtime lurker to Fastlane Forum member. Many thanks to @Andy Black for providing the impetus to 'get involved' and for @MJ DeMarco for TMF , Unscripted , The Great Rat Race Escape and the Fastlane Forum.
This is a long post so please bear that in mind. It might even best be reserved for an autobiography but we’ll see how it goes.
The Beginning
On the topic of lurking, (which is the main point of my introduction) let's go back 8 years to 2014, when I was 18 and had just finished school. At this time I was looking around with what to do in my life and what paths would lead to the biggest income opportunities (who isn’t when they’re 18?). It was through this that I discovered that the ‘successful business person’ was the common denominator in being wealthy enough to buy mansions, fast cars, etc. which at 18 was a major motivator for me. However, I couldn’t put my finger on why most wealthy people were business owners. After all, my main reference point was the farm which I grew up on; my Dad was a farmer, worked very hard and had little to show for it. Why isn’t he wealthy despite being a business owner? (See the end for the answer).
This was when I first came across The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ, where my final puzzle piece was found. The mathematical leverages of the Fastlane, the mathematical limitations of the Slowlane and the mathematical limitations of the family farm were all answered. From this I became convinced of the concepts MJ espoused and that such a life of financial freedom, mansions and Ferraris was naturally my future. This seemed daunting (and still does) as at the time I hadn’t worked off the farm, wasn’t fully socially developed (as in unable to answer a phone), but nonetheless I had a passion to succeed.
However, instead of taking concrete action towards a next step, I’ve since lulled with no entrepreneurial action. The passion was there, which gave me motivation to do my first jobs beyond working at the family farm in 2015; working on the factory line for a toiletries company, unpacking lorries, working in a food waste disposal facility (not fun smelling of shit every time you come home from work) and working for a local pallet manufacturing company. I was praised by my boss at the pallet company as being disciplined and focused, with the drive for this coming from a Fastlane desire.
University
From 2015-2018, I went to University to study Geology. In reflection, University was in many ways a delay in growing up, with me able to be cloistered away from the pressures of the real world. This meant indulging on my introvert ‘hobby’, which was following politics. I think on reflection this was an understandable thing to fall into, with Brexit, Donald Trump and the rise of Social Media all culminating at the same time. In short, I didn’t make the most of it. While there were some positives of it in terms of personal life, making new friends, meeting my Girlfriend, living away from my parents, etc. on reflection I think I was too immature for University. I was too lazy, didn’t put the work in and my degree reflected this.
Post-Graduation
Following graduation, I’ve had two jobs; back at the pallet company mentioned earlier and my current job working as an estimator / trainee drafter for an industrial door company. However, I was beginning to notice something; The SCRIPT. I was familiar with it following MJ’s book Unscripted but I guess here is a classic case of you can’t be warned the fire is hot, you’ve got to get burnt to understand. The pressures of the SCRIPT were becoming apparent now fully entering into the working world; career prospects, mortgage, working life, hobbies, interests, outlook, mindset, entertainment, politics fully entered into my life. It was also becoming clear that a lot of these were prescriptive commands; you will have a professional job, you will follow football, you will follow Brexit developments, etc. with deviation being outside the paradigm. The most tragic thing I came across was a fork truck driver colleague who was around 10-15 years older than me. He talked about reading self help books (Ferriss, Steve Jobs) but AFAIK without being too judgmental hadn’t implemented it. Whatever you may think when those names come to mind, to witness someone who had the curiosity to embark on searching for improvement in their life and to fail on implementing it was tragic to me. A victim of the SCRIPT whose story is lost. This I think, was one of the dominoes culminating to an FTE but I didn’t realize at the time.
I started working for the door company back in February 2020, just before COVID hit and all of what followed from that. This was challenging for everyone and that wasn’t any different for me; I was offered a job by my Uncle (a Director at the company) to begin the upgrading of the company’s estimating systems for some of their products. This job has matured me very well. I’ve developed skills necessary not just for my job but for any Fastlane venture; basic marketing, estimating pricing, customer service (including answering phone calls well and professionally!), technical development and basic software skills. I’ve been to trade shows in this country and in Dubai, getting hands on experience with potential clients / industry competitors. This has given me confidence in my abilities and a level of maturity I didn’t have in 2014. On top of this, my job income and my Girlfriend’s income had allowed us to move out into our own place. While I wasn’t ‘Fastlane Free’ I felt like an adult with the ‘parent shackle’ off, able to navigate the world as I wanted.
The FTE: It’s Dominoes
As mentioned in Unscripted by MJ, an FTE is something that’s so potent that it shocks the system to compel change. If you can’t think of an FTE in your life, you haven’t had one. I was aware of the Fastlane but lacked the will to ‘get off the damn nail’. For me, my FTE was a series of F*ck-This-Moments (FTMs) that rocked the boat but didn’t threaten it’s capsizing completely. However, like anything repeated they culminated over time. For me the dominoes were as follows:
Over time, as the SCRIPT’s claws grew stronger, the dominoes became more potent. Until my FTE. This happened this month, where me and my Girlfriend had our first proper holiday since COVID; a week away in a part of the UK called Cornwall. For those who don’t know it’s a popular county to holiday to during the Summer, with it’s idyllic English Seaside towns, shops, restaurants, beaches and beach activities. This was the best week I can remember, where we made the most of being there for the week; the aforementioned towns, tourist attractions, activities, etc. I even tried out surfing for the first time and enjoyed it. In other words, for those few days away, we were away from the SCRIPT’s influence. No mandated work, no popular TV shows, no routine. No sitting inside being a lurker. I also lost weight too. It was a taste of Unscription, and it was awesome. A taste that materialized from the post-holiday blues of going back to work, where both me and my Girlfriend felt down as a result of going back to routine. That’s when I realized my FTE.
Hindsight Review and Moving Forward
If you’ve read this long (many thanks) you are right to ask, why has it taken you 8 years to undertake any action? I think hindsight reflection from me provides 3 answers:
In terms of steps after this post, the next steps are as follows:
Kind Regards,
Alex.
Answer to why my dad wasn’t wealthy; the farming business he’s involved in fails the Commandment of Control; you can’t control the weather, crop prices, tenancy rents.
My name is Alex, aged 26. I've finally taken the plunge from longtime lurker to Fastlane Forum member. Many thanks to @Andy Black for providing the impetus to 'get involved' and for @MJ DeMarco for TMF , Unscripted , The Great Rat Race Escape and the Fastlane Forum.
This is a long post so please bear that in mind. It might even best be reserved for an autobiography but we’ll see how it goes.
The Beginning
On the topic of lurking, (which is the main point of my introduction) let's go back 8 years to 2014, when I was 18 and had just finished school. At this time I was looking around with what to do in my life and what paths would lead to the biggest income opportunities (who isn’t when they’re 18?). It was through this that I discovered that the ‘successful business person’ was the common denominator in being wealthy enough to buy mansions, fast cars, etc. which at 18 was a major motivator for me. However, I couldn’t put my finger on why most wealthy people were business owners. After all, my main reference point was the farm which I grew up on; my Dad was a farmer, worked very hard and had little to show for it. Why isn’t he wealthy despite being a business owner? (See the end for the answer).
This was when I first came across The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ, where my final puzzle piece was found. The mathematical leverages of the Fastlane, the mathematical limitations of the Slowlane and the mathematical limitations of the family farm were all answered. From this I became convinced of the concepts MJ espoused and that such a life of financial freedom, mansions and Ferraris was naturally my future. This seemed daunting (and still does) as at the time I hadn’t worked off the farm, wasn’t fully socially developed (as in unable to answer a phone), but nonetheless I had a passion to succeed.
However, instead of taking concrete action towards a next step, I’ve since lulled with no entrepreneurial action. The passion was there, which gave me motivation to do my first jobs beyond working at the family farm in 2015; working on the factory line for a toiletries company, unpacking lorries, working in a food waste disposal facility (not fun smelling of shit every time you come home from work) and working for a local pallet manufacturing company. I was praised by my boss at the pallet company as being disciplined and focused, with the drive for this coming from a Fastlane desire.
University
From 2015-2018, I went to University to study Geology. In reflection, University was in many ways a delay in growing up, with me able to be cloistered away from the pressures of the real world. This meant indulging on my introvert ‘hobby’, which was following politics. I think on reflection this was an understandable thing to fall into, with Brexit, Donald Trump and the rise of Social Media all culminating at the same time. In short, I didn’t make the most of it. While there were some positives of it in terms of personal life, making new friends, meeting my Girlfriend, living away from my parents, etc. on reflection I think I was too immature for University. I was too lazy, didn’t put the work in and my degree reflected this.
Post-Graduation
Following graduation, I’ve had two jobs; back at the pallet company mentioned earlier and my current job working as an estimator / trainee drafter for an industrial door company. However, I was beginning to notice something; The SCRIPT. I was familiar with it following MJ’s book Unscripted but I guess here is a classic case of you can’t be warned the fire is hot, you’ve got to get burnt to understand. The pressures of the SCRIPT were becoming apparent now fully entering into the working world; career prospects, mortgage, working life, hobbies, interests, outlook, mindset, entertainment, politics fully entered into my life. It was also becoming clear that a lot of these were prescriptive commands; you will have a professional job, you will follow football, you will follow Brexit developments, etc. with deviation being outside the paradigm. The most tragic thing I came across was a fork truck driver colleague who was around 10-15 years older than me. He talked about reading self help books (Ferriss, Steve Jobs) but AFAIK without being too judgmental hadn’t implemented it. Whatever you may think when those names come to mind, to witness someone who had the curiosity to embark on searching for improvement in their life and to fail on implementing it was tragic to me. A victim of the SCRIPT whose story is lost. This I think, was one of the dominoes culminating to an FTE but I didn’t realize at the time.
I started working for the door company back in February 2020, just before COVID hit and all of what followed from that. This was challenging for everyone and that wasn’t any different for me; I was offered a job by my Uncle (a Director at the company) to begin the upgrading of the company’s estimating systems for some of their products. This job has matured me very well. I’ve developed skills necessary not just for my job but for any Fastlane venture; basic marketing, estimating pricing, customer service (including answering phone calls well and professionally!), technical development and basic software skills. I’ve been to trade shows in this country and in Dubai, getting hands on experience with potential clients / industry competitors. This has given me confidence in my abilities and a level of maturity I didn’t have in 2014. On top of this, my job income and my Girlfriend’s income had allowed us to move out into our own place. While I wasn’t ‘Fastlane Free’ I felt like an adult with the ‘parent shackle’ off, able to navigate the world as I wanted.
The FTE: It’s Dominoes
As mentioned in Unscripted by MJ, an FTE is something that’s so potent that it shocks the system to compel change. If you can’t think of an FTE in your life, you haven’t had one. I was aware of the Fastlane but lacked the will to ‘get off the damn nail’. For me, my FTE was a series of F*ck-This-Moments (FTMs) that rocked the boat but didn’t threaten it’s capsizing completely. However, like anything repeated they culminated over time. For me the dominoes were as follows:
- Being stuck in mandated work potentially until death.
- Not having the time or money for travel.
- Being told I should appreciate the latest leased or company car BMW (yay)
- Seeing firsthand someone who had read self help but didn’t apply it.
- Seeing my parents struggle to retire (if at all).
- Not being able to see my kids grow up as myself and my Girlfriend would have to work.
- Seeing a guy called Ben Francis, not much older than me epitomize the Fastlane via Gymshark.
Over time, as the SCRIPT’s claws grew stronger, the dominoes became more potent. Until my FTE. This happened this month, where me and my Girlfriend had our first proper holiday since COVID; a week away in a part of the UK called Cornwall. For those who don’t know it’s a popular county to holiday to during the Summer, with it’s idyllic English Seaside towns, shops, restaurants, beaches and beach activities. This was the best week I can remember, where we made the most of being there for the week; the aforementioned towns, tourist attractions, activities, etc. I even tried out surfing for the first time and enjoyed it. In other words, for those few days away, we were away from the SCRIPT’s influence. No mandated work, no popular TV shows, no routine. No sitting inside being a lurker. I also lost weight too. It was a taste of Unscription, and it was awesome. A taste that materialized from the post-holiday blues of going back to work, where both me and my Girlfriend felt down as a result of going back to routine. That’s when I realized my FTE.
Hindsight Review and Moving Forward
If you’ve read this long (many thanks) you are right to ask, why has it taken you 8 years to undertake any action? I think hindsight reflection from me provides 3 answers:
- A fear of failure
- Liking the idea of Fastlane but not committed to the Process.
- Not putting myself out there (whether for business opportunities or other entrepreneurial individuals). Part of a fear of failure but perhaps shyness as well.
In terms of steps after this post, the next steps are as follows:
- Continue with consistent morning runs that I’ve been doing following getting back from Holiday.
- Finish the Great Rat Race Escape .
- Begin to ‘put myself out there’, engaging with others on this forum. As MJ said one is a lifelong student.
- Overcome the previous hurdle of taking concrete action; developing a monogamous business with concrete action taking and adjusting as necessary. Bit daunting if you haven’t done it before but isn’t everything.
Kind Regards,
Alex.
Answer to why my dad wasn’t wealthy; the farming business he’s involved in fails the Commandment of Control; you can’t control the weather, crop prices, tenancy rents.
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