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At age 19, what would you do?

Simon4sch

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Jan 23, 2018
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Dear Fastlane Community,

my Name is Simon, Im 19 years old and from a small town in southern Germany. Last year
in June I graduated school and after some down time I started an apprenticeship as an architectural draftsman (I dont know if you call it like this in english) which is going to take me until June 2019 to get my degree and then I wanted to go to an univerisity for studying architecture. Besides my apprenticeship I am working two other Jobs in my free time at the moment. Currently have a close to 60 hour work week and am earning around a 1000 bucks a month. Right now I am still living at home which enables me to save the little money Im making and I am controlling my expenses.
Great.

When I was around 18, I started to get into personal development, so I started reading the classic books such as "How to win friends and influence People", "The Secret", etc. This path ultimately lead me to finding TMF by MJ, which blew my mind. I have always felt deep down that the Slowlane was never the answer and since I have started working I have always felt like my time is worth more than just a 1000 bucks for 240 work hours a month. This is how I found the fastlane. However, at the Moment I am driving down the Slowlane in a Fiat Punto with 70 horsepower.

I have an urging desire to start something great that fulfills the needs of people and that makes lifes better, but I just dont see any buisness opportunities that I could get in right now. I am looking for one, but every time I think that I have found something, I figure out that I neither have the knowledge to realize it, nor do I know where to look for this knowledge and then I wonder if there would even be enough demand for this product/Service, which makes me look for something new. (By the way, I have Zero know how in buisness related things, I dont know how to market stuff, produce things etc.) It is a real struggle and it drives me crazy to see the fastlane but not being able to Switch lanes and finally drive it.

So the questions that I keep asking myself every day are: Can you even force process or is a buisness opportunity just something you stumble into? How do you check if there is any demand for a Service/product, if it doesnt exist yet? Where do you learn buisness realted Things? Do I think too much and put too much pressure on myself?

Anyways, I would like to thank everybody that reads this thread for their time and their effort. I really want your guys honest opinions on my life Situation even if its uncomfortable for me. Simply put: Bash me, if it helps. I also want to thank MJ personally for his books, they are a real change of perspective and its great to learn from a guy who is living the dream.

Thank you,

Simon :smile2:
 
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Last edited:

MJ DeMarco

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JAJT

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every time I think that I have found something, I figure out that I neither have the knowledge to realize it, nor do I know where to look for this knowledge

This is the largest stumbling block for new entrepreneurs.

You look at all the great and wonderful things that already exist and just see the areas you lack in - you aren't a coder, you aren't a web designer, you aren't a sales person, you aren't a designer, you aren't a manufacturer, you aren't an inventory, you don't have the money or marketing expert, etc...

If you wait until you have everything you need to start, you will NEVER start.

A good resource to elevate your thinking (and take the "magic" out of starting things up), try listening to the podcast called "How I Built This". It explains how HUGE companies started, and it's usually hilariously embarrassing compared to where they ended up.

Some small examples:

- Airbnb (the world's largest rental accommodations network) started off as literally a guy offering an air mattress to a few folks (hence "air bed" and breakfast).
- Clif Bar (one of the world's most popular energy bars), started in his mother's bakery, named after his father (Clifford) and he sold them to runners who all ate (and hated) the only other bar at the time - Power Bar.
- Sam Adams (Largest craft brewery in the USA) didn't own their own brewery for months while they sold beer. It was just Jim Koch and his secretary making contract beer from an old family recipe and knocked on bars asking them to taste it.

It's hard to think you can do anything when you see the final result of blood, sweat, and tears. Listen to enough stories about how these companies got started and you'll realize that just starting is 90% of the battle. Everything else is adjusting and changing as you go.
 

Simon4sch

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Jan 23, 2018
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This is the largest stumbling block for new entrepreneurs.

You look at all the great and wonderful things that already exist and just see the areas you lack in - you aren't a coder, you aren't a web designer, you aren't a sales person, you aren't a designer, you aren't a manufacturer, you aren't an inventory, you don't have the money or marketing expert, etc...

If you wait until you have everything you need to start, you will NEVER start.

A good resource to elevate your thinking (and take the "magic" out of starting things up), try listening to the podcast called "How I Built This". It explains how HUGE companies started, and it's usually hilariously embarrassing compared to where they ended up.

Some small examples:

- Airbnb (the world's largest rental accommodations network) started off as literally a guy offering an air mattress to a few folks (hence "air bed" and breakfast).
- Clif Bar (one of the world's most popular energy bars), started in his mother's bakery, named after his father (Clifford) and he sold them to runners who all ate (and hated) the only other bar at the time - Power Bar.
- Sam Adams (Largest craft brewery in the USA) didn't own their own brewery for months while they sold beer. It was just Jim Koch and his secretary making contract beer from an old family recipe and knocked on bars asking them to taste it.

It's hard to think you can do anything when you see the final result of blood, sweat, and tears. Listen to enough stories about how these companies got started and you'll realize that just starting is 90% of the battle. Everything else is adjusting and changing as you go.


Thank you very much for your Reply. I will definetly give the podcast a listen, it sounds nice!
 
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Simon4sch

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Jan 23, 2018
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So where you live, the world is perfect?

Not at all, I just feel like that the problems that I do encounter dont really have a big enough need for soliving and then I realize that I dont even know how to solve them, even if I tried. Something really needs to change.
 

WJK

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Welcome. You have time to figure this all out.

Wow! 60 hours a week -- I sure relate to that.

Start a notebook (or a file on your laptop tablet) of things you notice around you -- whether they seem business related or not. Keep adding to your notes. The individual notes maybe seem unrelated when you write them down. That's OK. Genius is the ability to take common elements and reshuffle them in a new way. It's that light that goes on over your head when you say ah ha.
 

Simon4sch

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Jan 23, 2018
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Welcome. You have time to figure this all out.

Wow! 60 hours a week -- I sure relate to that.

Start a notebook (or a file on your laptop tablet) of things you notice around you -- whether they seem business related or not. Keep adding to your notes. The individual notes maybe seem unrelated when you write them down. That's OK. Genius is the ability to take common elements and reshuffle them in a new way. It's that light that goes on over your head when you say ah ha.

Thank you very much, definetly going to do this!
 
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thecocopod

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Jan 17, 2018
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Dear Fastlane Community,

my Name is Simon, Im 19 years old and from a small town in southern Germany. Last year
in June I graduated school and after some down time I started an apprenticeship as an architectural draftsman (I dont know if you call it like this in english) which is going to take me until June 2019 to get my degree and then I wanted to go to an univerisity for studying architecture. Besides my apprenticeship I am working two other Jobs in my free time at the moment. Currently have a close to 60 hour work week and am earning around a 1000 bucks a month. Right now I am still living at home which enables me to save the little money Im making and I am controlling my expenses.
Great.

When I was around 18, I started to get into personal development, so I started reading the classic books such as "How to win friends and influence People", "The Secret", etc. This path ultimately lead me to finding TMF by MJ, which blew my mind. I have always felt deep down that the Slowlane was never the answer and since I have started working I have always felt like my time is worth more than just a 1000 bucks for 240 work hours a month. This is how I found the fastlane. However, at the Moment I am driving down the Slowlane in a Fiat Punto with 70 horsepower.

I have an urging desire to start something great that fulfills the needs of people and that makes lifes better, but I just dont see any buisness opportunities that I could get in right now. I am looking for one, but every time I think that I have found something, I figure out that I neither have the knowledge to realize it, nor do I know where to look for this knowledge and then I wonder if there would even be enough demand for this product/Service, which makes me look for something new. (By the way, I have Zero know how in buisness related things, I dont know how to market stuff, produce things etc.) It is a real struggle and it drives me crazy to see the fastlane but not being able to Switch lanes and finally drive it.

So the questions that I keep asking myself every day are: Can you even force process or is a buisness opportunity just something you stumble into? How do you check if there is any demand for a Service/product, if it doesnt exist yet? Where do you learn buisness realted Things? Do I think too much and put too much pressure on myself?

Anyways, I would like to thank everybody that reads this thread for their time and their effort. I really want your guys honest opinions on my life Situation even if its uncomfortable for me. Simply put: Bash me, if it helps. I also want to thank MJ personally for his books, they are a real change of perspective and its great to learn from a guy who is living the dream.

Thank you,

Simon :smile2:
 

thecocopod

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Jan 17, 2018
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If you don't mind me saying so, the way you're thinking is your problem. You are definitely in the slow lane across the board, but you're super young and you can change!

There are needs to be met all over the place. Look for things you can create to make someone's life easier, better, more fun, more fulfilling. Inventions are constantly being made and improved upon. Patents are being filed constantly. Books are being written. Music is being composed. Property is for sale. If you see a niche idea for something read everything you can about that topic. Learn. Explore.

Elon Musk. You know him, right? He learned about solar energy, electric cars, manufacturing and rockets by READING. He studied economics and physics in school which helped him along.

Yes, opportunities fall into your lap, but you'd be better off buying a lottery ticket. That's slow lane thinking. You need to make your own way by doing the work. I'm still also doing hourly work, but in my free time I research for my invention. CAD, patents, laws, manufacturing. There is a book called Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. The overall premise of the book is the ideas are all out there. If you don't find an idea and go with it, someone else down the line will. They may be better suited to it than you, but all of the ideas are already out there.

Think man. Everything in your world can't be perfect. Creation is what make the most money. Working yourself to death hourly isn't going to t=do a damn thing for you.
 
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thecocopod

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Jan 17, 2018
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Simon,

Don't think about what other are doing. It's not a business opportunity you're looking for right now. You need to find something yourself, not an opportunity that someone else has.

When I was 8 I wanted a new bike. Purple with a banana seat. My dad said he'd pay for half. IN those days there were no computers and hey, I was a kid. I asked my mom to take me to the craft store and I bought a potholder loom and loops. I made them from when I got home from school until when I went to bed at night. 25 cents or 5 for $1. It was 1971. I went door to door in the neighborhood. You know what? I paid for the bike myself. When I was in high school, I babysat and made jewelry that I sold in local stores. None of this is fast lane thinking, but it's the start of it.

Google infomercials. Watch them all. Watch QVC and HSN online. All inventions or better ideas of something that's already out there.
 

Simon4sch

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User Power
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Jan 23, 2018
11
11
25
Germany
Simon,

Don't think about what other are doing. It's not a business opportunity you're looking for right now. You need to find something yourself, not an opportunity that someone else has.

When I was 8 I wanted a new bike. Purple with a banana seat. My dad said he'd pay for half. IN those days there were no computers and hey, I was a kid. I asked my mom to take me to the craft store and I bought a potholder loom and loops. I made them from when I got home from school until when I went to bed at night. 25 cents or 5 for $1. It was 1971. I went door to door in the neighborhood. You know what? I paid for the bike myself. When I was in high school, I babysat and made jewelry that I sold in local stores. None of this is fast lane thinking, but it's the start of it.

Google infomercials. Watch them all. Watch QVC and HSN online. All inventions or better ideas of something that's already out there.

Hey, thank you very much for your reply!
 
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