Better late than never

[p0stscript]

Hi my name is Paul and I live in the UK. I'm 57, so not the usual Fastlane member, and have been retired for two years now. I have just started reading Fastlane and unfortunately have seen far too much of my life in the first dozen chapters (living too long on the sidewalk, or pavement as we call it over here, and being seduced by the slowlane). I'm rich in family and time but not freedom to easily do everything I want and provide more than enough for my loved ones. I believe if a twenty year old can do it why not a fifty(plus) year old. I've joined this forum mainly through curiosity since I'm not a big forum user, but the book(thanks MJ @Mr DeMarco ) has really got to me, so fast lane here I come.
@MJ DeMarco

 

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[p0stscript]

Having now completed the Fastlane book ( thanks MJ @MJ DeMarco it's awoken something within that has been dormant for too long) I feel I should give a better introduction, though to be honest I'm not use to this type of thing and feel as uncomfortable as some one at their first AA meeting - hi my name is Paul and I'm a slowlaner....

Many years ago I bought into the slowlane philosophy, the Richest man in Babylon was me roadmap and I believed and perceived and conceived an idea and acted upon it with full commitment. I use to work down the pit, like my dad, his dad and his dad...but having seen my grandad retire at sixty three and die within two years I set the goal to retire early so I could at least enjoy it for a little longer than two years.

I set aside 10%, due to lack of trust in financial institutions ( they made money whether you did or not) I read as many books as I could on investing and controlled my own portfolio. I managed to miss a lot of the turmoil on the market but it was work and returns only about 3% on average. I had the live within your means mindset and continued along this road for forty years. If I were ever to write a book it would not be a how to but a how not to book, my dream was small and I achieved it, I have a money tree but it's a bonsai, life is adequate (I no have Groundskeeper Willie in all his finery singing "wouldn't it be adequate" inside my head), I bought the things I wanted because I lowered my expectations and hence my desires.

When I read about MJ using a calculator that tabulated his "wealth percentile" I thought I do it, I'm in the bottom 10%.I'm technically poor and have been for many years, I travelled the wrong road using the wrong map, I reached my destination but my destination was Shitsville.

The Fastlane book has been a kick up the backside, my perception has begun to change, I know that if a twenty something can do this so can a fifty something, the fast lane doesn't recognise age, I now have my reasons to do this, I've reflected my life and analyzed the forks in the road and where they took me and I now have a new game plan. Time may not be on my side but I know that that isn't the issue, desire and passion are. I can invest in myself, I have shown myself capable of commitment (forty years commuted to wrong map), I'm now seeing needs all around, beginning to think as a producer and not a consumer, have worked out my new destination, defined the lifestyle, assessed the cost and calculated my money system target and business system target, now to make it real, I now have the beginning of the means.

My story shows the slowlane doesn't work, even if you do reach your destination (preaching to the converted I think) but the Millionaire Fastlane has reawakened my dreams and has given them a chance to live. Thank you.

I'm not much for writing and this is the most I've done in a long time ( actually writing the book I mentioned at the start would be interesting then) but I'm using this forum to hold my self accountable, if you don't keep hearing from me I'm either dead, or as good as if I've gone back to the old way.

Cheers
Paul

 

[Galaxy16]

Hi my name is Paul and I live in the UK. I'm 57, so not the usual Fastlane member, and have been retired for two years now. I have just started reading Fastlane and unfortunately have seen far too much of my life in the first dozen chapters (living too long on the sidewalk, or pavement as we call it over here, and being seduced by the slowlane). I'm rich in family and time but not freedom to easily do everything I want and provide more than enough for my loved ones. I believe if a twenty year old can do it why not a fifty(plus) year old. I've joined this forum mainly through curiosity since I'm not a big forum user, but the book(thanks MJ @Mr DeMarco ) has really got to me, so fast lane here I come.
@MJ DeMarco

I also posted a thread about my 67 year old parents (too lazy to fiddle around with my mobile phone to paste an URL) and I like your post. I will rescue my family.