Desire but no direction

[MidwestLandlord]

Welcome!

There was a great thread from a longtime member who was in a ton of debt, but I can't find it for OP. All I remember is the dude's avatar is an easter bunny. Reps to anyone that can find and link it.

GOLD - Bought a huge house with a 3 car garage and a pool!

Now give me my reps!

lol

 

[ThirtyOne]

Welcome to the forum. Here's the thing: entrepreneurship isn't for everybody.

However, if you want to do it, keep grinding until you can't. There are a bunch of ideas on this forum (peruse them to open up your mind).

Also, start taking action. Make notes of pain points you could solve in your life.

I have to believe that the "no direction" problem is a result of little to no action, because as a river in nature, once an entrepreneur starts moving, it has to go somewhere. It may not be "the" direction, but it'll be "a" direction and ultimately will lead to "the" direction.

Remember, ditch the event mindset ("I haven't found my thing yet!") and embrace the process mindset ("Let me do these things today that get me closer to a thing").


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

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[Carol Jones]

Exactly! I have many ideas and desires, but fear seems to be the main obstacle. Did I mention I am a factory trained Harley Davidson Tech as well, with dreams of opening my own shop, but the fear of failure have stifled many of these.

G'day @azsno from rural Australia,

Everyone is afraid of failing. Every.One. It's the biggest fear that holds us back from achieving our goals.

Yet everyone who is successful. Has failed. At least once.

And everyone who is successful has a wardrobe full of mistakes they had to overcome to get to where they wanted to be.

So you're halfway to success. You're afraid of failing. So you can cross that off your list of 'To Do's' that is the journey to somewhere. You've done that one.

On to the next thing on the list of 'To Do's that is the journey to somewhere.

Start learning about how you can make your dream of opening your own Harley Davidson shop a reality.

Start making plans today.

Just start talking to people who have done it. More than one shop. Several. Because at least one will be negative. And try to talk you out of it. Or you talk yourself out of it because of that one negative person.

Ring these shops up and ask if you can talk to them about why they've done it. How they've done it. What were their setbacks. What were their triumphs.

Start. A. Conversation.

You have no idea how far along that conversation will take you. You could wind up with a completely different blueprint. But you have to start somewhere.

Next. Find yourself an accountability partner who can keep tabs on you. To make sure you're keeping up to speed. If no one else volunteers. I'll put my hand up. It's just that I'm in rural Australia. And there's a big time gap. Just a few hours a day where we can be in touch. But there's this forum. Skype. Email. I can ring overseas via Skype. We can talk one to one.

What you need to do is get past the inertia that fear of failure induces. And start doing.

Real failure is NOT DOING.

Failure because you're doing something is not failure. It's a learning experience. I have a whole wardrobe full of those. And because of those mistakes. Failures. Whatever you want to call it. I have a better. And stronger. Business than I started out with.

So the challenge is.

When will you start?

As of this minute. You're no longer alone in this journey.

So. When can we get together to make sure you make a start? If no one else puts up their hand.

This is a chess game. And the next move is yours. ~Carol❤

 

[azsno]

I have always had a a desire to be wealthy (who hasn't), but like most, no direction or even an idea how to get there other than the slowlane. At this point, I'm 100 pages in, and have said yep that's me page after page of slowlane description. I'm about $250k in debt (student loans, cars, etc.), have a MBA, a wasted year of law school, and an even more worthless BS in political science, and unfortunately all I see at this moment is taking a corporate slave job if I wan't more than I currently make.

When I made $12/hour that wasn't enough to justify my time, but then I made $24/hour, and that still wasn't enough. I currently make $30/hour, and I still feel my time is worth more. I hope to change this as I progress and learn!

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

I'm about $250k in debt

Holy crap. Now that's what I call a deep

Did I mention I am a factory trained Harley Davidson Tech as well, with dreams of opening my own shop

You realize that this is just another trade for time? Instead of an employer paying you $25/hour, a customer will pay you $35/hour.

Unless you can't get away from that trade, nothing in your financial situation will really change quickly.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[AndrewNC]

no direction or even an idea how to get there

Where specifically is "there"?

Before finding direction, it usuallyyyy helps to set the destination. It's different for each of us and you have to be specific.

 

[jon.a]

Wow

 

[Van Halen]

Keep reading, you haven't even got to the good stuff yet.

 

[Carol Jones]

I agree 100%. The majority of my debt ($176K worth) is from student loans. The rest is from CC, which will be paid off in the next couple of months, and 2 auto loans, both of which will be paid off in 3 years max. Unfortunately I followed the "go to college" hype, and didn't stop until I got that Grad degree! As posted prior, I will be moving into a slowlane position that doubles my income, and BTW, my wife works as well, so together atm, we make about $110k/year. I could go along in the same job, and be debt free in 6-7 years, even with the interest, so its not the debt I'm concerned with at this point, its changing my views on what I want after that, and what I will help my children achieve, who are 24, 21, both self sufficient, not dependent on me, and 9, but has a great concept of money and spending. I'm only 40 for F*ck sake, not 65!

G'day again @azsno,

I'm fascinated by everyone's preoccupation with your debt. And the advice to aspire to nothing more than taking a safe job to pay it off. First. Before you pursue anything else.

I thought the reason members are in The Fastlane Forum is to avoid, at all costs, getting a job. And to aspire to creating opportunities that will give them the process to reach the event. Which is wealth that a job doesn't offer.

Your debt is a fact of life. It's there. You have to pay it off.

My partner and I started out in substantial debt.

You have to read my post in Introduction. How I Built A Worldwide Business From Broke. To find out why.

We didn't have the luxury of getting a job. There were few jobs on offer. Nor did we want one.

We had to reinvent ourselves and start anew. By creating another business.

Which is what we did.

We remained poor as church mice for some time.

But we're not poor as church mice today. And we have no debt. At all. We also have a successful business that we can build on.

Because we eschewed Safe Mode for the riskier path of the unknown.

You have a wife that works. That's a financial safety net we didn't have.

This isn't the 'old days' where it took 20 years in business to amass wealth.

This can be done today in less than 5 years. By making mostly right decisions.

There's so much positive help out there today to make sure you do make the right decisions.

You're not irresponsible. You've hesitated because you're afraid of failure.

The advice you're being given is a form of failure. Be safe. Pay off your debt first.

Follow your gut feel, azsno.

And remember. None of these people are walking in your shoes. Or know what it's like to be you.

We went through this flak of meddling advice 25 years ago. I thought everyone was over that. Obviously not.

You may choose to live life in Safe Mode for a while. But don't allow these people to rob you of your long term dream. ~Carol❤

 

[marfling]

Definitely keep reading and you'll learn that taking a job isn't the end of the world for someone in your position. In fact in can be the start of your Unscripted journey.

 

[Process]

Just reached the "F*ck It" part of Unscripted ...I'm deep, but I hope to eventually crawl out of the hole. The majority of my debt, unfortunately, is from Student Loans! ($176K) But hey its not the end of the world, just the end of my paid education seeking sidewalk mentality world.

Eeesh 176k! You can climb out of it. You just need one tiny shift. Let me explain...

Anyhow, it is not clear you are one hundred percent all in. When you hit your FTE, there is no more hopefully. Rationalizing and excuses become unacceptable. If it is a true FTE, it will be like putting the maximum distance between you and Uncle Yoseph's gulag camp.

For example, my FTE was realizing no one in the world cared...

I was soaking wet - elbows deep in filthy dishwater washing dishes day after day - yet I was still asked to take out the garbage in the middle of a hail storm - by the some 17 yr. old manager who was busy groping some ratfaced pizza guy in the back office.

The cycle HAD to change or I'd go completely berserk. There was no more time for h3h3 videos, toking with burnout "friends", or browsing memes on reddit. Every action and every lesson became about getting any positive results as directly as possible. The problems in front of me became all that is.

It is easy to commit to once you see everything through the purified lens of: towards FTE or away from FTE. I don't know why, but only action that is executed with everything you've works. The world will steadily open up. The way people are taught to live is basically throwing good after bad. Once you realize that, the sacrifice is not very big. And thus the cycle begins to reverse...

Welcome to the forum and good luck. Hope this helps.

PS: Check out the Hustles, Freelancing, Bootstrapping subforum to change your life now.

 

[458]

I have always had a a desire to be wealthy (who hasn't), but like most, no direction or even an idea how to get there other than the slowlane. At this point, I'm 100 pages in, and have said yep that's me page after page of slowlane description. I'm about $250k in debt (student loans, cars, etc.), have a MBA, a wasted year of law school, and an even more worthless BS in political science, and unfortunately all I see at this moment is taking a corporate slave job if I wan't more than I currently make.

When I made $12/hour that wasn't enough to justify my time, but then I made $24/hour, and that still wasn't enough. I currently make $30/hour, and I still feel my time is worth more. I hope to change this as I progress and learn!

Here's the straight up truth. Your older so that's strike number 1. Number 2 you have debt that can't be wiped in bankruptcy. Number 3 I am assuming you have zero experience in starting a business.

Here are your two options:

1. Wage slave until your too sick to show up
2. Preload that sickness through going all in on something with zero safety net and hope that you come out alive on the other side. Don't forget 100 hour work weeks for a few years..

And no, i am not F*cking with you.

 

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[azsno]

Here's the straight up truth. Your older so that's strike number 1. Number 2 you have debt that can't be wiped in bankruptcy. Number 3 I am assuming you have zero experience in starting a business.

Here are your two options:

1. Wage slave until your too sick to show up
2. Preload that sickness through going all in on something with zero safety net and hope that you come out alive on the other side. Don't forget 100 hour work weeks for a few years..

And no, i am not F*cking with you.

I'm glad I see other options, and choose to disregard this advice. Even if I were to wageslave, with changes occuring in my financial situation over the next couple of months, I'll be completely debt free in 5-6 years max, and I can do whatever I want. Will I ever me a millionaire? Who knows, but If I can enjoy life, not worry about cash, have my needs and wants met, then I will have reached my goal.

 

[eliquid]

On the 175k-250k debt issue..

If this was 10-15 years ago, I'd tell you straight up to file for bankruptcy and lose everything and start over.

I know that is not common wisdom shared on this forum and some might flame me, but let's be real.. we are talking about a mortgage this guy has in debt and even at mortgage rates, this is going to take him 25 years to pay back.

However, bankruptcy laws have changed now and you won't get away from the debt free and clear, especially the school debt.

You're gonna have to put some work and focus on ways to build lots of money up quickly in some type of fastlane business and then dedicated a % of that to this debt.

I haven't given you real good advice I know, but just stressing what others have already said.

 

[grindmode]

G'day again @azsno,

I'm fascinated by everyone's preoccupation with your debt. And the advice to aspire to nothing more than taking a safe job to pay it off. First. Before you pursue anything else.

I thought the reason members are in The Fastlane Forum is to avoid, at all costs, getting a job. And to aspire to creating opportunities that will give them the process to reach the event. Which is wealth that a job doesn't offer.

Your debt is a fact of life. It's there. You have to pay it off.

My partner and I started out in substantial debt.

You have to read my post in Introduction. How I Built A Worldwide Business From Broke. To find out why.

We didn't have the luxury of getting a job. There were few jobs on offer. Nor did we want one.

We had to reinvent ourselves and start anew. By creating another business.

Which is what we did.

We remained poor as church mice for some time.

But we're not poor as church mice today. And we have no debt. At all. We also have a successful business that we can build on.

Because we eschewed Safe Mode for the riskier path of the unknown.

You have a wife that works. That's a financial safety net we didn't have.

This isn't the 'old days' where it took 20 years in business to amass wealth.

This can be done today in less than 5 years. By making mostly right decisions.

There's so much positive help out there today to make sure you do make the right decisions.

You're not irresponsible. You've hesitated because you're afraid of failure.

The advice you're being given is a form of failure. Be safe. Pay off your debt first.

Follow your gut feel, azsno.

And remember. None of these people are walking in your shoes. Or know what it's like to be you.

We went through this flak of meddling advice 25 years ago. I thought everyone was over that. Obviously not.

You may choose to live life in Safe Mode for a while. But don't allow these people to rob you of your long term dream. ~Carol❤

^^^^THIS^^^^

 

[azsno]

Good luck with the plan. Very, very tough to get such an increase and only stack it against debt - way tempting to "enjoy it a little" ...

So take care you don't get sucked into the trap of spending following income ...

This is absolutely true, and I fell into that trap once before! I went from $11/hr to $35/hr overnight, and along with it came the bigger house, new truck, new Harley...they are all gone now and in no way contribute to my current debt situation, but it was to the point that I needed every penny just to pay for the stuff...Never again!

 

[G-Man]

I have always had a a desire to be wealthy (who hasn't), but like most, no direction or even an idea how to get there other than the slowlane. At this point, I'm 100 pages in, and have said yep that's me page after page of slowlane description. I'm about $250k in debt (student loans, cars, etc.), have a MBA, a wasted year of law school, and an even more worthless BS in political science, and unfortunately all I see at this moment is taking a corporate slave job if I wan't more than I currently make.

When I made $12/hour that wasn't enough to justify my time, but then I made $24/hour, and that still wasn't enough. I currently make $30/hour, and I still feel my time is worth more. I hope to change this as I progress and learn!

Welcome!

There was a great thread from a longtime member who was in a ton of debt, but I can't find it for OP. All I remember is the dude's avatar is an easter bunny. Reps to anyone that can find and link it.

 

[jon.a]

At his point I'm 150 pages in and have received a revelation far beyond anything I have realized in the past 20 years. I currently have a blog that isn't gaining any traction, nor is it maintained for that matter, related to business. I may have a MBA, a drive, and desire for business, but I honestly have no practical experience, or anything to offer other than spreadsheets I create, or tips learned along the way. However, I do have a decade of experience related to travel and contract nursing in just about every setting. I'm on track to become a nursing home administrator for my slow-lane, which will double my current salary, but like MJ has said time and time again, this is still a slow-lane trade off. With that being said, I plan on switching my blog to a format I'm more familiar with, and taking my 3300 Twitter followers with me (This number dropped from over 5000 when I stopped the follow for follow nonsense, and abandoned the political BS for my own sanity). Thought?

If you can score the job and NOT raise your standard of living, you'll be driving faster.

 

[jon.a]

Thanks for the feedback! I hope to do just that! I know many say this, but can't or refuse to resist the urge when extra cash starts rolling in!

At his point I'm 150 pages in and have received a revelation far beyond anything I have realized in the past 20 years. I currently have a blog that isn't gaining any traction, nor is it maintained for that matter, related to business. I may have a MBA, a drive, and desire for business, but I honestly have no practical experience, or anything to offer other than spreadsheets I create, or tips learned along the way. However, I do have a decade of experience related to travel and contract nursing in just about every setting. I'm on track to become a nursing home administrator for my slow-lane, which will double my current salary, but like MJ has said time and time again, this is still a slow-lane trade off. With that being said, I plan on switching my blog to a format I'm more familiar with, and taking my 3300 Twitter followers with me (This number dropped from over 5000 when I stopped the follow for follow nonsense, and abandoned the political BS for my own sanity). Thought?

Find @V8Bill and read his free book.

 

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[azsno]

Holy crap. Now that's what I call a deep

Just reached the "F*ck It" part of Unscripted ...I'm deep, but I hope to eventually crawl out of the hole. The majority of my debt, unfortunately, is from Student Loans! ($176K) But hey its not the end of the world, just the end of my paid education seeking sidewalk mentality world.

 

[Carol Jones]

This is not accurate. Yes, the ultimate goal is to divorce your income from your time, but this is, for most, a longer term goal. A job is a means to an end. If you have a low or no income business, then you need cash flow for food, rent, debt, etc. That's where the job comes in.

Thank you @cmor16,

It's important to see things from everyone's perspective. I appreciate your insight.

But.

Be careful. Sometimes the safety of a job can rob a person of their dreams.

I'd love to know why you are part of the forum. What do you hope to achieve by being a member? Are you looking for opportunities? Ideas? Direction?

Also.

What kind of job/s are you looking for? Job/s that will provide you with skills that you can use as an entrepreneur? While it also pays your bills. Or. Job/s that will pay the bills in the short term? ~Carol❤

 

[Carol Jones]

I appreciate your continued great feedback! I'll read your post, and continue to learn! I've been surrounded by dream killers and sidewalk dwellers for the majority of my life, so at this point, its white noise. Not saying that I don't get anything out of it, I just don't take the road blockers to heart.

I'm pleased to read this @azsno. I fail to see the point as to why someone wants to kill the dreams of another person. It's almost sadistic in its trajectory.

My father always told my sister and me that we can be whatever we want to be. So long as. We're prepared to put in the hard work required to get there. And to accept that although life is a bowl of roses. It comes with plenty of thorns.

I look forward to staying in touch. ~Carol❤

 

[azsno]

Welcome to the forum. Here's the thing: entrepreneurship isn't for everybody.

However, if you want to do it, keep grinding until you can't. There are a bunch of ideas on this forum (peruse them to open up your mind).

Also, start taking action. Make notes of pain points you could solve in your life.

I have to believe that the "no direction" problem is a result of little to no action, because as a river in nature, once an entrepreneur starts moving, it has to go somewhere. It may not be "the" direction, but it'll be "a" direction and ultimately will lead to "the" direction.

Remember, ditch the event mindset ("I haven't found my thing yet!") and embrace the process mindset ("Let me do these things today that get me closer to a thing").


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Exactly! I have many ideas and desires, but fear seems to be the main obstacle. Did I mention I am a factory trained Harley Davidson Tech as well, with dreams of opening my own shop, but the fear of failure have stifled many of these.

 

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[RogueInnovation]

I agree with mj
I make about 60 -200 an hour from my clients, no way any employer pays me that, but I need it because of the sheer work I do
It isn't a point of conflict with clients because we ALWAYS achieve the goal we set out to achieve beforehand
If you can DELIVER the goods
No one will make a fuss unless they are cheap and want to rummage through bargain bins for stuff that isn't there

Start out by doing some independent work that you schedule to get completed on the weekends

 

[Alexo]

I have always had a a desire to be wealthy (who hasn't), but like most, no direction or even an idea how to get there other than the slowlane. At this point, I'm 100 pages in, and have said yep that's me page after page of slowlane description. I'm about $250k in debt (student loans, cars, etc.), have a MBA, a wasted year of law school, and an even more worthless BS in political science, and unfortunately all I see at this moment is taking a corporate slave job if I wan't more than I currently make.

When I made $12/hour that wasn't enough to justify my time, but then I made $24/hour, and that still wasn't enough. I currently make $30/hour, and I still feel my time is worth more. I hope to change this as I progress and learn!

This sucks but work with what you have, you can't change what you have done before but you can change what you do now - focus on that! I would just work, read and get smarter every day and grind it out, you will eventually get out of debt and be on the plus side.

I am currently working at a slow lane job and trying to develop/build a product to sell. It's hard, it means long hours, but i also find it fun and well worth it. What would life be like if everything was easy?

 

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[Tina70k]

Exactly! I have many ideas and desires, but fear seems to be the main obstacle. Did I mention I am a factory trained Harley Davidson Tech as well, with dreams of opening my own shop, but the fear of failure have stifled many of these.

I have no idea what the market value of a Harley Davidson Tech is, but I assume there are a lot of biker heads out there that would pay for your skills. Do you know enough to be able to teach someone else about it, and therefore have apprentices working for you? In the UK the government pay and subsidies businesses to take on young people as apprentices, maybe the US does something similar. Also does are the HD tech skills transferable to other motorcycle brands? A franchise could be a good model if opening a shop is what you want to do. Although as @MJ DeMarco says you wouldn't want to trade your time for money so would want to spend time working on the business (training people, building systems), rather than in the business.

 

[azsno]

I have no idea what the market value of a Harley Davidson Tech is, but I assume there are a lot of biker heads out there that would pay for your skills. Do you know enough to be able to teach someone else about it, and therefore have apprentices working for you? In the UK the government pay and subsidies businesses to take on young people as apprentices, maybe the US does something similar. Also does are the HD tech skills transferable to other motorcycle brands? A franchise could be a good model if opening a shop is what you want to do. Although as @MJ DeMarco says you wouldn't want to trade your time for money so would want to spend time working on the business (training people, building systems), rather than in the business.

In the US, unless you own the shop you don't make anything. I received this training and worked at a dealership when custom bikes were all the rage, and West Coast Choppers sold $250k motorcycles. This boat is long gone, so I have put this skills on the back burner, only using them to help friends and fix my own bikes.

I currently work as a nurse, and can generally make my own schedule, where I usually take summers off as my wife is a teacher, and we travel, but that will need to be put on hold so that I can get a handle on this debt.

I am considering multifamily real estate as a project, but my wife is stuck in the midset of owning her own home first...she is stuck on the sidewalk.

 

[Carol Jones]

Thanks for the input! I read this, and immediately started contacting friends in several different automotive industries, picking their business brains, trying to find out how and why they started. I have a newly found brother (long story short, our dad was a whore and neither of us ever knew him, or about each other until a week ago) who runs a very successful Off-Road business in Arizona, who when he returns from Germany (He's there for Oktoberfest because he wants to be), has agreed to answer my questions and go over any plans I may have.

This forum is loaded with successful people, who I gain knowledge, direction, and drive from on a daily basis, thanks Carol for being another one of those people!

Good morning @azsno from Oz,

That. Is. Wonderful. News!

It's absolutely made my day.

You're on your way. It won't be easy. But you'll find your path. Now that you're looking. And you won't recognise yourself in 12 months time.

Keep me in the loop. Please. I'd love to stay in touch. ~Carol❤

 

[Carol Jones]

I'm glad I see other options, and choose to disregard this advice. Even if I were to wageslave, with changes occuring in my financial situation over the next couple of months, I'll be completely debt free in 5-6 years max, and I can do whatever I want. Will I ever me a millionaire? Who knows, but If I can enjoy life, not worry about cash, have my needs and wants met, then I will have reached my goal.

That is such a good response @azsno! I was bombarded with negative advice like that for years. Doomsday doesn't happen when you're clear of where you want to be. And are prepared to put in the hard yards to get there. The road is never straight. But clarity is a destination. Best wishes on your journey. ~Carol❤

 

[c_morris]

I thought the reason members are in The Fastlane Forum is to avoid, at all costs, getting a job.

This is not accurate. Yes, the ultimate goal is to divorce your income from your time, but this is, for most, a longer term goal. A job is a means to an end. If you have a low or no income business, then you need cash flow for food, rent, debt, etc. That's where the job comes in.