How was your 2020? What will your 2021 look like?

[MJ DeMarco]

So how was your 2020? Please vote!

Did you have a good year?

Did C0VlD-19 set you back? Cause you to reevaluate your priorities and/or business model?

Looking back, I had a pretty damn good year.

I expect 2021 to be full of change for myself, from building a house to moving to a new state. I also have a new full-length book that should be out in early 2021!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Johnny boy]

grew the biz, moved to a new place, had a great time with the girlfriend this year, just got our ski passes too.

had a good year.

2021 will be all about doubling the business, automating some systems, spending time on hobbies I enjoy with my free time, and fitness.

Guys, make monthly resolutions instead of yearly resolutions.

 

[Kak]

I ended up voting that I personally had a great 2020.

While there were things that angered me beyond belief happened this year... A lady that was texting and driving totaled my dream car and I still haven't replaced it with something that excites me enough. Both political parties have collectively busted out in a total sprint towards socialism, there has been a ceizure of freedoms being cheered by the majority, and I have never been more bearish on the future business environment of the developed world...

I started another company that is already profitable.

I started a radio show that I absolutely love.

I bought an RV.

And!!! I have a son on the way!

2020 for me has been pretty great honestly.

 

[BellaPippin]

I don’t know what to make of the year.

Too much sadness with people dying and relatives not being allowed to see them until too late.

My mum is healthy but I only got to visit her three times all year instead of every three weeks.

It was hard, but also great to have the kids home for six months and to have my wife working from home every day. Having lunches and dinners together every day in that period was amazing.

Everything else seems irrelevant.

Business wise I’ve let loads of clients go that weren’t a good fit for one reason or another. I found a business model that suits me that I’ll lean into in 2021.

This describes my feelings towards 2020 too. I wasn't affected at all in terms of job or income security, and so far looks like we've managed to stay healthy (knock on wood). So has my family. My grandma got it, and she got better, she's 94 and in quite the bad state so I'm amazed. I've been working from home and not had a commute since March, my only complaint was not being able to go eat out, and that actually helped me help myself and save more money.

Also, member this?



1. Check,
2. Check (bending the rules a bit, but my Udemy course revenue hit $100)
3. Check. I sold not one, but 4 paintings in two months.

I'm grateful. I'm blessed. I'm happy with what I've accomplished this year. I just wish it wasn't because so much other stuff went to shit.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Mutant]

One really shit break-up that kinda overshadowed everything. Lost a bunch of in-person freelance work. Struggled with my fastlane. Had many days of turmoil, tears, exhaustion, and floundering.

BUT

I also did 75hard. Completely changed my sleeping pattern (a lifetime's habit). Am taking regular cold showers (I f'in' hate the cold). Managed to inject myself repeatedly for a medical thing (I f'in' hate needles). Am meditating daily.

I'm now more confident about my power to change myself (to mutate ).


Also, am super proud of the talk I gave at the Summit in February (Yes! That was this year!) & the essay I wrote that got marked notable. Plus I met many amazing fastlaners & still talk regularly to a bunch of them. I swear, given that we all had to stay home & socialise on video calls this year, I spent more time chatting to Americans than people in London!

This was highlighted when chatting to some other friends about everything I'd done this year mentioned above, & they were shocked that I'd managed to turn myself "into Iron Man!" whereas with my fastlane friends I'm barely keeping up/just getting started! I love this group!



I suspect this year will be foundational.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[WestCoast]

2020 was solid.

Stepped away from work starting Jan 1, handed off to the team, and they have crushed it.

Traveling full time: hit 6 continents, 25 countries and 19 U.S. states.
Currently living abroad for another 1-1.5 years. Good times.

I also learned about perspective.
Everything I read, every story that got sold to the public... just made me detach and see the world for what was going on.

I learned so much about people - the public. And, it's been a helluva education.
2020 will go down as a foundational year, in so many ways.

Here's to the future. Onwards!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Andy Black]

I don’t know what to make of the year.

Too much sadness with people dying and relatives not being allowed to see them until too late.

My mum is healthy but I only got to visit her three times all year instead of every three weeks.

It was hard, but also great to have the kids home for six months and to have my wife working from home every day. Having lunches and dinners together every day in that period was amazing.

Everything else seems irrelevant.

Business wise I’ve let loads of clients go that weren’t a good fit for one reason or another. I found a business model that suits me that I’ll lean into in 2021.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Primeperiwinkle]

At the start of 2020 I had an amazing business (for me, being on track to make 100k as a small business owner was phenomenal) a thriving personal relationship, my kids went to a great school, my six best friends whom I adore were happy and I lived somewhere sunny, warm, and flat. Yay Texas!

At the end of March I made huge decisions based on my priorities. I wanted a different future and was willing to sacrifice a lot to get it.

I closed my business then travelled 6,507 miles over 33 weeks (because paperwork takes time) and now?

At the end of 2020 I am starting a new amazing business, my personal relationship is lovely, my kids go to a great school, my six bf’s are healthy, and I live somewhere sunny, warm, and mountainous. Yay Spain!

It’s quite possible that I now spend more time thinking about others than I do worrying about myself... and that must be a step in the right direction. I am happy and hopeful about 2021.

(Wherever you go, there you are. Be a blessing.) (oh.. but there was a shit ton of fear, stress, planning, talking, phone calls, paperwork, and prayer in the middle of everything so don’t let me make it sound like a cakewalk. Adventures are hella exciting though!)

 

[Ernman]

Unfortunately, as my biz success was growing, so was a tumor in my wife's head. We didn't know this until late in the game. And we won't know just how bad this is until the 30th of December. So I have no idea what to make of 2020.

You can't make this up...

Christmas eve my wife's doctor called to tell her the pre-operative scans showed no tumor! All four doctors on her team studied all her case images and agreed, it was there just a month ago but was now gone. They cancelled the surgery as it was no longer considered worth the risk. The plan is to wait two months and repeat all the imagery.

Miracle!? Turns out self-remission is real but not well understood. Hell, we don't even know what was in her head because that was what the 30 December surgery was to determine. So now we anxiously wait.

My wife's direction to me...get on with making those millions while I'm still here to spend them

 

[Andy Black]

Guys, make monthly resolutions instead of yearly resolutions.

^^^ This.

Monthly and/or quarterly goals work better for me than yearly.

 

[tpuffer]

Was a decent year all things considered!

Had my first kid in July. She is always smiling. Knowing the unlimited potential of her makes me want to realize my own!

I learned some new things to be able to apply to a TBD new venture early 2021.

 

[AnneC]

I had a great 2020! Oddly enough, life didn’t feel much different. We don’t have kids, and we’ve worked from home for over a decade. Also, we rarely eat out, and I don’t like going to the movies. I realized that I’m very much an introvert, and I’m totally okay with that. I am looking forward to traveling internationally again, though.

 

[themarkboogie]

2020 was a hell of a ride for me with extremes on both ends of the spectrum. Fortunately, and unfortunately, lost my 9-5 in April which worked out for my quest to entrepreneurship. Spent April- September working through some mental health issues and taking a step back to figure out where I'm headed. Coincidentally, things really started to turn around after discovering TFM and TFF a couple of months ago. Daily, I feel the ups and downs of entrepreneurship but the dream is what makes it all worth it. To wake up every day motivated and excited is so underrated.

2020 I learned a lot about myself and I plan to make the corresponding improvements moving towards 2021. It's amazing the power of a new mindset. Fear is slowly creeping away and the confidence is following. Just gotta stay consistent.

Thanks for asking, MJ. It was nice to take a moment to reflect.

 

[Beerbread]

It had major ups and downs. When I lost something (family members dying, lost income), I gained something else. I lost 46lbs, I gained more confidence in commanding what I'm worth. For example, for every 3 clients that said no, I get one that says yes, and then all my expenses are paid for the year. I still have a ways to go, but I'm more comfortable with rejection. I always struggled with self-esteem issues and my confidence has gotten a lot better. I feel more focused too and it feels like I got a 6 pack in my abs and in my mind

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[The-J]

It was awesome. Losing most of my income in March forced me to reassess what the hell I was doing with my life.

Also, I'm less scared of things. One big thing that held me back for the past 9 years of being here is that I would avoid relatively small risks, and in the instances where I would take those risks, I would try my best not to lose rather than try to win. I was afraid to invest money and time into things that might not work, as a result I wouldn't try very hard and settle for small wins and cut my losses when they were small.

2020 smashed all that. When you're living in a truly scary time and everyone feels afraid, it puts phantom fears into perspective.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[JordanK]

My net worth is much higher than it was when 2020 started but I didn't hit the heights I had set myself at the beginning of the year. Our AirBnB business tanked but we pivoted into longer term tenancies. Making slightly less money but it freed up a mountain of time. Even when things go back to normal I don't think I'll return to short term lets. My eyes have been opened to how big I could grow the long term let side of the business as it's less hands on. I'm capped with the AirBnB stuff unless I run it daily and hire full time people to help instead of contractors.

Covid putting everything online also allowed me to return and do another year of college completely online while running my business. I never thought I'd go back to finish my degree but the unique opportunity this situation presented couldn't be let go to waste.

I also got absolutely shredded fitness wise from a combination of 75Hard, Phase 1 & 2. Home workouts really tested my resolve but it also made me appreciate the gym so much.

The biggest gains however have been mental. The worst case scenario happened, it was super stressful but I got out there everyday and got punched in the face 95% of the time but kept going. This year will stand to me for years to come. I feel like I got 10 years worth of normal experience in this industry with the amount of stuff I dealt with.

Big shoutout also to my summit mastermind group from the Phoenix trip. The seven of us have done biweekly calls since February. GAME CHANGER. Helped keep each other focused and on track. While also supporting each other during weeks where one or more of us felt down.

I also had some pretty cool vacations/meetups with fastlane friends in Ibiza, Spain and in Poland so that was really cool and inspiring too.

Great foundation building year!

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Not so fast. There's lawsuits about the proposition. The scuttlebutt I'm hearing has been mildly optimistic. I'm crossing my fingers...

I did hear that, but I'm pessimistic when it comes to any judge or politician to do the right thing. 2020 has been the year of "we will do whatever the F*ck we want, and you can't stop us."

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Think Expand]

Last year, I was freelancing with agencies. I had no clue how to get my own clients. This year, I moved away from freelancing to starting my agency. It was challenging at the beginning of the year when C0VlD-19 just wiped away some of my client's business... and things went bizarre.. and cash flow went down suddenly!

But, I learned fast, strategized and started doing well. I have made a lot of money this year...just like last year. The mistake I made this year was that I didn't implement a proper cash flow and payroll management system earlier until somewhere October... so you kind of make more money... and it leaks.

But I have learned some amazing cash flow management system that is helping me to save more and invest in other projects. I have even shown some of my clients and it is saving their business. I am grateful for that. I have also started two additional businesses... so I will be running three RELATED(not diversified) businesses in 2021.

Looking back... I have learned and studied this year more than the last three years combined. The knowledge acquisition this year has been crazy. The forum has also been so helpful. I will say it is OK... laying a solid foundation for a better 2021. Thanks.

 

[Think Expand]

I just want to add this to help if you are doing your annual year review.>>>

Doing annual year review... consider asking questions like:

How was 2020 for you? What is great, good, OK or just a f*ck shit...things went really bad for you?

What business progress did you make in 2020? How about relationship, marriage and family life?

What went really bad and terrible for you? And what went well? What did you dislike about this year?

What bad habits did you develop in the year and what good habits did you develop?

Have you become poorer in the year or richer? How much has your net worth grown by the end of the year? How much has your net worth reduced by the end of the year? What was the cause?

Did you go into financial crisis this year? Got more debts and money problems? What were they? How much debt did you accumulate? How do you plan to pay back in 2021?

Saved more money this year? How much money did you make, spent, saved and invested? How is your investment portfolio doing? Was your business wiped out by C0VlD-19?

What strategic steps did you take or are taking to bounce back? How do you envisage and plan to get back stronger in 2021?

What about social and health goals? Getting better physically or getting ill? How strong and energetic have you been in the year, and how do you plan to stay stronger in 2021?

Have you drawn closer to God this year or far away from Him? What about your commitment to fellowship and the things of God? How far are things going, and how do you plan to move forward in 2021?

 

[tpuffer]

Also, am super proud of the talk I gave at the Summit in February (Yes! That was this year!)

The Summit feels like years ago! I feel like I've lived 3 years in the past 10 months since the Summit. .

 

[Guest84834]

If it wasn't for C0VlD-19, I wouldn't have discovered TMF and a nice dude called MJ. Most importantly, I would still have slowlane dreams or not any dreams at all.

 

[Vikash Patel]

So how was your 2020? Please vote!

Did you have a good year?

Did C0VlD-19 set you back? Cause you to reevaluate your priorities and/or business model?

Looking back, I had a pretty damn good year.

I expect 2021 to be full of change for myself, from building a house to moving to a new state. I also have a new full-length book that should be out in early 2021!

Although I hadn't achieved any carrier related success, I am a lot different now.
After so much time at home Now I has a vision for my life(thanks to @MJ DeMarco for #UNSCRIPTED and Mr. Echart Tolle for #Powerof now) and it is not on autopilot anymore.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[ljean]

Good here. Worked less than ever and made more $$ than ever. Now just need to get my kids back to school so I can enjoy some free time.

 

[Matua]

Even though the first half of this year was miserable, the other half was immensely fulfilling for me.

I read The Millionaire Fastlane right when COVID began.
I studied for a full-time career I never really wanted, but took it because I felt I had no choice otherwise.
I immediately quit that full-time job 4 days later.
I took one month for myself to decide what I really want to do with my life.
I ultimately decided to make my own path and chart into the unknown, despite what my family and peers say.
I worked on my book project for around 7-8 months before I dropped it this month, because it wasn't going to work out.

In the aftermath of that book project, I'm taking the resources from it and actually put it out for people to experience (as well as finding them). This is to see if what I did in those 7-8 months actually provides any value at all. So this means I must be in direct contact with others for my next project, which will be Content Creation. I'm currently working on it and plan to put out content when 2021 rolls around.

I'm honestly scared and terrified of putting myself out there, but I just have to trust my gut that this is the path forward.

2021 here we go!

 

[redshift]

The start was rough, but forced me to look inward and get some good perspective and focus on improving myself. Only been uphill since then. Got some really good chunks of focus time to think and finally get my app ready for launch in 2021 as well. Next year will be even better

 

[Deleted73907]

2020 was OK considering all that went down.​

COVID-related:

+ don't have to commute to work any more (+2h extra time/day), so:
+ I've read a ton of books (including Unscripted)
+ I've practiced guitar a lot

- my GF lives in Slovakia and I haven't seen her since spring
- had a travel blog of sorts that is kinda dead now of course
- not being allowed to do social stuff (Bavaria has the hardest restrictions in Germany btw) as I am usually a very social guy

Not COVID-related:

+ work: changed the department/branch and got a raise (I am a Functional Safety engineer now-> great demand for that kind of job at the moment)
+ travelled quite a lot (in January, February, August and October)
+ FLF: my very first accountability thread / serious project

 

[Andreas Thiel]

I started my current job in December 2019, but it is the one thing that defined 2020 for me.

This change was definitely the right call. Now I feel like my CV actually becomes more of an asset over time, while I felt that it turned into a liability more and more at my previous employer(s).
It also pays a lot better and I learn more stuff that I might be able to apply to my own projects at some point.

I gained weight (as planned), but Covid now makes it hard to eat enough to maintain it (went from almost 80kg to below 75). Still trying to do my home workout ... which mostly works but I don't have as much energy as I used to have.

No luck with my projects. Trying to work on something, but my mental energy is usually depleted after work. Nothing new, I have complained about that many times.

Managed to stop some financial bleeding that I could not put my finger on for a while. Just had to axe a few domains because there were crazy price jumps. Might need to get rid of a few more.
Now my car that has been totaled - financially speaking - is also functionally totaled (crash).
I looked at other options but will probably go for a 5 year financing option for a used car.
The goal is still saving money to eventually work on a business full time. That won't be in 2021, though. Seems more like I am preparing for a 2025 transition ... and only if things go well.

2020 was mostly eye opening. I knew from certain German authors that MSM paints a very distorted picture of the USA ... but this year I got an idea of how bad it is. Don't want to go into politics, but I am a little scared in that department.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[steelandchrome]

Not sure what to think about this year other than I wasted a lot of opportunities by focusing on too many things at once and never just one main focus. I wanted to import a product and sell but never found one that I was confident in and wasn't really passionate about this process, then figures I would resell to make ends meet in the meanwhile, then wanted to be a day trader, then wanted to flip homes and possibly become a realtor, basically I "took action" but truly action faked away 2020.

I was "self employed" all year and started out focusing on reselling on Amazon and Ebay and will have ended the year with about $75k in sales and $30k in profit across these platforms (plus a small amount of Mercari, FB, local sales, etc)

I then moved to wanting to be a day trader and still sell on the side and ended up making $30k +/- and then losing $70k when I got into trading futures and treated it like play money vs real money and was overconfident in earning it all back.

That all said my net income for the year will be about -$10k which is really frustrating and unfortunately all my fault.

On a positive note I did sell a rental property and took in $198k of equity to fund the day to day living and give me one more year of going after a more sustainable income.

I am currently selling premium on my stock account to try and build it back up and am focusing on trying to get my first flip done and focus on real estate coming into 2021.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Harsha Vardhan]

I also have a new full-length book that should be out in early 2021!

Woohoooo!!!!!
Will be waiting for that one MJ.

 

[Private Witt]

^^^ This.

Monthly and/or quarterly goals work better for me than yearly

I double down what Andy and Johnny posted on the goals. In 2020 I went to monthly and quarterly goals and was incredibly transforming.

2020 for business was beyond amazing, in particular the last few months as was able to retool through covid properly and 2021 is set up to be spectacular. Personal life was horrifying as cut off from family, good friends and my 12 step support group for my main addiction (Zoom meetings just dont do the same for me) and it has taken a huge toll on my mental health, but business relationships have helped ease that burden.