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I have a problem with MJ DeMarco (Follow your passion gets a beatdown)

Carol Jones

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Change "follow your passion" to "follow the value" and "do what you love" to "do what works".

Good morning @masterneme from Oz,

I'm new to this thread. Having read all the posts, I have to agree with yours.

I've been running my own businesses since 1983, and have avoided turning my hobbies into money-making ventures.

Because. The one and only time I did that, I wound up hating the hobby. And the business. Just like you said.

But. We're all different. And some people do make successful businesses out of what they love. Jamie Oliver.

Others make successful businesses out of what they see is a need in the marketplace.

Helene Godin. Seth Godin's wife. A lawyer for 22 years. Spent the week in Manhattan. And weekends - maybe - with her family outside of New York. She threw in the towel when she realised her sons put a photo of her on the mantle of their fireplace so they could remember what she looked like.

She's not a cook. But twiddling her thumbs, wondering what to do next, she discovered that people with food allergies had no place to buy baked goods in her hometown of Hastings-On-Hudson, New York.

She opened By The Way Bakery, a gluten-free, dairy-free bake shop.

Is she passionate about baking?

Not at all. She paid for the best bakers. The best recipes.

But she is passionate about her bakery being the best bakery you've ever set foot inside of.

A business without passion won't ever be the best.

But you don't need to be passionate about the idea. Or concept.

You just need to know that it will work. That what you're doing is adding value to the lives of other people.

Once that's in place, your inner drive will ensure that you become passionate about making it the best business. Ever.

And you stop at nothing to satisfy your customers/clients.

That's what is called the passionate mindset. ~Carol❤
 
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MJ DeMarco

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Is she passionate about baking?

Not at all. She paid for the best bakers. The best recipes.

But she is passionate about her bakery being the best bakery you've ever set foot inside of.

A business without passion won't ever be the best.

But you don't need to be passionate about the idea. Or concept.

You just need to know that it will work. That what you're doing is adding value to the lives of other people.

Boom! Reps+
 

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I respect MJ DeMarco and his work but since the the first time I read his book I can't get over the fact that he says that money is more important than your passion. That doing what you love will not make you rich.

Both passion and riches are essential for your life so is it possible to combine them both? Or are we forever force to decide for either or?
Amazing. The trees have gotten in the way of you seeing the forest. Go ahead. Follow your passion. Play your music. Maybe you will combine your passion with making money -- or you won't. Either way, no one I know is interested in feeding you, housing you or keeping you warm while you follow your passion. Or, you could try re-reading the book to gain another understanding. Good luck!
 
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AFMKelvin

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Amazing. The trees have gotten in the way of you seeing the forest. Go ahead. Follow your passion. Play your music. Maybe you will combine your passion with making money -- or you won't. Either way, no one I know is interested in feeding you, housing you or keeping you warm while you follow your passion. Or, you could try re-reading the book to gain another understanding. Good luck!
I've since changed my mindset. Thank you for your reply.
 

Supercar

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Following your passion and doing what you love is perfectly okay, if you are really good at doing what you love, and if it is monetarily appreciated by your customers.

Don't just play a guitar,
Be a f#cking ROCKSTAR!

Now, that's a Fastlane.
 
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fortu1992

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First of all I have read the Fastlane Millionaire every year for the past 3 years or so. I love the book. And yes I already order Unscripted I'm still waiting for it in the mail.

I respect MJ DeMarco and his work but since the the first time I read his book I can't get over the fact that he says that money is more important than your passion. That doing what you love will not make you rich.

Imagine you're on your deathbed sweaty, nervous, trying your best to stay awake because you know that as soon as you go to sleep that will be the last time you close your eyes. You're dying on a 24k gold bedframe. But you don't care nor notice all that, you keep going back to that one thing you always wanted to be. A guitarist.

That was your dream and what you enjoyed most. But it wasn't paying the bills or putting food on the table. Nobody was buying your music either because they were been torrented. Yet you still enjoyed yourself and could survive off ramen noodles as long as your guitar was properly tuned.

But the pressure from your family to provide food and shelter made you take a detour on your dream. That detour led to riches but it also robbed you of your time with your precious guitar. Yet everytime you saw your dusty guitar in the coner of your room you told yourself next week I'll have free time to play. But you never did.

And yes I know money can buy you some good guitar lessons, your own record label, and even a recording studio. But unless you're Fastlane it won't give you time. So you either choose to strive to be rich or to follow your passion. Comfort in life or regret while dying.

Both passion and riches are essential for your life so is it possible to combine them both? Or are we forever force to decide for either or?

first of follow your passion , in my opinion is better create a very fast lane business that includes every CENTS and then when you can Retire or semi Retired YOUNG
and FREE,
you can dedicate yourself to your passions. In my exprerience for example once time I LOVED FOOTBALL I'm Working in my betting shop and everyday listen people complain about the bet that they lose,talk about soccer,football player,for them It seems that in the world exist only the football.
my work has led me to definitely hate football, as I happen to see it on TV immediately change channel, for this I think first you have to make money and then do the rest.
 

AFMKelvin

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first of follow your passion , in my opinion is better create a very fast lane business that includes every CENTS and then when you can Retire or semi Retired YOUNG
and FREE,
you can dedicate yourself to your passions. In my exprerience for example once time I LOVED FOOTBALL I'm Working in my betting shop and everyday listen people complain about the bet that they lose,talk about soccer,football player,for them It seems that in the world exist only the football.
my work has led me to definitely hate football, as I happen to see it on TV immediately change channel, for this I think first you have to make money and then do the rest.

So now you don't even play football?
 

AFMKelvin

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Dude, you are more than welcome to play guitar and eat ramen. No one will stop you.
I've already changed my mind now I live in a mansion. Thank you.
 

Christian McGhee

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You can have your cake and eat it too, you may need to look at non traditional ways tho. Look at the music world, are there problems out there that you can solve? The thing about passions is that if youre passionate about it, theres a good chance that others are passionate too.

Can you develop a new type of guitar? Can you build a game that teaches people how to play (think guitar hero). VR is growing, can you find a way to implement that in your strategy?

You just need to be creative. So you want to play guitar? Why not make a new guitar, or create a platform that helps new players learn quicker, why not develop a synthesizer? I mean there's a million ways to get what you want, I just think that you'll have to be creative.
 

Eden H

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Can you develop a new type of guitar? Can you build a game that teaches people how to play (think guitar hero). VR is growing, can you find a way to implement that in your strategy?

Like the thinking of embarking niches.
I will add:

3D printing
although if it has a netflix movie now, maybe entry is a bit high.
though they are expensive as heck, but I know people who just said "F*ck it, it's cool " and got it on credit.
The material though [emoji20] But it may need more research.
Maybe accessories/gadgets for guitar with 3D printing .


I haven't met one decent app or service for learning guitar (there are tons, of course, nothing stands out for me at least)

Everything around it can be good too - like:
Finger care products or maintenance tools.

Does someone sell bundles? Picks, strings, the little screwdriver thingie, polish, wipes etc.
I would buy it.


I think Unscripted is a must read for you to get to the bottom of it.
The part about "love what you do" is stingy but true.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
 
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I think the point is this -- if you do what you are driven to do out of passion, that's great, but so many people do things out of passion where there is no NEED that is being fulled en masse for others. How many people slave away with three jobs because they have PASSION for their children, yet their own NEEDS are not being fulfilled? There is a distinction between doing something only because you love it, and doing something that you may not love, but fills the NEEDS of many, thereby filling your wallet to enable you to do more things that you do have a PASSION for.
 

TheFrancophile

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Hey everyone,

Been studying at a business school here in France since September. By now I've passed almost all exams, except Business English and Internationalisation.

Anyway, I'd like to return to this subject and share with you what I've learned.

Firstly, the lecturers here (many of whom are small businesspeople themselves) have tried their best to drive home the point that the basis of any successful business is...

... care tu guess ?

... MEETING CUSTOMERS' NEEDS ! Or solving their problems !

To that end, they've even given us very useful tools : the Business Model Canvas, the Value Proposition Canvas, and the Value Proposition Matrix.

Secondly, I've been reading about various successful and unsuccessful business ventures, most (but not all) of them by businesspeople that everyone knows (Richard Branson, Elon Musk, etc.). And the key takeaway was that ALL of the successful businesses met some market need that was being met poorly (if at all), while most of the businesses that failed did so because there was no market need for their product/service.

Even Richard Branson has had his share of failures because of this. Remember Virgin Cola ? It was launched in the early 90s to compete with Pepsi and Coca-Cola. Sir Richard thought that the market's needs were being poorly met and that customers weren't happy with the Pepsi-Coca duopoly. Not so, proved real life. Despite Sir Richard's publicity stunts and other clever marketing efforts, he failed. There was no need for a third cola maker. Not even in the UK, where it was retired from Asda shelves in 1999 IIRC.

The graph I've uploaded sums it pretty nicely, I think. 42% of all startups that fail do so primarily, or solely, because there was NO MARKET NEED for their product/service.

I've had my fair share of such failures (and then some) on a micro-scale too, in recent years. For a long time, I've been trying to sell my collection of history books, my stamp collection, and some other stuff on the Polish equivalent of Ebay and on a computer games mag forum ; no buyers. However, when I tried selling a few old copies of that mag (I don't have time for computer games, they're for teenagers), I've eventually managed to do it. Also, for almost 10 years I've been editing a blog about defense issues, but few people seem to care, based on the readership stats (not to mention the paucity of comments and ratings).

So what EVERY aspiring entrepreneur needs to know is that the starting point must ALWAYS be meeting customers' needs. Being passionate about meeting them in some ingenious, interesting way is great - but it's only a plus. But it is US who must align ourselves onto our customers' needs, not the other way around.
 

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BrooklynHustle

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Hey everyone,

Been studying at a business school here in France since September. By now I've passed almost all exams, except Business English and Internationalisation.

Anyway, I'd like to return to this subject and share with you what I've learned.

Firstly, the lecturers here (many of whom are small businesspeople themselves) have tried their best to drive home the point that the basis of any successful business is...

... care tu guess ?

... MEETING CUSTOMERS' NEEDS ! Or solving their problems !

To that end, they've even given us very useful tools : the Business Model Canvas, the Value Proposition Canvas, and the Value Proposition Matrix.

Secondly, I've been reading about various successful and unsuccessful business ventures, most (but not all) of them by businesspeople that everyone knows (Richard Branson, Elon Musk, etc.). And the key takeaway was that ALL of the successful businesses met some market need that was being met poorly (if at all), while most of the businesses that failed did so because there was no market need for their product/service.

Even Richard Branson has had his share of failures because of this. Remember Virgin Cola ? It was launched in the early 90s to compete with Pepsi and Coca-Cola. Sir Richard thought that the market's needs were being poorly met and that customers weren't happy with the Pepsi-Coca duopoly. Not so, proved real life. Despite Sir Richard's publicity stunts and other clever marketing efforts, he failed. There was no need for a third cola maker. Not even in the UK, where it was retired from Asda shelves in 1999 IIRC.

The graph I've uploaded sums it pretty nicely, I think. 42% of all startups that fail do so primarily, or solely, because there was NO MARKET NEED for their product/service.

I've had my fair share of such failures (and then some) on a micro-scale too, in recent years. For a long time, I've been trying to sell my collection of history books, my stamp collection, and some other stuff on the Polish equivalent of Ebay and on a computer games mag forum ; no buyers. However, when I tried selling a few old copies of that mag (I don't have time for computer games, they're for teenagers), I've eventually managed to do it. Also, for almost 10 years I've been editing a blog about defense issues, but few people seem to care, based on the readership stats (not to mention the paucity of comments and ratings).

So what EVERY aspiring entrepreneur needs to know is that the starting point must ALWAYS be meeting customers' needs. Being passionate about meeting them in some ingenious, interesting way is great - but it's only a plus. But it is US who must align ourselves onto our customers' needs, not the other way around.
This is one of the main points of TMF & Unscripted ... but very true.
 
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ZF Lee

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This is one of the main points of TMF & Unscripted ... but very true.
Still, easier said than done.

Obeying the Commandment of Need will always be the work of a lifetime.

1. Needs change all the time.

2. What solved the need today will be different tomorrow.

3. Many times, the people that may need the solution the most will not accept it.

4. Many times, the people who you think may not need the solution, may want it for some other reasons that you didn't see clearly.

5. The fulfillment of need is not just limited to the body, but also to the mind (think of marketing and repurposing...and Garfield window plush toy stickers)

6. There is always a price to pay to solve a Need. But that price can be negotiated, simplistically speaking.

7. You can't feed a person that has a full stomach. But you can feed a starving person.
 

MJ DeMarco

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Hey everyone,

Been studying at a business school here in France since September. By now I've passed almost all exams, except Business English and Internationalisation.

Anyway, I'd like to return to this subject and share with you what I've learned.

Firstly, the lecturers here (many of whom are small businesspeople themselves) have tried their best to drive home the point that the basis of any successful business is...

... care tu guess ?

... MEETING CUSTOMERS' NEEDS ! Or solving their problems !

To that end, they've even given us very useful tools : the Business Model Canvas, the Value Proposition Canvas, and the Value Proposition Matrix.

Secondly, I've been reading about various successful and unsuccessful business ventures, most (but not all) of them by businesspeople that everyone knows (Richard Branson, Elon Musk, etc.). And the key takeaway was that ALL of the successful businesses met some market need that was being met poorly (if at all), while most of the businesses that failed did so because there was no market need for their product/service.

Even Richard Branson has had his share of failures because of this. Remember Virgin Cola ? It was launched in the early 90s to compete with Pepsi and Coca-Cola. Sir Richard thought that the market's needs were being poorly met and that customers weren't happy with the Pepsi-Coca duopoly. Not so, proved real life. Despite Sir Richard's publicity stunts and other clever marketing efforts, he failed. There was no need for a third cola maker. Not even in the UK, where it was retired from Asda shelves in 1999 IIRC.

The graph I've uploaded sums it pretty nicely, I think. 42% of all startups that fail do so primarily, or solely, because there was NO MARKET NEED for their product/service.

I've had my fair share of such failures (and then some) on a micro-scale too, in recent years. For a long time, I've been trying to sell my collection of history books, my stamp collection, and some other stuff on the Polish equivalent of Ebay and on a computer games mag forum ; no buyers. However, when I tried selling a few old copies of that mag (I don't have time for computer games, they're for teenagers), I've eventually managed to do it. Also, for almost 10 years I've been editing a blog about defense issues, but few people seem to care, based on the readership stats (not to mention the paucity of comments and ratings).

So what EVERY aspiring entrepreneur needs to know is that the starting point must ALWAYS be meeting customers' needs. Being passionate about meeting them in some ingenious, interesting way is great - but it's only a plus. But it is US who must align ourselves onto our customers' needs, not the other way around.

This is good information. I'm actually surprised to hear it coming from a college, granted, it is not a US-based college.

This is one of the main points of TMF & Unscripted ... but very true.

And just think...

Kids are paying tens of thousands of dollars to get this type of info/education at higher learning institution. (Congrats on having your tuition free).

And I sell it for a mere ten bucks.
 
D

Deleted50669

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This is good information. I'm actually surprised to hear it coming from a college, granted, it is not a US-based college.



And just think...

Kids are paying tens of thousands of dollars to get this type of info/education at higher learning institution. (Congrats on having your tuition free).

And I sell it for a mere ten bucks.

Universities have the best marketing tactic around; societal inertia. It is a class stigma not to go, so in the eyes of parents (and for the less fortunate, the students themselves) what's really an investment is viewed as an essential good. It took me a while to understand that. Because it comes right after high school, people see college as "this is just what you do, it's the next phase of life". They forget that there are even other options. Or if they are aware of other options, they are afraid to dissent at such an early stage of adulthood, because of uncertainty. It's totally F*cked.
 
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WJK

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Hey everyone,

Been studying at a business school here in France since September. By now I've passed almost all exams, except Business English and Internationalisation.

Anyway, I'd like to return to this subject and share with you what I've learned.

Firstly, the lecturers here (many of whom are small businesspeople themselves) have tried their best to drive home the point that the basis of any successful business is...

... care tu guess ?

... MEETING CUSTOMERS' NEEDS ! Or solving their problems !

To that end, they've even given us very useful tools : the Business Model Canvas, the Value Proposition Canvas, and the Value Proposition Matrix.

Secondly, I've been reading about various successful and unsuccessful business ventures, most (but not all) of them by businesspeople that everyone knows (Richard Branson, Elon Musk, etc.). And the key takeaway was that ALL of the successful businesses met some market need that was being met poorly (if at all), while most of the businesses that failed did so because there was no market need for their product/service.

Even Richard Branson has had his share of failures because of this. Remember Virgin Cola ? It was launched in the early 90s to compete with Pepsi and Coca-Cola. Sir Richard thought that the market's needs were being poorly met and that customers weren't happy with the Pepsi-Coca duopoly. Not so, proved real life. Despite Sir Richard's publicity stunts and other clever marketing efforts, he failed. There was no need for a third cola maker. Not even in the UK, where it was retired from Asda shelves in 1999 IIRC.

The graph I've uploaded sums it pretty nicely, I think. 42% of all startups that fail do so primarily, or solely, because there was NO MARKET NEED for their product/service.

I've had my fair share of such failures (and then some) on a micro-scale too, in recent years. For a long time, I've been trying to sell my collection of history books, my stamp collection, and some other stuff on the Polish equivalent of Ebay and on a computer games mag forum ; no buyers. However, when I tried selling a few old copies of that mag (I don't have time for computer games, they're for teenagers), I've eventually managed to do it. Also, for almost 10 years I've been editing a blog about defense issues, but few people seem to care, based on the readership stats (not to mention the paucity of comments and ratings).

So what EVERY aspiring entrepreneur needs to know is that the starting point must ALWAYS be meeting customers' needs. Being passionate about meeting them in some ingenious, interesting way is great - but it's only a plus. But it is US who must align ourselves onto our customers' needs, not the other way around.
This post is so true. Finding the need is step #1. Then one must find out HOW to fill that need, that is desirable and affordable to the user. Some solutions are worse than the problem, or create a new set of problems. The solution must have a simplistic elegance and acute fit.
 

Carol Jones

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G'day @TheFrancophile from Oz,

Well said!

But.

Why do we need to go to university to learn this? If we communicate with people, we get a keen sense of what the world is lacking.

I have an advanced degree in Marketing. And nothing I learned prepared me for what I'm doing in my business today.

Back before education was considered a necessity, every village had businesses based on need. And communication.

The butcher. Baker. Candlestick maker.

It was a time when the butcher, et al. talked to their customers. And when their customers asked for something, they tried very hard to find a source so they could give it to them. It's how these village-based businesses stayed in business. They conditioned their customers to be loyal. Because they were loyal to their customers.

Not every success in business is based on need.

Pet rocks. The Fidget Spinner. Trivial Pursuit. Yes. They're fads. Short-lived ones. But they made a great deal of money for their owners in their short lifespan.

There are other businesses which developed a product that created the need. The telephone. The light bulb. The vacuum cleaner. Washing machine. Television. The horseless carriage. We managed to live without them. Until we discovered what they could do for us.

For a business to succeed long term, it does have to fill a need. But that need can change. When new inventions make that need obsolete. Landlines are now dinosaurs. Replaced by the mobile phone. And telecom companies have to adjust.

I'm one of the last people to still use a desktop. With a very big screen. And worry about what will happen when they no longer make them.

Petrol driven cars will become obsolete in this century. So petrol stations will have to morph into something else.

Filling a need can be frivolous. As well as serious. And people shouldn't discount an opportunity to start a business based on something frivolous. Do we 'need' board games? Gadgets? Lululemon's yoga pants? Janine Allis's 'Boost Juice'?

There are businesses which develop products and services that add to the spice of life. And they shouldn't be discounted as opportunities.

This is a good post @TheFrancophile. I can see from previous replies that it's stimulating the thought process about 'need'. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. ~Carol❤
 
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ZF Lee

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I'm one of the last people to still use a desktop. With a very big screen. And worry about what will happen when they no longer make them.

Petrol driven cars will become obsolete in this century. So petrol stations will have to morph into something else.
Here in my country and in Asia, desktops are still the norm.

When the time comes though, maybe the companies can do an exchange scheme to get all the old PCs in exchange for the upgraded ones. Apple iPhones had a similar scheme, and it was way cheaper than buying a new phone point-blank.

For petrol cars, it will take a very long time to break through the political and industrial deadlock of getting away from oil. I can only see hybrid cars as a more acceptable notion, for the petrol companies who will fight like hell to keep the status quo.
 
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Carol Jones

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G'day @ZF Lee from Oz,

In Australia, desktops are almost obsolete. The vast majority of people now use laptops. Or mobile phones. The days of desktops are definitely numbered here.

Regarding petrol driven cars. Europe is mandating that no new petrol driven cars will be produced past 2040. It was going to be 2020. But they've extended it by 20 years.

And Australia is seriously considering following suit. Considering that the life of a car in Australia is less than 10 years, it means that very few petrol driven cars will be on the road past 2050. In fact, it may be that those few cars will have no option but to go to the wreckers. As petrol will not be available for them.

I think the petrol lobby is like the tobacco lobby in Australia. Dead in the water. Australians are very environmentally conscious. And will embrace non-petrol driven cars at a more rapid pace than other countries. ~Carol❤
 

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Problem is in 5 years you might end up hating it and still being poor. A terrible combo.


First of all I have read the Fastlane Millionaire every year for the past 3 years or so. I love the book. And yes I already order Unscripted I'm still waiting for it in the mail.

I respect MJ DeMarco and his work but since the the first time I read his book I can't get over the fact that he says that money is more important than your passion. That doing what you love will not make you rich.

Imagine you're on your deathbed sweaty, nervous, trying your best to stay awake because you know that as soon as you go to sleep that will be the last time you close your eyes. You're dying on a 24k gold bedframe. But you don't care nor notice all that, you keep going back to that one thing you always wanted to be. A guitarist.

That was your dream and what you enjoyed most. But it wasn't paying the bills or putting food on the table. Nobody was buying your music either because they were been torrented. Yet you still enjoyed yourself and could survive off ramen noodles as long as your guitar was properly tuned.

But the pressure from your family to provide food and shelter made you take a detour on your dream. That detour led to riches but it also robbed you of your time with your precious guitar. Yet everytime you saw your dusty guitar in the coner of your room you told yourself next week I'll have free time to play. But you never did.

And yes I know money can buy you some good guitar lessons, your own record label, and even a recording studio. But unless you're Fastlane it won't give you time. So you either choose to strive to be rich or to follow your passion. Comfort in life or regret while dying.

Both passion and riches are essential for your life so is it possible to combine them both? Or are we forever force to decide for either or?
 

Mukul

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And my passion is spinning beyblades so I will do that without earning any money until me and my family starves for food begging from other people who first ensured their survival and now enjoying their passion without starving :frown:
 
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MJ DeMarco

I followed the science; all I found was money.
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But crawling thru a shit-filled sewer isn't my passion!


dufraine-freedom.jpg
 

Kennypaul

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First of all I have read the Fastlane Millionaire every year for the past 3 years or so. I love the book. And yes I already order Unscripted I'm still waiting for it in the mail.

I respect MJ DeMarco and his work but since the the first time I read his book I can't get over the fact that he says that money is more important than your passion. That doing what you love will not make you rich.

Imagine you're on your deathbed sweaty, nervous, trying your best to stay awake because you know that as soon as you go to sleep that will be the last time you close your eyes. You're dying on a 24k gold bedframe. But you don't care nor notice all that, you keep going back to that one thing you always wanted to be. A guitarist.

That was your dream and what you enjoyed most. But it wasn't paying the bills or putting food on the table. Nobody was buying your music either because they were been torrented. Yet you still enjoyed yourself and could survive off ramen noodles as long as your guitar was properly tuned.

But the pressure from your family to provide food and shelter made you take a detour on your dream. That detour led to riches but it also robbed you of your time with your precious guitar. Yet everytime you saw your dusty guitar in the coner of your room you told yourself next week I'll have free time to play. But you never did.

And yes I know money can buy you some good guitar lessons, your own record label, and even a recording studio. But unless you're Fastlane it won't give you time. So you either choose to strive to be rich or to follow your passion. Comfort in life or regret while dying.

Both passion and riches are essential for your life so is it possible to combine them both? Or are we forever force to decide for either or?
In TMF ,I believe MJ said if we are passionate about something but doesn't bring in money,we can build a business that funds and provides time to follow that passion.Not the other way around.If your passion must bring in riches,it must be solving a great need.
 

Surpasser

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You could look at it this way - not having enough money to live comfortably for 100 years is like being born in slavery. And slaves should have priority to be free, and THEN do what they want.

I think the fact that no one teaches this stuff in schools automatically subscribes ppl into thinking they are free and can do what they want.

In reality you dont start of at positive zero in life. You start with debt of money needed to live free for rest of your Earthly adventure. If you refuse to pay it off at all, then you reduce the choices available to you and while some may say that hobos are the most free of all, they dont have the choice to live like Kings, but Kings can decide to live like hobos at any moment. Like Buddha.
Now you can settle that debt in pieces (jobs) or settle it once and for all if you go fastlane. And then and only then TRUE freedom starts, at least in the sense of you not being least concerned with weather your dreams can bring food into your mouth.

I could argue your personal perception of how much free you are, will depend on how much choices available to you are inline with choices you want. But in general, the more you have them the better. And since invention of money (as fiat currency) enabled us to "universalise" value, its the biggest factor in giving you more freedom.
 
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WJK

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You could look at it this way - not having enough money to live comfortably for 100 years is like being born in slavery. And slaves should have priority to be free, and THEN do what they want.

I think the fact that no one teaches this stuff in schools automatically subscribes ppl into thinking they are free and can do what they want.

In reality you dont start of at positive zero in life. You start with debt of money needed to live free for rest of your Earthly adventure. If you refuse to pay it off at all, then you reduce the choices available to you and while some may say that hobos are the most free of all, they dont have the choice to live like Kings, but Kings can decide to live like hobos at any moment. Like Buddha.
Now you can settle that debt in pieces (jobs) or settle it once and for all if you go fastlane. And then and only then TRUE freedom starts, at least in the sense of you not being least concerned with weather your dreams can bring food into your mouth.

I could argue your personal perception of how much free you are, will depend on how much choices available to you are inline with choices you want. But in general, the more you have them the better. And since invention of money (as fiat currency) enabled us to "universalise" value, its the biggest factor in giving you more freedom.
You could look at it this way - not having enough money to live comfortably for 100 years is like being born in slavery. And slaves should have priority to be free, and THEN do what they want.

I think the fact that no one teaches this stuff in schools automatically subscribes ppl into thinking they are free and can do what they want.

In reality you dont start of at positive zero in life. You start with debt of money needed to live free for rest of your Earthly adventure. If you refuse to pay it off at all, then you reduce the choices available to you and while some may say that hobos are the most free of all, they dont have the choice to live like Kings, but Kings can decide to live like hobos at any moment. Like Buddha.
Now you can settle that debt in pieces (jobs) or settle it once and for all if you go fastlane. And then and only then TRUE freedom starts, at least in the sense of you not being least concerned with weather your dreams can bring food into your mouth.

I could argue your personal perception of how much free you are, will depend on how much choices available to you are inline with choices you want. But in general, the more you have them the better. And since invention of money (as fiat currency) enabled us to "universalise" value, its the biggest factor in giving you more freedom.
Or you could look at with the point of view that we all born naked and able to create our own lives.
 

Bhanu

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Your passion will die a slow death in absence of appreciation (as per MJ feedback loop). Check out M J interview for knowledge for men podcast . Plus following passion is selfish thing to do ...fast lane most of the time honour selfless service rather selfish pursuit .
 

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