If I Haven't Succeeded By Mid 20's, Can I Still Succeed?

[Anon3587x]

I'm doing my best to follow the tracks of successful people before me while still doing my own thing.

I've had a few failures already, I've learned from them and I feel confident in the website I've been working on. I think you only really fail when you quit

 

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[lightning]

Great post IronWill! Speed++ to you!

 

[DeletedUser394]

This thread is hilarious (mixed in with some common sense)

Problems;

A) 'Success' is a blanket term. Everyone interprets it differently. Financial success? Marrital? Family? Friends? etc

I view success not as an endpoint, but as a never ending road of self-improvement until the day I die.

B) Mid 20's? Really? If you don't achieve your view of what 'success' is by age 25 you're doomed for life and failure?

hahahahhahahahahahahha

That's about the most ludicrous suggestion I've seen yet.

What if you're 24? You get 1 year to succeed? What if you're 40? Well you might as well just quit now because you're 15 years past the success deadline.

Come on, that is ridiculous.

You can't answer this question for anyone other than yourself. To tell another person that they are wrong is foolish, because there is no set definition for success that can be applied to everyone. Why? Because there isn't. (essentialy) hahah

Seriously though;

I don't want to be a parrot but it's been stated over and over. "You only fail when you quit."

If you have a goal and miss, are you a failure? Not if you try again. Goals change constantly anyway, as you grow as a person and become wiser. Our experiences ultimately affect our viewpoints which in turn alter our priorities in life, which end up changing our goals.

Is a certain business idea not working for you? Let go of it, and try another. and another. and another. When do you stop trying? You don't. Does that make you a failure? It doesn't.

You're a failure if you succumb to laziness or any other human defect. (Couldn't think of a more suitable word)

But are some of you suggesting that people who have normal jobs are failures? Because that in itself is completely wrong.

Your interpretation of success is not neccessarily the right one. There is no right answer to "What is success?"

Just like the fastlane is not 'right'. It is right for some people, others not.

 

[theBiz]

This may go on for a while. Success is a means to an end, nothing more, nothing less. Maybe some people are talking about happiness or person fulfillment but that is not the same thing. In the meantime life comes at you fast with bills/burdens and one will eventually win.

 

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[SKM430]

I agree with you Biz, in that we all want to be successful, financially or otherwise, when we're young. Heck, I'm only 23 and I already have the mindset that I started out too late on this entrepreneurship track. It's also like you said tho, Success is a means to an end. The problem is some people will have that flash or luck very early in their lives as I hope everyone on this forum does but there are times when timing is off or the execution of an idea isn't completely there just yet. I believe the most important thing in all of this is to stay hungry and motivated because sometimes it goes take a long time (5 years 10years 15 years 20years) to get to that level of success that one wants.

 

[DeletedUser394]

This may go on for a while.Success is a means to an end, nothing more, nothing less. Maybe some people are talking about happiness or person fulfillment but that is not the same thing. In the meantime life comes at you fast with bills/burdens and one will eventually win.

Is that a fact? (let me help you... no it is not) Some people view happiness as the ULTIMATE success. Do you not understand that it is entirely a matter of OPINION? And that your opinion does not apply to everyone? Clearly you are incapable of empathy... If you can't see the point of view of your potential customers you'll most probably fail miserably.

 

[DeletedUser394]

luck

Everyone I know of, or have ever heard of/read about who are successful financially are not lucky. They busted their a**es off working insane amounts of hours 6-7 days a week doing tasks that most people wouldn't in order to build their businesses.

They come from all age groups and all demographics.

I see no luck.

 

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[biophase]

I do not mean to put anyone out, it was just my opinion, i want to be rich young, MJ said it, many people have said it. I honestly do not care if im rich at 60, it will mean nothing to me, so maybe we have different views there. Im not saying i want to be rich at 30 and then lose it but again if i can not attain wealth before i lose my health, i just dont care.

Maybe im just saying this because im young and stubborn who knows, again sorry if it offended anyone.

There is one thing that I always see common in younger people. They look at life as if there is an end day based on age. All their goals are age based, when they should be time based. People who turn 30 act like, Shit I turn 30, life is over after my birthday, but guess what, I see them the day after and they are still the same. Maybe you should be giving your businesses a 1 year time frame, instead of a before I turn XX timeframe. They might be the same in terms of the exact date, but they are very different.

You see, one goal is based on the business itself, the other is based on you. If I give my business 8 months to make $100,000, the goal is business based. If I say I have to make $100,000 before I turn 40, the goal is based on me. It's subtle, but I believe that its a huge difference in mentality.

Another thing is that younger people believe that they are working towards a better future. While this may be true, they don't realize that they should also be living in the present while doing so. Your life experiences are all about what is going on in the moment. Look at the NCAA tournament today, the #14 team that upsets the #3 seed is enjoying their tremendous happiness. I am sure they are estatic and not even thinking about their next game on Saturday. Do you walk up to a dude on the team and say, "Yeah that's great but you have to play Duke on Saturday so why are you so happy?"

So why do you do this in business? Small victories are great. In the end your business could fail, but does that mean your whole year was wasted? If at some point in time, you want to give up and try something else, do it because you want to, not because you've reached some magical number of days being alive.

 

[biophase]

This may go on for a while. Success is a means to an end, nothing more, nothing less. Maybe some people are talking about happiness or person fulfillment but that is not the same thing. In the meantime life comes at you fast with bills/burdens and one will eventually win.

I challenge you to define "successful."

Is an NBA player sitting on the bench making NBA minimum successful?

 

[DeletedUser394]

Another thing is that younger people believe that they are working towards a better future. While this may be true, they don't realize that they should also be living in the present while doing so. Your life experiences are all about what is going on in the moment.

Guilty as charged.

I would take my highschool experience as my best example.

Every day I would absolutely HATE going to class every day. So, during lunch and breaks (and even during class) I would take out notepads and plan my FUTURE.. in doing so I completely neglected my PRESENT.

Everything was always about the future. I didn't spend enough time with my friends, my teachers, my family or just being social at all... Sure I was technically in the room, but my mind was wandering into grandiose and naive visions of the future.

I would give almost anything to go back and do it all over.

 

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[DeletedUser394]

I challenge you to define "successful."

Is an NBA player sitting on the bench making NBA minimum successful?

Exactly my point!

 

[theBiz]

Is that a fact? (let me help you... no it is not) Some people view happiness as the ULTIMATE success. Do you not understand that it is entirely a matter of OPINION? And that your opinion does not apply to everyone? Clearly you are incapable of empathy... If you can't see the point of view of your potential customers you'll most probably fail miserably.

I make money in my own business already so the fail miserably thing is just not appreciated or needed, i am just not making it through a fast lane business.

I understand empathy and maybe you are having difficulty controlling your emotions with this. It is all based on facts. It is a means to an end. I did not say our "end" is all the same. Its clearly just different numbers, that's all.

If your bills are 20k per year and you spend 20k per year and you seek no further riches, i think 100k per year passively we can say you have reach a means to your end, you have attained success.

If your bills are 50k per year and you spend 50k per year, you are completely happy with that lifestyle, you need to make more than 100k securely and comfortably in order to reach success. If you do not, you have not reached a means to an end, which means you MUST work. Whether you love work or not is irrelevant, its just numbers.

Happiness and pride aside i am just talking about financial success, i understand money does not make you complete and happy.

 

[GlobalWealth]

Success is a means to an end, nothing more, nothing less.

I completely disagree here.

Success is a life path. As long as you are on the road towards achieving your goals, you are a success. Success is constant improvement.

A teacher who positively impacts hundreds of kids is a success, regardless of paycheck.

A fireman or EMT worker that saves lives everyday is a success.

An entrepreneur that constantly seeks to improve his/her business and create efficiency that drives additional profits is a success.

None of that has to do with money.

Yes, money matters. Of course it does. I have personally had years where I made very large amounts of money and years where the fry cook at McDonald's would laugh at my income.

But during that time, I was still a success because I was working towards the achievement of my goals.

Who are you, or anyone else for that matter, to decide what is the definition of success for me or anyone else?

The idea that if you aren't 'successful' in your 20s is just silly. Again, what is the definition of success?

If I floated through my 20's working paycheck to paycheck just to have beer money on the weekends with no goals, then no I am not a success.

I could say the same thing for the corporate guy making 150k/year that comes home falls on the couch and pops beer after beer.

I could also say the business owner who has lost his drive to achieve falls into the 'not successful' trap.

But that doesn't mean any of the above mentioned people are unable to change later in their lives to work towards achieving their goals.

Like biophase asked, at what point would YOU quit?

If you have a predetermined point in your life where you give up, you have already failed.

 

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[Rickson9]

Just an unrelated aside: my definition of 'success'.

"To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived - that is to have succeeded." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Best regards.

 

[theBiz]

Global i take your posts into consideration all the time, i think you have valid points.

A teacher who positively impacts hundreds of kids is a success, regardless of paycheck.

I used to not believe this but i realize as i get older that these people should be respected and do live very fulfilling lives.

Maybe ive just become so conditioned to think about money that its almost all i ever think about. The push some of us get from seeing friends and relatives struggling makes money so important that happiness can be shadowed by personal income. I don't know maybe im wrong, i see it close to impossible to be happy while financially struggling or always worrying about money. thanx

 

[Infinity]

Thanks everyone for these insightful replies, I learned from this thread...

Good post Iron, best of luck with your real estate empire

My key take away is to not always be so focused on the future, and forget/not enjoy the present. I'm definitely guilty of this, and am consciously going to try and avoid this going forward (to some degree!). Thanks biophase

 

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[dexta]

I just wanted to say one more thing. In my opinion, the whole idea of fastlane is to get financially free early enough to be able to enjoy what life actually has to offer. For me, that means growing my money tree by my 30s, maybe 40s, because I'll still be young enough to have the energy to do things like travel, which I highly value. But for some, it may not matter as much to get free while young, they may have other things in mind which they would want to do that doesn't require a young age. If someone wants to get rich enough to be able to secure a good future for his children or grandchildren, then older age may not matter that much, for example. In my case, I am in my 20s and am aiming to get free by my early 30s, because I want to be able to live with my family in style. So if I don't get on that path by then, then by my terms, I have failed, but it doesn't mean it's the end of the world, just time to shift gears so I can prepare for the next best thing (i.e. getting free by my 40s). The only TRUE failure for any aspiring fastlaner is giving up on the fastlane path. But at the same time, that doesn't mean your life can't be enjoyable. After all, there are people who are not financially free who still enjoy their lives, right? Though it's somewhat relative, I believe there are firm criteria for what determines "success" and "failure" for a fastlaner. Just my two cents

 

[Rickson9]

Maybe ive just become so conditioned to think about money that its almost all i ever think about. The push some of us get from seeing friends and relatives struggling makes money so important that happiness can be shadowed by personal income. I don't know maybe im wrong, i see it close to impossible to be happy while financially struggling or always worrying about money. thanx

"Financially struggling" is deceptive. Although usually associated with low income, it can happen at any income. A person with $10 may struggle financially while trying to aspire to live like a person with $1000 the same as an individual with $10M may struggle financially while trying to aspire to live like an individual with $1B.

The amount of money will never alleviate "financial struggle". This is an emotional and psychological battle that can never be won. There is a reason that happiness is not correlated very strongly with money.

In my opinion, there is no reason to "worry" about money any more than I would "worry" about a hammer. For me, they are both simple, relatively easy-to-use tools.

Best regards.

 

[InMotion]

Look the majority of millionaires I know didnt start until they were thirty or older. I have two relatives that are multi-millionaires and they are over 50. So the answer is I think that MJ is driving towards is that if you engage in the process and are committed then becoming wealthy can come at any age. I think MJ would say that there is also a Slowlane in becoming a millionaire as well, its not a question if you get there its when in your life are you getting there. I agree with MJ and do not want to be the richest man in the retirement home. Im in my late 20's and had several small business failures and I still believe im going to be very wealthy, but you have to stay at it and go about it in the right way.

 

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[biophase]

In my opinion, the whole idea of fastlane is to get financially free early enough to be able to enjoy what life actually has to offer. For me, that means growing my money tree by my 30s, maybe 40s, because I'll still be young enough to have the energy to do things like travel, which I highly value.

Though I understand what you are saying, you may miss things that you can do while you are in your 20's that you can't do when you are 30. My point is that if you do this you may end up having $10M when you are 30 and look at and say that you missed your 20's. That's 10 years that no amount of money is going to get you back. So while you are busy making your millions in your 20's, stop and look around some of the time.

 

[James Fake]

Though I understand what you are saying, you may miss things that you can do while you are in your 20's that you can't do when you are 30. My point is that if you do this you may end up having $10M when you are 30 and look at and say that you missed your 20's. That's 10 years that no amount of money is going to get you back. So while you are busy making your millions in your 20's, stop and look around some of the time.

Wow, that is a very real statement. Between 24 and 26, I feel like I missed out on a lot because I was always head down working. I've learned to regulate my times, and have set times for "me" and "non-work" times.. it keeps my life balanced.

 

[dexta]

Though I understand what you are saying, you may miss things that you can do while you are in your 20's that you can't do when you are 30. My point is that if you do this you may end up having $10M when you are 30 and look at and say that you missed your 20's. That's 10 years that no amount of money is going to get you back. So while you are busy making your millions in your 20's, stop and look around some of the time.

Thanks for the advice. Luckily, I'm in a business that allows a fair amount of automation with potential for high scale, so even in my infant stages, I find myself with a lot of free time. It almost feels easier than a slacker's college schedule. It's just a matter of time before the money starts rolling in and I begin expanding. In the meanwhile, I'm meeting everyone I want to meet, working out, playing sports, so yeah. I think I'm doing okay.

 

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[Builderman]

James F,

You have not 'succeeded' and you are in your mid-20's? WTF! Son, when I was born the Cuban Missile Crisis was the hot news. We worshipped Marilyn Monroe, not Lady Gaga. I remember thinking the same thing, more or less, every few years. "If I haven't made it by now, I never will." This is what MJ calls a "flatulent headwind" and it can be some pretty damaging self-deception if you let it take hold. I put all of my youthful energy into learning the homebuilding and remodeling trade - we do need folks to provide our shelter, and that is a job that will always be needed - and when I got my license way back, I basically owned another job, with all the risk of a business. This forum or any others like it simply did not exist when I was in my twenties. This is a powerful tool to build yourself from the ground up. F*ck no twenty-six is not too old!! I am FIFTY and excited and positive like never before about my own future. Unlike yourself I have 30 years of looking back in dismay that I am quickly putting behind me and moving forward. Your future is ahead of you. If you have great ideas and inspiration, go ahead and try, make your mistakes, lick your wounds, don't get caught up in what your friends are doing - or NOT doing - and put the pedal to the metal, younger brother! No whining, just WINNING!

Builderman

 

[Consolation]

There is one thing that I always see common in younger people. They look at life as if there is an end day based on age. All their goals are age based, when they should be time based. People who turn 30 act like, Shit I turn 30, life is over after my birthday, but guess what, I see them the day after and they are still the same. Maybe you should be giving your businesses a 1 year time frame, instead of a before I turn XX timeframe. They might be the same in terms of the exact date, but they are very different.

You see, one goal is based on the business itself, the other is based on you. If I give my business 8 months to make $100,000, the goal is business based. If I say I have to make $100,000 before I turn 40, the goal is based on me. It's subtle, but I believe that its a huge difference in mentality.

Another thing is that younger people believe that they are working towards a better future. While this may be true, they don't realize that they should also be living in the present while doing so. Your life experiences are all about what is going on in the moment. Look at the NCAA tournament today, the #14 team that upsets the #3 seed is enjoying their tremendous happiness. I am sure they are estatic and not even thinking about their next game on Saturday. Do you walk up to a dude on the team and say, "Yeah that's great but you have to play Duke on Saturday so why are you so happy?"

So why do you do this in business? Small victories are great. In the end your business could fail, but does that mean your whole year was wasted? If at some point in time, you want to give up and try something else, do it because you want to, not because you've reached some magical number of days being alive.

I turned 28 today. Nothing more fulfilling than this message. Thank you so much @biophase