I'm a hitchhiker who is making the choice to become the driver

[Ms R]

I have been self employed since I was 22 (now 26) have built one business and sold it (not for even remotely close to fastlane profits sadly, but I learned a lot) and now I make my living solely online.

My income is primarily adsense/affiliates etc and is pretty passive, my main established site doesn't require much attention at all and continue to tick along nicely... but I was in the process process of building 2 newer sites which earnings are very low (under $100 a month) when I started (and finished in 3 days) MJs book.

The hitchhiker analogy smacked me like a hammer to the head... :smx4:

I have decided I am going to become a driver. I have given myself until 30th June to brainstorm ideas, research etc with the view to rolling the sleeves up 1st July. I already have at least one promising idea (based on superficial market research). In those 6 weeks I plan to push my fledgling sites into coast mode, and gather ideas, do research and decide on the best business idea to execute.

I don't have any worries about my ability to focus, because I tend to become obsessed when I start new projects at least until halfway... I have more trouble pushing through the midway to the end, but will cross that bridge when I come to it.

However I am curious how those with a job, or other non-fastlane business handle giving your fastlane business your 110% attention. Or even just other things like family, hobbies, sports - do you take a full time out from life?

 

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[Inphinity]

Nice intro, and welcome to the forum

However I am curious how those with a job, or other non-fastlane business handle giving your fastlane business your 110% attention. Or even just other things like family, hobbies, sports - do you take a full time out from life?

Personally, Monday to Friday I lose about 12 hours a day to work, I spend 2 hours with my family, 4-5 hours working on my own projects, and 5-6 hours sleeping. Weekends it's more like 8/8/8 split between family, projects and sleeping.
I've long ago given up on hobbies & entertainment for myself, there's just no time. It will come back in the future when I can leave work.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Or even just other things like family, hobbies, sports - do you take a full time out from life?

Sometimes that is the commitment that is required. I've made no illusions that Fastlane projects/businesses are easy. In fact, I'd say that they can be life consuming. You've got to want it like you want air.

 

[mrhahn]

However I am curious how those with a job, or other non-fastlane business handle giving your fastlane business your 110% attention. Or even just other things like family, hobbies, sports - do you take a full time out from life?

M-F: 9 hrs dayjob, 6 hrs family, 3 hrs work, 6 hrs sleep. Sat/Sun: 5hrs work, 10hrs family, 1hr leisure, 8 hrs sleep.
I should probably reallocate some more time for work, but we have a 6month old son. As much as this is all for him and my wife, I still want to be there to take care of him and play with him as he grows up. For hobbies, most of that is taken care of with family time anyway. I haven't played video games in who knows how long, except for the quick casual game on my phone while waiting for an oil change or my takeout order. I can pursue my other hobbies later when I have more time.

The name of the game is efficient time management. I multitask things that don't require much brainpower, e.g working out in front of the tv watching shows on my dvr. But when I need to focus, there isn't much distracting me, such as spending time with my wife/son or programming, so the time I spend at that moment is quality time.

There's still things I need to work on, but overall the past month I've gotten into a decent groove.

 

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[Ms R]

Thanks for all your replies.

MJ thanks for your personal reply, I still get a buzz out of being able to interact with the author of what I consider a very good book. Trust me I really, really want this. Hitching vs driving was a full on mindset adjustment for me. And as someone who does make money as an affiliate, I am very excited to turn things on their head and build my own affiliate force!

I will have prob 40 + hours a week pretty comfortable to work exclusively on my fastlane project. Luckily I love process and I am quite driven by the challenge of turning an idea into something awesome. I worked easy 12 + hour days when I was getting my current (hitchhiking) online business because I was driven to make it work. I get a little obsessive about projects!! I am also lucky enough to have a very supportive partner, who has the same mindset (he is working on his own project).

Since I posted above about ideas I have had many, many more and a new one is now sitting as my favorite (fill a need, scale, income potential, viral type business etc). I expect by my deadline June 30th I will have many more ideas and hopefully one or two will stand up well above the rest! :smug2:

Look forward to getting to know everyone better!

 

[CEBenz]

I think there are some projects that are very time consuming, where others can have a tendency towards the hurry up and wait situation. I think a lot depends on what your strategy is and what work you have to do. I know my new project, once up, will take a noticeable amount of data entry by me until I get users doing it for themselves but, once its entered, I'll be able to focus on spreading its word, which I'm really looking forward to. My plan for promotion involves a stab at viral marketing, which I believe is viable for my plan. Once it goes live, I'll start a progress thread.