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Introduction – Charles, 23, Santa Barbara CA (Looking for next steps)

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Hello everybody,

My name is Charles, I'm 23 and currently living in beautiful Santa Barbara, CA. I'm originally from Minnesota, and entrepreneurship has always been at the forefront of my thoughts. I've seen how quickly things can change when you let other people control your life via employment, and even when I was in grade school I admired the freedom, flexibility, and exponentialality of building your own business.

When I was in middle school, I always had lemonade stands, I sold water bottles to thirsty parents at soccer games, or I sold snacks at school. I still remember packing up a cooler full of waters and wheeling it down to the soccer field near my house. In late middle school / early high school, I started a YouTube channel with information on jailbreaking your iPhone and the best tweaks. My YouTube channel and twitter following both reached over 1000. I ended up getting bullied for it and stopped making videos (in hindsight I shouldn't have stopped, but hey, I was a kid.) I moved on to creating a bodybuilding website and developing mobile games for the App Store. While I saw some mediocre success for my age, I eventually gave those up as well.

During this time, I read the millionaire fast lane, and all of the feelings I had were put into words. Words and statistics. Finally, I felt I wasn't crazy for wanting to avoid the path of a traditional job. I moved out to California with my savings, and like any good high school grad, I went to college. I skirted my way around a job through various scholarships and grants, and in three and a half years I completed my two year degree. It's worth mentioning that I also traveled through the East Coast, Brazil, and most of Southern Europe during this time.

Currently, I have a job managing a hostel in Santa Barbara, and it is amazing. I only work 3 days a week, I am a two-minute walk from the beach, and my housing and food is paid for with an hourly wage on top. By all accounts, I am very successful for my age. However, I feel I am destined for more. For some reason, I just can't seem to think and solve problems like an entrepreneur anymore. I fail to see small problems around me, and the larger ones I can't seem to think of a proper solution for. For example, the biggest problem plaguing the hostel / hospitality industry right now is a lack of travelers. How would I solve that? Advertising? Of course, that's just a demonstration of my recently lackluster way of thinking.

I am hoping that visiting and interacting on this forum will bring me back to the entrepreneurial way of thinking. I have the time and skills to execute something incredible, I am just lost on what problem I should focus on solving.
 
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Ximduni ecuesf.

Dassipvmz, O jewi e kuc nepehoph e jutvim op Tepve Cescese, epf ov ot eneboph. O upmz xusl 3 fezt e xiil, O en e vxu-nopavi xeml gsun vji ciedj, epf nz juatoph epf guuf ot qeof gus xovj ep juasmz xehi up vuq.

Guapfevoup ot onqusvepv. Vjot ot e hsiev guapfevoup, fidipv kuc, hsiev mudevoup, xiemvjz esie ... zua jewi emm vji vuumt eweomecmi vu tvesv fuoph tunivjoph.

us iyenqmi, vji cohhitv qsucmin qmehaoph vji jutvim / jutqovemovz opfatvsz sohjv pux ot e medl ug vsewimist. Jux xuamf O tumwi vjev?

Miv't tvesv xovj vji jutvim't xictovi?

Jux ot ov?

Fuit ov dupwisv?

Fuit ov muul huuf?

Dep zua tvesv vjisi?

Dep zua qsuquti e sifiwimuqnipv fupi gus GSII, epf qeof up ep opdsieti op cuulopht?

Tunivonit qsucmint esi tvesoph at quopv-cmepl op vji gedi.
 
Jiz Djesmit!
O’n emtu pix. E xeml vu vji ciedj ot tuapfoph qsivvz huuf gsun gsohof 37 fihsiit, jisi op Nodjohep!
 
Ximduni ecuesf.



Guapfevoup ot onqusvepv. Vjot ot e hsiev guapfevoup, fidipv kuc, hsiev mudevoup, xiemvjz esie ... zua jewi emm vji vuumt eweomecmi vu tvesv fuoph tunivjoph.



Miv't tvesv xovj vji jutvim't xictovi?

Jux ot ov?

Fuit ov dupwisv?

Fuit ov muul huuf?

Dep zua tvesv vjisi?

Dep zua qsuquti e sifiwimuqnipv fupi gus GSII, epf qeof up ep opdsieti op cuulopht?

Tunivonit qsucmint esi tvesoph at quopv-cmepl op vji gedi.
Vjepl zua, ziej O'n hsevigam gus vji uqqusvapovoit jisi.

Vji xictovi ot fidipv, vji mepfoph qehi ot e movvmi ahmz, cav vji sitv ug vji xictovi ot qsivvz tmiil. O'f tez vji siem qsucmin ot e medl ug wotocomovz up neslivoph epf edditt vu vji mudevoup. Pu dmiep epf ietz xez vu hiv jisi gsun MEY. Zua piif vu veli 2 catit epf ov velit 3 juast 40 nopavit (fsowoph ot 1 juas 45 nopavit). E tjavvmi tiswodi xuamf ci e hsiev ofie, cav neshopt esi emsiefz vjop.

Vji jutvim ot qesv ug e djeop ug 7 us tu jutvimt, emm atoph e Huuhmi Tjiivt voni/ vetl nepehis demmif vji tdusicuesf. (qodvasif xovj qistupem penit sinuwif). Vjiz esi fiwimuqoph ep eqq/xictovi vjev xomm jewi vji teni gapdvoup epf dummidv feve epf epemzvodt, qedlehif vu timm vu uvjis tnemm catopittit vjev xomm cipigov gsun ov. Vjot, O vjopl, ot vji uxpist vseptovoup vu e getvmepi catopitt nufim optvief ug vszoph vu nepehi iwip nusi mudevoupt xovj vjop neshopt epf duptvepv neopvipepdi.

Vjiz katv etlif ni zitvisfez og O'f ci opvisitvif op kuopoph vjin vu meapdj vji pix 'tdusicuesf tnemm catopitt nepehinipv' catopitt, epf O vjopl hivvoph e sumi xovj opduni simevif vu jux nepz dunqepoit esi qezoph gus e tdusicuesf tactdsoqvoup xuamf ci nz ofiem getvmepi csielexez (ev mietv simevif vu vjot opfatvsz.) Ov't jupitvmz e hsiev qsufadv epf jimqif vjin ciduni upi ug vji gix taddittgam epf qsugovecmi jutvim dunqepoit op vji AT; vji eqqmodevoup ug vji tdusicuesf siedjit ges ges cizupf jutvimt et ximm.

O en huoph vu hiv nusi fiveomt ecuav xjev O dep fu vu qsuwofi wemai vu vji pix dunqepz epf jux qeznipv tvsadvasi duamf xusl.
 

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Vjiz katv etlif ni zitvisfez og O'f ci opvisitvif op kuopoph vjin vu meapdj vji pix 'tdusicuesf tnemm catopitt nepehinipv' catopitt, epf O vjopl hivvoph e sumi xovj opduni simevif vu jux nepz dunqepoit esi qezoph gus e tdusicuesf tactdsoqvoup xuamf ci nz ofiem getvmepi csielexez (ev mietv simevif vu vjot opfatvsz.) Ov't jupitvmz e hsiev qsufadv epf jimqif vjin ciduni upi ug vji gix taddittgam epf qsugovecmi jutvim dunqepoit op vji AT; vji eqqmodevoup ug vji tdusicuesf siedjit ges ges cizupf jutvimt et ximm.

Ximm vjev tuapft moli vji uqqusvapovz, dep zua hiv ep iraovz qoidi us qoidi ug vji qesvpistjoq?
 
Access Restricted: Unlock 1,000,000+ Posts

Stop Peeking Through the Keyhole.
Open the Door.

You hit a wall because the best advice isn't free—it's earned. Since 2007, MJ DeMarco has been active here daily (99.9% active rate), building a war room for entrepreneurs who refuse to settle for mediocrity.

  • Active Daily: Life-changing content posted dozens of times every day. No dead threads.
  • MJ's Inner Circle: Direct access to the author of The Millionaire Fastlane.
  • Vetted Network: Connect with founders scaling to 7 and 8 figures.
  • Proven Roadmaps: Strategy over motivation. Execution over "hustle porn."
"SCALED TO 6-FIGURE MONTHS"
"Tips and advice here saved me from huge mistakes, others allowed me to scale my business to 6-figure months."
— User MitchC
"INSANE QUALITY OF PEOPLE"
"The number of high quality people I've met from this forum has been insane. All of it predicated on building real value."
— User Richard Peck

"You are the average of the five people you surround yourself with."
Are you surrounding yourself with success?

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