tl;dr: Just finished both books and they screwed my head back on straight. Glad to be here.
This intro might be a little long but I want to put some stuff down so that I have it at least documented somewhere.
My name is Jason. I'm 34 and live in Springfield, Illinois. I've been married one year exactly. My wife, 28, an OB/GYN resident, is 23 weeks pregnant with our first child. I've been trying to get a business off the ground since we moved here 11 months ago. But I've lacked some focus because I didn't have the end goal clearly defined. But let me go back a little bit.
I joined the Navy out of high school. I knew at the time that this was more my father's desire than mine but I also knew I was getting no help for college(which I saw as a requirement). Military life was not for me. Towards the end of my 5-year tour on submarines it become clearer as Officers who were younger and had less experience than enlisted me were my 'superiors.' F*ck that. I didn't re-enlist. On signing my check-out sheet my Weapons Officer told me, 'Ya know, getting out of the Navy isn't going to change your problem with authority.' He was right.
College was after that. By that time I had read some books about money, namely the ones by the guy with two dads, and I thought the sensible thing was to study Business. You see where this is going already, don't you? Three and half years of employee-training-disguised-a-degree later, I had my very own cube. Complete with motivational quotes pinned to the walls. This is not what I had set out to do. I had lost my way and subsequently, distracted myself by smoking an obscene amount of pot and getting into a destructive relationship with a Borderline.
The relationship ended with a spectacular trainwreck, as they tend to with BPDs, and finally got into therapy and the gym. It took some deep, and frankly, uncomfortable dives into my psychology to figure out how I had gotten there. I did finally come to see it as a series of choices I had made. Mostly out of anger. I started making better ones. I got into a healthy relationship. I put down the bong. I started eating better. Life has been on an upswing since.
Which almost brings us to the present. Along the way, there had been this 'entrepreneurial' drive. The entire reason I went to the college to study what I did was because I thought it would get me closer to that freedom. I started a record company, that went nowhere. An online music store, went nowhere. Switched to personal training, all of one client before I saw the time-trap ahead. Now I'm onto freelance web-development, quickly going nowhere though I have learned a lot. My deficiency is clearly in Execution.
A lot of things went through my mind reading this book. I see the path my burgeoning family is going down. My wife HATES her residency. Not so much the work, but the people and system. The 80-hour weeks away from home with no control. Am I going to have to comfort her every night that it takes her to pay off $300k in student loans? More importantly, we're going to die. She has a breast cancer genetic mutation and I probably have something too (my mom died suddenly when she was 26). My time with her is limited. We're likely not going to make it to the finish line in the slowlane. Do I want my kids and I to only know her in the 2 hours after she gets home(most of which are spent emotionally unloading)? And my kids, do I want them in a public school system that acts as tax-funded babysitter program and poisons their mind with equity politics over actual teaching? And my dreams. If I'm stuck in the slowlane, when will I ever find the time to learn a new language, study math and physics, travel, and write? These aren't big demands. I don't need the lifestyle of the rich and famous and should be doable. F*ck this. I may have not had a 'F*ck this experience' but I've definitely had many 'F*ck this events.'
Somehow I happened upon a YouTube video poking fun at Mr. Fake Slowlane, Dave. And the content creator, Josh Fluke, recommended a few resources. These books were one. I picked them up and let them sit for a couple weeks. A few days ago, I need something to read in between sets in the garage gym and chose TMF . I devoured it. I moved on to Unscripted . Devoured that. Quite honestly, I'm surprised someone in the Fastlane would give us the directions to get there. But I cannot help but be grateful. Unscripted , particularly, answered all the questions I had coming from TMF . I've already had some breakthroughs when it comes to coming up with business ideas and looking at them as problem-solvers rather than selfishly designed money grabs. I have some ideas that I'll need to act on. They may be the right path or they may lead me to the right path. We'll see where the road takes me. Again, can't be grateful enough that this info is out there in a no-bullshit fashion.
(You may not see a ton of my posts as I'm about to take a dive into the archives. But I'll try to add what value I can to this great resource and I'll keep you all updated on my progress. Let's get after it.)
This intro might be a little long but I want to put some stuff down so that I have it at least documented somewhere.
My name is Jason. I'm 34 and live in Springfield, Illinois. I've been married one year exactly. My wife, 28, an OB/GYN resident, is 23 weeks pregnant with our first child. I've been trying to get a business off the ground since we moved here 11 months ago. But I've lacked some focus because I didn't have the end goal clearly defined. But let me go back a little bit.
I joined the Navy out of high school. I knew at the time that this was more my father's desire than mine but I also knew I was getting no help for college(which I saw as a requirement). Military life was not for me. Towards the end of my 5-year tour on submarines it become clearer as Officers who were younger and had less experience than enlisted me were my 'superiors.' F*ck that. I didn't re-enlist. On signing my check-out sheet my Weapons Officer told me, 'Ya know, getting out of the Navy isn't going to change your problem with authority.' He was right.
College was after that. By that time I had read some books about money, namely the ones by the guy with two dads, and I thought the sensible thing was to study Business. You see where this is going already, don't you? Three and half years of employee-training-disguised-a-degree later, I had my very own cube. Complete with motivational quotes pinned to the walls. This is not what I had set out to do. I had lost my way and subsequently, distracted myself by smoking an obscene amount of pot and getting into a destructive relationship with a Borderline.
The relationship ended with a spectacular trainwreck, as they tend to with BPDs, and finally got into therapy and the gym. It took some deep, and frankly, uncomfortable dives into my psychology to figure out how I had gotten there. I did finally come to see it as a series of choices I had made. Mostly out of anger. I started making better ones. I got into a healthy relationship. I put down the bong. I started eating better. Life has been on an upswing since.
Which almost brings us to the present. Along the way, there had been this 'entrepreneurial' drive. The entire reason I went to the college to study what I did was because I thought it would get me closer to that freedom. I started a record company, that went nowhere. An online music store, went nowhere. Switched to personal training, all of one client before I saw the time-trap ahead. Now I'm onto freelance web-development, quickly going nowhere though I have learned a lot. My deficiency is clearly in Execution.
A lot of things went through my mind reading this book. I see the path my burgeoning family is going down. My wife HATES her residency. Not so much the work, but the people and system. The 80-hour weeks away from home with no control. Am I going to have to comfort her every night that it takes her to pay off $300k in student loans? More importantly, we're going to die. She has a breast cancer genetic mutation and I probably have something too (my mom died suddenly when she was 26). My time with her is limited. We're likely not going to make it to the finish line in the slowlane. Do I want my kids and I to only know her in the 2 hours after she gets home(most of which are spent emotionally unloading)? And my kids, do I want them in a public school system that acts as tax-funded babysitter program and poisons their mind with equity politics over actual teaching? And my dreams. If I'm stuck in the slowlane, when will I ever find the time to learn a new language, study math and physics, travel, and write? These aren't big demands. I don't need the lifestyle of the rich and famous and should be doable. F*ck this. I may have not had a 'F*ck this experience' but I've definitely had many 'F*ck this events.'
Somehow I happened upon a YouTube video poking fun at Mr. Fake Slowlane, Dave. And the content creator, Josh Fluke, recommended a few resources. These books were one. I picked them up and let them sit for a couple weeks. A few days ago, I need something to read in between sets in the garage gym and chose TMF . I devoured it. I moved on to Unscripted . Devoured that. Quite honestly, I'm surprised someone in the Fastlane would give us the directions to get there. But I cannot help but be grateful. Unscripted , particularly, answered all the questions I had coming from TMF . I've already had some breakthroughs when it comes to coming up with business ideas and looking at them as problem-solvers rather than selfishly designed money grabs. I have some ideas that I'll need to act on. They may be the right path or they may lead me to the right path. We'll see where the road takes me. Again, can't be grateful enough that this info is out there in a no-bullshit fashion.
(You may not see a ton of my posts as I'm about to take a dive into the archives. But I'll try to add what value I can to this great resource and I'll keep you all updated on my progress. Let's get after it.)
Dislike ads? Become a Fastlane member:
Subscribe today and surround yourself with winners and millionaire mentors, not those broke friends who only want to drink beer and play video games. :-)
Membership Required: Upgrade to Expose Nearly 1,000,000 Posts
Ready to Unleash the Millionaire Entrepreneur in You?
Become a member of the Fastlane Forum, the private community founded by best-selling author and multi-millionaire entrepreneur MJ DeMarco. Since 2007, MJ DeMarco has poured his heart and soul into the Fastlane Forum, helping entrepreneurs reclaim their time, win their financial freedom, and live their best life.
With more than 39,000 posts packed with insights, strategies, and advice, you’re not just a member—you’re stepping into MJ’s inner-circle, a place where you’ll never be left alone.
Become a member and gain immediate access to...
- Active Community: Ever join a community only to find it DEAD? Not at Fastlane! As you can see from our home page, life-changing content is posted dozens of times daily.
- Exclusive Insights: Direct access to MJ DeMarco’s daily contributions and wisdom.
- Powerful Networking Opportunities: Connect with a diverse group of successful entrepreneurs who can offer mentorship, collaboration, and opportunities.
- Proven Strategies: Learn from the best in the business, with actionable advice and strategies that can accelerate your success.
"You are the average of the five people you surround yourself with the most..."
Who are you surrounding yourself with? Surround yourself with millionaire success. Join Fastlane today!
Join Today
