Is there something else between Fastlane and Slowlane?

[EastWind]

Is there a middle ground?

We may not embrace slowlane on this side of the net, but the reality is that those people who are in slowlane but focused are better than the majority of people who are overspending and in the no lane zone.

At one point in my life, I was those in the no lane zone. I was spending more than I had or made. I realized that I had to do something about it and got into the slow lane. I found a frugal forum and took the best I could from it. I started saving, even tho slowly, but saving. I stopped buying things that I didn't need. I started using coupons, looking out for sales when I shopped, I cut out cable and other luxuries, started eating in more and eating out less. I didn't have any great ideas to get into the fast lane, but even tho I was in the slowlane, at least I was getting somewhere.

However, to transition from slow lane to fastlane is not just about knowing that you can, but at the end of the day. One has to have a great idea or come across a great opportunity. I'm still in the slowlane and not in the fastlane at all.

So what's the inbetween? I'm currently at the slowlane, and will like to shift to the next gear, is there an in between?

 

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[Runum]

Yes there is space in between. One of the things we have discussed is that you have to change your mindset and habits from the victim mentality to one of control. During that time you have to learn lessons and mature so that when you do progress you don't lose it all frivolously. You have to develop personal responsibility. This is the reason that people that win the lottery are broke a year later, no maturity, no mindset change.

Also, one of the steps to the fastlane would be to develop the ability to see opportunity. They are all around you all the time. They have always been there. Immaturity keeps you focused on the wrong things. I would also think another, higher step would be to create opportunities rather than waiting for them to appear.

It does sound like you are on your way but it is a journey, not a destination. One of the things that people struggle with here now is, what do you do once you have reached your goals. I think we are learning that there is some joy in the journey no matter how difficult it is. Good luck.:cheers:

PS: Great question +++speed

 

[kwerner]

Great explanation Runum.

 

[Kinsey6287]

Awesome post Runum! Hit the nail right on the head there!

And awesome question Eastwind!

 

[MonTexan]

Getting from the Slowlane to the Fastlane is a process just like getting from your garage to the express lane on the freeway. First you must put your car in reverse and back out of the garage. This seems to be where most people get stuck in the process in real life....living in the past, worrying about why they're not good enough, smart enough, don't have enough time, don't have enough money etc. Listening to their own EXCUSES is the equivalent of leaving the car in reverse and plowing down the neighbor's fence.

When they finally realize that they've just backed through the fence, hopefully they put the car in drive. Not into 6th gear mind you, but 1st gear. They read books, go to networking events, participate in forums, and surround themselves with like-minded people. Guess what, soon they're exiting their neighborhood in second gear and starting to make some great personal and business contacts.

Keeping focused, they shift into third gear and enter onto the feeder road. Maybe they find a potential business partner, attend some classes or seminars in their area of interest, and read some more books. Gaining speed and gaining confidence at the same time.

The entrance to the freeway is up ahead. Do you have the balls to grab 4th gear and finalize your business plan, open a business checking account and deposit some money, make an offer on a property, set up your website, or do whatever is necessary to keep pushing forward? Or will you chicken out and listen to those thoughts from the past that remind you of crashing down the neighbor's fence?

Ready to merge onto the freeway? Awesome, grab 5th gear and start doing some business deals! Take Action! Even though you're still busy working the 9-5 j.o.b, take action EVERY night. And on weekends. And on holidays. Stop watching TV. Stop all the distractions and keep your FOCUS. You're so close to the fastlane but this is where most people pull over and quit. Grab 6th gear and juice the nitrous. Keep taking MASSIVE ACTION and you will leave the slowlane behind and forever ride the fastlane.

As Runum said, it's a journey, not a destination. You can't shift from reverse to 6th gear without killing the engine just as you won't have a fastlane business without putting in work. If you're taking action in the evenings when everyone else is watching brain-drain TV shows, you'll make it to the fastlane and may not even be sure exactly how you got there. It's all about your level of activity. Slowlane-to-Fastlane isn't generally an overnight event, it's a continually evolving process.

 

[kwerner]

Getting from the Slowlane to the Fastlane is a process just like getting from your garage to the express lane on the freeway. First you must put your car in reverse and back out of the garage. This seems to be where most people get stuck in the process in real life....living in the past, worrying about why they're not good enough, smart enough, don't have enough time, don't have enough money etc. Listening to their own EXCUSES is the equivalent of leaving the car in reverse and plowing down the neighbor's fence.

When they finally realize that they've just backed through the fence, hopefully they put the car in drive. Not into 6th gear mind you, but 1st gear. They read books, go to networking events, participate in forums, and surround themselves with like-minded people. Guess what, soon they're exiting their neighborhood in second gear and starting to make some great personal and business contacts.

Keeping focused, they shift into third gear and enter onto the feeder road. Maybe they find a potential business partner, attend some classes or seminars in their area of interest, and read some more books. Gaining speed and gaining confidence at the same time.

The entrance to the freeway is up ahead. Do you have the balls to grab 4th gear and finalize your business plan, open a business checking account and deposit some money, make an offer on a property, set up your website, or do whatever is necessary to keep pushing forward? Or will you chicken out and listen to those thoughts from the past that remind you of crashing down the neighbor's fence?

Ready to merge onto the freeway? Awesome, grab 5th gear and start doing some business deals! Take Action! Even though you're still busy working the 9-5 j.o.b, take action EVERY night. And on weekends. And on holidays. Stop watching TV. Stop all the distractions and keep your FOCUS. You're so close to the fastlane but this is where most people pull over and quit. Grab 6th gear and juice the nitrous. Keep taking MASSIVE ACTION and you will leave the slowlane behind and forever ride the fastlane.

As Runum said, it's a journey, not a destination. You can't shift from reverse to 6th gear without killing the engine just as you won't have a fastlane business without putting in work. If you're taking action in the evenings when everyone else is watching brain-drain TV shows, you'll make it to the fastlane and may not even be sure exactly how you got there. It's all about your level of activity. Slowlane-to-Fastlane isn't generally an overnight event, it's a continually evolving process.

+1 Vote for this anecdote ending up in MJ's book!

 

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[Gymjunkie]

Getting from the Slowlane to the Fastlane is a process just like getting from your garage to the express lane on the freeway. First you must put your car in reverse and back out of the garage. This seems to be where most people get stuck in the process in real life....living in the past, worrying about why they're not good enough, smart enough, don't have enough time, don't have enough money etc. Listening to their own EXCUSES is the equivalent of leaving the car in reverse and plowing down the neighbor's fence.

When they finally realize that they've just backed through the fence, hopefully they put the car in drive. Not into 6th gear mind you, but 1st gear. They read books, go to networking events, participate in forums, and surround themselves with like-minded people. Guess what, soon they're exiting their neighborhood in second gear and starting to make some great personal and business contacts.

Keeping focused, they shift into third gear and enter onto the feeder road. Maybe they find a potential business partner, attend some classes or seminars in their area of interest, and read some more books. Gaining speed and gaining confidence at the same time.

The entrance to the freeway is up ahead. Do you have the balls to grab 4th gear and finalize your business plan, open a business checking account and deposit some money, make an offer on a property, set up your website, or do whatever is necessary to keep pushing forward? Or will you chicken out and listen to those thoughts from the past that remind you of crashing down the neighbor's fence?

Ready to merge onto the freeway? Awesome, grab 5th gear and start doing some business deals! Take Action! Even though you're still busy working the 9-5 j.o.b, take action EVERY night. And on weekends. And on holidays. Stop watching TV. Stop all the distractions and keep your FOCUS. You're so close to the fastlane but this is where most people pull over and quit. Grab 6th gear and juice the nitrous. Keep taking MASSIVE ACTION and you will leave the slowlane behind and forever ride the fastlane.

As Runum said, it's a journey, not a destination. You can't shift from reverse to 6th gear without killing the engine just as you won't have a fastlane business without putting in work. If you're taking action in the evenings when everyone else is watching brain-drain TV shows, you'll make it to the fastlane and may not even be sure exactly how you got there. It's all about your level of activity. Slowlane-to-Fastlane isn't generally an overnight event, it's a continually evolving process.

Explained Fastlane nicely. Speed+

 

[acb123]

I think it was touched on earlier but the keyword here is "mindset". I would lose that slow lane reference from your vocabulary asap. To piggyback on another analogy, your car is backed out of the garage and you're in forward motion. How fast you go depend entirely on yourself.

Always remember, there are no such things as overnight millionaires unless you can carry a football, hit a baseball, or win the lottery. Also remember that it can happen. You just need to give yourself time and take control and have the proper mindset.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

+1 Vote for this anecdote ending up in MJ's book!

Quote, it just did!

 

[MJ DeMarco]

The Fastlane is a mindset and a roadmap. Once you CHOOSE to use it, you are on the Fastlane. Now just because you are using the map, doesn't mean you are moving at break-neck speed. Just because you are using the map doesn't entitle you to your destination instantaneously. Like a long distance roadtrip, the JOURNEY starts -- the FASTLANE ENSUES, the moment you choose to start the trip.

When you first deploy the roadmap is when you enter the Fastlane, however the results of the Fastlane won't appear until you've significantly traveled the road and engaged in process. Process is where people get lost ... like Montexan explained, they get out of their garage and stand idle in front of their house.

The Fastlane is and never will be an "event" -- it is a process and the first step in that process is to adopt the roadmap and the mindset within that roadmap.

"The middle" to which I think the OP is referring too is the actual nuts-and-bolts of the journey. Sure, while that journey is ongoing, you still can have a 9-5 job and attack your debts -- Slowlane strategies -- which can serve to enhance the Fastlane journey.

 

[jganz]

I think it is daunting when you have no experience in real estate, or web development or a number of other avenues to think fastland when you are a 9-5 person.

as has been stated above.. it is a mindset change..

wealth means alot to different people... 30k could be average.. 50k could be average.. 100k could be alot.. it all depends on your reality.. as an example..

say you are making 40k at your job... you are an IT guy at your company.. 40 hours a week.. pays the bills

you decide to start a powerwashing business on the side...

after 2 years.. your making 40k at powerwashing.. only your doing it in 20 hours a week.. labor intensive.. but half the labor from your day job..



this is an aha moment.. another gear.. .. THE VALUE OF TIME

say you quit your job and do it full time.. 40 hours a week... now you make 65k a year.. but you still have a full time job..

say you hire someone to do the work and you only make 30k (he makes 35k) but you open up another powerwash in anther town and make 60k there.. (now you got 90k)

another gear

say you never work again and have powerwash companies in 10 towns..

now your fast lane..

there are gears in between.. the faster you can shift those gears ... the faster you can become financially free...

I am a strong believer that owning your own business (leveraging your own time) is a major crossroads on your journey..

 

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[EastWind]

haha, after some soul searching, I found it.

it's nothing but the MINDSET, the decision that you are going to make it, not the desire to want to, but the decision that you must make it. it can't be this easy.

 

[theBiz]

honestly people can say whatever they want i 100 percent agree with everything said here but luck has some involvement. I do not want to offend MJ in anyway but just as an example, he saw a value in a particular business with huge growth, so he put everything into it and decided it was going to be it. Worked his *ss off and made it big. Lets say he was doing a website, what if right before the launch of the site, the web had been re formed or replaced by something else. All his time and energy would have brought him into a hole and prob been screwed working a 9-5. Alot of times this can be a situation for majority. Picking the right industry or project is so important i believe, to avoid this. LUCK will play some role. Some people say make sure you have a back up if it dosent work, others say make no back up so you have no choice, but external things you can not control can stop the progress. You have to be aggressive, positive, and believe in your plan, but it actually has to be a good idea..haha

 

[365]

but external things you can not control can stop the progress. You have to be aggressive, positive, and believe in your plan, but it actually has to be a good idea..haha

Yeah, I agree. A good idea alone is not sufficient. But you at least not work on a bad idea and have an "okay" concept, otherwise its going to get tought:smxB:

 

[mtnman]

Why yes, yes there is. Changing lanes my friend...

Hunger.
Hustle.
Fail.
Strive.
Experience.
Wisdom.
Maybe profit.
Love the life.

 

[Runum]

honestly people can say whatever they want i 100 percent agree with everything said here but luck has some involvement. I do not want to offend MJ in anyway but just as an example, he saw a value in a particular business with huge growth, so he put everything into it and decided it was going to be it. Worked his *ss off and made it big. Lets say he was doing a website, what if right before the launch of the site, the web had been re formed or replaced by something else. All his time and energy would have brought him into a hole and prob been screwed working a 9-5. Alot of times this can be a situation for majority. Picking the right industry or project is so important i believe, to avoid this. LUCK will play some role. Some people say make sure you have a back up if it dosent work, others say make no back up so you have no choice, but external things you can not control can stop the progress. You have to be aggressive, positive, and believe in your plan, but it actually has to be a good idea..haha

I see your point about luck but are you saying that if MJ's idea had not gone his way that he would have had to do the 9-5 for the rest of his life?

 

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[theBiz]

no people crazy driven will arrive at the gates somehow, but most people after that will give up. Your family telling you your a loser get a job, everyone saying your a dreamer, then they prove you wrong. Its extremely hard to try again, because you start to have that mess up reinforcing what they are saying. MOST people give up that is why you hear all successful people say messing up is a learning curve, because all the other ones gave up after the first crash.

 

[Runum]

OK, I agree most people will give up. So if a person picks themselves up, dusts themselves off, learns from their mistakes, and succeeds by pushing forward, that is attributed to luck? Just asking.:cheers:

 

[theBiz]

in short....yes. It depends what you define as luck. If your are extremely unintelligent you will need alot of luck agreed? If you tell me right now your first venture will be to build homes and charge 60 percent more than every other one in a depressed area, it wont work, work as hard as you want over and over again, it wont work. You will lose everything and start from the bottom. It takes to long to recover sometimes and the opportunity is gone.

 

[Runum]

OK, I guess you can call that luck if you want to. I believe that all of us are presented with opportunities to change our lives several times a week if not daily. I don't think of all those opportunities as luck, they are just there. We have to be mature enough to see them.

I use my own life as an example. In 1989 the RTC was selling off commercial real estate in Texas for pennies on the dollar. I knew it was happening because it was on the news everyday. Many people I knew made a lot of money from them. I was real focused on racing at the time. I was also cussing the luck of those guys that were making a bunch of money from the RTC. The reality was that I chose what I wanted to focus on. Now I lament missed opportunities every once in a while. But I don't feel too bad, too busy now trying to pursue other opportunities.

Another example. I frequently share with people that I bought a house this day or that day and that house will give me xxxxx dollars a day. The house was cheap and may be even free. I can put a few thousand in a house that will give me a check each month. I am doing this as often as I can. My coworkers never ask questions but frequently complain about not being able to afford things. I could help them if they would open their eyes. Not luck, just not aware.

 

[theBiz]

lol runum how about this? PM me and explain what you are doing, because i will lay out money right now if i can make a return monthly, pretend i am a co-worker, my eyes are glued open.

 

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[Runum]

PM sent

 

[Runum]

JB the only problem I have with attributing luck to successful people is that it gives an excuse for those that don't want to try. In my eyes "luck" seems to diminish all those exhausting hours of hard work behind the scenes that no one knows about. It discredits all the preparation, knowledge, and skill that a successful person has or develops.

Luck enables the lazy to justify their anger, resentment, and jealousy of those that take responsibility for the course of their lives.

However, if you want to call it luck, more power to you.:smx2:

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I do not want to offend MJ in anyway but just as an example, he saw a value in a particular business with huge growth, so he put everything into it and decided it was going to be it. Worked his *ss off and made it big. Lets say he was doing a website, what if right before the launch of the site, the web had been re formed or replaced by something else. All his time and energy would have brought him into a hole and prob been screwed working a 9-5.

No offense taken ... but luck had nothing to do with it. Luck is randomness. When you are OUT TAKING ACTION and engaging in the world (thousands of times over) probabilities are elevated. Increased probabilities brings on this so-called "luck". So what you might call luck, Ill call better probabilities created by my massive action fueled by my intense passion. Who is going to get lucky? The guy on the couch watching Star Trek or the guy who chooses to go to at a Web Entrepreneur Convention instead? Your analogy collapses because it is malformed in a vacuum and disregards free will and the ability to course change based on current and predicted conditions. The failure of my web company would NOT occur as an event (as you give in your example) but a process occurring over time consisting of many poor choices, or incorrect reactions to misinterpreted conditions.

In your case, it seems like you are very active in your business pursuits which I will contend you will be ALSO subjected to this "LUCK" -- you are out there playing the game and when you play the game, luck happens.

 

[theBiz]

NICE, your right MJ, im wrong. This is what i need to hear from someone at your level. Throughout the days people start using the word luck alot, it all wears off.I was at a family party yesterday and i could not even tell you the negativity floating around that room. Fortunately, its only the people who have not made anything of themselves ( the i want, but think its going to come easy). I did not mean to offend you at all, but i have to be honest im glad i said it, because to get an opinion out of someone with such success, really changes perspective on things. When people are working on a project, many people use the yeah well what if, what if this, what if that. Then they say yeah well john made it but mike didn't, he landed that account, because he was at the car wash right place right time, luck. Still, this is not luck, your right, like i said everything wears off, the reason i come to this website is to put things back into perspective and get focused.

 

[Runum]

JB it says a lot about you that you are able to recognize and learn from this. I do believe you have a bright future ahead. Keep on pushing the limits.:fastlane:

 

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[Gymjunkie]

JB it says a lot about you that you are able to recognize and learn from this. I do believe you have a bright future ahead. Keep on pushing the limits.:fastlane:

+1

 

[acb123]

Yep, definatey agree with MJ. "Luck" has nothing to do with it. It's all about work ethic and perserverence.

"A rolling stone gathers no moss."

The only true way to fail is to not try at all.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Bump, lots of good comments in this thread!

 

[Graham Chong]

Thanks everyone for the comments! It is not a long thread yet, but I have learned a lot from here