I've Read The Great Rat-Race Escape!

[Koen_88]

It took a couple of days before the accompanying PDF was added at the audible page. Clear visuals, Nice Work!

Listening on my commute and during workouts. About halfway now, really like the fictional part of it. Makes the subjects more relatable, and makes you connect on a more personal level. So definitely more engaging!

 

[Cnc1]

I bought and read it. Great book but personally liked Unscripted more.

 

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[nickbanik]

I loved the book, and it was cool to hear how the audible version had MJ reading the nonfiction chapters and the other narrator reading the fiction chapters. It was done very well and it's now easy to reference again with all the short chapters being clearly labeled.

I started doing a weekly meeting as of today with my wife, and we're working on our plantasy. For real, I'm already implementing things from the book. Near the end of the book when MJ talks about staying on track with 1 business, that really gave me a kick in the a$$ to focus and not lose sight. I already made changes this week to my business and my focus. This book is gold on it's own, but it also does so well with the others. Unscripted did a better job of explaining the money system for me, but this book made everything seem more practical and applicable to me personally. I recommend everyone read all of them.

Thank you, MJ for writing the book and for the approach. I'll make sure to write more updates on my business along the way as I have 5 other full-time employees besides myself now and we've grown quite a bit since I posted last. Good things are coming!

 

[Dirtymaco]

I finished it in 4 days, took notes and created my own summary.
To me it is the best of the 3 books. I fell in love with TMFL and I felt like Unscripted was a brilliant follow up, but this on is better than both.

Also some insightful new stuff. Anyhow great book. Only downside is I gifted it to few friends but cannot be redeemed for non-US citizens. Amazon policy i guess.

Great work

 

[SevenJay]

When I first wrote here I had read a few chapters, now that I finished it I can only say this is a masterpiece, I loved every bit of it, the editing was done brilliantly, no part of it felt redundant or longer than needed: all meat and no fluff. (Or shoud I say all tofu?). Even the fictional story was nicely filled with little details each carrying a "side lesson", like the 1st class plane ticket, it is a modern parable. I'm left with a strange feeling like when a netflix series ends
(And also with a ugly reminder that I have 2 businesses and I should really pick one.....)

 

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[Harbourmaster]

@MJ DeMarco About a third of the way through... trying not to rush through it for the sake of finishing and am really sitting with the ideas after each reading session of a few chapters.

I would conclude that anyone that considers themselves a student of the Fastlane/Unscripted philosophies and mindset should definitely grab a copy of this book. Is there some repetition in the learnings from the previous two books? Yes, of course, but I was actually hoping there would be some synergies. In my opinion reading the third book really helps to internalize the key lessons from new angles. Really drives home and emphasizes the key points. Worst case, you get a refresher on teachings from the previous two books. Best case, you are hit upside the head with valuable new material that pushes you forward in your entrepreneurial quest for freedom.

For me, The Value Marriage Strategy (p. 119) chapter is worth the price of the book alone. Read it. Then read it again. Let it sink in, and then read it again. Excited to see what the rest of the book brings.

5/5 from me on the book.

 

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[seraphine]

Just finished the book—I thought it was wonderful! I expected it to just rehash everything from the previous books, but I actually ended up getting a lot out of it, and the way concepts were put into strategies and principles was organized & helpful. What really resonated with me from this book was how it motivated me to double down on my goals in life/my vision of how I want to live, and it confirmed a lot of the conclusions and realizations I had come to on my own over the past year.

I also loved the use of fiction! At first I was kind of rolling my eyes, finding it a little cheesy, but the Trotmans began to feel like real people to me, and I found myself rooting for them and empathizing with them—I even shed a few tears at one point. It was also a super effective way of driving me to keep reading and of demonstrating how the book's principles could be put into action. Reminds me of how Sidney says that poetry and fiction are more effective than both philosophy and history because the former is too general/abstract while the latter is too particular/specific.

 

[PaulMarin]

As most people here, I preordered the eBook at Amazon as soon as I saw it recommended. (Needless to say that I had read TMF in its first year and Unscripted as well )

I finished the book with a renewed passion for MJ's experience. There is a saying between close friends in my neighborhood: "Do you want me to draw it for you?" That said sarcastically to someone who does not understand some concept. This book is like that drawing.

It not only makes some of the "hardest" concepts more real by taking you to that "fictitious world". It also creates a vivid image in your brain and a feeling of having something cooking inside you.

This is a great book to initiate those who are used to read fiction and make them want to read the other books, more focused on the ideas. With great examples as well but with a different structure.

Congrats to MJ!

 

[PhilKowalski]

Finished the book last week Monday on my kindle and immediately bought the paperback and audible versions of it (that's how I do it with books I love!)

I liked the combination of story and practice. I read the "The goal" which is also a business book which follows a story but that one misses that applicability that MJs book has.

Now going through the physical (and audio) version once again to apply the practices into my entrepreneurial life.

If I could give more than 5 stars, I would.

 

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[Hagi]

Read it and loved it. A suggestion for anyone who is trying to get his of her significant other involved: My girlfriend is reading the story about the two characters and their journey because she like to read but finds the theory behind it difficult and less interesting. After she reads a chapter, we discuss the chapter over a cup of coffee while I summarize the underlying principles and strategies to her. This approach worked wonders for us.

 

[Hayden Aquilon]

@MJ DeMarco Currently on page 362 and I just got it a few days ago. I can't put it down. The book has already made me $109 (principle #85). I just was purchasing a steel dock plate for my warehouse and I said, hell, I need to look and see if I can get a coupon code for this bad boy (15% off found on retail me not immediately). Cha ching! Thanks MJ!

 

[Voice Angel]

I just finished reading it today. There's a LOT in there - it's the kind of book to reread a couple of times, to let each of the concepts sink in while working along with it and getting the work done. I loved it, and am restarting it again this weekend.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I just finished reading it today. There's a LOT in there - it's the kind of book to reread a couple of times, to let each of the concepts sink in while working along with it and getting the work done. I loved it, and am restarting it again this weekend.

Nice, a re-read! Always great to hear.

This book shows how much MJ’s writing skills have improved over the years, every concept explained is easily understood and, thanks to Jeff and Sam, more relatable.

All concepts are essential to becoming unscripted , this book restored my faith and brought more awareness and energy to my life =) Thanks MJ

Thank you for giving it a read. Wishing you the best.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

My only criticism is that I wished it was longer

I would have never thought that book size would be a criticism. And here I thought the book was too long. So happy to hear your found value in it, thank you for letting me know.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

@Disciple96

Clearly you missed the forest through the trees.

I don't need to justify a fictional story to you, or anyone.

I knew a small minority of people would be "triggered" by the story, and would totally ignore the fundamental business strategy behind it. Sounds like that was you. Moreover, no where in the book do I encourage people to go vegan, but I clearly describe how people arrive and justify their decision, a decision which was similar to my own.

Risky?

Sure.

Do I care?

No. And neither does my blood panel.

Oh well.

As for your "facts" that you posted, I won't be bothered as the forum isn't for discussing your hatred and anger of people who refuse to participate in animal agriculture. As they say, you're entitled to your opinions, but you aren't entitled to the facts.

In the end, I hope there was strategy, principle, idea, or something in the book that helped you move the meter for your business... after all, it is a business book on how one family escapes the rat-race, salvages their marriage, and reinvents the entirety of their life.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

MJ kind of shit on some online businesses like Amazon FBA because those type of business ventures are heavily saturated. So he pushes the reader into creating something that is new, innovative, and not the same ole business that everyone else is starting. That's fine, but that's not going to be easy to enter, costly, and will take time to figure out.

I never said that, anywhere, and it might be clearer in my prior two books.

I merely implied that lower entry barrier businesses have a harder execution profiles and a smaller margin of error.

There is some subjectivity to it, but starting an Amazon FBA business based on distinctive value skews and starting a t-shirt business with no value skews are two different leagues. But they both can be considered "saturated".

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Finally got around to making this thread ... badges should appear in an hour or so...

 

[Not Most People]

Finished the book a little over a month ago. Probably my favorite so far because I found the order of the content and progression really made sense along with the story. Many parts were relatable for me and my fiance (who's currently a night shift nurse)

 

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[GuestR401x3]

I listened to the book on audible, was super insightful, and learned a lot. It was slightly repetitive from his previous books but that's expected and was good for me to get his concepts inside my brain in a different form.

 

[skykhai]

Finished it a few days ago. Couldn't put it down and every few pages I had revelations. The story has given me motivation to start carving out my own story. I feel like I'm too event-driven and should focus on the process. I got a long way to go but I'll take small steps and get there.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I've listened to it and enjoyed it a lot. There was people being critical of the book as being reruns of TMFL and Unscripted . I thought there was much of the same information as well but find it hard to be critical. All three books are extremely entertaining and provide valuable information in different ways. I enjoyed all 3 books and how they come across and deliver a point thru different story lines. I now am going back and listening to the other books.
I might be a little biased since I have lived in the northwest suburbs of Chicago my whole life and enjoy the geographical references.

I find it funny when people say "its the same information" -- so, I'm supposed to change my entire philosophy and strategy? Am I supposed to drop the CENTS framework and adopt a new one?

A lot of things stay the same because the strategy is transcendent and works -- it doesn't shift and meander according to cultural whims and trends. This is why TMF still is relevant today TEN YEARS after it was written... because the framework in which it is based upon stands the test of time. So yes, a lot of my work will ALWAYS be the same, because it freaking works. I'm I stand by what I write, today, yesterday, and ten years ago.

 

[hamza_r]

Started reading this book as soon as it came out. The wait was so worth it...

Love all that you do for us MJ. I will be reading this a second time too since its been a while

 

[originalMJT]

If you read THE GREAT RAT RACE ESCAPE , please post here!

I'm happy to announce that my next full length book (444 pages, 16 hours Audible) is now available with a release date of Tuesday June 29th, 2021.

- Audible Audiobook
- Amazon Paperback
- Amazon Kindle
- Google Play
- Kobo
- Apple
- Barnes And Noble

##### SUMMARY

UNSCRIPTED - The Great Rat Race Escape : From Wage Slavery to Wealth, How to Start a Purpose Driven Business and Win Financial Freedom for a Lifetime
(Yes, really long but I was able to get to work on the cover!)

By all appearances, Jeff and Samantha Trotman are living the American Dream. But behind the white picket fence, they endure an American Nightmare. With little time for each other, a pile of debt, and Ferrari taste on a Ford budget, the ruse of affluence is killing them. Two respectable jobs and a lovely suburban house paint a pretty picture, but behind the ink is a broken marriage rife with meaningless work and dead dreams. And now, with an unplanned pregnancy, they’re facing a mid-life crisis twenty years early.

With little time and looming bankruptcy, the Trotmans are forced to face the red-pill truth they long denied: They were living, but they weren’t alive. Determined to resurrect their life and their marriage, the Trotmans plot a rat-race escape—only to find themselves more thickly in it.

As tensions rise and hope fades, follow along step-by-step as the Trotmans pivot to a new strategy and a new career: starting a business as entrepreneurs.

While they navigate their journey, you’ll learn 120 wealth-building strategies and principles that your mainstream financial guru won’t dare reveal—actionable concepts that will help you profit your way into the Unscripted 1%, an emerging economic class of entrepreneurs who enjoy a lifetime of freedom emancipated from miserly living and Wall Street's "save, pray, and wait" paradigm. Discover how one family escapes the rat-race grind and wins a lifetime of financial freedom, leaving behind the tyranny of meaningless jobs and mediocre living— and how you can too.

• The Bad Math Principle: Why most people will never escape the rat-race, much less earn financial freedom.
• The 1/5/10 Strategy: How this one simple exercise will unearth your ultimate dream life while establishing a decision framework for its reality
• The Honeypot Principle: Why the financial media's "invest a $100/mo for 40 years in indexed-funds" narrative is part of the same rat-race scheme, just a different side of the same rigged coin.
• The Dual Change Strategy: The two divergent sides of change and how it can make you a fortune.
• The Value Skew Strategy: How to find literally 1000s of business ideas and why you never need to "disrupt" or invent anything new or novel.
• The Millionaire Payday Strategy: How to spot opportunities to hire yourself and earn an instant millionaire-making income.
• The Cinderella Principle: Why starting a business based on a cultural trend or a fad is a horrible idea.
• The Perseverance Strategy: Never struggle with motivation again; the four necessary ingredients to tap into unlimited motivation and determination, regardless of the obstacles in your way.
• The Triangulated Value Strategy: Learn how to never quit three-feet from gold: The 3-pronged strategy in maximizing marketing yields while also illuminating the "quit or continue" decision.
• and over 110+ more!

Don’t let the rat-race and its co-conspirators proclaim your life as non-essential. Don’t let the rat-race entice you to save your life away for the promise of an elderly retirement. Don’t let the rat-race lull you into a tedious existence medicated by television, video games, and trivial sporting events.

Go Unscripted , escape the rat-race, and win your happily-ever-after.

##### DOWNLOAD SAMPLE CHAPTERS
>>> If you'd like to download the first 40 pages, visit here.
View attachment 40258

View attachment 40257

If you read THE GREAT RAT RACE ESCAPE , please post here!

I'm happy to announce that my next full length book (444 pages, 16 hours Audible) is now available with a release date of Tuesday June 29th, 2021.

- Audible Audiobook
- Amazon Paperback
- Amazon Kindle
- Google Play
- Kobo
- Apple
- Barnes And Noble

##### SUMMARY

UNSCRIPTED - The Great Rat Race Escape : From Wage Slavery to Wealth, How to Start a Purpose Driven Business and Win Financial Freedom for a Lifetime
(Yes, really long but I was able to get to work on the cover!)

By all appearances, Jeff and Samantha Trotman are living the American Dream. But behind the white picket fence, they endure an American Nightmare. With little time for each other, a pile of debt, and Ferrari taste on a Ford budget, the ruse of affluence is killing them. Two respectable jobs and a lovely suburban house paint a pretty picture, but behind the ink is a broken marriage rife with meaningless work and dead dreams. And now, with an unplanned pregnancy, they’re facing a mid-life crisis twenty years early.

With little time and looming bankruptcy, the Trotmans are forced to face the red-pill truth they long denied: They were living, but they weren’t alive. Determined to resurrect their life and their marriage, the Trotmans plot a rat-race escape—only to find themselves more thickly in it.

As tensions rise and hope fades, follow along step-by-step as the Trotmans pivot to a new strategy and a new career: starting a business as entrepreneurs.

While they navigate their journey, you’ll learn 120 wealth-building strategies and principles that your mainstream financial guru won’t dare reveal—actionable concepts that will help you profit your way into the Unscripted 1%, an emerging economic class of entrepreneurs who enjoy a lifetime of freedom emancipated from miserly living and Wall Street's "save, pray, and wait" paradigm. Discover how one family escapes the rat-race grind and wins a lifetime of financial freedom, leaving behind the tyranny of meaningless jobs and mediocre living— and how you can too.

• The Bad Math Principle: Why most people will never escape the rat-race, much less earn financial freedom.
• The 1/5/10 Strategy: How this one simple exercise will unearth your ultimate dream life while establishing a decision framework for its reality
• The Honeypot Principle: Why the financial media's "invest a $100/mo for 40 years in indexed-funds" narrative is part of the same rat-race scheme, just a different side of the same rigged coin.
• The Dual Change Strategy: The two divergent sides of change and how it can make you a fortune.
• The Value Skew Strategy: How to find literally 1000s of business ideas and why you never need to "disrupt" or invent anything new or novel.
• The Millionaire Payday Strategy: How to spot opportunities to hire yourself and earn an instant millionaire-making income.
• The Cinderella Principle: Why starting a business based on a cultural trend or a fad is a horrible idea.
• The Perseverance Strategy: Never struggle with motivation again; the four necessary ingredients to tap into unlimited motivation and determination, regardless of the obstacles in your way.
• The Triangulated Value Strategy: Learn how to never quit three-feet from gold: The 3-pronged strategy in maximizing marketing yields while also illuminating the "quit or continue" decision.
• and over 110+ more!

Don’t let the rat-race and its co-conspirators proclaim your life as non-essential. Don’t let the rat-race entice you to save your life away for the promise of an elderly retirement. Don’t let the rat-race lull you into a tedious existence medicated by television, video games, and trivial sporting events.

Go Unscripted , escape the rat-race, and win your happily-ever-after.

##### DOWNLOAD SAMPLE CHAPTERS
>>> If you'd like to download the first 40 pages, visit here.
View attachment 40258

View attachment 40257

Ive read the great rat race escape as the second book, my first was fast lane millionare and i've just started unscripted . Very good books that get you thinking.

 

[ZackerySprague]

I've finished reading The Great Rat Race Escape . Definitely a good book. Loved how MJ incorporated Strategies and Principles with a fictional story. It all fits perfectly.

There are even some principles that got me thinking about my life and the individuals who I socialize with even some family members.

Took me a few weeks to finish, but loved this one. Now I need to read the first Unscripted book.

 

[Mathew Verble]

Guess I should point out I've read this.

Definitely an amazing book and I appreciate how much I got out of it.

 

[Niptuck MD]

i too have finished this book, in one sitting! Thats a first, such an engaging easy read. just next time if you do decide to write something else @MJ DeMarco just dont bring up starbucks again! LOL we know that you despise that joint lol

i will be gifting this book to many norwegains, swedes, danes etc people in the younger generation that want to ESCAPE as good times wont last all too often (unless you are in norway lol)

thanks MJ go take a breather now!

 

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[Drchainsaw]

I've read thr great rat race escape

 

[BD64]

I read it twice. Third time through in the near future. The non-fiction part is very well done. It feels like concepts become more concise and better articulated with each successive book. The fiction part is a super unique & a very value-skewing addition to a business book. Really enjoyed this one.

 

[ZCP]

i've read THE GREAT RAT RACE ESCAPE
finished the book. really good. your writing has leveled up!
lot of good lessons and specifics. the fiction really hooks you.
you get any negative feedback on the start? me and the GF were both like, damn. that's depressing. maybe i should read something else? i powered through. she is just starting the book.
not gonna lie, last few snips of jeff and sam story made me cry a little.
it's what rachel and i are doing right now. looking to build 2 businesses.
good inspirations for us to tighten up the finances and fund the companies.
good stuff! proud of you!
will send a few out for people that need to hear the message.
will get my autographed copy one of these days too!

 

[Paul Flint]

I read this one and offered my wife $100 if she would read it!