The Entrepreneur Forum | Financial Freedom | Starting a Business | Motivation | Money | Success

Welcome to the only entrepreneur forum dedicated to building life-changing wealth.

Build a Fastlane business. Earn real financial freedom. Join free.

Join over 80,000 entrepreneurs who have rejected the paradigm of mediocrity and said "NO!" to underpaid jobs, ascetic frugality, and suffocating savings rituals— learn how to build a Fastlane business that pays both freedom and lifestyle affluence.

Free registration at the forum removes this block.

Learnings from 3,000+ PMs with fellow forum members

Andy Black

Help people. Get paid. Help more people.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
370%
May 20, 2014
18,568
68,701
Ireland
Bump again.

If you're new to the forum, maybe you see yourself in the opening post? Or maybe it will help you to better understand many of the people in the forum.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

UncleIroh

1079252849 kph
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
184%
Oct 20, 2016
116
214
27
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Thanks for posting this, Andy.

I really enjoyed the video that you tell the story about you helping your friend.

Where is the place you show in your videos? Looks beautiful and relaxing.

I wanted to share some quotes said by Uncle Iroh, my avatar, who is my favorite fictional character. He just goes out of the line to help other people.

"Sometimes the best way to solve your own problems is to help someone else."

"Sometimes life is like this dark tunnel, you can’t always see the light at the end of the tunnel, but if you just keep moving, you will come to a better place."

"[...]It is important to draw wisdom from different places. If you take it from only one place it become rigid and stale[...]"

"Prince Zuko, pride is not the opposite of shame, but it’s source. True humility is the only antidote to shame."

"While it is always best to believe in one’s self, a little help from others can be a great blessing."

"You know, Prince Zuko, destiny is a funny thing. You never know how things are going to work out. But if you keep an open mind and an open heart, I promise you will find your own destiny someday."

"It’s time for you to look inward and start asking yourself the big question: who are you and what do YOU want?" (This one really changed me, I would ask all myself this every day)

"There is nothing wrong with letting people who love you, help you. Not that I love you. I just met you"

"Even in the material world, you will find that if you look for the light, you can often find it. But if you look for the dark, that is all you will ever see."

It's just crazy how good this "kids" show is.

You reminded me of Uncle Iroh.

My goal in life is to become someone like him.
 

Andy Black

Help people. Get paid. Help more people.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
370%
May 20, 2014
18,568
68,701
Ireland
Thanks for posting this, Andy.

I really enjoyed the video that you tell the story about you helping your friend.

Where is the place you show in your videos? Looks beautiful and relaxing.

I wanted to share some quotes said by Uncle Iroh, my avatar, who is my favorite fictional character. He just goes out of the line to help other people.

"Sometimes the best way to solve your own problems is to help someone else."

"Sometimes life is like this dark tunnel, you can’t always see the light at the end of the tunnel, but if you just keep moving, you will come to a better place."

"[...]It is important to draw wisdom from different places. If you take it from only one place it become rigid and stale[...]"

"Prince Zuko, pride is not the opposite of shame, but it’s source. True humility is the only antidote to shame."

"While it is always best to believe in one’s self, a little help from others can be a great blessing."

"You know, Prince Zuko, destiny is a funny thing. You never know how things are going to work out. But if you keep an open mind and an open heart, I promise you will find your own destiny someday."

"It’s time for you to look inward and start asking yourself the big question: who are you and what do YOU want?" (This one really changed me, I would ask all myself this every day)

"There is nothing wrong with letting people who love you, help you. Not that I love you. I just met you"

"Even in the material world, you will find that if you look for the light, you can often find it. But if you look for the dark, that is all you will ever see."

It's just crazy how good this "kids" show is.

You reminded me of Uncle Iroh.

My goal in life is to become someone like him.
Love these quotes, and thanks for the kind words. High praise indeed.
 

Waspy

Float like a butterfly
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
461%
Dec 6, 2016
480
2,214
30
U.K.
This thread made me chuckle when I realised what I said in my first message to you.

Everyone has something to offer.

Thanks for the thread!
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

DifficultTruth

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
500%
Nov 22, 2016
21
105
Bump.

A few people wondering how to start.

It's very simple - if they would just get out of their own way and stop over-thinking.

(Over-thinking - the art of solving problems you don't have.)

Fantastic thread Andy,

A ton of good information, loving the videos. I am absolutely struggling to stop over-thinking. I definitely need to just focus on execution. Also going to make a conscious effort to look at everything I do and ask myself, "How can I add value to this?"

Thank you!
 

Andy Black

Help people. Get paid. Help more people.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
370%
May 20, 2014
18,568
68,701
Ireland
Last edited by a moderator:

Michael Moore

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
170%
Apr 6, 2014
57
97
55
Athy, County Kildare, Ireland
If you are struggling with teaching or breaking things down or making things very clear but simple then I suggest you find a local club sports or coding or whatever and offer to teach older members of the public to code or kids how to play sports.

Everything complicated goes out the window including big words and your ego as you have to understand very quickly to whom you are speaking and trying to get the message across too or the consequences are dire.

A kid who cannot score a basket a pensioner who gave a donation to an Algerian prince for instance ;-)

Do not take yourself too seriously and remember to have fun.
In the end none of us are getting out of here alive ........ so enjoy.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Mckenzie

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
151%
Aug 25, 2013
139
210
To date I've had over 700 PM's with fellow forum members.

I PM to give thanks for following me or for giving me rep.

I always ask how things are going, and strike up a brief conversation.



I've noticed some common themes from these conversations (especially with people trying to get started or trying to "get traction").


My main learnings are that:
  1. People often over-complicate things.

  2. People often get in their own way.

  3. People often believe they can't give value to the forum yet (saying nice things like "I'd love to give back when I can add value.")



Sound familiar?



There's been some classic GOLD threads addressing this, and here's a few:

I wrote a post along similar lines:

And Justin Jackson wrote a great article here:




In my opinion, over-complicating things, getting in your own way, and not believing you can add value are all symptoms of the same thing.

In my humble opinion, each of the posts listed above are trying to address this exact same thing.

In my humble (but accurate) opinion, the symptoms above are all related to being "me" centric, and the posts above are all ways to stop being "me" centric.




If your goal is to help others, then things get a lot less complicated.

If your goal is to help others, you're less likely to get in your own way - because you're not even in the picture anymore.

If your goal is to help others, you'll realise that giving thanks to other forum members can add a lot of value to their lives, and to the forum. (We know we should give to receive, but I'd no idea of the power of "giving thanks" until I thanked so many people in the forum.)





A few months ago I decided to "learn to create talking head videos".

I got tangled up that first evening, because my goal was wrong.

My goal was to create a video.

My goal was not to say "thank you" to @SinisterLex for the videos he was adding to the forum.

I screwed up.

I over-complicated things.

I got in my own way.

I believed I couldn't add value to the forum.

All because I was thinking about "me", and not thinking about Lex.




After I gave myself a stern talking to, I created my very first talking head video.

Here it is (and it's very relevant to this thread):





I've done 16 videos so far, and it's not until this evening that I've noticed a common theme.

Here's another video that might help you:






Here's another where I talk about my "founding story"... a story from 2009 that still sends shivers down my spine when I remember it:




I talk a bit more about that story in this radio interview.



Who will you help this week?

Who will you thank today?

THANK YOU ANDY!!!!!....As I'm typing this, I could feel the fears in me starting to melt down.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

pfalcomer

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
388%
Oct 15, 2012
16
62
47
Durban, South Africa
Thank you for this post Andy. You really hit the nail on the head about what it is that holds so many people back from just starting. I recently had a major mind shift regarding the process of getting started. I understand clearly now what MJ means in the book when he states solve problems first then the money will come. For a long time I've spent so much time thinking about how to make money and inevitably this leads to "paralysis by analysis" - what if it doesn't work, what if they don't like my idea etc. Sitting in the car with the engine on but not pressing the gas!

I've got family in Italy (My Father's side is Italian) and I keep in touch with my older cousin frequently asking how my aunts and uncles and extended family are doing. My cousin owns a few large franchises which import, sell and service American made cars in Italy. From sports coupes to SUV's to restored classics. In passing in one of our conversations he told me he was revamping his website and adding the option to view it in English as well as Italian. I mentioned to him that if he ever needs me to help with any translation from English to Italian or vice versa I would be more than happy to do it for him. Here is the mind shift - I was merely trying to help him and not expecting anything in return. We started out with his marketing department sending me single page in Word which I translated for him. He was pleased and sent me another page the following day. This took all of thirty minutes for me to do. Then... I get an email from him asking me going forward how much it would cost if I could do this for him on a regular basis! Value creation!

I went online, looked at a few translation websites and their prices and made a simple price list based on price per word or price per page. I made my rates slightly lower than the average price offered. I was then faced with the issue of how to get paid. Living in South Africa, international transfers can take awhile to get here and even using a linked PayPal account there are costs involved that eat away any profits you make (and I hate the idea of a PayPal account linked to my bank account - too dangerous). So I went online and did some research and found out about Payoneer. I can accept payments from anywhere and anyone, I get a linked debit card that I can use to buy or draw cash as I need and the costs for transferring to my bank account are lower than PayPal and it only takes 1-3 working days.

So the process for me looked like this: provide value - service / job created - payment solution - both parties happy!

I've been doing this work now for over a month and it's outside of my normal web development work. I would even dare to refer to it as a "side hustle", it doesn't bring in millions but the money that does come in covers all my expenses and the weaker my currency gets, the more I earn. My cousin has also referred me to some friends of his and I've gotten more and more jobs. I'm in the process of setting up a simple Italian website that he can recommend to anyone in Italy that's looking for online translations that outlines my prices, how to pay and expected turn around time. It's by no means Fastlane as the work is still tied to my time but I now look at things completely differently in terms of value creation and subsequent wealth creation.

As MJ mentions in the book, there are everyday problems everywhere that need solving, we just need to look. Solve one person's problem, you have validation. Solve a million people's problems and you have massive wealth creation.

I hope this post helps someone else experience the same shift I did.

Thanks again to Andy for this post and Thank You MJ for this forum and all the golden nuggets you leave us online and in the book.


Bump.

A few people wondering how to start.

It's very simple - if they would just get out of their own way and stop over-thinking.

(Over-thinking - the art of solving problems you don't have.)
 

Andy Black

Help people. Get paid. Help more people.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
370%
May 20, 2014
18,568
68,701
Ireland
Thank you for this post Andy. You really hit the nail on the head about what it is that holds so many people back from just starting. I recently had a major mind shift regarding the process of getting started. I understand clearly now what MJ means in the book when he states solve problems first then the money will come. For a long time I've spent so much time thinking about how to make money and inevitably this leads to "paralysis by analysis" - what if it doesn't work, what if they don't like my idea etc. Sitting in the car with the engine on but not pressing the gas!

I've got family in Italy (My Father's side is Italian) and I keep in touch with my older cousin frequently asking how my aunts and uncles and extended family are doing. My cousin owns a few large franchises which import, sell and service American made cars in Italy. From sports coupes to SUV's to restored classics. In passing in one of our conversations he told me he was revamping his website and adding the option to view it in English as well as Italian. I mentioned to him that if he ever needs me to help with any translation from English to Italian or vice versa I would be more than happy to do it for him. Here is the mind shift - I was merely trying to help him and not expecting anything in return. We started out with his marketing department sending me single page in Word which I translated for him. He was pleased and sent me another page the following day. This took all of thirty minutes for me to do. Then... I get an email from him asking me going forward how much it would cost if I could do this for him on a regular basis! Value creation!

I went online, looked at a few translation websites and their prices and made a simple price list based on price per word or price per page. I made my rates slightly lower than the average price offered. I was then faced with the issue of how to get paid. Living in South Africa, international transfers can take awhile to get here and even using a linked PayPal account there are costs involved that eat away any profits you make (and I hate the idea of a PayPal account linked to my bank account - too dangerous). So I went online and did some research and found out about Payoneer. I can accept payments from anywhere and anyone, I get a linked debit card that I can use to buy or draw cash as I need and the costs for transferring to my bank account are lower than PayPal and it only takes 1-3 working days.

So the process for me looked like this: provide value - service / job created - payment solution - both parties happy!

I've been doing this work now for over a month and it's outside of my normal web development work. I would even dare to refer to it as a "side hustle", it doesn't bring in millions but the money that does come in covers all my expenses and the weaker my currency gets, the more I earn. My cousin has also referred me to some friends of his and I've gotten more and more jobs. I'm in the process of setting up a simple Italian website that he can recommend to anyone in Italy that's looking for online translations that outlines my prices, how to pay and expected turn around time. It's by no means Fastlane as the work is still tied to my time but I now look at things completely differently in terms of value creation and subsequent wealth creation.

As MJ mentions in the book, there are everyday problems everywhere that need solving, we just need to look. Solve one person's problem, you have validation. Solve a million people's problems and you have massive wealth creation.

I hope this post helps someone else experience the same shift I did.

Thanks again to Andy for this post and Thank You MJ for this forum and all the golden nuggets you leave us online and in the book.
Fantastic story, thanks for sharing.

It reminds me yet again of my favourite business quote from Mother Theresa of all people:

"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person closest to you."
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

NFT

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
134%
Mar 14, 2017
47
63
Germany
Someone just PM'd me after reading this post, asking how to learn to give without expectation of anything in return.

Here's my reply:


How to learn to give without wanting anything in return?

Baby steps. :)



Smile first.

Say hello first.

Say thank you.

Give a Like.

Send some Rep.


Strike up a friendly conversation with someone who looks bored or is having a bad day at work.

Hold a door open for someone.

Help someone with their shopping.

Give some money to a homeless person.

Tip a waiter or waitress bigger than normal.

Give a hitch-hiker a lift.

Double back and give a hitch-hiker a lift.

Drop them further towards their destination than you needed to.



Make someone smile.

Have a laugh with someone.

Put your hand on someone's shoulder and look them in the eye when you say sorry.

Put your phone down when someone talks to you.



Start small.

See the effect your actions have on others.

Feel those nice feelings within yourself for doing it.

Create an imbalance in the world.

If you got something back each time you helped someone, then each transaction would be complete.

Have faith it will come back to you.



Like everything, just start.



It's been said I live in a "sunny little world".

I didn't realise I did until they'd said it.

I didn't realise some people lived in dark little worlds.

My world revolves around making other people's days a bit sunnier.

I smile first.

They smile back.

I live in a world of smiling people.

That's pretty good for starters eh? :)

Wise words, thanks for sharing :) I myself often over-complicate things, but it can be so easy
 

NFT

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
134%
Mar 14, 2017
47
63
Germany
I am guilty of seriously over-complicating things but I realized it was due to a few things.

1. I make the decision of 'what idea I want to execute on' way to big of a deal. I feel like I've only got 1 shot so don't want to screw it up. This has caused me to execute on almost nothing.

2. As a part of number 1 I fear losing money on a pursuit that will not have any return.

So I end up way overthinking things and do nothing.

Now I realize I don't have to dump tons of money into an idea before I can find out if it works, so I'm just going with the one that I think *might* be best.

Same here... but I slowly start to improve ^^ slowly but surely
 

NFT

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
134%
Mar 14, 2017
47
63
Germany
Thanks for posting this, Andy.

I really enjoyed the video that you tell the story about you helping your friend.

Where is the place you show in your videos? Looks beautiful and relaxing.

I wanted to share some quotes said by Uncle Iroh, my avatar, who is my favorite fictional character. He just goes out of the line to help other people.

"Sometimes the best way to solve your own problems is to help someone else."

"Sometimes life is like this dark tunnel, you can’t always see the light at the end of the tunnel, but if you just keep moving, you will come to a better place."

"[...]It is important to draw wisdom from different places. If you take it from only one place it become rigid and stale[...]"

"Prince Zuko, pride is not the opposite of shame, but it’s source. True humility is the only antidote to shame."

"While it is always best to believe in one’s self, a little help from others can be a great blessing."

"You know, Prince Zuko, destiny is a funny thing. You never know how things are going to work out. But if you keep an open mind and an open heart, I promise you will find your own destiny someday."

"It’s time for you to look inward and start asking yourself the big question: who are you and what do YOU want?" (This one really changed me, I would ask all myself this every day)

"There is nothing wrong with letting people who love you, help you. Not that I love you. I just met you"

"Even in the material world, you will find that if you look for the light, you can often find it. But if you look for the dark, that is all you will ever see."

It's just crazy how good this "kids" show is.

You reminded me of Uncle Iroh.

My goal in life is to become someone like him.

Inspiring, thanks for posting this. Was one of my favourite shows :)
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Andy Black

Help people. Get paid. Help more people.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
370%
May 20, 2014
18,568
68,701
Ireland
I should change the title to 1,500+ PMs now.

Also... now that I'm venturing out there into www land (the Wider Wild West)... this is soooo common.

My goodness but are people all tangled up thinking about themselves, what they like, what skills they have, the things they don't know, the courses they need to take, overcoming procrastination, overcoming perfectionism, how to manage time, how to stay motivated, how to find an accountability group, blah, blah, blah.

Wow. Seriously wow.

Am I missing something?

Is getting started really as simple as just putting others first?
 

RogueInnovation

Gold Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
170%
Jul 28, 2013
1,278
2,177
Yeah, become dynamic and a liittle "sticky" rather than "too polite"
You just do it very lightly and with positivity
Having a bit of "stick" helps with sales and getting to know your audience

Think of it like tires getting traction on the road, you want those tires warm, so they can help you hug those curves better.

... regarding be selfless...
It gets complicated, but I think initially that is the go to plan you want to adopt in order to get away from the "me me me" trap which drowns you in self doubt (will you ask "do I deserve this" if you are sacrificing to help others?).
Later on the selfless thing can be tricky because you can build an ego around THINKING you help people more than you do, but in reality most people in business are just not thinking of you and utilising you as a tool to get something done without thinking about it. So in that sense you become a medium for greater efficiency, which helps grease the wheels of society, but you aren't santa claus. And you shouldn't need to be oprah; handing out cars and tvs. You then need to accept a role as a producer or as a ligtning rod, or whatever role you have.

Even if you are an innovator like Nicola Tesla, your inventions won't necessarily be appreciated or anything. No one is going to worship you, because the calculation in using products is a very cold one. People respect competancy, so if you are competant and generous, you can be half santa claus, but you'll never be fully him.

It is hard to get into business, but I think a lot of that has to do with how we put it on a pedestal. We don't feel motivated to be a cog in a wheel, so we are like "why do I care about business, I want to spend less time doing that", and then that lack of motivation forces us to think "oh but I need money therefor business is everything I need". If you put things on a pedestal because you LACK inherent motivation, you wind up squeezing out the opportunity you have to find REAL motivators. Being selfless helps you re-inject real motivators, and real motivations lead to realistic expectations, and so you can function.

My point is "real motivation" turns into "real action"
But the forced idea that you must do something causes paralysis

It is the difference between creating harmony in what you do, or creating chaos
If you create harmony, even boring things become interesting
If you create chaos, things you love will bore you

So create harmony, real motivation etc, and it will protect you from setting up bad expectations
 
Last edited:

Aaron T

Silver Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
345%
Aug 27, 2017
266
919
52
@Andy Black Just gonna say it. You live what you say. Simple. Effective. Helpful.

Keep it up. You are providing a role model a curmudgeon like me can learn from.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

P Stiller

Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
90%
Nov 24, 2017
30
27
46
Lisle, Illinois
Especially the past year I have had people around me tell me how I complicate things so much and don't give myself enough credit......I guess this is me trying to be as honest as possible and the BEST at what I do.....I always feel like when I'm with a client that all the people I look to for advice are watching me......what would they say if we're watching me I think......

Which doesn't make sense because in fitness (I'm a trainer) I teach people the need to fail in order to gain strength.....It's so hard to be the best because there is literally no one answer for most of the stuff we do while training so it's extremely hard to be "right" all the time/best.

Im easily my own worst enemy.....but I was trying to live up to my beliefs of being who you are....being absolutely honest.....and I truly believed for years I was right....I felt that believing in what I have for years and then doing something different would make me "fake" or dishonest with MYSELF.

I actually feel I do add value to forum because every word I say or type is pure and honest and I do not want anything from anybody by changing the words from my true feelings into different words I type.......I have rarely in life met someone that I could have a HONEST conversation with, one where the person says whatever is inside them instead of what SOUNDS best out loud in the conversation.

I do help others and I'm told how I do it to much by a few when talking....I give away so much free time in my sessions by not ending until we "get it done"......but I also do need to pick and choose who I ATTEMPT to try and help...with my service at least because so many times I get responded to in a mean way by people not wanting to accept that they are doing something safely......I can hear responses to that already......different approaches might help that.

Never been a big thanker....Not many people have ever done for me it's always coming to me when in need.......I have had very few friends in life but many acquaintances. If my phone rings it's because somebody needs something......I have almost nothing in common with almost everybody I know.

I've always wanted to be wealthy so I could donate to animal shelters and do more for nature.....I click every single night the free click to help animals.....always would to help them more than any other charity......reading the end of this post made me type that if wondering where that came from.

Who will I thank today?
I had to stop my response to this and email the woman I lost recently telling her how the more I learn the more I see she was right......literally everything she would say was right when I was doing things my way because I believed in them so much.....thought was better......the more I learn the more I want her to know how thankful I am and proud of her for being so smart....problem is knowing isn't enough....I want to give her back all the time I wasted by standing beside me. Somehow trade my life now so she doesn't have to suffer working her monotonous work life.

I did for years what I wanted instead of what she did thinking she might doubt it now but will look back happy later.....I truly believed my way was better........regret is like burning in hell every day.

Sorry if got off track just writing what comes to mind as read the post.
 

Florian

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
87%
Mar 18, 2017
77
67
25
Germany
Thank you Andy for giving me what I need - not what I want :)
As requested ;)

My homework:
My single biggest takeaway:
Helping your fellow human beings to get started in business

What I've done already:
After helping my mother for 1,5h in the flat I've found a first possible need: Help connecting good doctors with patients who really need them.
1/3
 

Bhanu

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
182%
Oct 23, 2017
156
284
37
Thank you Andy ...great thread.
Learnt something vital today :Help Others !!

Thanks Again.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Andy Black

Help people. Get paid. Help more people.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
370%
May 20, 2014
18,568
68,701
Ireland
Thank you Andy ...great thread.
Learnt something vital today :Help Others !!

Thanks Again.
And start simple by giving thanks.

Well done. ;-)
 

LynetteP

This will be car photo when I get a rocket again
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
146%
Apr 13, 2018
87
127
Tennessee
I should change the title to 1,500+ PMs now.

Also... now that I'm venturing out there into www land (the Wider Wild West)... this is soooo common.

My goodness but are people all tangled up thinking about themselves, what they like, what skills they have, the things they don't know, the courses they need to take, overcoming procrastination, overcoming perfectionism, how to manage time, how to stay motivated, how to find an accountability group, blah, blah, blah.

Wow. Seriously wow.

Am I missing something?

Is getting started really as simple as just putting others first?
Andy, a sincere thank you for this post. I have been trying to figure out how to get out of my own way to accomplish what I want for my kids' sake, but have always struggled with dealing with day-to-day management of, well, anything. I get bored if I don't have a new problem to solve, but how selfish of me!

I have spent a long time trying to figure out why I can't get things done myself, but after reading Traction by Wickman, I finally understand. I'm the 3% of the people who are visionary, and I need what is called the integrator to make stuff go beyond a certain point. Apparently I'm not unusual for my type, lol. So I'm done beating myself up for not getting things done. And I'm done listening to people who say I should be able to do everything myself- I've tried and failed, and know it just doesn't work for me. Doing the same thing over again and expecting different results truly is insanity.

Intuitively I knew all this was true before reading Traction. I found a guy months ago through LinkedIn who owns an engineering/small manufacturing firm who has agreed to partner with me for my products, and I just figured out last week to get the capital from crowdfunding (duh).

His company can engineer the product design details, make the stuff (until orders are sufficient to move manufacturing to his China partners), manage the day-to-day, and fulfill orders until there are too many. Crowdfunding gives instant customers and shows traction to the retailers so I don't have to really sell the product to the big boxes, it will sell itself (I would hope). I'm a marketing person, but not really a salesperson because I stumble over finding the right words to communicate ideas (common for visionaries). This is such a problem, I'm now reading Pitch Anything. I hope it helps, because I really want my stuff in the big boxes and not just Amazon.

I would love to know if you have any suggestions or comments on my attempt at a solution for someone like me, who gets 10 new ideas each day, but would literally rather have teeth pulled than do paperwork. I do believe genes can get in the way of things- my son is so bored in first grade (he's nearly 4th grade in math) he is literally in tears and the school hasn't fixed anything in 5 months of me hounding them/giving suggestions/asking the previous teacher to help/getting the principal involved. So we are changing schools in the fall.

Again thank you for this thread- I will now more fully consider what part selfishness has in "what I like, what skills I have, the things I don't know, the courses I need to take, overcoming procrastination, overcoming perfectionism, how to manage time, how to stay motivated, (and) how to find an accountability group." I don't think it's always pure selfishness, but it can certainly play a big role if you let it, and I don't want it to define me, regardless of the way my brain is wired.

Sorry for the non-linearness of this post- it's typical for me! LOL.
 

Andy Black

Help people. Get paid. Help more people.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
370%
May 20, 2014
18,568
68,701
Ireland
Andy, a sincere thank you for this post. I have been trying to figure out how to get out of my own way to accomplish what I want for my kids' sake, but have always struggled with dealing with day-to-day management of, well, anything. I get bored if I don't have a new problem to solve, but how selfish of me!

I have spent a long time trying to figure out why I can't get things done myself, but after reading Traction by Wickman, I finally understand. I'm the 3% of the people who are visionary, and I need what is called the integrator to make stuff go beyond a certain point. Apparently I'm not unusual for my type, lol. So I'm done beating myself up for not getting things done. And I'm done listening to people who say I should be able to do everything myself- I've tried and failed, and know it just doesn't work for me. Doing the same thing over again and expecting different results truly is insanity.

Intuitively I knew all this was true before reading Traction. I found a guy months ago through LinkedIn who owns an engineering/small manufacturing firm who has agreed to partner with me for my products, and I just figured out last week to get the capital from crowdfunding (duh).

His company can engineer the product design details, make the stuff (until orders are sufficient to move manufacturing to his China partners), manage the day-to-day, and fulfill orders until there are too many. Crowdfunding gives instant customers and shows traction to the retailers so I don't have to really sell the product to the big boxes, it will sell itself (I would hope). I'm a marketing person, but not really a salesperson because I stumble over finding the right words to communicate ideas (common for visionaries). This is such a problem, I'm now reading Pitch Anything. I hope it helps, because I really want my stuff in the big boxes and not just Amazon.

I would love to know if you have any suggestions or comments on my attempt at a solution for someone like me, who gets 10 new ideas each day, but would literally rather have teeth pulled than do paperwork. I do believe genes can get in the way of things- my son is so bored in first grade (he's nearly 4th grade in math) he is literally in tears and the school hasn't fixed anything in 5 months of me hounding them/giving suggestions/asking the previous teacher to help/getting the principal involved. So we are changing schools in the fall.

Again thank you for this thread- I will now more fully consider what part selfishness has in "what I like, what skills I have, the things I don't know, the courses I need to take, overcoming procrastination, overcoming perfectionism, how to manage time, how to stay motivated, (and) how to find an accountability group." I don't think it's always pure selfishness, but it can certainly play a big role if you let it, and I don't want it to define me, regardless of the way my brain is wired.

Sorry for the non-linearness of this post- it's typical for me! LOL.
I have lots of ideas every day too. If one keeps coming up then I add it to a Trello list of “Biz ideas on hold”. This allows me to stay focused on a few things I’m working on. Those things are all related to each other though. They’re all different legs to the same stool.

It’s hard to get traction if we don’t keep going with the same thing(s). The good stuff happens when get really deep into a niche.

Entrepreneurs see opportunities everywhere. That needs to be harnessed lest we spin our wheels.

For me, providing the same service to clients in different verticals gives me variety while still applying the same skills and experience.



Figure out how to “grow what you know” and keep stacking your skills and experience on top of each other?

Try to build a high ground rather than keep moving to what seems like greener pastures?



BTW ... everything is a moot point if we can’t make sales. I’m not into physical product design so can’t advise on your chosen route. I’d want to start with baby steps probably.

Personally, I’d steer clear of anything I couldn’t create and sell within 7 days. Dan Norris calls this “product-founder fit”. Does it fit *you* to be selling this product or service? Do you have the skills, experience, and resources to pull it off?
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

LynetteP

This will be car photo when I get a rocket again
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
146%
Apr 13, 2018
87
127
Tennessee
I have lots of ideas every day too. If one keeps coming up then I add it to a Trello list of “Biz ideas on hold”. This allows me to stay focused on a few things I’m working on. Those things are all related to each other though. They’re all different legs to the same stool.

It’s hard to get traction if we don’t keep going with the same thing(s). The good stuff happens when get really deep into a niche.

Entrepreneurs see opportunities everywhere. That needs to be harnessed lest we spin our wheels.

For me, providing the same service to clients in different verticals gives me variety while still applying the same skills and experience.



Figure out how to “grow what you know” and keep stacking your skills and experience on top of each other?

Try to build a high ground rather than keep moving to what seems like greener pastures?



BTW ... everything is a moot point if we can’t make sales. I’m not into physical product design so can’t advise on your chosen route. I’d want to start with baby steps probably.

Personally, I’d steer clear of anything I couldn’t create and sell within 7 days. Dan Norris calls this “product-founder fit”. Does it fit *you* to be selling this product or service? Do you have the skills, experience, and resources to pull it off?

Likewise- I put all my ideas in Omnifocus, so I can review them later.
It's not that I'm changing all the time to look for greener pastures, rather I don't have the ability to manage shipping orders. Product/Founder fit, as you say. I've done it and hated it with a passion, but "the they-sayers say" you should be able to do this until you can hire someone, and that's been my bottleneck. I finally decided I'd rather pay someone to do it from the get-go, and take a hit on the short-term profitability. Otherwise I will be miserable, lol. So I'm looking at outsourcing it to Amazon.

I am reading the "Ask me anything about eCommerce" thread right now- I'm still a bit nervous to order from suppliers in China (and let Amazon fulfill) but maybe I will be comfy enough after I finish (I'm on page 13 of 59, lol). For complicated things, I think I will stick with the engineering firm. I'm probably going to stick with him and pay him to arrange China suppliers too, which I believe people will advise me against, but that's not my strength or interest if I end up with 100+ products anyway. I believe I'll create more value by creating products, rather than trying to learn everything about sourcing. I think I just want to know enough to ask good questions. If it ends up not being a good value, I can change it.

My products are mostly for household use, with the demographic I'm most familiar with- moms with school-age kids. I know my target customers well. I have been in ready-aim, ready-aim mode for too long.

LOL and now I'm stumped! How on earth would a person create and sell something within 7 days? Selling I can see within a day, but creating a product? Ready to ship? Even a digital product I'm having trouble imagining this unless it's an add-on to an existing website or platform... please enlighten me! :D Thanks for your insight!
 

ToddD

Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
138%
Apr 21, 2015
16
22
42
Fort Walton Beach, Florida
People often believe they can't give value to the forum yet (saying nice things like "I'd love to give back when I can add value.")
This is exactly what I sent you when I replied to your PM!

Definitely something I need to overcome, so I'm just going to start replying on every page I read and get value from.

Thanks so much Andy for all your wisdom. I've been soaking up so much of your insights over the last weekend. And now I'm clearer on finding those around me to help out - not over complicating it!
 

Danny reds

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
May 31, 2018
42
31
Denver, CO
To date I've had over 700 PM's with fellow forum members.

I PM to give thanks for following me or for giving me rep.

I always ask how things are going, and strike up a brief conversation.



I've noticed some common themes from these conversations (especially with people trying to get started or trying to "get traction").


My main learnings are that:
  1. People often over-complicate things.

  2. People often get in their own way.

  3. People often believe they can't give value to the forum yet (saying nice things like "I'd love to give back when I can add value.")
Everyone has value!!!!


Sound familiar?



There's been some classic GOLD threads addressing this, and here's a few:

I wrote a post along similar lines:

And Justin Jackson wrote a great article here:




In my opinion:

  • Over-complicating things, getting in your own way, and not believing you can add value are all symptoms of the same thing.
  • Each of the posts listed above are trying to address this exact same thing.
  • The symptoms above are all related to being "me" centric, and the posts above are all ways to stop being "me" centric.

If your goal is to help others, then things get a lot less complicated.

If your goal is to help others, you're less likely to get in your own way - because you're not even in the picture anymore.

If your goal is to help others, you'll realise that giving thanks to other forum members can add a lot of value to their lives, and to the forum. (We know we should give to receive, but I'd no idea of the power of "giving thanks" until I thanked so many people in the forum.)




A few months ago I decided to "learn to create talking head videos".

I got tangled up that first evening, because my goal was wrong.

My goal was to create a video.

My goal was not to say "thank you" to @SinisterLex for the videos he was adding to the forum.

I screwed up.

I over-complicated things.

I got in my own way.

I believed I couldn't add value to the forum.

All because I was thinking about "me", and not thinking about Lex.




After I gave myself a stern talking to, I created my very first talking head video.

Here it is (and it's very relevant to this thread):





I've done 16 videos so far, and it's not until this evening that I've noticed a common theme.

Here's another video that might help you:






Here's another where I talk about my "founding story"... a story from 2009 that still sends shivers down my spine when I remember it:




I talk a bit more about that story in this radio interview.



Who will you help this week?

Who will you thank today?
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Rickh

New Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
120%
May 30, 2018
15
18
To date I've had over 700 PM's with fellow forum members.

I PM to give thanks for following me or for giving me rep.

I always ask how things are going, and strike up a brief conversation.



I've noticed some common themes from these conversations (especially with people trying to get started or trying to "get traction").


My main learnings are that:
  1. People often over-complicate things.

  2. People often get in their own way.

  3. People often believe they can't give value to the forum yet (saying nice things like "I'd love to give back when I can add value.")



Sound familiar?



There's been some classic GOLD threads addressing this, and here's a few:

I wrote a post along similar lines:

And Justin Jackson wrote a great article here:




In my opinion:

  • Over-complicating things, getting in your own way, and not believing you can add value are all symptoms of the same thing.
  • Each of the posts listed above are trying to address this exact same thing.
  • The symptoms above are all related to being "me" centric, and the posts above are all ways to stop being "me" centric.

If your goal is to help others, then things get a lot less complicated.

If your goal is to help others, you're less likely to get in your own way - because you're not even in the picture anymore.

If your goal is to help others, you'll realise that giving thanks to other forum members can add a lot of value to their lives, and to the forum. (We know we should give to receive, but I'd no idea of the power of "giving thanks" until I thanked so many people in the forum.)




A few months ago I decided to "learn to create talking head videos".

I got tangled up that first evening, because my goal was wrong.

My goal was to create a video.

My goal was not to say "thank you" to @SinisterLex for the videos he was adding to the forum.

I screwed up.

I over-complicated things.

I got in my own way.

I believed I couldn't add value to the forum.

All because I was thinking about "me", and not thinking about Lex.




After I gave myself a stern talking to, I created my very first talking head video.

Here it is (and it's very relevant to this thread):





I've done 16 videos so far, and it's not until this evening that I've noticed a common theme.

Here's another video that might help you:






Here's another where I talk about my "founding story"... a story from 2009 that still sends shivers down my spine when I remember it:




I talk a bit more about that story in this radio interview.



Who will you help this week?

Who will you thank today?
What a great curation of posts presented with excellent context. Thank you for sharing this.
 

Andy Black

Help people. Get paid. Help more people.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
370%
May 20, 2014
18,568
68,701
Ireland
What a great curation of posts presented with excellent context. Thank you for sharing this.
Thanks @W0rkb3nch.

What was your single biggest takeaway?

Are you doing anything different now, and what different results did you get?
 

Rickh

New Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
120%
May 30, 2018
15
18
Thanks @W0rkb3nch.

What was your single biggest takeaway?

Are you doing anything different now, and what different results did you get?
Biggest takeaway is a change in mindset from 'me' and what 'I' want to focussing on helping others and finding solutions to their problems.

I think habitually most of us born or likely shaped by society to be quite selfish, to always ask what's in it for me and I want this, I want that etc.

To break this conditioning and instead focus attention on serving others and helping them takes time, but I get better at it every day.

Any new business opportunity or task I take is now focussed around solving peoples problems.

In turn, the bigger the problem solved the more value it has!
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

SROWE85

Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
209%
Jul 22, 2018
23
48
United Kingdom
What a great thread.

Andy, thank you so much for getting in touch. After reading your opening post i could feel my cheeks go red as your words reflected my first message. Nevertheless, hopefully i am providing value via the feedback loop. ;)

I have listened to your interviews, read all of your recommendations and ploughed through many of your threads as possible. My biggest takeaways strongly echo the TMF /Unscripted and have appeared in one form or another in most of your replies:

1) Find something that people are already looking for.
2) Adwords are an effective way of achieving the above
3) Opportunities are everywhere

Again, thank you for your help so far. I will travel to shake your hand once i have broken free from the shackles of the Script...And to see if Guinness really does taste better in Dublin!
 

Andy Black

Help people. Get paid. Help more people.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
370%
May 20, 2014
18,568
68,701
Ireland
What a great thread.

Andy, thank you so much for getting in touch. After reading your opening post i could feel my cheeks go red as your words reflected my first message. Nevertheless, hopefully i am providing value via the feedback loop. ;)

I have listened to your interviews, read all of your recommendations and ploughed through many of your threads as possible. My biggest takeaways strongly echo the TMF /Unscripted and have appeared in one form or another in most of your replies:

1) Find something that people are already looking for.
2) Adwords are an effective way of achieving the above
3) Opportunities are everywhere

Again, thank you for your help so far. I will travel to shake your hand once i have broken free from the shackles of the Script...And to see if Guinness really does taste better in Dublin!
Guinness definitely tastes better in Dublin.

Glad this thread’s helped, and thank *you* for adding value with your feedback and takeaways.
 

Post New Topic

Please SEARCH before posting.
Please select the BEST category.

Post new topic

Guest post submissions offered HERE.

Latest Posts

New Topics

Fastlane Insiders

View the forum AD FREE.
Private, unindexed content
Detailed process/execution threads
Ideas needing execution, more!

Join Fastlane Insiders.

Top