My 8 Lessons Learned after becoming truly FASTLANE Financially Free!

[fastlane_dad]

After the sale of my Fastlane Business (1.5 years ago) – I consider myself financially free – based on my 8 figure net worth , my low annual spend and my relative age (just turned 40 ! ).

Taking into account my investments, and overall prudent nature – I should never run out of money – in fact most days I am worried about dying with too much (which is a topic for another post). The realization sinks in slowly that I never ‘have to’ work for money another day in my life.

Ideally – this is the Holy Grail for us fastlaners!

Epic dream achieved right? Well not so fast…with becoming financially free you are all of a sudden laden with a host of new thoughts and dilemmas – MANY of which are bestowed to you upon conquering this epic mountain we are all on here chasing.

So – today I decided to compile a list of the 8 lessons and realizations I have come to upon becoming financially free! Read on!

1 – THINGS TAKE LONGER TO START AND SHAPE UP THEN ANTICIPATED

With all the time in the world to work on things currently - you would think new projects and ideas would occur and develop ‘quick’ – and that couldn’t be more further from the truth.

A year and a half in - there are a dozen or so new activities and projects that now have taken place, but all of them have been progressing slowly (or dropped altogether), without a clear definitive end goal. Every new action now needs a check against your motivation, values, whys and your finances.

Without ‘money’ as the overarching goal, or the idea to set yourself ‘financially free’ – you try to re-establish your goals and motivations towards taking any of the actions you undertake!

2 – YOU ARE ALSO SIMULTANEOUSLY LOOKING FOR A CHANGE

I’ve been in or around e-commerce or some version of affiliate marketing/online advertising for the last 2 decades. I’ve grown tired to the industry, or looking to fulfill and solve problems in that space – unless it somehow now fulfills or solves my issues as well simultaneously.

It is much harder to keep going or doing things on the path that you were on – especially business related! So I am now on a path looking at new areas to learn at, build and grow (see Lesson #8).

It is also very important to have an accountability / business partner (which @NeoDialectic and I are for ourselves, even post business sale - to sh*t test all of our path forward/whys/further motivations against )

3 – IT IS FANTASTIC TO HAVE ACCESS TO BOTH TIME AND MONEY (WHILE YOU ARE YOUNG)

The feeling of not having to be anywhere is great. I can say NO to absolutely anything. It is much harder to bait me to do anything or commit me to anything I don’t want to do today, short of tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.

This feeling of freedom is truly what we are all after and chasing – hence the goal of creating and selling a fastlane business. Now not only do I not have a BOSS – I no longer have any CUSTOMERS to serve as well – which is liberating in many senses.

4 – PASSION ENTERS THE EQUATION

I can now choose to spend time on hobbies that might or might not yield a financial profit down the road. Being an entrepreneur at heart – my mind still goes and thinks in that direction – but I can now choose to work on topics and areas that I find overall much more enjoyable.

I no longer have to care if the market likes or dislikes my offering. Simultaneously - I can do things from the bottom of my heart for hours on end (such as writing this post) - and not for an ulterior motive such as gaining likes, popularity, fame or a fat paycheck!

I'd like for my efforts to have an affect and provide value to someone else - but I honestly don't care two sh*ts if you guys agree or disagree with me (on things I say or post)!!

This is a road untraveled for me - and completely different then my advice and mindset to someone just starting out.

5 – THE IDEA OF WORK LOSES ITS PAST FRAMING

Prior to the sale of the fastlane business – during work time it ‘all’ felt like work, even chanter, banter and incessant web browsing. A great two hour philosophy discussion? Sure - it expands my thinking mind -- awesome productive time spent at work!!

After the sale of the business – I’m still putting in a lot of hours working towards something (even take this forum as an example). Now though it is much harder to frame it as ‘work’ – especially much of what I do I also happen to enjoy now as well.

But all the ‘work’ I still opt to choose to do, takes time away from my FAMILY - so you end up paying a cost in that regard whether you are making money or not.

6 – YOUR ACTUAL VALUES TRULY SURFACE

Excuses are now tougher to manufacture and therefore lie to yourself.

If I had reasons or excuses why I’m not doing something particular for the years I was building up my business (i.e. working towards 6 pack abs, traveling to furthest corners of the world etc) – I no longer have ‘work’ or ‘money’ to use as the constraint or a reason.

I am faced to look in the mirror now and be truthful with myself whether I wanted those things all along.

7 – YOU RELEARN THAT THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS. EVERYTHING IS A PROCESS

Given that in many of my current endeavors are starting from scratch – my mind starts to race and look for shortcuts to accomplish anything from the ground up now.

I’m hit in the face with a huge reminder once again – that anything I am now attempting to build and do is a process – and even after ‘graduating fastlane’, nothing is guaranteed.

Even though I picked up on so many lessons the last several decades of my life and through my fastlane journey – my brain still gravitates towards finding an easier way, solution or an answer – even if I fully comprehend that that isn’t the way.

I need a constant reminder that anything I did of significance in the past – took no shortcuts and a lot of time, effort and dedication to build up and make a success.

8 – LIFE BECOMES TRULY MORE HUMBLING

You realize that any further success or accomplishment is not guaranteed, warranted or owed to you in any way!

To achieve anything else of significance, I need to put my big boy boots back on and get back in the mud to start digging.

If you are starting something new – you have to go through the ‘suck’ once again, and be terrible at something!

That can be mentally tough and challenging considering you have been ‘top of your game’ in another domain for almost a decade and everything you touched seemed to turn to gold.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That’s it guys. I hope I was able to shine some light into the mind of someone that went through the grind, the process - achieved FASTLANE success to become financially free -- and now back again to ground zero re figuring out life, purpose and all of my 'whys' once again.

Figuring out what is truly important, what is it again that I want to build, where my values stand on work/money/family and what do I want to spend the next ½ of my life doing.

Hope you enjoyed this post and I will as always follow up if I think of more others!

 

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[mikecarlooch]

Thank you for sharing

Super interesting!

 

[Fox]

Only saw this now and am surprised this thread doesn't have more replies.

Great write-up, and well done on your hard work!

 

[Andy Black]

I no longer have to care if the market likes or dislikes my offering. Simultaneously - I can do things from the bottom of my heart for hours on end (such as writing this post) - and not for an ulterior motive such as gaining likes, popularity, fame or a fat paycheck!

I'd like for my efforts to have an affect and provide value to someone else - but I honestly don't care two crap if you guys agree or disagree with me !!

I think I've got here in a roundabout sort of way too. It's liberating.

 

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[fastlane_dad]

Only saw this now and am surprised this thread doesn't have more replies.

Great write-up, and well done on your hard work!

Thank you ! I felt like this was a necessary reminder, that during and post fastlane 'accomplishments' - you are still only staring up from the bottom of a huge mountain.

I assume most people who get to this point (like myself) still have some overarching need for accomplishments, success, growth, creating value and helping others etc.

@MJ DeMarco went on to write several succesfull books and created this awesome forum where like-minded entrepreneurs can gather. He is another prime example of the continued need for providing value - even past the time you have enough money to take care of your family for years to come.

Money + learning how to build and grow a business was one of the primary vehicles which helped me achieve all that in the last 2 decades. After you get to your destination - the questions (and answers) mount - and in many ways become much tougher to conquer now once your needs are met (for quite a while!).

It's great to be in this position - but not without its struggles, challenges and wonders. It's tough to be the 'new guy on the block' in a new domain! It's very tough to 'suck' at starting something new and talk yourself through this.

Again - this is all very relative and applicable (and no different!!) to a new entrepreneur starting out, or someone 18 years old figuring out which way to go. The advantage I've got - is I've been through all these ups and downs now for close to 20 years!

Many of these voices inside my head are now instantaneously crushed and hushed - in pursuit of some of my new 'whys'. I have learned how to deal with the negative self talk. I have learned to be more patient. I have acknowledged that to stumble upon something worth creating can easily take 5-10 years of going through things that aren't!

I know I must go through the 'suck'. I know I must go through the 'process'. I know there are no 'shortcuts'.

And best of all - I now KNOW there is not some 'ultimate destination' at the end of any of these rainbows that fully satisfies you for the rest of your life. It's just a daily action / building block of putting one foot in front of the other to do work you enjoy and help and benefit others.

It's extremely humbling to know you need to grind and claw your way into anything worth achieving again. Your past accomplishments are now just that - past accomplishments

It's not just all life now at the 'dream beach' daily sipping margaritas, or driving top down Ferraris (all that got old years ago).

 

[Argento Scatto]

@fastlane_dad,
Thanks for taking the time to share this perspective.
Means the world to me.
Best,
AS

 

[MTF]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I find it valuable to read what happens AFTER one hits the Fastlane as that's a much less rarely discussed topic yet can cause a lot of unexpected problems.

 

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[Stargazer]

7 – YOU RELEARN THAT THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS. EVERYTHING IS A PROCESS

Given that in many of my current endeavors are starting from scratch – my mind starts to race and look for shortcuts to accomplish anything from the ground up now.

Even though I picked up on so many lessons the last several decades of my life and through my fastlane journey – my brain still gravitates towards finding an easier way, solution or an answer – even if I fully comprehend that that isn’t the way.

Thanks for your thread.

Just throwing this out there for no particular reason but I think it depends what you define as short-cut.

Cutting corners as a means to a short-cut doesn't work but using knowledge, even if someone else's, as a short-cut does.

For example Richard Branson went from tiny record shop to Mega Store in one quick step. He simply asked Tower Records how they did everything. (And was surprised that they told him and gave him a full tour of their operations.)

And when an American pilot handed him an entire business plan for an airline, he simply phoned Sir Freddie Laker who told him exactly what to do with it.

I always view time as one of those concertina instruments. There is always a way to compress it without cutting bits out if you follow.

Your brain seems to be working just fine for doing this activity of looking for the 'short-cut'

Dan

 

[NeoDialectic]

Thanks for your thread.

Just throwing this out there for no particular reason but I think it depends what you define as short-cut.

Cutting corners as a means to a short-cut doesn't work but using knowledge, even if someone else's, as a short-cut does.

For example Richard Branson went from tiny record shop to Mega Store in one quick step. He simply asked Tower Records how they did everything. (And was surprised that they told him and gave him a full tour of their operations.)

And when an American pilot handed him an entire business plan for an airline, he simply phoned Sir Freddie Laker who told him exactly what to do with it.

I always view time as one of those concertina instruments. There is always a way to compress it without cutting bits out if you follow.

Your brain seems to be working just fine for doing this activity of looking for the 'short-cut'

Dan

I agree. I think the general attitude meant by his point was that there are no shortcuts to needing to put in the work. You may find ways to make your work more efficient or effective, but you have to do "the work" all the same.

 

[fastlane_dad]

Thanks for your thread.

Just throwing this out there for no particular reason but I think it depends what you define as short-cut.

Cutting corners as a means to a short-cut doesn't work but using knowledge, even if someone else's, as a short-cut does.

For example Richard Branson went from tiny record shop to Mega Store in one quick step. He simply asked Tower Records how they did everything. (And was surprised that they told him and gave him a full tour of their operations.)

And when an American pilot handed him an entire business plan for an airline, he simply phoned Sir Freddie Laker who told him exactly what to do with it.

I always view time as one of those concertina instruments. There is always a way to compress it without cutting bits out if you follow.

Your brain seems to be working just fine for doing this activity of looking for the 'short-cut'

Dan

I don't disagree , maybe fully a matter of perspective and definitions.

One example of what I might think of a shortcut now (which might also not be a wrong way to think about it!) - is discussing purchasing an existing business, instead of getting the hands dirty to start one up from the ground up.

'I don't have the patience and can potentially skip the trial and error startup phase', by getting into something that already generates hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

But then I back up a step and realize that some of this 'process' and trial and error IS the fun for me, and partially what I enjoy. What good am I and my knowledge and experience if I can't recreate another success - my mind starts to ask.

But you are absolutely right if there is an advantage to be had with additional knowledge, and being resourceful - I am 100% for it!

 

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[Mister]

Very interesting, good to see that I’m not alone with “searching for a shortcut”.

Thanks for your post!

 

[Stargazer]

Gents,

It is Friday night already in the UK and as beer prices have gone through the roof I thought I would stay in and peruse the Forum and just be slightly contrarian.

Dan

 

[Albert KOUADJA]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I find it valuable to read what happens AFTER one hits the Fastlane as that's a much less rarely discussed topic yet can cause a lot of unexpected problems.

Really, all as, to believe or to commit mistake that the happyness is at the end (material gain and other possessions) rather in the dayly with the relationship we have with those around us or what we do.

 

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[Albert KOUADJA]

Thank you for sharing it with us.

After the sale of my Fastlane Business (1.5 years ago) – I consider myself financially free – based on my 8 figure net worth , my low annual spend and my relative age (just turned 40 ! ).

Taking into account my investments, and overall prudent nature – I should never run out of money – in fact most days I am worried about dying with too much (which is a topic for another post). The realization sinks in slowly that I never ‘have to’ work for money another day in my life.

Ideally – this is the Holy Grail for us fastlaners!

Epic dream achieved right? Well not so fast…with becoming financially free you are all of a sudden laden with a host of new thoughts and dilemmas – MANY of which are bestowed to you upon conquering this epic mountain we are all on here chasing.

So – today I decided to compile a list of the 8 lessons and realizations I have come to upon becoming financially free! Read on!

1 – THINGS TAKE LONGER TO START AND SHAPE UP THEN ANTICIPATED

With all the time in the world to work on things currently - you would think new projects and ideas would occur and develop ‘quick’ – and that couldn’t be more further from the truth.

A year and a half in - there are a dozen or so new activities and projects that now have taken place, but all of them have been progressing slowly (or dropped altogether), without a clear definitive end goal. Every new action now needs a check against your motivation, values, whys and your finances.

Without ‘money’ as the overarching goal, or the idea to set yourself ‘financially free’ – you try to re-establish your goals and motivations towards taking any of the actions you undertake!

2 – YOU ARE ALSO SIMULTANEOUSLY LOOKING FOR A CHANGE

I’ve been in or around e-commerce or some version of affiliate marketing/online advertising for the last 2 decades. I’ve grown tired to the industry, or looking to fulfill and solve problems in that space – unless it somehow now fulfills or solves my issues as well simultaneously.

It is much harder to keep going or doing things on the path that you were on – especially business related! So I am now on a path looking at new areas to learn at, build and grow (see Lesson #8).

It is also very important to have an accountability / business partner (which @NeoDialectic and I are for ourselves, even post business sale - to sh*t test all of our path forward/whys/further motivations against )

3 – IT IS FANTASTIC TO HAVE ACCESS TO BOTH TIME AND MONEY (WHILE YOU ARE YOUNG)

The feeling of not having to be anywhere is great. I can say NO to absolutely anything. It is much harder to bait me to do anything or commit me to anything I don’t want to do today, short of tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.

This feeling of freedom is truly what we are all after and chasing – hence the goal of creating and selling a fastlane business. Now not only do I not have a BOSS – I no longer have any CUSTOMERS to serve as well – which is liberating in many senses.

4 – PASSION ENTERS THE EQUATION

I can now choose to spend time on hobbies that might or might not yield a financial profit down the road. Being an entrepreneur at heart – my mind still goes and thinks in that direction – but I can now choose to work on topics and areas that I find overall much more enjoyable.

I no longer have to care if the market likes or dislikes my offering. Simultaneously - I can do things from the bottom of my heart for hours on end (such as writing this post) - and not for an ulterior motive such as gaining likes, popularity, fame or a fat paycheck!

I'd like for my efforts to have an affect and provide value to someone else - but I honestly don't care two sh*ts if you guys agree or disagree with me (on things I say or post)!!

This is a road untraveled for me - and completely different then my advice and mindset to someone just starting out.

5 – THE IDEA OF WORK LOSES ITS PAST FRAMING

Prior to the sale of the fastlane business – during work time it ‘all’ felt like work, even chanter, banter and incessant web browsing. A great two hour philosophy discussion? Sure - it expands my thinking mind -- awesome productive time spent at work!!

After the sale of the business – I’m still putting in a lot of hours working towards something (even take this forum as an example). Now though it is much harder to frame it as ‘work’ – especially much of what I do I also happen to enjoy now as well.

But all the ‘work’ I still opt to choose to do, takes time away from my FAMILY - so you end up paying a cost in that regard whether you are making money or not.

6 – YOUR ACTUAL VALUES TRULY SURFACE

Excuses are now tougher to manufacture and therefore lie to yourself.

If I had reasons or excuses why I’m not doing something particular for the years I was building up my business (i.e. working towards 6 pack abs, traveling to furthest corners of the world etc) – I no longer have ‘work’ or ‘money’ to use as the constraint or a reason.

I am faced to look in the mirror now and be truthful with myself whether I wanted those things all along.

7 – YOU RELEARN THAT THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS. EVERYTHING IS A PROCESS

Given that in many of my current endeavors are starting from scratch – my mind starts to race and look for shortcuts to accomplish anything from the ground up now.

I’m hit in the face with a huge reminder once again – that anything I am now attempting to build and do is a process – and even after ‘graduating fastlane’, nothing is guaranteed.

Even though I picked up on so many lessons the last several decades of my life and through my fastlane journey – my brain still gravitates towards finding an easier way, solution or an answer – even if I fully comprehend that that isn’t the way.

I need a constant reminder that anything I did of significance in the past – took no shortcuts and a lot of time, effort and dedication to build up and make a success.

8 – LIFE BECOMES TRULY MORE HUMBLING

You realize that any further success or accomplishment is not guaranteed, warranted or owed to you in any way!

To achieve anything else of significance, I need to put my big boy boots back on and get back in the mud to start digging.

If you are starting something new – you have to go through the ‘suck’ once again, and be terrible at something!

That can be mentally tough and challenging considering you have been ‘top of your game’ in another domain for almost a decade and everything you touched seemed to turn to gold.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That’s it guys. I hope I was able to shine some light into the mind of someone that went through the grind, the process - achieved FASTLANE success to become financially free -- and now back again to ground zero re figuring out life, purpose and all of my 'whys' once again.

Figuring out what is truly important, what is it again that I want to build, where my values stand on work/money/family and what do I want to spend the next ½ of my life doing.

Hope you enjoyed this post and I will as always follow up if I think of more others!

 

[DavidePaco00]

After the sale of my Fastlane Business (1.5 years ago) – I consider myself financially free – based on my 8 figure net worth , my low annual spend and my relative age (just turned 40 ! ).

Taking into account my investments, and overall prudent nature – I should never run out of money – in fact most days I am worried about dying with too much (which is a topic for another post). The realization sinks in slowly that I never ‘have to’ work for money another day in my life.

Ideally – this is the Holy Grail for us fastlaners!

Epic dream achieved right? Well not so fast…with becoming financially free you are all of a sudden laden with a host of new thoughts and dilemmas – MANY of which are bestowed to you upon conquering this epic mountain we are all on here chasing.

So – today I decided to compile a list of the 8 lessons and realizations I have come to upon becoming financially free! Read on!

1 – THINGS TAKE LONGER TO START AND SHAPE UP THEN ANTICIPATED

With all the time in the world to work on things currently - you would think new projects and ideas would occur and develop ‘quick’ – and that couldn’t be more further from the truth.

A year and a half in - there are a dozen or so new activities and projects that now have taken place, but all of them have been progressing slowly (or dropped altogether), without a clear definitive end goal. Every new action now needs a check against your motivation, values, whys and your finances.

Without ‘money’ as the overarching goal, or the idea to set yourself ‘financially free’ – you try to re-establish your goals and motivations towards taking any of the actions you undertake!

2 – YOU ARE ALSO SIMULTANEOUSLY LOOKING FOR A CHANGE

I’ve been in or around e-commerce or some version of affiliate marketing/online advertising for the last 2 decades. I’ve grown tired to the industry, or looking to fulfill and solve problems in that space – unless it somehow now fulfills or solves my issues as well simultaneously.

It is much harder to keep going or doing things on the path that you were on – especially business related! So I am now on a path looking at new areas to learn at, build and grow (see Lesson #8).

It is also very important to have an accountability / business partner (which @NeoDialectic and I are for ourselves, even post business sale - to sh*t test all of our path forward/whys/further motivations against )

3 – IT IS FANTASTIC TO HAVE ACCESS TO BOTH TIME AND MONEY (WHILE YOU ARE YOUNG)

The feeling of not having to be anywhere is great. I can say NO to absolutely anything. It is much harder to bait me to do anything or commit me to anything I don’t want to do today, short of tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.

This feeling of freedom is truly what we are all after and chasing – hence the goal of creating and selling a fastlane business. Now not only do I not have a BOSS – I no longer have any CUSTOMERS to serve as well – which is liberating in many senses.

4 – PASSION ENTERS THE EQUATION

I can now choose to spend time on hobbies that might or might not yield a financial profit down the road. Being an entrepreneur at heart – my mind still goes and thinks in that direction – but I can now choose to work on topics and areas that I find overall much more enjoyable.

I no longer have to care if the market likes or dislikes my offering. Simultaneously - I can do things from the bottom of my heart for hours on end (such as writing this post) - and not for an ulterior motive such as gaining likes, popularity, fame or a fat paycheck!

I'd like for my efforts to have an affect and provide value to someone else - but I honestly don't care two sh*ts if you guys agree or disagree with me (on things I say or post)!!

This is a road untraveled for me - and completely different then my advice and mindset to someone just starting out.

5 – THE IDEA OF WORK LOSES ITS PAST FRAMING

Prior to the sale of the fastlane business – during work time it ‘all’ felt like work, even chanter, banter and incessant web browsing. A great two hour philosophy discussion? Sure - it expands my thinking mind -- awesome productive time spent at work!!

After the sale of the business – I’m still putting in a lot of hours working towards something (even take this forum as an example). Now though it is much harder to frame it as ‘work’ – especially much of what I do I also happen to enjoy now as well.

But all the ‘work’ I still opt to choose to do, takes time away from my FAMILY - so you end up paying a cost in that regard whether you are making money or not.

6 – YOUR ACTUAL VALUES TRULY SURFACE

Excuses are now tougher to manufacture and therefore lie to yourself.

If I had reasons or excuses why I’m not doing something particular for the years I was building up my business (i.e. working towards 6 pack abs, traveling to furthest corners of the world etc) – I no longer have ‘work’ or ‘money’ to use as the constraint or a reason.

I am faced to look in the mirror now and be truthful with myself whether I wanted those things all along.

7 – YOU RELEARN THAT THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS. EVERYTHING IS A PROCESS

Given that in many of my current endeavors are starting from scratch – my mind starts to race and look for shortcuts to accomplish anything from the ground up now.

I’m hit in the face with a huge reminder once again – that anything I am now attempting to build and do is a process – and even after ‘graduating fastlane’, nothing is guaranteed.

Even though I picked up on so many lessons the last several decades of my life and through my fastlane journey – my brain still gravitates towards finding an easier way, solution or an answer – even if I fully comprehend that that isn’t the way.

I need a constant reminder that anything I did of significance in the past – took no shortcuts and a lot of time, effort and dedication to build up and make a success.

8 – LIFE BECOMES TRULY MORE HUMBLING

You realize that any further success or accomplishment is not guaranteed, warranted or owed to you in any way!

To achieve anything else of significance, I need to put my big boy boots back on and get back in the mud to start digging.

If you are starting something new – you have to go through the ‘suck’ once again, and be terrible at something!

That can be mentally tough and challenging considering you have been ‘top of your game’ in another domain for almost a decade and everything you touched seemed to turn to gold.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That’s it guys. I hope I was able to shine some light intIo the mind of someone that went through the grind, the process - achieved FASTLANE success to become financially free -- and now back again to ground zero re figuring out life, purpose and all of my 'whys' once again.

Figuring out what is truly important, what is it again that I want to build, where my values stand on work/money/family and what do I want to spend the next ½ of my life doing.

Hope you enjoyed this post and I will as always follow up if I think of more others!

Last week You answered to a thred that I opened. It was about copywriting.

Now I'm reading all Your threads and I juts have to say thank You because You're helping me reframing my mindset.

I can't wait to the time when I'll write that I realized my dream on this forum.

Keep It Up! This is a great community.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Upgraded to GOLD, thanks for sharing your wisdom learned over the years.

 

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[BaraQueenbee]

This is the first time I am reading your post, and just wanted to say thank you for sharing all this and WHAT A WINNER YOU ARE.

WELL DONE

 

[fastlane_dad]

Last week You answered to a thred that I opened. It was about copywriting.

Now I'm reading all Your threads and I juts have to say thank You because You're helping me reframing my mindset.

I can't wait to the time when I'll write that I realized my dream on this forum.

Keep It Up! This is a great community.

Appreciate the kind words.

Upgraded to GOLD, thanks for sharing your wisdom learned over the years.

Thank you!! Always more to come. It is ironic in a sense that some of the writing has helped ME as much if not more of what it does for the readers.

It really is true - that participation is the best medicine, and many times the way forward. I know @MJ DeMarco and @Andy Black are strong proponents in participation, connecting on here etc - but it cannot be more true of how much more clarity in thoughts and action you achieve by just posting a bit of content on here.

Once thoughts become words on paper - you almost sh*t test yourself on paper - asking yourself - is this REALLY ME? Do I TRULY BELIEVE THAT? I am ACTING THE WAY I DESCRIBE? What is my MESSAGE that I stand behind? Am I CONGRUENT to that message in my thoughts / actions / values / time + money spent? I question myself on ALL of these daily, especially so when I put out content to consume.

This is the first time I am reading your post, and just wanted to say thank you for sharing all this and WHAT A WINNER YOU ARE. WELL DONE

Anytime - just reflecting and sharing parts of my journey. Please see the rest of my journey that explains more HERE and HERE.

The surprise at the end - is that the process / journey is NEVER done or over (as I'm learning!) The game might change slightly. The variables are ever revolving. But it never ends especially for a mind that always looks to IMPROVE (which I assume majority of the readers on these forums are).

So enjoy the journey, learning and trial and error daily --> before, during or post fastlane. As there's really nothing much there beyond that!

 

[Ivan Koretskyy]

Now not only do I not have a BOSS – I no longer have any CUSTOMERS to serve as well

This hit me deep. Didn’t realize this was also the next goal to achieve. Thank you for your incites.

 

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[fastlane_dad]

This hit me deep. Didn’t realize this was also the next goal to achieve. Thank you for your incites.

Yes this is never fully thought of or described anywhere.

Everyone (especially in the startup / building stages) - is so busy CHASING the customer, you don't fully realize the freedom that comes when you don't care (and don't need to) do that any longer!

There are always two takes to 'the customer is always right' mantra - where various mindsets can apply (saved for another post).

Regardless.

Even though I have not had a boss in 15+ years - there was always the side of doing things FOR and BY the customer (again this is the whole mantra of FASTLANE - it's not about yourself, it's about the value you provide).

No matter how streamline your process might be, or how many layers you put between yourself and the final end user - they still direct you in so many ways.

It is essentially your market makeup. You start tailoring your offerings to 'the customer'. You make sure that the are receiving more value then they pay for.

On several occasions we have even launched, added or released additional products - due to the request of 'the customer' and 'the market'. Items and offerings @NeoDialectic and I did not even have particular interest in releasing. Sometimes our releases would be in direct COMPETITION (!) to our own products we sold.

But the market wants what it wants and we stuck to that. It was never about what we wanted. The market does not care!

All in all - releasing ourselves from the pull of the 'customer' is more liberating then initially thought.

 

[Andy Black]

it cannot be more true of how much more clarity in thoughts and action you achieve by just posting a bit of content on here.

Yes. I gain clarity by writing and by helping people.

 

[Andy Black]

Everyone (especially in the startup / building stages) - is so busy CHASING the customer, you don't fully realize the freedom that comes when you don't care (and don't need to) do that any longer!

I love not chasing. I hop on calls with people, look over their account, give advice, then bid them a cheery farewell. I remember in 2014 being told that was dumb. Eight years later I prefer my way even more now.

 

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[FitRay]

So enjoy the journey, learning and trial and error daily --> before, during or post fastlane. As there's really nothing much there beyond that!

thanks for this little but powerful confirmation. It hit me hard because I thought about that for a long time and now, you - a successful entrepreneur - confirmed it with one short sentence.

My daily struggles and all the grinding during my day job and my entrepreneurial side hustle before and after work are not part of the journey, they ARE the journey. As George Leonard writes in his book "Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment" to master something one needs to enjoy the plateaus during development instead of enjoying the few moments, when we make accomplishments. Doing something for the sake of doing it - that's the joy.

And thanks for the whole write-up in general. You answered some of my questions about "what happens when I achieved >it<?".

 

[DavidePaco00]

thanks for this little but powerful confirmation. It hit me hard because I thought about that for a long time and now, you - a successful entrepreneur - confirmed it with one short sentence.

My daily struggles and all the grinding during my day job and my entrepreneurial side hustle before and after work are not part of the journey, they ARE the journey. As George Leonard writes in his book "Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment" to master something one needs to enjoy the plateaus during development instead of enjoying the few moments, when we make accomplishments. Doing something for the sake of doing it - that's the joy.

And thanks for the whole write-up in general. You answered some of my questions about "what happens when I achieved >it<?".

... and I would suggest that plateaus can be overcomed by asking questions to people who already make it, or by joining a mastermind...

We can't always hope to find solutions by ourselves.

Cheers

 

[Claude Roy]

Thank you for sharing those lessons, that is much appreciated and truly heartfelt!

There's a part of me that feels a bit despaired since I'm so far from where you are. I failed at 2 businesses and still have a 9-5 that I'm honestly thankful for because it's better than all those I had before but obviously still isn't the goal so I'm far from the fast lane exit.

Any wisdom you want to share on that?

 

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[fastlane_dad]

Thank you for sharing those lessons, that is much appreciated and truly heartfelt!

There's a part of me that feels a bit despaired since I'm so far from where you are.

Compare yourself to where you were yesterday, not to where I'm at today. I look at some of those around me and constantly wonder the same thing as well, always thinking I'm 'running behind'. That's a non-winning battle! Appreciate your journey and all you have done and learned so far.

I failed at 2 businesses and still have a 9-5 that I'm honestly thankful for because it's better than all those I had before but obviously still isn't the goal so I'm far from the fast lane exit.

What does 'failed' mean? You gave up on them? Ran out of things to try? Couldn't make profit? Wasn't enticed enough to keep going? Surely you have learned a lot from this (perhaps you can do a write up on this as well!) -- and what's preventing you from moving forward?

@NeoDialectic and I had COUNTLESS start-up ideas that went nowhere, products that we scrapped due to not enough profit clearance, or interest, or competition, and included ideas that were brilliant on paper - but required more execution than we were willing to give.

None of this made us see any of this as 'failure' - just higher value opportunities that presented themselves over what we were doing where we ended up taking a different route. It is our core belief that many ideas - products - execution can be turned into a successful venture with enough grit, perseverance, iteration and dedication. Not all of them are fastlane, but there are countless paths as a 'place to start' if you are completely dry on the path forward.

Any wisdom you want to share on that?

Let us know what 5 steps you have written done and taken action on today to move your business forward.

 

[NeoDialectic]

Thank you for sharing those lessons, that is much appreciated and truly heartfelt!

There's a part of me that feels a bit despaired since I'm so far from where you are. I failed at 2 businesses and still have a 9-5 that I'm honestly thankful for because it's better than all those I had before but obviously still isn't the goal so I'm far from the fast lane exit.

Any wisdom you want to share on that?

I recently answered another poster with a similar concern HERE

Here is what I said in that thread:

I empathize with the way you are feeling and I think it is probably normal to feel like this when you "discover" a new value you didn't have in the past.

I think that if you really think about it, you will see it's not actually time lost. It's not like you were in a closet with your eyes closed. You were doing things that you thought were important to do and/or you wanted to do. You wouldn't be you without those experiences. Now that you realized having a business and freedom is important to you, you can choose to live your life that way. If you are surrounded by people that aren't helping the case and need some motivation, you can try my suggestions in THIS thread.

It's important to really think on why you are being bummed by this and try to address the root of it. Accept that you were doing what you thought was important at the time. It may seem foolish now but thats because you have different values now. Give yourself 15 more years and you are doing stuff today that you will think is foolish! If it helps, view it as a different person. That person no longer exists. Now you have to deal with the set of cards you have and make the best of it. There are plenty of nobodies that came from nothing and you're not starting in a worse position than that. Plenty of people are born rich and just by that fact were ahead of me by 34 years! There are plenty of people that currently have everything you currently want (big business/money/success) and are depressed wanting a family or friendship or something else.

All you got is today and what you will make of it. So go make something of it.

Perseverance is the most important trait you can build to ensure your success in the future. Learn from your failures and keep trying.

 

[Melvyn Williams]

Thanks for your thread.

Just throwing this out there for no particular reason but I think it depends what you define as short-cut.

Cutting corners as a means to a short-cut doesn't work but using knowledge, even if someone else's, as a short-cut does.

For example Richard Branson went from tiny record shop to Mega Store in one quick step. He simply asked Tower Records how they did everything. (And was surprised that they told him and gave him a full tour of their operations.)

And when an American pilot handed him an entire business plan for an airline, he simply phoned Sir Freddie Laker who told him exactly what to do with it.

I always view time as one of those concertina instruments. There is always a way to compress it without cutting bits out if you follow.

Your brain seems to be working just fine for doing this activity of looking for the 'short-cut'

Dan

Very well said...

 

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