Progression of a 17 year old

[Saad Khan]

Ahh not much to say here. I became familiar with "The Fastlane" at the start of March 2021 and I started to do something worthwhile instead of playing Counter-Strike mindlessly. I took online courses about email marketing and nowadays practicing copywriting (also studying for college cuz need to keep parents happy and avoid potential future guilt), btw how's this for a month's progression? Well I'd say not quite the extraordinary but considering myself from me before discovering Fastlane, I feel much better about myself. This is also a little diary for myself.

Know any websites for practicing copywriting? Do reply if you feel like it

 

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[Johnny boy]

(also studying for college cuz need to keep parents happy and avoid potential future guilt),

Imagine you are 40 years old and your parents are old and retired. You have 2 kids and a family. You went to college and got a job that your parents wanted you to get. You never took a chance and tried the business or thing that you wanted to try and now you have too many commitments. You are seeing your age and you look back at your life and always think "what if?"

Imagine how much regret, unhappiness, contempt towards your family, etc. you would feel?

Here's a little secret about advice from our family that we don't know about...

If you do what YOU want....they will still love you.

They advise you based on bad information, an outdated model of success, and fear of you falling through the cracks because you took a risk and failed.

Don't let that infect your decisions and end up causing more guilt and sadness than the temporary friction of taking chances and doing your own things. They will still be proud of you and especially if you succeed.



-24 year old droppout making more than my family and working less than 20% of the time they do who's parents love him dearly.

 

[Saad Khan]

Made my first dollar yesterday! I made about $ 2.5 I was so hyped even though the guy said my copy was very crappy but he decided to pay me for one of the articles I wrote. Told me I need to write at least 10-15 articles to get a pretty good idea of writing blogs.

Aight, I applied for an agency for an internship so my resume isn't blank. They said it's an unpaid internship which I'm willing to do. Some of you might think I'm stupid, but I'm pretty new to writing so it kinda makes sense.
Btw, I sent them an email with my past work samples and they replied back. Said that I was a good fit. Lmao sure I was. My strategy is to get good with writing then move on to digital marketing and ultimately, forming an agency myself. This is a part of my goal broken down into small steps.

 

[Saad Khan]

Okay. Time to update this thread:

When I was ranting on that agency client. I caught myself doing the unthinkable. I realized I was unconsciously "Trying to sell" and not "Provide value". Since then, I took action, volunteered myself to provide value. All for free. And for the sake of providing value and crushing my imposter syndrome.

Just when I thought I was going to rebound, academics hit me. Being an A+ student, always scoring more than 90%, I witnessed the value of marks get shredded into pieces in front of my eyes.

For more clarification, read this

Mardan: Girl scores a perfect 1100/1100 in matric examinations

Qandeel, a student from Mardan, made a national record by scoring 1100/1100 in her matric examinations, becoming the first female to do so.

www.globalvillagespace.com

Shocking that someone gets 1100/1100. There are more than 100 students on Top 3 positions.

Lmao. The fastlane lens exposed everything.

I was upset with my result. But then my feedback loop finally started firing back.

When I cared for other's businesses, good juju came my way. When I started caring to make a profit for others, I witnessed my copy deliver value.

I literally told everyone in college about my results. Of course, they didn't understand and didn't care. Knowing my copy provided 4 times more value than I anticipated, I successfully crushed my imposter syndrome.

What are the takeaways?

Provide value. Good juju comes your way.

Don't forget that everyone has bad times. This too shall pass. Keep going despite failures. Confucius said, "It doesn't matter how slowly you go, as long as you don't stop."

 

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[Saad Khan]

This is my 1/5/10 I made when I was starting out back in 2021. I will add the ones I failed to accomplish into my 2022 Planasy. The failed ones are marked "X" at the beginning of each goal.

The biggest mistake was that I didn't break it down to weekly goals. This caused my progress to be stagnant at times and I was action-faking more than taking real action.

2021
- Already started a freelance business (Doing it)
- Get a good PC (Got a mobile instead, so it counts as accomplished)
X Start YT and provide massive value (Deviated after realizing it was not the critical path)
- Get credible (Doing content marketing and helping others)
X Start going to gym (Failed)
X Already start working on creating income streams (Failed. Need to focus on one consistent channel for now)
- Deal with people effectively (Improved my communication skills)
- Do good in studies (Average results)
- Get ready for making an agency after years of experience (I still have more to learn and grow before getting others onboard).
- Read more books and all gold threads (Done)
- Start making enough money to support myself (Already making enough that fulfills my personal expenses)

Seems like I failed in three of my goals or 2021. Not bad. I will be making more specific goals because most of my goals for 2021 were vague and couldn't be measured.

2026
-2 businesses working
-Agency making $10k+ revenue
-300k USD net worth

2031
-Sell one biz for $5M
-Get back free time
-Location independent
-Independent and pull others out of the rat race

 

[Saad Khan]

Last night I found someone who was willing to help me on my journey. Gave me some articles to read and then write an article myself. Now I know I like copywriting and content writing and if is going to make me $$ that's honestly a good start to head to Fastlane. Day 1 and I did horribly wrong but mistakes were made . Time to improve (Respect the PROCESS)

Made my first dollar yesterday! I made about $ 2.5 I was so hyped even though the guy said my copy was very crappy but he decided to pay me for one of the articles I wrote. Told me I need to write at least 10-15 articles to get a pretty good idea of writing blogs.

 

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[Speed112]

It's really nice to see how your mentality has shifted over such a short few months.

The insecure start, not really knowing where you're going... the doubt and anger when reality kicked you in the butt... the confidence and reassurance from still making the most out of your path and being rewarded for your effort.

And now, there's the hope and gratitude from living your change and looking forward to bigger things.

You can see these in the language you use, the areas you choose to focus on, and, I would assume, we'll soon see it in your breakthrough and results as well. Great job!

You sound like you've been doing it for years already.

Let us know how you manage to break down your 2022 goals into an actionable plan for the next few months.

 

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[Tubs]

From another 17 year old, keep it up man! I was also hooked on video games just like you, and I’m starting my own journey now in iOS development.

Any advice on getting past social anxiety?

The pain of regret is much stronger than the pain of rejection.
A lot of the anxiety just comes from visualizing how the interactions are going to go before you even have the chance to interact. You think it's going to go badly, and you stop yourself from interacting to avoid this.

The best advice I can give is just to accept that you're going to feel anxious and put yourself out there. Then as time goes on you get more and more used to social interaction to the point where it doesn't make you anxious anymore.

I guess the analogy I could use for a teenager would be that it's like your first day of school for the year. It strange to be going back and you might feel nervous about the new classes you're taking. But after a while of going every day it's just a normal part of your routine.

 

[Saad Khan]

Time for an update.

Moved to our new house, I finally have a room where I can focus on my fastlane progress.

I got an offer from the agency whose client was responsible for my mental breakdowns.

Turns out we'll be splitting revenue 50/50 for every client I bring that is closed. I'm studying B2B marketing strategies that I'll execute for the agency, like lead generation and closing clients on LinkedIn, content marketing, etc. I intend to get some good case studies out of these campaigns that will attract future clients.

However, the owner of the agency is not interested in playing his part. For example, providing an office email, sending a referral incentive email to his client list. I sent him some client acquisition strategies that the employees loved. The reason I got this offer in the first place was that I was conveying him Fastlane nuggets from time to time. I guess he spotted my drive for marketing and sales. Either way, I'm determined to get something outta this.

Now moving on to my personal progress.

I have decided to expand my skillset into the Amazon space, and I think it will be easier for me to get amazon clients. I have some guys who can refer me to potential clients. That's why I've completely devoted my time to learning as much as I can about Amazon and e-commerce in general.

There's so much to learn! I thought all the courses would be wrapped up in two weeks. Turns out there's so much knowledge I have to acquire that I have to create notes to supplement my memory.

I don't plan on religiously following CENTS yet, because that's like trying to solve problem #99 while you're at problem #10, but one thing is for sure. I can't thank you guys and this forum enough for the value, advice, and encouragement, especially @Andy Black. I planned to write this once I got results with my new ventures but remembered the sage advice and warmth of this forum.

And yeah, I turned 18.

 

[Saad Khan]

Nearly one month has passed since my last update, I have to let you guys know, I got tested positive for COVID.

So there I was, 15 days of my life spent in quarantine...

About my progress, I have just made a profile on Upwork because the agency hasn't paid me a dime, I feel like I slaved away for nothing. I feel disappointed for little to no progress this month, mainly because I've been lazy and procrastinating. In order to counter that, I've already sent 5 proposals on Upwork and counting. I feel like Upwork will be my salvation.

 

[Saad Khan]

3rd Nov 2021

Finally, I got my first client on Upwork. The Upwork client was willing to help me grow on Fiverr because of the unfortunate event (Upwork locked my account since I'm under 18)

I got 2 orders from him on Fiverr. I'm also building connections by posting content on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About the agency... I'm going to learn as much as I can before I say goodbye.

Right now, I'm doing marketing and outreach for a Facebook group. I'm going to be calling the prospective media groups tomorrow during working hours to promote the page's content and interview the client.

I've sent emails to them but they haven't responded yet. I guess Whatsapp will do the trick.

There are 3 main tasks I do daily.

1. Freelance
2. Expanding my skillset
3. Reading books for 20-30 mins

 

[Saad Khan]

This is December, and we're moving to our new home. Luckily I have a home office (which I used to call my gaming room) which will cancel out any distractions later on.

Copywriting, on the other hand, hasn't been great after getting banned from Upwork (because I'm under 18). I have been getting academic work lately (which I hate doing). I have decided that I'm going to use my copywriting skills and migrate to Amazon FBA.

I'll become a PPC specialist (since I love the feeling of managing campaigns). Everyone is talking about Amazon in Pakistan and I feel like it will help me gain traction. Already found amazon sellers and a part of an approved product launch. Little did I know, I had already managed to get a premium amazon course during a sale.

In a nutshell, I'm going deep into e-commerce services. Seriously, those premium courses have so much value and literally spoonfed you everything.

For any newbies/teens
Throw CENTS out of the window for now. You need to gain some skills and traction initially. If you're 17 like me just get into a skill that can get you some money. CENTS applies partially for jobs, but don't sweat it for now.

The UI update rocks btw.

 

[Saad Khan]

Started taking google digital marketing courses along with practicing copywriting. I'm also learning adobe illustrator side by side.

One month has passed since my last post.

What I've done:

I wrote some blogs and some SEO blogs, which was good for practice. I watched @Lex DeVille's videos on YT and got quite familiar with writing articles and blogs.

I wrote some website copy, which was appreciated the most idk.

Now, our content team of two is almost done working on a pitch deck for a client.

Two days left. On the 14th of July, I'll be completing my internship. I already have some outsourcing work ready for me so I'll be improving my writing there too. That's going to happen after 3rd August because I'll be having exams before that and I choose not to disappoint my mother. That time would be ideal for reading books.

Can't wait for the exams to finish. I know this is an excuse, don't hate me lmao

 

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[Saad Khan]

Petition to change Headline to "Progress of a 17 yr old"

If this gets over 10 likes, someone needs to edit the headline.

 

[Saad Khan]

Finished my internship on 15th July 2021. Got the certificate and letter of recommendation from the agency. I talked to the CEO and decided to work for them and learn more. If I'm going to be starting an agency I need to get myself familiar with all the aspects.

 

[Steeltip]

From another 17 year old, keep it up man! I was also hooked on video games just like you, and I’m starting my own journey now in iOS development.

Any advice on getting past social anxiety?

I will chime in on this bit.

The only way I know of to overcome social anxiety is to act in spite of your anxiety. Until the fear of what you will become by not overcoming it is stronger than your fear from social anxiety, you will never conquer it...

Once you have done this dozen of times your anxiety will fade. Once you have done it thousands of times it will disappear. It truly is like a muscle that you need to work out in order for it to work properly. If you go to long without using it you have to shake the cobwebs off and go through the stages again. Except it will be easier to do once you know the way.

 

[Makko]

From another 17 year old, keep it up man! I was also hooked on video games just like you, and I’m starting my own journey now in iOS development.

Any advice on getting past social anxiety?

One of the best ways that I overcame anxiety and depression was through exercising. It helped me the most and it's usually the best starting point for most of us.

I know. It sucks a$$ to get up, change clothes, and drag yourself to the gym (or go for a run). But the only way to train and develop your mind is to constantly put yourself in uncomfortable situations. Exercising is the best place to start and it's FREE.

Like @Steeltip said, it's in the repetition.

 

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[Saad Khan]

Finally, a breakthrough...

2 weeks later, here's my progress.

I got results for a client (in one ad set) and increased his leads 7X for the budget spent. I thought it would be a good opportunity to pitch this to someone. Then I had something in mind.

I contacted the agency owner and pitched him my success.

He congratulated me on it.

Several minutes later, he asked me if I could assist him in writing a paragraph for him since he was short on deadline. I had asserted previously that I'd be working in exchange for a monetary incentive, so I got paid for it.

I also managed to ask him whether I could work in his agency's SMM department.

He told me to compose a copy that outlined my skills related to SMM.

It took me an hour to write the whole thing lol.

Anyways, after going through the thing, he said he'd assign me some SMM-related work in 4 days. If I generated positive results, I'd get paid for it.

Since then, I had been binge-watching SMM courses. I completed the FB ads course in 1 day. That's why you'll see FB ads discussed in detail in the text file below.

I've pasted the copy in a text file below. I'd be very grateful if any one of you can link resources and drop the names of some experts like @Andy Black.

As for Upwork, no clients so far.

 

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[SEBASTlAN]

Welcome

 

[Saad Khan]

Ahh not much to say here. I became familiar with "The Fastlane" at the start of March 2021 and I started to do something worthwhile instead of playing Counter-Strike mindlessly. I took online courses about email marketing and nowadays practicing copywriting (also studying for college cuz need to keep parents happy and avoid potential future guilt), btw how's this for a month's progression? Well I'd say not quite the extraordinary but considering myself from me before discovering Fastlane, I feel much better about myself. This is also a little diary for myself.

Know any websites for practicing copywriting? Do reply if you feel like it

Last night I found someone who was willing to help me on my journey. Gave me some articles to read and then write an article myself. Now I know I like copywriting and content writing and if is going to make me $$ that's honestly a good start to head to Fastlane. Day 1 and I did horribly wrong but mistakes were made . Time to improve (Respect the PROCESS)

 

[Edgar King]

Petition to change Headline to "Progress of a 17 yr old"

Hey Saad! Welcome! This isn't a website on copy, but a great book on it.

I'd recommend you start reading Cashvertising and incorporate that into your blog articles, it might help to spice things up. Just a young scribe on the journey, best of luck my man!

 

[Saad Khan]

Finally,

Exams are over.

Time to focus on things that matter, those which decide my fate.

 

[Vasili27]

Finally,

Exams are over.

Time to focus on things that matter, those which decide my fate.

good job man, sounds like your doing some really good progress!

 

[Edgar King]

Nearly one month has passed since my last update, I have to let you guys know, I got tested positive for C0VlD.

So there I was, 15 days of my life spent in quarantine...

About my progress, I have just made a profile on Upwork because the agency hasn't paid me a dime, I feel like I slaved away for nothing. I feel disappointed for little to no progress this month, mainly because I've been lazy and procrastinating. In order to counter that, I've already sent 5 proposals on Upwork and counting. I feel like Upwork will be my salvation.

Take it slow man, and heal up.

Nice work starting on Upwork and here's to great things to come!

Sorry about the agency not paying, I know at first it was an unpaid internship but didn't you clear it up with them the amount they would be paying you for a month's work?

If you're copywriting and on Upwork it'd be criminal for me not to respond XD

Here's what I would do if I was in your shoes and just starting out:

Read and apply this thread
Lex DeVille's: 15 Days to Freedom - Make Money Copywriting

Read Ca$hvertising

Read this thread post -

HOT! - INTRO - Attempting to Build A Productocracy [Niche > Problem > Pre-sell > Solution]

Day 83 (5 minutes) Strategy session ✅ (30 minutes) Landing page - Refine landing page ✅ (1:20 hours) Shopify Construction - Requirements ✅ Today, I earned more in a day than I've ever earned in my life. 45 COOKIES! LOL! Now to some people on here, that might be chicken change, but to me it...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

This was the end post that details how you can start your own 90 days challenge to earn over $1k a month (Not that I've reached there yet )

And starting around day 50 is when I jumped into copywriting on Upwork- INTRO - Attempting to Build A Productocracy [Niche > Problem > Pre-sell > Solution]

Where you are going!

It details the mistakes I made so you don't make them and the experiences I've gained so you can implement them and get results faster.

Cheers

 

[Rossoneri]

The pain of regret is much stronger than the pain of rejection.
A lot of the anxiety just comes from visualizing how the interactions are going to go before you even have the chance to interact. You think it's going to go badly, and you stop yourself from interacting to avoid this.

The best advice I can give is just to accept that you're going to feel anxious and put yourself out there. Then as time goes on you get more and more used to social interaction to the point where it doesn't make you anxious anymore.

I guess the analogy I could use for a teenager would be that it's like your first day of school for the year. It strange to be going back and you might feel nervous about the new classes you're taking. But after a while of going every day it's just a normal part of your routine.

You described it best, I've always been an visual/analytical thinker that prepares for every situation, which helped me a lot in some situations, but it's also a double edged sword like you described but amplified. I've also felt the pain of regret, as I would think sometimes about if I just put myself out there in (insert situation here)

Also, apologies to Saad Khan for partially overriding his execution thread.

 

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[Vasili27]

Time for a sob story...

The agency paid me in "Opportunity". They justified my 4 months of toiling with just a freaking "We provided an opportunity to work on real-time projects. Since you started this project in the internship period, you were volunteering to do this".

Yeah, like someone writes nearly 50k words for the pickiest client in existence for free, huh? Tell me folks, HAVE YOU EVER SEEN PITCH DECK CONTENT AS LONG AS 10,000 WORDS?! I bet NOT!

I got nothing but S#iT on, wasted my 4 months. Ahh, this makes me so angry. I'm an absolute idiot for not building my freelance empire. I feel like I got rekht by a sandstorm in the desert of desertion. Thankfully, I'm finally getting out of my freelancing desert of desertion.

Lessons for freelancers starting out:

1. Be very clear on the terms you're going to work with an agency. Never accept an unpaid internship. It's an implicit invitation to hell.

Instead, write for clients who will happily exchange your services for reviews in the beginning (you can do that profitably too, depends upon you)

2. You are responsible for what happens to you. I'm a victim because I relinquished my power to the agency. To be accountable, I'm going to make sure I don't fall victim to this ever again.

Allow me to throw in a cliche.

"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade"

things happen man, You make a mistake and from that you learn something and with that you get smarter

 

[Saad Khan]

Update 11/17/2021

Yesterday, I made a class worthwhile when I stepped out of my comfort zone and delivered a fantastic presentation out of thin air. I felt like a public speaker.

Today, I told my English teacher that I wanted to hijack his class.
"But why?"
"I want to deliver a presentation."

So much confidence, I bet my past self didn't have the guts to say something like this. Ever.

Half the class began to cheer me up. They wanted to listen to a Fastlane presentation over a boring English lesson. @MJ DeMarco I listened to your podcast on Jake and Gino's youtube channel. Loved it.

I feel overconfident right now. This is going into my college memories.

Lesson learned: Venturing out of your comfort zone is always a good idea.

I added 30 pushups to my daily routine. So far, I have made some progress and already made more than I did in the last month (not a lot, but still means the world to me). I'll be using the money to buy some e-commerce tools like Jungle Scout and Helium 10 so I can hunt products and manage e-commerce stores.

I had this subconscious feeling of limiting myself to only writing but not now. Instead, I'm going to get my hands dirty in every field and opportunity I can find.

The marketing trial at the agency didn't go too well. Let's just say I didn't have a mobile to edit and upload Instagram stories for a brand launch, so I uploaded raw pictures instead. That's why I bought a mobile last week. I have everything I could possibly question for. The only thing that matters now is consistent action and accountability.

 

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[Vinz]

This thread is really inspiring. You're already rocking at 18 years old ! Keep going !

You are right about focusing on a skill that makes you money first. I've realized lately that I have to focus on the next closest step to make progress. That's a good mentality to have

 

[BlackMagician]

Welcome Aboard

 

[Saad Khan]

Aight, I applied for an agency for an internship so my resume isn't blank. They said it's an unpaid internship which I'm willing to do. Some of you might think I'm stupid, but I'm pretty new to writing so it kinda makes sense.
Btw, I sent them an email with my past work samples and they replied back. Said that I was a good fit. Lmao sure I was. My strategy is to get good with writing then move on to digital marketing and ultimately, forming an agency myself. This is a part of my goal broken down into small steps.

Aight so I checked my email on the first two days VIGOROUSLY. After not getting a reply, I thought they dropped me. After 5 days, today I got a call from the agency asking if I was willing to fill the form. When I opened my email it was there. So yeah, signed the agreement and the internship will be lasting for a month and a half. I just want to sincerely thank @Valier, honestly if I didn't click on his video in the feed which I thought was another fake guru scandal, I wouldn't have discovered Fastlane. Damn looking back, I've progressed a bit. Not a no lifer Juan deaging people in Counter-Strike anymore.


Lmao, I laugh and think about my sidewalk friends who tell me it's useless, enjoy your life.

 

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