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Sometimes I lay awake at night thinking…

Lerenardroux

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Oct 20, 2019
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After two years spending time on the forum more or less frequently I thought it`s time to write an intro:

2 years ago I read the millionaire fastlane while being in the military in Switzerland. (it's mandatory here) I was shocked by the impact it had on my perspective on life but I didn't really change. I was 19 years old by that time and just finished college and didn't have any real work experience so I couldn't really tell whether it is as bad as MJ said, working a "normal" job. So I went on with my life, finished the military and after that I was looking for a job to earn some money for my 10 months stay abroad in Vancouver Canada. I had the "opportunity" to do an internship in a rather big lighting company in Switzerland. And there it hit me. In hindsight, I realized that I was feeling THE SCRIPT for the first time in my life. My co-workers were the best examples of desperate scripted slaves. "Good morning" really was a lie. It was exactly like MJ described it. All the people working there were dead inside. Everyone tried to hide it putting on a mask. (not a real mask, it was before the pandemic ;)) Everyone was acting as if there was nothing. But there was something. I could see it in their eyes. So I started to read Unscripted while I was on my ungrateful commute that took 3 hours of my precious lifetime a day. I was living what I read and I had no one to share it with. I remember one Friday evening I was drinking a beer with my dad and I tried to somehow explain him what I realized but eventually he was talking about his job and whether it is worth it to do a stand by duty in his job for 500$ more per month.

Three months later I was done working there and I really didn't miss a second of it. I never really had a F*ck-it-event and it was time for me to go to Canada for 10 months. When it was time for me to say goodbye to my co-workers I could literally feel the jealousy. They wanted me to give a short speech but I did not really know what to say... “Well don't you realize that you guys are all slaves trading time for money risking your health stressing around for a company you don't give a shit about?” Of course I didn't say that. But that's what I thought. So I went to Canada and there I was confronted with the script once more through my two "excellent" teachers. One of them was about 62 years old and he was the guy buying lottery tickets during class hoping to get out of this “prison” a bit earlier. I think I don't have to mention his motivation for class. The other teacher was even older. He was like 73 (idk why the F*ck he was still working there) because it was his "passion" he used to say. One day he taught us on "how to deal with money" it was the invest in bonds, stocks and hope BS and he added, that if only he knew that when he was 20, then he probably wouldn't be here right know. "Passion"…of course. Then I started working in Canada because I needed some money and I thought: well, maybe it's not that bad here. I was still naive. I got a job in something like a 3D flight ride cinema. Minimum wage and working all weekends while going to school during the week. Wage-slavery you know what I am talking about…

Then something weird happened. Because of the pandemic, everyone got laid-off and I got 2k a month from the government for doing nothing for a time-period of 3 months. There was not much to do though since everything was on lockdown. Still I felt what it would be like to have a passive income and enjoying the day the way you want. It was great. I was studying for my English proficiency exam and was writing a business plan for a start-up contest in Switzerland.

My business idea was a plant-based tuna, since I just became a Vegetarian then and thought that vegan products are on the rise and probably the future. I proposed my business idea but I didn’t start executing. I think I just wanted to get approval that it was a good idea (which I got) but I had no F*cking idea where to start. Therefore, I decided to wait until I was back in Switzerland and before that enjoy my free time in Canada.

Back in Switzerland, I started to read some vegan cookbooks and studied molecular cooking a bit. I did some experiments with different beans, lentils and algaes trying to copy the taste of a tuna paste. Because I needed some money, I started working in a restaurant as a dishwasher as well.

Some weeks later, I read that Nestle was going to launch a very new product and guess what it was: A vegan tuna substitute. I read the article and realized that it took a team of experts in food science and chemistry one year to develop this product. This got me thinking. Is it even possible for a 21 year old to compete with a team of experts in a field you know nothing about? Prove me wrong but I guess some business ideas are not executable in a reasonable period without a team and detailed knowledge. That’s why I gave up on this idea.

I started studying ppe (philosophy, politics and economics) in university some months ago. It has nothing to do with entrepreneurship, but it`s really interesting and the good thing is I don’t have to go in debt to study here.

Still I sometimes feel like this is the wrong path for me. I was at my high-school reunion recently and there I was asked the question: “Well your course sounds interesting, but what are you going to do with it when you`re done?” I said: "Well, there are many possibilities with an economics degree." Which is true I guess, but I was not satisfied with this answer myself. There is no goal behind my degree, there is just hope. Hope I`ll find a good job. We all know where this ends.

So sometimes I lay awake at night having this conversation in my head:

“Can you go Fastlane if you do not go all-in? Should I just drop out and pursue my business ideas? I am 21 years old right now. Isn`t this the best time to risk something? On the other hand am I one of the privileged being able to go to university and so maybe I should take this chance first. Because if I fail my Fastlane endeavours I still got an “insurance” to get a “better paid job”. But does it even matter whether I earn 5k or 10k a month if I will be a “wage-slave” anyways? And do you really think you will start chasing the Fastlane after your university degree when you`re 25 or 27 years old if you don`t do so now? Doesn’t it get harder the older you get?

At the moment I am about to start a new approach in the food & beverage field with a product a bit easier to execute on, besides my studies. Does anyone have experience in this field and some advice to share?

thanks for reading :)
 
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MJ DeMarco

I followed the science; all I found was money.
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Awesome intro my friend, welcome to the forum.

My business idea was a plant-based tuna, since I just became a Vegetarian then and thought that vegan products are on the rise and probably the future.

Lots of opportunity in this space. (I've been vegan for 3+ years). Don't get discouraged because bigger companies are joining the fray, they are the ones who will buy out the smaller companies that are in early.
 

Kasimir

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Amazing intro!
I get it that you think that your tuna was a failure. And maybe you're right. But at least you had the same idea as one of the biggest companies in Switzerland. So yeah you didn't earn a penny, but you got the best confirmation you could get for your idea.

I don't want to push you. But I'm also from Switzerland and I also went to University but last September I saw how it is just a wast of time for me. So I dropped out. The Best decision of my life. I'm still not in the Fastlane, but it's just a matter of time. And I'm happily willing to take the risk if the other option is being a slave for the rest of my life. So my friend if you need and help/advice just ask.

Wish you all the best
Valentin
 

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