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Starting as a 17 old Teen in Germany

Zottel

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Feb 5, 2024
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Hey guys,

I'm a 17-year-old student from Germany, and after reading the book "TMF ," I really want to embrace the Fastlane lifestyle. This may sound like wishful thinking, but the book has truly changed my mindset. I've always wanted to earn a substantial amount of money, not just to spend it, but to achieve something significant, liberate myself, and make a positive impact. I simply want to "live the best life I can possibly live" and prove it to myself.

Now that you know my intention, I haven't really started yet. The fear of failure is what's holding me back. I have numerous business ideas, but none of them seem good enough to execute. Beneath every idea lies the fear of failure. I understand that failure is a stepping stone to success, but I can't muster the courage to commit to one idea. I come up with excuses like, "What if I invest two years in executing that idea, and it fails completely?" I know it's more about execution, but I struggle to find the faith to truly commit to one idea.

Please share your thoughts with me. Should I just pick one idea and go all-in on execution?

Some questions (for those who have made it):

  1. Which books, aside from MJ DeMarco's, have helped you on your journey?
  2. Do you have any habits you can recommend?
  3. What were the major decisions that led to your success?
I hope my English isn't too bad, and I would be extremely grateful if anyone could share their thoughts on my story.
 
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Gsuz

If you want the crown, you gotta take it
Read Fastlane!
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Moin! You have at least 3 advantages:
1. You're young
2. You're ambitious
3. You're having ideas

It also sounds like you're looking for a bit of re-assurance, which is understandable and happens to most of us at some point in time, but I think you already know the answer to "Should I just pick one idea and go all-in on execution?" YES!
I often think about the worst thing to happen, e.g. if you commit for two years and it fails completely:
- You will have learned a ton
- You are still young
- Financially, w/o knowing your background, since we're having a strong social safety net, you will be fine in the absolutely worst case... Someone compared this to having unlimited lives in a video game

What happens if you don't commit:
- You have learned nothing
- You're regretful

That being said, depending on what you work on, you should be able to get feedback much sooner and will be able to abort the mission before 2 years have gone by.

For your questions:
1) Efficiency by Wall Street Playboys, The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks
2) Habit-wise, I'd stick to the basics: take action daily, eat well most of the time, exercise including cardio, sleep well, be around supportive people

A few years ago, I used to look up routines of CEOs and lifestyle guys to try to emulate them, but I think it ultimately led to more stress than benefit since I'm not that particular person, so it doesn't feel natural, and you don't need to take a cold shower at 4am and drink Yerba maté to become rich. So my advice is: Feel free to get inspired, try some things, but don't stress about this too much. I wasted too much time by trying to create the perfect 100% day, when I could have plenty of solid 85%+ days instead.

3) One of my best decisions was to make a habit of doing things that I'm avoiding, but I know I should be doing. At your age, I used to struggle with calling doctors for appointments for some reason, so I started calling them to get some random info until I got more comfortable with it. Then, I had the same struggle with business calls in English, so I tried to do more of those. Even today, when I'm working on a project, I sometimes find myself starting some video game, grabbing food or cleaning a room... There's a time and a place for these things, but probably not in the middle of creating a new website. :)

So, for me, there has been a lot of growth in my business and personal life in confronting the things I'm avoiding. Viel Erfolg!
 

Zottel

New Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
250%
Feb 5, 2024
2
5
Moin! You have at least 3 advantages:
1. You're young
2. You're ambitious
3. You're having ideas

It also sounds like you're looking for a bit of re-assurance, which is understandable and happens to most of us at some point in time, but I think you already know the answer to "Should I just pick one idea and go all-in on execution?" YES!
I often think about the worst thing to happen, e.g. if you commit for two years and it fails completely:
- You will have learned a ton
- You are still young
- Financially, w/o knowing your background, since we're having a strong social safety net, you will be fine in the absolutely worst case... Someone compared this to having unlimited lives in a video game

What happens if you don't commit:
- You have learned nothing
- You're regretful

That being said, depending on what you work on, you should be able to get feedback much sooner and will be able to abort the mission before 2 years have gone by.

For your questions:
1) Efficiency by Wall Street Playboys, The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks
2) Habit-wise, I'd stick to the basics: take action daily, eat well most of the time, exercise including cardio, sleep well, be around supportive people

A few years ago, I used to look up routines of CEOs and lifestyle guys to try to emulate them, but I think it ultimately led to more stress than benefit since I'm not that particular person, so it doesn't feel natural, and you don't need to take a cold shower at 4am and drink Yerba maté to become rich. So my advice is: Feel free to get inspired, try some things, but don't stress about this too much. I wasted too much time by trying to create the perfect 100% day, when I could have plenty of solid 85%+ days instead.

3) One of my best decisions was to make a habit of doing things that I'm avoiding, but I know I should be doing. At your age, I used to struggle with calling doctors for appointments for some reason, so I started calling them to get some random info until I got more comfortable with it. Then, I had the same struggle with business calls in English, so I tried to do more of those. Even today, when I'm working on a project, I sometimes find myself starting some video game, grabbing food or cleaning a room... There's a time and a place for these things, but probably not in the middle of creating a new website. :)

So, for me, there has been a lot of growth in my business and personal life in confronting the things I'm avoiding. Viel Erfolg!

Moin! You have at least 3 advantages:
1. You're young
2. You're ambitious
3. You're having ideas

It also sounds like you're looking for a bit of re-assurance, which is understandable and happens to most of us at some point in time, but I think you already know the answer to "Should I just pick one idea and go all-in on execution?" YES!
I often think about the worst thing to happen, e.g. if you commit for two years and it fails completely:
- You will have learned a ton
- You are still young
- Financially, w/o knowing your background, since we're having a strong social safety net, you will be fine in the absolutely worst case... Someone compared this to having unlimited lives in a video game

What happens if you don't commit:
- You have learned nothing
- You're regretful

That being said, depending on what you work on, you should be able to get feedback much sooner and will be able to abort the mission before 2 years have gone by.

For your questions:
1) Efficiency by Wall Street Playboys, The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks
2) Habit-wise, I'd stick to the basics: take action daily, eat well most of the time, exercise including cardio, sleep well, be around supportive people

A few years ago, I used to look up routines of CEOs and lifestyle guys to try to emulate them, but I think it ultimately led to more stress than benefit since I'm not that particular person, so it doesn't feel natural, and you don't need to take a cold shower at 4am and drink Yerba maté to become rich. So my advice is: Feel free to get inspired, try some things, but don't stress about this too much. I wasted too much time by trying to create the perfect 100% day, when I could have plenty of solid 85%+ days instead.

3) One of my best decisions was to make a habit of doing things that I'm avoiding, but I know I should be doing. At your age, I used to struggle with calling doctors for appointments for some reason, so I started calling them to get some random info until I got more comfortable with it. Then, I had the same struggle with business calls in English, so I tried to do more of those. Even today, when I'm working on a project, I sometimes find myself starting some video game, grabbing food or cleaning a room... There's a time and a place for these things, but probably not in the middle of creating a new website. :)

So, for me, there has been a lot of growth in my business and personal life in confronting the things I'm avoiding. Viel Erfolg!
Moin !
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. Your reply has been incredibly helpful, it allowed me to see things from a different perspective. After reading your response, I immediately took the first steps and scheduled my first meeting with a partner to develop a structure. It means a lot to me that someone took the time and to write such an honest answer. Thank you very much.
 

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