Struggling with finding the right path

[Lukas WJ]

Hey,
I am in a very lucky situation: I can decide for myself what I want to do. By that I mean that my parents don't tell me what to do and I've been given many other opportunities (for example, living in Germany, being able to go to school, etc.). Therefore in advance: I am very grateful for my situation and know that my problem is complaining on a high level.

I am 18 and now finished school. I have only one problem:
There are too many paths and options. I have many interests, but no area I want to focus on right now.

So I'm currently building an e-commerce business, but I don't know if that's the right path. For example, in my head are the following questions: Shouldn't I possibly study and enjoy student life for a year? Shouldn't I rather travel? Shouldn't I start a business in a different field? Shouldn't I concentrate on sports after all?

So my problem is that I can't decide on anything and I'm afraid that in 5 years I'll realize that I've missed out on a lot. (For example, if I don't focus on sports or don't study).

Does anyone know this feeling or can just give me some advice in general?

Many greetings
Luke


Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

 

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[Vinnland]

5 years I'll realize that I've missed out on a lot

This feeling doesn't really disappear. In business and life, we make long-term decisions. Nobody knows if it will work or not until the time has passed.

However, you can take the "Hope" out of it by doing something I call "life sampling".

Try different things. There is no "right" decision. There are only:

• Things you like
• Things you do not
• Problems worth solving that nobody wants to pay for (scary!)
• Problems people are willing to pay for.

The thing is... you cannot know what is what until you have tried it for yourself.

Gurus will happily sell you a course/program to "tell you what to do". It will not work if you didn't want that in the first place.

I am now 35 years old. I have been in business since I was 19 years old. If there were 3 things I would have told my 19-year-old self, it would be this:

1. No matter what I tell you, it will not matter without context. Experience is better than advice.
2. Business is only 3 things: Market || Problem || Marketing.
3. The real secret to business success is DESIRE. People always do what they feel they need to do. If you were dying of thirst in a desert, you wouldn't need to think or ask for advice if you saw an oasis in the distance. You would RUN.
   
   If you have to ask, then do you really want it?

Try things out. See what you like. Find your desire.

A final point - you do not need to "DECIDE". You need to "TRY". It's not forever. And it doesn't take 5 years to discover that it's not the right path.

Hope that makes sense.

 

[Lukas WJ]

This feeling doesn't really disappear. In business and life, we make long-term decisions. Nobody knows if it will work or not until the time has passed.

However, you can take the "Hope" out of it by doing something I call "life sampling".

Try different things. There is no "right" decision. There are only:

• Things you like
• Things you do not
• Problems worth solving that nobody wants to pay for (scary!)
• Problems people are willing to pay for.

The thing is... you cannot know what is what until you have tried it for yourself.

Gurus will happily sell you a course/program to "tell you what to do". It will not work if you didn't want that in the first place.

I am now 35 years old. I have been in business since I was 19 years old. If there were 3 things I would have told my 19-year-old self, it would be this:

1. No matter what I tell you, it will not matter without context. Experience is better than advice.
2. Business is only 3 things: Market || Problem || Marketing.
3. The real secret to business success is DESIRE. People always do what they feel they need to do. If you were dying of thirst in a desert, you wouldn't need to think or ask for advice if you saw an oasis in the distance. You would RUN.
   
   If you have to ask, then do you really want it?

Try things out. See what you like. Find your desire.

A final point - you do not need to "DECIDE". You need to "TRY". It's not forever. And it doesn't take 5 years to discover that it's not the right path.

Hope that makes sense.

Thanks for your help! In fact, I was also thinking that if I didn't have the e-commerce business, I wouldn't be asking myself all these questions. So I think that should be the focus and that I then try as much as possible in my free time

 

[Cleros]

So my problem is that I can't decide on anything and I'm afraid that in 5 years I'll realize that I've missed out on a lot. (For example, if I don't focus on sports or don't study).

Hey Lukas, I'm 17, also from Germany and feel the same way. Luckily, I know some talents I'm gifted with (e.g. photography, web design & development, copywriting).

Like you, I can't decide. For every problem I noticed, there's already a sufficient solution. I know I can't be better at it. The typical advice is to just get started, but like you, I have the FOMO. Usain Bold wouldn't be a great marathon runner, so how can people find an opportunity that fits their strengths?

My intention isn't to make excuses, but to just deeply focus on something. In order to sell a product, it's important to be super convinced of it. Starting a digital marketing agency like everyone else won't be a great solution in the long term...

I have dozens of ideas buzzing around in my head, but either they are

• not solving a real problem (focused on what I think is good)
• or very well done by someone else

Helping other people is a priority for me, and I keep my eyes open. Despite the strong desire, have you great advice in order not overthink anymore?

Thanks for your time!

 

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[Angler]

So I'm currently building an e-commerce business, but I don't know if that's the right path.

There is no right path. There is only your path, and that path is built by just walking forward, pivoting from what you learn and don't like, and keep going until people think your path is "common knowledge".

Then they try to walk your path and see that there is no 1 size fit all.

This is what MJ wrote on finding the right path.

NOTABLE! - HOT! - "Tell me the exact steps" (OK, here are all 67 of them.)

We see it here all the time here at Fastlane. Someone posts a success story or a personal break through, and like clockwork, someone always asks "what exactly did you do? I mean like, tell me the EXACT steps!" How do I succeed? How do I make millions?! How do I X, Y, and Z? Well by popular...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

One of my favorite thread on picking something and working on it until it works.

GOLD! - One Trick Pony

Sometimes I wonder if people are looking too many directions to try and figure out a path to take. Not that it isn't important to evaluate the options but, at some point the direction needs to narrow down. It did not take long for me to get into the fastlane once I had decided to invest in...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

 

[Angler]

So my problem is that I can't decide on anything and I'm afraid that in 5 years I'll realize that I've missed out on a lot.

You should be afraid of indecisiveness than the fear of missing out(FOMO).

You are currently 18, and I am 20.

We don't have much to lose, and all to gain, so why shackle yourself down with indecisiveness? Sure, I'm not saying don't think in your actions and plan ahead, DO ALL OF THAT, and commit to building something you think will solve a problem.

This game you are about to play is a long game of patient and glass chewing. So stop playing for the quick wins, when you can play it slow, win little, and then be free for the rest of your life.

Make a damn decision and follow it through.

What's the worst case that could happen if you live in the US?

Get a job, hustle your a$$ off, hear the naysayers day in and day out, have people shit on your vision, AND with all of than being against you, build something on the side.

so what?

I think we got enough time from here until our 30s or even 40s to "fail" on any venture over and over, mess things up side way and back, and still hit it big in the end, if we can learn from these "failures" and never ever give up. Never ever slow down in self pity either.

You are exactly where I was when I was 18, and I wish I did not give up on some of my earlier ventures, but wishing doesn't change things so now I'm busting my a$$ and not looking back.

 

[Andreas Thiel]

I have quite a few regrets. And I think that people who say that people who are born in Germany have won the lottery are full of shit.
It is close to impossible to succeed in Germany, unless your relatives are filthy rich. Don't buy into the "you are a privileged white a**hole" narrative, if your ralatives struggle to keep the lights on.
I think this sounds like you have been exposed to toxic programming: "I am very grateful for my situation and know that my problem is complaining on a high level."
Don't buy into these "truths" because the guilt trip seems justified on an emotional level. Germans are not privileged. Some rich heirs of Volkswagen assholes might be. The average (and by that I mean "median") Italian household is waaaay better off than the average German household.
No excuses! No guilt! Show you are a moral person once you have acquired any semblence of wealth.

I have stayed at small companies (13+ years of my life, hoping that the leaders of those companies would turn things around).
My resume has eroded during that time and it was important for me to join a larger company, where work experience is an asset rather than a liability.

That said, what I think should be the top priority: NEVER EVER postpone regular social activities until you are financially free.

If you have no friends and are no good at professional networking, start NOW! Working on your business is very important, but now I am convinced it should come after creating a foundation for social interactions (and ideally the creation of a network).
If you feel like you are okay in the area of social interactions and are comfortable around people. then you should just make sure you take actions towards your goals regularly.

Have you read the books? Have you spent some time on your 1/5/10 Planacy? Then just take a leap of faith and keep showing up / putting in the time!

There are many programs for founders. You will probably get free consulting if you look for it.
That is probably what you should be after right now. Finding mentors, talking to people who have done it.

But maybe you want to elaborate. You wrote "Shouldn't I concentrate on sports after all?" ... what makes you say that? There might be important information that we are missing that changes ... everything!?
Why would sports make any sense if you want to travel the fastlane route?

 

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[Edgar King]

Hey Lukas, I'm 17, also from Germany and feel the same way. Luckily, I know some talents I'm gifted with (e.g. photography, web design & development, copywriting).

Like you, I can't decide. For every problem I noticed, there's already a sufficient solution. I know I can't be better at it. The typical advice is to just get started, but like you, I have the FOMO. Usain Bold wouldn't be a great marathon runner, so how can people find an opportunity that fits their strengths?

My intention isn't to make excuses, but to just deeply focus on something. In order to sell a product, it's important to be super convinced of it. Starting a digital marketing agency like everyone else won't be a great solution in the long term...

I have dozens of ideas buzzing around in my head, but either they are

• not solving a real problem (focused on what I think is good)
• or very well done by someone else

Helping other people is a priority for me, and I keep my eyes open. Despite the strong desire, have you great advice in order not overthink anymore?

Thanks for your time!

Hey Clemens, perhaps you can ask yourself, "What can I offer that would make someone happy? What can I offer at all?" At the end of the day, you just need to go out there with these offers and see how the market reacts. Even if they've been done before, there are always problems to solve that the market cares about, there are always ways you can make it better.

Believe in yourself

 

[heavy_industry]

And I think that people who say that people who are born in Germany have won the lottery are full of shit.

People born in the west have all won the lottery.
Being born in the US/EU, with free education, clean water, affordable food, affordable clean clothes, transport infrastructure, medical system, internet access etc. puts you in the top 1% of the people currently alive today, and in top 0.01% of the people that have ever lived on this planet.

Life is still hard, and the environment is highly competitive, and not everybody will win. But people born in the west have been dealt the best card possible.

This is not something that should make anyone complacent. There is always room for improvement. But if anyone finds themselves in this situation, they should be grateful for everything - every minute of the day, every day of the week.

Because it's truly a miracle. And it has been given to you for free.

 

[Mattie]

Hey,
I am in a very lucky situation: I can decide for myself what I want to do. By that I mean that my parents don't tell me what to do and I've been given many other opportunities (for example, living in Germany, being able to go to school, etc.). Therefore in advance: I am very grateful for my situation and know that my problem is complaining on a high level.

I am 18 and now finished school. I have only one problem:
There are too many paths and options. I have many interests, but no area I want to focus on right now.

So I'm currently building an e-commerce business, but I don't know if that's the right path. For example, in my head are the following questions: Shouldn't I possibly study and enjoy student life for a year? Shouldn't I rather travel? Shouldn't I start a business in a different field? Shouldn't I concentrate on sports after all?

So my problem is that I can't decide on anything and I'm afraid that in 5 years I'll realize that I've missed out on a lot. (For example, if I don't focus on sports or don't study).

Does anyone know this feeling or can just give me some advice in general?

Many greetings

You just trust your self, that you can do whatever you put your mind too. Life has many possibilities. You just have to choose one, master it one thing at a time. We have many gifts and talents. Fortunately, we can't do them all at once. We just have to choose one.

If you already are in school finish it. It's when we start a lot of things and never finish them that it becomes an issue. The bad habit of quitting is probably the worst one to establish in my book. If you complete one thing, then you can move on to the next. It establishes a strong foundation and good habits for the business adventures.

 

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