stumbling on success

[charlemagne]

Fastlaners,

I am starting this as an execution thread. If you look at my profile, I started one back in March. I didn't stick with it though because I didn't know how to stick with things until recently. Now I am ready.

The purpose of this thread is to hold me accountable to documenting my journey. I have been slowly stacking habits, and think that this thread will be a great way to start a habit of journalling. What you can expect is large monthly updates, and shorter updates on Fridays.

Here is a bit of information to get you caught up on my journey. I returned to college 3 months ago with a singular focus in mind: create the life I have always wanted to live. My inspiration to do this comes mostly from a mission trip I went on to Tanzania. MJ has talked about this, but sometimes when you are really comfortable you need to shake your perspective. I did this by going to Africa for three weeks and came back with a new perspective. I could see the forest for the trees. I knew I wanted to live a more than ordinary life. When I returned to college I began stumbling on success. I started reading books, listening to podcasts, and stopped going out. I am right now, at 9:05 pm, on my couch on a Friday night writing a blog post. That's a big change. I continued reading and such until 10 days ago when I set my priorities straight. I am in a period of concentration right now, and plan to be for the next 30 days. After the 30 days are up I may loosen my focus, but will by no means stop.

My list of daily non-negotiables are

1. 99 minutes of web design in the mornings - 10 days done
2. 60 min of reading - 9 days done
3. 60 min of coding - 4 days done
4. In bed before 9:30 - 4 days done
5. No nicotine - 6 days done

From the above you have probably gathered I am learning web design. I am have been in the Fox school for sometime, but, until 10 days ago, not very focused. I am no ready to commit.

I will post a weekly update below this introductory post. Expect to see me develop a structure while I continue this thread. For now I just want to get something out there. I tend to prioritize PERFECT over DONE. I am working to change this.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[charlemagne]

Ok, here is a weekly update.

​

What I got done:​

This week, I worked on web design for a total of 1035 min. Put in hours: 17.25. This is crazy to visualize for me because I hadn't done the math until now. I also:

• Interviewed for and rejected an internship
• Bought a CSS course
• And UI/UX course
• Started the HTML course on code academy
• Read Mind Shift: by Erwin Raphael McManus
• Started $100M Offers: by Alex Hormozi

Something I am struggling with: ​

I don't know how to sell websites that actually provide value to a business. Fox Academy helped me a lot with sales, prospecting, and mindset, but I still don't know entirely how to find people to help. Also how to provide these people with results. I have a portfolio project lined up, so I will focus on that for now.

My biggest lesson from the week: ​

I went to an interview this week to intern under someone who I found particularly inspiring. When we met, the role switched from learning directly under him, to working in some marketing role where they would try to make sure they "had things for me to do." In that room, I felt tiny. When I went back down the elevator I resolved to not let my time and attention be at the whims of someone "superior" to me.

Something I want to implement:​

I have this 99, 60, 60 schedule I do every day. For the following week, I want to reduce the friction required to follow through on these time blocks. My plan is to devote specific times and places (implementation intentions) to these actions, and perform them when my energy is high.

What I am reading/reading next:​

I am currently reading $100M Offers: by Alex Hormozi, next I am going with Four Hour Work Week: by Tim Ferriss (you can probably already tell I am a fan by the structure of this post lol)

Thanks for reading. This is the first official post for November. By the end of the month I will have some pretty awesome stuff to share. Stay tuned

 

[charlemagne]

11.17.23

Weekly update time!

I got thrown off track a bit this week. I had a high school friend in town and multiple tests in classes. Regardless, I managed to put in around 15 hours. This time was split between reading and web development learning. Here is what I got done.

Completed:​

• Finished both CSS and HTML courses on Course Academy
• Finished the design and functionality of a clothing company site I built
• Developed a concrete workout routine
• Stuck to my diet (2124 Kcal for a cut)
• What I am starting this upcoming week:

I got a Udemy course on HTML and CSS development. I don't want to go too deep into the dev side as this does not absolve me from actually selling my skills. I am learning development right now as I have a big, and profitable, portfolio project to undertake in the new year. The client is fully rebranding, so I will need to at least know enough to find help. Anyways, I am already about 25% into this 35-HOUR course. Jeez. I really enjoy coding. This kind of scares me because so often I hear about how AI is out to kill the trade. As the title suggests, I am stumbling. If coding sites is a part of my journey down the green dot theory, that is fine.

I also am around 1/3 through Tim Ferriss's 4-Hour Work Week. In all honesty, it isn't living up to the hype. He has a lot of good things to say, but I find a lot of his conclusions quite grandiose.

What am I struggling with:​

One of my favorite quotes from Alex Hormozi is "the world belongs to those that can do without seeing the result of their doing." I often find myself doubting myself, especially given the college environment I live in. I am aware that my limits are self-prescribed. I work overtime to rid myself of these limiting beliefs, but this week was especially hard. With the monotony of school to drudge through on top of my entrepreneurial dreams, I got discouraged a lot.

Biggest lesson:​

Most people tear me down. I realized this week that I can't take everyone with me. It hurts to say, but not everyone wants to join me on my quest for betterment. Actually, lots of them don't even want to see me improve. I have begun to pick up on this with my friend group. They are more prone lately to tell me to come back to earth. I learned that my ideas should not always be shared as they can fall on deafened ears.

A routine hack:​

I hate the idea of hacks, but it looks catchy. The "hack" is my kitchen timer. Peter Drucker, Newton, and others have proposed that things measured improve. I have been using a kitchen timer to record how much time I spend coding, designing, reading, stretching, and playing the piano. I record all of this on a whiteboard. It helps me keep my feet on solid ground and observe my inputs. I just keep getting better at focusing and routinizing my day as I think intentionally. I find this quite exhilarating.

A quick non-negotiable update:​

1. 99 minutes of web design in the mornings - 16 days done
2. 60 min of reading - 12 days done
3. 60 min of coding - 10 (this is include in #1 starting 11.14.23) days done
4. In bed before 9:30 - I was bad this week
5. No nicotine - 13 days done

Well, that is it. There is not a ton to share this week. I plan to have an awesome week upcoming.

All the best,

b

 

[charlemagne]

11.24.23
Quick Friday update here.

That's 3 weeks worth of updates in a row!

This week, with Thanksgiving, I did not get much done. I have spent some quality time with my family and caught up on some sleep. I still find myself searching for a good excuse to not keep plugging away on my web-design venture. Despite that, I have been enjoying learning to code. This week I am going to set some more concrete goals as I can tend to wander into ambiguity. Too cut to the chase, here they are:

This weeks goals:​

• 99 min of css/html learning every day. Stick to the Udemy course and do not get off track.
• Finish reading Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
• Launch HUCKTOWN USA (friends clothing brand site)
• Upgrade Ultimate Brain in notion
• Drop 1 class for next semester so I have more time to focus on my Fastlane business
• Run 15 miles
• Workout 5 days
• Stick to 2400 Kcal diet
• Keep strict track of time spent on my priorities

Thats my goals for this week. They are all in line with my two main goals:

• Have a 6 pack by February 23rd, 2024
• Get one paying web-design client by February 23rd, 2024

A note on doubt...​

I just honestly am finding the web-design stuff challenging. It's been fun learning to code, but the business world has so much information to take in and I keep wondering if I am on the right path. Should I learn to code? Should I learn sales instead? Do I have the time with school to do outreach for a business? So much self-doubt sneaks in to my mind daily. It is all just action faking. I know the work I put in is really work on my self. So, I will stick to my goals for the week and keep trying to feed myself motivational content and good thoughts.

My vision​

I realize that I haven't shared much context on what my Fastlane idea is so I will lay that out real quick. I am in the Fox program and want to start a web-design agency. I chose this because 1) I needed to choose something and stick to it 2) I enjoy UI/UX and coding and 3) I think that it is a good biz model to acquire some skills: selling, design, SEO, marketing etc. I have been working for a month learning to make websites with notable progress. My only time constraint is that I am a full time marketing student at college. School takes up about 24-30 hours a week and my entrepreneurial endeavors around 15-20. So far I have learned about web development and secured a very solid portfolio project I will begin work on in December. My goal is to have one paying client by February 23rd 2024 (my birthday). I am driven by the fear of mediocracy and working a slave career for 40 years. All of my friends are securing their 40 year prison cell and it scares me to death. I enjoy working super hard so I want to play a game where there is a large upside and I can't cap out my earning potential. I also feel that I am super blessed to have been born where I was to the parents I have and I think it would be arrogant to not take full advantage of my opportunities. I really do want to make a difference and leave a mark.

What I need to get yelled at for​

I have a relative that is certain a massive global recession is looming. Since I am just getting into the game, I am scared that this recession will come along and knock me out; making all of my toil for not. I need someone to give me their thoughts on fatalism. I am very young and fairly scared about the pending doom. That said, I feel like web-design might not be in large demand in the near future if people don't have a lot of money. What are your thoughts? Please be brutal with me. I am fairly certain this is an irrational excuse but need a bit more of a push.

A quick non-negotiable update:​

1. 99 minutes of web design in the mornings - restart, lost streak on thanksgiving
2. 60 min of reading - restart, lost streak on thanksgiving
3. 60 min of coding - restart, lost streak on thanksgiving
4. In bed before 9:30 - restart, lost streak on thanksgiving
5. No nicotine - Complete

Thanks for reading if you got this far and stay tuned. I will keep working to make you proud!

All the best,

B

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[charlemagne]

12.2.2023

Hello! I am a day late to my progress post. This one will be very comprehensive as I will be looking back on the last month. First, a quick update from the goals I set out last week:

Last weeks goals:​

• 99 min of css/html learning every day. Stick to the Udemy course and do not get off track.
• Finish reading Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
• Launch HUCKTOWN USA (friends clothing brand site)
• Upgrade Ultimate Brain in notion
• Drop 1 class for next semester so I have more time to focus on my Fastlane business
• Run 15 miles
• Workout 5 days
• Stick to 2400 Kcal diet
• Keep strict track of time spent on my priorities

What is really great about these posts is that they are forcing me to be honest with my short comings. I didn't stick to my priorities this week. While I could give a million excuses, I simply got off track. To clarify, I put down Mindset by Carol S. Dweck mid week to read Awaken the Giant Within. I found her book useful but got kind of bored.

This weeks goals:​

• 99 min of css/html learning every day, in the mornings. Stick to the Udemy course and do not get off track.
• Finish reading Awaken the Giant Within. This will take roughly 50 pages a day,
• Run 15 miles
• Workout 5 days
• Stick to 2200 Kcal diet
• Build an excel spreadsheet to track my time spent reading and working on web design.

Monthly Update:​

November was, overall, a good month. It is somewhat difficult though as I feel like I am banging my head into the wall without any results. I don't particularly care about making money right now, or being able to tell people I run a business. Actually, I have started to tell people I use my free time to do "secret things" so I don't have to explain my goals. I don't have social media, don't watching tv, and generally don't get distracted. That said, I spend a lot of time working on starting my web-design company. I would like tangible progress just for myself. Starting in September, I have changing my whole life and have made a ton of sacrifices. I do not think I deserve success this early on, but the doubt does creep in. I have noticed particularly in the last week that I am taking my foot off the gas out of fear or doubt. I can't stop now. I will work hard this week to keep moving forward.

Speaking of doubt, I have some concern about relationships in my life. I don't really have any good friends. I have a ton of drinking buddies I made over the last 4 years when I wan't pushing myself very hard, but now they just see the world utterly different than me. I don't have anyone around me that pushes me. Actually, I am surrounded by people telling me I need to relax and go out more. They tell me I work too hard and need to be a part of a "community". This makes me mad. I don't want your "community". I find most of the people you say I should hang out with boring and miserable. I want to do my own thing and build my empire. I don't need "balance". Nobody ever did anything spectacular and pointed to balance as the magic pill. My head will stay down and I will keep working.

Over the course of the last month, I think what I have gained the most is resolve. I know I will succeed, it is just a matter of time. I am actually, 100% committed to success. I will die trying before I sell my soul to a 500 month job. I am also super excited to see where my current trajectory leads me. The future is beginning to feel more like a great journey to be experienced instead of a monotonous existence.

Thanks for reading all of this. I am commited to making you proud. I will see you next week with a laundry list of small wins.

All the best,

B