MJ's books discuss how in the Slowlane and Sidewalk, there is no legacy. In the Fastlane, you create a system which will benefit not only yourself and those close to you, but generations after you.
I didn't quite grasp the significance of this statement until recently. I was fortunate enough to spend time with a person who, for decades, was the head of a Fastlane business. I will try to keep this post vague in order to protect his privacy. An uncle of his created an innovative business system over 80 years ago. This man grew up around this business and became its president, enhancing it as time went on, and eventually reaching hundreds of millions of dollars in yearly gross revenue. The company provided massive value and treated their customers and employees like gold. After liquidating the business, this man and his entire family were able to take the profits, invest them, and, essentially, never have to work a day in their lives.
He worked in the business system (by choice) for over 30 years, and you could tell he loved it. He talked about the company’s various accomplishments not in an egocentric, “I am better than you,” way, but in the way you would talk about raising a child who went on to change the world in a major way. Most people would hear him speak and think he’s showing off his money, or that he was “lucky” to inherit a business and to be rich. From reading TMF and Unscripted , I was insanely inspired and in awe of everything his business achieved in the U.S and the world. I spoke to him as a future peer, since I will eventually achieve a Fastlane business as well. I saw my future self in him.
This man owns multiple mansions all over the country (world?) and never has to worry about money. He lives lavishly and his time is his. He can do and buy whatever he wants, whenever he wants. His identity is also completely Unscripted , as most people, even in my (suffocatingly small) town don’t even know who he is. Heck, I have seen him semi-regularly at my local gym for over two years (when he comes around this town), yet only befriended him and his S.O recently. Best of all, he is humble and selfless, qualities which I am sure helped him become see industry gaps and allowed him to create new technologies. He was mercilessly copied by other giant corporations.
All because his uncle, over 80 years ago, provided value to the world with a business system. I thought about this for a second. This man, today, is able to live like a king because his uncle, long dead, left him a legacy which he was able to leverage and improve.
This blew my mind. I was thinking about what legacy my family had…absolutely none.
On my mom’s side is a legacy of Sidewalkers. Menial jobs, if any job at all-- most of them unemployed for my entire life, living hand-to-mouth. Many didn’t even finish high school. Poor as hell. Begging and fighting for money, living through TV shows, and neighborhood gossip. To be honest, these people provide no value to society outside of their presence to immediate family and friends.
Dad’s side? Better educated Sidewalkers. Proud people who only care about keeping up with the joneses and their law, business, and journalism degrees. What so-and-so is wearing and where their kids go to school. My grandma is a retired teacher, my grandpa a retired journalist. My aunt owns her own job as a hair stylist (this would count as the possible beginning of a legacy if her tiny hair salon weren’t in a ravished 3rd world country). All of them, despite their esteemed education, live hand-to-mouth as well. All my dad’s side of the family cares about is MEANINGLESS educational accolades, LOOKING rich, KNOWING “respected” members of society like doctors and lawyers, no matter how awful these people may be. It sickens me.
My parents are products of my extended family. My dad has 2 masters’ degrees in a technical field and holds a job where he gets paid significantly less than his market value (for semi-valid reasons which I won’t go into depth here). For the past 7 months, he has been working overnight shifts at the local supermarket stocking shelves, going days without sleep, because he believes that this is the only way he can earn more money and pay down his debts. That is, aside from trying his "luck" by wasting hundreds of dollars a month in various lottery tickets (a habit which I vehemently despise). My mom cleans houses a few times a week and never tries to find something better or improve her knowledge in any way. She spends her time talking to random people from our home country for hours a day and korean tv shows (WTF? We're not even from Korea). Although they are near retirement age, neither of them have ANY plans for retirement. My dad jokes that I will have to help them to retire (which I fully plan to do, but still, this is a burden which I should not have to bear).
I don’t mean to insult my family at all. My parents are wonderful people and have been nothing but supportive and loving for my whole life. They have sacrificed so much for me, they emigrated to give me a better quality of life, and always fed me and clothed me. I will be forever thankful to them for giving me life and raising me well. I am just objectively describing the situation for what it is, looking back at my family history to see exactly why we are where we are, so that I can make sure I steer us the right way.
My point? In either side, there is no legacy. There is no system in current existence that anyone from my family can use to leverage for a better quality of life and brighter future of the next generation. Not even a small savings account. Nothing. Every single person in my family either holds a job which is tied to their time and educational knowledge, or is unemployed and quite frankly, a drain to society.
Now, why should I care what some random family members will think of me in future years? I don't. I just wonder what my life would be like if one of the many family members who preceed me had thought long enough about building and working a system that was in their control and separate from their time, which they could later leave to their children, grandchildren, and so on. Not only would they have massively benefited from this business in their own lifetime, they would have left behind a money tree for me to water, tend to, and continue growing.
Am I bitter? Not at all. The fact that I have to start from zero is a giant opportunity. I am 23. I live in a first-world country. Other than my long-term babysitting gig, I am an unemployed recent college grad, ruthlessly applying for positions where I can learn more about the market and its needs. I only have $1,000 to my name, but I also have no debts. And thanks to MJ and this forum, I have the tools, the discipline, and the vision for a better life than my current reality. In essence, I am unrealized potential.
I have the power to shift gears and be a producer. I can create something that will not only help me and my immediate family (as well as society as a whole), but will transcend my own lifetime. I can end the cycle of family of Sidewalkers and Slowlaners who provide little-to-nothing to society on a massive scale. I will be the first domino to fall, the stone cast into the water that starts the ripple effect even I won’t understand fully.
After spending the afternoon with my Fastlane friend, I took the 10 minute drive out from his gigantic, picturesque lake house with everything you'd ever want, and back to the tiny apartment I rent with my family, where I slept on the couch that night due to the intense heat and lack of AC. I reflected on the juxtaposition of my lifestyle and my friend's lifestyle, and how it all came down to choices made before either of us were even born. This absolutely convinced me of the following:
I am responsible to make better choices, choices that will not only affect me, but those who come after me.
If the thought of leaving a legacy and changing your complete family trajectory does not inspire you to get started on the Fastlane road, then I don’t know what will.
Thank you for reading.
I didn't quite grasp the significance of this statement until recently. I was fortunate enough to spend time with a person who, for decades, was the head of a Fastlane business. I will try to keep this post vague in order to protect his privacy. An uncle of his created an innovative business system over 80 years ago. This man grew up around this business and became its president, enhancing it as time went on, and eventually reaching hundreds of millions of dollars in yearly gross revenue. The company provided massive value and treated their customers and employees like gold. After liquidating the business, this man and his entire family were able to take the profits, invest them, and, essentially, never have to work a day in their lives.
He worked in the business system (by choice) for over 30 years, and you could tell he loved it. He talked about the company’s various accomplishments not in an egocentric, “I am better than you,” way, but in the way you would talk about raising a child who went on to change the world in a major way. Most people would hear him speak and think he’s showing off his money, or that he was “lucky” to inherit a business and to be rich. From reading TMF and Unscripted , I was insanely inspired and in awe of everything his business achieved in the U.S and the world. I spoke to him as a future peer, since I will eventually achieve a Fastlane business as well. I saw my future self in him.
This man owns multiple mansions all over the country (world?) and never has to worry about money. He lives lavishly and his time is his. He can do and buy whatever he wants, whenever he wants. His identity is also completely Unscripted , as most people, even in my (suffocatingly small) town don’t even know who he is. Heck, I have seen him semi-regularly at my local gym for over two years (when he comes around this town), yet only befriended him and his S.O recently. Best of all, he is humble and selfless, qualities which I am sure helped him become see industry gaps and allowed him to create new technologies. He was mercilessly copied by other giant corporations.
All because his uncle, over 80 years ago, provided value to the world with a business system. I thought about this for a second. This man, today, is able to live like a king because his uncle, long dead, left him a legacy which he was able to leverage and improve.
This blew my mind. I was thinking about what legacy my family had…absolutely none.
On my mom’s side is a legacy of Sidewalkers. Menial jobs, if any job at all-- most of them unemployed for my entire life, living hand-to-mouth. Many didn’t even finish high school. Poor as hell. Begging and fighting for money, living through TV shows, and neighborhood gossip. To be honest, these people provide no value to society outside of their presence to immediate family and friends.
Dad’s side? Better educated Sidewalkers. Proud people who only care about keeping up with the joneses and their law, business, and journalism degrees. What so-and-so is wearing and where their kids go to school. My grandma is a retired teacher, my grandpa a retired journalist. My aunt owns her own job as a hair stylist (this would count as the possible beginning of a legacy if her tiny hair salon weren’t in a ravished 3rd world country). All of them, despite their esteemed education, live hand-to-mouth as well. All my dad’s side of the family cares about is MEANINGLESS educational accolades, LOOKING rich, KNOWING “respected” members of society like doctors and lawyers, no matter how awful these people may be. It sickens me.
My parents are products of my extended family. My dad has 2 masters’ degrees in a technical field and holds a job where he gets paid significantly less than his market value (for semi-valid reasons which I won’t go into depth here). For the past 7 months, he has been working overnight shifts at the local supermarket stocking shelves, going days without sleep, because he believes that this is the only way he can earn more money and pay down his debts. That is, aside from trying his "luck" by wasting hundreds of dollars a month in various lottery tickets (a habit which I vehemently despise). My mom cleans houses a few times a week and never tries to find something better or improve her knowledge in any way. She spends her time talking to random people from our home country for hours a day and korean tv shows (WTF? We're not even from Korea). Although they are near retirement age, neither of them have ANY plans for retirement. My dad jokes that I will have to help them to retire (which I fully plan to do, but still, this is a burden which I should not have to bear).
I don’t mean to insult my family at all. My parents are wonderful people and have been nothing but supportive and loving for my whole life. They have sacrificed so much for me, they emigrated to give me a better quality of life, and always fed me and clothed me. I will be forever thankful to them for giving me life and raising me well. I am just objectively describing the situation for what it is, looking back at my family history to see exactly why we are where we are, so that I can make sure I steer us the right way.
My point? In either side, there is no legacy. There is no system in current existence that anyone from my family can use to leverage for a better quality of life and brighter future of the next generation. Not even a small savings account. Nothing. Every single person in my family either holds a job which is tied to their time and educational knowledge, or is unemployed and quite frankly, a drain to society.
Now, why should I care what some random family members will think of me in future years? I don't. I just wonder what my life would be like if one of the many family members who preceed me had thought long enough about building and working a system that was in their control and separate from their time, which they could later leave to their children, grandchildren, and so on. Not only would they have massively benefited from this business in their own lifetime, they would have left behind a money tree for me to water, tend to, and continue growing.
Am I bitter? Not at all. The fact that I have to start from zero is a giant opportunity. I am 23. I live in a first-world country. Other than my long-term babysitting gig, I am an unemployed recent college grad, ruthlessly applying for positions where I can learn more about the market and its needs. I only have $1,000 to my name, but I also have no debts. And thanks to MJ and this forum, I have the tools, the discipline, and the vision for a better life than my current reality. In essence, I am unrealized potential.
I have the power to shift gears and be a producer. I can create something that will not only help me and my immediate family (as well as society as a whole), but will transcend my own lifetime. I can end the cycle of family of Sidewalkers and Slowlaners who provide little-to-nothing to society on a massive scale. I will be the first domino to fall, the stone cast into the water that starts the ripple effect even I won’t understand fully.
After spending the afternoon with my Fastlane friend, I took the 10 minute drive out from his gigantic, picturesque lake house with everything you'd ever want, and back to the tiny apartment I rent with my family, where I slept on the couch that night due to the intense heat and lack of AC. I reflected on the juxtaposition of my lifestyle and my friend's lifestyle, and how it all came down to choices made before either of us were even born. This absolutely convinced me of the following:
I am responsible to make better choices, choices that will not only affect me, but those who come after me.
If the thought of leaving a legacy and changing your complete family trajectory does not inspire you to get started on the Fastlane road, then I don’t know what will.
Thank you for reading.
Dislike ads? Become a Fastlane member:
Subscribe today and surround yourself with winners and millionaire mentors, not those broke friends who only want to drink beer and play video games. :-)
Membership Required: Upgrade to Expose Nearly 1,000,000 Posts
Ready to Unleash the Millionaire Entrepreneur in You?
Become a member of the Fastlane Forum, the private community founded by best-selling author and multi-millionaire entrepreneur MJ DeMarco. Since 2007, MJ DeMarco has poured his heart and soul into the Fastlane Forum, helping entrepreneurs reclaim their time, win their financial freedom, and live their best life.
With more than 39,000 posts packed with insights, strategies, and advice, you’re not just a member—you’re stepping into MJ’s inner-circle, a place where you’ll never be left alone.
Become a member and gain immediate access to...
- Active Community: Ever join a community only to find it DEAD? Not at Fastlane! As you can see from our home page, life-changing content is posted dozens of times daily.
- Exclusive Insights: Direct access to MJ DeMarco’s daily contributions and wisdom.
- Powerful Networking Opportunities: Connect with a diverse group of successful entrepreneurs who can offer mentorship, collaboration, and opportunities.
- Proven Strategies: Learn from the best in the business, with actionable advice and strategies that can accelerate your success.
"You are the average of the five people you surround yourself with the most..."
Who are you surrounding yourself with? Surround yourself with millionaire success. Join Fastlane today!
Join Today
