Wealth Success Story

[santa]

I frequent the forum sporadically,but have gotten a lot out of the book,blogs and videos and thought it's about time I contribute some things from my "Wealth" successes. I won't be able to go into every detail and realisation as I could go on and on,but I'll try and keep it really succint as not to bore.
Before we go any further, you may want to stop reading now, and here is the warning- in terms of financial or liquid monetary assets I basically have nothing. NOTHING. But already I feel like a MF wealth success? Is that a contradiction? I don't think it is.


I've posted in this subforum as I think this covers a lot of the rules of a fastlane success, see if you agree....


Part 1

So what is wealth? In MF, on p42, MJ says its a combination of three fundamental F's;
Family (relationships)
Fitness (health)
Freedom (choice)

He then says his book is designed to address the freedom part of the trinity.
And thats why we have been attracted to his (and other posters) excellent analysis of things at the forum,book etc.
As others here have probably noticed, a lot of the distinctions apply to general life aswell and MJ will often reference say health examples also.


So I'll cut to the chase;

I'm in in my 20s,as a kid I loved playing sports but had to give up due to some injury problems.
Early/mid 20s, my "career" was going amazing I had doors opening to some big big opportunities in my industry but decided to take a low level job for a 6-12 months, move back in with my Mum and her remarried family & focus on trying to get better before embarking full tilt ahead!
Without boring you with the details my issues never cleared up and I progessively got worse. To the point that my whole body seemed to be shutting down. I saw various doctors etc but couldn't get to the bottom of my problems.


Slowly just getting to the toilet became a massive challenge and at my worst points I was literally bedridden. To add another level of complexity, though my Mum had temporally let me live under roof she wasn't very supportive outside of this one element.
Out of my close friends, several basically disowned me and some of the others lived in different parts of the country/continent which made it hard for them to help. And others I was too ashamed to explain what had happened to me as we slowly lost touch. I had no other family of note.


The only medical professional that seemed to be onto something had ran out of ideas, I saw a high end high reputation specialist who said I'd have to get used to it and live with the situation probably for life.
At my worst,where for example just moving my neck to look left and right could cause ridiculous consquences- my mum, had told me I had move out. Though my low end job employers had been amazing I obviously wasn't able to work at this time so my money was tight and I didn't know what to do.

I felt backed into a corner.
I started to look at state funded care homes to see if I could get a place in one of them and got a couple of books (such as Christopher Reeves) to help me find some acceptance in my condition.

I'd got into Zen type writings and kind of accepted that if this is what life was saying the way things would be then inner acceptance would be necessary. (which I interpretated to mean that if I was lucky I might get to live in one room for the rest of my life and hopefully see out onto a garden or something)

Part 2 to come....

 

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[santa]

Part 2

The Clawback

Ironically it was that internal acceptance that kickstarted things. I could think outside of my situation more.
I realised nobody would care about my situation as much as me and rather than outsource the decision making and procedural processes of my situation to other people (i.e.doctors) I would have to reframe things.
I was the "doctor"/decision maker. And EVERYONE around me were MY employees and consultants.But I would be the DECISION maker.

I reassed my assets and weaknesses etc.
I realised I was under-utilising my biggest assets still available to me. The blessing of an internet connection and my brain and analytical background. My college card still worked and I could access many of the latest medical papers aswell. At that time outside of any rehabbing I was doing I would try and spend my time productively but outside of my condition-reading books, audiotapes, I took a basic website builing course and built my first little site, read and kept myself up to date on my industry and things that would give me an edge when I was back in it.
Instead I would focus all these energies on one thing. Getting better. It was an invaluable lesson. To use a computer terminlogy rather than overload my RAM with so many things, I realised to have anychance of penetrating the situation I would need to get rid of all the bloatwhere and run a slimline level of focus on this ONE thing.

I started doing my own research and reading on my situation.
I started a diary, where I would write down patterns of my condition and what seemed to effect it
I became less emotional about the situations and more observant. I used reflective tools (like MJ's decision matrix!) and reflected constantly on what happened after them.
I tried to observe and mentally live my condition 24-7 rather than trying to find escapism in other things-this allowed me to notice even more subtleties in my body.

Slowly but surely I started to find PATTERNS. Patterns to my condition and behaviour that had been missed. So many small nuances that will be missed in a 45min consultation with an overworked medical practitioner or with me prior to my supreme focus on this situation.

I'd ask more questions of doctors and push their knowledge and what they knew rather than just take what they said.
As I started to improve my Mum threated to cut the internet connection (crazy I know...) even though it had been key inunlocking things, I learnt that sometimes being straight and honest with certain people can lead them using it against you and became more tactical and strategic in what I told and to whom. This applied to doctors aswell and in finding ways to hussle lifts to get to doctors appointments etc.


So its been the last 3 or so years when this has been so dominant. Where am I today? No, well I haven't made a full recovery...not yet. But the improvement has been dramatic.
And I feel confident that as long as I keep applying and refining the principles I've been using I will gain a high level of freedom. And I already have. Not FINANCIAL freedom, but PHYSICAL freedom. Which I can tell you is such an important part of the freedom/wealth equation. (it's true about that saying, you often only appreciate certain things when you lose them!)

MJ says "freedom offers protection to health and relationships". I agree, but would add they all effect each other. As my health/mobility disintegrated so I lost the others in certain ways.


Part 3

I have learnt so much from the experience and here's just a few things that may relate to people here;

Part 3 to come...

 

[santa]

Part 3;

Things that may be of interest on this forum;

-Why is this a fastlane wealth story? In my opinion I used the principles and fastlane philosophy to help go from a situation that means from a prediction of extreme physical incapacity for life to probably within the next year or two I will practically be physically normal (fingers crossed!). I was lucky for sure, but without certain critical thinking skills and fastlane type habits it wouldn’t have happened
-There are 3 parts if you're following MJ's wealth equation. Though the focus here is on the monetary side, don't forget that. I'm not saying you have to be Jack Lalanne (though he made a ton of money too), and at times we all have to make sacrifices in other areas, but in the long term it pays to have an awareness of the other aspects and improve there also.
This is my main point of writing this- wealth according to MJ.... it’s 3 parts!
-There's fastlanes/slowlanes/sidewalks in those areas too
-Like many here who are in agreement with MF, realise there is a lot of ignorance and bad bad advice espoused by many mainstream angles in those parts too-media,gov,food companies,big pharma, general ignorance etc.
-A ton of MF advice can be applied there too. E.g. Events vs Processes (the Event of a wedding vs the process of it after!)
-Physical freedom and mobility is as important as financial and time freedoms. If you have them, realise you won't always. Maybe you'll be lucky to have great mobility up until your death like jack Lalanne at 95 but the stats are against you.
-Be it once a month, a week in a year or more frequently, like you are hopefully doing on business re-educate yourself on health, relationships etc (e.g. MJ recommending The Ten Conversations You Must Have Before You Get Married)
If you are not applying MF critical thinking, pattern spotting and big picture ways of looking at things to other parts of your life it could bite you on your a$$.
-What MJ says in the video below applies to our whole lives. It doesn’t matter how hard you work, applying the wrong principles gets you nowhere 99% of the time. I was told so many times that I was the “model patient”. I went above and beyond to use the advice I was given. I would of eaten dog sh*t if it meant I could of improved. But being the model patient or model student or model husband, daughter or employee means squat if those models have certain flaws;
[video=youtube;04V89_YErcQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04V89_YErcQ&list=UUe26EoZznJ1y_AFZnq8XElA&index=11&feature=plcp[/video]

-Many when thinking of wealth/financial freedom may imagine icons of wealth like the sports car on the old MF cover.- but realise it also gives you something else, something much more valuable in my opinion. Better odds to survive and thrive if things go wrong to you or a loved one. E.g. you can afford better care for your elderly relative or have the freedom to see any specialist you want. It can also give you time. Time to research or read up yourself on anything you want. To see the bigger picture
-You have more margin for error when you have money/health reserves

I was never enthralled by the stereotypical “icons”really, , but this experience has opened my eyes to the fact that with more resources I would have gotten better, a lot better and without so much struggle, hussle, luck and close calls.
It’s also made me realise that one day, (hopefully after a long, happy and healthy life) my body may fail me again in a big way. I don’t want to end up like so many old people are treated, as their mental, physical and financial influences wane or like marginalized portions of society that don’t have the voice, strength or knowledge to stand up for themselves and protect their interests;
[video=youtube;odYUhcphqpQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odYUhcphqpQ[/video]



My guess is for some of you, you won’t be able to really relate to this. It won’t stir you up with emotion and give you a glint in the eye like other financial business stories (which obviously is the main point of the forum).
It’s sometimes like hearing how some small village on the other side of the world now has clean water. It sounds nice, but often unless you’ve really been there you can’t always empathise. It’s also something you probably have and therefore take for granted.
It’s those that go past what we have, that make us project how life could be with the same improvements that often tickle us. That’s the carrot, but sometimes the stick is just as valuable!

 

[ageofz]

Thank you for sharing your story. I can somewhat relate, as I have been dealing with chronic ankle pain for four years.

You are indeed correct that all three pillars are dependent on one another. It wasnt until the past 8 months thar i have been able to really treat my ankle. Prolotherapy, prp therapy, massage therapy and now stem cell therapy have now allowed me to walk and train with little pain. I wouldnt have been able to afford this without my fastlane business.

When you cant walk ( or move in your case) without pain, life is much less enjoyable. Im glad that you keep fighting it! I hope that we both can post back in a year cured.

 

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[santa]

Thanks for the reply and lets hope so! I wasn't sure if this would consciously resonate with many here, but thought it may give a different angle on things that may come to fruit at some point in peoples lives.
I think in this experience I've learnt its that line between looking to keep improving, being "realistic" and seeing things for what they are, and being analytical in one's approach (like you would a business!). Thats some very interesting therapies, if this was health board I'd probably ask you a dozen questions!

I was speaking to a friend recently who was telling me about another family who have quite a successful business and a far few million in the bank. Their great grandfather is still about and currently lives at home on his own, but starting to struggle to look after himself. He doesn't want to leave his home and go into a care home (depending on the home some thrive, but some die soon after the change too), and they're in a position and have the choice where they can get him home care and without having to remorgage their house or anything like that. I thought like yours it was a great example,and shows how fastlane success can help give a bit better protection to one's hierarchy of needs etc.

 

[ChickenHawk]

It doesn’t matter how hard you work, applying the wrong principles gets you nowhere 99% of the time.

Thanks for sharing your story. So many good points here. The one above really hit-home with me. Hard work is great, but it must be directed at the right things. You can apply this to just about anything, so it's definitely worth remembering.

I'm glad to hear you're improving!