What Color Ferrari Should I Buy? (I Have Twenty Bucks)

[MJ DeMarco]

I have twenty bucks … what color Ferrari do I buy when I succeed?


(Image @biophase)

Ridiculous statement, often equivalent to a ridiculous question quite often found here at the forum.

The poker-face for the WANTREPRENEUR are the hypothetical questions about things that are months, perhaps years away, and that’s assuming you get off your a$$ and do something, and do it right!

I can’t count how many times someone asks a question that is so far into the f*cking future, something that may or may not happen, that asking it is pure mental masturbation. An excuse not to move forward. A reason to say “Eh, I don’t know how so I’m just going to keep my job.”

Folks, entrepreneurship is not easy. Its a journey of problem solving and learning.

If you’re trying to invent a new product, your only focus should be creating a great product and it's utility. If you haven’t designed a prototype or found a manufacturer yet, and choose to instead focus on whether to package the product with self-stick plastic labels over paper, you’re jerking off. If you’re asking about logos and business cards, and again, you don’t have a product prototyped, you’re jerking off. If you’re asking tax questions, cuz you know, you’re going to be making millions next month, you’re jerking off.

My answer to these questions ... Quit jerking off.

If you want to buy a Ferrari, don’t ask what color to buy, ASK what you need to do TODAY to afford it in a future TOMORROW. Asking anything else that won’t get you from STEP 1 to STEP 2 is a waste of energy. Worrying about STEP 32? You’re wasting energy. Time. Jerking off. If you don’t get to STEP 32, you won’t have a STEP 32 to worry about, so why bother?

If you are looking for the answers to every step along the journey before starting in any endeavor, you WILL NEVER START. That scenario doesn’t exist and it never will.

For those of you who are not engaged in some type of process (yet), there is only one step to understand, conquer, and solve… and that’s STEP ONE to STEP TWO. That step when you choose the color of your Ferrari? That’s step 1,500 and sorry friend, you have 1,499 more steps to solve. Focus on solving them when they become a part of your TODAY.

Start solving. Start learning. Start doing.

And start seeing results.

 

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[socaldude]

I admit that I had a mindset similar to this.

I was a Wantrepreneur.

Always thinking about material things, money, easiness, events.

Things that had absolutely NOTHING to do with building a successful business or providing value to consumers. Sure, a successful business can fund these things, nothing wrong with that. But look at the process of building a successful business and you will find that none of these things have anything to do with it. Do you really think that your customers care if you drive a 5 series BMW vs a 1992 Toyota Corolla?

Focus on the boring and difficult. And you will succeed.

I started to become successful when I focused on BORING and DIFFICULT business opportunities.

Why? Because your chances of success go up when your entrepreneurial process is more f*cked up and difficult(PARADOX).

I also started making money when I actually stopped giving a F*ck about money.

You should get excited when your entrepreneurial journey is difficult because it means your chances of success are high. Likewise the easier your journey the less chances of success you have.

 

[SBS.95]

Also: being able to afford a Ferrari isn't 'success'. You can lease a 360 (yes, a red one) for $2k a month and have the owner cover all needed repairs and what not for a little extra. If you're comfortable with what you currently have and just wanna swing your dick around, build (or buy) a business that can make you a passive $2k a month.

It's just a car.

Funny story...

I knew a girl in high school, real bitchy/snooty type. Her parents had an Audi and an Infiniti sedan. Big house. When she turned 16, they leased her a brand new BMW SUV (later crashed.) Somewhere in the middle of our junior or senior year, I forget now, her father declared bankruptcy. Literally all of those years it was about showing off the wealth, when in reality they had very little.

Likewise, I was friends with someone whose parents owned a car dealership, winery, and bus company. Yet if you ever saw this guy or his family you would have no idea. They all did their clothes shopping at Wal-Mart (no joke, everything.) And literally everyone in his family drove a 15-year-old-starting-to-rust pickup truck.

I hadn't read TMF at the time, but even then I remembering realizing just how ironic and polar opposite these 2 situations were. The broke family going out of their way to show people they have cash. And the affluent family going out of their way to avoid showing off money.

 

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[JasonR]

Funny, I clicked on this thread, and immediately thought - shit who's wasting our time now? I was pleasantly surprised by a great post.

I used to be like what you described. Thinking, dreaming, etc. At some point, something changed early last year and I forgot about the color of the Ferrari. All I could focus on was business. I noticed that a couple of "wantrepreneur" friends I had could only talk about the "high life" and Ferraris, Lamborghinis, etc. That's when I noticed that "Hey, I used to do that, too!"

It was pure mental masturbation.

Now, all I can think about is how I can get to the next level, that next step? The Ferrari si completely forgotten, for now.

When I see one, I'm like, oh yah, I remember I want that. Then, I think, how do I get there and forget about it again.

Great post. Rep transferred.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

1. be broke
2. read tmf
3. brain starts to fizzle with wishful thinking and then suddenly... lighting strikes (the idea)
4. start having fantasies about being 'rich'
5. visit tmf forums

Ya forgot...

6. Post excited intro and proclaim how you''re going to make $10M in 10 months.
7. Disappear next day, go back to your job, and never return.

 

[GuestUser113]

Took this from ryan holiday's site. Here he is talking about Arnold Schwarzenegger. All the obstacles he had to go through. I wonder; did he stop and say "I wonder what color my ferrari should be, when I am filthy rich?"

• 1961: Arnold doesn’t like soccer, the sport most children played in his native Austria, so he tries weightlifting instead. He became so dedicated to bodybuilding he began breaking into his local gym on the weekends when it was closed so he could train: “It would make me sick to miss a workout… I knew I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror the next morning if I didn’t do it.”
  
  
• 1965: Arnold served in the Austrian army to fulfill his one year service requirement. He ends up going AWOL during basic training so he can compete in the Junior Mr. Europe contest and ends up serving a week in military prison because of it. He won the contest.
  
  
• 1968: Arnold arrives in America with little money and can barely speak English. Because bodybuilding doesn’t pay, he begins a bricklaying business with a fellow bodybuilder, mixing cement and knocking down walls with a sledgehammer.
  
  
• 1970: Arnold won his first Mr. Olympia title at 23, making him the youngest Mr. Olympia ever, a record he still holds today. He would go on to win it six more times.
  
  
• 1971: Arnold’s brother Meinhard died in a car accident in which he was killed instantly. Arnold would later pay for Meinhard’s son Patrick’s education and his emigration to the United States.
  
  
• 1972: Arnold’s father, Gustav Schwarzenegger, dies from a stroke. Arnold was unable to attend his funeral because he training for a bodybuilding content.
  
  
• 1980: Arnold was a color commentator at the 1980 Mr. Olympia competition when he announced at the last minute he would compete in the contest. Schwarzenegger had been retired from competition but had been secretly training for the event. He won it with only seven weeks of preparation and after being declared Mr. Olympia for the seventh time he officially retired from competition.
  
  
• 1984: Arnold appears in James Cameron’s The Terminator. Of his early acting career, Arnold said, “It was very difficult for me in the beginning – I was told by agents and casting people that my body was ‘too weird’, that I had a funny accent, and that my name was too long. You name it, and they told me I had to change it. Basically, everywhere I turned, I was told that I had no chance.” Basically, Arnold turned all those ‘negatives’ into a totally unique and iconic package.
  
  
• 1991: Arnold reappeared as the title character in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which was the highest-grossing film of 1991.
  
  
• 1993: Arnold stars in Last Action Hero, which did poorly at the box office, opening opposite Jurassic Park. It is one of many failed movies in his career–as he admits.
  
  
• 1994: Arnold’s movie career bounces back when he reunited with James Cameron for the popular sky film True Lies.
  
  
• 2001: Arnold broke six ribs and was hospitalized for four days after a motorcycle crash in Los Angeles.
  
  
• 2003: Without any previous political experience, Arnold wins the California recall election for governor by 1.3 million votes. (I actually attended his kick off rally in Sacramento. Twisted Sister performed)
  
  
• 2006: Arnold wins re-election for Governor of California by well over one million votes.
  
  
• 2009: He gives an epic and philosophic commencement address to USC students.
• 2013: Arnold restarts his acting career with his first leading role in 10 years with The Last Stand, and his first co-starring role with Sylvester Stallone in Escape Plan. Also cooly embraces reddit and social media to great results.
  

“So let me tell you, as you prepare to go off into the world, remember six rules: Trust yourself, Break some rules, Don’t be afraid to fail, Ignore the naysayers, Work like hell, and Give something back.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger

 

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[DeletedUser394]

But how do I start? I don't want you to tell me the exact steps, but can you tell me the exact steps please?

Thanks!

 

[MJ DeMarco]

LOL I am exited for the new book.

@Kak, I'll pull a quote out just for you. I know you'll like it...

Educational institutions are now manufacturing an entire generation of brain-dead millennials who have never failed in their entire life, and have a wall of participation trophies to show for it. They’re groomed to believe that hard work is optional. Competing, optional. Going above the call, optional. Born rockstars, these kids think they can just show up and win all that life has to offer.

Of course, the millenials here are the exception. The millenials I see working at In-and-Out Burger through the plate glass window are the exception. These youngsters have the huge advantage over the consensus.

 

[ddzc]

HAHA, this reminded me of a situation I was in not too long ago.

A close friend of mine had an awesome idea for a website. He was dying for my help, no job, needed money, living in his parents house at the age of 32. I decided to help, even though I was super busy with my own projects. The idea was good, I suggested a few things which follows fastlane guidelines and made it a monthly membership style site which provided value. All I asked from him in return was to contact a couple hundred listings and do some marketing. He didn't have any cash, I forked over $500 of my own just to help this guy out AND I spent a week building about 80% of the website on my own. I required programmers and developers to finish the rest in order to finish and automate things, resulting in another $800 approx.

As I was building the site, all he talked about was numbers. "holy shit, if we sell 100 of the $100/mth packages we'll be making 10k/mth", fuk ya we're gonna go to Cuba, we're gonna buy this and that. I'm like dude, worry about making 1 sale before 100, fkn relax. Every day, all I heard about was his bs stories about what he's going to do with the money. The next day it would be...man we can easily make 25k/mth with 250 subscriptions. The site is not even done yet and I'm hearing this bs every day annoying the fuk out of me.

When it came time for him to do ANY work, he didn't have time. When it came time to pitch in cash, this guy didn't have a dime. I didn't want to fork over 800 just bc of his attitude, exact resemblance of this thread. The weekend comes, I see this guy blowing $1000 on gambling, hundreds in clubs, presents for ex gfs, clothes, etc etc. I scraped everything and told this pos where to go.

Moral of the story is...I'm stealing this from @Kak and adding a bit to it, don't be a bottom feeding mooching dickhead.

 

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[DrkSide]

But I have an idea! Now can I pick the color?

 

[The-J]

Also: being able to afford a Ferrari isn't 'success'. You can lease a 360 (yes, a red one) for $2k a month and have the owner cover all needed repairs and what not for a little extra. If you're comfortable with what you currently have and just wanna swing your dick around, build (or buy) a business that can make you a passive $2k a month.

It's just a car.

 

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[SYK]

Hi I have read all the Gold threads and none of them help explain which color Ferrari I should get. Perhaps you should set up an INSIDERS Call to help all of us having trouble choosing our color...

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

You guys are a regular riot!

 

[ddzc]

But how do I start? I don't want you to tell me the exact steps, but can you tell me the exact steps please?

Thanks!

Funny thing is, there are step by step guides on this very forum. Want to start a supplement biz, zen******* has it all writted up. Want to get in to importing? biophase, vigilante, jajt posted tons about this, step by step. Do you want to get in to real estate/apartment investing, we have steveo with a lengthy thread about it. Want to create a product and get licensing, read The Licensing Game by vigilante, it's all there. Self publishing, tons of threads on here about that. Low on cash? you have a thread about this. The problem is, these fkn ppl want everything given to them on a silver plater, no effort, not a second invested, not a penny invested, they want it all, the idea, the product, the source..the hard shit which these lazy asses are too lazy to do. For those ppl, entrepreneurship is simply not for them..get a job and play the lottery and keep praying your numbers come out.

 

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[rcdlopez]

Can anybody please help answer these questions?

Here's my advice. It's harsh but if you listen to it, it will help you.

Anytime you find yourself saying "I want to make money!", BITCH SLAP YOURSELF!. Then say to yourself "Nevermind, I want to create VALUE!"

Money flows to people who create value in the world. Stop thinking about what sort of lifestyle you want and start thinking about how you can improve mankind. Have faith that if you are a person who brings value to the world, then wealth will come to you! If you have an idea on how to create value then try it out. If no one uses it, then try something else.

Every religious/philosophical book out there talks about why being selfless is a virtue. This is ancient wisdom, man! LISTEN TO IT!

 

[The-J]

So what color?

Red.

 

[Nosferatu]

LOL. funny thread. but yea....

i got my blinders on to those kinds of threads now - it's almost usually the same thing contextually anyway..


These stories usually go...

1. be broke
2. read tmf
3. brain starts to fizzle with wishful thinking and then suddenly... lighting strikes (the idea)
4. start having fantasies about being 'rich'
5. visit tmf forums to circle jerk while simultaneously forgetting about the entire process of achieving said fantasy/dream/idea.


Honestly, i think this is just the natural bell curve to the cycle of entrepreneurship. The serious ones will stick it out and make something happen. We've already had some successes bred on this forum.

 

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[jon.a]

The timing of this thread is funny...

Mrs jon and I are forming a new LLC. We're on step 2. The other day she wanted to discuss step 32. I asked her what color of checks did she want to order?

Instant refocus.

 

[tafy]

these kids think they can just show up and win

OMG so true!

This has been true for decades and its getting even worse

Anyone here play chess or draughts? When I was in school the amount of people who said they were good but when you start winning they just quit or say the game is boring and quit. My nephew (12) wont play any game unless he can win, if hes losing he will quit before he actually loses...

My dad never let me win ever, he let me have chances if I made a silly move but he never lets anyone win, but parents nowadays let their kids win games to make them feel better, these kids grow up thinking they can always win and when they lose they are upset.

Teachers are also guilty of letting everyone win, or playing a game where there is no score keeping so nobody is the loser, they are taking the easy way out because they know kids will be upset if they lose.

Everytime I lost a game I would want a rematch, I will keep coming back until I won.

The first rule of any game - YOU CAN ONLY GET SMARTER BY PLAYING A SMARTER OPPONENT

 

[LightHouse]

I used to be like what you described. Thinking, dreaming, etc. At some point, something changed early last year and I forgot about the color of the Ferrari. All I could focus on was business. I noticed that a couple of "wantrepreneur" friends I had could only talk about the "high life" and Ferraris, Lamborghinis, etc. That's when I noticed that "Hey, I used to do that, too!"

This same thing happened to me after i sold my first biz. I was so enthralled in starting another biz. I realized I no longer had supercars as wall papers, didn't care to look at expensive houses, stopped following the luxury trends. I realized that stuff is all a dried up carrot. The real fun, was building and then selling the next biz.

 

[SteveO]

Funny how this works. When I had enough money to buy the cars that we wanted, we purchased a new loaded Infinity FX and Mini-Cooper for the wife. I had looked at BMW and Lexus as well.

We sold the Infinity because we did not really care about the luxury items. We sold the Mini because it was not practical. We drive a Camry and Tundra now. Both bought new with cash. Neither of us wanted anything flashy or luxury.

 

[Nicoknowsbest]

For those of you who are not engaged in some type of process (yet), there is only one step to understand, conquer, and solve… and that’s STEP ONE to STEP TWO. That step when you choose the color of your Ferrari? That’s step 1,500 and sorry friend, you have 1,499 more steps to solve. Focus on solving them when they become a part of your TODAY.

This confusion about events over process is what most probably prevents many people from actually moving forward. If you are at step 01, trying to jump to step 10 without thinking about the steps in between, it simply won't work. Sticking to a linear process, determined and focused on accomplishing this ONE NEXT step will also solve the biggest problem most people just starting out on their entrepreneurial journeys face: being overwhelmed. They think about how they will learn about taxes, social insurance, engineering etc... They buy a ton of books, research the web, read a bunch of articles about 5 different topics, not only one. If you are figuring out what your business will be, focus on the idea and don't read about accounting issues. If you don't have a prototype that works and that people actually want to use since it is solving a problem they are facing, DON'T waste time building a fancy website to display your product (which product exactly?). People use to ask about the precise steps they have to take - even if you provided them with a list of 1500 steps, I am almost sure that many would try to skip the boring parts, where hard work, persistence and determination is required.

The entrepreneurial journey is not a fancy endeavor, but you have to be willing to get your hands dirty. This is why the following quote is still valid, and will always be: “Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t so you can spend the rest of your life like most people can't.” - Warren G. Tracy’s student. This is what separates the real entrepreneurs from the rest.

Use your brain. Embrace the hard work. Focus on one step at a time. Get it done.

And you will see how fast you will progress.

 

[GuestUser113]

-He wanted to buy an apartment complex (the 1970's, he owns tons of real estate now), so he figured out a way and did it. He then flipped complexes a few times and became a millionaire (long before The Terminator).

As Nick Saban says, "When you focus on the process, winning will happen as a result."

Most people do not know that he was a millionaire before he got into acting. From all the real estate deals.

 

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[Magik]

“So let me tell you, as you prepare to go off into the world, remember six rules: Trust yourself, Break some rules, Don’t be afraid to fail, Ignore the naysayers, Work like hell, and Give something back.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger

One of the greatest rags-to-riches success stories in the history of western civilization. What he had to overcome to be successful is unbelievable. Those of you who haven't read his bio Total Recall, you should, at least the first half of it. Arnold set specific goals and hit them:

-He wanted to buy an apartment complex (the 1970's, he owns tons of real estate now), so he figured out a way and did it. He then flipped complexes a few times and became a millionaire (long before The Terminator).
-He wanted to be a body building champion, so he figured out a way and did it... 7 or 8 times
-He wanted to be an actor, so he figured out a way and did it... and went on to make 20 million a picture.
-He wanted to be governor of CA, so he figured out a way and did it... and got re-elected in a landslide

Arnold's process: set one large goal, put all of my effort and energy toward hitting that one goal, once I hit that large goal, set another large goal and repeat. The amazing thing is all of his results were far greater than he imagined them to be.

As Nick Saban says, "When you focus on the process, winning will happen as a result."

And, I might add, he married JFK's niece... and he's Republican.

 

[Iwokeup]

Can anybody please help answer these questions?

Dude.

Go and read @IceCreamKids thread on how to serve others.

Then work out your mental muscles by coming up with 5 ideas a day.

If you find one that's interesting then do the Rapid Validation method to see if it's worth pursuing.

Or, pick an industry that you have some feeling for and do the Idea Extraction thing and see if you can identify a need, then fill that need.

I totally realize that I am a green n00b at business and entrepreneurship. Having said that it seems as if the vast majority of your posts involve asking someone to think for you.

Best of luck

 

[Kak]

Can anybody please help answer these questions?

Dude this forum is not an idea booth it is a resource to cut the learning curve. You are still treating this like a job. It's not. You will win or lose because of yourself. It is totally up to you. Some people like that and need their hand held.

My answer to all of your your questions is: Figure it out because you are the CEO.

 

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[Phantom309]

Damn I wish I could've read and understood that 4 years ago MJ. Once I got my head out of the clouds and realized I was the biggest thing hold up my success...everyday I've tried to do something towards my end goal of financial freedom.

 

[DennisD]

There's a huge difference between "Talk" and "Motivational Thinking".

There's nothing wrong with wanting a nice car, even planning on having on in 3 months after you make your first million.
I have a notebook with the layout of my dream house: A $10m castle I will have custom built. I know where the freakin toilets are going.
Nothing wrong with motivating yourself to succeed.

But the moment you open your mouth about it, you start the downward spiral.
You start thinking you're a hotshot because you have an idea.
You exhaust all your steam talking about the dream, you fulfill your wishes mentally and have no drive to actually attain them anymore.

The "Masturbation" analogy is right on.
Maybe you get a kick out of it for a few minutes, but it spends your energy and doesn't get you anywhere.

 

[workinprogress]

This thread describes me. I was so happy when I landed this job about 7-8 months ago, because it paid so well. I was going to be making at least 40k a year, and I was going to be tripling my income over my last position.

So what did I do? After a month or 2 of working there, I decided I needed a new car. That I deserved it. I had been though the pain (2 years of making under 18k a year) and now I decided I needed a reward. An expensive reward. I was going to every car dealer in the area, test driving multiple cars, even ones I couldn't afford. Putting on a show for the salesperson just so he would let me in the car. Pure and utter mental masturbation.

But then disaster almost struck. There was this really good salesman at a Dodge dealership that brought leasing to my attention. I almost walked out of there with F*cking 45K 2015 Dodge Charger R/T, loaded up with options and in a cherry red color. It was a 3 year lease, with payments of at least $450 a month. My insurance was set to go up from $120 to $350 a month as well. And as I was sitting there, I desperately was trying to deceive myself into thinking it was a good idea. I deserved this, no matter what it cost.

In the end, the bank ended up coming back and changing the terms, which would have put the payment up another $100 a month and the down payment another $1000. So I walked. But I was this close to making a terrible, terrible decision that would have followed me years to come, just because I was convinced that I deserved a "reward" for my small amount of limited success. I was trying to skip Step 7-27 and go directly to Step 28. Pure mental masturbation. I feel almost disgusted, embarrassed for myself looking back on that, the fact that I was that close to making a that big of a mistake.

 

[NicoleMarie]

MJ I think you've just started a huge train here...

By the way I'm not buying a Ferrari, so which Lamborghini do I buy??