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What Do You Choose to Give Up? (To Achieve Fastlane Riches)

Anything related to matters of the mind

fastlane_dad

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Alright guys this is my 300th post here – and I’m writing this as much for myself as I am for the rest of you. Hopefully this isn’t that much of a ramble.

The thought came to mind, of ‘what to give up’ to pursue your fastlane dreams. I will talk a bit about what it took for me, and possibly some thoughts you might need to ponder of what it will take for you.

Like anything in life, going after any dream, especially starting, working and pursuing a business is one of the HARDEST mind games you need to play with yourself in order to pursue it. That partially explains why ‘the riches’ sometimes follow. Beyond a sexy social media title, and what everyone seems to be on Instagram these days – this, like many other things worth pursuing is a game at the end of the day, and primarily of risk and reward tendencies.

You are asked to put in (in the least sense of thought) – countless hours of thinking, brainstorming and trying – coming up at bat to swing for many innings without as much as a base hit sometimes. That’s not an easy feat to accomplish, primarily when on top of it all – you are most likely giving up something significant to take these at bats.

Forget even your big whys, or your FTE moments.

You need to hang onto something bigger in order to keep you in the game – which coincidentally is one of the KEY components to eventually winning. You want to at least on some level enjoy the process of whatever it is you are pursuing, doing and trying to build.

Sure – you want to win, and make millions one day – that’s understood. But there has to be something else underneath all of this, that I typically don’t see in many of the forum posts here OR in my private DM messages allude to when people talk of working towards a fastlane business.

The excitement needs to be built from within, to carry through all the trials and tribulations. It is in no way a small thing to think about and really ponder that ‘the process’ is all you have left many times at the end of the day. Some version of CONSTANT experimenting, growth, knowledge and failure are all a prescription to come up with a formula that will eventually take off and set you up for life.

You need to be OK giving up and choosing to ‘let go’ of many common prescribed life paths on the table offered to you each and every day – if you are even to stand a chance in this world.

What are some of the things, mindsets and thoughts I had to give up and let go throughout 20+ years in business?

The earlier I was in life, the ‘less’ I felt like I had to give up. But now, as I enter my 40s, I see the cards stack up on the table, and the responsibilities only grow in time commitments and complexity. I’ll give you some food for thought to think about your current position, and how privileged most of you are on here (especially being on the younger side) to pursue all this 110%

BUT FIRST, think about being OK with the following:

OK with realizing and letting go of not working somewhere else for a great paycheck (or climbing titles and ranks at a corporation). Sometimes you need to take on LESS responsibility to give yourself room and space to work on your own projects. It’s tough to have mental space and dedication if you are balancing a high-stress work position, a family, relatives, kids … etc. When I quit my engineering job in 2007 – I was OK walking away from making decent money, and further knowing that I’m passing on my chance to continue my upward trajectory to make 100-250K a year as many ‘upper managers’ were making. My line of thinking was that I’d rather be a small success for myself and make significantly less money then build someone elses business for more.

OK with spending less time with friends, or be out on the weekends partying. Not only are those friends and acquaintances time and energy sucking, most of the time they are not the type of influence you want to have around you in the first place – to achieve any version of bigger goals and aspirations. @NeoDialectic and I constantly gave up partying on the weekends, and lunches out during my ‘work week’ – to put in time towards our business.

OK with not chasing what everyone else around keeps acquiring. Because you choose to work for yourself, and potentially slow down your initial financial rewards – you might not be the FIRST to own the drop top BMW, ROLEX or your first HOUSE. If there is any money left over, you need to be OK with either investing in your business or also partially investing in the markets. Living below your means has never stood more true, then when you are ‘working for yourself’. When you don’t have a financial barrier set up to give yourself some space to experiment – the slowlane will suck you right back in towards the bi monthly numbing paycheck.

OK with trying various ideas, learning on and acting on that knowledge. Efforts and failures build on each other and compound over time (especially years). There were some ideas and products that @NeoDialectic and I came up with that sat dormant for years , BUT once some responsibilities and tasks got cleared up off our plate, we were able to focus and go more all-in on some of these ventures (that many times to our surprise had a moderate version of success).

OK with letting go of ‘event type thoughts’. Many on here come to event type thoughts, ‘I’m going to quit my job’, ‘I’m going to drop out of school’, etc. You don’t need to do that, and that is not a long term strategy of any sort. You can (especially while young) have time to do all – you just need to get your values and mindset lined up correctly to take small incremental steps daily.

And last but not least – You need be OK with giving yourself daily homework to execute. You need to work on and cross off your 5 daily to-dos. Start with high-level thinking, but break them down into palatable steps and a process you can work on daily. No one will make you work on this, and to many this will all seem like ‘silliness’ that you are wasting time on initially. Avoid the naysayers and focus on your process (and make sure to partially enjoy the ride).

I write this post to ask myself, what is it that I’m OK with giving up now, mindsets, comforts, etc -- to achieve the next barrier and level of success? What does the next ‘fastlane’ venture look like for me? I have ‘let go’ of the total need to make a paycheck for today – so a lot of this rides on the actual process for me, and the growth and learning that I want to exhibit for the next decade to come.

The hard part here is at the end of the day, no one will make you do anything and force you to start or work on a business. It needs to come from a place within – a place where you value contributing, innovating, providing value and best of all seek a financial reward for your efforts. It is an incredible hard ‘profession’ – with immense rewards for the type of work you put in.

Hopefully this posts helps some of you, and moves you in the right direction of thinking and mindset.

So let me ask you what have you 'let go' of recently to give yourself room to experiment, try, fail and pick yourself back up to start all over again?

Have a happy and healthy thanksgiving to all.
 
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Antifragile

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963E1B00-3FE2-4BE7-991E-AC3408FCC95F.jpegSolid post for your 300!

I'll chime in...

The internet is full of dreamy tales about the amazing things that come from having a successful business. But what isn’t often shared are the realities of choosing to build a business. It requires hard work and sacrifice, and too many people go in without understanding what they might be giving up in order to get there.

The path of entrepreneurship is unique and it can be rewarding, but it’s important to remember that you don’t get something for nothing. It may not sound glamorous, but when you choose the business route, you need to accept a few common sacrifices.

  • Firstly, there is time. Being an entrepreneur means putting in the hours and often that comes at the expense of personal time. Setting up a business involves long days and nights of planning, strategizing, learning, researching and all sorts of other tasks that may come your way. It’s important to remember you’re going to be forgoing leisure activities in order to focus on building a successful venture.

  • You’ll also need to accept that you’re likely to be working and living on a tight budget. You may have to make some tough decisions about which expenses are essential for the business and which can wait until later. This means learning how to manage your finances, approach potential investors or lenders, negotiate payment plans, and so on.

  • Finally, you need to be prepared for the emotional journey of business ownership. As an entrepreneur, you’ll experience highs and lows as you develop and grow your enterprise. That means learning how to manage stress, deal with criticism, set yourself up for success and get through difficult times.

Building a business is a well-worn path, but it’s one that comes with its own set of challenges and sacrifices.

Good thread!
 

adl75

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I'm thinkingof subscribing to INSIDERS...! is it possible that all these articles... are creating even more confusion...?Sorry, my head is going in tilt!!!
 

fastlane_dad

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I'm thinkingof subscribing to INSIDERS...! is it possible that all these articles... are creating even more confusion...?Sorry, my head is going in tilt!!!
There are lot of high-achievers over these boards, many with their own take or spin on how business and any level of significant achievement are accomplished. Surely you must be careful where and how you look for advice, and what 'mindset' you most choose to follow and develop.

If there is any confusion for you, please ask away and hopefully you will get to some answers and more clear thinking with each day.

The basics and principles of what most everyone that accomplished anything are the same, and much of the theory behind it is outlined in all of @MJ DeMarco books. Anything outside of that, you must decipher yourself, and that's STEP 1 of any entrepreneurial journey.
 
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AmazingLarry

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Awesome post. Really needed to read something like this right now, and I can relate to it a lot.

Going through the period in my business where I'm sacrificing a ton and not knowing how it will work out, so just reading thought this is encouraging.
 

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Awesome post. Really needed to read something like this right now, and I can relate to it a lot.

Going through the period in my business where I'm sacrificing a ton and not knowing how it will work out, so just reading thought this is encouraging.
Keep working at it. It can be hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but eventually you arrive all the same!
 

Xeon

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Tiago

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Solid post!

What I just gave up recently actually happened yesterday. I talked with both my managers that I want to scale down and work only three days a week.

They tried hard to convince me to stay full time, but I held firm. They won't let me go, as I'm producing incredible results for the company.

So I gave up on me earning less money for now. Totally fine with that.

But that will free up two days a week working on my fastlane business, which is a community of entrepreneurs here in Brazil solving some of the countries greatest challenges. Environment, Health, Sanitation, Education etc...
 

fastlane_dad

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Solid post!

What I just gave up recently actually happened yesterday. I talked with both my managers that I want to scale down and work only three days a week.

They tried hard to convince me to stay full time, but I held firm. They won't let me go, as I'm producing incredible results for the company.

So I gave up on me earning less money for now. Totally fine with that.

But that will free up two days a week working on my fastlane business, which is a community of entrepreneurs here in Brazil solving some of the countries greatest challenges. Environment, Health, Sanitation, Education etc...
Very bold move, and very hard to do in real life on many occasions!

Exactly the type of thinking necessary to sometimes devote more of your energy to your own projects (as long as you are doing it responsibly, not going into significant debt, etc).

Good for you - and as I turned in my 2 weeks notice, 15 years back as an engineer I got the same response (convincing me to stay on, offering more money, etc). Staying strong and no looking back was the only path forward for me at the time.
 

adl75

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There are lot of high-achievers over these boards, many with their own take or spin on how business and any level of significant achievement are accomplished. Surely you must be careful where and how you look for advice, and what 'mindset' you most choose to follow and develop.

If there is any confusion for you, please ask away and hopefully you will get to some answers and more clear thinking with each day.

The basics and principles of what most everyone that accomplished anything are the same, and much of the theory behind it is outlined in all of @MJ DeMarco books. Anything outside of that, you must decipher yourself, and that's STEP 1 of any entrepreneurial journey.
Thanks a lot! i agree with you, and ablosutely with MJ DeMarco and his books that i have read all3.. (last one in english..)!
But it's strange i feel a confusion now..!!
 
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Isaac Odongo

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View attachment 46073Solid post for your 300!

I'll chime in...

The internet is full of dreamy tales about the amazing things that come from having a successful business. But what isn’t often shared are the realities of choosing to build a business. It requires hard work and sacrifice, and too many people go in without understanding what they might be giving up in order to get there.

The path of entrepreneurship is unique and it can be rewarding, but it’s important to remember that you don’t get something for nothing. It may not sound glamorous, but when you choose the business route, you need to accept a few common sacrifices.

  • Firstly, there is time. Being an entrepreneur means putting in the hours and often that comes at the expense of personal time. Setting up a business involves long days and nights of planning, strategizing, learning, researching and all sorts of other tasks that may come your way. It’s important to remember you’re going to be forgoing leisure activities in order to focus on building a successful venture.

  • You’ll also need to accept that you’re likely to be working and living on a tight budget. You may have to make some tough decisions about which expenses are essential for the business and which can wait until later. This means learning how to manage your finances, approach potential investors or lenders, negotiate payment plans, and so on.

  • Finally, you need to be prepared for the emotional journey of business ownership. As an entrepreneur, you’ll experience highs and lows as you develop and grow your enterprise. That means learning how to manage stress, deal with criticism, set yourself up for success and get through difficult times.

Building a business is a well-worn path, but it’s one that comes with its own set of challenges and sacrifices.

Good thread!
Thanks Fastlaners
 

Kak

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The first thing I feel like every entrepreneur gives up is a guaranteed return on their time. A job pays you for showing up. A business pays you for preforming.

When I left college with a business that barely paid my bills, I could have shut it down and sought a job paying 3-4x more. Pretty much everyone in my life at the time opined that I was being stupid.

So, you also give up on a bit of social acceptance. Some people are legitimately looking out for you and others are opining out of jealousy that they weren’t bold enough to try something like that.

“Build up some experience and some savings and THEN a start a business” they said.

“Pay your dues” they said.

Time goes by. You aren’t driving that old beater anymore…

“How’s your little business?”

More time goes by. You own a nice home in a nice neighborhood…

“Oh, you’re still doing that?” “Oh, you started another business?”

And more time goes by. You’re flush, you don’t worry about money. You have time to spend with your family.

“Hey Kyle, I had this idea for a business and since you’ve done well with yours, I was hoping you’d give me some advice.”

To me this wasn’t some massive sacrifice. But it was the quintessential sacrifice. It was a decision I made, that was mine to make, that I was content in making. I’m someone who can ignore social pressure pretty well. I was fine living a lot leaner in the beginning with freedom to continue building something I owned. To me it was just longer term horizons, but to others, it was reckless and risky.
 

Johnny boy

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So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless.

A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot. Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart.

Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun. Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: wisdom preserves those who have it.

Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do. Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.
-King Soloman

The only thing we will ever own is what we experience. If you work hard just to build something up, it will be given away, distributed amongst the living, not knowing if they will be wise, foolish, good or evil. And the same will happen to them, until all coherent meaning to what you have accomplished is now dissipated. But what you have experienced will be yours to own. Any great mission must be rooted in a benefit of personal experience, so that we may look upon what we have built, become and sacrificed for, and find satisfaction in it. The only thing worth a great sacrifice is a great mission. And you will find great satisfaction in it.
 
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Black_Dragon43

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-King Soloman

The only thing we will ever own is what we experience. If you work hard just to build something up, it will be given away, distributed amongst the living, not knowing if they will be wise, foolish, good or evil. And the same will happen to them, until all coherent meaning to what you have accomplished is now dissipated. But what you have experienced will be yours to own. Any great mission must be rooted in a benefit of personal experience, so that we may look upon what we have built, become and sacrificed for, and find satisfaction in it. The only thing worth a great sacrifice is a great mission. And you will find great satisfaction in it.
love this
 

DavidePaco00

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Alright guys this is my 300th post here – and I’m writing this as much for myself as I am for the rest of you. Hopefully this isn’t that much of a ramble.

The thought came to mind, of ‘what to give up’ to pursue your fastlane dreams. I will talk a bit about what it took for me, and possibly some thoughts you might need to ponder of what it will take for you.

Like anything in life, going after any dream, especially starting, working and pursuing a business is one of the HARDEST mind games you need to play with yourself in order to pursue it. That partially explains why ‘the riches’ sometimes follow. Beyond a sexy social media title, and what everyone seems to be on Instagram these days – this, like many other things worth pursuing is a game at the end of the day, and primarily of risk and reward tendencies.

You are asked to put in (in the least sense of thought) – countless hours of thinking, brainstorming and trying – coming up at bat to swing for many innings without as much as a base hit sometimes. That’s not an easy feat to accomplish, primarily when on top of it all – you are most likely giving up something significant to take these at bats.

Forget even your big whys, or your FTE moments.

You need to hang onto something bigger in order to keep you in the game – which coincidentally is one of the KEY components to eventually winning. You want to at least on some level enjoy the process of whatever it is you are pursuing, doing and trying to build.

Sure – you want to win, and make millions one day – that’s understood. But there has to be something else underneath all of this, that I typically don’t see in many of the forum posts here OR in my private DM messages allude to when people talk of working towards a fastlane business.

The excitement needs to be built from within, to carry through all the trials and tribulations. It is in no way a small thing to think about and really ponder that ‘the process’ is all you have left many times at the end of the day. Some version of CONSTANT experimenting, growth, knowledge and failure are all a prescription to come up with a formula that will eventually take off and set you up for life.

You need to be OK giving up and choosing to ‘let go’ of many common prescribed life paths on the table offered to you each and every day – if you are even to stand a chance in this world.

What are some of the things, mindsets and thoughts I had to give up and let go throughout 20+ years in business?

The earlier I was in life, the ‘less’ I felt like I had to give up. But now, as I enter my 40s, I see the cards stack up on the table, and the responsibilities only grow in time commitments and complexity. I’ll give you some food for thought to think about your current position, and how privileged most of you are on here (especially being on the younger side) to pursue all this 110%

BUT FIRST, think about being OK with the following:

OK with realizing and letting go of not working somewhere else for a great paycheck (or climbing titles and ranks at a corporation). Sometimes you need to take on LESS responsibility to give yourself room and space to work on your own projects. It’s tough to have mental space and dedication if you are balancing a high-stress work position, a family, relatives, kids … etc. When I quit my engineering job in 2007 – I was OK walking away from making decent money, and further knowing that I’m passing on my chance to continue my upward trajectory to make 100-250K a year as many ‘upper managers’ were making. My line of thinking was that I’d rather be a small success for myself and make significantly less money then build someone elses business for more.

OK with spending less time with friends, or be out on the weekends partying. Not only are those friends and acquaintances time and energy sucking, most of the time they are not the type of influence you want to have around you in the first place – to achieve any version of bigger goals and aspirations. @NeoDialectic and I constantly gave up partying on the weekends, and lunches out during my ‘work week’ – to put in time towards our business.

OK with not chasing what everyone else around keeps acquiring. Because you choose to work for yourself, and potentially slow down your initial financial rewards – you might not be the FIRST to own the drop top BMW, ROLEX or your first HOUSE. If there is any money left over, you need to be OK with either investing in your business or also partially investing in the markets. Living below your means has never stood more true, then when you are ‘working for yourself’. When you don’t have a financial barrier set up to give yourself some space to experiment – the slowlane will suck you right back in towards the bi monthly numbing paycheck.

OK with trying various ideas, learning on and acting on that knowledge. Efforts and failures build on each other and compound over time (especially years). There were some ideas and products that @NeoDialectic and I came up with that sat dormant for years , BUT once some responsibilities and tasks got cleared up off our plate, we were able to focus and go more all-in on some of these ventures (that many times to our surprise had a moderate version of success).

OK with letting go of ‘event type thoughts’. Many on here come to event type thoughts, ‘I’m going to quit my job’, ‘I’m going to drop out of school’, etc. You don’t need to do that, and that is not a long term strategy of any sort. You can (especially while young) have time to do all – you just need to get your values and mindset lined up correctly to take small incremental steps daily.

And last but not least – You need be OK with giving yourself daily homework to execute. You need to work on and cross off your 5 daily to-dos. Start with high-level thinking, but break them down into palatable steps and a process you can work on daily. No one will make you work on this, and to many this will all seem like ‘silliness’ that you are wasting time on initially. Avoid the naysayers and focus on your process (and make sure to partially enjoy the ride).

I write this post to ask myself, what is it that I’m OK with giving up now, mindsets, comforts, etc -- to achieve the next barrier and level of success? What does the next ‘fastlane’ venture look like for me? I have ‘let go’ of the total need to make a paycheck for today – so a lot of this rides on the actual process for me, and the growth and learning that I want to exhibit for the next decade to come.

The hard part here is at the end of the day, no one will make you do anything and force you to start or work on a business. It needs to come from a place within – a place where you value contributing, innovating, providing value and best of all seek a financial reward for your efforts. It is an incredible hard ‘profession’ – with immense rewards for the type of work you put in.

Hopefully this posts helps some of you, and moves you in the right direction of thinking and mindset.

So let me ask you what have you 'let go' of recently to give yourself room to experiment, try, fail and pick yourself back up to start all over again?

Have a happy and healthy thanksgiving to all.
I ditched the opportunity o find a job in logistics, while I had an opportunity do work as a forwarding agent.

I failed many times in my life, when I was 16 until 19 beacause I hadn't a strong enough mindset, adn 2 rightnow. the difference is that I'm keeping up and pushing trough the frustration and grief. I'm unstoppable.

I have a side gigs in the evening so during the day I can concentrate on the business and martial arts ( and I like playing te guitar too).
 

Tiago

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Very bold move, and very hard to do in real life on many occasions!

Exactly the type of thinking necessary to sometimes devote more of your energy to your own projects (as long as you are doing it responsibly, not going into significant debt, etc).

Good for you - and as I turned in my 2 weeks notice, 15 years back as an engineer I got the same response (convincing me to stay on, offering more money, etc). Staying strong and no looking back was the only path forward for me at the time.

Yep, you're right!

One of the managers told me "Hey Tiago, I want to challenge you to work full time with us and still build your business."

I literally answered "I appreciate your challenge, but I don't accept it. I need two full days for my business."

They were pretty quiet after that hah :D
 
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Jobless

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Great thread

One thing I gave up is any notion of 'prestige'. I previously had a job title people were 'impressed' by (like lawyer, doctor etc). When I tell people now what I do, what I sell and how I do it, I sometimes have people laugh in my face. They perceive it as ridiculous that I prefer to do this instead. I don't blame them for this and I'm still proud of my business, but it is a big change. I realize that for many, this loss in social prestige is so daunting that they are afraid to try something different. It also acts as a sort of filter, to see who cares about prestige and who sees the big picture.
 

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Great thread

One thing I gave up is any notion of 'prestige'. I previously had a job title people were 'impressed' by (like lawyer, doctor etc). When I tell people now what I do, what I sell and how I do it, I sometimes have people laugh in my face. They perceive it as ridiculous that I prefer to do this instead. I don't blame them for this and I'm still proud of my business, but it is a big change. I realize that for many, this loss in social prestige is so daunting that they are afraid to try something different. It also acts as a sort of filter, to see who cares about prestige and who sees the big picture.
This is a great point. In the corporate world, you almost have that 'prestige' built into the trajectory of your career.

To me, titles, 3% promotions, corner office, more responsibility (to build someone elses business) NEVER appealed to me - or held ANY meaning. Once I was working inside the 'corporate' structure for a brief point of my life, all motivation inside that system waned for me and the push towards fastlane / entrepreneurship early on has never been stronger.

I already had friends who at 24 years old were SENIOR this, VP that -- that I laughed it all off as a joke that the titles even mean anything.

But hey - to some it's still a big deal, and def something that they can't see past.
 

Two Dog

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Alright guys this is my 300th post here – and I’m writing this as much for myself as I am for the rest of you. Hopefully this isn’t that much of a ramble.
I enjoy your long posts. Whether sort of rambly or not, you always sound real.
 
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The first thing I feel like every entrepreneur gives up is a guaranteed return on their time. A job pays you for showing up. A business pays you for preforming.

That is very well said!

As for what I've given up - my well paid salary that I was "showing up" for and was making me unhappy in life.
 

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I think that "given up" is an interesting phrase. I don't really feel that I've sacrificed because I know what I do is nessesary to get to the next step.

With that being said, I've lost a lot of friends, hense lots of experiences. I involve myself in work so heavily that it pushes people away, I also love business to death & lots of other uni students don't have that on their mind, or actively go against it. Being a capitalist is supposidly a dirty word.

Thanks for the thread!
 

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Solid post!

What I just gave up recently actually happened yesterday. I talked with both my managers that I want to scale down and work only three days a week.

They tried hard to convince me to stay full time, but I held firm. They won't let me go, as I'm producing incredible results for the company.

So I gave up on me earning less money for now. Totally fine with that.

But that will free up two days a week working on my fastlane business, which is a community of entrepreneurs here in Brazil solving some of the countries greatest challenges. Environment, Health, Sanitation, Education etc...
I did that years ago too. I was an IT contractor and put myself on 3 day weeks so I could get other things going.

I gave up 15 years in IT to get into a different industry, one where I believed I wouldn't be seen just as a cost, and where I could have multiple clients while working from home with a young family.

(I don't quite see it as giving up 15 years in IT. I see it as me building my high ground. I stacked my new skillset on top of my 15 years of IT.)
 
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fastlane_dad

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I did that years ago too. I was an IT contractor and put myself on 3 day weeks so I could get other things going.

I gave up 15 years in IT to get into a different industry, one where I believed I wouldn't be seen just as a cost, and where I could have multiple clients while working from home with a young family.

(I don't quite see it as giving up 15 years in IT. I see it as me building my high ground. I stacked my new skillset on top of my 15 years of IT.)
I generally stay on the more 'optimistic' side of what I gained in almost everything I do --

BUT for many people there is a real cost in switching or pursuing a higher value, because what they are letting go is so important to them (or so ingrained) ...

Giving up social / friend time to go to bed early to work out early in the AM
Giving up corporate circle of friends and titles to pursue entrepreneurship (which can be a solo project many times starting out for many years, and lead to loneliness)
Giving up driving a nicer luxury car now, to reap the rewards of owning 3 exotics later, etc

These are all obviously on a spectrum -- and some costs just might be too large to give up in the present, for the future (or at least to shift some of this thinking and values around).

I also find that the older I get the harder it is to re-shift some of these values / priorities especially once you are comfortable and have achieved a 'good life'.

We must all battle our own demons, and setup a value hierarchy of not only what we are trying to achieve today and what / where we want to be at in 1-5-20 years.
 

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Hopefully @Antifragile can correct me but he had one of the best mindset sentences I've came across recently, in one of his posts...the gist was ..

'The quality of your life will only improve in relation to the low level values you are willing to give up ... '

Sums up certain points of my post in one take.
 

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To me this wasn’t some massive sacrifice. But it was the quintessential sacrifice. It was a decision I made, that was mine to make, that I was content in making. I’m someone who can ignore social pressure pretty well. I was fine living a lot leaner in the beginning with freedom to continue building something I owned. To me it was just longer term horizons, but to others, it was reckless and risky.

We sacrificed something at every turn of our journey as well, and I would describe it almost exactly as you did. It was our decision to make and we were content making it. Even when we weren't too happy making the decision, we always acknolwedged it was ours to make.

Something I think about a lot is how to help people make the leap from
"It's not my choice to make and I can't do it"
to
"It's my decision and I'm content making it"

The best answer I've come up with thus far is helping them do something a little more manageable first and that is just to start doing something. Then put one foot in front of the other and as confidence grows they naturally change outlooks. That is the frame from where most of my advice comes from.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this as I know your advice is generally on the polar opposite side. Think big and act even bigger. I can't argue against it on paper....but in real life it seems to overwhelm most since they aren't coming from such a strong internal locus of control mindset. I can see it being one of those "the correct advice is different for every person" type of things though!
 
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