What do you want to be when you grow up?

[MJ DeMarco]

What do you want to be when you grow up?

“Please God, I Want To Be A Salesman At Verizon Wirelessâ€*|*theFastlaneToMillions.com

Please share if you like.

 

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[Kung Fu Steve]

I've wanted to be a martial arts instructor since age 8 :smx19:

 

[marktech101]

I really wanted to be an electronic engineer until I took a class that dealt with those concepts. Unfortunately, designing and simulating circuits isn't quite the glamorous job I had built it up to be in my head. I realized that thirty years of my life dedicated to it would be thirty years wasted. So, for a month or two, I wandered about with no 'plan', not knowing what I wanted.

Then, I discovered the FASTLANE. I read all of the motivating stories, tales of grief, hardship, and finally success. At that moment I decided I wanted to drive the fastlane. From the moment of my discovery, I've been learning all I can. I'm reading all about others' mistakes, so I don't have to make them. I will be a millionaire, and no one can stop me.

--marktech101

P.S. I can't wait for the book to come out... I'm going to pre-order soon.

 

[YoungOne]

"I want to be a race car driver" :fastlane: Age 5-

"I want to be a race car driver and a Millionaire" Age 14-

"I want to be a race car driver, multi-millionaire and a business owner" Age 18-


I have started to gain the skills and knowledge on the race track, and now focusing more on starting a business. Then a millions will accompany it. ............................................................... :icon_super:

 

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[JLaw]

Speaking of the book, any timetable on it MJ? I'm finishing up Purple Cow soon and would love Fastlane to Millions to be my next read!

Back to the subject, when I was in middle, I wanted to become CEO of Cisco Systems (haha, I know).

In HS, I wanted to become a business professional, I wanted to major something in Business only to soon realize I hated Accounting, Human Resource classes, etc.

Now? I want to provide a solution for people and hopefully the rewards will come.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I've wanted to be a martial arts instructor since age 8 :smx19:

Congrats!

In my book, I delineate two levels of dreams ... those that can be pursued now and those that seem impossible. (Haven't officially labeled the two classifications yet but for now I call them "dreams of possibility" and "dreams of implausibility")

Dreams of possibility reflect those dreams that can be pursued NOW.

For you it was martial art instructing. For me, it was entrepreneurship.

Dreams of implausibility reflect those dreams that are more like fantasy and require a little more help getting there.

For me, it was being an author and screenwriter. And of course, being an astronaut. For others it might be a race car driver on the Nascar circuit, or a professional pianist at the London philharmonic, or a photographer in the jungles of Costa Rica.

Obviously, the two levels are interchangeable but usually dreams of implausibility carry with it an implied freedom from financial encumbrances.

 

[TaxGuy]

I wanted to be a professional baseball player, probably still could be a la Jimmy Morris(The Rookie), but it would mean sticking to my fastlane plan, retiring by age 30-35 and working on my game full-time :smxB:

It's funny that the title of the post is "Please God I Want to Be A Salesman At Verizon Wireless" since I was so "eager" to get that job when I was unemployed in the Summer and they called for the phone interview and got me all psyched only to never call for the face-to-face interview

Add to the list- Enterprise Rent-A-Car, manager in training at Aldi and about 30 other jobs I applied for and never got a response such as for the German American Chamber of Commerce and Careerbuilder.com(yes I applied for a sales position there)

In fact I need to post a PM from my referral to Aldi in lightning's thread that went to the tune of "beggars can't be choosers and you should be happy you were even offered the cashier position"

It's stuff like that which keeps me motivated towards never going through the job search again and never having to worry about the dreaded resume and interviewing process :coolgleamA:

 

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[Kung Fu Steve]

Congrats!

In my book, I delineate two levels of dreams ... those that can be pursued now and those that seem impossible. (Haven't officially labeled the two classifications yet but for now I call them "dreams of possibility" and "dreams of implausibility")

Dreams of possibility reflect those dreams that can be pursued NOW.

For you it was martial art instructing. For me, it was entrepreneurship.

Dreams of implausibility reflect those dreams that are more like fantasy and require a little more help getting there.

For me, it was being an author and screenwriter. And of course, being an astronaut. For others it might be a race car driver on the Nascar circuit, or a professional pianist at the London philharmonic, or a photographer in the jungles of Costa Rica.

Obviously, the two levels are interchangeable but usually dreams of implausibility carry with it an implied freedom from financial encumbrances.

I figured as much :smxB:.

My dream of "implausibility" is to be richer than MJ and have a nicer car than him! Ha ha. I am working towards it being a plausibility every day :smx9:.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Speaking of the book, any timetable on it MJ?

My written plan of goals has it fully written by June. I am not on schedule though for January's deadline of goals however. It is the reason why I haven't been around the forum much, I'm trying to hit those January goals!!

But I am making progress, moreso than I have in the last year. I am finding that reaching writing goals is a lot different than reaching profit or traffic goals.

A lot of these articles have paragraphs that are being extracted from the book content - so at least, that has become a wee-bit easier.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I wanted to be a professional baseball player, probably still could be a la Jimmy Morris(The Rookie), but it would mean sticking to my fastlane plan, retiring by age 30-35 and working on my game full-time :smxB:

It's funny that the title of the post is "Please God I Want to Be A Salesman At Verizon Wireless" since I was so "eager" to get that job when I was unemployed in the Summer and they called for the phone interview and got me all psyched only to never call for the face-to-face interview

Add to the list- Enterprise Rent-A-Car, manager in training at Aldi and about 30 other jobs I applied for and never got a response such as for the German American Chamber of Commerce and Careerbuilder.com(yes I applied for a sales position there)

In fact I need to post a PM from my referral to Aldi in lightning's thread that went to the tune of "beggars can't be choosers and you should be happy you were even offered the cashier position"

It's stuff like that which keeps me motivated towards never going through the job search again and never having to worry about the dreaded resume and interviewing process :coolgleamA:

Careful, don't be misguided by the article ... I'm not saying that these jobs are bad.

 

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[dkt91]

- "I want to be a billionaire just like Bill Gates" (~3-5 years old)
- "I want to be an astronaut or firefighter" (~5-6 years old)
- "I want to be a policeman" (~7 years old)
- "I want to be a soccer star" (~7-12 years old)
- "I want to be a pilot" (~15 years old)

... now taking into account what MJ wrote the logical consequence is:

"I want to be a firefighthing, spacecraft flying successfull entrepreneur who's made billions just like Bill Gates, playing space cop by shooting at aliens with soccer balls."

Hope I didn't leave anything out - but yeah, at least parts of this have become realistic again since I discovered the Fastlane. Like my dream of becoming a pilot. I mean, why not? With the amount of money that can be made on the Fastlane I could quite easily buy me a Beechcraft King Air or so.

And with the technology that's going to be available in a few years space travels for civilians won't be anything exceptional no more.

The thing with the soccer star will become quite difficult, however. But what can a man get a son for ?



Thanks for this thread MJ, really inspiring like always!

 

[MJ DeMarco]

If you like this article, please comment on the article side ... I'd appreciate it. Of course, comments are welcome here too. (I just hate articles with ZERO comments because they're all here).

 

[hakrjak]

I don't think I ever narrowed it to one choice -- I remember being a kid and just saying, "I want to be rich when I grow up..." -- And then when I got to Jr High & High School, it evolved into "I want to be an Entrepreneur when I grow up"...

- Hakrjak

 

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[rcardin]

How about I don't really want to grow up

 

[BeingChewsie]

What do you want to be when you grow up?

“Please God, I Want To Be A Salesman At Verizon Wirelessâ€*|*theFastlaneToMillions.com

Please share if you like.

I wanted to own a big and beautiful boarding kennel for dogs and cats. In fact I guess it would be the one I would still like to do or really wish that I could of done. I volunteer at an animal shelter doing the jobs nobody wants to do, cleaning kennels, bathing big dogs, training the unruly ones in hopes they get adopted. It is the one thing I'd seriously sell my soul to the devil for. I have wanted one since I was age 3.

Sue

 

[yveskleinsky]

I wanted to own a big and beautiful boarding kennel for dogs and cats. In fact I guess it would be the one I would still like to do or really wish that I could of done. I volunteer at an animal shelter doing the jobs nobody wants to do, cleaning kennels, bathing big dogs, training the unruly ones in hopes they get adopted. It is the one thing I'd seriously sell my soul to the devil for. I have wanted one since I was age 3.

Sue

When I was a kid I had this fantasy of owning a giant home on a large piece of land (as in you couldn't even see any neighbors.) I wanted to take in all the kids no one wanted, kids that were terminally ill, older and not adopted, etc. I also wanted to take in the animals that no one wanted. In this fantasy, my husband and I would raise all these kids and all these animals and give all of them this great life. ...I would still like to do something like this down the road, although modified.

I think it is great that you volunteer at an animal shelter, and I think your dream is beautiful. ...Have you guys ever considered opening up a boarding place for dogs? They are very popular around here and seem to be good money makers.

 

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[Jill]

Well, I first wanted to be a professional football player. Then around 9, my dad found me in front of our big ole console TV crying because I'd just realized that they didn't let girls play in the pros.

Then I decided I wanted to be an architect. Then after talking to some architects, I realized that all they did was sit behind a big desk all day and draw VERY detailed stuff. That's when I realized, I actually just wanted the lifestyle to LIVE in one of those houses.

Then I decided I wanted to be a big-time Wall Street stock broker (a la Bud Fox), turned investment banker doing M&As all day. So I got a degree in finance, got my first job with Fidelity investments, got my securities licenses and became a stock broker. Turns out, I didn't really want to invest OTHER peoples' money. I wanted to have the lifestyle where I could invest my own!!

So I set out on my entrepreneurial endeavors, chipping away at that "lifestyle" dream a little at a time. Still throwing mud against the wall. I'll get back to ya when it works!!

 

[AroundTheWorld]

First of all... I am amazed at everyone's detailed memories. I don't remember like that.

I wanted to be a teacher.

Later... college age... I had trouble. I think I majored in 19 things. It took me 10 years (literally) to finish school. I was getting sick of it, so I finally went to the counselor and said

"what do I need to major in to get my degree in teh shortest amount of time possible?"

The answer was accounting - so there ya go. Of course, accountants sit behind desks all day - - - and I couldn't do that...

Why are are forced to pick something as children? I hate that.

I can't we just pick a lifestyle or certain adventures or .... decide to live our lives in chapters?

 

[BeingChewsie]

Yes, we have. Of course the catch is that Robert wants to stay in Orange County, CA at the beach. I recently looked at a 50 run kennel here in Newport Beach with a house on the property and the asking price was $1.9 million and they are firm on that, primarily because of the house and zip code. The business as it currently runs can't support that type of price but they won't budge because that is what the house is worth. I'm limited to this area because Robert doesn't want to move unless it was just a real temporary move and we came back here ASAP. So a kennel isn't happening for me but I can't think of anything I love more than dogs and cats. I had a private kennel 20 runs before my divorce so I'm well versed in kennel management, I had 22 German shepherds, 2 rotties, a few smaller dogs. I did some private boarding/training. Some people are driven crazy by all the barking and carrying on in the kennel but it is music to my ears. They can be real money makers, especially if you add in grooming, boards and train, obedience and agility.

Sue

When I was a kid I had this fantasy of owning a giant home on a large piece of land (as in you couldn't even see any neighbors.) I wanted to take in all the kids no one wanted, kids that were terminally ill, older and not adopted, etc. I also wanted to take in the animals that no one wanted. In this fantasy, my husband and I would raise all these kids and all these animals and give all of them this great life. ...I would still like to do something like this down the road, although modified.

I think it is great that you volunteer at an animal shelter, and I think your dream is beautiful. ...Have you guys ever considered opening up a boarding place for dogs? They are very popular around here and seem to be good money makers.

 

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[BeingChewsie]

Why are are forced to pick something as children? I hate that.

I can't we just pick a lifestyle or certain adventures or .... decide to live our lives in chapters?

I agree, though I think as kids we naturally just think about this stuff..primarily because we can't wait to grow up.

Sue

 

[yveskleinsky]

Yes, we have. Of course the catch is that Robert wants to stay in Orange County, CA at the beach. I recently looked at a 50 run kennel here in Newport Beach with a house on the property and the asking price was $1.9 million and they are firm on that, primarily because of the house and zip code. The business as it currently runs can't support that type of price but they won't budge because that is what the house is worth.

Sue

Do you know what the business itself it worth? ...A property is only worth what a buyer will buy it for. I would sit down with Robert and figure out the value of the business and include a value for the home, and then submit that offer to the sellers. I would approach them without a Realtor, and sit down and explain your offer to them. I can't imagine that if they need or want to sell, that many people are banging down their door. After you submit the offer, tell them that you will continue to follow up with them. I think you might be surprised at what people go for once the get real.

...I'm thinking out loud here, but perhaps you could buy the kennel separately. If you strictly bought the business, you could get a business loan for the purchase, and if the house wasn't included, the price would be lower.

... Regardless, at the end of the day, the way I see it, is they are sitting on a very unique piece of property that will require a very unique buyer. Given this market and their unique property/situation, I don't see why they wouldn't work with you on price or terms or both. Seems like just details to me.

 

[fanocks2003]

When I grow up I want to be a changemaker/visionaire of grand scale.

What I mean is: My dream is to do what has never been done before. I like the thought of making a deep mark on the history instead of just making a living.

It's fine with starting a little store and make a living and being fine with that. But I would never be happy with that. I have to do stuff on a grand scale like Donald Trump. I like big change, global view and historical change for the better.

I mean, for me it would be much more interesting building the very first city on the moon than it would be building a food store in Helsinki or whatever. Much more interesting. Or what about building the very first commercially functionable stargate ports so that it takes just a milisecond to go to/from the moon city (from earth).

The hard part with being like me is that you have so much hard work to do, because the human race, even though they talk about being the most evolutionairy of the creatures on earth, they still are not that interested in change. When you come to them and present a new way of doing things, they are not at all interested in hearing it. Sometimes even when you can show how much cash they can make by actually doing the transition.

I am pretty certain that we would have solved cancer and AIDS years ago if only people would have supported it wholeheartedly from the beginning. It may seem pretentious to say so, but I fully believe it. I am also very certain that we would have those stargates to the moon by now if only financing would have been available for it. And of course the very first city on the moon would also have been there.

So my aim is to use my money to get things done. That is why I am doing what I can now to make a lot of money. And first of all creating a lot of residual cashflow stream so as to support the necessary changes.

 

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[fanocks2003]

To answer the OP when I grow up I will be a fastlane driver, I am just waiting for the right oppurtunity to hit me. If I am not in the fastlane by the time uni begins I will use my time to study finance and network extensively amongst professors and fellow students in the commerce/business departments and I know that will provide me with ideas and inspiration.

The best ideas comes to you when you combine X with Y. That is creativity. Combining a banana with some apple and mash that together with some ice cream and voíla, you have some ice cream with good flavours to sell. Creativity is rather easy, it is all about messy combinations that evolves to something.

If you want to work on finding a new product or service to sell. If you want to find inspiration or to find that great idea, then you need to experiment a lot. I experiment all day long with combining ingredients, changing my behaviour (30 day experiments etc), changing this and that just to see what sticks and what might solve things.

Just like an actor I try things out, just to get a feeling for it. And when I get the feeling for this and that, then I more clearly understands how things need to be changed to the better. In order for me to change peoples unhealthy bodies, for example, I first need to understand and experience how it is to be fat or unhealthy and then find a plan on how to come out of the condition of being fat or unhealthy and then how to stay in shape.

That is experimenting. This is what I do all day long. I worked with Herbalife when I was 16 (as mentioned). At that time I was not thin and I did not excercise 5 days a week (my idea of excercise back then was goofing around with friends). My diet was more candy than food. So at that time I came to the conclusion that if I where to sell Herbalife products I first needed to live on the products as specified by the company. I did, and I started putting together my very own unique excercise schedule. I succeeded with dropping fat and I got more muscles and as a result I sold more and earned more money. It is all about knowing what you sell and that is only gained by direct experience.

There is a saying "Don't sell what you wouldn't buy yourself". I agree.

 

[michael]

There is a saying "Don't sell what you wouldn't buy yourself". I agree.

That is definitely a gem of advice. That articulates perfectly what I meant when I said "I will wait for a big wave of inspiration to hit me, before I dive head first into an idea".

Some of my ideas are things that could do well but I would prefer to take my time and come up with an idea to pursue that inspires me, something that I would be proud to own and thus proud to sell.

When I read your story you mentioned you got into the debt salvation business after noticing there was a lot of dodgy operators out there. Was this an idea that arose from 'experimenting' or did you decide to get into this business after some bad dealings with other companies yourself?

I know you mentioned spending to much in one of your companies so I thought this might be the case. A lot of the really successful people in the world and on this board seem to be inspired by their circumstances as well. THe dot come billionaires matured duing the beginnings of the internet age, others like Bill Gates came across a great idea through their networking (he was contracted by IBM to produce an operating system in the beginning.)

So whilst I will keep experimenting to find an idea I am proud of I also know that an idea can come to me through networking so I am in no rush to jump into something I would not buy myself. I feel that starting a general contracting business supplying labor to the steel works and mines in my area might be a great idea in the future but this might might be best launched once I am university when I can network with other keen business minded people in Engineering and Business departments.

 

[fanocks2003]

When I read your story you mentioned you got into the debt salvation business after noticing there was a lot of dodgy operators out there. Was this an idea that arose from 'experimenting' or did you decide to get into this business after some bad dealings with other companies yourself?

I know you mentioned spending to much in one of your companies so I thought this might be the case. A lot of the really successful people in the world and on this board seem to be inspired by their circumstances as well. THe dot come billionaires matured duing the beginnings of the internet age, others like Bill Gates came across a great idea through their networking (he was contracted by IBM to produce an operating system in the beginning.)

I actually had something like $25,000-$30,000 in personal debt 2-3 years ago. I contacted all of the debt salvation companies in Sweden for advise and help. But I came out of those partnerships poorer and less knowledgeable. So I actually started experimenting with my own finances to see what worked and what didn't work. This later on became knowledge I put into my financial company. So yes, that company was a biproduct of me experimenting with my own life first. I am like Howard Hughes, testing my own planes instead of letting professional pilots have that pleasure.

Many great companies was built and is built and will continue to be built around personal hardships and boredom.

 

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[gofalls]

I want to be a
Pro BMX racer Age 10
Pro Snowboarder Age 15
Computer programmer – done Age 20
Franchise Owner – done Age 25
Railroad Conductor – done Age 27
Real Estate Broker/Investor – doing it
Helicopter pilot – maybe next - Just had that thought this week

 

[AlwaysCurious]

What do you want to be when you grow up?

LOL there's so much time until then, so in the meantime let me come up with some new dreams every day :banana:

 

[TaxGuy]

I want to be a
Pro BMX racer Age 10
Pro Snowboarder Age 15
Computer programmer – done Age 20
Franchise Owner – done Age 25
Railroad Conductor – done Age 27
Real Estate Broker/Investor – doing it
Helicopter pilot – maybe next - Just had that thought this week

A few of those were/are on my list, but had to bold face the BMX racer part b/c the first major purchase I made was an expensive BMX bike(Specialized Fatboy), I bought it for the purposes of racing, but with baseball, football and other school/recreational commitments never had the time.

The interesting thing about that bike is that my dad bought it for me, but required that I paid him back, so it introduced me to good habits and bad habits that I still exhibit to this day- 13yrs later-

The good habits being personal responsibility and working for what you own, to pay back my dad I took on my first paper route which turned into about 6 total routes.

The bad habits were credit and not saving/budgeting, by this I mean my dad required I paid him back, but it was pay when I had the money not a weekly/monthly minimum payment amount and there was no interest, both of which were real-life reminders when I got my first credit card and used it for everyday purchases(gas, food, etc) while the cash/savings that were supposed to pay off the credit card went towards impulse/unnecessary purchases(car parts, tools, electronics, etc), so even though I was building good credit by making my minimums plus a lil' extra, the debt just kept building and despite keeping an Excel doc of ALL expenses since I got my first credit card, I just recently(this month) started to work on setting a budget.

 

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[SaraK]

It's stuff like that which keeps me motivated towards never going through the job search again and never having to worry about the dreaded resume and interviewing process :coolgleamA:

I can relate - I spent half of 2008 looking for a job and it sucked, I was really afraid towards the end I would have to lower my standards a lot. I finally got lucky and got a job that is challenging and pays decent but I resolved that it would be my last job search and I am more motivated than ever to get out of the rat race.

 

[20art]

When I was a little kid, about 8 yrs old, everyone was talking about how they wanted to be a police man, fireman, doctor etc. I didn't know what I wanted. I would just say a fireman because I didn't want to be left out. Then I considered S.W.A.T and Army.
But now here's what I got:
I want to be a very wise, happy, multi-millionaire that helps people solve problems, situations.
I want to be a generous giver. A person that inspires, motivates, and changes peoples' lives. (for better)
I also want to be stress and worry free, and positive.