GOLD! MINDSET What was your biggest business and life lesson in 2014?

[zerobrainwash]

Life: Energy is best invested in Daily Habits. The biggest determinant in behavior are your neuronal pathways and changing them requires intentional daily repetition.

I used to believe that if you are determined and really set your mind to a new behavior then that would certainly work. I regularly got the "I will change everything overnight" fever. 2014 I got serious about making change brain-proof, spacing out behavioral changes and integrating them into daily habits.

The neural pathways thing sounds a lot like what Tony Robbins talks about in his books and it's really backed up by solid science. But what do you mean by brain-proof behavioral changes, could you elaborate on that?

 

[Veloce Grey]

Take Action

Back on September 10th I went to the (general) doctor about a mole that was concerning me. She examined it, considered it normal under the scope and said we'd keep an eye on it. I considered consulting a specialist but the clinic was a couple of hours drive away so I put it off.

It continued annoying me enough that eventually by February I had booked an appointment with a specialist dermatologist in the nearest city. He took about 1 minute to suggest it was melanoma, took it out the next day, and got back to me a week later with the confirmed results from the lab.

I have no way of knowing whether the wait from September to February will be the difference between life or death, but what is fairly certain is the mole got across the threshold to where they feel it is helpful to do a biopsy under general at the hospital to check for spread. I don't like hospitals but while I'm in there I can at least consider the cost of not taking action.

I hate to think of all how bad an investment the things I did in those 5 months were compared to what could have been couple of hours set aside to look after the issue back then.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[In The Mountains]

Business: Just because someone talks about how much they want to be part of a start up, doesn't mean they'll have the guts to do it. Make them prove it before bringing them into the fold, and be ruthless cutting the fat from your team.

Life: Always make other people's success a priority in your life. Always be a source of positive energy for everyone in your life.

 

[BEBOLD]

Business:
1) There is no happy end to an unhappy journey
2) Set some things in motion
3) Humans are not a cost, but an investment
4) You're either on a winning team or on a learning team
5) If you don't have an assistant - you are an assistant
6) Not all growth is good - cancer grows
7) Stalking is an underrated start up strategy
8) Turbulence is an official climate of an entrepreneur
9) Create space and fill it - put someone in your office so you can't go there
10) Stop categorizing/filing away your best intentions

Life:
1) Trade my expectations for appreciations - helps eliminate anger.
2) There is more to life than increasing it's speed
3) When someone shows you who they are - believe them the first time.
4) Crazy is a compliment
5) Don't be drowning for information, yet starving for wisdom
6) Don't ever let school get in the way of your education

Health: Stretch in shower, meditate, accelerated deep breathing, do colonoscopy, blood test, calisthenics.

Quote of 2014 for me:

"When a man with money meets a man with experience,the man with experience leaves with money and the man with money leaves with experience."

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Darko Jocic]

The Product is NOT the Business.

 

[Brentnal]

don't be intrinsically motivated.

intrinsic motivation is good, extrinsic motivation is bad. According to the book Drive.
What is you're opinion about this?

 

[csalvato]

Integrity matters. I hired a contractor to assist with an important product. Along the way, I heard from an acquaintance that had done some work for the contractor I was going to hire that he had not been paid by them for the work he did. I rationalized away what should have been a big red flag by thinking "that doesn't affect me, after all I'm paying them, not being paid by them" and hired them anyway.

Well, not seeing their obvious (in 20/20 hindsight) lack of integrity as the red flag it was cost me $20,000 in direct costs and possibly 7 figures in lost opportunity costs. The work product they did deliver was totally unfit for purpose, and they did not deliver most of what they were tasked with (perhaps because they didn't pay their suppliers?). So, tuition paid and lesson learned - integrity matters, and if I again find even the slightest hint that it is lacking in a person or company I'm considering doing business with, even if I don't see right away how it affects me directly, I'll run the other way.

Cheers,
O-2

Best advice I have personally taken from this thread. This was a lesson I learned this year too.

Rep+

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[OscarDeuce]

Thanks, Csalvato...I'm kicking myself in hindsight, but it's so easy to get caught up in the moment.

 

[SEBASTlAN]

I'm gonna disagree. A shitty product can't survive without marketing, but a good product can. But I guess that's another thread.

I guess it depends what industry you're in. I'm in the supplement industry and the top selling products are real low quality despite the fact there are a handful of high quality products that don't sell half as well.

 

[Goobii]

Lessons in Business: Stop chasing the money, you'll just end up chasing your tail!

Lessons in Life: Progressive Action is necessary in all areas on your life in order to maintain harmony

 

[csalvato]

Cut costs ruthlessly.

I learned the opposite this year -- don't be afraid to spend.

Can I have the context of this lesson? What I learned is don't be afraid to spend to find something that works, then learn to cut down the cost it takes to reproduce what works.

 

[Martinv678]

Working smarter is 10x better than working harder.

Wasted time in 2014 on small tasks.

 

[Tommy Venable]

Great post. Reading through these post gave me some additional ideas of what I need to do in 2015.
In simple terms...

Business: Go hardcore on one of my business ideas and stop drooling over my friends. That's what I did in 2014. Enough is enough.

Life: In 2014 I learned that I vicariously lived it through my friend in Miami. In 2015 I am changing my quality of life. That is my motto for 2015. Change My Quality of Life. Vicariously is banned!

 

[Oswalito]

My biggest business lesson was: Stop planning. Start doing.

My biggest life lesson was: Whenever the heart is concerned... Just lie as honesty will make it end poorly.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Jamesdoesmith]

that life insurance or any insurances job that promises you the moon will do a really really good job as dressing itself as a fastlane you control but it's really just a shiny, depressing job.

 

[Andy Black]

Thanks for sharing your story. It really does put things in perspective. Powerful message.

Hope you get good news.

Take Action

Back on September 10th I went to the (general) doctor about a mole that was concerning me. She examined it, considered it normal under the scope and said we'd keep an eye on it. I considered consulting a specialist but the clinic was a couple of hours drive away so I put it off.

It continued annoying me enough that eventually by February I had booked an appointment with a specialist dermatologist in the nearest city. He took about 1 minute to suggest it was melanoma, took it out the next day, and got back to me a week later with the confirmed results from the lab.

I have no way of knowing whether the wait from September to February will be the difference between life or death, but what is fairly certain is the mole got across the threshold to where they feel it is helpful to do a biopsy under general at the hospital to check for spread. I don't like hospitals but while I'm in there I can at least consider the cost of not taking action.

I hate to think of all how bad an investment the things I did in those 5 months were compared to what could have been couple of hours set aside to look after the issue back then.

 

[Dimski]

Kill off the weak members of the pack. They're slowing you down.
Don't be afraid. Snatch opportunities wherever you can find them.
In helping others, you open new doors.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[94blackbird]

Hmm.., what have I learned from 2014

In Business- The hardest person to fire is the boss/owner.
Do not rely solely on your own self-valuations. Opinions will differ. Only rely on your own opinion once you have proven to
others that you are right. Once that happens opinion becomes fact in other peoples minds. Once you have the facts, success is only a matter of when, not if. This is a double edged sword however. Just as quickly as opinions can turn in your favor, so to can
the facts be made against you if you let opinion get away from you.

In Life- Life is too short to cry over spilled milk and shitty situations. No one likes a whiner, and the longer you cry over
said milk, the more sour and curdled your attitude will become, until you are on the floor with your spilled milk
as useless and fermented as it has become.

 

[csalvato]

I really have to pick just one?!

Just the most important one. I learned something new every day last year...but I picked two of the ones that I really feel will be with me until I die. I tried to see which one was the biggest lesson. I think it helps to focus on that.

 

[csalvato]

"I'm at $0 a day- what do I do?"

As SOON as I start to think I'm at any more than $0 a day, bad things happen.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[csalvato]

Another life lesson learned this year is this: Don’t give up on yourself. No matter what life throws at you, pick that shit up, and throw it right back twice as hard. Use what comes your way in every way you can.

Love it

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[SlowlaneJay]

One lesson I learned LAST year was to not take advice from anyone who is NOT just a few steps further along your path.

^truth


EDIT:
This is pretty killer too. Love this forum!

You don't need to satisfy all CENTS commandments at the same time, a NEC business or a NECS business is better than no business at all; just start and then work towards CENTS

 

[The Autobahn]

I learned specially: Dont rely on Freelancers, do what you can understand..

 

[PushForward]

Business: You have sales before you have a business.

Life: Mediocre effort = Mediocre Results.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[smartman]

earlier in the year, I tried to establish some contacts to sell used iphones internationally. the arbitrage was pretty appealing considering the market in europe/belgium, the demand, and the strength of the euro vs usd. A friend set me up with a coworker of his who is Nigerian and was very interested in establishing himself as an importer to the nigerian community in belgium and in the country of Nigeria. The friend vouched for him, I spoke with the Nigerian every day, seemed like a solid dude trying to make things better for his family. I floated him 5 phones as a test with only a 400 dollar deposit so he could get things rolling. Sure as shit, he made up some story about having the police seize the phones from a store he was having consign them for him. I was so pissed at myself for being so trusting, but the lesson has been invaluable. Money up front always, unless you are close enough that can drive to your house and punch you in the face.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[contract]

VC/Funding is the most powerful asset for any business starting out.

(Aside from actually taking action in the first place*)

 

[csalvato]

VC/Funding is the most powerful asset for any business starting out.

Did you get funded?! If so, congrats!

 

[zerobrainwash]

Interesting theories. Talking about food, it indeed has amazing power to empower or destroy us. My crazy diet almost destroyed me prior to 2014. Gladfully, I was able to come back and eating clean is playing miracles so far, that was my biggest lesson in 2014 and perhaps the whole life. I haven't looked into the glucose management and haven't heard of these people, will check it out, thanks!

 

[EarnStackEnjoy]

Life: The action you are most resistant against, is often the action you need to take.
Don't prepare. Begin.
Knowledge is useless - Unless you use it. (EarnStackEnjoy, 2015)

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[EarnStackEnjoy]

Life: Spend your money on the things money can buy. Spend your time on the things money can’t buy.

Business: Do the work others aren’t willing to do, and you’ll get the things others will never have.

Two greate ones! Awesome.

I would also like to add a game changing lesson I learned this past year.

Life: Don't blame other peoples lack of social skills. Everyone got their passions and interests and if you can't bring it out in a discussion - You're the one to blame. (The importance of deep listening)