Why does everyone want to get there so fast?

[biophase]

All these goals about making millions before 25, 30 or 1 year or 15 months... Why does everyone want to get there so fast?

Part of the fun is getting there. Ask yourself, if you got to your goal today, what would you be doing differently? I bet you would still be talking about the same things, except maybe doing it in a nicer home or car. But ultimately, your day to day would be the same (this is assuming that you work for yourself).

Making money is not something that you just turn off. If you acquire the skills to make $5m, you don't just say, "well I'm here. I'm just going to sit around for the next 20 years." You will probably use your knowledge and begin another business after you get bored of retirement. If this is the case, then really what difference does it make if you reach that point at 25, 30 or 35?

My point is to enjoy the journey because most of your life will be inside that journey.

 

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[biophase]

Easy for you to say when you're already there bro. You can't expect people in undesirable living situations to enjoy their journey instead of trying to get there fast. With money you can enjoy the journey of creating and running businesses without lots of stress. If you have a good enough income (like 75k/year in a major city)to live a decent life and have fun then I say enjoy the journey and don't rush but that's not the case for most.

My point is that if you pressure yourselves into huge money goals in tight timeframes that you may miss many "smaller" opportunities and you may also put too much stress on yourself. Getting there fast, doesn't mean that you live like crap until that day. Your business grows and you may increase your standard of living if you want.

The reason I made this post is not because I'm "there". Truth is that I was always "there" in my mind since 2005. I never had a desire to make tons of money. I remember sitting with MJ at a bar in 2007 and I told him that I've always wanted a Ferrari. He told me that I'll never get one because I don't have the drive to make money anymore. And that was true. I never thought I would be able to get a Ferrari. I didn't care about the fastlane at all.

What I did have was a simple easy life on less than $30k a year and alot of freedom. I created my business as a hobby. It's goal was to make $50/day to see if I could do it. Instead, I created value for my customers because I didn't concentrate on the bottom line.

Looking back... if my goal was to make $1,000,000. I would have kicked the ghillie suit idea to the curb. I mean who goes into a niche with 1800 searches a month expecting to make $1m? Read Irman's post about $1k to $700k in 18 months. He did it as a hobby also. I doubt he was thinking he'd do $700k either.

I really do think that the timeline pressure can break your business. Sometimes people make poor decisions because of just the bottom line and wanting to increase growth. If you focus on profits (which people tend to do with money goal deadlines) vs. value and customer service it will hinder your business.

Sorry, I have to cut this post short... I'll finish it up later tonight.

 

[biophase]

Biophase, I am still waiting for the rest of your comment from page 1. Very interested!

Hi Skys,

Sorry about the break, I had to leave for 4th of July stuff and haven't gotten back to this forum until now.

So there are really two reasons I made this post:

I feel that when you are trying to get there fast:

You miss out on opportunities
You don't enjoy the ride
You make bad business decisions

Missed Opportunities

So let's imagine that you are 18 and your goal is to make $1 million by 22. When you are young, 4 years can't come quick enough, you work your a$$ off and hit your $1m goal and are super happy. Take a look at the end point, you have $1m at 22 years old. That's awesome right?

My issue is that if you start with that endpoint in mind, you may say to yourself "I need to make $250k a year for 4 years". There is now pressure to pick a business that you think can get you to your goal.

Suppose you had to choose between: Making an Iphone app or Your mom's awesome apple pie

What do you choose? Well, we know that apple pie is hard as hell to scale. Maybe your mom can only make 10 pies a day and you might be opening a shitty slowlane business.

If you focus money at this point you would probably overlook a great business opportunity here. Because you've just read TMF and you have a super high goal, you dismiss a potential business because you think it can't make you enough money to get you to your goal.

I have seen many people build million dollar businesses by starting out small with goals that were small or non-monetary. There was no huge goal in front of them when they started. Many people just want some spending money or just want to cover their mortgage. Then what happens? They end up quitting their day jobs to work on the business... etc...

I have seen others do nothing because every opportunity that came by wasn't "big" enough.

I think that this is the biggest problem I see here. I'm guilty of it. In my post about the dog toy subscription (https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/internet-mobile-apps-software/38158-free-business-idea.html) site, I dismissed it because I felt it's potential was too low. I think about doing this idea pretty much every time I've given my dog a new toy. I could just launch this biz for fun. There would be no business goals for this. The goal would be to give dogs around the USA more toys and make them happy. Maybe it will make me $10k a year or maybe it will $400k a year, who knows.

You Dont Enjoy the Ride

Alot of times as MJ says, we sacrifice our weekends and time at the bars because we are working on our business. I am all for working hard and sacrificing. But there needs to be a balance. There's no reason you should miss a weekend trip with your buddies because you need to redo your website unless you have a real deadline.

But if the deadline is self imposed, don't miss out on experiences for your business! What happens if your website remains the same until next week? What's the downside? This example is at a micro level.

But a self imposed deadline of millions of dollars by age XX can affect you just the same. So ask yourself, what happens if you make millions of dollars at age XX+2?

You make bad business decisions

This is a tough one to write about with examples, but I personally believe it and see it happen every day. I know that when I start to count the money and concentrate on profits that I tend to skew to the business decision that makes more money when it's probably not the "best" solution. I've always caught myself doing this and bounced back. I've also noticed that the dollars come in alot more freely when you don't focus on them.

I run a business where I literally don't care about profits or losses. My main focus is 100% customer driven all the time. I do things that lose money, but help customers. The money doesn't even cross my mind at all. I get paid once a year. New customers come in droves, many are referrals, many read reviews online. It's pretty incredible to see, but it proves in my mind that customer centric focus works.

 

[Skys]

1. Commit or don't commit. No half-measures
2. Cut loose from all negative influences
3. Choose the right mountain.
4. Fear nothing
5. Start now
6. Go!

This is from Felix Dennis. He calls it 'the upside-down pyramid of getting rich'. Its supposed to be a pyramid, lol. but MJ has no CENTER function in his forum(???)

So. I am fully committed. Yes. I am. I have 100% commitment to becoming someone of MASS value. Each day I see how limiting believes start to evaporate and get replaced by thoughts that help me. I don't have any negative influences. I Have a supportive mother, who really stands behind everything I want to. My girlfriend is the same. The sidewalkers in my life, i just meet them once in a while because they have been friends for over 10 years now. They have no negative influence. We talk music, we play cards. Its fun.

I have become fearless. I had this realisation some time ago. I lost a good friend when I was 12, then another one when I was 15. My dad has been found dead in his appartment when I was just 18. At 21 my uncle died, who partly raised me. I AM GOING TO DIE. F*ck it.
Then, if you realise how HARD it has been for me to lose my dad at that age... F*ck failure. F*ck hurting. I know what HURT really is. I spit it in the face and come back stronger. I had a shitty life and i use it as a strength.

For me. 3.. 5 and 6 are the reasons i feel anxious about wanting it to happen 'now'. START NOW. With what? I am fully committed but I don't have an idea (event) and I have only small process (finishing my education is one of them = no study loans). I am not working on a website. I am not writing an ebook... I just try to listen to what others has to say. Their complaints etc.
This is also partly because of the 'choose the right mountain' part, which kind of is related to MJs philosophy that 'doing what you love' and 'doing what you know' doesn't make success.

I am in the process of starting. A lot of things are just a F*cking waste of TIME. Learning how to code? Come on. I read the outsource vs learning to code thread. It's insane to start to learn how to code if your goal is to bring a need to the market. DELAGATE. Writing a book? I LOVE WRITING. But, competition is BIG. HUGE. Entry... No GO. I also would HATE to see something I love turned into something I HATE. I rather become the next shit-digger then turning a love into a hate.
So... Me wanting to get to millions NOW.. or within 6 years ..is not really the thing I AM after. What I am after is MY mountain. As Felix calls it 'the money with MY name on it'.

I think, with me, there are a lot of people on this forum that has that same thing. In the process of choosing the right mountain. Wanting to start but not really having anything to START with. That leads to anxiety and that leads to WANTING it NOW..and becoming an consumer of getting rich quick books...
With a limited mindset, you will have limited results. At the moment, I am just breaking out my way from consumer to producer. My mindset is too limited I am too blame for that.

I dont even want to become a MILLIONAIR within now and x, i want to do something for PEOPLE within x. Time is limited. My dad proved it too me. My buddy proved it.. Thats the driving force that makes me scream: WHAT CAN I DO

little rant, but probably not the only one here that have these thoughts.

 

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[biophase]

my goal is to create my OWN income so I can move freely throughout the country without being locked into any given city. ...I want to live wherever I damn-well choose. This is the reason I want to get there so fast.......that, and because I am mentally exhausted at the end of the day.

See, I like this goal alot more because there is a change to the quality of life in the goal. The monetary value of this goal could be only $2500 a month. Who knows. I think someone with a goal like this has alot better chance to succeed and also well surpass it. And it's not because you are aiming so low.

If you achieve this easily doable goal say within a few months. You move somewhere that you like and enjoy, your outlook changes, you've gained business experience, you have new life experiences, probably have new ideas and wham! Your next business idea is born and you are in the right mindset to launch it.

 

[wade1mil]

Why does everyone want to get there so fast?

You know that feeling of driving, say, a silver Ferrari down the road with your hair blowing in the wind? Well...I don't. :smug2:

Personally, I've spent the past 20 years of my life craving super cars, mansions, yachts and private jets. Over the past six months, my craving for things like that have all but disappeared (with the exception of owning a Ferrari). Now, I crave, more than anything, succeeding in business so I feel like I can succeed at anything. If I end up creating a business that makes millions of dollars, you're right, I wouldn't stop. But I would also like to drive my Ferrari before I get my license taken away due to a broken hip and bad eyesight. Ultimately, I'd like to take what I learned from the first success and apply it to a business in a different arena to both prove to myself that I can be successful at any business and challenge myself with something new. I don't think I've posted anything about making millions within a time frame like that, but that is my sincere reasoning behind wanting it to happen.

I do agree that people that aren't "there" yet sometimes try to push things to happen too fast, but I also think it's part of the learning process. Some people have to be told by people such as yourself that they need to slow their roll and have fun during the process. Then we feel like idiots for a minute, digest what you said, and adjust our beliefs and actions based on what we've learned.

 

[Kak]

Your clock is ticking. Why not do it as soon as you can?

 

[The-J]

I love the process. It's fun. I woke up at 2 AM because something was bothering me about the copy on my website, lol.

I'm insane.

I want the freedom of money, as soon as I can, but at the same time, I love the process, even the parts that I hate.

 

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[Andy Black]

It's simple - Because where they are sucks. The journey when first starting isn't fun.

The journey IS the fun bit.

I used to love motorbike trips.

It wasn't about getting TO The South of France, it was about GETTING to The South of France.


EDIT: Great thread @biophase

 

[Pete799p]

Because I know what freedom is and I want it back!

I don't care about the super car or the nice house even thought I try and build plans that will take me their. I just want my freedom back.

 

[Skys]

I realised my 'why' to this question this week. I am 29 years old and just finishing at the university. I failed education after education and my study loan is high. I hated school but I thought I had determination. Education was the way. I wanted to help people and to do that I needed an diploma.

After reading MJs book I realised how stupid I have been wasting so much time while I could have gotten to my goal without education. I think I wanted to rush things to make up for all my mistakes in the past 8 years! And do that within 'so-and-so' years.
I have two big goals now:
1. Have a major impact in the lives of peoples
2. Give my family the legend in the deserves (I am the last of my family, the only one who can keep the family-name alive)

Lots of limiting believes to defeat ('being to old' is one of them). But these goals are way bigger then the 'little me' (ego). I am going to make a major impact in the lives of people.

 

[biophase]

You only get to live once. Why not do it as soon as you can?

Because we are all doing it every day!

But saying what you did, you imply that you aren't really living now, but will be REALLY living once you've made it. So if you get there in 2 years, does that mean you just wasted the past 2 years not really living?

 

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[911Carrera]

All these goals about making millions before 25, 30 or 1 year or 15 months... Why does everyone want to get there so fast?

Part of the fun is getting there. Ask yourself, if you got to your goal today, what would you be doing differently? I bet you would still be talking about the same things, except maybe doing it in a nicer home or car. But ultimately, your day to day would be the same (this is assuming that you work for yourself).

Making money is not something that you just turn off. If you acquire the skills to make $5m, you don't just say, "well I'm here. I'm just going to sit around for the next 20 years." You will probably use your knowledge and begin another business after you get bored of retirement. If this is the case, then really what difference does it make if you reach that point at 25, 30 or 35?

My point is to enjoy the journey because most of your life will be inside that journey.

Easy for you to say when you're already there bro. You can't expect people in undesirable living situations to enjoy their journey instead of trying to get there fast. With money you can enjoy the journey of creating and running businesses without lots of stress. If you have a good enough income (like 75k/year in a major city)to live a decent life and have fun then I say enjoy the journey and don't rush but that's not the case for most.

 

[V8Bill]

Fantastic thread @biophase thanks for starting it.

I created a formula for wealth that kind of describes what (in my experience and to me) wealth is all about. I think it breaks down to several elements that all added up make for a great life. We need a way to remove financial stress, enjoy freedom at our current level then enjoy the rest of our lives either enjoying or building those reserves or income streams. We need financial relief now and financial security for the future. These are two separate needs though often mixed into one goal and I believe this is where the dissonance comes in.

I think if we were to examine the path to wealth in order to find the fastest way to get there it would be sensible to start with a definition. I personally don't believe wealth is measured accurately by how much money you have but more relevantly by how far you are from financial stress. I start at financial stress because that's where our current pain is coming from and given that everyone's current financial pain is different from everyone's else we need to remove the number and replace it with a variable. I use "X".

So, let's say that X represents your current financial stress - your bills, payments and current expenses. When explaining this I start with $1,000 a week because the number is easy to work with and most people I've spoken to who are currently living low income or lower middle class lives agree that they could pay their current bills for $1,000 a week or if that's too much could upgrade to live a pretty decent normal middle class life for $1,000 a week. So $1,000 a week would equal "X".

This is just a starting point of course. Being able to pay your bills is not a wealthy life but if you could make $1,000 a week at least you'd be able to pay your bills and for another week financial stress is minimised but you probably would still have debt burdens and the worry of needing to do it all again next week so that's the start of your financial concerns taken care of for this week but what if you could earn that $1,000 in an easier way than having to trudge off to work every day? So the first wealth goal (in my way of thinking) would be to try to eliminate the horrible job from my life and try to make the money (and time) I need in a more "free" or at least more enjoyable way. So, if I could "earn a living" from home - even if my income remains the same and covers all my current bills - I'd have taken a big step towards freedom and wealth.

Obviously we need more than our expenses to live a wealthy life though so our next step/goal/aim is to increase that income and start to build cash reserves and net worth but here's what happens to a lot of people; as soon as they earn more money they start to live a better life by surrounding themselves with better housing, transportation, luxuries...etc and that's all cool and great fun but the problem is that now with the greater rent and payments they're financial stress levels have increased so they find themselves feeling "not much better". I think this is because they "drag" their stress along with them every time they make more money. This is why making more money doesn't always make people feel better. The "trick" to feeling wealthy is having more money than you need. How much you need to feel wealthy is debatable but your current essential financial expenses are not. They're an exact and measurable amount.

So how much does someone need to "feel" wealthy? In my experience and by running it past many people an easy number to remember is double. Twice your essential expenses in income is all you need to feel wealthy. Obviously it doesn't have to be a hard number like twice/double but what happens at about that level is the law of diminishing returns kicks in. Once you get far enough away from a danger (or stress) the danger diminishes to the point where any further distance doesn't feel much better.

So now, a good next goal would be to make twice your essential income or "2X" or ($2,000 a week). If you could get to a passive or enjoyable $2,000 a week but maintain only $1,000 a week in essential expenses you'd have another $1,000 a week to spend on fun and luxury and would be living a pretty good life. A much better life than nearly everyone on earth but of course that's just stage one for folks like us but here's the best part. Now you have $1,000 a week to do with whatever you like without it affecting your ability to maintain your current living arrangements. it's spare money. You can save it, blow it, invest it, give it, spend it, pay off debts with it...do anything you like because it's "spare".

Then, from that point you'd have the time and spare cash to start thinking of bigger and better things to do and eventually (if it's what we want to do) build large businesses that bring loads of great value and make us lots of fantastic spare money. So, wealth comes early but growth is forever. This is why this is such a great thread. @biophase makes the point that the journey is the best bit and so it is but it's even better if you "feel" wealthy as soon as possible and that won't come from achieving some magical popular number of dollars. Wealth needs a far more specific definition so we can all get to it as soon as possible and then we can grow from there to become whatever we need to be. The danger comes when people who are wealthy (using my definition) but don't know it or feel it because they're not "millionaires".

Don't misunderstand, I want to become a permanent "ultra-millionaire" just as much as anyone else and the more money we all have the more we can help other people around us. I have zero problem with making or wanting to make millions as fast as possible - the faster the better but given the formula I use to determine "wealth" or more accurately "financial freedom" at $2,000 a week or $100k per year is a lot easier to obtain and maintain than having a one-eyed goal of "millionaire" before even considering yourself wealthy. It happens much earlier than that. Not that finding a way to double your income is an easy thing - especially passively but as soon as you get there (presuming you know you've arrived) the rest of your wealth journey will be a fantastic ride and it'll never matter where you end up or how much money you have or end up having. Get wealthy ASAP then enjoy your growth.

I even came up with a simple wealth formula.

2X=F/H+P

Where:
X = Essential Expenses
F = Financial Freedom
H = Hobbies
P = Passions

So if you have at least twice as much income as you need for essential expenses you will feel financially free enough to enjoy your hobbies and pursue your passions be they personal or business growth. I call it "The 2X Method".

Now, most of us in here are pretty eager beavers and will probably grow pretty fast so what happens if one week you make $3,000? Personally, I'd spend $1,000 on essential expenses, spend as much as I needed of the next $1,000 on fun and luxuries and bank the rest. I like to bank excess cash so I can build a buffer for real emergencies (a bargain is not an emergency) and to eventually build up enough cash reserves in the bank to be able to live at "2X just on interest alone. Then, as I grow more (if that's what ends up happening) I'll just keep building my cash reserves and always living at "2X".

For example, let's say I make $10 million and decide to bank it at 5%. Super safe regular and dependable income of $10,000 a week (roughly and gross of course) and no financial stress. If I did manage to achieve $10,000 a week using the 2X formula I'd be able to comfortably spend $5,000 a week on essential expenses as well as another $5,000 a week for fun and luxuries. How awesome a life would that be?! But let's say you lose half in tax - fine, now I have $5,000 a week which I split into half and always at all times keep my essential expenses (which bring us all that financial stress we all hate so much) and I'd still have $2,500 for expenses and $2,500 a week for fun and luxury.

What about debt? I believe it's not the debt that stresses us out so much as the payments. Yeah, it's a grown having a debt but if you want to pay it off you can do it with your extra cash as doing that will be both fun and a luxury. So, no matter how much you make, if you spend more than half your income on essential expenses you'll always feel financial stress. Conversely, even if you don't make much, as long as you can try to keep your essential expenses down to half your income you'll always feel "kind of wealthy" - especially if you can do it passively. I know this for a fact because I've lived my life like this for the last 5 years knowingly and probably another 5 years before that without fully appreciating it.

I explained this to my butcher some months ago and he was stunned to realise that he was already wealthy because he was making about 3X. I draw that little formula out on the butcher's paper right there in the shop and he was stunned. It's a simple way to get wealthy fast while allowing for and encouraging growth while having fun and enjoying a little luxury along the way.

So it's not the journey to wealth that's the best part. It's the journey of growth while maintaining wealth that's the really fun part. Achieve relative wealth first then use that power to propel yourself to anywhere you want to go and if you use the "2X method" you'll always be wealthy no matter how much money you make. Oh, and here's the best part about that little stash of income generating bank deposits...if you build the right financial structure you can put that money into a trust, you're the main beneficiary while alive and receive the (for example) $2,000 a week but if you die the trust deed directs the income to the next listed beneficiary i.e. your kids, then their kids...etc. You do the big work once, set up the "family income" and become the financial hero for generations to come.

So while "wealthy" may come earlier than expected by using my 2X formula, there is still much work and growth to be done. You want to make sure you leave enough so that inflation makes it last at least a few generations. So in a way we can eat our cake (achieve rapid wealth) and have it to (build massive wealth as a legacy for others). All we have to do is shift our focus a little and accept a few new definitions.

 

[theag]

I'm sick and tired of being broke, thats why I want to get there quick. But like Skys, I can't wait to get my product out there as it will provide great value for a lot of people. I'm definitely enjoying the process and value the experience more than just the financial rewards I will (hopefully) get in a few years.

 

[biggeemac]

See, I like this goal alot more because there is a change to the quality of life in the goal. The monetary value of this goal could be only $2500 a month. Who knows. I think someone with a goal like this has alot better chance to succeed and also well surpass it. And it's not because you are aiming so low.

If you achieve this easily doable goal say within a few months. You move somewhere that you like and enjoy, your outlook changes, you've gained business experience, you have new life experiences, probably have new ideas and wham! Your next business idea is born and you are in the right mindset to launch it.

Wow.....how things have changed since I responded to this. Here are the bullet points......

I now live in a non-metro Oregon city. No more fast paced cities for me.
I love living back home in Oregon, rain and all !!
I am not a millionaire, but I have a million in mortgages and assets, that all make me money.
I love good debt !
If I had a million in the bank, then I wouldn't be very wise.
My wife and I created a sustainable business that nets us $14k-17k a month after expenses, mortgages, etc.
We have met a lot of people and gained a lot of new family since starting our journey.
I am projecting that we will be upwards of $22k a month this time next year.
It took us just over two years to get here since startup.
I now realize that I can live wherever I want without actually LIVING there.
I still work my day job. I am building a new house for my family, and then I will quit my day job.
I think I could be pretty happy just pulling around a travel trailer, and hiking and fishing around the country.

 

[AcquireCurrency]

I think it's pretty obvious. Why make $5m in 15 years if you have the potential to do it in 5 years?

No doubt I will enjoy the business process, but I want the security and freedom money brings as early as possible in my life. I will probably continue with business ventures and such even when I am rich.

 

[jon.a]

I don't mind being parked, that's where I am in life right now so it's fitting.

I'm in NO LANE.

I'm sitting here idling "watching the snow fall"

I see the the sidewalkers and slowlaners going about their "sim" lives and think "okay, too bad for them"
I see a few fastlaners speed by and think, "go get it!" (I need to get out more to see more fastlaners)

I'm watching everything closely. I'm in the same mode that I was in when I was mid-career in the Navy, I'm watching and listening to everyone. Prepared to emulate those who are successful and not follow those who are not.

I know that if I keep my eyes and ears open and think before I act, I'll hit it again someday soon.

 

[Skys]

My point is that if you pressure yourselves into huge money goals in tight timeframes that you may miss many "smaller" opportunities and you may also put too much stress on yourself. Getting there fast, doesn't mean that you live like crap until that day. Your business grows and you may increase your standard of living if you want.

The reason I made this post is not because I'm "there". Truth is that I was always "there" in my mind since 2005. I never had a desire to make tons of money. I remember sitting with MJ at a bar in 2007 and I told him that I've always wanted a Ferrari. He told me that I'll never get one because I don't have the drive to make money anymore. And that was true. I never thought I would be able to get a Ferrari. I didn't care about the fastlane at all.

What I did have was a simple easy life on less than $30k a year and alot of freedom. I created my business as a hobby. It's goal was to make $50/day to see if I could do it. Instead, I created value for my customers because I didn't concentrate on the bottom line.

Looking back... if my goal was to make $1,000,000. I would have kicked the ghillie suit idea to the curb. I mean who goes into a niche with 1800 searches a month expecting to make $1m? Read Irman's post about $1k to $700k in 18 months. He did it as a hobby also. I doubt he was thinking he'd do $700k either.

I really do think that the timeline pressure can break your business. Sometimes people make poor decisions because of just the bottom line and wanting to increase growth. If you focus on profits (which people tend to do with money goal deadlines) vs. value and customer service it will hinder your business.

Sorry, I have to cut this post short... I'll finish it up later tonight.

What I hear here is, a lot of people here are actually 'chasing money' while you where 'chasing needs'?
The 'rush' of getting there ASAP is actually a kind of selfish approach. He or she wants a business that makes a lot of money SOOOO they need to find a need. What I find interesting in the books from Richard Branson, that he never got into business to become an entrepreneur. He just wanted to make something that made the lifes of people more fun. Felix Dennis wanted to be filthy rich, but he did not force himself into business. He just saw 'a mountain' and did it.

I think when people hear things like "You need to be fully committed" they feel like they should force things to happen. Another day wasted is another day wasted. Damnit, yesterday I still didn't come up with a need that can be solved. Another day closer of poorness. But, what all sucessful entrepreneurs seem to have in common is a very good ability too listen and act uppon what they hear. They did not force an business uppon others. They listened and based their business on what they heard. They didn't FORCE a need to be solved. They just did, because they really listened. They didn't force themselve to listen.

I think a lot of people here hate to admit it, but I think it's true. A lot of people are still in the chasing money phase, where they realise they need to fulfill a need to get that money. It's a bit like being at a party and knowing how to get a cat on your lap. You get a cat on your lap by not giving it any attention. So now you want the cat on your lap. What are you going to do? You are going to force yourself not giving the cat any attention. Its fake. Your still giving it attention by forcing yourself not giving it attention.The cat knows, she stays away

Goals like "I want to be a millionair before" are money chasing goals. You WANT money BEFORE this or that. Thats why people like you have a bigger chance of succeeding. You just really LOVE the process. Not the process of chasing money (you can love a process like that aswell). No, you seem to LOVE to build a business. Felix Dennis LOVED that process. Branson LOVED that process. MJ LOVED that process.

So, in a way. MJ has it wrong. He says "do what you love" won't make you rich. That's not true. You need to LOVE building a process and being an entrepreneur. Thats something you truly LOVE or it will not happen because you will FAKE the "I am not chasing money" and answering a NEED is always something you NEED to be doing to get there.

 

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[Skys]

Well. I am bullshit. Somebody gave me some credits for my post in 2012.
I am still not an entrepreneur.
I am in sales. For a company, just out of the start up phase.

I am making 2k a month.
I did pay all my debt tho and lost a lot of weight. But, still living paycheck to paycheck.

I laughed at my sentence: "I am in the process of starting". What the f. is that. You either started, or you didn't. There is no process of starting.

I was full of crap. So, be careful who you take advice from or give some "credit".

 

[fastlane_dad]

People with no money are the ones that make ridiculous lofty goals. They want a business that makes $1m in 2 years with no idea how to do it or how much work that entails.

My original post was speaking to people who start a business and want to do $1m in 12 months, or $5m in 2 years vs. slowly and steadily building their business on a good and stable foundation.

Yes, I've been also noticing this ONLINE (through this forum), as well as DMs, as well as talking to people in person -- all that have never done or started anything business related.

I think much of this, is the GURUS pushing these lofty huge goals onto you as in - set your dreams so sky high, that even if you never reach that (oh i wanna make 10 million next year and I've never sold a bookmark) - you will somehow still 'fall short' and stumble your way into making a 1 MILLION.

FALSE!!!

I see this propaganda EVERYWHERE. Why, because once again that's what sells.

'Get Rich Slow', 'Focus on Process', 'It will take you a decade', 'Make $3 before $5' will never capture any headlines. And the GURUS now need to outdo each other, so end up screaming louder and louder.

Look --- @NeoDialectic and I love 'BIG LOFTY' goals as much as the next guy, but I see this time and time again -- and try to steer individuals towards actionable steps they can take to achieve 'A GOAL', not a '5 million dollar next year goal'.

That is WAY too disconnected for me (and for them). That doesn't leave you anywhere. That prevents you from taking ANY action, because 'heck, it's just way too big of a mountain to climb'.

I say SCALE BACK, slow down, make $3 before you make $5. And you will take it from there.

You know how I got to making MILLIONS a year? It's by spending months and YEARS making no more than $30-$50-$300 a day. For YEARS on end.

Anyways, that's my $.2 for the day, hoping to hear further thoughts on this topic.

 

[Andy Black]

Good bump.

I've been having this conversation with myself EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

As in, what's the balance between speed for speed's sake, and executing well at a slower pace?

For me it's not panic or anything....but rather a sense that I want to achieve that next level of security as quickly as possible. But I've found that when I choose balls-to-the-wall speed over rapid but well executed daily progress, the wheels fall off in other areas. And for the record, I'm married with children and I love my family, and I refuse, refuse to leave them behind.

Which in turns is both frustrating and exhilarating as my family (especially my sons) get to see Dad being "Lord Business"

and incorporating those lessons into their own lives (one son: wants to start importing goods from China and the six year old is all about the lemonade stand with cross and up sells this summer).

The other lesson? It takes TIME to learn some things, and I'm kind of dumb that way...I only learn by doing and (sometimes) F-ing up. Hah!

Anyway, thanks for letting me share.

Like you, I also refuse to spend less time with my kids now so I can spend more time with them later.



When I did motorbike trips with mates, it wasn't about *being* in The South of France, it was about *getting* to The South of France.

The fun was the journey, and the most fun was the windy bits on the map, not the straight line down the motorway.

Life is an adventure. "Problems" are stepping stones on our journey.


Later on I had to physically change bike so that I enjoyed the journey more, instead of only getting enjoyment from going as fast as possible.

I've engineered my life so that I'm happy where I am now, and I'm happy chipping away.

Each moment is a moment to savour.

Go too fast and you don't see what's right under your nose.

I did a few wee videos on this. I'll drop them in later when I'm not on my phone.

 

[biophase]

I think the answer is simple. People with no money (sufficient to be financially free) actually have no freedom.

So basically if your life expectancy is at 80, would you want to get out of prison next year or five years later?

People with no money are the ones that make ridiculous lofty goals. They want a business that makes $1m in 2 years with no idea how to do it or how much work that entails.

My original post was speaking to people who start a business and want to do $1m in 12 months, or $5m in 2 years vs. slowly and steadily building their business on a good and stable foundation.

 

[LamboMP]

All these goals about making millions before 25, 30 or 1 year or 15 months... Why does everyone want to get there so fast?

I mostly hear this from YOUNG PEOPLE, in the 16-20 year age bracket. Once maturity hits in, they realize that there is more to life than money, and this kind of talk declines rapidly. Things like family values trump a "get to 5 mil before 25" goal.

 

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[911Carrera]

My point is that if you pressure yourselves into huge money goals in tight timeframes that you may miss many "smaller" opportunities and you may also put too much stress on yourself. Getting there fast, doesn't mean that you live like crap until that day. Your business grows and you may increase your standard of living if you want.

The reason I made this post is not because I'm "there". Truth is that I was always "there" in my mind since 2005. I never had a desire to make tons of money. I remember sitting with MJ at a bar in 2007 and I told him that I've always wanted a Ferrari. He told me that I'll never get one because I don't have the drive to make money anymore. And that was true. I never thought I would be able to get a Ferrari. I didn't care about the fastlane at all.

What I did have was a simple easy life on less than $30k a year and alot of freedom. I created my business as a hobby. It's goal was to make $50/day to see if I could do it. Instead, I created value for my customers because I didn't concentrate on the bottom line.

Looking back... if my goal was to make $1,000,000. I would have kicked the ghillie suit idea to the curb. I mean who goes into a niche with 1800 searches a month expecting to make $1m? Read Irman's post about $1k to $700k in 18 months. He did it as a hobby also. I doubt he was thinking he'd do $700k either.

I really do think that the timeline pressure can break your business. Sometimes people make poor decisions because of just the bottom line and wanting to increase growth. If you focus on profits (which people tend to do with money goal deadlines) vs. value and customer service it will hinder your business.

Sorry, I have to cut this post short... I'll finish it up later tonight.

That's just another way of seeing things, this might work for you, but it won't work for me and many others. You don't care about making lots of money, you're fine with making enough to live and you enjoy the work more than the money and the money just comes to you. That's fine and a lot of people succeed that way.. But having a strong drive and being hungry for more is also another way most people succeed and it is a big part of what drives this economy and why America is the most powerful country in the world.

I don't think there is anything wrong with wanting a certain amount of money by a certain age. It's goal setting and it helps people achieve great things. Being satisfied and not hungry will hurt your business more than being aggressive. Stay hungry my friends.

 

[thomashoi]

The title caught my attention. I heard somebody says something like this:"If you are not impacting people's lives positively, you are probably wasting life!"

At the end of the day, it's not about the money we are really interested in although it can buy us time freedom. I think the more important thing is to help each and everyone on earth to have a better life, to create something they already have the talents to do so.

Will $1 million mades me happy, Yes, but that is temporary... I'm happy when someones come up to me and says how my actions have helped them to become a better person, to fully utilize their potential to serve mankind.

I'm a Singaporean and I'm amazed at how people in my country are still so crazy about paper qualifications and the parents literally send their kids for extra classes as young as 3 years plus.... I mean that will be stealing their childhood... failing in National exams as young as 12 years old mean that you are destined for failure.... So some parents spend more than $10,000 to prepare their children for the exams at 12.

But nobody questions the fact that a degree does not guarantee a JOB especially during recession, but on the flip side it's during recession the entrepreneurs are born... millionaires are created in these tough times....

And so I have a mission to educate my fellow people that a degree is not everything and our country needs entrepreneurs badly. But who the heck would believe me without any track records? SO i need to get to the fastlane fast... Sell my company for $10 million and became the overnight success story to be talked about in my country and I can share how I started my company from a $69 investment on a shoe string budget... without a degree...

With the extra cash on hand, I can start an investment company to invest in teenage entrepreneurs who have great ideas but lack the funding to start/continue their business. The reason I'm targeting teens (14-16yr old) is because at that age, they don't know what the heck is failure, they got the energy, are hungry and can keep going and going.... also they have not been brain washed by university lecturers who teach them about business when they themselves have not made a dime outside their job.

Blessings,
Thomas

 

[Iwokeup]

Oh SHIT, a doctor said that.

LOL. Why do you think that they call it the 'practice' of medicine?

 

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[biophase]

I think it's pretty obvious. Why make $5m in 15 years if you have the potential to do it in 5 years?

No doubt I will enjoy the business process, but I want the security and freedom money brings as early as possible in my life. I will probably continue with business ventures and such even when I am rich.

Because when you get there in 5 years, like you said you will continue doing the same for the next 10 years. I'm not saying do it slowly, but it seems like everyone has self pressure to do it fast. If you pressure yourself for that speed and growth to the point where it's no fun, it's probably not worth it.

 

[Pete799p]

What I hear here is, a lot of people here are actually 'chasing money' while you where 'chasing needs'?

I agree with this statement but it seems to me that the more experience I have in business the more I learn that the most important part is to be in business. There have been a lot of ideas that I have had over the years that I did not think filled a need or I just underestimated how many in the market had the need. I like the idea of testing as fast as you can for as little money as possible and then adjusting. It seems like BIO started his site to make x amount of money. As it turned out the need was greater then he expected and his value added was too. He listened and reacted very well to the situation and made a great business out of it.

I think what people really need to do is not look for the next million dollar idea but just look for the next idea. Then build it and test it as quickly as possible for as little money as possible. Set small easier to achieve goals like I am going to make $10 a day then $50 dollars a day etc. Eventually you will be making some serious coin if you can keep growing your goals or you move on to the next idea.

 

[biggeemac]

I agree.....the whole "i want a million dollars by the time im x years old" is a maturity thing. I'm 37 and right now, my goal is to create my OWN income so I can move freely throughout the country without being locked into any given city. I am an I.T. worker, so naturally, I have to be locked into large metropolitan areas. My family is in Oregon, California, and Arizona, but I live in the Dallas area. I moved here from the SF Bay area....because I couldn't afford to keep me and my kids there.....too expensive......Oregon rains too much.....and I wasnt really feeling Phoenix. I had to leave the job that I loved and my friends and basically take one for the team. My focus now is to not have to look at "where the jobs are at" as a motivator of where I live. I want to live wherever I damn-well choose. And I cant do that as long as I'm dependent on someones business to support me and my family. This is the reason I want to get there so fast.......that, and because I am mentally exhausted at the end of the day.

 

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