Young fastlaners: SHUT DOWN ALL SOCIAL MEDIA

[socaldude]

You basically need a dopamine detox.

Immediately stop everything and meditate, diet and go to the gym.

Cut out all the alcohol, sugar and nicotine.

There are supplements that can help with the withdrawals or cravings.

 

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[Private Witt]

@Raedrum You are still a weed addict, just deploying a Californian sober approach. I'm a weed addict who happens to be on a 100 percent total stoppage detox period of time as was over consuming. I could deploy a 10 times less but decided to go cold turkey and enter a self reflection period of time with my relationship with cannabis. I also own a weed media and event company and I have no problem saying this substance has massive addictive powers on a percentage of users, I happen to be one. I hope your strategy works as is one I may deploy down the road. Hats off to the half gram and less a day users.

 

[Dakoded1]

Great writeup @heavy_industry, I get never tired of hearing this message! Deep down many people are passionate about breaking free from the chains of their smartphone but are unable to make any practical changes to do so.

Once you get past a certain point the only practical step becomes to quit cold turkey, but that's where the "muh work" and "this next post is for the business!!1" BS shines through.

Has anyone switched to a dumbphone for mental clarity?

I've been using a flip phone since 2018 for that exact reason. I took about a year off in 2021 after a friend gave me his extra smartphone but after slowly returning to my old ways I reactivated the 'ol flip and I genuinely have no desire to go back.

If you (or anyone) answer "No" to most of these it is probably time to make some changes...

1. Can you come up with ideas on your own?
2. Can you remember names, locations, and ideas (mostly) without looking them up?
3. Can you hold a train of thought to a conclusion?
4. Can you navigate your city or town (mostly) from memory and deduction?
5. Can you eat without scrolling?
6. Can you sh*t without your phone? Reading your shampoo bottles is an acceptable trade

Switching to a dumb phone won't give you a clear mind overnight, but it will make the decision between swiping right or calling your Mother that much simpler...

 

[Kak]

I've been a weed smoker, and a video games and social media/bullshit content addict for years.

I'm trying to quit smoking for a certain time now, slowly gaining ground over my addiction, and when I finally did my intro in TFF some weeks ago, your very reply @heavy_industry about me banishing all toxics things from my life might have been the little spark I needed.

I still smoke, but like 10 time less than before. I AM NOT A WEED ADDICT ANYMORE.

I still have bad habits, but I'm working for my dreams more and more, despite years of frustation. I feel now capable of banishing every F*ckery from my life, eating fruits, drinking water, doing sport and dig over and over until I find gold.

I'm actually experiencing this renewed motivation and for someone like me, this feel like resurrection.

Thank you @heavy_industry for having taken the time to respond to my intro, it surely helped me greatly.

I didn’t know weed was addictive, but if you really were addicted to it, you don’t just do it 90% less all of a sudden.

 

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[Private Witt]

I didn’t know weed was addictive, but if you really were addicted to it, you don’t just do it 90% less all of a sudden.

The new era of weed is highly addictive in particular those who use infused products. This is gonna be a huge problem in a few years as not taken seriously as an addiction. Maybe my statement above is wrong on him being California sober but time will tell once tolerance issues kick in and the 90 percent less turns to 80 than 70 than ....

 

[socaldude]

I guess just like everything, weed has a different effect on different people.

Humans are not standardized.

I never liked the effect weed had on me but I did like the THC vape pens for a while. Then stopped.

The same way some people get turned on by food and lose control. It’s like drugs.

My only vice right now is cigars. I do enjoy a cigar every now and then with colleagues to celebrate a win.

 

[Kak]

I’m honestly convinced the matrix media both social and traditional is more dangerous than most illicit drugs. I’ve seen people become incredibly ensnared by it and noticeably harmed.

All with some FOMO mission. They “need” to know “what is going on.” Some even think they’re getting smarter. The biggest danger is people don’t see it as massively harmful addiction that it is.

I’ve asked this before, would you quit watching the news for $1m cash? How about the news and social media?

Most people would say yes. The funny thing is the return on the decision to ditch that crap, particularly at an early age, probably means more than $1m.

Programmed ≠ smarter.

 

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[mikecarlooch]

Reading boatloads of books without taking action is still being on team consumer. Those who post intentionally and regularly on social media end up moving onto team producer. You had/have some social media accounts with decent size audiences Mike, and you know how to grow those audiences. Those are valuable assets and skills imo. Be careful you don't throw the baby out with the bath water.

Thanks for the encouragement Andy.

Your perspective is always the light in the darkness

 

[mikecarlooch]

To add to my first response, this topic needs to be talked about way more.

Listen, I know social media has done SO MUCH good for the world in many ways.

But, it needs to be said that spending endless time on social media can be absolutely life-ruining, and I wouldn't say that about many things.

The most INSANE part is the following - what the hell makes ANYONE think that us humans right now are any different from humans 200,000 years ago..? Our brains are EXACTLY the same as them.

That is so overlooked. They say a picture is worth a thousand words but a video is worth 10,000 pictures - and by scrolling on social media we're overloading ourselves with ridiculous amounts of stimulating information.

How could we possibly think straight after spending an hour on social media? You just can't.

People like Gary Keller have written books on focusing on ONE task at a time - and social media feeds are making us focus on thousands of things.

I was reading a book recently that was talking about Albert Einstein. Do you think, if Albert Einstein spent even just 1-2 hours per day scrolling on TikTok, overloading his brain, that any of his theories would have ever come to fruition? Probably not.

Would Benjamin Franklin be able to cultivate the social intelligence he had? Probably not - you can't play chess if your mind is distracted.

A lot of our creativity is stifled and our abilities to make relationships and connections between things becomes limited.

We are made to FEEL like we NEED to use social media otherwise we're going to miss out on tons of business opportunities and all that stuff.

I believe @MJ DeMarco said - Social media is simply a marketing tool, it is not business in itself, it is not a necessity.

 

[PureA]

If a smartphone was a small bag of white powder and made people behave as they do as a result of social it would've been outlawed years ago...

 

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[MTF]

My thread on a similar topic was a bit controversial when I posted it but I guess the world is waking up:

HOT! - RANT - Social Media Destroys Entrepreneurs. Grow Your Business Without It.

For most entrepreneurs few things are worse than social media. You think it’s helpful while it’s a parasite that slowly kills you and your business. Social media platforms have spent millions and millions to persuade us that they’re indispensable for business. If you don’t exist on social...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

In an effort to challenge my beliefs I did engage in social media after posting that thread (I tested Instagram) and it didn't work business-wise or (particularly) personal-wise. It just makes you feel like absolute shit plus the amount of time you waste is ridiculous.

And as others have said it here, you can't win against the smartest engineers in the world. You just can't. No matter how disciplined you are, all the viral content is designed in such a way that it appeals to every human being. If you spend time on social media (particularly the worst ones: TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook), you'll get sucked in, guaranteed.

I'll never build a business that relies on social media.

I'd rather have the world's most boring business than be exposed to the narcissism and toxicity of social media.

This stuff is getting worse and worse, with more polarizing and dumber content every day.

If you want to make it on social media (as an individual creator) it pays to be the most extreme and most polarizing person. No subtlety is allowed.

It all has to be black or white, with whatever you're selling the only miraculous drug. Then people who watch you regularly become your little versions and you end up with a world of extreme black-and-white-thinking clones of the biggest influencers.

There's a fascinating article about it:

The age of average — Alex Murrell

In the early 1990s, two Russian artists named Vitaly Komar and Alexander Melamid hired a market research firm to survey the public on what they wanted in a work of art. Across 11 countries they then set about painting a piece that reflected the results. Each piece was intended to be a unique a colla

www.alexmurrell.co.uk

You can scroll to "People all look the same" for just the part about the impact of Instagram on how people (want to) look.

 

[Hein Oosthuysen]

Young fastlaners:​

SHUT DOWN all the social media, and the bullshit apps that are not helping you on the entrepreneurial path that you've chosen.

Don't aim for moderation, don't try to find any balance, because the is no such thing.

Everything has been designed from the ground up to be highly addictive and to grab your attention for as long as possible, in the hopes of you clicking on a stupid ad or buying some bullshit that doesn't help you in any way whatsoever.

Besides the huge amount of wasted time and energy, that cannot be recovered, you are very likely to become addicted to those apps.

If you let this happen, physiological changes to the brain will occur, which will result in the impairment of the prefrontal cortex.

This will result in the following symptoms:

• poor executive function (translation: can't do the F*cking work)
• goldfish attention span
• no focus
• low energy / low motivation
• poor long-term planning ability
• bad choices

You can't be successful in anything, but especially in business, if your brain is not firing on all cylinders.

These changes are not permanent, and they can be fully reversed if you stop everything right now.

In a few months time, your brain will be back to normal, and you will be amazed at your new-found motivation and superior cognitive function.

If you want to be the 1%, you can't do what the other 99% is doing.

---

All the information that you need can be found on this forum.

Let this be your "social media".

You will learn many useful things that are nowhere to be found anywhere else on the internet.

(Just don't get addicted to the forum, and don't turn it into an action-fake)

View attachment 48553

Thanks @Matt Lee for inspiring me to write this post.
Check out his comment here.

Agree 100%. I would also add that any young fastlaner should assess their usage of things like video games and netflix.

It's easy to lie to yourself and say: "Oh, I'll just use it one hour a day to relax after some hard work". And then you end up spending multiple hours a day relaxing "a little bit" after some "hard work". Don't fool yourself.

About a year ago (I'm 21 now), I straight-up sold my Playstation after realizing I simply can not use it "in moderation". Best decision I made that year. It freed up so much time that I used to, among other things, dive into all my unread books I've gathered over the years. This inevitably led me to start reading MJ's books around December, properly exposing me for the first time to Fastlane ideas.
I'm willing to bet this would not have happed if I just kept lying to myself and flushed all my free time down the drain via video games.

 

[Sumiran]

Young fastlaners:​

SHUT DOWN all the social media, and the bullshit apps that are not helping you on the entrepreneurial path that you've chosen.

Don't aim for moderation, don't try to find any balance, because the is no such thing.

Everything has been designed from the ground up to be highly addictive and to grab your attention for as long as possible, in the hopes of you clicking on a stupid ad or buying some bullshit that doesn't help you in any way whatsoever.

Besides the huge amount of wasted time and energy, that cannot be recovered, you are very likely to become addicted to those apps.

If you let this happen, physiological changes to the brain will occur, which will result in the impairment of the prefrontal cortex.

This will result in the following symptoms:

• poor executive function (translation: can't do the F*cking work)
• goldfish attention span
• no focus
• low energy / low motivation
• poor long-term planning ability
• bad choices

You can't be successful in anything, but especially in business, if your brain is not firing on all cylinders.

These changes are not permanent, and they can be fully reversed if you stop everything right now.

In a few months time, your brain will be back to normal, and you will be amazed at your new-found motivation and superior cognitive function.

If you want to be the 1%, you can't do what the other 99% is doing.

---

All the information that you need can be found on this forum.

Let this be your "social media".

You will learn many useful things that are nowhere to be found anywhere else on the internet.

(Just don't get addicted to the forum, and don't turn it into an action-fake)

View attachment 48553

Thanks @Matt Lee for inspiring me to write this post.
Check out his comment here.

Wanted to ask something. What about LinkedIn? Although it's more of a professional site, it still is addicting because after removing all other social media platforms, I now find myself constantly scrolling LinkedIn looking at posts from creators and so-called solopreneurs.
I feel a lot of those posts are valuable but it just makes me feel overwhelmed. It makes me feel I am being left behind with no end goal when everyone is grinding.

 

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[Andy Black]

Wanted to ask something. What about LinkedIn? Although it's more of a professional site, it still is addicting because after removing all other social media platforms, I now find myself constantly scrolling LinkedIn looking at posts from creators and so-called solopreneurs.
I feel a lot of those posts are valuable but it just makes me feel overwhelmed. It makes me feel I am being left behind with no end goal when everyone is grinding.

You answered your own question.

It doesn't have to be what folks call a social media platform. LinkedIn, YouTube, podcasts, books, and courses can all turn you into a mindless consumer.

 

[Andy Black]

If you want to make it on social media (as an individual creator) it pays to be the most extreme and most polarizing person. No subtlety is allowed.

It all has to be black or white

I don't believe it's as black or white as this. And I think that's why your previous post was controversial.

I'd even say @heavy_industry 's post should be taken with a grain of salt. The advice to all young fastlaners to shutdown their social media is too black and white. As @Kak, myself, and others have said... it's a tool that can be harmful but still a tool.

Personally, I feel it's a tool the world could do without since most people can't self regulate it, but that doesn't mean everyone can't self regulate.

 

[Sumiran]

Is it turning you into a mindless consumer? If so then it doesn't matter that it's LinkedIn, YouTube, podcasts, books, courses, etc.

I have been consuming some valuable content that actually helped me but for most of the part, I feel like I've been consuming mindlessly, not making my own decisions, and moving with the crowd. Maybe it's the algorithm that makes everything in my feed kind of valuable.
One day, someone says copywriting is the best skill to learn and I start researching it, looking for tips on it and the next day another one comes in suggesting a different skill which changes my mind.
I know it's not what MJ suggests but the only option I have right now is to start generating some money so I can drop out of college and focus more on an actual business.

 

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[Andy Black]

I have been consuming some valuable content that actually helped me but for most of the part, I feel like I've been consuming mindlessly, not making my own decisions, and moving with the crowd. Maybe it's the algorithm that makes everything in my feed kind of valuable.
One day, someone says copywriting is the best skill to learn and I start researching it, looking for tips on it and the next day another one comes in suggesting a different skill which changes my mind.
I know it's not what MJ suggests but the only option I have right now is to start generating some money so I can drop out of college and focus more on an actual business.

The internet is one big lead generation machine.

Social media platforms are designed to keep you on them as long as possible so they can make money from advertisers.

Your goal as business owner is to help people, get paid, and help more people. Swap "help" for entertain, support, or whatever you prefer.

Ask yourself while you flit between completely different business "ideas"

"Who have you helped?"

Did reading that article about how you need to do XYZ help you serve anyone? If it did then great. If not then you're consuming.

Nothing wrong with consuming so long as you know it's not producing.

Another way to look at it...

Can you diectly or indirectly invoice anyone for those hours scrolling social media?

"You can't invoice for input." (Blaise Brosnan)

 

[Raedrum]

@Raedrum You are still a weed addict, just deploying a Californian sober approach. I'm a weed addict who happens to be on a 100 percent total stoppage detox period of time as was over consuming. I could deploy a 10 times less but decided to go cold turkey and enter a self reflection period of time with my relationship with cannabis. I also own a weed media and event company and I have no problem saying this substance has massive addictive powers on a percentage of users, I happen to be one. I hope your strategy works as is one I may deploy down the road. Hats off to the half gram and less a day users.

Thank you for your encouragement and sharing your experience, wich seems consistent but I can say confidently that I'm not an addict anymore because:

1) I can now spend severals days, even weeks, without even thinking about it. I basically smoke a little on some WE.
2) I no longer need it to sleep
3) I no longer need it to have fun (but the funny activities obviously changed)
4) I begin to be able to say no when I'm surrounded by smokers, wich is honestly the hardest part

I feel the impulse less and less on my day-to-day, I now smoke occasionaly, like a good drink once in a while.
I haven’t felt so good in a long time and I’m rediscovering my abilities, and myself.

Congratulations for your abstinence too ! It can only bring better life and improvements.

I didn’t know weed was addictive, but if you really were addicted to it, you don’t just do it 90% less all of a sudden.

I never said that I stopped all of a sudden, quite the opposite in fact, I said this was a slow battle for a long time now, and that HeavyIndustry gave me an appreciable boost.

But my best friend, who was even an heavier smoker than I, just stop all of a sudden 3 weeks ago, and he seem like he's holding fast. There is plenty of story of people quitting addiction all of a sudden.

And yes, weed can be incredibly addictive. There is no such thing as "light drugs", I know a lot of people who smoke 1g daily. Sure it is not like "hard drugs" but it creeps in and at the end you can't even consider your life without it anymore.

The new era of weed is highly addictive in particular those who use infused products. This is gonna be a huge problem in a few years as not taken seriously as an addiction. Maybe my statement above is wrong on him being California sober but time will tell once tolerance issues kick in and the 90 percent less turns to 80 than 70 than ....

In fact my battle happened exactly like that, stopping 1 day, and then taking it back a little, and then more, and more, and returning to the starting point. Repeat the cycle but each time I stopped it was more easy, and my abstinence period grew little and little over time, until now. This is not finished, but almost.

I tried go cold turkey but this was NOT for me, the only way I find to get rid of that was slow and persistent "grinding".
This way I slowly gained control over time, without taking the risk of a huge compensation cracking.

 

[heavy_industry]

First gold!

Thank you so much @MJ DeMarco

I'd even say @heavy_industry 's post should be taken with a grain of salt. The advice to all young fastlaners to shutdown their social media is too black and white. As @Kak, myself, and others have said... it's a tool that can be harmful but still a tool.

Thanks for making me aware of this.

I've added a preface to the thread to add more context. The message and the target audience should now be more clear.

More specifically: The young fastlaners that don't have anything positive to gain from being on social media, and are just suffering as a result of this unnecessary addiction.

---

Thank you everyone for engaging in this thread.

This has been a great opportunity for learning, and gaining more insight about this problem.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

A drug kingpin who sells heroin to the peasants doesn't snort his product. He is the producer and lives in a mansion with a Rolls parked on the driveway. You are the consumer and live in a trailer with a Honda parked on the gravel.

Social media is exactly the same. Yes, EXACTLY.

 

[Private Witt]

A drug kingpin who sells heroin to the peasants doesn't snort his product. He is the producer and lives in a mansion with a Rolls parked on the driveway. You are the consumer and live in a trailer with a Honda parked on the gravel.

Social media is exactly the same. Yes, EXACTLY.

I wish there was a Gold, Thank You and double heart eye emoji all wrapped in one option I could give on this comment. And while directed at social media usage this is something deep to think about on my cannabis cleanse and my desire to be a cannabis media/event kingpin.

 

[Isaac Odongo]

So I have been right all along to find that Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube and the others are useless to me. Thanks all of you for vindicating my decisions. These things are all addictive. You find yourself in a loop, consuming junk after junk and getting tired and lazy. To hell with all of them.

I still use WhatsApp though. Helps to text easily. I only text people I must text, for example my business partner. Serves as records. Once in a while I check on a dormant friend.

 

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[King of kings]

Thank you so dearly for this insightful piece Sir. I usually find myself unhappy, depressed, and comparing myself to a host of people anytime I go there.

However, I feel more better anytime I don't log into anyone of those social media apps. For this year alone, I've deleted Facebook and deactivated my account more than 5 times
but I don't just get what used to prod me into reinstalling it again and again and getting more depressed.

That app is just addicting and sometimes I feel like I'm missing some things by not being there. But with this your game-changing piece and others contribution—I have come to know that I'm not missing anything and that everything I need to succeed especially in the path I've chosen is here. Thank you a whole lot.

And as per @MJ's recommendation, I started to read the gold and notable threads but I still feel unhappy reading them. Why? It always seems like others are doing extremely well everyday in their business and life and I'm just here not achieving anything tangible and not still knowing where to start. But time to come back here and keep reading regardless. I appreciate you again really.

Important note:​

The internet is the most powerful communication tool in the history of mankind.

All powerful tools are inherently dangerous and need to be used properly.

There is a huge difference between using a tool, and being crushed by it. It all depends on how you use them.

This thread is not about demonizing certain technologies, or black and white thinking.

I'm not saying anything is inherently good or bad, but what I am saying is that a lot of people are using these tools in a way that is not conducive to good mental health and positive business results.

If you're using various platforms to improve your business, further your education, connect with people, and improve the quality of your life - that's great. You are using these tools in a smart way.


However, you find yourself spending the entire day glued to a screen, heavily addicted to watching pixels move around, and you're wasting your time, energy, life, and you're feeling horrible as a result of your behavior, this thread might be of interest.

Target audience:​

Beginner fastlaners that don't have anything positive to gain from being on social media or other entertainment platforms, and are just suffering as a result of this unnecessary addiction.

The large number of forum posts in which beginner fastlaners complain about this issue, is a clear indication that this problem is widespread, even among people that are actively trying to build a better future for themselves.

If we want to be the 1%, we cannot behave like the 99%.

Let's explore this idea.

---

Young fastlaners:​

SHUT DOWN all the social media, and the bullshit apps that are not helping you on the entrepreneurial path that you've chosen.

Don't aim for moderation, don't try to find any balance, because the is no such thing.

Everything has been designed from the ground up to be highly addictive and to grab your attention for as long as possible, in the hopes of you clicking on a stupid ad or buying some bullshit that doesn't help you in any way whatsoever.

Besides the huge amount of wasted time and energy, that cannot be recovered, you are very likely to become addicted to those apps.

If you let this happen, physiological changes to the brain will occur, which will result in the impairment of the prefrontal cortex.

This will result in the following symptoms:

• poor executive function (translation: can't do the F*cking work)
• goldfish attention span
• no focus
• low energy / low motivation
• poor long-term planning ability
• bad choices

You can't be successful in anything, but especially in business, if your brain is not firing on all cylinders.

These changes are not permanent, and they can be fully reversed if you stop everything right now.

In a few months time, your brain will be back to normal, and you will be amazed at your new-found motivation and superior cognitive function.

If you want to be the 1%, you can't do what the other 99% is doing.

---

All the information that you need can be found on this forum.

Let this be your "social media".

You will learn many useful things that are nowhere to be found anywhere else on the internet.

(Just don't get addicted to the forum, and don't turn it into an action-fake)

View attachment 48584

Thanks @Matt Lee for inspiring me to write this post.
Check out his comment here.

99% of the time, you won't miss anything important by quitting social media

99.99% of the time, I always feel as if I'm missing a whole lot by not being there even though being there depresses and drains away my happiness. But right now, after reading your comment and this piece, I have deleted my Facebook again and I pray I don't reinstall it again for whatever reason. I just pray, yes. And thank you for your contribution please!

 

[King of kings]

I always love your points Sir. But you can actually consume your way into team producer especially when you're Just starting on this path, right? For example, I was advised to read The gold and notable threads upon joining this forum—is that not consuming? I still have another book I just started to read (The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson) and I have started to take action and the experience has been different and amazing. This business/entrepreneurship thing is just new to me but I so much love it and would want to go all in. However, I don't know much at this moment. Reason why I'm asking if I can consume my way (in a bid to know) into team producer?

Reading boatloads of books without taking action is still being on team consumer. Those who post intentionally and regularly on social media end up moving onto team producer. You had/have some social media accounts with decent size audiences Mike, and you know how to grow those audiences. Those are valuable assets and skills imo. Be careful you don't throw the baby out with the bath water.

 

[Andy Black]

I always love your points Sir. But you can actually consume your way into team producer especially when you're Just starting on this path, right? For example, I was advised to read The gold and notable threads upon joining this forum—is that not consuming? I still have another book I just started to read (The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson) and I have started to take action and the experience has been different and amazing. This business/entrepreneurship thing is just new to me but I so much love it and would want to go all in. However, I don't know much at this moment. Reason why I'm asking if I can consume my way (in a bid to know) into team producer?

Consume and take action or do things differently.

 

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[King of kings]

I personally hate videogames right from time and watching of Netflix or any other nollywood or Hollywood tell-alls is something I cannot do. It always seems as if I'm wasting my time watching people that has already made it in life. I Facebook a lot before now and get depressed always because of that. But I just deleted it yesterday after reading this thread and I promise myself not to ever reinstall it again. Meanwhile, I'm 21 too and would be turning 22 by July. How're things going?

Agree 100%. I would also add that any young fastlaner should assess their usage of things like video games and netflix.

It's easy to lie to yourself and say: "Oh, I'll just use it one hour a day to relax after some hard work". And then you end up spending multiple hours a day relaxing "a little bit" after some "hard work". Don't fool yourself.

About a year ago (I'm 21 now), I straight-up sold my Playstation after realizing I simply can not use it "in moderation". Best decision I made that year. It freed up so much time that I used to, among other things, dive into all my unread books I've gathered over the years. This inevitably led me to start reading MJ's books around December, properly exposing me for the first time to Fastlane ideas.
I'm willing to bet this would not have happed if I just kept lying to myself and flushed all my free time down the drain via video games.

 

[farahead]

Important note:​

The internet is the most powerful communication tool in the history of mankind.

All powerful tools are inherently dangerous and need to be used properly.

There is a huge difference between using a tool, and being crushed by it. It all depends on how you use them.

This thread is not about demonizing certain technologies, or black and white thinking.

I'm not saying anything is inherently good or bad, but what I am saying is that a lot of people are using these tools in a way that is not conducive to good mental health and positive business results.

If you're using various platforms to improve your business, further your education, connect with people, and improve the quality of your life - that's great. You are using these tools in a smart way.


However, you find yourself spending the entire day glued to a screen, heavily addicted to watching pixels move around, and you're wasting your time, energy, life, and you're feeling horrible as a result of your behavior, this thread might be of interest.

Target audience:​

Beginner fastlaners that don't have anything positive to gain from being on social media or other entertainment platforms, and are just suffering as a result of this unnecessary addiction.

The large number of forum posts in which beginner fastlaners complain about this issue, is a clear indication that this problem is widespread, even among people that are actively trying to build a better future for themselves.

If we want to be the 1%, we cannot behave like the 99%.

Let's explore this idea.

---

Young fastlaners:​

SHUT DOWN all the social media, and the bullshit apps that are not helping you on the entrepreneurial path that you've chosen.

Don't aim for moderation, don't try to find any balance, because the is no such thing.

Everything has been designed from the ground up to be highly addictive and to grab your attention for as long as possible, in the hopes of you clicking on a stupid ad or buying some bullshit that doesn't help you in any way whatsoever.

Besides the huge amount of wasted time and energy, that cannot be recovered, you are very likely to become addicted to those apps.

If you let this happen, physiological changes to the brain will occur, which will result in the impairment of the prefrontal cortex.

This will result in the following symptoms:

• poor executive function (translation: can't do the F*cking work)
• goldfish attention span
• no focus
• low energy / low motivation
• poor long-term planning ability
• bad choices

You can't be successful in anything, but especially in business, if your brain is not firing on all cylinders.

These changes are not permanent, and they can be fully reversed if you stop everything right now.

In a few months time, your brain will be back to normal, and you will be amazed at your new-found motivation and superior cognitive function.

If you want to be the 1%, you can't do what the other 99% is doing.

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All the information that you need can be found on this forum.

Let this be your "social media".

You will learn many useful things that are nowhere to be found anywhere else on the internet.

(Just don't get addicted to the forum, and don't turn it into an action-fake)

View attachment 48584

Thanks @Matt Lee for inspiring me to write this post.
Check out his comment here.

absolute GOLD
I stopped using all social media and only go on this forum

What i love about this forum that it is WAY less stimulative compared to instagram and
reddit.
Even if i procastrinate, there is no short
form on this forum so i dont really have much to
do.
So i simply return to work

Thank you for sharing heavy_industry !

 

[Tomco]

As a young Fastlaner myself, I 100% agree with shutting down all Social Media, or at least not being active on there.

From personal experience, I would also extend your argument to a great lesson I learned from @Andy Black : the reduction of consumption in favour of production.

What I mean here is that, at least in my case, when you do eventually wean off of social media apps, you'll end up with more time on your hands.

Don't fall into the trap of 'consuming' other content, waiting for the next big thing (at one point I was subscribed to 7 different email lists!). Since instead of doing the death scroll on FaceBook, I could be reading about xyz and working towards my goal!

This doesn't work. Be present in the moment. If you're surrounded by friends and family, be aware and engage in conversation; laugh, smile, talk, argue and take a genuine interest.

When it's time to work, sit down with focus and you choose what to consume (not old Uncle Youtube with his recommended feed, or whatever email marketing trick this guru will talk about next week), and then take action and produce.


Thank you @heavy_industry and congrats on your first GOLD!

 

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[KiwiEC]

The only social media I use is LinkedIn for business purpose. I still have an old FaceBook account with 0 activity on it, I'm thinking about deleting it.

Is YouTube also a social media? I think so, as it looks more and more like TikTok with the Shorts feature. I had a look on it once and I guess I lost a few IQ points in the process (clickbait videos everywhere). YouTube is still a great place to find tutorials and some music to play in the background while working.

I'm thinking about getting a dumphone too, but I would like one with 4G so I can use it as modem from anywhere.
I know Nokia did some models like that but it seems they are not available in my country anymore.

 

[heavy_industry]

Thank you so dearly for this insightful piece Sir. I usually find myself unhappy, depressed, and comparing myself to a host of people anytime I go there.

You're very welcome sir.
I'm glad that you've identified the problem and are now taking action to solve it. Life can and should be a wonderful experience, and we shouldn't get trapped in modern day nonsense.

And as per @MJ's recommendation, I started to read the gold and notable threads but I still feel unhappy reading them. Why? It always seems like others are doing extremely well everyday in their business and life and I'm just here not achieving anything tangible and not still knowing where to start.

Sorry to hear that sir.
I would advise that you stop getting sad by reading the gold threads, and get excited instead.

Why?
Because all the resources that are available on this forum are detailed instructions on how to start winning in life. Not only that, but they show you that it's entirely possible to create the life that you want.

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Thank you for sharing heavy_industry !

Thank you for being part of this community.
I'm glad that you've found this post useful. Now let's get back to work, we have a future to build.

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From personal experience, I would also extend your argument to a great lesson I learned from @Andy Black : the reduction of consumption in favour of production.

That's gold advice from @Andy Black

Join the team producer™! We have cookies!

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Is YouTube also a social media?

I only watch youtube when I'm eating or when doing research.

If you use this platform in a smart way, you can get a world-class education for free.