I briefly introduced myself on the forum previously, but thought I’d share a very personal account of my path to the Fastlane 50 days after starting the book. Hopefully many of you can relate to my experience. Sorry in advance for the length, but I wanted to do it justice.
So I had what I later realized to be my FTE not long before I had any idea about the Fastlane. I am a project manager at a small company. I oversee all the new program implementations we do. Sales is not under my purview. However, through cleverness, resourcefulness, and persistence, I located a client who a couple months later launched what is now a $300k a year program with us. This client had been on nobody’s radar but mine, and the program was the biggest program we launched in 2016. Needless to say, I was extremely proud of myself. And as our Executive Team had previously promised financial reward to those who bring new business, I expected to be rewarded.
Well, you can guess the cause of my FTE. There was no reward. There was not even any acknowledgement from the owner of the company of what I accomplished. Nothing. That event ended up being the final straw, the FTE after not receiving a raise or bonus in over three years, and not getting a promotion in even longer than that. You see, I already did very good and important work (to the company at least) to help launch every key initiative which helped make the company in my 10 years there. I already had the frustrations mentioned above, but I thought surely this achievement would be recognized. When on top of everything else I learned in early 2017 there would be no fruits from my sales efforts, I thought “What else can I do?”. The phrase “<Eff> this”rang through my head next, and I knew I was done.
I didn’t quit right away, mind you, although the temptation was oh so strong. My wife said to do so. My heart said to do so. But my head said that wasn’t a wise move, and to figure out what was next first. So I updated my resume and started looking for other jobs. The problem was, my effort was very half-hearted. I felt like I should find another job. I would find another opportunity which would be invigorating and give me a chance to do interesting, meaningful work. But as I searched over about two months, nothing looked interesting enough for me to pursue. No opportunity compelled me to put much effort into going after. Looking at job postings and talking to people in my network, I consistently thought “Meh”. I was at a crossroads as I prepared to take a preplanned trip to visit my Mom in Alabama in May 2017.
I live in Colorado, and was looking at a connection and very long travel day to get from Denver to Birmingham. Then I had 6 days in tiny Camden, Alabama with very little to do. I needed reading material to keep me busy during the trip, as well as while my mom rotated between the only 3 channels she watches: Fox News, Hallmark, and whatever channel she was watching Murder She Wrote and Walker Texas Ranger on. Anyway, before I departed Colorado I was searching for something enlightening to read that had the potential to shift my way of thinking and propel me forward. Unlikely to happen, but hey I can dream. Thank goodness I chose The Millionaire Fastlane to accompany me on my trip.
As I read the book, I thought back during the first 20+ years of my career (I’m 45 now) at all the times I expressed discontentment over the three main jobs I had, only to have friends comment on how much I complained. As I read, I felt vindicated. It all made sense as I thought about living in the slowlane and getting a horrible exchange rate on my time for dollars. There was nothing wrong with me because I didn’t like having a job. Don’t get me wrong-I’m not lazy or anything, and in fact have always been appreciated for my hard work. I’ve never been fired and have been a good performer everywhere I’ve been. But as I read Fastlane and then Unscripted , it really hit home with me how much being an employee really sucks. Working my a$$ off making money for out of touch rich people who don’t appreciate it, living the “named days” and praying that a day that starts with “S” gets here as soon as possible, and most disturbingly feeling like the only life I’ll ever has is slowly wasting away without ever really having created nothing important I can call my own which does something meaningful for others.
50 days after I began reading Fastlane, my mind now churns constantly in Fastlane thoughts and business ideas. I no longer even consider other jobs. I know in my heart and my head that there is no other option but to merge onto the Fastlane. After all, you only live once. I love spending time on the forum and learning from the many wise members inhabiting the board. Don’t shame me too much when I tell you I am still at my job, although I continue to unwind my stay there by going on my wife’s health insurance, reducing my hours there to 32 a week so I have time to pursue other opportunities while still getting a paycheck, and generally just distancing myself from the company in as many ways as possible after 11 years there. Taking these steps has made the job barely tolerable in the short term, although before the end of the year I know the job will necessarily be history.
In the words of Monty Python, “And now for something completely different.” I’m not sure what Fastlane path is ahead for me yet, but I continue to explore many options. I have to remind myself that maybe I need more than 50 days to figure it out. I love the Andy Black videos where he simplifies the starting mission down to simply finding somebody to help. How beautiful is that! There is so much great experience and advice on the forum, starting with MJ DeMarco and down through a host of others. We INSIDERS are very fortunate to benefit from such smart and generous people. I know I am taking their advice very seriously as I find my path.
To make a short story long, this is my story as I really dig into my Fastlane journey. 50 days ago I could never have imagined my thoughts, my beliefs, my life could be so transformed by a book. Now I find myself on the Fastlane, over in the right hand lane trying to get used to the road a little bit, but not even dreaming of taking an exit. I know potholes and speed bumps are ahead of me, heck maybe even a complete mechanical breakdown at some point, but I’m looking forward to the satisfaction that comes from creating value that makes a difference for somebody. I’m looking forward to the time and financial benefits that come from executing something that makes others’ lives better. And, I’m looking forward to 50 year old me smacking 25 year old me upside the head in a few years and saying, “What took you so long?”.
So I had what I later realized to be my FTE not long before I had any idea about the Fastlane. I am a project manager at a small company. I oversee all the new program implementations we do. Sales is not under my purview. However, through cleverness, resourcefulness, and persistence, I located a client who a couple months later launched what is now a $300k a year program with us. This client had been on nobody’s radar but mine, and the program was the biggest program we launched in 2016. Needless to say, I was extremely proud of myself. And as our Executive Team had previously promised financial reward to those who bring new business, I expected to be rewarded.
Well, you can guess the cause of my FTE. There was no reward. There was not even any acknowledgement from the owner of the company of what I accomplished. Nothing. That event ended up being the final straw, the FTE after not receiving a raise or bonus in over three years, and not getting a promotion in even longer than that. You see, I already did very good and important work (to the company at least) to help launch every key initiative which helped make the company in my 10 years there. I already had the frustrations mentioned above, but I thought surely this achievement would be recognized. When on top of everything else I learned in early 2017 there would be no fruits from my sales efforts, I thought “What else can I do?”. The phrase “<Eff> this”rang through my head next, and I knew I was done.
I didn’t quit right away, mind you, although the temptation was oh so strong. My wife said to do so. My heart said to do so. But my head said that wasn’t a wise move, and to figure out what was next first. So I updated my resume and started looking for other jobs. The problem was, my effort was very half-hearted. I felt like I should find another job. I would find another opportunity which would be invigorating and give me a chance to do interesting, meaningful work. But as I searched over about two months, nothing looked interesting enough for me to pursue. No opportunity compelled me to put much effort into going after. Looking at job postings and talking to people in my network, I consistently thought “Meh”. I was at a crossroads as I prepared to take a preplanned trip to visit my Mom in Alabama in May 2017.
I live in Colorado, and was looking at a connection and very long travel day to get from Denver to Birmingham. Then I had 6 days in tiny Camden, Alabama with very little to do. I needed reading material to keep me busy during the trip, as well as while my mom rotated between the only 3 channels she watches: Fox News, Hallmark, and whatever channel she was watching Murder She Wrote and Walker Texas Ranger on. Anyway, before I departed Colorado I was searching for something enlightening to read that had the potential to shift my way of thinking and propel me forward. Unlikely to happen, but hey I can dream. Thank goodness I chose The Millionaire Fastlane to accompany me on my trip.
As I read the book, I thought back during the first 20+ years of my career (I’m 45 now) at all the times I expressed discontentment over the three main jobs I had, only to have friends comment on how much I complained. As I read, I felt vindicated. It all made sense as I thought about living in the slowlane and getting a horrible exchange rate on my time for dollars. There was nothing wrong with me because I didn’t like having a job. Don’t get me wrong-I’m not lazy or anything, and in fact have always been appreciated for my hard work. I’ve never been fired and have been a good performer everywhere I’ve been. But as I read Fastlane and then Unscripted , it really hit home with me how much being an employee really sucks. Working my a$$ off making money for out of touch rich people who don’t appreciate it, living the “named days” and praying that a day that starts with “S” gets here as soon as possible, and most disturbingly feeling like the only life I’ll ever has is slowly wasting away without ever really having created nothing important I can call my own which does something meaningful for others.
50 days after I began reading Fastlane, my mind now churns constantly in Fastlane thoughts and business ideas. I no longer even consider other jobs. I know in my heart and my head that there is no other option but to merge onto the Fastlane. After all, you only live once. I love spending time on the forum and learning from the many wise members inhabiting the board. Don’t shame me too much when I tell you I am still at my job, although I continue to unwind my stay there by going on my wife’s health insurance, reducing my hours there to 32 a week so I have time to pursue other opportunities while still getting a paycheck, and generally just distancing myself from the company in as many ways as possible after 11 years there. Taking these steps has made the job barely tolerable in the short term, although before the end of the year I know the job will necessarily be history.
In the words of Monty Python, “And now for something completely different.” I’m not sure what Fastlane path is ahead for me yet, but I continue to explore many options. I have to remind myself that maybe I need more than 50 days to figure it out. I love the Andy Black videos where he simplifies the starting mission down to simply finding somebody to help. How beautiful is that! There is so much great experience and advice on the forum, starting with MJ DeMarco and down through a host of others. We INSIDERS are very fortunate to benefit from such smart and generous people. I know I am taking their advice very seriously as I find my path.
To make a short story long, this is my story as I really dig into my Fastlane journey. 50 days ago I could never have imagined my thoughts, my beliefs, my life could be so transformed by a book. Now I find myself on the Fastlane, over in the right hand lane trying to get used to the road a little bit, but not even dreaming of taking an exit. I know potholes and speed bumps are ahead of me, heck maybe even a complete mechanical breakdown at some point, but I’m looking forward to the satisfaction that comes from creating value that makes a difference for somebody. I’m looking forward to the time and financial benefits that come from executing something that makes others’ lives better. And, I’m looking forward to 50 year old me smacking 25 year old me upside the head in a few years and saying, “What took you so long?”.
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