9 Dream-Killing Lies You Sell Yourself...

[MJ DeMarco]

It's been a long, long time. But it seems like yesterday.

In 2007, I launched The Fastlane Forum. During this time, I've encountered 1000s of entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs. I soon discovered a complex reality that most people are liars—not to others, but to themselves. Here are the 9 common lies that want to convince you to sell your dreams for slaughter. And 9 easy paradigm shifts to insure your dreams stay alive and tracked for reality.

9 Dream-Killing Lies You Sell Yourself...

LIE #1: I'm not good at X.

Of course, you're not. No one is born an instant expert. We all crawled before we walked. Seinfeld's first words weren't a joke. Ronaldo didn't emerge from mom with a football. The question is, if you aren't good at X, what do you need to do to get good at X?

The fact is, "I'm not good at X" is not a fixed status but a variable one. You can suck at X today, but be better at it tomorrow. BETTER is the key; minor daily improvements create major results.

The sibling to this lie is, "Well, I just lack the education."

PARADIGM SHIFT: I'm not good at X today, but I can be better at X tomorrow.

LIE #2: I don't have time for business.

You don't have time because it isn't a priority. It isn't urgent. Other things come first. Game of Thrones. Call of Duty. Sleep and leisure. The 55th Yankees game you just watched. Would you "find time" if failure in the next three months meant the death of the loved one? You would. What's most important always finds time.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I don't have time with my current lifestyle patterns, but with the proper adjustments and reprioritizations, I can find time.

LIE #3: X just got lucky.

Yes, X did. Out of all the numbers in the alphabet, X was incredibly active, engaged, and committed to success. As such, X manipulated probability and gave themself a better chance of getting in luck's spotlight.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Luck is a function of probability, and my habitual actions can improve my chances for luck to appear.

LIE #4: Someday I'll start a business.

No, you won't. You're too comfortable, and comfort doesn't incite action. Most people allow their dreams to be bribed with a few hours of television, video games, or sleep. There will never be a perfect day, week, or month. Life is too aggressively chaotic with its own momentum. It is why Someday exists. Someday is a pacification to make yourself feel good for not quitting, but delaying. And we all know someday becomes never. Someday is a fat lie.

PARADIGM SHIFT: My best time to start a business is today. Someday is a pacifying excuse to disguise the truth of never.

LIE #5: There are no good ideas.

Never has there been one sentence that stinks of entrepreneurial ignorance. Most new businesses are built on marginal improvement and better efficiencies, not about becoming the next Steve Jobs. If life had no problems, there would be no ideas. Ideas are about solving problems, removing angsts, fixing inconveniences, delivering peace, sparking fun, and offering different ingredients.

PARADIGM SHIFT: If I see ideas as a function of life's imperfections, voids, and distress, I will have plenty of ideas.

LIE #6: I'm too old, stupid, or X.

If you have something I want or desperately need, I will not care about your personal histrionics or demographics. How much is it, and when can I get it? The injured man in the street comes to mind... if I'm bleeding in an alley and a man offers me a tourniquet, I'm not going to care how old the man is, how he's a bad father, or about his bankruptcy 24 years ago.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Relative value will be colorblind to my deficiencies and past transgressions. If I can provide value to culture, culture will overlook my self-constructed inadequacies.

LIE #7: I don't have enough money.

While this might be true, you also don't have enough discipline or focus. It's stunningly amazing how the people who claim to have no money also have no job, no education, no specialized skills, and no motivation to change the status quo. But you can bet they have the latest iPhone, a device that has instant access to unlimited knowledge.

I don't have money really means no one will give me money, and I'm too lazy to earn my own through hard work, ingenuity, and persistence. To get money to start my business, I taught myself a specialized skill (web design) that 10X'd my earning wages. Money followed.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can increase my income and build capital by investing in education and teaching myself a specialized skill that will multiply my wages by several magnitudes.

LIE #8: I don’t have the right connections.

While having a solid network of connections can be helpful, it is not essential for success. Connections is always a function of activity. It is a function of productivity and results. Do you think someone with 1 million subscribers to their YouTube channel is struggling with "the right connections?" Be active and connections will follow, plus money.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can expand my network by consistently acting and moving on my goals.

LIE #9: Entrepreneurship is risk.

Starting a business is inherently risky, but avoiding the risk is riskier. As I like to say, the pain of regret is far greater than the pain of failure.

PARADIGM SHIFT: All of life is a risk, some risks have lifelong returns, others have lifelong regrets.

Stop lying and get busy doing.

 

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[Kak]

It's been a long, long time. But it seems like yesterday.

In 2007, I launched The Fastlane Forum. During this time, I've encountered 1000s of entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs. I soon discovered a complex reality that most people are liars—not to others, but to themselves. Here are the 9 common lies that want to convince you to sell your dreams for slaughter. And 9 easy paradigm shifts to insure your dreams stay alive and tracked for reality.

9 Dream-Killing Lies You Sell Yourself...

LIE #1: I'm not good at X.

Of course, you're not. No one is born an instant expert. We all crawled before we walked. Seinfeld's first words weren't a joke. Ronaldo didn't emerge from mom with a football. The question is, if you aren't good at X, what do you need to do to get good at X?

The fact is, "I'm not good at X" is not a fixed status but a variable one. You can suck at X today, but be better at it tomorrow. BETTER is the key; minor daily improvements create major results.

The sibling to this lie is, "Well, I just lack the education."

PARADIGM SHIFT: I'm not good at X today, but I can be better at X tomorrow.

LIE #2: I don't have time for business.

You don't have time because it isn't a priority. It isn't urgent. Other things come first. Game of Thrones. Call of Duty. Sleep and leisure. The 55th Yankees game you just watched. Would you "find time" if failure in the next three months meant the death of the loved one? You would. What's most important always finds time.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I don't have time with my current lifestyle patterns, but with the proper adjustments and reprioritizations, I can find time.

LIE #3: X just got lucky.

Yes, X did. Out of all the numbers in the alphabet, X was incredibly active, engaged, and committed to success. As such, X manipulated probability and gave themself a better chance of getting in luck's spotlight.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Luck is a function of probability, and my habitual actions can improve my chances for luck to appear.

LIE #4: Someday I'll start a business.

No, you won't. You're too comfortable, and comfort doesn't incite action. Most people allow their dreams to be bribed with a few hours of television, video games, or sleep. There will never be a perfect day, week, or month. Life is too aggressively chaotic with its own momentum. It is why Someday exists. Someday is a pacification to make yourself feel good for not quitting, but delaying. And we all know someday becomes never. Someday is a fat lie.

PARADIGM SHIFT: My best time to start a business is today. Someday is a pacifying excuse to disguise the truth of never.

LIE #5: There are no good ideas.

Never has there been one sentence that stinks of entrepreneurial ignorance. Most new businesses are built on marginal improvement and better efficiencies, not about becoming the next Steve Jobs. If life had no problems, there would be no ideas. Ideas are about solving problems, removing angsts, fixing inconveniences, delivering peace, sparking fun, and offering different ingredients.

PARADIGM SHIFT: If I see ideas as a function of life's imperfections, voids, and distress, I will have plenty of ideas.

LIE #6: I'm too old, stupid, or X.

If you have something I want or desperately need, I will not care about your personal histrionics or demographics. How much is it, and when can I get it? The injured man in the street comes to mind... if I'm bleeding in an alley and a man offers me a tourniquet, I'm not going to care how old the man is, how he's a bad father, or about his bankruptcy 24 years ago.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Relative value will be colorblind to my deficiencies and past transgressions. If I can provide value to culture, culture will overlook my self-constructed inadequacies.

LIE #7: I don't have enough money.

While this might be true, you also don't have enough discipline or focus. It's stunningly amazing how the people who claim to have no money also have no job, no education, no specialized skills, and no motivation to change the status quo. But you can bet they have the latest iPhone, a device that has instant access to unlimited knowledge.

I don't have money really means no one will give me money, and I'm too lazy to earn my own through hard work, ingenuity, and persistence. To get money to start my business, I taught myself a specialized skill (web design) that 10X'd my earning wages. Money followed.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can increase my income and build capital by investing in education and teaching myself a specialized skill that will multiply my wages by several magnitudes.

LIE #8: I don’t have the right connections.

While having a solid network of connections can be helpful, it is not essential for success. Connections is always a function of activity. It is a function of productivity and results. Do you think someone with 1 million subscribers to their YouTube channel is struggling with "the right connections?" Be active and connections will follow, plus money.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can expand my network by consistently acting and moving on my goals.

LIE #9: Entrepreneurship is risk.

Starting a business is inherently risky, but avoiding the risk is riskier. As I like to say, the pain of regret is far greater than the pain of failure.

PARADIGM SHIFT: All of life is a risk, some risks have lifelong returns, others have lifelong regrets.

Stop lying and get busy doing.

Nice! Busting up the limiting beliefs.

I see these

- I don’t have enough money to start a business.

The reality… MOST successful businesses with multi-millionaire owners required more financial resources than the entrepreneur had to start the business.

Loans, investments, partnerships with better resourced people or firms all often contribute to the success of a venture.

- I can’t raise money.

Translation: “that scares me.”

You’re right you probably can’t with that attitude. Not because you couldn’t, but because you haven’t created a bang up offer that excites an investor.

You should be excited about what you are selling and the value you are creating. Whether it is to investors or customers.

- I can’t create a bang up offer.

Translation: I think I’m too stupid to come up with a valuable option.

Solution: self eduction. Work to become a respectable expert on a market and don’t stop until you are. Masterfully understand your proposal’s relationship to the market you know so well. I promise that will move you forward.

Business isn’t a “dip your toes in” thing. It’s immersion. Whole a$$ it.

 

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[Johnny boy]

LIE #9: Entrepreneurship is risk.

I've fired like 8 of my employees.

I've been fired from my business 0 times and will continue to be the boss's favorite forever and ever.

 

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[Help Future You]

Spot on as always. I took some time myself to do an inventory of what excuses I have personally made over the course of my life that have prevented me from achieving the level of success I aspire to. I think they tie nicely into your concept of lies because in a way each of them is their own little version of a lie that caused me to get stuck (or never start).

In no particular order:

1. Fear of failure – Worried you won’t succeed, can’t risk the bruised ego if you try something and it doesn’t work out. In fact this is all imagined. You are pre-experiencing failure in advance by even entertaining it as a thought. You are ascribing judgement that others will place upon you without evidence to support it.
2. Lack of motivation – Don’t feel like starting today, as you said you just don’t want it bad enough
3. Distractions and procrastination – Always something else going on that needs your immediate attention
4. Perfectionism – All the lights need to be green, can’t start unless they are
5. Negative self-talk – Limiting self-beliefs create mental roadblocks
6. Poor planning and organization – No systems set up to be successful
7. Overwhelm – Too many options to choose from, so choosing none at all
8. External circumstances and factors beyond control – Out of your hands so why worry at all. Can't solve an algebra equation chewing bumble gum.
9. Lack of support or accountability – Not a self-starter and need hand holding
10. Poor mental and physical health – Health is wealth, and those in poor health only have one wish
11. Resistance to change – Trapped in comfort zone and familiarity
12. Prioritizing other people or responsibilities over personal goals – Too busy to focus on yourself as long as you stay busy with other peoples' problems and issues
13. Fear of success – What if this changes you?
14. Indecision and uncertainty – Not sure if this is the right path
15. Taking on too much at once – Inability to prioritize effectively
16. Excessive stress and burnout – Not achieving necessary balance, your cup is full of the wrong things.
17. Disorganization and disarray – A cluttered mind leads to a cluttered life
18. Inability to set and maintain boundaries – Afraid to say no, people pleasing, cycle of burnout repeats itself without measurable progress being made

I try to operate with the mindset of "Know thy enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles, you will never be defeated."

The greater we all get at shining the light on what is holding us back the more equipped we can be to choose a path that neutralizes or eliminates these lies, fears, doubts, and distractions.

 

[Subsonic]

It's been a long, long time. But it seems like yesterday.

In 2007, I launched The Fastlane Forum. During this time, I've encountered 1000s of entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs. I soon discovered a complex reality that most people are liars—not to others, but to themselves. Here are the 9 common lies that want to convince you to sell your dreams for slaughter. And 9 easy paradigm shifts to insure your dreams stay alive and tracked for reality.

9 Dream-Killing Lies You Sell Yourself...

LIE #1: I'm not good at X.

Of course, you're not. No one is born an instant expert. We all crawled before we walked. Seinfeld's first words weren't a joke. Ronaldo didn't emerge from mom with a football. The question is, if you aren't good at X, what do you need to do to get good at X?

The fact is, "I'm not good at X" is not a fixed status but a variable one. You can suck at X today, but be better at it tomorrow. BETTER is the key; minor daily improvements create major results.

The sibling to this lie is, "Well, I just lack the education."

PARADIGM SHIFT: I'm not good at X today, but I can be better at X tomorrow.

LIE #2: I don't have time for business.

You don't have time because it isn't a priority. It isn't urgent. Other things come first. Game of Thrones. Call of Duty. Sleep and leisure. The 55th Yankees game you just watched. Would you "find time" if failure in the next three months meant the death of the loved one? You would. What's most important always finds time.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I don't have time with my current lifestyle patterns, but with the proper adjustments and reprioritizations, I can find time.

LIE #3: X just got lucky.

Yes, X did. Out of all the numbers in the alphabet, X was incredibly active, engaged, and committed to success. As such, X manipulated probability and gave themself a better chance of getting in luck's spotlight.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Luck is a function of probability, and my habitual actions can improve my chances for luck to appear.

LIE #4: Someday I'll start a business.

No, you won't. You're too comfortable, and comfort doesn't incite action. Most people allow their dreams to be bribed with a few hours of television, video games, or sleep. There will never be a perfect day, week, or month. Life is too aggressively chaotic with its own momentum. It is why Someday exists. Someday is a pacification to make yourself feel good for not quitting, but deferring. And we all know someday becomes never. Someday is a fat lie.

PARADIGM SHIFT: My best time to start a business is today. Someday is a pacifying excuse to disguise the truth of never.

LIE #5: There are no good ideas.

Never has there been one sentence that stinks of entrepreneurial ignorance. Most new businesses are built on margin improvement and better efficiencies, not about becoming the next Steve Jobs. If life had no problems, there would be no ideas. Ideas are about solving problems, removing angsts, fixing inconveniences, delivering peace, sparking fun, and offering different ingredients.

PARADIGM SHIFT: If I see ideas as a function of life's imperfections, voids, and distress, I will have plenty of ideas.

LIE #6: I'm too old, stupid, or X.

If you have something I want or desperately need, I will not care about your personal histrionics or demographics. How much is it, and when can I get it? The old injured man in the street comes to mind... if I'm bleeding in an alley and a man offers me a tourniquet, I'm not going to care how old the man is, how he's a bad father, or about his bankruptcy 24 years ago.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Relative value will be colorblind to my deficiencies and past transgressions. If I can provide value to culture, culture will overlook my self-constructed inadequacies.

LIE #7: I don't have enough money.

While this might be true, you also don't have enough discipline or focus. It's stunningly amazing how the people who claim to have no money also don't have no job, no education, no specialized skills, and no motivation to change the status quo. But you can bet they have the latest iPhone, a device that has instant access to unlimited knowledge.

I don't have money really means no one will give me money, and I'm too lazy to earn my own through hard work, ingenuity, and persistence. To get money to start my business, I taught myself a specialized skill (web design) that 10X'd my earning wages. Money followed.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can increase my income and build capital by investing in education and teaching myself a specialized skill that will multiply my wages by several magnitudes.

LIE #8: I don’t have the right connections.

While having a solid network of connections can be helpful, it is not essential for success. Connections is always a function of activity. It is a function of productivity and results. Do you think someone with 1 million subscribers to their YouTube channel is struggling with "the right connections?" Be active and connections will follow, plus money.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can expand my network by consistently acting and moving on my goals.

LIE #9: Entrepreneurship is risk.

Starting a business is inherently risky, but avoiding the risk is riskier. As I like to say, the pain of regret is far greater than the pain of failure.

PARADIGM SHIFT: All of life is a risk, some risks have lifelong returns, others have lifelong regrets.

Stop lying and get busy doing.

Great Post, and something i wish everyone would understand.

On the other hand most people dont want these things to be true as that would mean taking responsibility.
Freedom may be the motto of america and most people there vote for it yet they throw it away when they could have it- Freedom is responsibility.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

In light of this thread...

HOT! - MINDSET - Most of us ain't getting rich, and that's okay

I'm not rich and I don't know if I'll ever get rich. If I said, "only %5 of the members on this forum will get rich", you'd automatically think that you're in that %5. And that's simply not true. You're probably not. I'm sorry. And that's completely okay. You don't need a private jet, a...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

Here's another lie.

LIE #10: I don't need true Fastlane financial freedom as long as I own my time; my basic needs of food and shelter are enough.

Beware of such idealism. This might work in your 20s, but as you get older, this type of strategy is the same as thinking your first winning hour at the casino will continue for the next 8 hours.

If you read Unscripted , you're aware of the story of the "Mexican Fisherman" who decided to fish most of the day and only create wealth to fulfill his most basic needs, all so he can spend time with his amigos and drink wine.

This idealistic sap story is now littered around the web as some type of lifestyle doctrine, a reason why people should lower their standards, lower their expectations, and just "get by" so you can chill all day doing nothing.

Well here's the part of the story that isn't shared, as I wrote in Unscripted .

The reasonable moral to the story is “Money doesn’t buy happiness.” Except you didn’t hear the rest of the story…the one that isn’t shared.

Here it is: Soon after the American left, things changed.

The government, desperate for tax dollars, levied a series of boating, gaming, and license fees: To continue fishing, the Mexican must pay $400 for a fishing license, a $200 environmental fee, a $350 game endorsement, and $1,800 in mooring fees. If he doesn’t pay ASAP, the Mexican will be barred from fishing.

Unfortunately, after paying all the fees, the Mexican has little money left to insure and license his boat. Unable to legally operate at his favorite coastal town, the "Mexican Fisherman" drives three hours south to another town, where the quality of the fish is poor. The long drive takes its toll on the Mexican’s car, where it ultimately breaks down. In order to fix his car, he needs $200 for a water pump and $400 for a radiator. This is after he pays $600 to get his car towed back to his village.

But this story is about to get worse.

When the Mexican fails to pay the mooring fees to the harbor master, he loses his boat. The "Mexican Fisherman" who spent most of his days in a state of unpreparedness and merriment—strumming around with his friends, sipping wine—is now unable to support his family.

His wife divorces him.

The Mexican now sings a different tune with his amigos … something along the lines of “Money can buy happiness.”

Which one of these stories sounds more realistic?

In both stories, the Mexican has the same goal: freedom with his friends and family.

That's worthy.

Unfortunately, when money is removed from a real-world existence, idealism turns into a nightmare—a repeated reality found in every civilized country worldwide: bills, fees, taxes, life overhead, and money problems.

The problem isn’t the Mexican’s goal—freedom; the problem is he was lazy and disrespected money’s role. He didn’t save, prepare, or produce in excess of consumption.

Money buys happiness when you let it buy your a freedom not constrained by fiscal dramas, now, later, and in the distant future.

 

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[socaldude]

We are stuck in a circular reasoning of perception and thought.

A scam perpetuated by our own inability and unwillingness to confront uncomfortable and embarrassing truths about ourselves.

What advice would I give somebody if they are stuck? Study logic, math and economics. Concepts like “it from bit” by John A. Wheeler can be helpful. We need to process information from our environment correctly.

We look for evidence to fit our beliefs and expectations. We then exclude evidence that otherwise would have led to another “truth”. We then believe our false belief even more based on our own empirical deduction.

The flawed inferences and conclusions we hold about ourselves and the world are what hold us back. And we are oblivious as to the mechanisms that led us there even if they are through the means of a flawed “logic”.

 

[genesisk5]

It feels great that I already knew how you'd refute all those lies. having read all your books, some over 10 times, and 30+ other entrepreneurship and self help books, I feel like I'm finally ready to actually move out. having signed up here almost 3 years ago and been inactive for some time, I've always been mindful of your words "A lot of people vanish away soon after making great promises" and I've been thinking that I'm gonna prove I'm not one of them. for the last 3 years I've been gradually growing up but like exponentially, and the last 1 month was quite different, to the point that my self from 3 years ago would never believe to grow into who I am today, how productive I am, how mature I am in terms of both entrepreneurial mindset and life in general. there still must be long way to go but I'm going to embark on this journey soon, this time for real. I hope one day I can post my success story here and share what I invented which is an expansion to MJ's CENTS.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Also, quite surprised MJ knows about Ronaldo and football lol

I have to think more internationally, most of my readers are outside of the US .

 

[evanwilson]

It's been a long, long time. But it seems like yesterday.

In 2007, I launched The Fastlane Forum. During this time, I've encountered 1000s of entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs. I soon discovered a complex reality that most people are liars—not to others, but to themselves. Here are the 9 common lies that want to convince you to sell your dreams for slaughter. And 9 easy paradigm shifts to insure your dreams stay alive and tracked for reality.

9 Dream-Killing Lies You Sell Yourself...

LIE #1: I'm not good at X.

Of course, you're not. No one is born an instant expert. We all crawled before we walked. Seinfeld's first words weren't a joke. Ronaldo didn't emerge from mom with a football. The question is, if you aren't good at X, what do you need to do to get good at X?

The fact is, "I'm not good at X" is not a fixed status but a variable one. You can suck at X today, but be better at it tomorrow. BETTER is the key; minor daily improvements create major results.

The sibling to this lie is, "Well, I just lack the education."

PARADIGM SHIFT: I'm not good at X today, but I can be better at X tomorrow.

LIE #2: I don't have time for business.

You don't have time because it isn't a priority. It isn't urgent. Other things come first. Game of Thrones. Call of Duty. Sleep and leisure. The 55th Yankees game you just watched. Would you "find time" if failure in the next three months meant the death of the loved one? You would. What's most important always finds time.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I don't have time with my current lifestyle patterns, but with the proper adjustments and reprioritizations, I can find time.

LIE #3: X just got lucky.

Yes, X did. Out of all the numbers in the alphabet, X was incredibly active, engaged, and committed to success. As such, X manipulated probability and gave themself a better chance of getting in luck's spotlight.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Luck is a function of probability, and my habitual actions can improve my chances for luck to appear.

LIE #4: Someday I'll start a business.

No, you won't. You're too comfortable, and comfort doesn't incite action. Most people allow their dreams to be bribed with a few hours of television, video games, or sleep. There will never be a perfect day, week, or month. Life is too aggressively chaotic with its own momentum. It is why Someday exists. Someday is a pacification to make yourself feel good for not quitting, but delaying. And we all know someday becomes never. Someday is a fat lie.

PARADIGM SHIFT: My best time to start a business is today. Someday is a pacifying excuse to disguise the truth of never.

LIE #5: There are no good ideas.

Never has there been one sentence that stinks of entrepreneurial ignorance. Most new businesses are built on marginal improvement and better efficiencies, not about becoming the next Steve Jobs. If life had no problems, there would be no ideas. Ideas are about solving problems, removing angsts, fixing inconveniences, delivering peace, sparking fun, and offering different ingredients.

PARADIGM SHIFT: If I see ideas as a function of life's imperfections, voids, and distress, I will have plenty of ideas.

LIE #6: I'm too old, stupid, or X.

If you have something I want or desperately need, I will not care about your personal histrionics or demographics. How much is it, and when can I get it? The injured man in the street comes to mind... if I'm bleeding in an alley and a man offers me a tourniquet, I'm not going to care how old the man is, how he's a bad father, or about his bankruptcy 24 years ago.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Relative value will be colorblind to my deficiencies and past transgressions. If I can provide value to culture, culture will overlook my self-constructed inadequacies.

LIE #7: I don't have enough money.

While this might be true, you also don't have enough discipline or focus. It's stunningly amazing how the people who claim to have no money also have no job, no education, no specialized skills, and no motivation to change the status quo. But you can bet they have the latest iPhone, a device that has instant access to unlimited knowledge.

I don't have money really means no one will give me money, and I'm too lazy to earn my own through hard work, ingenuity, and persistence. To get money to start my business, I taught myself a specialized skill (web design) that 10X'd my earning wages. Money followed.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can increase my income and build capital by investing in education and teaching myself a specialized skill that will multiply my wages by several magnitudes.

LIE #8: I don’t have the right connections.

While having a solid network of connections can be helpful, it is not essential for success. Connections is always a function of activity. It is a function of productivity and results. Do you think someone with 1 million subscribers to their YouTube channel is struggling with "the right connections?" Be active and connections will follow, plus money.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can expand my network by consistently acting and moving on my goals.

LIE #9: Entrepreneurship is risk.

Starting a business is inherently risky, but avoiding the risk is riskier. As I like to say, the pain of regret is far greater than the pain of failure.

PARADIGM SHIFT: All of life is a risk, some risks have lifelong returns, others have lifelong regrets.

Stop lying and get busy doing.

A great post. Some of these lies actually bounce in my head. Thanks a lot!

 

[The-J]

This might work in your 20s, but as you get older, this type of strategy is the same as thinking your first winning hour at the casino will continue for the next 8 hours.

You've run this forum long enough to see what happens. Freelancers, Amazon business owners, dropshipping, affiliate marketers, "agency" owners, list goes on... these people (like me) make enough money to live, quit their jobs, and congratulate themselves on a job well done.

Then the money starts to dry up and they don't know what to do because they haven't actually been solving real business problems. They (like me) come to the forum asking "what do I do". They get real advice, don't take it because it's too much like hard work, and then go back to a job where they're getting paid less than they would get paid if they had simply stayed in their career that whole time.

But at least they got to go to Thailand!

 

[WillHurtDontCare]

Then the money starts to dry up and they don't know what to do because they haven't actually been solving real business problems. They (like me) come to the forum asking "what do I do". They get real advice, don't take it because it's too much like hard work, and then go back to a job where they're getting paid less than they would get paid if they had simply stayed in their career that whole time.

The game never ends. Unless you die, you've always got another hand to play.

People should take most of their problems less seriously. Things didn't work out, whatever, next.

 

[Bohemi]

thank you again for putting into words what I’ve been trying to figure out myself….

im still struggling with the whole idea of being a successful business woman, but looking back on these last few months (since i read the unscripted book and the millionaire fast lane) i can see how many things I’ve been able to change rapidly.

Because I started seeing the world without the script, I’ve managed to completely giving up playing games on my phone or my iPad.

I’ve quit drinking sodas AND started running again (I’ve been doing that 5 years ago but back then It was fearbased, now it is because i want to feel good and look good again). Im going for half marathon in september.
And im currently maybe 35kg overweight (at least) so the process is really hard but i know that all i have to do is to keep deciding to go for yet another run and i will get there.

I guess it will be the same with the whole entrepreneur idea that i keep in the someday-categori. If im willing to take just another step towards it, eventually i will get to the point where i don‘t feel the need to keep lying to myself anymore

Right now im diving into the great rat race escape book and therefore im back at the forum, showing up

thank you for putting all of this on paper for me to read

 

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[mikecarlooch]

Translation: “that scares me.”

One mental model I've started using to combat the belief of fear that's been helpful is...

Put a seatbelt on fear and let it ride in the passenger seat. It'll be an annoying passenger, but you control the vehicle..

 

[MJ DeMarco]

thank you again for putting into words what I’ve been trying to figure out myself….

im still struggling with the whole idea of being a successful business woman, but looking back on these last few months (since i read the unscripted book and the millionaire fast lane) i can see how many things I’ve been able to change rapidly.

Because I started seeing the world without the script, I’ve managed to completely giving up playing games on my phone or my iPad.

I’ve quit drinking sodas AND started running again (I’ve been doing that 5 years ago but back then It was fearbased, now it is because i want to feel good and look good again). Im going for half marathon in september.
And im currently maybe 35kg overweight (at least) so the process is really hard but i know that all i have to do is to keep deciding to go for yet another run and i will get there.

I guess it will be the same with the whole entrepreneur idea that i keep in the someday-categori. If im willing to take just another step towards it, eventually i will get to the point where i don‘t feel the need to keep lying to myself anymore

Right now im diving into the great rat race escape book and therefore im back at the forum, showing up

thank you for putting all of this on paper for me to read

Congrats on these small changes! Done regularly = BIG CHANGES!

 

[T0rch]

It's been a long, long time. But it seems like yesterday.

In 2007, I launched The Fastlane Forum. During this time, I've encountered 1000s of entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs. I soon discovered a complex reality that most people are liars—not to others, but to themselves. Here are the 9 common lies that want to convince you to sell your dreams for slaughter. And 9 easy paradigm shifts to insure your dreams stay alive and tracked for reality.

9 Dream-Killing Lies You Sell Yourself...

LIE #1: I'm not good at X.

Of course, you're not. No one is born an instant expert. We all crawled before we walked. Seinfeld's first words weren't a joke. Ronaldo didn't emerge from mom with a football. The question is, if you aren't good at X, what do you need to do to get good at X?

The fact is, "I'm not good at X" is not a fixed status but a variable one. You can suck at X today, but be better at it tomorrow. BETTER is the key; minor daily improvements create major results.

The sibling to this lie is, "Well, I just lack the education."

PARADIGM SHIFT: I'm not good at X today, but I can be better at X tomorrow.

LIE #2: I don't have time for business.

You don't have time because it isn't a priority. It isn't urgent. Other things come first. Game of Thrones. Call of Duty. Sleep and leisure. The 55th Yankees game you just watched. Would you "find time" if failure in the next three months meant the death of the loved one? You would. What's most important always finds time.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I don't have time with my current lifestyle patterns, but with the proper adjustments and reprioritizations, I can find time.

LIE #3: X just got lucky.

Yes, X did. Out of all the numbers in the alphabet, X was incredibly active, engaged, and committed to success. As such, X manipulated probability and gave themself a better chance of getting in luck's spotlight.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Luck is a function of probability, and my habitual actions can improve my chances for luck to appear.

LIE #4: Someday I'll start a business.

No, you won't. You're too comfortable, and comfort doesn't incite action. Most people allow their dreams to be bribed with a few hours of television, video games, or sleep. There will never be a perfect day, week, or month. Life is too aggressively chaotic with its own momentum. It is why Someday exists. Someday is a pacification to make yourself feel good for not quitting, but delaying. And we all know someday becomes never. Someday is a fat lie.

PARADIGM SHIFT: My best time to start a business is today. Someday is a pacifying excuse to disguise the truth of never.

LIE #5: There are no good ideas.

Never has there been one sentence that stinks of entrepreneurial ignorance. Most new businesses are built on marginal improvement and better efficiencies, not about becoming the next Steve Jobs. If life had no problems, there would be no ideas. Ideas are about solving problems, removing angsts, fixing inconveniences, delivering peace, sparking fun, and offering different ingredients.

PARADIGM SHIFT: If I see ideas as a function of life's imperfections, voids, and distress, I will have plenty of ideas.

LIE #6: I'm too old, stupid, or X.

If you have something I want or desperately need, I will not care about your personal histrionics or demographics. How much is it, and when can I get it? The injured man in the street comes to mind... if I'm bleeding in an alley and a man offers me a tourniquet, I'm not going to care how old the man is, how he's a bad father, or about his bankruptcy 24 years ago.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Relative value will be colorblind to my deficiencies and past transgressions. If I can provide value to culture, culture will overlook my self-constructed inadequacies.

LIE #7: I don't have enough money.

While this might be true, you also don't have enough discipline or focus. It's stunningly amazing how the people who claim to have no money also have no job, no education, no specialized skills, and no motivation to change the status quo. But you can bet they have the latest iPhone, a device that has instant access to unlimited knowledge.

I don't have money really means no one will give me money, and I'm too lazy to earn my own through hard work, ingenuity, and persistence. To get money to start my business, I taught myself a specialized skill (web design) that 10X'd my earning wages. Money followed.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can increase my income and build capital by investing in education and teaching myself a specialized skill that will multiply my wages by several magnitudes.

LIE #8: I don’t have the right connections.

While having a solid network of connections can be helpful, it is not essential for success. Connections is always a function of activity. It is a function of productivity and results. Do you think someone with 1 million subscribers to their YouTube channel is struggling with "the right connections?" Be active and connections will follow, plus money.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can expand my network by consistently acting and moving on my goals.

LIE #9: Entrepreneurship is risk.

Starting a business is inherently risky, but avoiding the risk is riskier. As I like to say, the pain of regret is far greater than the pain of failure.

PARADIGM SHIFT: All of life is a risk, some risks have lifelong returns, others have lifelong regrets.

Stop lying and get busy doing.

This is GOLD, MJ....Thanks so much.

Stupid question: Is there a way to pin or favourite this post?

 

[Isaac Odongo]

It's been a long, long time. But it seems like yesterday.

In 2007, I launched The Fastlane Forum. During this time, I've encountered 1000s of entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs. I soon discovered a complex reality that most people are liars—not to others, but to themselves. Here are the 9 common lies that want to convince you to sell your dreams for slaughter. And 9 easy paradigm shifts to insure your dreams stay alive and tracked for reality.

9 Dream-Killing Lies You Sell Yourself...

LIE #1: I'm not good at X.

Of course, you're not. No one is born an instant expert. We all crawled before we walked. Seinfeld's first words weren't a joke. Ronaldo didn't emerge from mom with a football. The question is, if you aren't good at X, what do you need to do to get good at X?

The fact is, "I'm not good at X" is not a fixed status but a variable one. You can suck at X today, but be better at it tomorrow. BETTER is the key; minor daily improvements create major results.

The sibling to this lie is, "Well, I just lack the education."

PARADIGM SHIFT: I'm not good at X today, but I can be better at X tomorrow.

LIE #2: I don't have time for business.

You don't have time because it isn't a priority. It isn't urgent. Other things come first. Game of Thrones. Call of Duty. Sleep and leisure. The 55th Yankees game you just watched. Would you "find time" if failure in the next three months meant the death of the loved one? You would. What's most important always finds time.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I don't have time with my current lifestyle patterns, but with the proper adjustments and reprioritizations, I can find time.

LIE #3: X just got lucky.

Yes, X did. Out of all the numbers in the alphabet, X was incredibly active, engaged, and committed to success. As such, X manipulated probability and gave themself a better chance of getting in luck's spotlight.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Luck is a function of probability, and my habitual actions can improve my chances for luck to appear.

LIE #4: Someday I'll start a business.

No, you won't. You're too comfortable, and comfort doesn't incite action. Most people allow their dreams to be bribed with a few hours of television, video games, or sleep. There will never be a perfect day, week, or month. Life is too aggressively chaotic with its own momentum. It is why Someday exists. Someday is a pacification to make yourself feel good for not quitting, but delaying. And we all know someday becomes never. Someday is a fat lie.

PARADIGM SHIFT: My best time to start a business is today. Someday is a pacifying excuse to disguise the truth of never.

LIE #5: There are no good ideas.

Never has there been one sentence that stinks of entrepreneurial ignorance. Most new businesses are built on marginal improvement and better efficiencies, not about becoming the next Steve Jobs. If life had no problems, there would be no ideas. Ideas are about solving problems, removing angsts, fixing inconveniences, delivering peace, sparking fun, and offering different ingredients.

PARADIGM SHIFT: If I see ideas as a function of life's imperfections, voids, and distress, I will have plenty of ideas.

LIE #6: I'm too old, stupid, or X.

If you have something I want or desperately need, I will not care about your personal histrionics or demographics. How much is it, and when can I get it? The injured man in the street comes to mind... if I'm bleeding in an alley and a man offers me a tourniquet, I'm not going to care how old the man is, how he's a bad father, or about his bankruptcy 24 years ago.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Relative value will be colorblind to my deficiencies and past transgressions. If I can provide value to culture, culture will overlook my self-constructed inadequacies.

LIE #7: I don't have enough money.

While this might be true, you also don't have enough discipline or focus. It's stunningly amazing how the people who claim to have no money also have no job, no education, no specialized skills, and no motivation to change the status quo. But you can bet they have the latest iPhone, a device that has instant access to unlimited knowledge.

I don't have money really means no one will give me money, and I'm too lazy to earn my own through hard work, ingenuity, and persistence. To get money to start my business, I taught myself a specialized skill (web design) that 10X'd my earning wages. Money followed.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can increase my income and build capital by investing in education and teaching myself a specialized skill that will multiply my wages by several magnitudes.

LIE #8: I don’t have the right connections.

While having a solid network of connections can be helpful, it is not essential for success. Connections is always a function of activity. It is a function of productivity and results. Do you think someone with 1 million subscribers to their YouTube channel is struggling with "the right connections?" Be active and connections will follow, plus money.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can expand my network by consistently acting and moving on my goals.

LIE #9: Entrepreneurship is risk.

Starting a business is inherently risky, but avoiding the risk is riskier. As I like to say, the pain of regret is far greater than the pain of failure.

PARADIGM SHIFT: All of life is a risk, some risks have lifelong returns, others have lifelong regrets.

Stop lying and get busy doing.

I just have to keep going uphill the road trip.

 

[renaissance man]

TFW when you read all the PARADIGM SHIFT comments in MJ's voice

 

[Andy Black]

I just highlight the parts I want to save and share them with quotes creator(an app on my smartphone). Those who know better e.g @Andy Black should chip in.

I just bookmark posts I like @T0rch.

I even put a lot of my own threads in my signature so I can find them again.

 

[mikecarlooch]

It's been a long, long time. But it seems like yesterday.

In 2007, I launched The Fastlane Forum. During this time, I've encountered 1000s of entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs. I soon discovered a complex reality that most people are liars—not to others, but to themselves. Here are the 9 common lies that want to convince you to sell your dreams for slaughter. And 9 easy paradigm shifts to insure your dreams stay alive and tracked for reality.

9 Dream-Killing Lies You Sell Yourself...

LIE #1: I'm not good at X.

Of course, you're not. No one is born an instant expert. We all crawled before we walked. Seinfeld's first words weren't a joke. Ronaldo didn't emerge from mom with a football. The question is, if you aren't good at X, what do you need to do to get good at X?

The fact is, "I'm not good at X" is not a fixed status but a variable one. You can suck at X today, but be better at it tomorrow. BETTER is the key; minor daily improvements create major results.

The sibling to this lie is, "Well, I just lack the education."

PARADIGM SHIFT: I'm not good at X today, but I can be better at X tomorrow.

LIE #2: I don't have time for business.

You don't have time because it isn't a priority. It isn't urgent. Other things come first. Game of Thrones. Call of Duty. Sleep and leisure. The 55th Yankees game you just watched. Would you "find time" if failure in the next three months meant the death of the loved one? You would. What's most important always finds time.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I don't have time with my current lifestyle patterns, but with the proper adjustments and reprioritizations, I can find time.

LIE #3: X just got lucky.

Yes, X did. Out of all the numbers in the alphabet, X was incredibly active, engaged, and committed to success. As such, X manipulated probability and gave themself a better chance of getting in luck's spotlight.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Luck is a function of probability, and my habitual actions can improve my chances for luck to appear.

LIE #4: Someday I'll start a business.

No, you won't. You're too comfortable, and comfort doesn't incite action. Most people allow their dreams to be bribed with a few hours of television, video games, or sleep. There will never be a perfect day, week, or month. Life is too aggressively chaotic with its own momentum. It is why Someday exists. Someday is a pacification to make yourself feel good for not quitting, but delaying. And we all know someday becomes never. Someday is a fat lie.

PARADIGM SHIFT: My best time to start a business is today. Someday is a pacifying excuse to disguise the truth of never.

LIE #5: There are no good ideas.

Never has there been one sentence that stinks of entrepreneurial ignorance. Most new businesses are built on marginal improvement and better efficiencies, not about becoming the next Steve Jobs. If life had no problems, there would be no ideas. Ideas are about solving problems, removing angsts, fixing inconveniences, delivering peace, sparking fun, and offering different ingredients.

PARADIGM SHIFT: If I see ideas as a function of life's imperfections, voids, and distress, I will have plenty of ideas.

LIE #6: I'm too old, stupid, or X.

If you have something I want or desperately need, I will not care about your personal histrionics or demographics. How much is it, and when can I get it? The injured man in the street comes to mind... if I'm bleeding in an alley and a man offers me a tourniquet, I'm not going to care how old the man is, how he's a bad father, or about his bankruptcy 24 years ago.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Relative value will be colorblind to my deficiencies and past transgressions. If I can provide value to culture, culture will overlook my self-constructed inadequacies.

LIE #7: I don't have enough money.

While this might be true, you also don't have enough discipline or focus. It's stunningly amazing how the people who claim to have no money also have no job, no education, no specialized skills, and no motivation to change the status quo. But you can bet they have the latest iPhone, a device that has instant access to unlimited knowledge.

I don't have money really means no one will give me money, and I'm too lazy to earn my own through hard work, ingenuity, and persistence. To get money to start my business, I taught myself a specialized skill (web design) that 10X'd my earning wages. Money followed.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can increase my income and build capital by investing in education and teaching myself a specialized skill that will multiply my wages by several magnitudes.

LIE #8: I don’t have the right connections.

While having a solid network of connections can be helpful, it is not essential for success. Connections is always a function of activity. It is a function of productivity and results. Do you think someone with 1 million subscribers to their YouTube channel is struggling with "the right connections?" Be active and connections will follow, plus money.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can expand my network by consistently acting and moving on my goals.

LIE #9: Entrepreneurship is risk.

Starting a business is inherently risky, but avoiding the risk is riskier. As I like to say, the pain of regret is far greater than the pain of failure.

PARADIGM SHIFT: All of life is a risk, some risks have lifelong returns, others have lifelong regrets.

Stop lying and get busy doing.

I love this forum.

You will not find such an amazing group of people who think this way anywhere else.

Such a great write up.

 

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[Lyzmin]

“We need to be reminded more often than instructed.”

This is a perfect example @MJ DeMarco , thank you for this great post!

 

[Xeon]

It's been a long, long time. But it seems like yesterday.

In 2007, I launched The Fastlane Forum. During this time, I've encountered 1000s of entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs. I soon discovered a complex reality that most people are liars—not to others, but to themselves. Here are the 9 common lies that want to convince you to sell your dreams for slaughter. And 9 easy paradigm shifts to insure your dreams stay alive and tracked for reality.

9 Dream-Killing Lies You Sell Yourself...

LIE #1: I'm not good at X.

Of course, you're not. No one is born an instant expert. We all crawled before we walked. Seinfeld's first words weren't a joke. Ronaldo didn't emerge from mom with a football. The question is, if you aren't good at X, what do you need to do to get good at X?

The fact is, "I'm not good at X" is not a fixed status but a variable one. You can suck at X today, but be better at it tomorrow. BETTER is the key; minor daily improvements create major results.

The sibling to this lie is, "Well, I just lack the education."

PARADIGM SHIFT: I'm not good at X today, but I can be better at X tomorrow.

LIE #2: I don't have time for business.

You don't have time because it isn't a priority. It isn't urgent. Other things come first. Game of Thrones. Call of Duty. Sleep and leisure. The 55th Yankees game you just watched. Would you "find time" if failure in the next three months meant the death of the loved one? You would. What's most important always finds time.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I don't have time with my current lifestyle patterns, but with the proper adjustments and reprioritizations, I can find time.

LIE #3: X just got lucky.

Yes, X did. Out of all the numbers in the alphabet, X was incredibly active, engaged, and committed to success. As such, X manipulated probability and gave themself a better chance of getting in luck's spotlight.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Luck is a function of probability, and my habitual actions can improve my chances for luck to appear.

LIE #4: Someday I'll start a business.

No, you won't. You're too comfortable, and comfort doesn't incite action. Most people allow their dreams to be bribed with a few hours of television, video games, or sleep. There will never be a perfect day, week, or month. Life is too aggressively chaotic with its own momentum. It is why Someday exists. Someday is a pacification to make yourself feel good for not quitting, but delaying. And we all know someday becomes never. Someday is a fat lie.

PARADIGM SHIFT: My best time to start a business is today. Someday is a pacifying excuse to disguise the truth of never.

LIE #5: There are no good ideas.

Never has there been one sentence that stinks of entrepreneurial ignorance. Most new businesses are built on marginal improvement and better efficiencies, not about becoming the next Steve Jobs. If life had no problems, there would be no ideas. Ideas are about solving problems, removing angsts, fixing inconveniences, delivering peace, sparking fun, and offering different ingredients.

PARADIGM SHIFT: If I see ideas as a function of life's imperfections, voids, and distress, I will have plenty of ideas.

LIE #6: I'm too old, stupid, or X.

If you have something I want or desperately need, I will not care about your personal histrionics or demographics. How much is it, and when can I get it? The injured man in the street comes to mind... if I'm bleeding in an alley and a man offers me a tourniquet, I'm not going to care how old the man is, how he's a bad father, or about his bankruptcy 24 years ago.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Relative value will be colorblind to my deficiencies and past transgressions. If I can provide value to culture, culture will overlook my self-constructed inadequacies.

LIE #7: I don't have enough money.

While this might be true, you also don't have enough discipline or focus. It's stunningly amazing how the people who claim to have no money also have no job, no education, no specialized skills, and no motivation to change the status quo. But you can bet they have the latest iPhone, a device that has instant access to unlimited knowledge.

I don't have money really means no one will give me money, and I'm too lazy to earn my own through hard work, ingenuity, and persistence. To get money to start my business, I taught myself a specialized skill (web design) that 10X'd my earning wages. Money followed.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can increase my income and build capital by investing in education and teaching myself a specialized skill that will multiply my wages by several magnitudes.

LIE #8: I don’t have the right connections.

While having a solid network of connections can be helpful, it is not essential for success. Connections is always a function of activity. It is a function of productivity and results. Do you think someone with 1 million subscribers to their YouTube channel is struggling with "the right connections?" Be active and connections will follow, plus money.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can expand my network by consistently acting and moving on my goals.

LIE #9: Entrepreneurship is risk.

Starting a business is inherently risky, but avoiding the risk is riskier. As I like to say, the pain of regret is far greater than the pain of failure.

PARADIGM SHIFT: All of life is a risk, some risks have lifelong returns, others have lifelong regrets.

Stop lying and get busy doing.

This needs to be in the next edition of Unscripted .

Also, quite surprised MJ knows about Ronaldo and football lol

 

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[PC123]

As I like to say, the pain of regret is far greater than the pain of failure.

#9 hit home, especially what MJ says - "... pain of regret is far greater than the pain of failure".
This one is written on top of my daily SUMO planner page.

 

[Consolation]

Wow. ChatGPT is getting good at writing listicles. Ok.. I'm jk

Thank you so much for creating this forum, MJ.

 

[Nick Catricala]

It's been a long, long time. But it seems like yesterday.

In 2007, I launched The Fastlane Forum. During this time, I've encountered 1000s of entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs. I soon discovered a complex reality that most people are liars—not to others, but to themselves. Here are the 9 common lies that want to convince you to sell your dreams for slaughter. And 9 easy paradigm shifts to insure your dreams stay alive and tracked for reality.

9 Dream-Killing Lies You Sell Yourself...

LIE #1: I'm not good at X.

Of course, you're not. No one is born an instant expert. We all crawled before we walked. Seinfeld's first words weren't a joke. Ronaldo didn't emerge from mom with a football. The question is, if you aren't good at X, what do you need to do to get good at X?

The fact is, "I'm not good at X" is not a fixed status but a variable one. You can suck at X today, but be better at it tomorrow. BETTER is the key; minor daily improvements create major results.

The sibling to this lie is, "Well, I just lack the education."

PARADIGM SHIFT: I'm not good at X today, but I can be better at X tomorrow.

LIE #2: I don't have time for business.

You don't have time because it isn't a priority. It isn't urgent. Other things come first. Game of Thrones. Call of Duty. Sleep and leisure. The 55th Yankees game you just watched. Would you "find time" if failure in the next three months meant the death of the loved one? You would. What's most important always finds time.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I don't have time with my current lifestyle patterns, but with the proper adjustments and reprioritizations, I can find time.

LIE #3: X just got lucky.

Yes, X did. Out of all the numbers in the alphabet, X was incredibly active, engaged, and committed to success. As such, X manipulated probability and gave themself a better chance of getting in luck's spotlight.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Luck is a function of probability, and my habitual actions can improve my chances for luck to appear.

LIE #4: Someday I'll start a business.

No, you won't. You're too comfortable, and comfort doesn't incite action. Most people allow their dreams to be bribed with a few hours of television, video games, or sleep. There will never be a perfect day, week, or month. Life is too aggressively chaotic with its own momentum. It is why Someday exists. Someday is a pacification to make yourself feel good for not quitting, but delaying. And we all know someday becomes never. Someday is a fat lie.

PARADIGM SHIFT: My best time to start a business is today. Someday is a pacifying excuse to disguise the truth of never.

LIE #5: There are no good ideas.

Never has there been one sentence that stinks of entrepreneurial ignorance. Most new businesses are built on marginal improvement and better efficiencies, not about becoming the next Steve Jobs. If life had no problems, there would be no ideas. Ideas are about solving problems, removing angsts, fixing inconveniences, delivering peace, sparking fun, and offering different ingredients.

PARADIGM SHIFT: If I see ideas as a function of life's imperfections, voids, and distress, I will have plenty of ideas.

LIE #6: I'm too old, stupid, or X.

If you have something I want or desperately need, I will not care about your personal histrionics or demographics. How much is it, and when can I get it? The injured man in the street comes to mind... if I'm bleeding in an alley and a man offers me a tourniquet, I'm not going to care how old the man is, how he's a bad father, or about his bankruptcy 24 years ago.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Relative value will be colorblind to my deficiencies and past transgressions. If I can provide value to culture, culture will overlook my self-constructed inadequacies.

LIE #7: I don't have enough money.

While this might be true, you also don't have enough discipline or focus. It's stunningly amazing how the people who claim to have no money also have no job, no education, no specialized skills, and no motivation to change the status quo. But you can bet they have the latest iPhone, a device that has instant access to unlimited knowledge.

I don't have money really means no one will give me money, and I'm too lazy to earn my own through hard work, ingenuity, and persistence. To get money to start my business, I taught myself a specialized skill (web design) that 10X'd my earning wages. Money followed.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can increase my income and build capital by investing in education and teaching myself a specialized skill that will multiply my wages by several magnitudes.

LIE #8: I don’t have the right connections.

While having a solid network of connections can be helpful, it is not essential for success. Connections is always a function of activity. It is a function of productivity and results. Do you think someone with 1 million subscribers to their YouTube channel is struggling with "the right connections?" Be active and connections will follow, plus money.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can expand my network by consistently acting and moving on my goals.

LIE #9: Entrepreneurship is risk.

Starting a business is inherently risky, but avoiding the risk is riskier. As I like to say, the pain of regret is far greater than the pain of failure.

PARADIGM SHIFT: All of life is a risk, some risks have lifelong returns, others have lifelong regrets.

Stop lying and get busy doing.

Hey MJ.. thanks so much for showing me what a big laier I am...

 

[Awakened2022]

Stupid question: Is there a way to pin or favourite this post?

I just highlight the parts I want to save and share them with quotes creator(an app on my smartphone). Those who know better e.g @Andy Black should chip in.

 

[1gnaci0]

10 seconds into this article and needed to put my sunglasses on because of the brightness.

It truly is gold what we have here.

I have a lot of work to do with all these Lies and paradigm shifts

Thanks for sharing @MJ DeMarco

Cheers everybody!

 

[Black_Dragon43]

It's been a long, long time. But it seems like yesterday.

In 2007, I launched The Fastlane Forum. During this time, I've encountered 1000s of entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs. I soon discovered a complex reality that most people are liars—not to others, but to themselves. Here are the 9 common lies that want to convince you to sell your dreams for slaughter. And 9 easy paradigm shifts to insure your dreams stay alive and tracked for reality.

9 Dream-Killing Lies You Sell Yourself...

LIE #1: I'm not good at X.

Of course, you're not. No one is born an instant expert. We all crawled before we walked. Seinfeld's first words weren't a joke. Ronaldo didn't emerge from mom with a football. The question is, if you aren't good at X, what do you need to do to get good at X?

The fact is, "I'm not good at X" is not a fixed status but a variable one. You can suck at X today, but be better at it tomorrow. BETTER is the key; minor daily improvements create major results.

The sibling to this lie is, "Well, I just lack the education."

PARADIGM SHIFT: I'm not good at X today, but I can be better at X tomorrow.

LIE #2: I don't have time for business.

You don't have time because it isn't a priority. It isn't urgent. Other things come first. Game of Thrones. Call of Duty. Sleep and leisure. The 55th Yankees game you just watched. Would you "find time" if failure in the next three months meant the death of the loved one? You would. What's most important always finds time.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I don't have time with my current lifestyle patterns, but with the proper adjustments and reprioritizations, I can find time.

LIE #3: X just got lucky.

Yes, X did. Out of all the numbers in the alphabet, X was incredibly active, engaged, and committed to success. As such, X manipulated probability and gave themself a better chance of getting in luck's spotlight.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Luck is a function of probability, and my habitual actions can improve my chances for luck to appear.

LIE #4: Someday I'll start a business.

No, you won't. You're too comfortable, and comfort doesn't incite action. Most people allow their dreams to be bribed with a few hours of television, video games, or sleep. There will never be a perfect day, week, or month. Life is too aggressively chaotic with its own momentum. It is why Someday exists. Someday is a pacification to make yourself feel good for not quitting, but delaying. And we all know someday becomes never. Someday is a fat lie.

PARADIGM SHIFT: My best time to start a business is today. Someday is a pacifying excuse to disguise the truth of never.

LIE #5: There are no good ideas.

Never has there been one sentence that stinks of entrepreneurial ignorance. Most new businesses are built on marginal improvement and better efficiencies, not about becoming the next Steve Jobs. If life had no problems, there would be no ideas. Ideas are about solving problems, removing angsts, fixing inconveniences, delivering peace, sparking fun, and offering different ingredients.

PARADIGM SHIFT: If I see ideas as a function of life's imperfections, voids, and distress, I will have plenty of ideas.

LIE #6: I'm too old, stupid, or X.

If you have something I want or desperately need, I will not care about your personal histrionics or demographics. How much is it, and when can I get it? The injured man in the street comes to mind... if I'm bleeding in an alley and a man offers me a tourniquet, I'm not going to care how old the man is, how he's a bad father, or about his bankruptcy 24 years ago.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Relative value will be colorblind to my deficiencies and past transgressions. If I can provide value to culture, culture will overlook my self-constructed inadequacies.

LIE #7: I don't have enough money.

While this might be true, you also don't have enough discipline or focus. It's stunningly amazing how the people who claim to have no money also have no job, no education, no specialized skills, and no motivation to change the status quo. But you can bet they have the latest iPhone, a device that has instant access to unlimited knowledge.

I don't have money really means no one will give me money, and I'm too lazy to earn my own through hard work, ingenuity, and persistence. To get money to start my business, I taught myself a specialized skill (web design) that 10X'd my earning wages. Money followed.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can increase my income and build capital by investing in education and teaching myself a specialized skill that will multiply my wages by several magnitudes.

LIE #8: I don’t have the right connections.

While having a solid network of connections can be helpful, it is not essential for success. Connections is always a function of activity. It is a function of productivity and results. Do you think someone with 1 million subscribers to their YouTube channel is struggling with "the right connections?" Be active and connections will follow, plus money.

PARADIGM SHIFT: I can expand my network by consistently acting and moving on my goals.

LIE #9: Entrepreneurship is risk.

Starting a business is inherently risky, but avoiding the risk is riskier. As I like to say, the pain of regret is far greater than the pain of failure.

PARADIGM SHIFT: All of life is a risk, some risks have lifelong returns, others have lifelong regrets.

Stop lying and get busy doing.

Wow this is an amazing share MJ. Really appreciate you putting this out here, taking away the excuses people often put up for not doing anything!

 

[Raedrum]

I particularly like the first one, this was a game changer for me since I've read TMF , to shift from asking myself "Can I do it ?" to "HOW can I do it ?" And not only for business, this is kind of a life philosophy.

I have never learned so much as I have since !

 

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[Real Deal Denver]

Great kick start. I have fallen into the rut of some of these lies. I can't keep up all of the time. OK - no guilt - I needed a break and time to regroup. Time to reenter the race. I will not focus on wasted time - as I now have bigger and better ideas. Far better. Ideas are like plants - they do indeed grow with nurturing and time. On a related note - maybe a follow-up to the lies post could be about how to restart. I tell myself there is no failure - I either succeed or I get a lesson. It's good to embrace the lies this post points out - but also good to not allow them to wrap their tentacles around me. This was the perfect post to hit the reboot button.

 

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