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A reoccurring theme in this forum is a general distaste for a slow lane job. Young kids are often encouraged here to adopt a "Fastlane" mindset. People's enthusiasm for MJ's epic book leads us to want to evangelize the essence of MJ's message. It's not wrong, but...
I propose that almost EVERYONE should start out working for someone else.
Reason #1 - Free Education
I began working in my young teens. As a 15 year old, I saw guys working at the same donut shop that I worked at that were twice my age. When I was 17, I was managing people twice my age. It started me wondering why some people OWN the donut shop, and why some 30 year old guys found themselves WORKING in the donut shop. This was a life lesson nobody could tell me. At 15, I wasn't going to listen to anyone. I had to see this first hand. I had to decide not to be the 30 year old guy working in the donut shop, being managed by a 17 year old kid.
Rounding 20, I was the smartest guy in the room (you could have just asked me, I would have told you.) I was the youngest corporate buyer in the history of a large retailer. I was underpaid, overworked, working for assholes at times, and learning. I learned about good bosses and bad bosses. I learned through trial and error how to motivate people, and what actions demotivated people. I learned about P&L's, marketing (the real world stuff that the college professors don't know) and consumer response. I learned about regulatory agencies, customer relations, and strategy. I didn't know it at the time, but I was studying. I had no idea how much I didn't know.
I then moved to Bentonville, Arkansas, and went to work for the world's largest retailer. It was then that my eyes were opened up to the free education I was receiving. I was studying from the industry giants, I was getting paid to do things like attend Dale Carnegie classes, and I was using someone else's LARGE checkbook to experiment. I was being trained the best practices in the world from a company who knew it ALL, and they were paying me while I was getting this education.
Reason # 2 - You have to know how bad the game SUCKS before you can change the game.
Can you imagine attempting to be a Grand Master of Chess without ever studying the fundamentals? Without having someone better than you beat you? Sure, it could happen, if you were a prodigy. Most of us aren't. Most of us have to learn fundamentals. Most of us have to get checkmated before we learn how to defend, and then eventually how to go on offense.
Think about it. One of the whole premises of the Millionaire Fastlane is that the game is rigged against the masses. Traditional advice doesn't create wealth. You can't get rich as a salary man generally, working to make someone else money. How would you even understand the depth of what MJ is talking about unless you worked in some shit, dead end job with a salary ceiling? I propose that one of the ONLY ways that you can become motivated enough to become a true free agent is if you have the experience of the opposite end of the spectrum.
Sure, there are exceptions. You can point to Michael Dell, who started from his dorm room. My counter punch would be that for the most part, we're not all Michael Dell. For those 1-in-a-thousand kids, go for it... but if you were like Michael Dell, you wouldn't need my encouragement to do so. Most of us need the school of hard knocks to kick us in the junk until we puke. It is then that you are able to pick yourself up off the mat, resolve to take your destiny into your own hands, and become something bigger than the W-2 job you didn't really like anyway.
So, let's not be so quick to discourage people from attending the school of hard knocks. A free education, followed by the inevitable kick in the balls (sorry ladies for the crude analogy, but I bet you can sympathize with the sentiment) will then lead them to the Millionaire Fastlane.
I propose that almost EVERYONE should start out working for someone else.
Reason #1 - Free Education
I began working in my young teens. As a 15 year old, I saw guys working at the same donut shop that I worked at that were twice my age. When I was 17, I was managing people twice my age. It started me wondering why some people OWN the donut shop, and why some 30 year old guys found themselves WORKING in the donut shop. This was a life lesson nobody could tell me. At 15, I wasn't going to listen to anyone. I had to see this first hand. I had to decide not to be the 30 year old guy working in the donut shop, being managed by a 17 year old kid.
Rounding 20, I was the smartest guy in the room (you could have just asked me, I would have told you.) I was the youngest corporate buyer in the history of a large retailer. I was underpaid, overworked, working for assholes at times, and learning. I learned about good bosses and bad bosses. I learned through trial and error how to motivate people, and what actions demotivated people. I learned about P&L's, marketing (the real world stuff that the college professors don't know) and consumer response. I learned about regulatory agencies, customer relations, and strategy. I didn't know it at the time, but I was studying. I had no idea how much I didn't know.
I then moved to Bentonville, Arkansas, and went to work for the world's largest retailer. It was then that my eyes were opened up to the free education I was receiving. I was studying from the industry giants, I was getting paid to do things like attend Dale Carnegie classes, and I was using someone else's LARGE checkbook to experiment. I was being trained the best practices in the world from a company who knew it ALL, and they were paying me while I was getting this education.
Reason # 2 - You have to know how bad the game SUCKS before you can change the game.
Can you imagine attempting to be a Grand Master of Chess without ever studying the fundamentals? Without having someone better than you beat you? Sure, it could happen, if you were a prodigy. Most of us aren't. Most of us have to learn fundamentals. Most of us have to get checkmated before we learn how to defend, and then eventually how to go on offense.
Think about it. One of the whole premises of the Millionaire Fastlane is that the game is rigged against the masses. Traditional advice doesn't create wealth. You can't get rich as a salary man generally, working to make someone else money. How would you even understand the depth of what MJ is talking about unless you worked in some shit, dead end job with a salary ceiling? I propose that one of the ONLY ways that you can become motivated enough to become a true free agent is if you have the experience of the opposite end of the spectrum.
Sure, there are exceptions. You can point to Michael Dell, who started from his dorm room. My counter punch would be that for the most part, we're not all Michael Dell. For those 1-in-a-thousand kids, go for it... but if you were like Michael Dell, you wouldn't need my encouragement to do so. Most of us need the school of hard knocks to kick us in the junk until we puke. It is then that you are able to pick yourself up off the mat, resolve to take your destiny into your own hands, and become something bigger than the W-2 job you didn't really like anyway.
So, let's not be so quick to discourage people from attending the school of hard knocks. A free education, followed by the inevitable kick in the balls (sorry ladies for the crude analogy, but I bet you can sympathize with the sentiment) will then lead them to the Millionaire Fastlane.
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