Hi everyone! Jarbas, from Brazil. I'm 34, happily married and father of a one year old boy.
When I was a boy myself I wanted to invent something and even built some homemade prototypes of automation solutions and electrical appliances. But I grew up in a context in which higher education meant upward social mobility and was indoctrinated to study hard and get a good job (not my parents's fault at all), which I did. At age 23 I was a young mid-level executive in finance at a multinational industrial company, which meant I was significantly ahead of my peers at the time. I used that oportunity to travel as much as I could in my free time and got to know about 20 countries. But my entrepreneurial dreams as a boy were suffocated by the corporate environment. I no longer wanted to invent anything.
Some time later, I was offered a better job position if I accepted to expatriate to somewhere in Europe or in Asia. At the sime time, my father was diagnosed with brain cancer and given one year to live. I chose to stay with him, as I have always valued family. But I had other reasons not to go, including the feeling that accepting expatriation would mean social isolation (I've always been an introvert) and the feeling that if I ever wanted to own a business I had to meet my potential business partners early in life, not later.
My dad had a small business in formwork rental for construction, with three lifelong partners in their fifties. I had never worked with him, but I tried to replace him while he was in treatment since my mother and younger brother relied on income from that business to live. For one year I played my father's role in the business and kept the corporate job, but his partners had a very different mindset, lots of parallel agendas and never really accepted my presence. My family eventually sold the stake in the business to them for much less than it was worth.
When dad passed away two years later, I decided to quit the corporate job and move to Santa Catarina, southern Brazil. That was 8 years ago and was a great decision in many aspects of my life, but I'm not yet a fastlaner. I didn't know what to do at the time, so I didn't do anything different. I started advising small local companies in M&A transactions, as I had done some as an executive. The company I used to work for hired me as their legal representative in Brazil, which guaranteed recurring revenue. But that was still selling my time. So I hired a small team to work for me, only to realize I couldn't replicate complex skills and knowledge easily. In parallel I started acquiring distressed properties and flipping them for a profit. Nice, but not scalable when using own capital only (in Brazil interest rates are in the mid teens). More recently I acquired a small solar power plant to sell electicity (the pursue of "passive income").
To summarize, I have three companies on paper (M&A advisory, Real Estate, Solar Power), they are all generating modest profits but none of them lives whithout me, none of them is growing, and I am proud of none of them. I have nothing to complain about: no debt keeping me awake at night, some financial investments, life is ok. But I have nothing to be proud of, nothing to be passionate about. And this is what led me to read The Millionaire Fastlane and eventually brought me here.
Looking forward to learning from the community and finding my way to the fastlane.
@MJ DeMarco thanks for the valuable knowledge you shared in the book and best wishes for 2025!
When I was a boy myself I wanted to invent something and even built some homemade prototypes of automation solutions and electrical appliances. But I grew up in a context in which higher education meant upward social mobility and was indoctrinated to study hard and get a good job (not my parents's fault at all), which I did. At age 23 I was a young mid-level executive in finance at a multinational industrial company, which meant I was significantly ahead of my peers at the time. I used that oportunity to travel as much as I could in my free time and got to know about 20 countries. But my entrepreneurial dreams as a boy were suffocated by the corporate environment. I no longer wanted to invent anything.
Some time later, I was offered a better job position if I accepted to expatriate to somewhere in Europe or in Asia. At the sime time, my father was diagnosed with brain cancer and given one year to live. I chose to stay with him, as I have always valued family. But I had other reasons not to go, including the feeling that accepting expatriation would mean social isolation (I've always been an introvert) and the feeling that if I ever wanted to own a business I had to meet my potential business partners early in life, not later.
My dad had a small business in formwork rental for construction, with three lifelong partners in their fifties. I had never worked with him, but I tried to replace him while he was in treatment since my mother and younger brother relied on income from that business to live. For one year I played my father's role in the business and kept the corporate job, but his partners had a very different mindset, lots of parallel agendas and never really accepted my presence. My family eventually sold the stake in the business to them for much less than it was worth.
When dad passed away two years later, I decided to quit the corporate job and move to Santa Catarina, southern Brazil. That was 8 years ago and was a great decision in many aspects of my life, but I'm not yet a fastlaner. I didn't know what to do at the time, so I didn't do anything different. I started advising small local companies in M&A transactions, as I had done some as an executive. The company I used to work for hired me as their legal representative in Brazil, which guaranteed recurring revenue. But that was still selling my time. So I hired a small team to work for me, only to realize I couldn't replicate complex skills and knowledge easily. In parallel I started acquiring distressed properties and flipping them for a profit. Nice, but not scalable when using own capital only (in Brazil interest rates are in the mid teens). More recently I acquired a small solar power plant to sell electicity (the pursue of "passive income").
To summarize, I have three companies on paper (M&A advisory, Real Estate, Solar Power), they are all generating modest profits but none of them lives whithout me, none of them is growing, and I am proud of none of them. I have nothing to complain about: no debt keeping me awake at night, some financial investments, life is ok. But I have nothing to be proud of, nothing to be passionate about. And this is what led me to read The Millionaire Fastlane and eventually brought me here.
Looking forward to learning from the community and finding my way to the fastlane.
@MJ DeMarco thanks for the valuable knowledge you shared in the book and best wishes for 2025!
Dislike ads? Become a Fastlane member:
Subscribe today and surround yourself with winners and millionaire mentors, not those broke friends who only want to drink beer and play video games. :-)
Membership Required: Upgrade to Expose Nearly 1,000,000 Posts
Ready to Unleash the Millionaire Entrepreneur in You?
Become a member of the Fastlane Forum, the private community founded by best-selling author and multi-millionaire entrepreneur MJ DeMarco. Since 2007, MJ DeMarco has poured his heart and soul into the Fastlane Forum, helping entrepreneurs reclaim their time, win their financial freedom, and live their best life.
With more than 39,000 posts packed with insights, strategies, and advice, you’re not just a member—you’re stepping into MJ’s inner-circle, a place where you’ll never be left alone.
Become a member and gain immediate access to...
- Active Community: Ever join a community only to find it DEAD? Not at Fastlane! As you can see from our home page, life-changing content is posted dozens of times daily.
- Exclusive Insights: Direct access to MJ DeMarco’s daily contributions and wisdom.
- Powerful Networking Opportunities: Connect with a diverse group of successful entrepreneurs who can offer mentorship, collaboration, and opportunities.
- Proven Strategies: Learn from the best in the business, with actionable advice and strategies that can accelerate your success.
"You are the average of the five people you surround yourself with the most..."
Who are you surrounding yourself with? Surround yourself with millionaire success. Join Fastlane today!
Join Today
