- Joined
- Apr 24, 2016
- Messages
- 1,410
Rep Bank
$3,175
$3,175
User Power: 306%
I Had a "F*ck This" Event While Doing My Own Thing.
Some of you might know I recently got into the self-publishing space and wrote a book about how I entered and maintain remission with Crohn's disease, a debilitating disease that prevents the majority of patients from living a normal life.
Well, I grew frustrated after spending more than half a year writing, designing, and trying to advertise said book to victimized people on heavily censored platforms (and losing out on tens of thousands of $ I could have been making)...
And I quit.
My website's up. My company, which I've had for 4 years now, is also still up.
Why?
I don't know. Sunk-cost fallacy, most likely.
I hopped on Upwork a few weeks ago. It's almost all agencies at this point that expect you to work with 20 of their clients (because everyone assumes you're using AI) for half the money I used to make.
Everything is now AI-assisted or operated. People even write their gigs with ChatGPT.
Well, I've always been authentic in my writing. Humorous. It's what separated me from the herd, and I was really, really good at it. I wrote and did things nobody else could (and still can't), but AI is getting close enough to disrupt the industry and the $$$ opportunities.
...From where I stand, the Titanic is already on course to crash into the iceberg. I'm just abandoning ship early.
It was good while it lasted, I guess! Making 6 figures per year working 1 hour per day all while making 10x more for each and every client I had was a blast.
So, here we are. Copywriting and email marketing are rapidly becoming undervalued. My book is gathering dust.
And I'm extremely tired of spending most of my life on the computer and talking to people in the IT industry. They were already huge F*cking nerds before AI came along, and now they're practically inhuman...
That's NOT me. And I'm NOT looking forward to the future of the web.
So, what did I do?
I looked up some job posts. I'm 27 and I've NEVER had a job. But I've got a lot of money saved up, and I wanted change. I wanted to be part of a community (as in, to have coworkers) and to enter a good market with good opportunities.
Right now, the real estate market is booming here in Bulgaria (especially in the coastal city I live that is surrounded by some of the best beaches in Europe)/ and I applied for a single job with no CV or even a picture.
All I told them was that I have sales experience from an adjacent industry, have made tens of millions for my clients, and that I intend to make them a lot of money too. I said I'm not applying to sit around in the office all day, take smoke breaks, and flirt with the rest of the realtors - but become a productive member of their team that gets results.
They invited me to an interview and asked a grand total of three questions. Every answer I had for them left them with their jaws dropped. Not surprisingly, they told me that it's very hard and rare to find someone with my mindset and background. Got the job.
All in all, the "what the hell am I going to do" to "I might have an idea" phase to applying and getting a job took me all of 5 days.
So, I'm a realtor in training now. Just finished my first week.
Being a realtor does seem quite a bit more difficult than I anticipated, but there are people in my area making low to mid-6 figures, and I believe I have the potential and drive to get there, too.
I'm also gaining in-depth real estate knowledge at an exponential rate and meeting a lot of people who seem to like me just from the way I talk and carry myself, which is a good sign because I'm just getting started and know jack shit.
I don't know where this will lead me. I'll be licensed in 6 months, but I can still freely practice it until then (we'll be regulated soon, but not yet).
All I know is I appreciate leaving the house and being around people, meeting new people, and, as odd as it may sound, even using public transport from time to time.
I never got to experience that. But hey, the grass is always greener, of course.
Action points:
1. I've found myself a mentor. The oldest lady (and owner) of the agency I joined. She speaks my language and has done well for herself. I pay close attention to everything she's doing and adapting her framework to my own.2. I'm reading up on everything about real estate. The book "Ninja Selling", builder sales, etc. Since I moved to this city just a year ago, my network is way too small to get a consistent stream of work from, so my plan is to contact FSBO sellers from listing websites. I've got a script I came up with that I'll put into practice next week.
3. On day two of the job, I was given a task to paste seller data from listing websites into a spreadsheet. Took hours to get like 50 in. "This is way too inefficient and tiresome", I said. "There's gotta be a better way of doing this.". So I wrote a Python script (I know nothing about programming) entirely with ChatGPT, and now it's all automatic. I also converted a WEBP image into JPG since it wasn't uploading on our website, and the IT guy (who works from home) couldn't figure out what the issue was.
My coworkers and the boss lady think I'm a genius now.
(On a side note, I'm going to share the scraping script with my coworkers and gauge by their reactions if this is worth packaging as a SaaS)
To be honest, I am excited to get into this. Over the years. I kept hearing RE this, RE that, and it all seemed very distant to me and my world. So I hopped on here and saw that people generally dislike realtors (for obvious reasons), and I couldn't help but laugh when I read @Antifragile's post that nobody needs another copywriter or realtor.
Still, I'm not going to let that dissuade me from pursuing this career and nor becoming the best in my region. My unfair advantage is that most here aren't fluent in English (and certainly not enough to read books in English), and practically nobody knows about this forum or the business principles MJ has shared with us.
And since I'm always on the lookout for opportunities, I would imagine the knowledge and connections I'll gain along the way could very well open some doors in the future.
So, yeah, this is where I'm at right now.
Going from being (humbly) one of the best in the world in my area of expertise to a nobody in something completely new sure is intimidating. But I'm not the first nor the last guy to pivot.
And change is the only constant in life.
I'll be updating this as I go. Thanks for reading!
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. :-)
Last edited:
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
