"You should be focusing on school" they tell me "You are putting too many responsibilities on yourself too early", and that "The time for that is when you are older".
It's hard to disagree with these statements when they are coming from your own mother, especially when she is working a cashier job at Walmart with a BS in business administration, and when you are both living in a mobile home in the middle of urban Kissimmee Florida.
It's not sufficient for me to say I'm in a bad spot to network. I go to high school, spending at least 8 hours of my day on useless activities, being taught things are either wrong, elementary or not important in my life. I've had to grow up having it rough: I did not start off like most tech entrepreneurs, selling their first internet company at 16, or building their own computer network at 12, rather I had to deal with my own incompetence for most of my early teens. At around the age of 15, however, that changed when I lost my home and girlfriend. I decided I wanted to live on my own terms when I grew up, and I decided I could do this by becoming a software developer online.
Programming on the internet has blown up in the past couple of years, and so I decided I would make a living off of freelancing and traveling. I grovelled at my computer screen for months and months, it was all I thought about for an entire year, until I finally had the skills needed to work as a freelancer, the portfolio, etc. I then realized that freelancing was not a race to the bottom, as it had grown so extremely popular.
I then thought to myself what would be the next step, and that would be to become a software engineer and work for companies, traveling as I did. I also started reading shit-tons of self-help books, which promised that if I thought, wished, visualized positively, I would become rich. I became religious about this law of attraction, the first thing I did upon waking up from my 6 hour night was begin thinking about how I would be rich, saying affirmations, writing down my goals, listening to inspiring tapes, etc.
I did this for months, and exhausted myself because I was making absolutely no progress in my life yet knew there was a timer for when I was to graduate. I began to feel a void in myself, a feeling of emptiness. I spent months trying to get to the core of it, wanting to give up every second of the way: why was I not rich after all of my toil?
My economic situation has gotten worse since, our family is living on the sidewalk and we can barely afford food. I'm unable to follow my dreams of making money, working for myself, fixing my body by going to the gym, meeting aspiring entrepreneurs like myself, etc.: I live surrounded by the slowlane dogma everywhere I go: they are everywhere, spreading the story of getting good grades, graduating, going to college, working 9-5, bleh.
My biggest regrets so far have been not having started sooner and having spent so much time worrying.
At this point in my life, I have but one year left in high school.
All I have are programming skills. I have no assets, just around $600 from a programming job
I know I can't keep going down the road of wishful thinking and doing what I love. I simply don't have the luxury of doing these things. I live in a poor family and I DO NOT want to sacrifice my freedom to a 9-5.
I have been told by my mentor, a world traveler and entrepreneur, that I need to get good at my craft. However, I'm also constantly faced with the counter to going into the real world with little skills other than my programming abilities. I suck at personal finance, entrepreneurship, I don't have a license yet, and I don't have a clear direction as to where to go from now.
Upon reading TMF , I have decided to stop being swayed by the gurus who claim 'Start a blog and make millions', or 'Invest in real estate' or 'Think positive'. I now understand I can not get rich from wanting riches, but rather from effection.
Now I need to make the most out of my last year in high school before I go into the real world.
If I am faced with having to work for others, WHAT I FEAR MOST is becoming complacent, stop learning, and live the rest of my life as a slowlaner.
John S.
Any advice is highly appreciated.
Thanks again to MJ DeMarco for his book
It's hard to disagree with these statements when they are coming from your own mother, especially when she is working a cashier job at Walmart with a BS in business administration, and when you are both living in a mobile home in the middle of urban Kissimmee Florida.
It's not sufficient for me to say I'm in a bad spot to network. I go to high school, spending at least 8 hours of my day on useless activities, being taught things are either wrong, elementary or not important in my life. I've had to grow up having it rough: I did not start off like most tech entrepreneurs, selling their first internet company at 16, or building their own computer network at 12, rather I had to deal with my own incompetence for most of my early teens. At around the age of 15, however, that changed when I lost my home and girlfriend. I decided I wanted to live on my own terms when I grew up, and I decided I could do this by becoming a software developer online.
Programming on the internet has blown up in the past couple of years, and so I decided I would make a living off of freelancing and traveling. I grovelled at my computer screen for months and months, it was all I thought about for an entire year, until I finally had the skills needed to work as a freelancer, the portfolio, etc. I then realized that freelancing was not a race to the bottom, as it had grown so extremely popular.
I then thought to myself what would be the next step, and that would be to become a software engineer and work for companies, traveling as I did. I also started reading shit-tons of self-help books, which promised that if I thought, wished, visualized positively, I would become rich. I became religious about this law of attraction, the first thing I did upon waking up from my 6 hour night was begin thinking about how I would be rich, saying affirmations, writing down my goals, listening to inspiring tapes, etc.
I did this for months, and exhausted myself because I was making absolutely no progress in my life yet knew there was a timer for when I was to graduate. I began to feel a void in myself, a feeling of emptiness. I spent months trying to get to the core of it, wanting to give up every second of the way: why was I not rich after all of my toil?
My economic situation has gotten worse since, our family is living on the sidewalk and we can barely afford food. I'm unable to follow my dreams of making money, working for myself, fixing my body by going to the gym, meeting aspiring entrepreneurs like myself, etc.: I live surrounded by the slowlane dogma everywhere I go: they are everywhere, spreading the story of getting good grades, graduating, going to college, working 9-5, bleh.
My biggest regrets so far have been not having started sooner and having spent so much time worrying.
At this point in my life, I have but one year left in high school.
All I have are programming skills. I have no assets, just around $600 from a programming job
I know I can't keep going down the road of wishful thinking and doing what I love. I simply don't have the luxury of doing these things. I live in a poor family and I DO NOT want to sacrifice my freedom to a 9-5.
I have been told by my mentor, a world traveler and entrepreneur, that I need to get good at my craft. However, I'm also constantly faced with the counter to going into the real world with little skills other than my programming abilities. I suck at personal finance, entrepreneurship, I don't have a license yet, and I don't have a clear direction as to where to go from now.
Upon reading TMF , I have decided to stop being swayed by the gurus who claim 'Start a blog and make millions', or 'Invest in real estate' or 'Think positive'. I now understand I can not get rich from wanting riches, but rather from effection.
Now I need to make the most out of my last year in high school before I go into the real world.
If I am faced with having to work for others, WHAT I FEAR MOST is becoming complacent, stop learning, and live the rest of my life as a slowlaner.
John S.
Any advice is highly appreciated.
Thanks again to MJ DeMarco for his book
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
