Hello everyone.
My name is Archer and I have a slowlane problem.
Ah, isn't that nice to finally say it outloud (well, "written out" anyways). I started writing and had to get it all out. If you don't like to read long posts then stop now, I won't be offended.
An Intro
I hail from the east coast of Canada on a little island called Newfoundland. Actually it's a huge island, but the population is only ~526,977 according to Google. I just turned 31 last week, finished the MFL for the first time, and had the sobering realization that I have been doing the slowlane hustle for the majority of my life, with the occasional moments of falling asleep at the wheel and veering through fruit stands on the sidewalk.
Not to go too far down memory lane, but I feel it's important to mention what led me to now. Enter: context.
Am I crazy or is everyone else?
Born to two loving, well-meaning, sidewalk-turned-slowlane parents who lived in poverty in their youth - I grew up experiencing their shift towards the slowlane. I was a naturally curious and quick learner, and I wasgoing elected to be the first one in our family to go to University. I had other plans. I thought I was the only person in the world to see the flaws in the 'wake up > go to job you hate for money > save > spend for some fun' mentality. Everyone around me seemed to be on board, but I just could not shake the sense of dread at thought of a lifetime trading my precious time for an allowance from an employer.
The Great Entitlement
Fast forward a few years, I lived a life of learning and study at my own pace. I worked shi**y jobs for shi**y pay, developed my personal and social skills, and overall just enjoyed life; At least I tried really hard to believe I enjoyed it. Scraping by, selling things, doing without seemed to be par for the course - I mean at least I wasn't training to be some corporate drone for OMNIGLOBALTRON INC like my friends - I had other plans. I have had several moments in my life with clear before and after moments, and I think of this season of my life as the "The great entitlement." I read every guru, get rich easy, hypnotize yourself numb, and visualize yourself to billions book you can imagine (I mean seriously, I spent hours every day for a decade consuming content thinking of it as "progress".) I was intelligent, I saw things others did not see, and I deserved wealth; In essence I was a Moron, capital M.
I am not a special or unique snowflake
I reached an apex of frustrated mental masturbation when I was 26 years old. After years of the self-reinforcing patterns of entitlement, frustration, and nothing to show for my life besides a string of ad hoc creative projects and one-off websites for family and friends, I broke. I moved to another province just to break pattern, worked two jobs, and forced myself into discipline. I began eating strict meals, weight training, and listening to 'Brian Tracy - The Miracle of Self-Discipline' on repeat. I actually mean this quite literally, I listened to it every day and night, mixed with some 'Think and Grow Rich' for good measure. I refused to let my life continue the way it had been moving. I refused to allow that dopamine rush of "Oh look there's a new guru with a new book, HE CAN SOLVE MY PROBLEMS FOR ME!" Through sheer will and hard work I parlayed my graphic design and web skills into a job at a startup/tech company, since learning basic code skills and a ton about business.
You are here
I got a taste of money for the first time in my life, and it felt a heck of a lot better than pretending I didn't care about it. I met my current fiance, had two beautiful children, bought a house, and continued to work at my J.O.B. I would occasionally receive inspiration for great ideas, but would quickly stomp them out as perceived aftershocks my former sidewalk self. I needed to be "realistic". Unbeknownst to me I had shifted my obfuscation of awareness from "I don't need money to enjoy life, I'll just live bargain-bin versions of my dreams and be happy" to "I have some money now, some security, and I don't need to follow my dreams anymore."
Three weeks ago while listening to the EOFire podcast, I heard mention of The Millionaire Fastlane by a guest who insisted it was mandatory reading. Something about it spoke it me. Later that day, I got my hands on a copy and began to read. I read and read and read some more. I forsake sleep every evening for a chance to read and reread chapters. I couldn't believe I had not heard of this "MJ" guy before. Every thing he said resonated in such a personal way with me. I had glimpses of my former self firmly seated on the sidewalk thinking I was fastlane, and real reflections of my current self firmly stuck at 10 and 2 and driving 15km/hr (sorry America) on the highway of life. Sure, I've made improvements, but I've neglected my deepest desire in life; To help other people, to build real value in the world, and to make the world a better place than when I entered it.
Escape from Job Island
I am currently working out the details of my escape from JOB ISLAND penitentiary. I've fastened bedsheets together, memorized the guards shift changes, and used a sharpened spork to tunnel through three feet of concrete; Now I need to learn to swim from here to the FASTLANE MAINLAND. I've been studying on several models and have some good ideas for SaaS (B2B), Info products for niche markets, membership sites/tools for niche markets, and some untapped local offline business. I've learned some interesting things on this forum about Importing/selling that seemed promising, and possibly a good place to bankroll other ideas, but I'm still trying to decypher a good product to start with. I'm here to be learn and to help in any way I can. I am all in, and I am dedicated to building my business empire. I want to earn, reinvest, and build businesses that truly help people all over the world. I have a lot to learn.
Thank you MJ and everyone one here reading this. Thank you for waking up and following your dreams and desires. Thank you for inspiring me to do the same.
I really hope I can be of service to people here and meet new people while on my journey. I don't have (m)any people on this path in my life currently, and I truly look forward to learning from some of the best.
(Disclaimer: I use a VPN 95% of the time I am online (necessity for my current job, as well as an added layer of protection on the web) so if it looks like I'm a world traveller, that's why. If it interferes with my use of this forum I will happily temporarily disable it.)
My name is Archer and I have a slowlane problem.
Ah, isn't that nice to finally say it outloud (well, "written out" anyways). I started writing and had to get it all out. If you don't like to read long posts then stop now, I won't be offended.
An Intro
I hail from the east coast of Canada on a little island called Newfoundland. Actually it's a huge island, but the population is only ~526,977 according to Google. I just turned 31 last week, finished the MFL for the first time, and had the sobering realization that I have been doing the slowlane hustle for the majority of my life, with the occasional moments of falling asleep at the wheel and veering through fruit stands on the sidewalk.
Not to go too far down memory lane, but I feel it's important to mention what led me to now. Enter: context.
Am I crazy or is everyone else?
Born to two loving, well-meaning, sidewalk-turned-slowlane parents who lived in poverty in their youth - I grew up experiencing their shift towards the slowlane. I was a naturally curious and quick learner, and I was
The Great Entitlement
Fast forward a few years, I lived a life of learning and study at my own pace. I worked shi**y jobs for shi**y pay, developed my personal and social skills, and overall just enjoyed life; At least I tried really hard to believe I enjoyed it. Scraping by, selling things, doing without seemed to be par for the course - I mean at least I wasn't training to be some corporate drone for OMNIGLOBALTRON INC like my friends - I had other plans. I have had several moments in my life with clear before and after moments, and I think of this season of my life as the "The great entitlement." I read every guru, get rich easy, hypnotize yourself numb, and visualize yourself to billions book you can imagine (I mean seriously, I spent hours every day for a decade consuming content thinking of it as "progress".) I was intelligent, I saw things others did not see, and I deserved wealth; In essence I was a Moron, capital M.
I am not a special or unique snowflake
I reached an apex of frustrated mental masturbation when I was 26 years old. After years of the self-reinforcing patterns of entitlement, frustration, and nothing to show for my life besides a string of ad hoc creative projects and one-off websites for family and friends, I broke. I moved to another province just to break pattern, worked two jobs, and forced myself into discipline. I began eating strict meals, weight training, and listening to 'Brian Tracy - The Miracle of Self-Discipline' on repeat. I actually mean this quite literally, I listened to it every day and night, mixed with some 'Think and Grow Rich' for good measure. I refused to let my life continue the way it had been moving. I refused to allow that dopamine rush of "Oh look there's a new guru with a new book, HE CAN SOLVE MY PROBLEMS FOR ME!" Through sheer will and hard work I parlayed my graphic design and web skills into a job at a startup/tech company, since learning basic code skills and a ton about business.
You are here
I got a taste of money for the first time in my life, and it felt a heck of a lot better than pretending I didn't care about it. I met my current fiance, had two beautiful children, bought a house, and continued to work at my J.O.B. I would occasionally receive inspiration for great ideas, but would quickly stomp them out as perceived aftershocks my former sidewalk self. I needed to be "realistic". Unbeknownst to me I had shifted my obfuscation of awareness from "I don't need money to enjoy life, I'll just live bargain-bin versions of my dreams and be happy" to "I have some money now, some security, and I don't need to follow my dreams anymore."
Three weeks ago while listening to the EOFire podcast, I heard mention of The Millionaire Fastlane by a guest who insisted it was mandatory reading. Something about it spoke it me. Later that day, I got my hands on a copy and began to read. I read and read and read some more. I forsake sleep every evening for a chance to read and reread chapters. I couldn't believe I had not heard of this "MJ" guy before. Every thing he said resonated in such a personal way with me. I had glimpses of my former self firmly seated on the sidewalk thinking I was fastlane, and real reflections of my current self firmly stuck at 10 and 2 and driving 15km/hr (sorry America) on the highway of life. Sure, I've made improvements, but I've neglected my deepest desire in life; To help other people, to build real value in the world, and to make the world a better place than when I entered it.
Escape from Job Island
I am currently working out the details of my escape from JOB ISLAND penitentiary. I've fastened bedsheets together, memorized the guards shift changes, and used a sharpened spork to tunnel through three feet of concrete; Now I need to learn to swim from here to the FASTLANE MAINLAND. I've been studying on several models and have some good ideas for SaaS (B2B), Info products for niche markets, membership sites/tools for niche markets, and some untapped local offline business. I've learned some interesting things on this forum about Importing/selling that seemed promising, and possibly a good place to bankroll other ideas, but I'm still trying to decypher a good product to start with. I'm here to be learn and to help in any way I can. I am all in, and I am dedicated to building my business empire. I want to earn, reinvest, and build businesses that truly help people all over the world. I have a lot to learn.
Thank you MJ and everyone one here reading this. Thank you for waking up and following your dreams and desires. Thank you for inspiring me to do the same.
I really hope I can be of service to people here and meet new people while on my journey. I don't have (m)any people on this path in my life currently, and I truly look forward to learning from some of the best.
(Disclaimer: I use a VPN 95% of the time I am online (necessity for my current job, as well as an added layer of protection on the web) so if it looks like I'm a world traveller, that's why. If it interferes with my use of this forum I will happily temporarily disable it.)
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