I'll give a little background to explain how I came to this crossroads and found the Fastlane.
Ever since I was a kid, I was full of big ideas. I knew I would do something significant with my life, I knew I'd be wealthy. I knew people either got there by being famous or in business, so I either wanted to be an actor or a businessman. As I entered adulthood, I experienced what I think leads a lot of people with similar dreams to settle: fear. I had bills to pay and knew health insurance was important, so I tossed aside the idea of being an actor and got a steady job with a good company to pay my way through college.
Three years ago, I landed what I considered at the time to be my dream job in IT: a path to an eventual salary in the low six figures, employee stock ownership and 401K matching, and great insurance benefits. After about the first year I thought, "You know, this isn't so bad. I can pretty much coast to a retirement in my mid-50s from here. Life isn't about getting rich, it's about being comfortable and happy."
The problem was that this new personal motto conflicted with my true nature, this feeling I've always had that no matter what I've achieved, I should do more. When I was younger, I imagined success as having a good job, a great marriage, and a nice house. I have those things now, and yet there's still been this voice in the back of my mind saying, "You're spinning your wheels, Don."
Up until recently, my reaction has been to suppress these feelings. I focus on how great my life is, which is true. I focus on my "path", a stable financial future, kids, grandkids, retirement. "A person doesn't have to earn millions to be a success." The most ridiculous act of suppression I've committed is to avoid reading articles and watching shows about expensive mansions and sports cars. I know it sound silly, and in hindsight it really was. But every time I saw a big, beautiful house or a sleek European speed machine, that feeling in my gut would come back around and I'd feel like I were wasting my potential again, because having a life like that wasn't part of my chosen path.
The main thing that's kept me anchored to the slowlane is my job itself. For the first two years, I was kept busy with the challenges of learning a new trade. Also, I work for a great company that takes care of their people. But over the last six months, I've started getting restless. While the job is still challenging, I feel like it's challenging to a very narrow slice of my abilities, leaving the rest of my skill set unused and rusting. On top of that, I spent about two months of last year working on a special project that allowed me to work from my home office for the majority of my time, and have much greater flexibility with my schedule. This provided a stark contrast against the 9-5 office grind that is my usual reality.
I blamed a lot of this restlessness and burnout on the fact that I hadn't had a getaway in a while, so I was really looking forward to taking a cruise with my wife in March. Not just for the enjoyment of the trip but also the recharging effect I hoped it would have on my brain, much like it had after my previous vacation.
But there was no recharging effect this time. In fact, it was the opposite. I went from paradise back to my beige 8x8, and almost immediately the restless feelings returned. I realized that what I really wanted was to be able to live like that on a regular basis. Not necessarily on a Mexican beach, but spending my time with my wife and family and doing things I found fulfilling. So about a month ago, I decided to shake things up, I knew something had to change. I thought, "I'm a decent writer, and if I can get famous writing a blog, maybe I can get out of this place!" Problem was, I had done blogs before and given up when I realized nobody was reading, so I did a google search on how to drive blog traffic.
I happened upon a blog about passive income by a guy named Pat Flynn, and almost clicked out immediately because in my mind, "passive income" was a code word for "lazy income", aka "Get Rich Quick." Luckily my curiosity won out and I looked around a bit and found out that, while the blog was about passive income, this guy Pat had been busting his a$$ for the last three years setting up these web businesses to create eventual passive income streams. I was really intrigued and started browsing the massive amount of content on his blog, but I felt a bit overwhelmed, I was having trouble tying it all together and trying to make a plan of it.
Then I had another stroke of luck when browsing Pat's podcast archives and happened upon an interview with MJ DeMarco. His story struck a chord with me, but especially his approach to wealth. I immediately started combing google for more about MJ, and the more I found, the more I liked. I liked his candid, pull-no-punches approach. This guy wasn't throwing in the usual "follow your dreams, wish yourself into success" stuff that every self-help guy seems to arbitrarily spout off so as not to break the motivational speaker's code. I liked that I would be reading a forum on another site where the book was being discussed, and often slammed, and suddenly, there's MJ, signed up for the forum and engaging people with his ideas. It was obvious he's less concerned with pushing his book and more concerned with cultivating a conversation, which skyrocketed his reputation in my eyes.
I'm about 60% finished with the book now, and I can't get enough. MJ's attitude and outlook resonates with me so much that I find myself already applying these concepts to my life as if I had thought of them myself. My absorption of the Fastlane philosophy has felt very organic. I've joked with my wife that I feel like this book was written by me from the future, it's so in sync with how I really feel. It feels great to let go of this charade of "I'm accomplished and successful" and allow the inner beast to come out and get back to the business of constantly trying to summit the next highest peak.
I'm not even done with the book yet, and I've already mapped out my first attempt at Fastlane success. It's a big idea that has the potential to affect millions, and while it's not completely unique, the competition is sloppy and I know I can do better. I'm in the design phase now and off to a great start. My wife is very supportive and we've both come to terms with the fact that I have a lot of late nights ahead of me. It's going to take months to learn the new skills I'll need and put them into practice, but I'm going to use the same tools that allowed me to remodel my entire house, learn to fix cars, and do a myriad of other things with no previous experience: Google. When I was younger my mom told me that if you can read, you can do anything, and now I jokingly tell her that it's become "If you can Google, you can do anything."
I apologize for the lengthiness of my post, I've almost written my own book here! I'll be honest and admit that this post serves a dual purpose for me, both as an introduction and also as a record of what I'm in this for and what I want to accomplish, to hold myself accountable.
I had told myself, "A person doesn't have to earn millions to be a success." Maybe not, but I want to hold myself to a higher standard than the average, I want to do something grand.
Finally, thanks MJ for sharing such amazing insights. My restlessness and decision to stop settling are the fuel, but your words were the spark that finally lit the fire under my a$$ and got me moving forward, full speed ahead!
Ever since I was a kid, I was full of big ideas. I knew I would do something significant with my life, I knew I'd be wealthy. I knew people either got there by being famous or in business, so I either wanted to be an actor or a businessman. As I entered adulthood, I experienced what I think leads a lot of people with similar dreams to settle: fear. I had bills to pay and knew health insurance was important, so I tossed aside the idea of being an actor and got a steady job with a good company to pay my way through college.
Three years ago, I landed what I considered at the time to be my dream job in IT: a path to an eventual salary in the low six figures, employee stock ownership and 401K matching, and great insurance benefits. After about the first year I thought, "You know, this isn't so bad. I can pretty much coast to a retirement in my mid-50s from here. Life isn't about getting rich, it's about being comfortable and happy."
The problem was that this new personal motto conflicted with my true nature, this feeling I've always had that no matter what I've achieved, I should do more. When I was younger, I imagined success as having a good job, a great marriage, and a nice house. I have those things now, and yet there's still been this voice in the back of my mind saying, "You're spinning your wheels, Don."
Up until recently, my reaction has been to suppress these feelings. I focus on how great my life is, which is true. I focus on my "path", a stable financial future, kids, grandkids, retirement. "A person doesn't have to earn millions to be a success." The most ridiculous act of suppression I've committed is to avoid reading articles and watching shows about expensive mansions and sports cars. I know it sound silly, and in hindsight it really was. But every time I saw a big, beautiful house or a sleek European speed machine, that feeling in my gut would come back around and I'd feel like I were wasting my potential again, because having a life like that wasn't part of my chosen path.
The main thing that's kept me anchored to the slowlane is my job itself. For the first two years, I was kept busy with the challenges of learning a new trade. Also, I work for a great company that takes care of their people. But over the last six months, I've started getting restless. While the job is still challenging, I feel like it's challenging to a very narrow slice of my abilities, leaving the rest of my skill set unused and rusting. On top of that, I spent about two months of last year working on a special project that allowed me to work from my home office for the majority of my time, and have much greater flexibility with my schedule. This provided a stark contrast against the 9-5 office grind that is my usual reality.
I blamed a lot of this restlessness and burnout on the fact that I hadn't had a getaway in a while, so I was really looking forward to taking a cruise with my wife in March. Not just for the enjoyment of the trip but also the recharging effect I hoped it would have on my brain, much like it had after my previous vacation.
But there was no recharging effect this time. In fact, it was the opposite. I went from paradise back to my beige 8x8, and almost immediately the restless feelings returned. I realized that what I really wanted was to be able to live like that on a regular basis. Not necessarily on a Mexican beach, but spending my time with my wife and family and doing things I found fulfilling. So about a month ago, I decided to shake things up, I knew something had to change. I thought, "I'm a decent writer, and if I can get famous writing a blog, maybe I can get out of this place!" Problem was, I had done blogs before and given up when I realized nobody was reading, so I did a google search on how to drive blog traffic.
I happened upon a blog about passive income by a guy named Pat Flynn, and almost clicked out immediately because in my mind, "passive income" was a code word for "lazy income", aka "Get Rich Quick." Luckily my curiosity won out and I looked around a bit and found out that, while the blog was about passive income, this guy Pat had been busting his a$$ for the last three years setting up these web businesses to create eventual passive income streams. I was really intrigued and started browsing the massive amount of content on his blog, but I felt a bit overwhelmed, I was having trouble tying it all together and trying to make a plan of it.
Then I had another stroke of luck when browsing Pat's podcast archives and happened upon an interview with MJ DeMarco. His story struck a chord with me, but especially his approach to wealth. I immediately started combing google for more about MJ, and the more I found, the more I liked. I liked his candid, pull-no-punches approach. This guy wasn't throwing in the usual "follow your dreams, wish yourself into success" stuff that every self-help guy seems to arbitrarily spout off so as not to break the motivational speaker's code. I liked that I would be reading a forum on another site where the book was being discussed, and often slammed, and suddenly, there's MJ, signed up for the forum and engaging people with his ideas. It was obvious he's less concerned with pushing his book and more concerned with cultivating a conversation, which skyrocketed his reputation in my eyes.
I'm about 60% finished with the book now, and I can't get enough. MJ's attitude and outlook resonates with me so much that I find myself already applying these concepts to my life as if I had thought of them myself. My absorption of the Fastlane philosophy has felt very organic. I've joked with my wife that I feel like this book was written by me from the future, it's so in sync with how I really feel. It feels great to let go of this charade of "I'm accomplished and successful" and allow the inner beast to come out and get back to the business of constantly trying to summit the next highest peak.
I'm not even done with the book yet, and I've already mapped out my first attempt at Fastlane success. It's a big idea that has the potential to affect millions, and while it's not completely unique, the competition is sloppy and I know I can do better. I'm in the design phase now and off to a great start. My wife is very supportive and we've both come to terms with the fact that I have a lot of late nights ahead of me. It's going to take months to learn the new skills I'll need and put them into practice, but I'm going to use the same tools that allowed me to remodel my entire house, learn to fix cars, and do a myriad of other things with no previous experience: Google. When I was younger my mom told me that if you can read, you can do anything, and now I jokingly tell her that it's become "If you can Google, you can do anything."
I apologize for the lengthiness of my post, I've almost written my own book here! I'll be honest and admit that this post serves a dual purpose for me, both as an introduction and also as a record of what I'm in this for and what I want to accomplish, to hold myself accountable.
I had told myself, "A person doesn't have to earn millions to be a success." Maybe not, but I want to hold myself to a higher standard than the average, I want to do something grand.
Finally, thanks MJ for sharing such amazing insights. My restlessness and decision to stop settling are the fuel, but your words were the spark that finally lit the fire under my a$$ and got me moving forward, full speed ahead!
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