Hello to everyone!
This thread is part my introduction to the community, part my road to the forum, and part how I stumbled upon “The Millionaire Fastlane” in times when my story matches MJ's story to levels which give me a great dose of encouragement.
The Road to Here
Around this time last year I took a decision which consequences and rightness I couldn't possibly foresee because I was following instinct and not reason at the time. I had three options:
a) Sign a contract and stay at the company I was working for;
b) Enroll in a paid Trainee program I was offered to within the same company;
c) Leave.
Just a few days prior taking my decision I had received my Bachelor's degree. Everything was going “great” for me. I had a secured job, an excellent, just out of the oven degree, great personal relationships and a few damn solid goals instilled in my mind!
It was clear. I had no second thoughts about it. My mind was made. I picked option c). Not because I read MJ’s book, not because I had read books on entrepreneurship, or because I had heard I should start a business and ditch the orthodox lifestyle. No, no and no. Back then, I hadn’t read any such books, or demonstrated any such interests. It would take a year from then to the moment I find out about “The Millionaire Fastlane.” It would take 9 months to the moment my interest in entrepreneurship appears. Why did I pick option c) then? I picked option c) because of those goals I mentioned. I just knew, if I wanted to achieve them, I had to quit the job. It was stealing precious time I needed elsewhere!
After a year and a half of corporate experience, I knew just by observing the people around me that something was not right. Call me insane but although everyone seemed happy, I found the atmosphere rather depressing. Most of my colleagues had been there for 10+ years, but there were people who were celebrating 30 years and more. You go there, you grab a piece of cake, or pie or whatever, shake the old hand and as a young employee receive the following “advice”: "Kid, do your job well and one day you'll be celebrating your 30 years here too." I usually smile and I reply on autopilot: "I’ll do my best!" My thoughts however, ran as follows: "Holy crap! 30 years! You’ve wasted 30 years of your life stuck here and you dare advise me to follow when I can tell deep down in your mind you’re having the exact same thoughts as me right now! I hope it was worth your time!" I truly believe some people can find happiness and do find it in the orthodox lifestyle but I know that as long as it’s up to me, I won’t subject myself to the grind! Not when there are more important things to do!
It’s good to have goals! It’s also good to have a plan how to achieve them… However, when I took option c) I had no plan how to proceed… leave and then what? Thankfully, I had at least something on my schedule. I had planned a journey of a few months, something I wanted to do for years but never had the time until I took decision c). I saw it as my escape and as a great way to give myself some time to figure out how to proceed to the attainment of my goals.
Fresh out of college, having just left my job, I put on a backpack and left for another life. (I have to mention that the university I was attending and the company I was working for were not based in my home country. It’s not like I left home. Actually, my journey will lead me home and it’s from where I am writing this).
What happened after 4 months of wandering about? No plan happened. I was without a job and out of money. I returned home. I decided that for the first 2 months of my return I won’t do much. I was still reading but not as much. I still had the same goals and all the reading I was doing was centered on them but I felt I needed rest and I definitely had to adjust to my new environment. My thought flow went like that “I will work on my goals no matter what but I’ll slow it down for a while; if things get bad, I will find another job…” I deserve a slap in the face! Now I feel like I wasted 2 months and it is all that takes to bring determination and motivation down to a crawl!
After those initial 2 months 2 more passed in a similar way and I began applying for jobs. The family pressure was getting to me and everyone was starting to nag that I should use my diploma before its value diminishes. Empty words to them when I say that I am constantly acquiring new knowledge and I am working towards something. “Bullshit!” – from my own mother. So yes, I applied for a few jobs. I never got to the point of interviewing because my cover letters sucked. I was seeing typo errors, missing words, wrong company names on every single one after hitting the send button. No matter how many times I was rereading through them, there was always something wrong after clicking the send button. Was that a blessing?
Something else happened around that time, I began to think again! I began to monitor myself and make sure my time wasn’t wasted. I met a few people who pushed me back in the right direction, so to speak. I got my determination back and for the first time ever, I have initial steps towards the achievement of my goals. Now I know I need to escape from the family pressure and I need to secure my own personal freedom first and foremost. How do I go about that?
For starters, financial freedom is now part of my goals because it will allow me to invest my time in doing what I have set out to do. I have a few ideas and I have decided to act on them. Subsequently, I have begun reading about success. I started with “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell and moved to Napoleon Hill’s “Law of Success” (still reading). My library is constantly expanding and I am now including in it books on entrepreneurship, economics and finances because I feel need for that knowledge. Maybe you can guess how I came across "The Millionaire Fastlane"? Perhaps not.
“The Millionaire Fastlane”
The next paragraph is on the subject. Bear with me!
Two months ago I signed up for a marathon of 80 miles with elevation of 6000 meters. I did it in order to test myself and out of pure curiosity. I have next to zero experience in marathons and I run just for fun but… never mind that… from time to time I do stuff out of impulse and later reason when it’s way too late. Now I feel I’m wasting way too much time in preparation for the marathon and spending money I can better use elsewhere. What I am trying to get to is that because I have begun to run more than 5 hours every other day, I feel my time exercising should not be time spend only exercising, so I turned to audio-books. And guess which one was the first? Yes, the first audio-book I began pouring into my head through my headphones was MJ Damarco’s “The Millionaire Fastlane”.
After the first few chapters I knew I had stumbled upon something special. The book not only reinforced my belief that I did the right thing to leave my job and to go with my gut feeling, but it strengthened a mindset the closes people to me have been trying to ruin for the past half a year. Hearing MJ’s story and realizing how similar a position I am in gave me ground to walk on because now I am sure! Now I am sure that what I am trying to do is possible, attainable! Thank you!
I got a bit carried away with the post. My thanks to all who’ve read it to the end.
This thread is part my introduction to the community, part my road to the forum, and part how I stumbled upon “The Millionaire Fastlane” in times when my story matches MJ's story to levels which give me a great dose of encouragement.
The Road to Here
Around this time last year I took a decision which consequences and rightness I couldn't possibly foresee because I was following instinct and not reason at the time. I had three options:
a) Sign a contract and stay at the company I was working for;
b) Enroll in a paid Trainee program I was offered to within the same company;
c) Leave.
Just a few days prior taking my decision I had received my Bachelor's degree. Everything was going “great” for me. I had a secured job, an excellent, just out of the oven degree, great personal relationships and a few damn solid goals instilled in my mind!
It was clear. I had no second thoughts about it. My mind was made. I picked option c). Not because I read MJ’s book, not because I had read books on entrepreneurship, or because I had heard I should start a business and ditch the orthodox lifestyle. No, no and no. Back then, I hadn’t read any such books, or demonstrated any such interests. It would take a year from then to the moment I find out about “The Millionaire Fastlane.” It would take 9 months to the moment my interest in entrepreneurship appears. Why did I pick option c) then? I picked option c) because of those goals I mentioned. I just knew, if I wanted to achieve them, I had to quit the job. It was stealing precious time I needed elsewhere!
After a year and a half of corporate experience, I knew just by observing the people around me that something was not right. Call me insane but although everyone seemed happy, I found the atmosphere rather depressing. Most of my colleagues had been there for 10+ years, but there were people who were celebrating 30 years and more. You go there, you grab a piece of cake, or pie or whatever, shake the old hand and as a young employee receive the following “advice”: "Kid, do your job well and one day you'll be celebrating your 30 years here too." I usually smile and I reply on autopilot: "I’ll do my best!" My thoughts however, ran as follows: "Holy crap! 30 years! You’ve wasted 30 years of your life stuck here and you dare advise me to follow when I can tell deep down in your mind you’re having the exact same thoughts as me right now! I hope it was worth your time!" I truly believe some people can find happiness and do find it in the orthodox lifestyle but I know that as long as it’s up to me, I won’t subject myself to the grind! Not when there are more important things to do!
It’s good to have goals! It’s also good to have a plan how to achieve them… However, when I took option c) I had no plan how to proceed… leave and then what? Thankfully, I had at least something on my schedule. I had planned a journey of a few months, something I wanted to do for years but never had the time until I took decision c). I saw it as my escape and as a great way to give myself some time to figure out how to proceed to the attainment of my goals.
Fresh out of college, having just left my job, I put on a backpack and left for another life. (I have to mention that the university I was attending and the company I was working for were not based in my home country. It’s not like I left home. Actually, my journey will lead me home and it’s from where I am writing this).
What happened after 4 months of wandering about? No plan happened. I was without a job and out of money. I returned home. I decided that for the first 2 months of my return I won’t do much. I was still reading but not as much. I still had the same goals and all the reading I was doing was centered on them but I felt I needed rest and I definitely had to adjust to my new environment. My thought flow went like that “I will work on my goals no matter what but I’ll slow it down for a while; if things get bad, I will find another job…” I deserve a slap in the face! Now I feel like I wasted 2 months and it is all that takes to bring determination and motivation down to a crawl!
After those initial 2 months 2 more passed in a similar way and I began applying for jobs. The family pressure was getting to me and everyone was starting to nag that I should use my diploma before its value diminishes. Empty words to them when I say that I am constantly acquiring new knowledge and I am working towards something. “Bullshit!” – from my own mother. So yes, I applied for a few jobs. I never got to the point of interviewing because my cover letters sucked. I was seeing typo errors, missing words, wrong company names on every single one after hitting the send button. No matter how many times I was rereading through them, there was always something wrong after clicking the send button. Was that a blessing?
Something else happened around that time, I began to think again! I began to monitor myself and make sure my time wasn’t wasted. I met a few people who pushed me back in the right direction, so to speak. I got my determination back and for the first time ever, I have initial steps towards the achievement of my goals. Now I know I need to escape from the family pressure and I need to secure my own personal freedom first and foremost. How do I go about that?
For starters, financial freedom is now part of my goals because it will allow me to invest my time in doing what I have set out to do. I have a few ideas and I have decided to act on them. Subsequently, I have begun reading about success. I started with “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell and moved to Napoleon Hill’s “Law of Success” (still reading). My library is constantly expanding and I am now including in it books on entrepreneurship, economics and finances because I feel need for that knowledge. Maybe you can guess how I came across "The Millionaire Fastlane"? Perhaps not.
“The Millionaire Fastlane”
The next paragraph is on the subject. Bear with me!
Two months ago I signed up for a marathon of 80 miles with elevation of 6000 meters. I did it in order to test myself and out of pure curiosity. I have next to zero experience in marathons and I run just for fun but… never mind that… from time to time I do stuff out of impulse and later reason when it’s way too late. Now I feel I’m wasting way too much time in preparation for the marathon and spending money I can better use elsewhere. What I am trying to get to is that because I have begun to run more than 5 hours every other day, I feel my time exercising should not be time spend only exercising, so I turned to audio-books. And guess which one was the first? Yes, the first audio-book I began pouring into my head through my headphones was MJ Damarco’s “The Millionaire Fastlane”.
After the first few chapters I knew I had stumbled upon something special. The book not only reinforced my belief that I did the right thing to leave my job and to go with my gut feeling, but it strengthened a mindset the closes people to me have been trying to ruin for the past half a year. Hearing MJ’s story and realizing how similar a position I am in gave me ground to walk on because now I am sure! Now I am sure that what I am trying to do is possible, attainable! Thank you!
I got a bit carried away with the post. My thanks to all who’ve read it to the end.
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