I guess most of us on this forum read TMF and thus know the 5 golden rules (or commandments) of Fastlane. The famous "CENTS".
Among them, the most difficult to achieve is control. Here's why.
I see it almost everywhere on this forum and on almost every other entrepreneurship post, podcast or video. People built a business and claim to have the full control of it, while actually they don't.
In my humble opinion, there are many problems I would like to show on this thread which cause a lack of control.
1. Money Management
This is the most crucial problem that brings to a lack of control. Most people receive their business money on bank or e-wallet (usually paypal) account.
They still don't understand that if their money is on a bank account, or on Paypal, or on Neteller, or on Skrill or on any other similar platform they have a very little control of "their" money. Basically bankers own and manage it.
Bankers can control and manage account holders money in different ways.
It could be a bail in or a hidden tax; a raised fee or a withdrawal limit; etc.
Banks could also fail and your money disappear.
So, if you want to control your money, you should never use banks! There's no doubt about it.
Thus, which are the methods to control your money?
Well, I see only 3 ways:
If you rely on a third-party service, you can't control your money. Or, at least, to have the full control of it. Bankers (or paypal, etc.) have.
As a side note, controlling your money is the only way to pay the amount of taxes you wanna pay and not the one government decide.
I'm not trying to make a political post.
I'm a strong pacifist, but maybe I'm wrong.
Maybe it's good to finance wars all around the world and have thousands of military bases (and a HUGE amount of tax money is used for these reasons).
But, I say it again, this is not a political post. This is all about fastlane and control.
If you really have the full control of your money you should decide the amount of taxes to donate and maybe even the purpose of your donation.
2. Platform
Most people here (including me) published or self-published books. Many of us self-publishers claim to have the full control of our business. Indeed we rather rely on the platforms which host our books.
For example, I published more than 10 books and throw all of them on e-stores like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, El Corte Inglés, and so on... The control I have on such platforms is basically 0. They can change their algorithms and this could affect the SEO of my books; they could even hide my books from searches for reason I won't even never know.
Another example.
Let's suppose you code android apps and sell them on google play. What is the control you have on google play?
Zero.
The same I have for the websites which host my books.
Thus, if we really want the control of such business we need to control the platforms too.
3. Websites
This is another misconception of control.
Most people who have a website truly believe to have the full control on it, while it's not true.
So who has the control of it?
Mainly the hosting platform (and sometimes governments too).
Let me add you another example from my real life experience.
Some years ago I started a blog about agriculture. I think the articles were pretty good, I posted on a regular basis and started to get hundreds of visitors per day. So I put some banners and short links on my blog, in order to monetize a little bit.
What happened next?
The hosting platform (a cheap Malaysian hosting provider) began to do at least one maintenance per week. So my blog went offline very often. Sometimes even 8 hours per day! This is every week!
The traffic to my blog dropped and so my revenues.
What have I learnt from it?
That if you really want to control your own website, you have to own the hosting platform as well. There's no other way.
Also there are many other ways a bad hosting provider can hurt your business, for example they can remove a utility (for example cpanel) or they could have weak security systems and give access to hackers. A hosting platform could even suspend your account, often with weak reasons.
These are the 3 main reasons because I think control is almost impossible to get.
I also thought about possible businesses in which, instead, we could achieve a full control.
Here is a short list of them:
- Owning a bank
- Owning a domain/hosting provider (and use the proper money management system)
- Be a dictator
- Own google/apple
- Create a cryptocoin and let other people invest in your ICO
- Mine cryptocoins
- Sell stuff on your platform (and use the proper money management system)
- Grow crops and sell them for cash
Among them, the most difficult to achieve is control. Here's why.
I see it almost everywhere on this forum and on almost every other entrepreneurship post, podcast or video. People built a business and claim to have the full control of it, while actually they don't.
In my humble opinion, there are many problems I would like to show on this thread which cause a lack of control.
1. Money Management
This is the most crucial problem that brings to a lack of control. Most people receive their business money on bank or e-wallet (usually paypal) account.
They still don't understand that if their money is on a bank account, or on Paypal, or on Neteller, or on Skrill or on any other similar platform they have a very little control of "their" money. Basically bankers own and manage it.
Bankers can control and manage account holders money in different ways.
It could be a bail in or a hidden tax; a raised fee or a withdrawal limit; etc.
Banks could also fail and your money disappear.
So, if you want to control your money, you should never use banks! There's no doubt about it.
Thus, which are the methods to control your money?
Well, I see only 3 ways:
- Using Cash Money
- Using Cryptocoins
- Owning a bank
If you rely on a third-party service, you can't control your money. Or, at least, to have the full control of it. Bankers (or paypal, etc.) have.
As a side note, controlling your money is the only way to pay the amount of taxes you wanna pay and not the one government decide.
I'm not trying to make a political post.
I'm a strong pacifist, but maybe I'm wrong.
Maybe it's good to finance wars all around the world and have thousands of military bases (and a HUGE amount of tax money is used for these reasons).
But, I say it again, this is not a political post. This is all about fastlane and control.
If you really have the full control of your money you should decide the amount of taxes to donate and maybe even the purpose of your donation.
2. Platform
Most people here (including me) published or self-published books. Many of us self-publishers claim to have the full control of our business. Indeed we rather rely on the platforms which host our books.
For example, I published more than 10 books and throw all of them on e-stores like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, El Corte Inglés, and so on... The control I have on such platforms is basically 0. They can change their algorithms and this could affect the SEO of my books; they could even hide my books from searches for reason I won't even never know.
Another example.
Let's suppose you code android apps and sell them on google play. What is the control you have on google play?
Zero.
The same I have for the websites which host my books.
Thus, if we really want the control of such business we need to control the platforms too.
3. Websites
This is another misconception of control.
Most people who have a website truly believe to have the full control on it, while it's not true.
So who has the control of it?
Mainly the hosting platform (and sometimes governments too).
Let me add you another example from my real life experience.
Some years ago I started a blog about agriculture. I think the articles were pretty good, I posted on a regular basis and started to get hundreds of visitors per day. So I put some banners and short links on my blog, in order to monetize a little bit.
What happened next?
The hosting platform (a cheap Malaysian hosting provider) began to do at least one maintenance per week. So my blog went offline very often. Sometimes even 8 hours per day! This is every week!
The traffic to my blog dropped and so my revenues.
What have I learnt from it?
That if you really want to control your own website, you have to own the hosting platform as well. There's no other way.
Also there are many other ways a bad hosting provider can hurt your business, for example they can remove a utility (for example cpanel) or they could have weak security systems and give access to hackers. A hosting platform could even suspend your account, often with weak reasons.
These are the 3 main reasons because I think control is almost impossible to get.
I also thought about possible businesses in which, instead, we could achieve a full control.
Here is a short list of them:
- Owning a bank
- Owning a domain/hosting provider (and use the proper money management system)
- Be a dictator
- Own google/apple
- Create a cryptocoin and let other people invest in your ICO
- Mine cryptocoins
- Sell stuff on your platform (and use the proper money management system)
- Grow crops and sell them for cash
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
