Hey all,
I just wanted to say 'Hi' and introduce myself. I am coming from a small, relatively poor country in Southern Europe.
I have read TMF (3 times) and now I am finishing UNSCRIPTED . I have been checking out this forum for almost 5 years, but now I felt it was time to get more active and involved.
I come from the typical lower-middle class family. My parents worked as civil servants and I followed the traditional path of going to college, getting a Master degree and landing a corporate job.
Hopefully, I attended an engineering school and worked as a software developer, so over the years, I developed a strong technical background. I consider this a tremendous asset and advantage in today's age.
After almost half a decade on the job, something started feeling wrong inside me.
I had the fortune to meet some people who planted the "seed of doubt" in my mind. I got a list of recommended books and started my self-education.
One of the first "money" book I ever read was "Rich Dad, Poor Dad".
It BLEW my mind.
It exposed me to a way of thinking that I could not imagine that existed. I read it in 2 sittings.
I know that Kiyosaki has gotten a lot of flame in this forum (and for good reasons), but this book is an 'eye-opener' in my opinion. It is the first one I recommend to people that want to change their lives in the money department.
I continued reading through the list of books, until MJ's "Millionaire Fastlane " came up. I started it and it was like getting punched in the gut.
My "comfortable" life as an employee was challenged relentlessly. I literally had to put it down and stop. The emotional turmoil was that intense.
I moved one to some other books and revisited TMF when I was better mentally "prepared" for it.
What can I say, the book is a masterpiece. It rewired the way my brain works and changed my whole worldview.
During the following years I read it a couple of more times, I listened it to audio (the experience of listening to @MJ DeMarco narrating is amazing), I read several of MJs articles and checked out his interviews and podcasts.
Yes, I am a disciple.
So, that is all nice and neat, but what about ACTION?
Well, during the following years I went ahead to co-found an online media company that grew to clear mid-six figures in annual profit (fat margins here).
In order to accomplish that I had to graduate from a developer to a "digital marketer" to an "online entrepreneur".
It was a slow and laborious effort, but totally worth it. The online marketing skills are transferable so I am able to leverage them in new projects.
While the online media biz was doing good, I still felt I hadn't reached my potential.
I needed something with bigger scale and even more explosive growth.
A few months ago, a good friend introduced me to the world of self-publishing. I was impressed by its potential and quickly realized there is vast opportunity there.
Although the space seems crowded (fiction novels), there is still lots of room if you are ready to offer value and go the extra mile.
(I know that the Commandment of Control is severely violated, but the tradeoff for the unprecedented distribution that you get on the Amazon platform is well worth it IMHO.)
I bootstrapped the self-publishing business with a few thousand dollars and, long story short, I grew it to a mid-six figures run-rate within 8 months.
I am still growing the business, reinvesting the profits to spur growth.
(I am considering writing a high-level post on this in the INSIDERS section. Let me know if you are interested, in the comments.)
Where am I standing now?
I am planning to grow both businesses (with my main focus on the second one) and leverage the strong cashflows that I get in order to either launch new ventures or invest in existing growing companies. The self-publishing business IS risky, so some kind of diversification is in order.
I am also striving to improve myself every day. I love reading, devouring books and articles on entrepreneurship, business, investing, health, personal development and human nature.
I live in a world where Elon Musk also exists. It physically pains me not to do my best every day.
Here is a quick breakdown of my worldview:
Mid Term Goals:
- Achieve Financial Freedom (7 figs in liquid assets)
Long Term Goals:
- Become one of the most renowned entrepreneurs in my country
Strong Points:
- Insane self-discipline
- Strong work ethic
- Very analytical / rational
- Technological background
Weak Points:
- Hesitant to build a team
- Lacking a network of higher-level entrepreneurs
- Not super-clear vision
I'm super excited to kick-start my renewed presence in this extraordinary forum. Keep it up guys
I just wanted to say 'Hi' and introduce myself. I am coming from a small, relatively poor country in Southern Europe.
I have read TMF (3 times) and now I am finishing UNSCRIPTED . I have been checking out this forum for almost 5 years, but now I felt it was time to get more active and involved.
I come from the typical lower-middle class family. My parents worked as civil servants and I followed the traditional path of going to college, getting a Master degree and landing a corporate job.
Hopefully, I attended an engineering school and worked as a software developer, so over the years, I developed a strong technical background. I consider this a tremendous asset and advantage in today's age.
After almost half a decade on the job, something started feeling wrong inside me.
I had the fortune to meet some people who planted the "seed of doubt" in my mind. I got a list of recommended books and started my self-education.
One of the first "money" book I ever read was "Rich Dad, Poor Dad".
It BLEW my mind.
It exposed me to a way of thinking that I could not imagine that existed. I read it in 2 sittings.
I know that Kiyosaki has gotten a lot of flame in this forum (and for good reasons), but this book is an 'eye-opener' in my opinion. It is the first one I recommend to people that want to change their lives in the money department.
I continued reading through the list of books, until MJ's "Millionaire Fastlane " came up. I started it and it was like getting punched in the gut.
My "comfortable" life as an employee was challenged relentlessly. I literally had to put it down and stop. The emotional turmoil was that intense.
I moved one to some other books and revisited TMF when I was better mentally "prepared" for it.
What can I say, the book is a masterpiece. It rewired the way my brain works and changed my whole worldview.
During the following years I read it a couple of more times, I listened it to audio (the experience of listening to @MJ DeMarco narrating is amazing), I read several of MJs articles and checked out his interviews and podcasts.
Yes, I am a disciple.
So, that is all nice and neat, but what about ACTION?
Well, during the following years I went ahead to co-found an online media company that grew to clear mid-six figures in annual profit (fat margins here).
In order to accomplish that I had to graduate from a developer to a "digital marketer" to an "online entrepreneur".
It was a slow and laborious effort, but totally worth it. The online marketing skills are transferable so I am able to leverage them in new projects.
While the online media biz was doing good, I still felt I hadn't reached my potential.
I needed something with bigger scale and even more explosive growth.
A few months ago, a good friend introduced me to the world of self-publishing. I was impressed by its potential and quickly realized there is vast opportunity there.
Although the space seems crowded (fiction novels), there is still lots of room if you are ready to offer value and go the extra mile.
(I know that the Commandment of Control is severely violated, but the tradeoff for the unprecedented distribution that you get on the Amazon platform is well worth it IMHO.)
I bootstrapped the self-publishing business with a few thousand dollars and, long story short, I grew it to a mid-six figures run-rate within 8 months.
I am still growing the business, reinvesting the profits to spur growth.
(I am considering writing a high-level post on this in the INSIDERS section. Let me know if you are interested, in the comments.)
Where am I standing now?
I am planning to grow both businesses (with my main focus on the second one) and leverage the strong cashflows that I get in order to either launch new ventures or invest in existing growing companies. The self-publishing business IS risky, so some kind of diversification is in order.
I am also striving to improve myself every day. I love reading, devouring books and articles on entrepreneurship, business, investing, health, personal development and human nature.
I live in a world where Elon Musk also exists. It physically pains me not to do my best every day.
Here is a quick breakdown of my worldview:
Mid Term Goals:
- Achieve Financial Freedom (7 figs in liquid assets)
Long Term Goals:
- Become one of the most renowned entrepreneurs in my country
Strong Points:
- Insane self-discipline
- Strong work ethic
- Very analytical / rational
- Technological background
Weak Points:
- Hesitant to build a team
- Lacking a network of higher-level entrepreneurs
- Not super-clear vision
I'm super excited to kick-start my renewed presence in this extraordinary forum. Keep it up guys
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