Spark. Without it, the internal combustion engine cannot run.
For many years I have felt like an engine without spark trying to turn over. I have burned through battery after battery and gallons of gas trying to turn over but never realizing there was no spark.
My often envied corporate job has me dreading ever Monday. I see the years flying by and it scares me. I look forward and can only see a life of limitations and narrowing choices.
Something is wrong.
This isn't what I was told it was supposed to be. I was doing what everyone says I had to do to be successful. It must be me. I must have missed some fine print somewhere along the way.
Maybe I worry too much? Worry so much that I question if I am depressed. I can't see a way out, work just piles more work on without any additional compensation. I waste away my weekends on video games as I am not energized to do much of anything else. Dreams? Don't be silly - all that stuff I used to dream about costs money. Money I don't have.
With my father-in-law passing away in January, my wife wanted to get away for an entire month at the beginning of the summer. I had to work and could not join them in the beginning due to work constraints, but was to join them the second half. So, my wife, son, and dog drove off to vacation on June 1st.
I couldn't wait to join them. Spent hours planning my 2 day drive to get to them and the 2 day return trip home. It was then I realized I was more excited about the drive than the destination. I called my wife and confided in her. I did not (and never do) want to disappoint my son, but I couldn't bring myself to spend two weeks in a place I didn't want to go. I would go if my son was awaiting his dad. He wasn't. He was off having fun with my wife's cousin, helping her with her dog walking / pet sitting service.
I used money as a logical excuse to my wife. "Why spend so much money going there, when I could use it on needed house repairs?". She agreed, and I did not go. I stayed home for my two week vacation.
There was only one problem. I was alone. Alone for a whole month. Alone when I came home from work. Alone when I ate my dinner. Alone when I watched tv in bed. Alone when I fell asleep, alone when I woke up, and alone during my two week vacation.
During this month of alone time I looked over my life and where it was going. It was enough to make me cry. But what could I do about it? I made the choices that got me here and could not see any other road that could change it.
Then two things happened. First was the glimpse of part of a movie re-run. I was getting ready for work and looked up to the tv to see "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", which Ben Stiller directed, produced, and starred in. I vaguely remembered it from 2013, but today I was mezmorized by the beautiful look of the film (I learned later they actually filmed it). I shut the tv off, as I wanted to see the whole movie, once again, from start to finish.
While at work, I ordered the movie on disc so I could own it. Two days later it arrived and I couldn't wait to watch it.
If you have never seen it, I won't ruin any punchlines or give a blow-by-blow review. What I experienced from that movie was moving. I sympathized with the Walter Mitty character so much and while he was forced into change by happenings at work, I saw myself in a similar position, just waiting for the shoe to drop.
The second thing that happened was I basically told that I had to change my personality traits in order to better fit into my department. A department that I have spent 21 years in and am the single longest tenured employee in that department in the company's history. No one has worked in this department longer than me, but it was MY personality that needed to be modified. This added to my belief that I was suffering from depression.
I starting researching personality types and how one could even possibly change it. This led me to a lot of short-sheeted articles that didn't have any of the depth I craved. I started searching through videos and found more in-depth information, but nothing addressed the "problem" work said I had to change.
During these video searches, various suggested videos populated my screen. I saw this one thumbnail of a guy sitting in bad lighting on a patio and its claim of "The Simple Secret to Wealth, And No It Has Nothing To Do With "Doing What You Love".
I click on MJ's video expecting to hear re-hashed financial guru crap with a promise of more if I click on a special widget on the video, and I also expected to make fun of his poor lighting skills.
I was taken aback. Here is someone speaking truth. No spin up to sell me a special seminar, no MLM offer, or other worthless bunk. Plain truth.
No way was this guy real. It has to be a teaser video and the seminar or MLM pitch comes in later videos.
Nope. The more videos I watched, the more I saw him speaking truth. Wow. Really? Is this guy for real? Back to the internet to research him. Yeah, he is speaking truth.
Do I buy his book? I read a sneak peak of it, and again, more truth. I have read many biographies over my life hoping to absorb other's hard learned lessons, so why not take a chance on his. I ordered it at the same time as the Walter Mitty movie.
Now, I don't know if it was because I grew up wrenching on cars and all MJ's automotive analogies, but The Millionaire Fastlane just lays it out there! I can't put it down. I keep reading and it just keeps speaking the plain truth in a manner I fully understand!
No guru crap, no re-hashed parent-speak, just truths - all delivered without the expected "snobby nose-in-the-air-here-are-some-crumbs peasants" attitude.
Where was this when I was in college in the 80s when being an Entrepreneur was hailed as THE thing to be? No where. I didn't know anyone like this either, nor had any exposure to anyone with a large wallet to try and glean information from. So I bought into the slow lane life.
I look back now and see opportunities missed and ones not pursued because my parents, brother, friends said it couldn't be done.
It hurts, but that's the past. I have to move forward now. I have my first tool - TMF book. I have begun Unscripted and it has not disappointed either!
My next tool - joining this forum. I know a business is out there for me, I need to find how I can serve millions.
I'm scared, but I'm not going to let it paralyze me. I am more scared of what I saw looking into the future of my slow lane life.
Spark. My engine turned over, and promptly sputtered out. That's OK, we know now that we have spark, and that is where it all starts.
P.S. Thank you MJ for writing your books. I cannot wait for my son to read them and for him to start his first business.
For many years I have felt like an engine without spark trying to turn over. I have burned through battery after battery and gallons of gas trying to turn over but never realizing there was no spark.
My often envied corporate job has me dreading ever Monday. I see the years flying by and it scares me. I look forward and can only see a life of limitations and narrowing choices.
Something is wrong.
This isn't what I was told it was supposed to be. I was doing what everyone says I had to do to be successful. It must be me. I must have missed some fine print somewhere along the way.
Maybe I worry too much? Worry so much that I question if I am depressed. I can't see a way out, work just piles more work on without any additional compensation. I waste away my weekends on video games as I am not energized to do much of anything else. Dreams? Don't be silly - all that stuff I used to dream about costs money. Money I don't have.
With my father-in-law passing away in January, my wife wanted to get away for an entire month at the beginning of the summer. I had to work and could not join them in the beginning due to work constraints, but was to join them the second half. So, my wife, son, and dog drove off to vacation on June 1st.
I couldn't wait to join them. Spent hours planning my 2 day drive to get to them and the 2 day return trip home. It was then I realized I was more excited about the drive than the destination. I called my wife and confided in her. I did not (and never do) want to disappoint my son, but I couldn't bring myself to spend two weeks in a place I didn't want to go. I would go if my son was awaiting his dad. He wasn't. He was off having fun with my wife's cousin, helping her with her dog walking / pet sitting service.
I used money as a logical excuse to my wife. "Why spend so much money going there, when I could use it on needed house repairs?". She agreed, and I did not go. I stayed home for my two week vacation.
There was only one problem. I was alone. Alone for a whole month. Alone when I came home from work. Alone when I ate my dinner. Alone when I watched tv in bed. Alone when I fell asleep, alone when I woke up, and alone during my two week vacation.
During this month of alone time I looked over my life and where it was going. It was enough to make me cry. But what could I do about it? I made the choices that got me here and could not see any other road that could change it.
Then two things happened. First was the glimpse of part of a movie re-run. I was getting ready for work and looked up to the tv to see "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", which Ben Stiller directed, produced, and starred in. I vaguely remembered it from 2013, but today I was mezmorized by the beautiful look of the film (I learned later they actually filmed it). I shut the tv off, as I wanted to see the whole movie, once again, from start to finish.
While at work, I ordered the movie on disc so I could own it. Two days later it arrived and I couldn't wait to watch it.
If you have never seen it, I won't ruin any punchlines or give a blow-by-blow review. What I experienced from that movie was moving. I sympathized with the Walter Mitty character so much and while he was forced into change by happenings at work, I saw myself in a similar position, just waiting for the shoe to drop.
The second thing that happened was I basically told that I had to change my personality traits in order to better fit into my department. A department that I have spent 21 years in and am the single longest tenured employee in that department in the company's history. No one has worked in this department longer than me, but it was MY personality that needed to be modified. This added to my belief that I was suffering from depression.
I starting researching personality types and how one could even possibly change it. This led me to a lot of short-sheeted articles that didn't have any of the depth I craved. I started searching through videos and found more in-depth information, but nothing addressed the "problem" work said I had to change.
During these video searches, various suggested videos populated my screen. I saw this one thumbnail of a guy sitting in bad lighting on a patio and its claim of "The Simple Secret to Wealth, And No It Has Nothing To Do With "Doing What You Love".
I click on MJ's video expecting to hear re-hashed financial guru crap with a promise of more if I click on a special widget on the video, and I also expected to make fun of his poor lighting skills.
I was taken aback. Here is someone speaking truth. No spin up to sell me a special seminar, no MLM offer, or other worthless bunk. Plain truth.
No way was this guy real. It has to be a teaser video and the seminar or MLM pitch comes in later videos.
Nope. The more videos I watched, the more I saw him speaking truth. Wow. Really? Is this guy for real? Back to the internet to research him. Yeah, he is speaking truth.
Do I buy his book? I read a sneak peak of it, and again, more truth. I have read many biographies over my life hoping to absorb other's hard learned lessons, so why not take a chance on his. I ordered it at the same time as the Walter Mitty movie.
Now, I don't know if it was because I grew up wrenching on cars and all MJ's automotive analogies, but The Millionaire Fastlane just lays it out there! I can't put it down. I keep reading and it just keeps speaking the plain truth in a manner I fully understand!
No guru crap, no re-hashed parent-speak, just truths - all delivered without the expected "snobby nose-in-the-air-here-are-some-crumbs peasants" attitude.
Where was this when I was in college in the 80s when being an Entrepreneur was hailed as THE thing to be? No where. I didn't know anyone like this either, nor had any exposure to anyone with a large wallet to try and glean information from. So I bought into the slow lane life.
I look back now and see opportunities missed and ones not pursued because my parents, brother, friends said it couldn't be done.
It hurts, but that's the past. I have to move forward now. I have my first tool - TMF book. I have begun Unscripted and it has not disappointed either!
My next tool - joining this forum. I know a business is out there for me, I need to find how I can serve millions.
I'm scared, but I'm not going to let it paralyze me. I am more scared of what I saw looking into the future of my slow lane life.
Spark. My engine turned over, and promptly sputtered out. That's OK, we know now that we have spark, and that is where it all starts.
P.S. Thank you MJ for writing your books. I cannot wait for my son to read them and for him to start his first business.
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