maximross
New Contributor
Hi Everyone,
I have just completed reading The Millionaire Fastlane a few days ago, and have been avidly reading the posts on this forum. What an eye opener the read has been, I have begun to understand the road I have been on and why I have not really been successful. A little bit about me to put things into context.
Graduating from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia in the mid 1990s, I went straight to work as a Telecoms Engineer for a multinational Canadian company called Nortel Networks. While the work was challenging and interesting, and gave me the opportunity to work in many different countries around SE Asia and Europe, the sacrifices were great and often.
60-70 hours per week were normal, with my longest work week coming in at 89 hours and 7 days. This was while I was working on a new cellular network rollout in Taiwan. Although money was good, this was not the way I wanted to spend my life, giving your heart and soul (and time) to a multinational.
After about 8 or 9 years, I was able to pay for a house pretty much in cash, and settled down to life back home. It was also at this time that I got the bug to start some business. I really wanted to put all my energy and passion into something of my own. While working, I had always enjoyed Starbucks, it provided a welcome relief and a few moments of time to relax during the busy work day - so I decided I wanted to recreate the experience in Melbourne in a local suburb that did not have such a "neighborhood coffee place".
Fast forward 2 or so years, and what MJ says in his book is so true - the business owned me with 4am starts and 6pm finishes, 7 days a week. I was making hardly any profit after paying rents and salary costs. I probably held more jobs in this 2 years than most have in a lifetime - chef, owner, barista, toilet cleaner, garbage man, painter, tiler, electrician, plumber, table server, dishwasher, sandwich maker, delivery driver, and God knows what else.
I sold the business at a loss, and went to Monash University to get an MBA. Why? I realized I had a critical lack of business skills, and needed to learn more before attemtping any other business ventures.
Fast forward another 3 or 4 years, now equipped with an MBA and a Masters of IT, I decided to start trading. Starting with ETFs and stocks, I quickly moved to options. Although I dabbled in FX, I never really participated in the market. Trading went well, and I could make a living, however that all ended during the financial crisis a few years ago.
The manipulation in the markets, the frozen positions, the lack of transparent information - all left a bitter taste in my mouth. I repatriated what was left of my money, and have not traded since. Schwed's book "Where Are the Customer Yachts" rang true.
A few years ago I met a wonderful girl, and we settled down in Chiang Mai, Thailand. We built a house that took 2 years to complete, as we were building ourselves with local labor hired from the village. We also have 2 lovely daughters.
About 2 years ago I started in the Internet Marketing field, and have gone the road of many before me - Adsene, Amazon review sites, and the likes. No success whats-so-ever. Although some sites did begin to show in Big G's first page, after their algorithm changes, it all vanished. I realized I cannot have a business that is 100% dependent on G's whims.
With respect to life now, we live in Melbourne but are currently on holidays in Chiang Mai. I just finished a 9 month contract for Telstra working in IP Networks, and will be looking to return to something similar. After finishing MJ's book, the spark has been ignited and I am trying to organize my thoughts and ideas as to what Fastlane style business ideas I can implement. I feel this is an exciting time of a new beginning. My eyes have really been opened as to why I have not been successful in business.
Thanks MJ for an excellent book.
Maxim Ross
I have just completed reading The Millionaire Fastlane a few days ago, and have been avidly reading the posts on this forum. What an eye opener the read has been, I have begun to understand the road I have been on and why I have not really been successful. A little bit about me to put things into context.
Graduating from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia in the mid 1990s, I went straight to work as a Telecoms Engineer for a multinational Canadian company called Nortel Networks. While the work was challenging and interesting, and gave me the opportunity to work in many different countries around SE Asia and Europe, the sacrifices were great and often.
60-70 hours per week were normal, with my longest work week coming in at 89 hours and 7 days. This was while I was working on a new cellular network rollout in Taiwan. Although money was good, this was not the way I wanted to spend my life, giving your heart and soul (and time) to a multinational.
After about 8 or 9 years, I was able to pay for a house pretty much in cash, and settled down to life back home. It was also at this time that I got the bug to start some business. I really wanted to put all my energy and passion into something of my own. While working, I had always enjoyed Starbucks, it provided a welcome relief and a few moments of time to relax during the busy work day - so I decided I wanted to recreate the experience in Melbourne in a local suburb that did not have such a "neighborhood coffee place".
Fast forward 2 or so years, and what MJ says in his book is so true - the business owned me with 4am starts and 6pm finishes, 7 days a week. I was making hardly any profit after paying rents and salary costs. I probably held more jobs in this 2 years than most have in a lifetime - chef, owner, barista, toilet cleaner, garbage man, painter, tiler, electrician, plumber, table server, dishwasher, sandwich maker, delivery driver, and God knows what else.
I sold the business at a loss, and went to Monash University to get an MBA. Why? I realized I had a critical lack of business skills, and needed to learn more before attemtping any other business ventures.
Fast forward another 3 or 4 years, now equipped with an MBA and a Masters of IT, I decided to start trading. Starting with ETFs and stocks, I quickly moved to options. Although I dabbled in FX, I never really participated in the market. Trading went well, and I could make a living, however that all ended during the financial crisis a few years ago.
The manipulation in the markets, the frozen positions, the lack of transparent information - all left a bitter taste in my mouth. I repatriated what was left of my money, and have not traded since. Schwed's book "Where Are the Customer Yachts" rang true.
A few years ago I met a wonderful girl, and we settled down in Chiang Mai, Thailand. We built a house that took 2 years to complete, as we were building ourselves with local labor hired from the village. We also have 2 lovely daughters.
About 2 years ago I started in the Internet Marketing field, and have gone the road of many before me - Adsene, Amazon review sites, and the likes. No success whats-so-ever. Although some sites did begin to show in Big G's first page, after their algorithm changes, it all vanished. I realized I cannot have a business that is 100% dependent on G's whims.
With respect to life now, we live in Melbourne but are currently on holidays in Chiang Mai. I just finished a 9 month contract for Telstra working in IP Networks, and will be looking to return to something similar. After finishing MJ's book, the spark has been ignited and I am trying to organize my thoughts and ideas as to what Fastlane style business ideas I can implement. I feel this is an exciting time of a new beginning. My eyes have really been opened as to why I have not been successful in business.
Thanks MJ for an excellent book.
Maxim Ross
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