Hello Fastlaners!
I read @MJ DeMarco 's Fastlane Millionaire a couple of weeks ago and knew I had to join the forum to get the most out of the ideas in the book. As somewhat of a perfectionist, one of my biggest hurdles is taking action, so even though I thought about writing this intro post several times over the past two or three weeks I'm only right now committing myself to writing it out and posting it. It may not be perfect, but it's something and something is better than nothing right? Trying to think 80-20.
My Background
I grew up in an upper middle class family in the suburbs of Stockholm, Sweden. I always did very well in school, got a perfect score on the Swedish SATs, got in to the top business school in the Nordics, and completed my undergrad as well as a dual master's degree in business & finance. Did the fancy internships in Corporate Finance & Management Consulting like everyone else in my school, but I always felt like something was missing.
During my years in university I played around with a couple of startup ideas with two childhood friends, created a unique t-shirt print brand, tried making leather wallets with laser-cutting technology, creating a bracelets for men brand, but we didn't commit to anything and of course nothing automatically took off like a rocket with little-to-no effort like we were hoping for, so those ideas all fizzled out. Something that stuck a bit more was my interest for photography, which I picked up after joining the student association's photo club. I got into weddings and portraits, which is something I've enjoyed that has also helped make some money over the past few years. A year and a half into my BSc studies I met a lovely American girl on study-abroad in Stockholm. Two weeks later was the end of her semester abroad, so little did we expect when we went on that first date that we'd end up getting married.
We now live in Philadelphia where I work as a Financial Analyst for a big media company. Throughout these years I've kept searching for something. Searching for a way to be able to craft a life on my own terms and avoid getting permanently shackled by the chains of 9-5 life in corporate Sweden or corporate America. About two years ago I came across the Bigger Pockets Podcast and started exploring the idea of real estate as a means to financial independence. Since then we've bought our first home, which is a live-in flip we are still working on, as well as a turn-key single family home and a fixer-upper that still needs a lot of work. Thanks to the podcast, I also started reading a lot of books about business, real estate and entrepreneurship. The most recent one being the Millionaire Fastlane . It hit me hard with the realization that I'm still in the Slowlane. I'm trying to step on the gas and go faster but there's freakin traffic in the way and I'm driving an old Nissan Versa...
Why I Joined the Forum
In order to switch lanes, I think participating in the forum may be a gamechanger. I realize since going Fastlane is not an event, but a lifestyle, there are several things I need to work on:
Mindset - I need to truly embrace a Fastlane mindset, get rid of limiting beliefs, overcome my fear of financial risk, focus on process and the power of habit, and take massive action.
Accountability - Everyone here knows the key to success is action. Without doing something, you won't get anywhere. I need more accountability in my life to follow through on my ideas.
Education & Inspiration - Seeing real life examples of other forum members implementing the CENTS framework and taking massive action on a daily basis is both educational & inspiring.
Community - Ultimately, life and business do not happen in a vacuum. There are real people who make real things happen in the real world behind each forum user. I'm looking forward to get to know many of you and build new friendships & partnerships.
Thanks for reading and see you in the Fastlane trenches!
Hampus
*A Note on Anonymity - After signing up for the forum I noticed many people use pseudonyms and fake avatars, and considered doing the same + limiting the amount of personal information I share about my background. Ultimately, I decided use my real name & picture, and make sure I only post things on the forum that I can stand behind online as well as in real life, which goes back to what I wrote about community above - we are all real people with real lives being affected - and what you say and do online will and should impact you online as well as offline.
I read @MJ DeMarco 's Fastlane Millionaire a couple of weeks ago and knew I had to join the forum to get the most out of the ideas in the book. As somewhat of a perfectionist, one of my biggest hurdles is taking action, so even though I thought about writing this intro post several times over the past two or three weeks I'm only right now committing myself to writing it out and posting it. It may not be perfect, but it's something and something is better than nothing right? Trying to think 80-20.
My Background
I grew up in an upper middle class family in the suburbs of Stockholm, Sweden. I always did very well in school, got a perfect score on the Swedish SATs, got in to the top business school in the Nordics, and completed my undergrad as well as a dual master's degree in business & finance. Did the fancy internships in Corporate Finance & Management Consulting like everyone else in my school, but I always felt like something was missing.
During my years in university I played around with a couple of startup ideas with two childhood friends, created a unique t-shirt print brand, tried making leather wallets with laser-cutting technology, creating a bracelets for men brand, but we didn't commit to anything and of course nothing automatically took off like a rocket with little-to-no effort like we were hoping for, so those ideas all fizzled out. Something that stuck a bit more was my interest for photography, which I picked up after joining the student association's photo club. I got into weddings and portraits, which is something I've enjoyed that has also helped make some money over the past few years. A year and a half into my BSc studies I met a lovely American girl on study-abroad in Stockholm. Two weeks later was the end of her semester abroad, so little did we expect when we went on that first date that we'd end up getting married.
We now live in Philadelphia where I work as a Financial Analyst for a big media company. Throughout these years I've kept searching for something. Searching for a way to be able to craft a life on my own terms and avoid getting permanently shackled by the chains of 9-5 life in corporate Sweden or corporate America. About two years ago I came across the Bigger Pockets Podcast and started exploring the idea of real estate as a means to financial independence. Since then we've bought our first home, which is a live-in flip we are still working on, as well as a turn-key single family home and a fixer-upper that still needs a lot of work. Thanks to the podcast, I also started reading a lot of books about business, real estate and entrepreneurship. The most recent one being the Millionaire Fastlane . It hit me hard with the realization that I'm still in the Slowlane. I'm trying to step on the gas and go faster but there's freakin traffic in the way and I'm driving an old Nissan Versa...
Why I Joined the Forum
In order to switch lanes, I think participating in the forum may be a gamechanger. I realize since going Fastlane is not an event, but a lifestyle, there are several things I need to work on:
Mindset - I need to truly embrace a Fastlane mindset, get rid of limiting beliefs, overcome my fear of financial risk, focus on process and the power of habit, and take massive action.
Accountability - Everyone here knows the key to success is action. Without doing something, you won't get anywhere. I need more accountability in my life to follow through on my ideas.
Education & Inspiration - Seeing real life examples of other forum members implementing the CENTS framework and taking massive action on a daily basis is both educational & inspiring.
Community - Ultimately, life and business do not happen in a vacuum. There are real people who make real things happen in the real world behind each forum user. I'm looking forward to get to know many of you and build new friendships & partnerships.
Thanks for reading and see you in the Fastlane trenches!
Hampus
*A Note on Anonymity - After signing up for the forum I noticed many people use pseudonyms and fake avatars, and considered doing the same + limiting the amount of personal information I share about my background. Ultimately, I decided use my real name & picture, and make sure I only post things on the forum that I can stand behind online as well as in real life, which goes back to what I wrote about community above - we are all real people with real lives being affected - and what you say and do online will and should impact you online as well as offline.
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