The community I've been looking for!

[ekchang]

Finally. I've got good feelings about this community. I'll explain my backstory briefly.

I stumbled upon 4 Hour Workweek about a year ago in my last year of college. The ideas were interesting, but I was in no position to carry them out. I also knew it could not be that simple, and reading between the lines there is a lot of important things he left out. I graduated, already skeptical about the world in preparation of the Slowlane Ritual of trading hours of my time for money--getting into the Slowlane was hard enough, given how few employers were even hiring! Can you believe I considered it a privilege to be in the Slowlane?

I keep a personal blog and at one point I made a post talking about how I am upset at the imbalance between production and consumption in my life: I felt like I was a weapon of mass consumption. I actively pursue hobbies where I can express myself, like art and music, but admittedly, I'm not exceptional enough to turn those into a career. Everyone I spoke to encouraged me to do it, but it was obvious they've never engaged in arts or music as a hobby before and it was really just blind support, not real support.

I came across this book and I connected so well with MJ's writing--it really did feel like he was right here, yelling at me for being an idiot and telling me about the Sidewalk, Slowlane, and Fastlane roads. When he got to the part about playing for Team Producer instead of Team Consumer, an 'A-ha!' moment snapped in my head instantly. I was on the right path all along, just needed some guidance from someone who knew what he was talking about. That's exactly the kind of mindset I needed all along, it was what I wanted to aim for but I wasn't sure if what I was thinking made any sense. None of my friends really understood or considered the problem with balancing consumption and production in their lives.

It's really a balance between what you are taking away from the world and what you are contributing back. This is really important to me because I want to leave the world a better place than when I came, and that means playing on Team Producer.

I currently work as an engineer in a 9-5 job in the US, and while it isn't something I hate, it is something I feel is somewhat meaningless to me on a day-to-day level. People tell me they love their jobs, but still take all the vacation days they get each year. If given the opportunity to quit, they would do it. That's not my definition of loving what you do for a living. For me, the goal is to find something I would love to do for the rest of my life for free, regardless of whether I am getting paid or not. That's something you really love. If what you're getting paid to do matters, then you don't really love your job.

Dreams do change as you get older, and although I'm only 23, I feel like I am pressed for time. My goal is to gather enough passive income wealth so that I can really go out and volunteer for organizations that really try to improve the world from the ground up, and not have to worry about my financial situation.

"Impact millions" is now my new mantra. A big thank you to MJ, since I have read many entrepreneur books and this is by far the one that resonates with me the most. When I become wealthy, in both my finances and my relationships, I have you to thank for it.

-Erick

Side Note: One important thing I feel is necessary to point out is that I view the Slowlane as a backup--the goal is to obtain freedom and wealth through the Fastlane, but if all else fails, the Slowlane will always be waiting for me. This is a key difference in how we view wealth, since a majority of Slowlaners view the Slowlane AS the goal, whereas Fastlaners view the Slowlane as a worst case scenario.

 

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