Hello all,
I figured it’s high time I joined the forum and introduced myself. I had the pleasure of meeting several forum members at the 2018 summit and having my mind thoroughly blown. I am fortunate to have the world’s okayest brother in @GPM, who has been intrinsic to getting me into the mindset represented by this community.
My story is a familiar one, just with some keywords changed. I started on the Sidewalk and grew up working odd jobs, I was a landscaper, truck driver, beekeeper, cook, MLM victim and so much more. Eventually I got myself into a situation where I had exactly enough money for a month of rent and was being run around by a potential job. That was a wake-up call that I needed to do something with greater requirements than a pulse. So I went to school and dove straight into the Slowlane.
Working as a level designer making video games was my first adult career, it was amazing after coming off the sidewalk. I got two whole weeks of holidays, a salary, bonuses, and the respect of friends and coworkers. I had a sense of pride that I was a glorious game developer, not a dirty furniture delivery guy. Turns out that shiny veneer wears off in a hurry and you start dreading going in to work. Long hours turn your salary into a below minimum wage payout, deadlines and milestones turn your pathetic two weeks of holidays into a myth coworkers talk about, time off Ha! The bonus structure quickly became “maybe next year, times are hard and the game didn’t do so well” Meanwhile the shareholders and owners are rolling in with brand new cars. Ultimately my great adult career turned into a massive struggle to achieve mediocrity. I was spending all my time at work, was denied raises and holidays and every day was paying my dues for some fantastical future that was always just out of reach. Luckily I was smart enough to recognize the carrot on the stick, unfortunately I wasn’t smart enough to see what the true carrot really was.
Que my second career, Civil Engineering Technology, as far from game design as I could get. Based on real world physics, dirt replaced electrons, building code and cost dictated the start and finish of tasks, and things were actually done when they were done. The ceiling was much higher, the work respected and the job market flush with opportunity. It all looked fantastic… on paper. I started working a stepping stone job while looking for something I had trained for, but year after year with rejections piling up that job started to feel awfully permanent. Despite checking all the right boxes I was once again spending all of my time at work, making a mediocre paycheque with zero holidays or potential growth. It felt familiar and awful, I started to feel trapped and miserable all over again.
This time however I’ve come to realize the problem was me. What I want most in life is the freedom from forced obligation, I want to choose what to do with my time, I want to succeed or fail based on my own actions and decisions. No more diploma with honors getting shut down by some HR guy because he isn’t related to me, no more doing the work of two people because the company can’t afford to hire someone else. It’s time to get into the Fastlane.
I don’t know exactly what I’ll be doing, but I do know I’m never going back to the struggle for mediocrity.
TLDR;
The Slowlane sucks, my brother is @GPM and he got me to read The Millionaire Fastlane so here I am. I don’t know what I’ll be doing exactly and I have a lot to learn, but I know I’m never going back to that bullshit old lifestyle.
I figured it’s high time I joined the forum and introduced myself. I had the pleasure of meeting several forum members at the 2018 summit and having my mind thoroughly blown. I am fortunate to have the world’s okayest brother in @GPM, who has been intrinsic to getting me into the mindset represented by this community.
My story is a familiar one, just with some keywords changed. I started on the Sidewalk and grew up working odd jobs, I was a landscaper, truck driver, beekeeper, cook, MLM victim and so much more. Eventually I got myself into a situation where I had exactly enough money for a month of rent and was being run around by a potential job. That was a wake-up call that I needed to do something with greater requirements than a pulse. So I went to school and dove straight into the Slowlane.
Working as a level designer making video games was my first adult career, it was amazing after coming off the sidewalk. I got two whole weeks of holidays, a salary, bonuses, and the respect of friends and coworkers. I had a sense of pride that I was a glorious game developer, not a dirty furniture delivery guy. Turns out that shiny veneer wears off in a hurry and you start dreading going in to work. Long hours turn your salary into a below minimum wage payout, deadlines and milestones turn your pathetic two weeks of holidays into a myth coworkers talk about, time off Ha! The bonus structure quickly became “maybe next year, times are hard and the game didn’t do so well” Meanwhile the shareholders and owners are rolling in with brand new cars. Ultimately my great adult career turned into a massive struggle to achieve mediocrity. I was spending all my time at work, was denied raises and holidays and every day was paying my dues for some fantastical future that was always just out of reach. Luckily I was smart enough to recognize the carrot on the stick, unfortunately I wasn’t smart enough to see what the true carrot really was.
Que my second career, Civil Engineering Technology, as far from game design as I could get. Based on real world physics, dirt replaced electrons, building code and cost dictated the start and finish of tasks, and things were actually done when they were done. The ceiling was much higher, the work respected and the job market flush with opportunity. It all looked fantastic… on paper. I started working a stepping stone job while looking for something I had trained for, but year after year with rejections piling up that job started to feel awfully permanent. Despite checking all the right boxes I was once again spending all of my time at work, making a mediocre paycheque with zero holidays or potential growth. It felt familiar and awful, I started to feel trapped and miserable all over again.
This time however I’ve come to realize the problem was me. What I want most in life is the freedom from forced obligation, I want to choose what to do with my time, I want to succeed or fail based on my own actions and decisions. No more diploma with honors getting shut down by some HR guy because he isn’t related to me, no more doing the work of two people because the company can’t afford to hire someone else. It’s time to get into the Fastlane.
I don’t know exactly what I’ll be doing, but I do know I’m never going back to the struggle for mediocrity.
TLDR;
The Slowlane sucks, my brother is @GPM and he got me to read The Millionaire Fastlane so here I am. I don’t know what I’ll be doing exactly and I have a lot to learn, but I know I’m never going back to that bullshit old lifestyle.
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