So the cover of the Millionaire Fastlane got all the right ingredients for a deliciously
scammy product that makes too-good-to-be-true promises, BUT now that I've worked my way
through it twice and all my skepticism is replaced with awe, I can say - it's by far,
and I mean it, the best book I've read on making a substantial amount of money.
Period.
If you are truly serious about becoming a millionaire one day you should absolutely
pay attention right now.
The greatest takeaway I got from the book is from the parts where the author, MJ DeMarco,
clarifys the difference between three types of people:
Here we got the sidewalker, the slowlaner and the fastlaner.
And they're categorized by the way they handle their finances.
Now, the Sidewalkers are people who go through life without any
financial planning.
They seem to have little to 0 control over their spending habits.
They usually live from salary to salary and don't think long-term.
They love immediate gratification, that little high of buying new shiny items, even when
they can't actually afford them.
They blame everyone, but themselves for their situation and nothing catches their attention
quite like a get rich quick scheme and they desparately hope for that lottery ticket that
will change their life.
Hard work is out of the question for sidewalkers.
They would rather leech off of others and take no responsibility whatsoever.
I couldn't help, but think this is the ultimate loser mentality and I find it very unfortuneate
that sidewalkers are quite numerous in our society today.
Of course it comes as no surprise that the sidewalker's financial destination is piss-poor
poverty.
The Slowlaners, I assume most of you watching, including myself, fit this category.
The Slowlaners are the polar opposite of the sidewalkers.
They are definitely better off, but they're not taking the optimal approach as they sacrifice
the best years of their life in order to live with safety and in comfort later on once they
retire.
In the words of MJ & I'm paraphrasing, Slowlaners accept the financial plan of mediocrity and
adopt a "settle-for-less" life view.
They save money wherever they can, for example, by clipping coupons for hours in order to
save 15$.
They, quote, forsake their youth for the promise of elderly wealth or, wealth in a wheelchair;
afterall, $100 invested a month in the stock market for 40 years will be worth $2.5 million
by the time you’re 70!
Exclamation point.
Just the other day I read an article that started with "People were lined up for hours
for a free short stack of pancakes worth $5.49."
They're waiting in line for hours to get something for free that's just such a low price and
thus they value their time around 1 to 2 dollars per hour.
Probably the most frustrating thing about Slowlaners is that they watch every penny,
but not every second, not even every 24 hours lots of them.
And I'd like to put two uncomfortable questions in the room here.
I'm convinced it will do more good than bad, so here it is.
What makes you so sure, you will reach retirement?
What makes you so sure, you will get that deserved promotion and have a successful career?
Four years ago I made a decision for myself, I'm not going to slave away for someone else's
benefit until I die, or, until I retire, have a tiny bit of fun and then die.
So, the only real option for me, is, the fastlane.
And here's where we get to the bottom of things.
YOU are a fastlaner, when you make the following "four quick changes" as MJ calls them.
As a fastlaner, you are an entrepreneur who creates something in which you invest time
once and then continue to draw benefit from.
You understand that time is your most important asset, so you
"1.
Dump hope as a financial plan."
You don't rely on hope that the job, stock & housing market is going to make you rich
some day.
Hoping for that promotion is the last thing you want to do.
It's in someone else's hands if you get promoted.
It's in your own hands to become a millionaire through entrepreneurship.
"2. Make Time Your Ally."
Have patience, you're in it for the longrun.
You want to get rich quick, go buy a lottery ticket, rob a bank - don't do that.
I didn't suggest it This is not about speed, this is about the level of difficulty.
You can get rich 'simply' by playing it smart.
Simple doesn't equal easy and it's not only working hard, but it's working smart as well.
It's a combination.
Your time, especially your youth, the best years of your life are more valuable than
the low to middle-wage salary you're getting for depressing office cubicle, "get-yelled-at"
work.
Millionaires invest time just as considerately as their money.
Everyone is getting older and none of us are able to recover time, once it's spent.
MJ also introduces us to the concept of Tangible Value Creation - A source of income that doesn't
require your existence.
Meaning you don't have to be present and thus trapped somewhere because that's where your
job is situated.
You put in the hours, set everything up and once it goes live it keeps going on its own.
That could be a website, a book, a podcast, an invention, a music album and so on.
Basically, once you've worked for it, you switch and it keeps working for you.
Very unlike slowlaners working for their numerous bosses for their whole life.
I mean they can't suggest switching sides with their bosses, can they?
And you "3.
Quit chasing money, start chasing needs."
People don't care about what they can do for you.
It doesn't mean anything to them.
Why should it?
People worry about what you can do for them.
You haven't provided them with anything valuable.
Instead of asking for everything and giving close to 0 value - think what product or service
can you offer, as a fastlaner, that will make people want to give you their money.
Not just, because they'll value your quality approach, but even out of gratitude.
We're all fed up with bullshit and we don't talk about your product or service if it sucks.
That's just the reality of it.
You may trick us into giving you money once, but since you don't care about us and you
haven't satisfied any of our needs - you can't expect to become a millionaire and you sure
as hell can't expect us to trust you again.
You've lost it and your mediocrity has damaged your reputation.
Two things a fastlaner values a lot.
Guys there's nothing more important to me than you trust.
I value integrity so much, because I realize how important it is.
Not just out of a strategic standpoint, but essentially from a look yourself in the mirror
and know you're not a bullshitter standpoint.
And a good place to start is to ask yourself "How am I going to improve people's lives?"
and not "How am I going to buy my dream house and my dream car?"
"4.
Escape The Ceiling & Reinforce The Floor" - By that MJ DeMarco means when you look at
the ceiling, the potential to scale your business and profit, the closer it is, the less room
you've got above your head, the less likely it is for you to make a substantial amount
of revenue.
How scalable is your business?
How much money could you potentially make?
If you're selling wine in a local shop, your bestcase potential is way below the guy who
develops a great app for finding and learning about the best wines in people's local area
accessible all around the world (through the internet).
You're free to use that ideaas well.
As an example.
Your shop could maybe make 100'000$-200'000$ in revenue this year, but that app could maybe
make 10 10 times as much.
And, what about the "reinforce the floor" part - what does that mean?
Well, how solid is the foundation your business is built upon?
Is your plan of making it big solely based on pitching your presentation to, say, an
investor like Mark Cuban or selling to that one big customer?
Then you're really building on very fragile ground.
What if Mark doesn't like your idea, if that customer decides to buy elsewhere, your business
falls apart.
You don't want to lay all your eggs in one basket.
You make sure to have many options, so you could walk away if you don't like a deal without
looking back, because you got leverage.
And finally, here are the 5 Key Ways or Commandments to Evaluate a Fastlane Business
1.
Need: I want what you offer 2.
Entry: This isn't easy 3.
Control: No one can derail me 4.
Scale: This is useful to many And 5.
Time: This exists on its own And I'd like to leave you with the following
words.
As a fastlaner you condense low intensity work life with little pay into a few high
intensity years with the potential of substantial wealth.
It's not easy, but it wouldn't be worth doing otherwise.
As always thanks for watching and subscribe in order to not miss my upcoming animated
summary of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Think & Grow Rich & the Secrets of the Millionaire Mind
within the next few days.
Talk to you soon.