Have you ever started reading a book that made you feel uncomfortable and pushed you to reassess your business or your life? When I picked upThe Millionaire Fastlane,I expected it to be unconventional in its advice and its style, and I am grateful that the author MJ DeMarco allowed his style to be unleashed throughout the book. I am also thankful that I was able to absorb his wealth of knowledge about creating a life of wealth and abundance. Let me dive into why this book is spot on in so many areas of wealth creation, and why most people are broke and leading lives of desperation.
Be prepared for Mr.DeMarcoto hammer conventional thought throughout his book. The reader needs to hear his advice over and over for it to sink in because we have been conditioned by the media and the pundits to follow the herd. He starts out by talking about a roadmap, a financial belief system and a person’s preconceived notions about wealth and money.
These are the three roadmaps:
- The Sidewalk
- The Slow Lane
- The Fast Lane
Each roadmap contains a psychology about money. The sidewalk is predisposed to a life of poorness, the slow lane to mediocrity and the fast lane to a life of wealth.
The defining characteristics of the slow lane are:
- Pleasure today.
- No plan.
- Use credit to buy things.
- Disregard for the value of time.
- Education (no thanks, I’m done with school).
- Show off.
- Wealth formula: Wealth= Income + Debt.
MJ goes on to list several facts and figures that highlight the life of a sidewalker and how they are doomed if they don’t change their ways.
The Slow Lane exhibits these characteristics:
- Debt is no good.
- Money is scarce and to be hoarded (This one hit me in the gut a bit)
- Job is primary income source.
- When it comes to work, work hard, save and invest until you’re 65.
- Wealth Equation: Wealth= job + market investments
- Five days of servitude (job) for two days of freedom (weekend).
I can sympathize with the Slow Lane roadmap because I was on the slow lane for the majority of my adult life. I owned a small business and traded time for money, and when the “job” became unbearable, I sought the fast lane unconsciously. I would have arrived much sooner if I had read MJ’s book sooner in life.
Now, to the only roadmap for Jake & Gino members: The Fast Lane. Are you on the fast lane?
Use debt to grow my business and systems.
Time is the most valuable asset I have.
You NEVER stop learning.
Money is everywhere. MJ highlights this fact by telling the reader that over $3 trillion change hands in the world currency markets EVERYDAY!! You could spend $1million per day for 8000 years and have money left over. Governments will just keep printing it.
You are responsible for your own life and your actions.
Wealth equation: Wealth= Net Profit + Asset Value.
The goal is to build passive income through businesses or investments.
All throughout the book, MJ gives the reader equations and strategies on how to implement Fast Lane thinking. One of my favorite parts of the book is his Five Fast Lane Commandments and the Law of Effection (to make millions, you need to impact millions)
1. Need:
Don’t start a business because you are passionate about something. Try to solve a need or create value.
2. Entry:
Look for a business with a higher barrier of entry.
3. Control:
You need to control your asset. Some depend on affiliate marketing, but who is really in control of that revenue?
4. Scale:
The ability to expand your business from local to worldwide and affect millions. I was in violation of this commandment with my one restaurant in NY!
5. Time:
The ability to automate and systematize your business and to hire others to help your grow.
Multifamily real estate has created countless millionaires in this country, and MJ’s commandments describe how multifamily real estate is an excellent vehicle to generating wealth and passive income.
If you would like to learn more about the book and its principles, click below to watch our live video about the Millionaire Fast Lane.
Some of you may get insulted or taken back by MJ’s candor. I learned an important saying in life coaching school: “What people say is about them. What you hear is about you.” If you want to get rich and you are falling short, buy the book, read it once, begin to apply the principles in the book and continue to read it over and over. Thanks to MJ for not pulling any punches and writing an entertaining and informative book.
Buy here:
The Millionaire Fast Lane
Also read:Wealth Can’t WaitBy David Osborn and Paul Morris
