Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter has become bizarre.

As entrepreneurs, if you ever SELL or BUY a business, complete transparency is an absolute necessity. Expect it on either side of the transaction, especially if you are fortunate enough to sell a business.

On the buy side, if a seller refuses to disclose anything-- and I repeat-- anything, run the other way. Reports indicate that Musk "waived" due diligence on the property which is completely baffling, and downright foolish. Now that it appears BOTS might be > 5% of the users, he's balking. Never waive due diligence. Never.

None of my books have ever hit the New York Times best-seller list, and yet, I have sold more than most NYTs best sellers. Interesting wouldn't ya say?

That said, what is a great, "must read" book that is not widely known, hyped, or publicized? If you have a great book recommendation that is NOT widely known, like an underground favorite, please share and I will compile the data and share later.

Try sticking to business and self-development. PLEASE: No hyped "best sellers" that every Tom, Dick, and Harriet likes to recommend. Any NYT best-seller will be disregarded. While good books, mentioning Atomic Habits, The 4HR Workweek, and Rich Dad Poor Dad helps no one.

Looking forward to seeing the results and sharing the data!

If you only read books that come from best-seller lists, this means you are only reading viewpoints that come attached with a pre-approved consensus, stamped "ok" by big corporations and/or institutions.

I was a bit shocked to see that many people couldn't respond with books not found on any best-seller list. Instead, they recommended books that everyone has already read, everyone as already recommended, and everyone was already tired of hearing. Sorry, but only reading best-selling books gives you a narrow viewpoint deemed acceptable by culture. I wrote more about this here...

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/i-only-read-best-selling-books-which-gives-me-a-curated-narrow-viewpoint.104365/

Nothing wrong with reading best-sellers. But for every best-seller you read, you should probably dive into something that doesn't enjoy the big media/publisher hype train. You'll likely find something more actionable in the hidden-gems, moreso than the big best-sellers that everyone reads, and everyone tries to mimic.

If you'd like to contribute to the "hidden gem" book discussion, feel free to enter your recommendations at the following Google form:

https://forms.gle/3jF96nRneP8YtDUb6

If you make a recommendation, again, I repeat: NO BEST-SELLERS. NO FAMOUS AUTHORS. I'm not interested in seeing books that have been recommended 1,420 times and have 10,000 reviews at Amazon. Don't forget to include the author name in your recs.

Many thanks to people who made recommendations here, I will definitely review them however the thread has become quite chaotic so I might miss a few. Ultimately I will have this data compiled and share with the group for easy reading and review!

Do you want tires & brakes with your new car? Don’t “scumbag” your company. Here’s a great example of a good product that will lose customers due to excess marketing gimmickry.

https://bit.ly/3zRQSWC

I was ready to buy until they poured on the ridiculous marketing gadgetry and add-ons. When you’re done with all the BS, the price exceeds $500. What a great way to sour your brand. Not only will I pass, but I will leave with a negative view on your business. And yet, some people call this "good marketing." Vomit. 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮

Here's a great reminder when dealing with other people, regardless if it is sales or relationship oriented.

Years ago, researchers paired 20+ male/female coeds (strangers) and asked them to sit together for 20 minutes in silence. They could only say 3 words, except they had to say those 3 words with all the love+passion they could muster.

After the experiment was over, several of the couples started dating. Some got married. Those 3 words that were said with love and passion?

"Pass the salt."

The point? It's not WHAT you say, it's HOW you say it. As they say, non-verbal cues account for 75% of what you say, while the actual words are around 25%.

Great to remember when dealing with your spouse/significant other, or a potential client. Also a reminder to the dangers of text messaging, and why confusion can occur.

I’ve run a forum now for over 15 years. Nearly 1M comments have been posted. Over that time I’ve read a ton from aspiring entrepreneurs, and many patterns emerge. A common theme is this: OVERTHINKING.

Amazing how many people absolutely refuse to do anything until they have all the questions answered, all the potential problems solved, and all the risks alleviated.

As Andy (via the forum) says, “Overthinking is the art of solving problems you don’t have. Business is simple: Help people. Get paid. Help more people.”

Some years ago, a Girl Scout become the top-seller for cookies in the country by using RIDICULOUS CONTRAST to set a stage. She rang doorbells and asked for a $30K donation. When people said "no" she then asked, "OK, how about a few dollars for a box of cookies?"

Kids do this too. "Dad, I crashed the Lexus. Just kidding, but I failed math."

Sales is always about presentation and psychology!

AirBnb was founded because the founders were scratching their own itch, a needed resource when hotels were sold out due to conferences. They were its first customers. Originally, it was a "crash on an air mattress" service (hence the "air") but multiple pivots (acts, assess, adjust) turned it into what it is today.

When they started this service, they had no intention on it becoming a multi-billion dollar unicorn. They just wanted to create a valuable service that solved a problem. They only focused on solving the days problems, and improving from there. It morphed into something that would change an entire industry.

Point: If you're solving problems and focusing on the value in front of your face, the long-term will take care of itself.

The key to living your BEST LIFE isn’t found in talent. It isn't found in knowing the right people, eating the right food, or going to the right schools. It isn't found in getting a great job or starting a business. It isn't found in meditation or a going to church 3X a week.

Your best life evolves from something that connects all these things: THE POWER TO CHOOSE. The power to decide, to act, to critically think, to see the veils and hyperrealities of your media/culture, to persevere, to solve problems, and to seek the truth in a world of falsehood.

A member of the forum recently posted a short story on how his choices yielded a better life, while his friend, made no choices and stagnated in the same job, the same city, and the same doldrums.

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/why-dont-you-give-me-your-money-because-i-am-a-victim-and-you-are-rich.104615/

When you deny agency in your life, you deny your best life.

This story was shared with me: A local charity had 100s of classical music CD's left over from a past fundraiser, likely gathering dust in a closet.

Instead of wasting them, a volunteer used them as a marketing enticement: He went door to door and when people answered the door, he said a $10 donation would get them a FREE CD.

The CDs were put to good use instead of ending in the trash. Better, the volunteer secured $1,200 in donations.

Is there anything in your biz that could use an enticement? Any stagnate resources you can deploy as a freebie?

I wrote this in the weekly newsletter for Fastlane Forum members and it bears repeating here:

Want to live your best life with ZERO regret?

Perform this thought experiment: Fast-forward to the hour before your imminent death. You lived to 85, but your time is up. Ask yourself...

❓Will you regret the decisions you made, or didn't make?
❓Did you proactively decide to pursue your best life?
❓Did you live BOLDLY, or did you take the safe, risk-less way out?
❓Did you do what OTHERS expected? Or what you wanted or desired?
❓Did you fall into the trap of cultural expectation and inertia?
❓Did you live a life of someone else's design?

Years ago, I performed this thought experiment, and it crystallized the type of life I wanted to live, and it allowed me to make decisions that would yield my best life, yesterday, today, and in the future.

And I knew a life as a Fastlane entrepreneur was the best way to make my "regretless" life happen.

Succeed or fail, if you can die with zero regret, you've lived your best life.

Would greatly appreciate it if you guys can REPORT this ass-clown for impersonating me and trying to scam unsuspecting people, privately asking people about their financial information, and God knows what.

Thank you for your help on this.

Also, please REPORT as "someone you know" not as a celebrity or famous person. I am "unverified" and IG doesn't consider me a celebrity or someone worth verifying. THanks!

https://www.instagram.com/mj.demarrco/

BTW: My real IG is https://instagram.com/mj.demarco

Public libraries were instrumental to my success, from learning new things from code to marketing, to access to company data/registrars. Here in the USA, they are often funded by property taxes, so private landowners (middle- to upper-class folks) are helping you learn for free.

With Libby (a mobile app) you can download free eBooks from your local library, without leaving your home, giving you a true "try before you buy" experience.

If the book is good and has provided value to your life, then you can support the author and buy the book!

Update: Many folks asked for a status update on the "great books that are NOT best-sellers" list... that document is still being aggregated. In fact, I had over 500 responses! (And too many were, in fact, best-sellers, so we've been eyeballing and reviewing every response.)

My intent is not just to throw these recommendations in a spreadsheet, but to create a nice curated document for everyone, to truly spread the word about some great books you likely never heard of.

That means Atomic Habits, Can't Hurt Me, Rich Dad, and 4 Hour Work Week will be NO WHERE to be found in this great list of books.

It truly is sad that there are some great books out there that don't get the attention they deserve, simply because they don't have a big marketing budget behind it, or a big publishing house forcing it into bookstores, or because they don't overtly support a mainstream narrative destined for free publicity.

Timeline? I hope to have something by the end of August.
Stay tuned!

Spend anytime in self-improvement circles and you'll see that people love to brag about the number of books they read.

Last year I read 50 books!
This month I read 10 books!

This doesn't impress me. In fact, this type of bragging usually indicates that this reader is not an "action-taker" but an "action-faker".

Want to know what's impressive? 

Implementing the books you read.

Stop impressing yourself by the quantity of books you read.

Start impressing yourself by quality of the books you implement.

Attached is just one of many testimonials I've read about my work. 

This guy IMPLEMENTED my books, he just didn't read it and go read 100 more books.

He just didn't my books for the sake of reading them ... HE IMPLEMENTED THE WORK IN HIS LIFE.

Question is, how many books have you read, but NOT implemented?

Reading and implementing ONE BOOK is more impressive than reading ONE HUNDRED and doing nothing.

Had a lot of people ask me about using book summary services like Blinkist. PLEASE DO NOT.

These services are utter trash and serve people looking for shortcuts, people who are unlikely to have massive success because they are not process oriented.

These services serve those who want the PILL to lose weight, but not the hard exercise or sacrificial diet change. These services serve those who want the EVENT to success, but not the PROCESS.
These services serve those who want a HELICOPTER to the mountaintop, but they don’t want the HIKE.

Good books require a thoughtful, deliberate reading, not a drive-by summary put together by some disinterested low-level employee.

Just to give you an example on how trashy these services are, the summary on my first book, The Millionaire Fastlane, was SO POORLY DONE, I wouldn’t have bought my own book. I would have read the summary and had an immediate verdict of "Meh." In fact, they didn't even bother to summarize the cornerstone of my entire philosophy, which is CENTS. Nope, the fools left it out.

Subsequently, I formally requested that Blinkist remove the summary, and from doing any future summaries on my work. I saw other summaries and came to same conclusion … you’re getting to SMELL the meal, but you won’t get the benefit of EATING it.

Stop the merciless search for the shortcut. Shortcuts are a Fastlaner's business model.

An entrepreneur on the TheFastlaneForum.com recently complained that he couldn't identify any ideas.

After a few questions, it become clear why. The entrepreneur had a ME-BIAS.

In neuroscience, your reticular activating system (RAS) is basically a form of confirmation bias to see what your brain has prioritized into its consciousness. For example, if you buy a new car, you'll suddenly see that car everywhere. If you believe X, your brain will start to see evidence of X being true.

This same concept applies to business opportunities.

People who complain about "not seeing ideas" have a selfish, narrow-minded ME-BIAS and their RAS does the rest. Instead of thinking, "What can my business do for the world? Or my community?" they errantly think "What can this business do for me?" The ME-BIAS. Opportunities must tightly fit into their tiny box of me, me, and me, often relating to loves, passions, interests, and personal desires. It's a limited internal focus vs a broader market viewpoint. In the end, opportunities are limitedly filtered through the ME-BIAS, creating very limited ideas for life-changing pursuits.

Well it's no shock you can't find an idea when you've backed yourself into a corner of having that idea meet your ME-BIAS.

When you drop a ME-BIAS, suddenly the world opens up to you, and opportunities are everywhere.

In my community, I know I could start a landscaping company and immediately earn five figures monthly simply by executing better. If I had a ME-BIAS, a landscape maintenance business would NOT be seen as an opportunity. And yet if I was just getting started as an entrepreneur, running that business for 3 or 4 years could change my life, financial-wise, leadership-wise, hiring-wise, management-wise, and for so many other opportunities for personal development.

In the ultimate irony, dropping your ME-BIAS ends up indirectly serving you ... you do indeed feed the ME.

The more entrepreneurial success stories I hear/read, the more it is clear that your first idea is rarely the one that succeeds or gains traction. There is always a pivot from an ACT, ASSESS, ADJUST (Unscripted, Book 1) all based on market resonance.

The point is, you have to engage the market with meaningful action.

Even a horrible idea flung out into the marketplace might reflect back with a better idea, a better need, and a better value skew.

In fact, success in life can always boil back to the 3As: Act, Assess, Adjust. It's like rowing a boat in a river: The market is the river. Your actions are the rowing. Sure, you can fight the current, but the market currents will always give you clues on the best routes. Bottomline, GET INTO THE RIVER and see where it might take you. Don't confuse this with "market research" ...

"If I asked what my customer's wanted, they would have said faster horses" -- Henry Ford.

Asking what customers want, and thrusting a product into the market are two different things.

The value of social media depends on how you use it.

You can use it to build an audience.
Sell a product.
Grow an influence.
Sell gazillions of copies of your books like Colleen Hoover used TikTok to do so.
You can use social media to learn new knowledge and skills.

Or you can use social media to collectively argue, to complain, and to junk your mind on fleeting hits of dopamine masquerading as entertainment, like a daily heroine fix.

The choice is yours. Like life itself. Choice.

How are you choosing?

Choose wisely, or social media will own your mental bandwidth. And your life.