I tweeted this the other day and it was in the Fastlane Newsletter. If you haven't seen it, it bears repeating:

"Financial blasphemy: I drink $6 coffee. I spent $5.3M on a 13,000 sq/ft estate w/a $6K mortgage. I have 12 credit cards where $1000s are charged monthly. I dine out 3-5X week. When I shop, I don't look at prices and throw whatever I want into the shopping cart. The word "budget" is not in my vocabulary. I also have no savings plan, I don't make regular investments in index funds. Despite doing everything CONTRARY to what financial experts preach & every finance book ever sold, I have total financial freedom. Here's are 8 truths that made it happen.." (you can find the full tweet in the link)

Among one of those truths, there was one I want to call your particular attention to:

The true secret to wealth/unfettered financial freedom (not the mediocre suckfest promoted nowadays) is by owning things you can control as an INSIDER. This puts the power of asymmetrical business returns that compound into your grasp. Buying index funds does not count.

If you look at any person who has accumulated wealth (and by wealth I mean at least $10M+) you will see the above FACT as common denominator. In fact, Sam Altman (the entrepreneur behind the ChatGPT AI) echoed the same in a legendary blog post on becoming successful. He said:

Continue reading…

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Entrepreneurship isn't for everyone.

Here are 5 essentials that you will need to succeed as a self-sufficient entrepreneur who excels, and creates life-changing wealth. Life is too short to just pay the bills for the month and repeat...

#1) Learn how to solve PROBLEMS.

As I like to say, entrepreneurs are professional Problemologists. Every day is a new problem to solve and it should be your expectation. If you give up easily at any problem in your life, you won't make it as an entrepreneur.

Keep the job.

#2) If you can't stay FOCUSED any longer than 10 minutes without getting frustrated at certain mundanities, keep your job. If you find yourself giving up after navigating your state's LLC or incorporating pages (which certainly will suck), keep your job.

#3) If you can't stay MOTIVATED while your feedback loop is disconnected (translation: no dopamine) stay at your job.

Health and fitness are very similar, where short-term actions (diet/exercise) only deliver long-term results.

#4) If you can't handle the idea of having thousands of BOSSES, your customers, many of whom will critique you and your venture, you should rethink becoming an entrepreneur. Yes, you can fire bad customers, but generally, more customers = more bosses.

On the contrary, customer feedback, even the negative, is a powerful source of critical intelligence.

#5) If you're worried about what other people think, PUBLIC CRITICISM, you should keep your job. It is impossible to live Unscripted while worrying about what others will think about your life and career decisions.

Good news is, mostly no one cares.

And finally, if you do decide to be a Fastlane entrepreneur, promise yourself this: Keep grinding at it until your first sale, your first profit, occurs WHILE SLEEPING.

Making $$$ 24/7 separate from your time is incredibly intoxicating. Once you experience it, there's no going back.

Good luck!

You’re 25 years old.

Someone offers you $2,000,000 (USD) to sell your kidney, part of your liver, cornea, and left leg.

Part of the terms is you won’t receive and/or enjoy any of $2M until you hit 65. Then you can have fun!

Would you take the deal?

Of course not; you’d probably even laugh and tell the person to take a hike.

If this is true, then why on earth do we continually give credence to the idea that if you work hard enough for 40 or 50 years, one day you can retire rich with financial freedom?

Bottomline, TIME and FINANCIAL freedom are subject to discounting, just like money.

IOW, skiing in the Alps when you’re 35 is worth far more than trying to do it when you 70, after 40 years of job and market stress have destroyed your health.

I wrote an article in the newsletter if you’d like to read more…

https://preview.mailerlite.io/emails/webview/364132/94800438617966231

How to Stop Cheating Yourself, And Earn What You Deserve.

Two hikers, both smitten by the Fastlane entrepreneurial bug, stood at the base of two different mountains, faces steeled, resolve unshaken. They weren't climbing for the view. No, these mountains had something else that lures you, me, and every dream-chaser up here: The Reward.

One mountain, which appeared less treacherous, promised a $50K trophy for the relentless soul who reached its peak. The other? A staggering $25M.

Two mountains, two hikers, two entrepreneurial dreams. But here's the twisted truth: the mountains were exactly the same in every jagged rock and treacherous slope....

Continue...
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Ever stumbled upon glittering claims like these?

• I sold $300K of X widgets in 3 weeks; here's my secret...
• My company did $4M last year; here's how you can too...
• Our real estate holdings will earn over $16,000 in rent next month...

If you ever catch wind of these grand proclamations, let the shadow of suspicion creep over you. Why? Because they likely are subject to what I've dubbed, The Revenue Razor.

If "razors" sound foreign to you, let me acquaint you with these sharp-minded instruments. Razors are thinking blades that help you carve through information, dissecting the fat of falsehood from the lean meat of truth.

You might know Occam's Razor, the famous blade that prefers the explanation with the fewest leaps of logic. Other versions include:

• The simplest explanation is usually the best one.
• When you have two competing theories that make exactly the same predictions, the simpler one is the better.

When presented with revenue or sales information, I present to you the following wisdom:

The Revenue Razor.

When somebody claims a large number of sales, income, or revenues on a gross basis, always assume that the net profit, or bottomline, is terribly small and unimpressive.

Ever stumbled upon claims like these?

I sold $300K of X widgets in 3 weeks; here's my secret

My company did $4M last year; here's how you can too!

Our real estate holdings will earn over $16,000 in rent next month

If you ever catch wind of these grand proclamations, let suspicion creep over you. Why? Because they likely are subject to what I've dubbed, The Revenue Razor.

If "razors" sound foreign, let me acquaint you with these sharp-minded instruments. Razors are thinking blades that help you carve through information, dissecting the fat of falsehood from the lean meat of truth. You might know Occam's Razor, the famous blade that prefers the explanation with the fewest leaps of logic.

When presented with revenue or sales information, apply the Revenue Razor:

When somebody claims a large number of sales, income, or revenues on a gross basis, always assume that the net profit, or bottomline, is terribly small and unimpressive.

https://preview.mailerlite.io/preview/364132/emails/96603194993411206

So many people complicate wealth into this multi-variate octopus that needs taming.

-- Cold showers.
-- Value.
-- Scale.
-- VC Funding.
-- Meditation.
-- Education.
-- Waking up at 4AM.
-- Blah, blah, blah.

The accumulation of wealth comes down to one incredible simple thing, something that I wrote about over a decade ago:

The Law of Effection: The more people you impact in scale or magnitude, the richer you can become.

Impact millions, make millions.  The statement doesn't care about education, race, gender, location, etc.

It only cares about numbers. Wealth is simple math.

Most customers = more wealth.
More influence =- more wealth.
More money = more wealth.

As for the other factors that can correlate or have causation with respect to this law, stuff like socioeconomics, government policy, poverty, etc, yes, it matters.

For example...

...a person in New York has much better opportunity to "impact millions" than a poor person in rural Ghana.

...a woman in Venezuela does not have the same opportunity to "impact millions" as one does in San Diego.

...a privileged student who gets a free ride to Harvard will have more opportunity to "impact millions" than the poor farmer's kid attending Clayton County Community College.

....the offspring from a family who owns a successful legacy company has a better chance at Effection than someone struggling in poverty.

Bottomline, the one question that needs to be asked wherever you are on the planet, or whatever your circumstances is...

How can I put myself in a position to impact millions?

Audience first? Or product first? What should you focus on?

For example, if you have 2M subscribers on YouTube, it would be easy to push them a product right? And not just a great product, but ANY product, right?

Everyone wants a IG following or a YT channel with millions of followers/subscribers so they can sell their influence.

This is not a bad strategy, but I don't believe it is optimal. For starters, Control and Entry, which are non-existent on such platforms. To circumvent Control, you need to get so huge (think: Mr. Beast) that you possess leverage and unprecedented influence.

Second, just because you have a large audience, doesn't mean success is guaranteed. Mr. Beast and Joe Rogan are implicitly implying with their success that if we have millions of fans, monetization (selling them something) is super-simple.

It isn't, because ultimately, selling *something* comes down to a product.

Unique value. Something different.

If you attempt to sell your audience something that does not have perceived value and is seen more of a "money grab," you will be exposed as a fraud, and many in your audience will leave. This also goes for paid influencer promos -- ultimately, the product has to do the heavy lifting.

On the flip side, if you had an awesome product but started with ZERO audience, the speed at which you can get traction is greatly diminished, or worse, impossible, especially if you don't know how to market. The cure for cancer goes unsold if you can't sell it.

Both paths are not for the thin-skinned, or for person who quits easily.

However if I had to make a choice, I'd say that YOUR PRODUCT is most important. That is my default answer, pending more information.

Good products are viral. And good products sell.

A large audience? That doesn't guarantee success, sales, or traction.

Remember Google+? Google Glass? New Coke? Another great example right now is Threads, by Meta, which hasn't (yet) seemed to have gained market adoption. Zuckerburg has the largest audience on the planet, and Threads sucks.

So...

#1) Build a product that a significant audience wants? And let your product help build the audience?
#2) Or build an audience and plug-in something later?

I'd pick #1 every time.

A great example is my own audience at YouTube. I think I have 60K+ subscribers, a mid-sized audience.

This audience would not be interested in a fishing product, a vegan snack, or a beta-reading SAAS for aspiring authors. There has to be product-fit with the audience, so it creates somewhat of a pigeon hole.

PS: There is NO right or wrong to this question as like many things, it can be solved in the gray with "It depends."

Here's the forum thread on this discussion which includes a link to some of the biggest product failures from Gigantic companies with Gigantic audiences.

The most powerful factor in wealth creation has nothing to do with motivation. It has nothing to do with effort, persistence, discipline, or the usual suspects commonly pushed. While these help, the most important thing is likely something you never considered.

It's this...

The most powerful tool for wealth creation is within the SYSTEM you put yourself in. Your choices dictate the system. For example, if you elect to get a job as an electrician, that's a system. A doctor? A system. A cashier? It's a system. Nurse? You've given yourself a system.

Likewise, electing to be an entrepreneur also endows you with a system.

Starting a sandwich shop on the corner? System.
Starting a software company? System.
Joining an MLM to sell overpriced goods and far-fetched fantasies? System.
Starting a YouTube channel? System.

Self-endowed systems go beyond jobs and business. An aspiring actor is part of a system. Artists. If you become a politician and are elected, congratulations; you're now part of a system. Enter office with a net worth of $1M, leave 15 years later with $250M.

Ultimately, the SYSTEM determines how your EFFORT, motivation, and discipline compounds into momentum, or lack of it. The SYSTEM determines if you have access to asymmetrical leverage--which creates wealth- or no leverage at all.

What leverage does your system offer? Or does it?

The best analogy of the SYSTEM/EFFORT Concept is equate your system to a vehicle.

Many jobs are like a tricycle.

If you throw Usain Bolt on a tricycle, you'd beat him in a race. Did he suddenly get slow? No, the problem is a poor system suddenly marginalizes his EFFORT.

So many people work harder and longer than myself. And they're more talented. Their work ethic isn't the issue; it's that the system they've adopted hinders their effort.

Want to get paid what you're worth? Change your damn system and get off the tricycle.

This is why Fastlane Entrepreneurship is the most potent SYSTEM; it's a system swap where your effort compounds and gives asymmetrical leverage a chance. A great effort in the JOB SYSTEM gives you a 4% raise. A great effort in a BIZ SYSTEM gives you a 4000% raise.

SYSTEM > EFFORT > MOMENTUM

Choose wisely.

MARKETING AS A POWERFUL VALUE SKEW

View forum thread: https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/marketing-as-your-only-value-skew-somewhat-scammy.110412/

If you follow my work, you’ve heard me mention that MARKETING is a VALUE SKEW. If you can take a unique product that is UNDER-MARKETED and ADD MARKETING, you just created SKEW.

A value skew is something a consumer will perceive as unique and special about your product, enough to compel a customer to buy.

In this case, the SKEW is simple awareness.

In many marketing circles (and many gurus) like to promote the IDEA that marketing can be your only skew.

While this is true, the result is somewhat questionable (scammy?) because you are simply exposing an underexposed product to the masses. The return on your effort is an INSANE MARKUP.

Here is a classic example.

If found a company advertising on Instagram a pair of neck messagers.

Their advertising hook was a video of very attractive people using the product and just raving about the relief they were getting.

I must admit, after watching the eye candy OOH and AHH about their neck relief, I wanted one.

They were asking $60.

But here’s the deal.

I knew immediately this was a MARKETING SKEW venture.

After researching Temu, I found the same products for sale for LESS THAN $9.

Yes, $9 bucks. And that’s not including any discounts which Temu readily offers.

$9 acquisition. Sell for $59. Add a few costs for ads + slick packaging ($11); the net ROI is a whopping 436%.

A 436% ROI is asymmetric and how you get rich.

This is HOW marketing, by itself, can be your only SKEW.

While I wouldn’t find myself doing this, it demonstrates that opportunities can be created by exposing the underexposed.

A couple of lessons in today's business news.

#1) The Commandment of Control strikes again.

Unity Game Engine has changed its terms, making game development extremely expensive and out of reach for most aspiring game developers. The fee changes will cost existing games thousands and likely erase all profits. We saw this recently when Reddit changed its API terms.

Same story, different company.

When one company can destroy your business, you accept a risk that is paramount. Business, by itself, is risky. If your company is dependent on one company NOT changing its terms, you're playing Russian Roullete.

#2) STAKEHOLDER DEMOTION = Opportunity for all entrepreneurs.

FACT: Any once beloved, customer-centric company turns into DOGSHIT after going public. Sonos, Etsy, Upwork, I lost count. Why? Customers are demoted to livestock as the new focus is shareholders and Wall St analysts.

When your customer is your #1 stakeholder, you hold an advantage over big public companies whose priorities are upended; meeting Wall Street earnings expectations, appeasing shareholders, and essentially squeezing every ounce of margin out of their customers.

ADVANTAGE: YOU.

I hear Unity Game Engine customers are going through the same discovery. Reddit too, as they prepare for IPO. Sucks when customers become livestock.

How many times has a company you loved gone public and turned to crap? For me it was Sonos, the audio company. I hear a lot of people are upset at Etsy and Upwork.

What was it for you?

The 5 most dangerous addictions that can destroy the dreams of even the most disciplined:

#1) Heroin
#2) Sugar (a gateway drug into the medical/pharma industrial complex [MPIC])
#3) Social media (a gateway drug into the medical/pharma industrial complex)
#4) Video gaming (a drug to create mass apathy and population immobilization, secondary gateway into MPIC)
#5) A regular paycheck that imbues comfortable mediocrity.

Worse?

The latter has murdered more dreams than the former four.

Imagine having a map to buried treasure, a journey that will forever change your life for the better.

And yet, after close examination of the map, you decide to sit home and do nothing because the journey looks difficult or doesn't come complete with a mentor that will hold your hand.

This scenario best describes how most people approach life, and their ability to change it for the better.

The fact is, DISCIPLINE has replaced LUCK as the sole thing that stops you from succeeding.

A century ago, education and knowledge was a privilege secured from birth, and having the luck to be born in the right family in the right city.

Today, the world's knowledge is at your fingertips and readily accessible with a computer or a smartphone. Per market researcher eMarkter, 63% of adults on the planet have smartphones—but those phones aren't making them smart, they are making them dumber.

DISCIPLINE is the only thing required to unlock this treasure trove of resources, resources which can change your life forever.

With the right commitment and focus, you can go from dummy to expert in a matter of months.

Or, you can continue to spend 5 hours a day on TikTok, X, and Netflix while complaining you don't have the skills to change anything. Sorry, you don't have the discipline to change anything and until you do, nothing will change.

The power to change your circumstances is within your control, and within your access.

Unprecedented times. Take advantage now and let your smartphone make you smart.

Persistent action skews the probabilities for success that others will misconstrue as luck. The guy who swings the bat 1000 times will have better luck than the guy who swung twice and quit.

I tweeted this but it needs repeating, and in today's SMARTPHONE age, #1 is critically important.

Change the euphemistic words that you regularly use in your life into their real meanings and you can get better outcomes. Here are 5 words that you need to swap out and exchange for better results.

1) Notifications = Interruptions.

When an app asks, "Allow XYZ App to send you notifications?" change the word NOTIFICATION to INTERRUPTION....

"Allow XYZ App to send you interruptions?"

Hell no.

2) Someday = Never.

Whenever you say someday, you're saying NEVER. Face the truth and stop lying to yourself. Someday means never. In rare cases, it means another day with another excuse.

3) Luck = Probability

Those who preach luck fail to understand probability. Don't pray for better luck, work to change your probabilities so "good luck" becomes more likely and "bad luck" less likely. Luck is for losers who don't act. Probability is for winners who do.

4) Entrepreneur = Problemologist.

Entrepreneurs solve problems all day, everyday. If you expect to be an entrepreneur yet refuse to face problems, obstacles, and other challenges, update your resume/CV and go back to being an employee. Leave the problems to entrepreneurs.

5) Money = Value.

Everyone wants to make money, but oh so few people want to make value. Unless you're a politician, a central banker, or a thief, money is value. If you want to make more $$, be more valuable. A biz that helps millions gives you the best bet to earn millions.

Feel free to add your own word replacements, what works for you? I heard a funny one, sugar = heroin because it has similar effects on the brain.

Some big takeaways from this week's newsletter.

You can read the full article here.

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If you're physically, mentally, and geographically able to pursue your dreams—your best life— you're already living the dream.

Remember the THREE WARMS: If you're in a WARM bed after a WARM shower following a WARM meal, congratulations; you have much to be thankful for.

If you're currently able to fight for your dreams because you're not busy fighting for your life, you're doing spectacularly well.

The grass is already greener in your pasture.

Have a great weekend everyone, be happy, healthy, and safe!
- MJ

Do you have trouble falling asleep and taming the mind?

I can fall asleep within 10 minutes, guaranteed.

It wasn't like this as for years I’d toss and turn trying to fall asleep as my mind wandered with endless mental minutia, from things that I needed to get done to memory reruns to random ideas, my head would not STFU.

Everything changed when I started doing THIS, and had you told me this would be effective at getting me to sleep fast, I would have laughed at you.

Here’s what I did:

1) I found earbuds that I could sleep comfortably with.

2) I find audiobooks on Audible that aren’t terribly mentally stimulating or thought-provoking, something like “cozy mysteries” or other fictional writings. I avoid non-fiction educational books during this time as I’m not trying to stimulate the mind; I’m trying to lull it.

3) Make sure the narrator of your book has a soothing, calming voice.

4) I listen to the audiobook, set to go off at 30 minutes (Audible has this function.)

5) Like clockwork, I’m out usually within 10 minutes. Worse case, 20. The earbuds tend to stay in all night promoting total silence, and a weened myself off the need for white noise (which can damage hearing).

Why does this work, and will it work for you?

Apparently, listening to novels that require low mental bandwidth narrows the mind into a subtle focus, silencing the scatterbrained chaos that keeps us up at night. I’m no longer thinking intensely about 30 different things but thinking lightly about 1 thing.

For years, I thought this was crazy.

And now it turns out, this strategy is not unusual as CNBC just reported that many women listen to true crime podcasts to help them fall asleep. While I wouldn’t recommend such a heavy, tragic topic like that, listen to whatever works for you.

Of course, I’m sure this won’t be effective for everyone, however, if you struggle with getting to sleep, give this a try.

Your sleep and your health may thank you.

Article: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/13/why-are-women-falling-asleep-to-true-crime-podcasts-and-tv-shows.html

Details matter, especially if you're in the business of details.

I won't post the flyer, but I received a "Car Detailing" flyer on my windshield.

The flyer itself was poorly done, from layout, fuzzy low-res design, and even unwanted printer marks that should have NOT been visible.

If these are the details you put into your flyer -- your only representation of your business -- how well will you detail my $150,000 car? (The flyer had a picture of a $150K Mercedes.) Why would I trust you with it, when you can't be trusted to do a simple 8.5 x 11 flyer?

Details matter, especially if you're in the business of details.

In a follow up to the previous post about DETAILS MATTER, here’s another example and a response to the assertion that some new businesses simply don’t have the budget for details.

Bullshit.

Stop making excuses.

There is a difference between a quality flyer that pays attention to detail and a poor flyer that does not.

Does it cost money to fix a spelling error?

Does it cost money to remove the printer lines that should NOT be there?

No.

As a potential customer, it is not my job to be a guinea pig for a new business, especially regarding expensive assets.

Here’s another example from last month…

I had a window washing company (kid) cold-call me on my home’s front porch. The guy was completely unpolished, and I immediately could tell this kid had watched a few youtube videos and was trying to make quick hustle bucks.

When I asked him for a quote, he verbally said $800.

Then I asked, can I get that in writing? He looked at me, completely dumbfounded. He had no estimating paperwork, no mention of guarantees, insurance, NOTHING!

While I sympathize with anyone trying to start a business, I’m not interested if your initial effort clearly demonstrated that you cut corners. If you lack detail in your presentation, I don’t trust you to do the job. YOU ARE NOT WORTH THE RISK. And most people would not either.

Here’s the backside of my home—hundreds of windows, some of which are 30 feet tall. Would you trust a 19-year-old kid who NEVER washed windows—and already demonstrated a lack of attention to detail—to mess with any of them?

Hell no.

Sorry, when it comes to high-dollar assets, I’m not risking those assets with low-detail partners.

I'm going to reiterate the power of using this simple $2 tool. Or to fit into cultural slang, "life hack."

Here's the full article...

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/how-a-2-life-hack-changed-everything-thank-you-mj.108923/post-1069524

For the last 6 weeks, I've been having muscle tightness/stiffness in my IT-band and piriformis muscle. For those who don't know what that is, that's the lateral muscle/fascia group down the side of my leg, from my upper hip down to my upper knee. It forced me to downgrade from Healthcon5 to Healthcon4.

The thing is, this thing only flared up while I slept, waking me up at 3AM in severe discomfort.

I figured it was a misalignment since I have pretty poor posture so I paid to see a chiropracter.

After x-rays, 12 treatments, and a $350 pair of orthotics, NOTHING changed. In fact, I'd say the pain got worse.

During this time, I was also doing a lot of stretches to loosen up my hip and glute muscles.

I tried to use my acupressure mat on the area (which fixed another issue) again, it didn't work.

Nothing changed.

But all of is was recorded, and documented in my little blue book.

For the last 6 weeks, this muscle ache/stiffness/pain thing has fucked up my sleep.

Then my wife suggested I try a new series of stretches before bed.

I did them to appease her suggestions, thinking it wouldn't change a damn thing.

I mean, why would it? I've already been stretching and paying a fortune for various other treatments to no avail.

And then, for the first time in 6 weeks, I've had 3 straight days of zero aches/pain, and slept again soundly.

Healthcon5 .... is back!

Life is all one big experiment. If you're not paying close attention, you could miss out on problem solving conclusions.

Act.
Assess.
Adjust.

This is a concept I hit hard in Unscripted and Rat Race Escape (not TMF) -- it truly is the reiterative secret to your best life.