Crack The Code To Wealth | The Millionaire Fastlane

 

The Millionaire Fastlane: Crack the Code to Wealth and Live Rich for a Lifetime!

About Author

DeMarco was the Founder and CEO of Limos.com, a global ground transportation marketplace, before selling it to a private equity firm in 2007. In his avid attempts to acquire wealth at a young age and escape the "settle-for-less" lifestyle that so many of his peers had embraced, he became a self-made millionaire who is currently the Founder of Viperion Publishing Corp. and The Fastlane Forum.

Summary of Book

We've all heard the kinds of strategies that are supposed to make us rich get a good education work hard save up retire and roll around in your savings like scrooge mc duck. But what if you don't want to only enjoy your riches in the last part of your life and anyways what if the stock market collapses and you lose all your savings, there has to be another way thankfully the millionaire fast lane explains a better approach to getting wealthy and in this summary I would love to share with you the five best ideas from this iconic book.

Idea #1 Your Mind is just as important as your wallet

How do people get rich is it luck or perhaps fate. A lot of people think so which might be the reason why they themselves aren't rich, if you believe becoming wealthy is out of your control this mind-set is jeopardizing your chances. You can control your future it just takes planning if you believe that it is pointless to plan ahead this puts you in a weak position to deal with the life's challenges. Without precautions such as creating a financial plan or arranging for health insurance, external events like losing your job becoming ill or suddenly having to deal with a recession can cause you far more grief than necessary. Sometimes prioritizing the moment in terms of spending can have serious drawbacks for example if you live from pay-check to pay-check suddenly finding yourself without a job would mean you can no longer pay your rent if you refuse to take responsibility for your life even earning an impressive income won't keep you from going broke. If you think you have no power over your own life it is tempting to want to spend your money while you have it after all what if you were struck by lightning tomorrow this is why people splurge on instant gratifications like expensive dinners and luxury cars, yet having this mind-set will drain your income and your credit range because regardless of how much you earn you'll spend it all of course it's possible you could be run over by a train tomorrow but this is unlikely and even if something terrible should happen in the future you'll be glad if you at least made some plans for worst case scenarios, like making sure you have a buffer of cash when you need it.

Idea #2 The conventional life path is broken:

We all know the strategy get a good education so you can get a well-paid job then work hard and save and invest your well-earned money then after around 40 years you'll eventually be able to retire and enjoy your wealth but there is a problem with the strategy. First it may not actually get you where you want. There is a ceiling to how much you can earn from a salary alone, clearly you can't exactly keep raising your work hours indefinitely it is just not possible to work a thousand dollars a week nor you can request your boss to dish out a 200 pay raise even if you're an exceptional employee the stock market too is unpredictable and out of your control thus the stocks you might invest in might plummet in value or simply grow more gradually than you expected. Finally your savings and investments are probably going to be subjected to inflation and you might find yourself left with only a small fraction of the value you first invested therefore if you're fortunate enough after some decades to save around 2.5million dollars it may only be worth the equivalent of just 250 000 in today's dollars add to that the impossibility of knowing whether you'll be even alive to enjoy it, even if your plan works out when you get to the stage where you can finally reap the benefits of your money and time you'll be old this strategy is based entirely on working really hard while you're young so that you can enjoy the rewards when you're older so here's a better idea to make the most of your retirement retire while you're young. Vitality and health tend to deteriorate as we get older and these are two qualities that enable us to appreciate free time it is far more enjoyable to go hiking when your joints donate from arthritis, but this advice is easier said than done it's one thing to want to retire young but another to actually pull it off but luckily there are some strategies to accomplish this impressive feat. First look beyond your salary job salaries are caught by your working hours and your employers budgets for your profession you can consider working within a commission model where more results equal more money but if you have your eye on a career that does not support this model then supplement your salary with a side business or side hustle which can give you the income you will need to earn and subsequently invest more for your soon-to-be retirement years.

Idea #3 Formal Education Doesn't Equate To Wealth:

Some specialist fields like medicine require a prescribed education but remember enrolling in a formal education isn't always the best route to wealth often the expense of education cancels out the higher salary you will hopefully earn at the end of it. Whereas it is possible that you'll learn more with a college degree especially if for example you go into business with an MBA the financial setback is a formidable consideration the College Board reports an average college degree which includes room and board sets you back nearly 60 thousand dollars. To afford this you probably have to take-out a student loan making your education even pricier. There is also no guarantee that you'll land a well-paying job after college but even if you do there's no guarantee that your salary will allow you to quickly erase this debt. College educated adults typically earn around 54 000 per year and this tends to be through a salary which we already discussed as having many drawbacks when it comes to your earning potential not to mention completing a college education takes years and not only does this mean foregoing time that you could be working and learning but it leaves you with less time to earn money later a conventional college education may also encourage you to think in conventional ways after absorbing the key concepts of your field and studying specific tools to solve problems you may find it difficult to think outside the box. In finance this can mean that you understand how to calculate return on investment but are ill-equipped to find new innovative ways to judge investment value. The bottom line is you can become rich and successful without a prestigious degree, amazing business ideas don't require formal degrees however you may need some special skills for example to develop a lucrative internet service by yourself you need the skills to write code but you don't need a computer engineering degree. Bear in mind some of the richest most successful people in the world never completed college. What's more important is to identify in-demand skills and find a means to cultivate them an employer or client will be much happier with someone who is proficient in their craft than someone with a fancy degree.

Idea #4 To Become Rich You Must Produce And Not Consume:

Right from childhood we're taught to be consumers, we are exposed to constant pervasive advertisements in the media and at home we're taught to place value on Christmas lists and family brand preferences the result a constant desire for products. If you really want to be rich get on the other team and start thinking like a producer, staying bound to a consumer mentality will limit you when you view an ad from a consumer perspective you focus on the product the happiness it will bring you and how you can get it all this prevents you from seeing behind the ad if you look at the world as a producer does a lot of useful information about marketing and product design will be revealed to you. You will understand which features make a product successful and the strategy used to sell it it's even better to look for information on how companies produce a product where they manufacture it and what their revenue model is just doing this can teach you a whole lot about different business strategies the only way to get rich quickly is to start your own business and seeing the world through a producer's eyes will help you do just that. As you now know the traditional get rich methods aren't reliable as long as you have an employer you won't be in a position to become very rich since you can't rely on winning the lottery next week the only real option is to start your own business then when you're more productive you'll get more income so to begin your successful business you need to have the strategy and knowledge of a producer.

Idea #5 Wealth And Money Are Not The Same:

How would you define wealth when most of us hear the word we tend to instantly think about money but really there is far more to it than that. Wealth is a combination of things that make you feel fulfilled actually it has three main components each of which is necessary for us to feel happy with our lives. The first factor is meaningful relationships including family the second is their health and physical fitness and the third is freedom so being wealthy isn't just about owning piles and piles of cash does the depressed and lonely person with an oversized bank account look like the picture of wealth to you that being said being financially independent does put you on the path to wealth in particular because it enables you to have freedom, sure money isn't all powerful its impact is limited for example you can purchase the best health care with money but no amount of money will transform your body into top condition nor can you spend cash in exchange for meaningful relationships in the case of freedom though it is slightly different once you have plenty of money to live comfortably you no longer need to trade your time for money as you would do in a job therefore when you find your-self in this situation you can use your money to buy you the freedom to spend your time as you wish to visit places you want to visit and generally do what you want being free means living where you want traveling and enjoying your hobbies even if they're expensive this is really how having a lot of money can increase your wealth.