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.
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