The Millionaire Fastlane

by MJ DeMarco

  You settle.

  Slowlane Victory: Fame or a Geriatric Ward

  Why invest in a plan that consumes 40 years of your life and fails most of the time? I wouldn’t. The dreary reality is that Slowlane failure doesn’t happen overnight; failure transpires over the years like a termite-infested woodshed, and when its denizens come to judgment, it’s too late. Yes, Slowlane victory is as tough as a truck-stop sirloin.

  In a 2002 AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons) survey, 69% of the respondents said they would need to work past retirement age. A year earlier, 45% said they would need to work into their 70s and 80s. Fifteen years later, a 2017 Gallup Poll revealed this number to be now 74%. We can deduce something disturbing from this data: The Slowlane’s failure rate is nearly 75%.

  Despite the risks, despite the mathematical limitations, despite the typical five-day trade for a weekend, despite all of it, you might stand firm and try your luck. While victory isn’t impossible, I need mention a few things: Slowlane winners are usually extremely talented, elderly, or overworked.

  How to Win the Slowlane: The “Secret Exit”

  The Slowlane can be defied if you find its “secret exit,” its “get out of jail free” card that neutralizes the limitations of Uncontrollable Limited Leverage. That secret Slowlane escape?

  Fame.

  Fame breaks the mathematical limitations of intrinsic value. Those who defy the Slowlane are the most pervasive in our culture because of fame—the pro athletes, rappers, musicians, actors, and entertainers. If you want to bludgeon the Slowlane’s weakness you need to get famous. Why? Fame and notoriety carries a high intrinsic value. People pay extraordinary rates for you or your services. (Even if, like a reality-show star, you have no skills.)

  When a 20-year old basketball player leaves college and scores a $30 million contract, you’ve just witnessed Slowlane defiance. When an actress lands a $15 million lead role in a major motion picture, you’ve just witnessed Slowlane defiance. When a homely Irish guy ascends from waiter to top finalist on American Idol, the limitations of the Slowlane roadmap are shattered because intrinsic value explodes. Suddenly, intrinsic value has leverage because of demand.

  Unfortunately, most people who seek wealth do so through Slowlane defiance, not via the Fastlane. Fortune-leading fames are the obvious attack. Why do stadiums breach to capacity for singing competition auditions? Fame explodes intrinsic value!

  You can defy the Slowlane’s limitations by becoming so indispensable that your value to society skyrockets. If millions seek you, you will be paid millions. Pro basketball player LeBron James is paid millions because his skills are in short supply. Famous actors and entertainers are paid millions because millions demand their brand in entertainment form. Extreme talent is paid extremely well.

  Overworked into Corporate Management

  The other highly sought-after Slowlane “secret exit” is good ol’ corporate management. No doubt you’ve heard the Slowlane missive “climb the corporate ladder.”

  When a corporate CEO cashes $20 million in stock options, you’ve witnessed another Slowlane defiance. Surely you’ve heard about all those overpaid CEOs of large companies raking in the big dough.

  Have you ever looked at their age?

  Exclusive of the founders and owners, most of them are in their 50s and 60s. Obviously, the roads through corporate management don’t happen overnight; from mailroom to CEO can take 40 years. And if it does, you certainly don’t get there by taking it easy. Nope, you arrive early and leave late.

  Sorry, but waiting for a golden parachute after 40 years of patience and prayer isn’t a gamble I’d like to bet.

  Successful Slowlaners Get Stuck in the “Middle”

  I have no desire for fame or corporate droneship—heck, I don’t even own a suit or tie, so how would I climb the corporate ladder? If you’re allergic to fame and corporate ascension as a road to riches, what’s left? Society enforces the Slowlane as your only option. Unfortunately, that strategy leads straight into the “middles”—middle class or middle age.

  Every lottery has a winner. Yes, bad odds have winners!

  “Oldlaners” (Slowlaners who succeed using a Slowlane strategy) who survive the Slowlane road-map eventually become millionaires, but please, don’t pop the cheap champagne quite yet.

  The distinction between a Slowlane millionaire and a Fastlane millionaire is like the difference between a Buick and a Ferrari. When you recognize the difference, you can critique advice properly and assign it to its correct Fastlane or Slowlane box.

  Millionaires Are Rich . . . or Are They?

  I recently read an article about a young woman named Callie from the U.K. who, several years ago, won millions in a lottery, only to lose most of it shortly thereafter. Of course, “lose” implies that the entire bag of cash flew out of her brand new convertible while cruising down the boulevard.

  She didn’t “lose” it—she spent it.

  She was just 16 years old when she won the $3 million, and it took only six years for her to blow it: drugs, partying, exotic cars, breast implants, and a jaw-dropping $730,000 in designer clothes. The problem? Callie thought she was rich and spent like she was rich. Surely she bought into her title: “I’m a millionaire.” While $3 million is a decent chunk of change, she needed $30 million for her lifestyle.

  Which brings us to our famous word, “millionaire.”

  When you hear that word, what do you think? Like wealth, you probably have visions of an extravagant lifestyle: boats, helicopters, mansions, and expensive jewelry. For decades, the term “millionaire” has been ubiquitously used to describe someone “rich.”

  Except these visions of opulence describe a lifestyle of a millionaire elevated by the Fastlane, not the Slowlane.

  Slowlane millionaires who don’t escape by fame or corporate prostitution live differently. They own homes in innocuous middle-class neighborhoods. They drive unassuming cars like Hondas or Toyotas, they vacation infrequently, they limit their dining expenses, they cut coupons, and they max out their retirement accounts. They work five days a week at jobs they most likely hate and diligently save 10% of their paychecks. Others own small businesses, franchises, and retail stores. Several international best-selling books have enlightened us: Yes, these are the “millionaires next door.”

  Sadly, in today’s terms, a “millionaire” (net worth of $1,000,000) is simply upper middle class. A millionaire is not rich. Ten million is the old one million.

  Depressing, I know.

  This hidden truth is why many lottery winners go broke after a few years. Winners envision a lavish lifestyle and live it not realizing that several million dollars won’t support it! If you win a million bucks (which after taxes is only $500,000), your lifestyle shouldn’t change. If you try to live the “millionaire lifestyle” as shown on Instagram, a fool and his money are soon parted.

  Playing the lottery is a symptom of the Sidewalk.

  It shouldn’t shock you that a newly crowned lottery winner goes broke just years later. Lottery winners assign “rich” to the word “millionaire,” so their fortune is fast spent on the illusion, and soon thereafter, they’re bankrupt. The word “millionaire” fooled them. Millionaire is middle class.

  To live a lifestyle normally reserved for “millionaires,” you need much more than $1 million. Having $1 million doesn’t entitle you to a lifestyle of the rich and famous. You need at least $10 million to even think about it. So, when the media spoon-feeds you the word “millionaire,” determine its perspective: Is it Slowlane and middle class? Or Fastlane and rich?

  12 Distinctions Between Slowlane and Fastlane Millionaires

  (1)Slowlane millionaires make millions in 30 years or more. Fastlane millionaires make millions in 10 years or less.

  (2)Slowlane millionaires need to live in middle-class homes. Fastlane millionaires can live in luxury estates.

  (3)Slowlane millionaires have MBAs. Fastlane millionaires hire people with MBAs.


  (4)Slowlane millionaires let their assets drift by market forces. Fastlane millionaires control their assets and possess the power to manipulate their value.

  (5)Slowlane millionaires can’t afford exotic cars. Fastlane millionaires can afford whatever they want.

  (6)Slowlane millionaires work for their time. Fastlane millionaires have time working for them.

  (7)Slowlane millionaires are employees. Fastlane millionaires hire employees.

  (8)Slowlane millionaires have 401(k)s. Fastlane millionaires offer 401(K)s.

  (9)Slowlane millionaires use index-funds and Wall Street instruments to get rich. Fastlane millionaires use them income, liquidity, and capital deployment.

  (10)Slowlane millionaires let other people control their income streams. Fastlane millionaires control their income streams.

  (11)Slowlane millionaires are cheap with money. Fastlane millionaires are cheap with time.

  (12)Slowlane millionaires use their house for net worth. Fastlane millionaires use their house for residency.

  (13)The Fastlane isn’t about becoming the next middle-class millionaire with tiresome mandates about what you cannot do; it’s about what you can do.

  Chapter Summary: Fastlane Distinctions

  ➡The Slowlane has seven dangers, five of which cannot be controlled.

  ➡The risk of “lifestyle” is the one risk Slowlaners will try to control.

  ➡The Slowlane is predisposed to mediocrity because its mathematical universe is mediocre.

  ➡Slowlaners manipulate the “expense” variable because it is the one thing they can control.

  ➡Exponential income growth and expense management creates wealth—not just by curtailing expenses.

  ➡You can break the Slowlane equation by exploding your intrinsic value via fame or insider corporate management.

  ➡Successful Slowlaners not famous or in corporate management end in the middle . . . middle class and middle age.

  ➡Slowlane millionaires are stuck in the middle class.

  ➡$10 million is the new $1 million.

  ➡A millionaire cannot live a millionaire lifestyle without financial discipline.

  ➡Lottery winners fall into the millionaire trap and go broke because they attempt to live a “millionaire” lifestyle, not understanding that a few million doesn’t go very far.

  PART 5

  WEALTH: THE FASTLANE

  ROADMAP

  

  PART 5- WEALTH: THE FASTLANE ROADMAP

  [16] - Wealth’s Shortcut: The Fastlane

  People would do better, if they knew better.

  ~ Jim Rohn

  What About Door #3?

  Sidewalk or Slowlane? Sacrifice today or tomorrow? You can walk the Sidewalk with no financial plan and convince yourself that today’s indulgences don’t have tomorrow’s consequences. Or, you can drive the Slowlane and gamble your today for the risky bet of a secure tomorrow.

  But wait! There is another choice . . . an alternative, a hybrid financial roadmap that can create wealth fast and slash 40 years from wealth accumulation. “Fast” however is relative; if you’re 18 you can be filthy rich by 25. If you’re 30, you can be retired by 36. Broke at 48 and you can retire by 54. But is it likely? Risky? If you could play one of three raffles, which would you play?

  Raffle Sidewalk: First prize: $50,000,000 awarded immediately.

  Your odds of winning: 1 in 6 million (.0000016%)

  Raffle Slowlane: First prize: $500,000 awarded in 40 years.

  Your odds of winning: 1 in 6 (17%)

  Raffle Fastlane: First prize: $10,000,000 awarded in 6 years.

  Your odds of winning: 1 in 7 (14%)

  Which did you pick? Hopefully Raffle Fastlane because its rewards far exceed the incremental risk of Raffle Slowlane. Raffle Sidewalk is a wasted long shot. Your choice of financial roadmaps—Sidewalk, Slowlane, or Fastlane—is like this hypothetical raffle. Once you understand the roadmaps and their respective wealth equations, you can choose the one that will serve as your compass.

  What Is the Fastlane?

  The Fastlane is a business and lifestyle strategy characterized by Controllable Unlimited Leverage (CUL), hence creating an optimal environment for rapid wealth creation and extraordinary lifestyles. Definitively, pay attention to these four segments:

  1) Controllable Unlimited Leverage (CUL)

  Whereas the Slowlane is defined by uncontrollable variables with no leverage, the Fastlane exploits the opposite conditions: maximum control and leverage.

  2) Business

  Your own business, self-employment, and entrepreneurship are centrist to the Fastlane, much like a job is to the Slowlane.

  3) Lifestyle

  The Fastlane is a lifestyle choice: a commitment of blended beliefs, processes, and actions.

  4) Rapid Wealth Creation

  The Fastlane is about creating large sums of wealth rapidly and beyond the confines of “middle class.”

  Here is a story that best describes the Fastlane, and yes, this story is inspired from a real story posted on the Internet.

  After four long years, I sold my company for $32 million [RAPID WEALTH CREATION] and I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m happy I sold because I wanted to make money fast and transform paper money into real money. This decision changed my life permanently.

  Now, I do whatever I want and I’m not the least bit bored. The world is my playground; I travel, I learned two new languages and how to play piano. I play water sports, hike, and snowboard at least a month a year. I own three homes, I watch pro sports and my favorite teams whenever I choose, watch 3–4 movies a week, and read 1–2 books a week. Most of my time is spent with my family, and I literally watch my two daughters grow before my eyes. My family has lived on all four corners of the planet, including Australia and the Caribbean.

  Looking back, it wasn’t easy. I worked 12–16 hour days for four years, almost always six days a week, and always a few hours on Sunday. We created an awesome service and sold the crap out of it. [THE BUSINESS WITH C.U.L.] I remember tough times, and I had to put every dime of my money into the company . . . we had less than 50 bucks in our account at least five times. Except for my family during those startup years, I sacrificed plenty; I canceled cable TV and I temporarily stopped doing a lot of things I enjoyed because I was committed to a goal and a dream of something far greater than a lifetime job. [THE LIFESTYLE]

  Now, I am an investor in multiple startup companies and am making an impact I could have never imagined. I have no apologies or regrets. My life rocks and I wouldn’t change a thing. If I didn’t make a choice to get into business and start a company, I don’t know where I’d be.

  This story epitomizes the Fastlane. A business was created; a lifestyle grew the business, which opened up the expressway, and the expressway led to extraordinary wealth, which led to freedom. And yes, it isn’t easy and it isn’t for everyone. Question is: Is it for you?

  The Fastlane Mindposts

  Like the other roadmaps, the Fastlane Roadmap contains the same mindposts or behavioral characteristics that drive the Fastlaner’s actions along the journey. They are:

  Debt Perception:

  Debt is useful if it allows me to build and grow my system.

  Time Perception:

  Time is the most important asset I have, far exceeding money.

  Education Perception:

  The moment you stop learning is the moment you stop growing. Constant expansion of knowledge and awareness is critical to my journey.

  Money Perception:

  Money is everywhere, and it’s extremely abundant. Money is a reflection of how many lives I’ve touched. Money reflects the value I’ve created.

  Primary Income Source:

  I earn income via my business systems and investments.

  Primary Wealth Accelerator:

  I make something from nothing. I give birth to assets and make them valuable to the marketplace. Other times, I take existing assets and add v
alue to them.

  Wealth Perception:

  Build business systems for cash flow and asset valuation.

  Wealth Equation:

  Wealth = Net Profit + Asset Value

  Strategy:

  The more I help, the richer I become in time, money, and personal fulfillment.

  Destination:

  Lifetime passive income, either through business or investments.

  Responsibility & Control:

  Life is what I make it. My financial plan is entirely my responsibility and I choose how I react to my circumstances.

  Life Perception:

  My dreams are worth pursuing no matter how outlandish, and I understand it will take time and money to make those dreams real.

  These mindposts are what formulate the Fastlaner’s lifestyle. It drives action.

  The Fastlane Roadmap: Predisposed to Wealth

  The Fastlane Roadmap is predisposed to wealth because it operates under a wealth equation with controllable, unlimited variables, and the mathematical cage of time is removed. ULL is replaced with CUL. Correctly exploited, the roadmap reveals a rapid road to wealth via unlimited mathematics evolving via “profit” or “asset value” or both. This rapid wealth accumulation extricates years from the wealth journey because time is removed or exploited during the process. The Fastlane produces wealth in short periods—millions, sometimes billions of dollars.