Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Well, for starters, I wrote it without giving thought to who or what I might piss off. That means it contains a lot of uncensored truth; yes, much of it is uncomfortable...
Second, I wrote it to expose the actual reality behind creating wealth which is lightyears different from what the "mainstream" preaches. And finally, the Fastlane strategy is the strategy that made me a millionaire many times over. In other words, I use it and preach it. (Try getting that from your typical guru.)
A roadmap that isn't followed leads nowhere. So, under that fact, Fastlane won't make you one dime. Only you can do the work required while following the CENTS, Fastlane framework...
If you're one of these avid book readers looking for the "holy grail" to wealth, keep looking and keep reading— you won't find it here, and you won't find it anywhere else. A map leading to buried treasure is nothing but a piece of paper; only if you follow the map and dig does it matter. "Get rich quick" exists; "get rich easy" does NOT.
No. Fastlane isn't something you "do", it's something you live. Reading Fastlane will fire-up your probabilities at creating life-changing, millionaire-making wealth AND doing it quickly....
However, I will be candid: If the "Fastlane" was easy, everyone would be rich. The fact is, it takes discipline, sacrifice, and hard work. I outline those processes in the book to gird your expectations. Most people reading Fastlane will get excited about the information for about a week or so and then fall back into typical routines and unproductive patterns.
The book stands on its own. Nothing waits at the end of it: no $3,000 seminar, no $3,000 mentorship, no $10,000 mastermind....
That was true when I wrote Fastlane, and it is true today, 10+ years later. In fact, this was one of the reasons why I wrote Fastlane. How many times have you read a book only to have it seem like a 300 page advertisement for the author's seminars, DVD programs, or consulting business? The information in this book is the exact thing I would teach my son or daughter. The book holds the real meat, and finishing it never requires another purchase. If you want ongoing mentorship and accountability afterward, Inspirited.com is there as an optional extra.
Fastlane will give you the five essential commandments to a successful business. With a successful business, funding is more likely. With a profitable business, you can fund your own ventures...
Fastlane is great startup manual; however, it is not a guide on how to obtain capital from venture capitalists, investors, and banks.
Yes and No. The best way to describe "Fastlane" is it outlines a definitive roadmap or a blueprint to wealth. The CENTS Framework is a structural guideline for creating business ventures that makes life-changing wealth....
Metaphorically, if someone gave you a roadmap that leads to fortune, it is your job to follow the map and choose your roads to travel. Some may walk, some may ride a bike, and others may fly. The pathways (the how-tos) are yours to decide and will vary on your particular interests, strengths, and resources.
Yes, generally speaking. No, specifically. The CENTS Framework intuitively gives you insight into opportunities which should be pursued, or forgotten....
Fastlane, however, will not tell you specific industries or fields in which to enter as these dynamically change over time. Reminder, Fastlane was written over 10 years ago and it is AS RELEVANT today as it was ten years ago. It's message is transcendent and evergreen. In other words, Fastlane worked yesterday, it works today, and it will work ten years in the future.
Fastlane can be ordered at any bookstore and is shelved in some US bookstores. You are more likely to find Fastlane at a bookstore in Paris, France, or Seoul, South Korea (in their respective language) than in America...
I self-published Fastlane because I felt it was important to "practice what I preach." While self-publishing has many benefits (namely control and profitability), the main drawback is that it is more challenging to get bookstore exposure. If you don't find Fastlane at your bookstore, order it there or hit Amazon.
Absolutely. The book covers the basics of Fastlane business which is the difference between a business that makes you a fortune and a business that pays the bills...
Fastlane can help you identify structural deficiencies in your product line or business model that can make the difference between earning $5000 a month and $500,000 a year.
No, I lived a dream and considered myself financially independent before writing Fastlane. I'm not a guru, and I don't need this book to make me rich. As mentioned above, I don't sell $3,000 seminars, $3,000 mentorships, or $10,000 masterminds...
Gurus use books as a means to an end called a "trip-wire." A trip-wire is like bait that funnels into a more expensive product like a $5000 coaching program. One of my companies is a publishing company, and my products are books, plus Inspirited.com, an AI mentorship and accountability platform that sits beside the book. The book never funnels into it, and it is priced as a product, not a trip-wire. As mentioned above, I wrote Fastlane after semi-retiring to focus on my passion for writing. However, any author who successfully sells millions of books is likely to get rich or richer. The latter would be my case.
Yes, I was lucky to be born in a country with relative economic freedom. I was lucky not to be starving and to have access to clean water. From there, my luck stops...
Which puts me as lucky as one-half of the planet. As for luck in business, I don't believe in luck. I do, however, believe in probability. If you can manipulate probability, you can manipulate luck. And probability can be influenced when you have the right beliefs followed by the right choices. While the rest of the world needs to correctly call ten coin flips in a row to get rich, a Fastlane strategy is like correctly calling one.
I look at deals occassionally, but you'd better have a real product, with real customers, and real revenues. I don't review or comment on "ideas" as they're worthless...
Investors look at people with successful track records and/or tangible evidence of execution. If you lack one or both, work on getting either as they hold the key to getting an investor's attention, including mine.
None of your business. Just kidding. Being an author about money and financial freedom, I understand that many would be curious about my net worth. Some of the answers I've seen on the internet are both amusing and inaccurate. ...
The answer is complex, as people with a net worth greater than $10M tend to have much of it locked up in illiquid business assets. (See this chart) Based on fair, historical valuations of my business ventures, my net worth (including the bulk of my assets held in an irrevocable trust) is roughly 21 - $25 million. While that might not seem like a lot for the harshest of critics, keep in mind that for the last 15 years, I've lived quite the stress free life of leisure, a nice mix of business and pleasure.
Sort of... Traditional consulting is a direct trade of time for money, and my hours only come in one size. Inspirited is my answer to that math...
At Inspirited.com, you get an accountability partner, AI mentorship trained on my four books and over 70,000 of my best forum posts, and 20+ decision frameworks. Think of it as a consulting engagement that fits in your pocket and answers at 2 a.m. If you want the guidance without the retainer, start at Inspirited.com. As a service to readers, I'm also willing to do personal Cameos on the Cameo platform if you're after a quick message of motivation.
Yes, and now there's a version of me that never sleeps. One-on-one hand-holding can't scale, so I built something that does at Inspirited.com: AI mentorship from MJ DeMarco...
Think of AI MJ as a mentor assembled from my whole body of work. It is trained on all four of my books and every high-impact post I have written at The Fastlane Forum, over 70,000 of them. It answers at 2 a.m., it never tires of hearing the same excuse, and it will point you back to the road when you wander off.
Inspirited wraps that mentorship in a complete support system. You get an accountability partner who keeps you moving when motivation packs its bags, plus 20+ decision frameworks for the choices that steer your business and your life. Start at Inspirited.com.
The conversation also lives at TheFastlaneForum.com. Join there and pay attention to my posts. I visit daily and contribute regularly, and there is a high chance I will contribute to yours too.
I'll entertain public speaking events depending on the content, duration, and compensation...
Generally, I don't do a lot of public speaking as I find it extremely time consuming, despite the rewards. As for podcasts, the same applies. Contact me for complete consideration.
Yes, writing is my passion and I can do it without worrying about sales, agendas, or publisher restrictions. After I wrote The Millionaire Fastlane, thousands of people asked for a follow up....
In 2017 I released Unscripted, Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Entrepreneurship which goes deeper into the Fastlane philosophy. In 2022, I released The Great Rat Race Escape which is a hybrid book featuring a fictional story of Fastlane execution. You get to see a Fastlane executed, complete with mishaps, mistakes, and musings!
My newest book is Choose Hard, Live Easy, which argues that the hard road chosen early is the toll you pay for an easy life later. Learn more at ChooseHardLiveEasy.com.
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