Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(199)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

My cynical nature is rarely disappointed. And I was prepared for this book to be more self-published non-sense. I was wrong. This book is quite good - and I was pleasantly surprised. Think of it as similar to the 'Rich-Dad' series in tone, but with all the very best stuff there in spades - and with all the filler gone. The author is both an excellent writer (again, rare) and has a knack not only for telling it like it is, but for expressing himself with analytic accuracy and striking clarity. Essentially the book helps you re-think all you thought you knew about wealth creation. It's neither a how-to-guide (i.e., buy real estate) or the 'you can do it' feel-good treatise (a la Tony Robbins). Rather, it's critical thinking at its best. He works to debunk a number of wealth fantasies sold to the masses. In many ways, it's not althogether new, but it has rarely been delivered all in one package with such clarity and panache! I'm sure I could take a few critical stabs at it, but one fact remains: it's far superior to most out there in it's genre.

While it may be difficult to believe a book can have over 60 five-star reviews, the Millionaire FastLane is very deserving. The underlying message throughout the book is to become a producer instead of a consumer to attain wealth. My first 'aha' moment, one of many, discussed the many popular books on the market today pertaining to wealth. Do the authors of these books follow their advice, or just sell the advice and follow a different plan? Upon closer inspection I soon realized how true this statement was. Take any top selling book off your shelf and decide whether the author follows his own advice or not. The answer is probably no. This author on the other hand practices what he preaches. Anybody with an entrepreneurial mindset will enjoy this book. Anyone who is not happy about the progress they are making in life should read this book as your current belief system is obviously flawed.

This is an honest to goodness "Get Rich Quick" book. But you must understand two things. First quick is 5 to 10 years. Second quick does not mean easy. Most "Get Rich Quick" books or programs really scam people into believing there is a method to "Get Rich Easy". MJ DeMarco, the author, does an extremely good job of telling the truth about what it takes to really achieve wealth.

The book starts off by describing three different economic paths and most people follow one of these paths. The first path is the sidewalk where people are basically living from paycheck to paycheck. The second is what MJ calls the slow lane - work hard for forty to fifty years, dutifully save 10% or more in your 401K and retire with a modest sum. However there are many dangers with the slow lane method. It depends on everything going right for those 40 - 50 years - not a good bet.

Then there is the fast lane. Here you are in control of your destiny, you work extremely hard for 5 to 10 years in a business which has the chance to make big money and once you build the business to size, you have a liquidation event, generally a sale.

There is a lot of wisdom in what he says. Most people who start their own businesses violate the rules that MJ gives. Your business must fill a need. It cannot be what you love or what you are good at. The product/service must be of value in the market place. And you must be able to scale the business - either by providing massive value to a few people or providing good value to a large number of people.

You cannot scale a local sandwich shop. Any business that cannot be scaled is simply a job.

MJ takes good aim at MLM opportunities and any other "business" that you can enter by buying a $199 distributor kit. You will save yourself tons of money and energy by reading and absorbing the lessons in this book.

In addition to the business and investing lessons, there are some extremely great life lessons in the book. MJ shares a lot of the lessons he learned the hard way - lessons such as your life is a composite of all the choices you have made. "Your choices are made in a moment, but their consequences will transcend a lifetime."

He also gives some great lessons about time - how it is our most valuable/precious asset.

The book is extremely easy to read. However it will probably challenge a lot of your long held beliefs. If you are seeking some magic formula for getting wealthy without a lot of effort, look elsewhere. If you want a serious how to manual, with some raw truth told by someone who might appear to be your "Dutch Uncle" then study this book and follow his advice.

MJ does not soft pedal the facts of life about getting wealthy. He speaks from experience and gives you some great insights into what it really takes to get wealthy.

Highly recommended but only for those willing to do what it takes.

Conclusion: Filler, buzzwords, personal anecdotes, emotional hooks about consumer goods = success. Cemented with the smallest amount of obvious and borrowed truth.

If you are looking for a book of practical steps; THIS IS NOT IT. I read the first 20 chapters and not 1 piece of actionable information or steps to take... All it says is quit your job and start some awesome multi-million dollar business of some kind. Gee thanks, I'll get right on it.

If you do want such a book, I strongly suggest 'Think and Grow Rich' by Napoleon Hill. It does give steps, and is eloquently written. It is the original and definitive success book, all other "get rich" books borrow [and dilute] heavily from it.

The book is trash, I'm not sure what book the reviewers read. Or if they are real people/reviews.

CHAPTER SUMMARIES/NOTES:
Preface, mindless babble about his awesome Lamborghini... Cements the stupid road metaphor, which is never relented upon.

"So let me tell you about my reality. I live happily in a big house overlooking the mountains in beautiful Phoenix, Arizona. There are rooms in my house that I don't visit for weeks." Being mindlessly wasteful (and a douche) step 1 to getting your own Italian sports car.

Chapter 1:
"We're smart enough to know that wealthy 22-year-old kids don't get rich investing in mutual funds and stashing money in their 401(k)s from their job at the cell phone store." ... That's pretty much how I did it.
... Virtually no practical information, just complaints and emotional hooks (mostly about stupid cars).

Chapter 2:
More hubris and anecdotes. Apparently got his start with some kind of spam "lead generation."
... Virtually no practical information.

Chapter 3: Repeats "Wealth is a process, not an event." like it has deep meaning. Hmm... More of the tired and weak road/car metaphor.
... Virtually no practical information.

Chapter 4:
4 pages of filler crap... Asks your perceptions of money.
No practical information.

Chapter 5:
Describes the "walkers" as pathetic 9-5ers that can't afford Italian sports cars.
More hubris, no practical information.

Chapter 6:
4.5 pages, defines wealth as "Family, Fitness and Freedom" the "wealth trinity." Wow, something not entirely BS, even if hamfisted. Yet the chapter is filled with more nonsense about stupid cars and puts other consumer crap in positive light.
No practical information.

Chapter 7:
Gets angry at idea Ferrari drivers have small penis (haha!).... Actually does have some decent, if utterly obvious, reflections on the value of freedom in the chapter.

Talks about the dangers of "I can afford it..." and instant gratification. Again, he's right, but DUH.
No practical information.

Chapter 8:
Says luck isn't involved, funny considering he sold his spam business before the tech crash. Mentions Mark Cuban, which is funny, because I've been thinking Cuban the entire book... Determined, hardworking guy that flailed to riches with pure drive. NOT something a lot of people can do or should count on doing. Go ahead and try, but don't risk homelessness by quitting your day job. Napoleon Hill said 40 hours are your employers, 40 hours are sleep. That still leaves 40 hours to work on the Mark Cuban attempts.
5 pages, no practical information.

Chapter 9:
Talks about taking responsibility for your own life and outcomes... This is the first and perhaps most important step to taking control of your life and attaining your dreams... Should be a powerful home run chapter, but another terribly written swing and a miss.
Again, vague, well known generalities, but no practical steps outlined.

Chapter 10:
Mocks the "slowlane" of having a traditional job again. Keeps mentioning saving 10%, I guess no one ever saved more than that. Even has a "mathematical section," these must be the mathematical formulas and truths we were promised in the preface!

"Wealth = (Primary Income Source: Job) + (Wealth Accelerator: Market Investments)
This equation factored looks like this:
Wealth = Intrinsic Value + Compound Interest
The primary income variable, intrinsic value has two variables itself dependent on how you are
paid within your job. It could be either:
Intrinsic Value = Hourly Wage X Hours Worked
~ or ~
Intrinsic Value = Yearly Salary"

Haha, yeah... Pretty much buzzwords and nonsense, which describes this book at a whole fairly well.

No practical information... I've wrote this 10 times now. Tell you what, I'll tell you if there is practical information, otherwise assume there isn't. Also, these 4-8 page chapter breakdowns are wasting my time and lending credibility to this 9th grade book. I'm going to bunch chapters into groups of 5.

Chapters 11-15: Mocking people with employment, again.
Whines more about jobs, points out how long it takes average professions to reach a 1 million at his favorite 10% savings rate, fails to incorporate compound interest into figures (maths are hard).

More childlike ruminations on how traditional investing won't make you rich. All based on the false assumption of a max 10% savings rate... "Buy and hold is dead," apparently, author has never heard of diversification.

A couple pages on higher education being debt trap, which I mostly agree. Uses B. Gates, Spielberg, Branson, Dell as examples of why you should drop out and/or ignore education. You know, common people.

7 Dangers of slowlane: 5 stupid, 2 obvious (health, economy). Babbles about differences between fastlane vs slowline millionaire... Apparently, fastlane millionaire is sexier, cooler and more dynamic.

No practical info or steps in any of those chapters.

Chapters 16-20: Ok, he's clearly described what he sees as the problems. If some solutions are offered at this point I'm going to abort... Chapters 16, 17: Nothing, again no practical info. Chapter 18 "How the Rich REALLY Get Rich!" Seriously, give me something already!

Nothing. A bunch of glib math fails, "Asset Value = (Net Profit) X (Industry Multiplier)"... "Wealth = Net Profit + Asset Value." Very obvious crap about how much money you can make if you have a profitable business. No clues as to what that business may be and/or how to start it.

Chap 19: "Grow a Money Tree"... Can do. Can I trouble you for some seeds, Mr. Millionaire Ferarri MBA-buzzword Ninja?
Holy crap, stop the music! Author gives some ideas on what businesses to start!
"1. Rental Systems
2. Computer/Software Systems
3. Content Systems
4. Distribution Systems
5. Human Resource Systems"

My mind = blown. New plan: 1) start computer system, 2) Fastlane Ferrari.

Chap 20: Bunch of nonsense about how the dollars made in a business are more productive than dollars saved at a job. Now with more math fails!

... No more, soul/rational mind is dying. Got through 50% of this "book" in 40 mins. See conclusion at top of review.

PLEASE READ THIS BOOK! I have worked with major celebrities and athletes that have went broke on earning 1 Million a year,this is the first author to really explain why.

I have read over 200 books on the subject and only 10 were worth reading, I have been to all the seminars etc. although I have been wealthy for some time I so wish this book was available when I was 20, Im 40 and well off and understand and already appply most of the info, but I was still able to learn a lot of new info, this book is mandatory for anyone serious about gaining and keeping their wealth. I am buying muliple copies and sending them to friends who dont understand why I OWN MY TIME etc.

This is by Far the best book ever written on the subject, better than Rich Dad Poor Dad, better than Think and Grow Rich, Better than any book By Donald Trump, this book breaks it down, I am a very hard critic on books of this genre and I had to sing the authors praises publicly.

Anyone that gives this book less than 5 stars is crazy! I bought this book after seeing all the 5 star reviews BELIEVE THE HYPE!

If you're a fan of mindset books like Anthony Robbins' "Awaken The Giant Within" or How-To books like Tim Ferriss' "The Four Hour Workweek" then this book is up your alley!

Even better, if you're not a big fan of either, this book is for you as MJ takes all the best parts of the success books you've read before and includes none of the fluff.

The book is broken down into 8 Parts: Wealth In A Wheelchair: "Get Rich Slow" Is Get Rich Old; Wealth Is Not A Road, But A Road Trip; Poorness: The Sidewalk Roadmap; Mediocrity: The Slowlane Roadmap; Wealth: The Fastlane Roadmap; Your Vehicle To Wealth: YOU; The Roads To Wealth; Your Speed: Accelerate Wealth.

The first four parts are a nice kick in the pants and show why you'll never achieve your dreams if you remain on the Sidewalk where Wealth = Wages + Available Credit and can include anyone from a minimum wage worker living paycheck to paycheck to the bankrupt celebrity, athlete or lottery winner who lives life way beyond their means. Additionally, if you are a "responsible" Slowlaner who believes Wealth = Intrinsic Value(Either Hourly Wage x Hours Worked OR Annual Salary) + Compound Interest, you will not achieve your dreams as you are making the criminal trade of your time, a very limited asset, for the hope of future wealth, something that is unlimited in comparison to time and ranges from the college graduate who is climbing the corporate ladder to the "Millionaire Next Door". Both of whom live sadly below their means with the hope of one-day enjoying the twilight of their life, a time that might never come due to premature death, incapacitation or uncontrollable losses of jobs or investments.

Then the Fastlane hits you like a ton of bricks, first it shows a wealth equation where the sky is the limit in Wealth = Net Profit + Asset Value and why 90% of businesses fail, which has to do with failing the Commandment of Need and uses a clever and easy to follow acronym for the 5 Commandments of Business, the NECST Principle(Need, Entry, Control, Scale and Time).

Simply put your business will be successful if it solves the needs of others, is in an industry that discourages weak competition through higher entry barriers and thus higher margins, can be controlled by the proprietor more so than a franchiser or marketplace, operates in scale(Either reach- serves millions OR magnitude- serves fewer, with higher value and margins) and can be made independent of your time(unlike most "hours for dollars" service businesses OR franchise businesses, both of which are basically jobs in disguise).

The book provides tons of value and best of all if you're unsure if this book is for you MJ offers the first three chapters as a free digital download at http://www.themillionairefastlane.com/download.html

I understand why self-help books like this get "5-star" ratings. It is not because they work, but it is because they sell hope in a plausible manner.

This is not a bad book - in fact, the business concepts are very solid, and no different than what you would get in a "Cliffs Notes" of marketing. He just adds some energy and motivation within the text which make it differ from a conventional textbook.

The KEY problem which all buyers need to understand before purchasing this book : The claims he make that 'anyone' can motivate and make millions hand over fist by following his concepts, are not true. While I would agree that the concepts he puts forth are probably needed in large part to facilitate large-scale wealth generation, these concepts are so intrinsically obvious that in a practical setting, it is akin to selling fluff.

To put it in perspective from a more realistic scenario:

- Millions of people with far more experience, funds, and even talent than you or he have, attempt exactly what he states in creating businesses that scale well, serve a need, and don't require big startup costs. Vanishingly few succeed. Even in the author's very own area of expertise, 'net marketing', silicon valley venture capital firms are heavily involved investing millions to get the necessary insights to succeed reliably, and even they have a checkered history on it. It is extremely, extremely doubtful that a rookie, or even someone with a good skillset, can compete successfully time after time as the author suggests.

- The far more plausible reason for the author's success is luck. Yes, hard work is necessary for even getting a chance for luck to work, but the author started one web business in the early days of the web, and he was well positioned early on to happen to capture a good chunk of the market. (He owns a business about limo reservations online.) If it were as doable to repeat this task in another field, there is a 100% chance that someone would have done it already. He never mentions luck in his book, but truth is, luck was probably the most important factor for his success. Good timing, good situation counts for a lot, but does not make what you do repeatable. (It is highly doubtful that he could repeat his success with a web business now.)

- The book completely lacks any specifics whatsoever about the crucial details needed to succeed. He leaves it to you to 'work hard and figure it out.' Not unexpected, but also lacking value. It's pretty easy to just say "Go start a business that scales well, has low startup costs, and high barriers to entry - figure out what that business is on your own." It's extremely difficult to give directions as to where that business may lie. He gives zero details about how to go about figuring this out - not even a system to draw upon your own strengths. If anything, he says to ignore your own strengths, as you should focus not on yourself, but only on the needs of others.

- The most telling flaw in his book that shows how one-dimensional and limited his perpsective on reliable wealth generation is: He completely ignores the single most important factor - human capital. Almost all people who can generate large quantities of wealth reliably, are experts in identifying and communicating with the people who will help them succeed. This is the single most important skill a business person can have, exceed your ideas, personal execution, and funds. Your ability to network effectively (I hate that term but it is probably the most apt one) will be the greatest determinant of your success. You do not make millions and leverage a large business machine on your own - it requires a team of strong players, of which you are but one piece. To not mention this is a fatal omission in any directive to generate a high revenue business.

- And another big flaw is that he completely eschews the value of education in the book. While I agree that getting straight As in school won't ever be a guarantee of a great income, ignoring your educational background (he makes a big point of denigrating academics as missing the boat) is fraught with risk. He claims it's possible to start that killer million-dollar business with no special background, and just a lot of motivation and effort. Good luck with that. Odds are far, far more likely that he was lucky enough that when he decided to go into the web business, it was taking off, and his effort happened to be rewarded with outsized returns. It would be no different than a gold panning hunter who happened to find a big gold nugget in the dirt by luck - sure he may have worked his tail off to find it, and he may have a very plausible sounding way that he did it, but hasn't been able to repeat it, and certainly is not justified in saying he now is an expert in gold hunting because he stumbled upon a one-hit wonder. Repeated success = credibility. Not seeing it from this author at the scale he claims it is.

- I could punch so many holes into his critique of avoiding compound interest until you 'make millions first' that it's laughable, actually. He gives some of the worst financial advice I can imagine, but that's the consequence of believing that you indeed have a failsafe million dollar per year generating business in your near future, which pretty much absolves you of even requiring standard investing strategy to hedge your bets for the future. In fact, I could summarize most of his book this way - because you'll be making millions per year (good luck with that), you don't have to worry about the slow-wealth generating things that everyone who isn't making millions per year do worry about. Unfortunately, this advice should ONLY come after you have that million+ business already generating income - it's terrible advice for the 99.9999% of people who will not succeed at their shot at that home run business.

In summary, this is no different than any other 'get-rich' book, which focuses mostly on the "feel-good" and "you-can-do-it!" part of equation, provides a lot of completely theoretical ways to do it (make a business that scales well with low capital investment despite your complete lack of experience in doing anything of the sort and special personal skills) and tries to use his isolated example of hitting it big one-time in a web business as proof of why he knows what he's doing despite the fact he has never repeated his one-hit wonder performance.

The title would suggest a much tastier dish was going to be served up. This book has nothing new on offer and no action plan for results. Worse, it drones on for 336 pages.

Worse yet, the first 100+ pages don't even talk about his Fastlane, he uses the first 15 chapters to discuss the "Slowlane" and "Sidewalk", basically an enormous rant on what you shouldn't do, what you shouldn't think, and why you shouldn't be hating on his good fortune...(all basic and obvious).

"I once overheard someone call me a "lucky bastard." What a sad, delusional Sidewalking belief. I'm not lucky; I'm a player of the game. While Mr. Lucky-Bastard-Hater uttered that under his breath and sat his ass in the dugout, I was at the plate taking swings."

Sorry, just because you came up with an idea for an informational website, can write code, figured out marketing and put it all together at the height of the dot-com bubble doesn't mean you "cracked the code for wealth".

Here are a few snippets of the code:

WHAT IS THE FASTLANE?

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

"Wealth is found with a roadmap, not a dartboard. To change your choices you must change your belief system. Your belief system is defined by your roadmap.
If you're unhappy in your financial situation, you can change your universe immediately by switching roadmaps." (RATS! I had all my eggs in the dartboard strategy)

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 value to them.

TALES FROM THE FASTLANE:

- The inventor who creates a gadget and sells millions of them to 15 wholesale
distributors.
- The guy who builds a cell phone application and sells it 50,000 times.
- The guy who formulates an energy bar to help him stave off hunger and later is offered $192 million for his company.
- The guy who builds a blog and three years later sells it for $4 million to a big pharmaceutical company.
- The woman who invents a mop and sells 500,000 of them on QVC.

(I feel so stupid now, why didn't I do any of those things?)

Potent Fastlane #1: The Internet
The most potent interstate is an Internet business.

(So, is this author a 1-trick pony? I would guess not, after all, it's easy to make $millions when you already have $multi-millions to leverage. In fact, I hear a book is in the works... here's more code:)

"the sale of this book extricates me from the Slowlane wealth equation and its
universe. This book puts me into the Fastlane universe, which is governed by its wealth equation of net profit and asset value. This book is a business system that has unlimited leverage in both time and money!"...
"The books that promise the easiest roads to wealth do well because, like sex, easiness sells."

There you have it. The book did inspire me in one way, I'm motivated to create a time machine so I can go back and warn myself not to read this book. (Hi, it's me!... YOU, writing from the future so we won't waste our time on this book. I hope I get our message in time.)

If you have any interest in making more money, becoming wealthy, starting a business and improving your life this book contains some valuable information. Having said that, this book has many flaws and I am skeptical to say the least about all of the 5-star reviews. The author is long-winded with a condescending, lecturing, and egotistical writing style. This is a l-o-n-g book and I was at 40% on my Kindle version while the author was still in the midst of bragging about how much money he has made and defining (in repetitive extreme detail to the point the reader feels like they are being bludgeoned) the basics of his "sidewalk, slow lane, fast lane" concept. At 65% progress on my Kindle, he has done little more than told readers that their lives suck and they are wrong and he is right about everything in the world, for the hundredth time. Finally, at exactly, 75% he includes a few chapters (out of nearly 40 chapters) to actually define what the characteristics of a "fast lane" business are. Does this book contain some brilliant ideas for people who want to start a business? Yes, but I don't know that it is worth wading through the author's egotistical B.S. for.

This is the real deal. Although the title and cover of the book make you think "infomercial for suckers", it's actually THE single best book I have read on this subject so far (I've read plenty). I don't typically write reviews on books I purchase here on Amazon, but this one was so good that it compelled me to actually get off my lazy butt and post up a review. Rest assured, I am a real person and don't even know the author personally.

I was already an entrepreneur and owned 2 businesses when when I purchased this book and it definitely opened my eyes and immediately started seeing the bigger picture. I have since re-structured my operations and re-worked my goals to align with the principles for a "fastlane" business. I am confident that my business will be a multi-million dollar business within 5 years or less.

This book is not a hand-holding step by step instructional on how to get rich overnight, nor does it claim to be. What this is though, is a book that will open your eyes to the true principles of creating wealth fast written by someone who has done it himself.

This book is pretty much like a personal training session for an inspiring entrepreneur. Just like a personal trainer, MJ will tell you what type of foods to eat, what workouts will give you results, what parts of your body to work out, etc. But in order for you to actually get fit and healthy(or wealthy), it's up to you to go out there and find your own gym, work out regularly and cook your own meals and stick with the principles of bodybuilding (or in this case the principles of wealth creation).

This book can make you very wealthy, very fast. But this book is only part of the equation, the biggest part is YOU.