Thanks to The Fastlane Forum, I've interacted with millions of aspiring entrepreneurs over the last 15 yrs.

Here's what I learned: Most won't succeed as they go thru life with a cadre of poison pens, destructive beliefs that will ruin your life. Here are the 7 most destructive. First, a poison pen is a limiting belief that funds poor decisions and hence, poor outcomes.

Ex: If you hate your job but falsely believe "Starting a business is risky," you'll stay stuck in that job, choosing unknown risk over known pain.

Your life story will not change.

Do you have trouble falling asleep and taming the mind?

I can fall asleep within 10 minutes, guaranteed.

It wasn't like this as for years I’d toss and turn trying to fall asleep as my mind wandered with endless mental minutia, from things that I needed to get done to memory reruns to random ideas, my head would not STFU.

Everything changed when I started doing THIS, and had you told me this would be effective at getting me to sleep fast, I would have laughed at you.

Here’s what I did:

1) I found earbuds that I could sleep comfortably with.

2) I find audiobooks on Audible that aren’t terribly mentally stimulating or thought-provoking, something like “cozy mysteries” or other fictional writings. I avoid non-fiction educational books during this time as I’m not trying to stimulate the mind; I’m trying to lull it.

3) Make sure the narrator of your book has a soothing, calming voice.

4) I listen to the audiobook, set to go off at 30 minutes (Audible has this function.)

5) Like clockwork, I’m out usually within 10 minutes. Worse case, 20. The earbuds tend to stay in all night promoting total silence, and a weened myself off the need for white noise (which can damage hearing).

Why does this work, and will it work for you?

Apparently, listening to novels that require low mental bandwidth narrows the mind into a subtle focus, silencing the scatterbrained chaos that keeps us up at night. I’m no longer thinking intensely about 30 different things but thinking lightly about 1 thing.

For years, I thought this was crazy.

And now it turns out, this strategy is not unusual as CNBC just reported that many women listen to true crime podcasts to help them fall asleep. While I wouldn’t recommend such a heavy, tragic topic like that, listen to whatever works for you.

Of course, I’m sure this won’t be effective for everyone, however, if you struggle with getting to sleep, give this a try.

Your sleep and your health may thank you. Here's that CNBC article I mentioned above.

cnbc.com/2023/10/13/why…

Once I surpassed a baby-billionaire level (1 billion pennies/net worth of $10,000,000+) I truly felt financially free where the word "budget" slowly left my vocab. If you want to go bigger, you must change your relationship with TIME. Here's 6 ways you need to rethink TIME: #1) Understand that TIME cannot be SCALED or LEVERAGED. If any "financial expert" mentions TIME as critical partner for wealth ("If you save $X every month, it will be worth $X millions by 2070!") run the other way. Immediate unfollow. Ordinary finance is for ordinary people.

Financial blasphemy: I drink $6 coffee. I spent $5.3M on a 13,000 sq/ft estate w/a $6K mortgage. I have 12 credit cards where $1000s are charged monthly. I dine out 3-5X week. When I shop, I don't look at prices and just throw whatever I want into the shopping cart. Continue... The word "budget" is not in my vocabulary. I also have no savings plan, I don't make regular investments in index-funds. Despite doing everything contrary to financial experts & every finance book ever sold, I have total financial freedom. Adopt these 8 truths and u can too:

Divorce can be ugly. What's uglier is not applying some simple rules to make sure you don't make the biggest mistake of your life. Here's how to know you've found a great spouse and marry the right person...

Follow these 3 rules and you've likely found your keeper. Rule #1: Spend at least an hour talking about values, stuff like religion, politics, kids, fitness/health priorities. Divergence in these values leads to a diverging relationship over time.

I'm proud to be part of the 1%. Also, I'm in the top 25% of that 1%, which affords a fabulous lifestyle. Here are five rules to create real, 1% wealth where the word "budget" is no longer part of your vocabulary. #1) Real 1% wealth is created on offense by owning assets you control. REPEAT: CONTROL. Sorry, this doesn't include your index-fund investments, crypto shit-coins, your job, or your 401(k). Defense (expense cutting, coupons, DCA) simply makes you less poor.

Some businesses will pay your bills. Others will make you rich. If you want to leverage business as an escape to the 9-5, here the 5 Commandments you'll want to follow when choosing to invest in a business. C = CONTROL. You want to own what you build. I wrote about this over a decade ago, but today some call it platform risk. If there's one person or company that can instantly kill your business with one decision, then you don't have control and risk elevates.

So many "useful idiots" who are promoting a World Economic Forum agenda involving extreme frugality, fanatical saving, and a zero consumption mindset. Adopting mediocrity so you can live a life on par with a broke co-ed is not a financial plan. Here's 7 things to do instead: #1) Don't become a Klaus Schwab stooge and adopt "settling for less" as a financial strategy. Real financial freedom doesn't involve budgets, stock market allegiance, and blind hope and patience.

Want to know how to kill your dreams? Adopt the phrase, "I don't know how."

I hear from so many people who love the crutch, "I don't know how to [blank]" and as such, do nothing. If you want any chance at success, you must eliminate this phrase from your life. Here's how: #1) Recognize that everything you learn today will serve you tomorrow.

If you don't know how, then find out how. Stop with the damn excuses.

An old education rarely fits a new opportunity.

In 2007, I launched The Fastlane Forum and met 1000s of aspiring entrepreneurs over the years. I soon discovered a complex reality that most of them are LIARS—not to others, but to themselves. Here are the 9 common lies failed entrepreneurs tell themselves: LIE #1: I'm not good at X.
Yes you're not. No one is born an instant expert. We all crawled before we walked. Seinfeld's first words weren't a joke. Ronaldo didn't emerge from mom with a football. The question is, if you aren't good at X, what do you need to do to get good at X?

As The Fastlane Forum approaches 1 million posts, I've heard from many people over the years. One item worth mentioning: Many people unnecessarily complicate entrepreneurship. Simplified, successful Fastlane entrepreneurship boils down to 3 things... Focus on these 3 things, and you will eventually succeed.

#1) Create relative value
Have you created a product/service that is noticeably different from what is already offered in the marketplace? This is the product development stage.