The Millionaire Fastlane – Book Review

The Millionaire Fastlane: Crack The Code To Wealth And Live Rich For a Lifetime by MJ DeMarco.

I have never read a book quite like The Millionaire Fastlane.  This book is truly unique.  The author, who is a successful entrepreneur many times over, provides information on how he and many others have become successful.  The content is somewhat like a recipe book, outlining the ingredients necessary in order to have successful results as an entrepreneur.

What category do you fall into?

The author divides people into three main categories. There are the “Sidewalkers” who spend every penny they have and more, and end up in a great deal of debt with no thoughts of their financial future.  There are the “Slowlaners” who follow the advice of folks like Suze Orman and dream of getting rich slowly through relying on compound interest to eventually make them rich over many years.  And then there are the “Fastlaners” who focus on ways to increase their income now, rather than following the get rich slowly track that so many of us follow.

Can you pay yourself first?

This book is provocative.  Within a few pages of reading this book you will discover which of the three categories you fall into and more than likely it’s not going to be the Fastlane category.  Most of us are Slowlaners.   This book is eye opening because the author debunks so many of the commonly accepted financial ideas that are presented to us on a regular basis.  For instance, the author questions whether or not it is even possible for an employee to pay themselves first.  He argues that when you get your paycheck, taxes are already deducted so the government is really the one who gets paid first.  He contends that as long as you are an employee, it really isn’t possible to pay yourself first.  Interesting food for thought, isn’t it?

Are most personal finance authors hypocrites?

The author also talks about how people who write so many of these popular personal finance books tell their readers how to get rich slowly, while the authors themselves are actually Fastlaners, making big bucks by writing books, etc.  So, in a sense, these authors are hypocrites because they do not practice what they preach.  Do we really think that Robert Kiyosaki and Suze Orman are getting rich by following their own advice?  Or are they getting rich by writing and selling numerous books, doing seminars, etc.?

What makes this book different?

The reason this book is so powerful is because MJ Demarco achieved success first, and then decided to write about it in order to help others to become successful entrepreneurs.   He didn’t write this book in order to become rich because he already is rich. This book is also refreshing, as the key elements he presents all make sense.  There is nothing hocus pocus about becoming successful.  It takes a lot of hard work, perseverance, and passion.   Fastlaners know that it is all about process.

It’s a narrow road to the Fastlane.

The road is most certainly narrow for the Fastlaner, and that is why so few of us ever get to that point.  Fastlaners do not take the advice of others who say you can do what you love and the money will follow.  Instead, once they are successful, their excess funds will allow them to do what they love. In the meantime, however, they need to be selfless, discover what the market needs, and provide a solution to meet that need.  They need to focus on others instead of themselves and once they’ve discovered a way to help others, they need to learn how to market their solution and reach out to as many people as possible.  Once Fastlaners are successful, they will have more than enough money to go around and this will free them up to do the things they really enjoy.

Focus on increasing your means.

Unfortunately, most of us really are Slowlaners.  We focus more on how to save money and reduce expenses, rather than focusing on how we can increase our income by finding a way to meet others’ needs.  As the book points out, there is nothing wrong with living below your means as we are taught to do as a Slowlaner, however, the key is to work towards increasing your means rather than simply following the get rich slowly formula.

If you are interested in learning more about what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur, I would highly recommend that you read this book. Although it may discourage you if you are currently a Sidewalker or a Slowlaner, this book may be just the thing you need to get motivated to take your first step towards entrepreneurial success.