After having The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco recommended to me a while ago I was sceptical.
The reason being the name of the book. It sounds like a “Get Rich Quick” book which usually makes me run a mile.
However, I continued to hear good things about it and after listening to an interview with MJ DeMarco himself I decided to purchase it.
I should make clear now that The Millionaire Fastlane does describe a fast path to wealth, but not an easy path.
For that reason and the fact that there’s some real interesting and new info in the book it didn’t make me run a mile and I’m really glad I read it.
I’ve been meaning to write a review of the book for ages, but finally here it is.
About MJ DeMarco The Millionaire Fastlane Author
MJ DeMarco describes himself as a “Get Rich Slow” anti-guru and after reading The Millionaire Fastlane it’ll become clear as to why. Most of us choose the slow path to wealth and look forward to retirement, the slowlane as he calls it.
He advocates a much faster path so you can enjoy your wealth at a younger age, which he calls the fastlane.
I’m pleased to say that MJ DeMarco practices exactly what he preaches. He made his millions at a young age, retired young and now lives the dream.
Things haven’t always been easy for him though, he’s had the crappy 9-5 jobs, but he had the dream of ditching the 9-5 grind and living a better life. More importantly he took action and actually did it.
There were mistakes and failures along the way but when he founded Limos.com, things changed and his hard work paid off. He managed to create a system which generated massive Passive Income and from that point on he was free to spend his time doing whatever he enjoyed.
The Millionaire Fastlane is his way of sharing with the world, or at least those who are willing to listen, exactly how he did it.
As a bonus, he’s actually a good writer so expresses his ideas well and makes the book absorbing and hard to put down.
This is unlike some more recent books I’ve read (which I won’t mention as not to upset Lord Sugar) where the information was good but the author couldn’t write for toffee.
My Thoughts on The Millionaire Fastlane
Just incase you’re short of time and won’t reading this entire review, let my summarise by saying that for many (myself and colleagues included) this is one of those life changing books.
It’s on par with the Rich Dad Poor Dad series which is something you won’t hear me say often, although he does subtly criticise Robert Kiyosaki in his book, which I think is a little unfair.
In The Millionaire Fastlane MJ describes three paths in life. The first one is the sidewalk, which isn’t a path to wealth at all. The second is the slowlane, which is what most of us choose. Work all our lives, save 10% of our income, invest in mutual funds, penny pinch and then hopefully live long enough to retire rich.
It’s the third path that his book is really about, the fastlane.
Without spoiling the book for you I’ll just highlight some of the key points he makes about the fastlane and why it’s by far the best path to take.
In The Millionaire Fastlane MJ talks about how many people see wealth as an event, a lottery win or an inheritance for example. But he points out that wealth is a process not an event. The decisions you make and actions you take (your process) determines whether you achieve wealth. If you simply wait for an event, it’ll never happen.
A business mindset shift he talks about which really made me think is about how most people are consumers, Spending More Than They Earn on consumer items. MJ points out that to be wealthy we need to become producers. We need to consume less and produce more, create businesses and systems which produce and sell goods and services.
I agree entirely with this and only when we become successful producers can we truly afford to become consumers again.
After My Recent Stay in Hospital I couldn’t agree more with his three F’s philosophy either. Fitness (health), Family and Freedom being what really matters in life. I’ve always advocated this myself, but even more so now after recent events.
I Don’t Agree with Everything Though
There is one part of The Millionaire Fastlane I disagree a little with. It’s where he says that passion isn’t important and that we shouldn’t follow our passion when creating a business.
However, I have a few things to say about this. I think he’s often misunderstood when he says this. All he’s really saying is that passion is worthless if no-one wants or needs what you have to offer. This is very true.
What he doesn’t make clear though is that if you have a passion for what you do then the whole process of creating and growing a business is infinitely easier. I couldn’t have continued this blog for two years if I’d been writing about knitting.
It doesn’t matter if the subject of knitting was highly commecial and profitable, I just couldn’t have done it without passion, it’s as simple as that. For me and many others, passion for what we do is a vital ingredient.
His point about there having to be a need for what we do is very important though else we’ll never achieve anything more than a hobby, rather than producing a profitable business.
To his credit here though he does say we need a passion for something to keep us going, be it wealth, freedom, happiness or whatever.
Maybe it’s a coincidence, but he also mentions in The Millionaire Fastlane that creating a little controversy is great for publicity. I do feel this passion thing is his way of causing a little controversy and stirring things up a little, knowing that lots of people will disagree with him, but I could be wrong.
At this point in a review I’ll usually write a paragraph or two to summarise and draw my conclusions, but I think I’ve already made it quite clear what I think of this book.
My summary is therefore short. For me The Millionaire Fastlane is one of those classics and is a book you really need to read if you’re serious about achieving wealth while you’re still young enough to enjoy it. Maybe I should update my Top 20 Business Books Ever post and add this to the top five.
If you wish you can Buy The Millionaire Fastlane from Amazon and start your path to success right away.
Thanks for reading my review of The Millionaire Fastlane and feel free to leave a comment.
