Mike Michalowicz – What inspired you to write your book, The Millionaire Fastlane?

MJ DeMarco – From a Fastlane business perspective, I thought that what I had to say, needed to be heard. As someone who has been in the entrepreneurial trenches, I’m amazed as how much BS is out there, and usually coming from gurus and authors who are author’s first, entrepreneurs second. Moreover, it seems more-and-more that entrepreneurship is becoming perverted by selfishness and self-important motives (do what you love, follow your passion, passive income, blah blah) as if the market gives a crap about your personal motivations. Newsflash: The market is selfish and doesn’t care about your dreams.

For example, personally, it has always been a dream of mine to write a book and to do so without having to worry about money, or “how many will sell”. However, from a reader’s standpoint I understand that no one cares about my dreams, loves, and passions for writing — the reader simple wants to know can this book help me? Make me wealthier? More successful? Change my life? People pay for solutions; they don’t pay to satisfy your selfish dreams and desires.

Mike Michalowicz – What did you discover about yourself while you wrote it?

MJ DeMarco – It wasn’t something that I discovered, but something that was reinforced: Anything worthwhile isn’t created overnight; it takes a painstaking process that takes weeks, months, and yes, sometimes years to produce. It took me years to write The Millionaire Fastlane and I almost gave up several times. However, I had a passion for my message and knew it would help other people which is why I dredged forward.

Another example I recently read: In Sara Blakely‘s billionaire success story (Spanx Company), it took her several years to go from idea, to patent, to product. It is during this journey of trial and process where people give up and quit. In order to make it through this “lean time” you must have a commitment and a passion for your end goal, and most important, that end goal must solve a problem. The commitment gives you a strong defense to the naysayers (your brother who says “that wont work!” and your broke college buddy who exclaims “why bother?”) — these people are resigned to mediocrity and only want you to cohabitate with them.

Mike Michalowicz – What is your favorite piece of advice from your book?

MJ DeMarco – Quit chasing money and start chasing needs. People who “follow the money” are broke. People who follow the needs have money following them. Again, guru’s are filling so many wannabe entrepreneurs with junk mantras that it leads them straight to into the chasm of failure. Markets are made of money and for the markets to give you money, you have to offer the market something that it wants.

“Do what you love” is irrelevant. “Following your passion” is irrelevant. “Positive thinking” is irrelevant. Passive income is irrelevant. Have something people want and they will give you money. If I have cancer and someone has the cure, I don’t care what their personal passions, loves, and motivations are: Let me buy the damn cure!

Mike Michalowicz – When people read your book, what are they finding to be the most helpful piece of advice?

MJ DeMarco – Enlightenment: The knowledge on just how risky and foolish the Slowlane financial plan is. The mainstream media has us trained to believe that financial security is predicated on what I call, the triad of financial insanity: The stock market, the job market, and the housing market.

One cannot expect to create wealth via these venues by virtue of their limited and uncontrollable mathematics. None of these things can be controlled or leveraged and when these venues are the lynchpin to your financial success, your resign your financial plan to being nothing but a 40 year gamble.

The lifestyle and financial security I enjoy today has NOTHING to do with jobs, 401(k)s, IRAs, mutual funds, or the stock market… it has to do with leveraged entrepreneurship and explosive income and asset values. The beauty of mathematics is that it cannot lie — TMF shows just why the Slowlane doesn’t create millionaires young, it creates them OLD, if at all.

Mike Michalowicz – I think you made a genius move by modifying the cover design, can you share why you did that?

MJ DeMarco – Sure. Fastlane success in any business venture comes from listening to the marketplace as it will always tell you the directions to be moving with your company. When I launched TMF in early 2011, a common theme seemed to be present: Many readers RAVED about the book and how it changed their life, but many made mention to “ignore the cheesy cover” or “disregard the cover” — in other words, I kept seeing over and over “You gotta read this book – just ignore the cover!”

Again, the markets, as an aggregate, make decisions and judgments about your work. Whether I loved the original cover or not was irrelevant; the market is the ultimate judge and jury and what they say should always be considered because they are the ones with the power to give you money, or withhold it. After seeing this complaint, I decided a cover change was required.

Mike Michalowicz – What is your best piece of advice for an entrepreneur who wants to be in the millionaire fastlane?

MJ DeMarco – Be guided by your passion to solve a problem or a need in the marketplace. Often times this is misinterpreted as you need to create something NEW, or never created before, when most of the times, it’s just taking something being done, and doing it better. When your guided by a purpose and a passion grounded by a problem, the next step(s) are always clear. Additionally, this gives you the motivational fire to turn off the TV, the video games, and all the other distractions that serve to detour your journey.

Mike Michalowicz – What are your plans for your next book?

MJ DeMarco – I wasn’t planning on writing another book but here’s the hook: The market keeps asking me for it. I’ve received countless emails “when’s the next book coming!!” — this is a great example of being steered by the market as the market loves to tell you the directions to move. I plan on making an announcement about my next book this summer. In the meantime, I’m exploring my options in another startup venture. While I love writing, I consider myself an entrepreneur FIRST and an author SECOND.

Have you read The Millionaire Fastlane ? What insights have you gained? If you haven’t read it yet, pick up a copy of The Millionaire Fastlane on Amazon today, you won’t regret it! And in regards to MJ’s comment about not planning on writing another book. . . PLEASE WRITE ANOTHER BOOK!  To learn more about MJ DeMarco and his book, visit his website.