The Millionaire Fastlane by M.J. DeMarco Page A

college graduates begin their post-schooling life on the Sidewalk. I certainly did.
    Graduation pardoned a license to buy stuff that yielded instant pleasure: trips to Cancun, a flashy car with a booming stereo, nightly drinking binges, a massive CD collection. Life was all about now, regardless of future consequences. Sidewalkers (and people in general) instinctively regard a better future: “I'll be making more money,” “I'll hit the lottery,” “After my father dies I'll inherit thousands.” Future crutches often justify pleasurable nows and, behind the scenes, Lifestyle Servitude swells.
    However, with increased responsibilities, perhaps a growing family, mounting debt loads, and future expectations not matching reality, the Sidewalker comes to terms with the uncertainty of the Sidewalk and does the seemingly responsible lane change: He off-ramps and graduates to the Slowlane roadmap, a strategy touted and praised by credible sources. While the Sidewalk is typified by undisciplined behavior, the Slowlane's financial plan introduces responsibility and accountability into the wealth formula. That can't be bad right?
    Unfortunately, the Slowlane is like bad directions given at a gas station, except these directions aren't given by strangers, but by people you trust: teachers, television and radio personalities, financial advisers, and yes, even our parents. These ostensible sources reinforce the strategy's fictitious strength when its efficacy is a sucker's bet. The Slowlane is a lifetime wager that a sacrificial today will yield a wealthier tomorrow.
    The Promise of Wealth … The Price? Your Life
    The Slowlane is rarely challenged. It's a lie so deceiving that when the ruse is uncovered, decades of life have passed … meanwhile, millions more are being newly indoctrinated to the deception. If you buy the lie, you sell off today in hopes of a glorious tomorrow. And when does this glorious tomorrow happen? When can you splurge, spend your millions, and enjoy life? When?
    The driving force behind wealth under Get Rich Slow is time -time employed at the job and time invested in the markets. Your glorious tomorrow might arrive after 40 years, when you're living your last presidential administration and on your second hip replacement. Your glorious tomorrow might arrive when you're 73 years old and soaked in urine and strapped to a stinking bed because you've lost your mind to Alzheimer's. Seriously, when does this Slowlane plan of retiring rich actually become real so you can enjoy your millions?
As a teenager, Joe reads several personal finance books about getting rich. They tell him to save, get a career, clip coupons, and live below your means. After graduating with a law degree, Joe follows this advice. While it is difficult, Joe follows this plan for wealth diligently.
He works 60 hours weekly at his law firm, often neglecting his family and children. His weekdays are consumed at the office, while his weekends are spent home “recharging” from the rigors of the workweek.
After 12 years in law, Joe decides his profession is no longer enjoyable. Yet, he decides to endure, as he is just one promotion away from making partner and a guaranteed six-figure salary. As Joe's life progresses, he never loses sight of his goal: Retire by age 55 because, after all, financial guru David says, “The smart people finish rich.”
Joe saves, works overtime, invests in mutual funds, and participates in his firm's 401(k). He continues to endure his job for the sake of the plan. No one said it'd be easy. That “one day” was coming, the day when he'd retire with millions. He justifies that five days of misery in a hated job was worth the sacrifice for the future.
Then, one hot summer day while mowing the lawn, Joe has a heart attack and dies at age 51 … four years before his destination.
    You can either live rich young or live rich old while risking death along the way. The choice is yours and it shouldn't be a contest. Rich at