The 3 Roads to Wealth: Why Most People Ignore the Third One

The 3 Roads to Wealth: Why Most People Ignore the Third One

I recently read 'The Millionaire Fastlane' by MJ DeMarco, and there's one idea that hit me hard: there are only 3 roads to building wealth. No more, no less. And most people—including myself for years—were on the wrong road without even knowing it.

This isn't one of those self-help manuals filled with empty motivational quotes. DeMarco is direct, challenging, and questions the dogmas about money we've inherited. As someone building businesses and experimenting with different income models, his frameworks resonated deeply with me.

I'm going to share what I learned and how this changed how I think about my projects.

The Slow Road: "Slowlane"

This is the road society sells you from childhood.

The formula is simple:

• Go to school
• Get a stable job
• Save money
• Invest in index funds
• Wait 40 years until retirement

DeMarco calls it the "Slowlane" because, well, it's slow. Very slow.

The problem isn't that this road doesn't work. It works. But it depends on two variables you don't control:

1. Time: You need decades to see real results 2. Rate of return: You hope the market gives you X% annually, but that's never guaranteed

In Spain especially, we see this all the time. The mentality of "getting a safe government job" or "working at a big company until you're 65" is pure Slowlane. And for many people, that's fine. But if you want to build meaningful wealth on a reasonable timeline, this road has a very low ceiling.

What surprised me about DeMarco is that he doesn't criticize this road for being "boring." He criticizes it because mathematically it doesn't work for most people. If you live off your salary, save what you can, and invest in markets, your wealth grows linearly. But life has exponential expenses.

The Dangerous Road: "Sidewalk"

This is the one nobody wants to admit they're on.

The Sidewalk is life without a plan. No savings. No investment. Living day to day, month to month, spending what you earn on immediate consumption. It's the road of the statistical majority in any country.

DeMarco isn't kind to this road, and for good reason. If you're not intentional about money, money will be intentional with you—and not in the way you want.

I won't spend much time here because it's obvious, but what's important to understand is that most people are on the Sidewalk without knowing it. It's not that they don't want wealth. They live reactively, without a map.

And that's where it gets interesting.

The Fast Road: "Fastlane" (The One Nobody Mentions)

This is the road DeMarco advocates for, and it's where most entrepreneurs should be focusing.

The Fastlane is different because you invest in something that multiplies your time and effort. You don't just sell your time (like in the Slowlane). You build something that generates exponential value.

How does it work?

The equation is:

• You identify a problem affecting many people
• You build a scalable solution
• You sell it to multiple people without selling more of your time
• Money grows exponentially, not linearly

This is what I've experienced building digital products. When I worked as a freelance developer, I was on the Slowlane—selling hours for money. My income was limited by how many hours I could work.

But when I built SaaS tools, web applications, and digital products, I entered the Fastlane. The same initial effort—writing code, designing, iterating—now served hundreds or thousands of customers.

The Fastlane has three key characteristics:

1. Control: You control the business, not a boss 2. Scalability: Your product can grow without you growing proportionally 3. Time: You can create wealth in years, not decades

But here's the twist DeMarco gives that most people ignore: the Fastlane isn't for everyone.

It requires:

• Risk tolerance
• Ability to make quick decisions
• Willingness to fail publicly
• Discipline to iterate without giving up

In Spain, business culture is changing, but there's still a preference for the "safety" of the Slowlane. We see this in how young people prefer working at mature startups rather than creating their own. Or how many entrepreneurs spend years "perfecting" their idea before launching it.

Why This Book Changed My Perspective

What makes 'The Millionaire Fastlane' special is that it's not a book about getting rich quick. It's a book about thinking differently about money.

DeMarco challenges the myth that "money is evil" or "rich people are all dishonest." He says something more radical: money is a tool, and if you don't understand it, it controls you.

For someone like me, building multiple businesses in parallel, this was liberating. It allowed me to stop feeling guilty about wanting to grow fast. It allowed me to understand that the Fastlane isn't greedy—it's intelligent.

And most importantly: it allowed me to see that there's a third road that traditional education never teaches you.

The Practical Application

If you're reading this and you're an entrepreneur or have ideas, the question is simple:

Which road are you on?

• Are you selling your time (Slowlane)?
• Are you without a plan (Sidewalk)?
• Or are you building something scalable (Fastlane)?

If it's the first, ask yourself: what's the ceiling of my income if I stay here?

If it's the second, ask yourself: when will I start being intentional?

If it's the third, ask yourself: what do I need to accelerate?

In my case, after reading this, I made concrete changes:

1. Stopped looking for freelance clients and focused everything on digital products 2. Documented my process publicly to attract the right customers 3. Automated what I could so my time wouldn't be the bottleneck

This doesn't mean it's easy. The Fastlane has its own risks. But at least now I know what game I'm playing.

The Conclusion DeMarco Wanted You to Understand

There's no "right" road for everyone. But there's a conscious road.

Most people are on the Slowlane without having really chosen it. They just followed what they were told to do. And that's fine if that's what you want. But if you want to build meaningful wealth in a reasonable time, you need to understand that a third option exists.

The Fastlane isn't a shortcut. It's a different road with its own rules, risks, and rewards.

The question now is: which one will you choose?

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My recommendation: Read 'The Millionaire Fastlane' if you're an entrepreneur. Not because it will make you rich (that's not the point), but because it will force you to think differently about money, time, and what kind of life you want to build. And that, in the end, is what matters.