If you want to make a lot of money, you’re probably going to have to shovel shit. You’re going to need to do the backbreaking work. The dirty work. The challenging work. It’s going to be hard, and it’s probably going to suck. But if you want to get anywhere in life, you’re going to have to do it. See, a lot of us aim to kick our feet up and relax. This is ok later in life, but it puts the cart before the horse when it comes to how we select our careers and approach work. You see, the point of labor is to provide products and services for society. We’re doing work that others don’t want to do, in order to produce things that they want to have. These customers do other labor, or own the means of production, and redeem their produce for money. You get money in exchange for your labor. This means that naturally, the more difficult, important, and less enjoyable a task is, the better paid you’re likely to be. If you want to make a lot of money, learn how to deal with the mundane and fight mediocrity. Deal with boredom so that you can make incremental improvements, and help build the society of your dreams. Here’s why this strategy works, and will work better and better as time goes on.
People don’t want to work long hours
This is the truth of the matter. The longer people work, the more they produce. But people want to live. Countries around the world have to often balance maintaining productivity with retaining human capital. If you work longer hours than most, you’re pretty much guaranteed to succeed and get ahead. A lot of people simply won’t do it. Make them regret their laziness by putting in the work required to get to the top.
People don’t want to do intellectual work
Intellectual work is really, really tough. The brain uses a lot of calories, and there are already a lot of established players. Whether it’s by earning a degree or starting a business, you have to work incredibly long hours in order to succeed. A lot of people understand this intellectually, but they don’t live their lives in such a way that they can succeed and build something great for themselves. This is because they simply don’t have the mental strength that it takes to learn. You see, learning is very painful for most people. It’s nearly impossible to convince the average person to actually do the work required to learn. If you learn something complex and important, you’ve done what others don’t want to do. Get educated in the right fields and the world is your oyster. Focus your energy on finance if you can.
People don’t want to work without seeing results
This is a massive mental block for a lot of people. Doing a lot of work without seeing results is very hard, and a lot of people get discouraged very quickly and easily. If you can work hard without seeing results, you’re going to be breathing rarified air before so long. If you want me to use myself as an example, a lot of writers simply haven’t produced the content that I have, and a lot of people don’t know what it takes to become a successful blogger. I do, and that gives me a massive advantage over the average global citizen.
People don’t want to pay attention to details
If you can create a system where you produce better work than everyone else by doing the fundamentals better, you’re going to find yourself in a situation where you’re better-paid than everyone, almost certainly. The way this works is that no matter what discipline you’ve embraced, you make sure to learn as much as possible. Look at what the winners are doing. Focus your energy on creating success and learn what little things separate those in the bottom 90-99% from those in the upper group. Attention to detail sets you apart even in low-paying fields. Always do your best. It ends up showing. Most people are lazy, and a bit of consistency makes them easy to beat. Take advantage of this as technology makes them lazier.
Find businesses that are easy but work intensive
If you can find a simple business that just needs to be built brick by brick, you’re a go. A lot of people tend to avoid work intensive businesses and look to innovate. By doing a work intensive business, you guarantee your results and set yourself apart from the crowd. Just watch out for AI and other new technologies. My hunch is that blue collar work will be disrupted sooner than we think. It would be immensely helpful for everyone on planet earth if housing costs went down, wouldn’t it?
Adopt new technology
If you can leverage tools like AI to succeed, you’re going to be enjoying a bright future in no time. New technology reduces the speed of production, and it makes it easier for you to create whatever product it is that you want to create. If you learn new technology first, you’re guaranteed to end up ahead of the competition you have, even if the new technology is disruptive. The last thing you want to be in business is a luddite. Do the work required to get ahead and learn the new technology.
People will get lazier and lazier
This is a fact of life, and it’s one that we should be happy for. The global average workweek is already approaching 40 hours per week. This means that soon it won’t take much in order to outperform the average person. People getting lazy are going to suffer but beating them will get easier and easier for you as you get into your groove. Literally all you will have to do is get up and work.
Jobs will get easier
There are fewer and fewer blue-collar jobs. The world is progressing beyond the point of needing people to lift things and throw them around. We’re building robots and financial systems. As work hours get shorter, jobs are highly likely to become less taxing. So just hang in there and work your butt off while you’re young.
The key to making a lot of money is doing what others are unwilling to. If you’re able to find gaps in the market that others are unwilling to plug, you’ll have less competition and be able to earn better compensation. Your ability to get wealthy will rise exponentially as you get better at doing your work. All you have to do is trust the process and be consistent. As you become more skilled, you’ll earn more money, and be able to build more equity. You’ll have a better idea of what it takes to succeed, and you’re going to likely be rich if you maintain your focus and are realistic with your spending. Making a lot of money is very hard, and it requires a lot of luck and dedication. But if you put your mind to it and serve society by doing the dirty work, you’ll eventually have great ideas on how to plug the gaps.
Thanks for paying attention.
