If you want to always be able to make plenty of money to support yourself, and your family, and the needy around you…
There’s really only 1 thing you need to know.
This:
The ability to make money = being useful to other people.
Got it?
Cool.
Now you understand the most fundamental, the most powerful, the most wonderful thing there is to know about making money.
But maybe you don’t see why this idea is so powerful.
Let me explain:
Everyone wants stuff. Your brother wants a new phone. The local McDonald’s manager wants a fast, efficient, well-run store. Some people want a different president. And if you can help a person get what they want… you’re “useful” to them.
And furthermore…
They’ll pay you for your help.
And that’s why earning money really comes down to:
Learning to be useful to other people.
Call to mind everything you’ve ever been told about “earning a living,” “getting a job,” “paying the bills,” etc. Alright, it’s in your mind? Great. Now pretend it’s all on fire, and now it’s burned to the ground.
Earning a living isn’t essentially about having skills.
Or being passionate.
Or being authentic.
Or working your butt off.
Or having a killer resume.
Or having a degree.
Or graduating from a “top school.”
Nope – it’s essentially about being useful to someone else. And, to be simplistic… the more useful you are to them, the more money they’ll be willing to pay you for your help.
Now.
Some questions:
Q #1 – “Aren’t you encouraging me to be a sellout?”
It depends.
If you’re only in it for the money… if the only reason you’re learning to be useful to other people is so that you can take their cash… yeah, you’re kinda being a sellout.
But I’m not suggesting you do that.
Do it for them. The people you’re being useful to.
Your manager.
Your customer.
Your mom.
Learn to be useful to them… because you care about them. And they need the help.
Then you’re not a sellout.
Cool, huh?
Also, here’s some food for thought:
Wouldn’t it be awesome if, by taking the time to learn what other people’s needs are… what their desires are… and by trying to meet their needs… wouldn’t it be cool if you found that this is what you really wanted all along?
To live a life of service to other people?
To throw yourself into the world’s great need, and make that need a little bit lesser?
Hint:
I think if you did that… you’d find that it IS what you really want.
You’d find that a life focused on meeting the needs & desires of others is MORE likely to lead you into personal satisfaction… and joy… and an understanding of your deep desires… than is a life spent trying to “be YOU” and “do what YOU want to do” and all that.
Q #2: How is this practical?
Well…
For starters:
- You now understand the key to being successful in any startup. The fastest growing startups are the ones that are the most useful to real people. The dying startups are the ones that thought they would be useful to real people… but it turns out they weren’t.
- You now understand the key to getting a job anywhere. Figure out what a company really needs. Then learn as fast and as well as you can how to do or be that thing. Then prove to the company that you can do that thing. Show past projects where you’ve successfully done it. Offer to do free projects to demonstrate. If you really are what they really need, they’ll find out sooner or later. And they’ll hire you.
- You now understand the key to being a successful freelancer or consultant. Learn what your audience really needs. Find out what the itch is that they have… that no other freelancer has scratched. Then learn how to do that. How to be that. Become really, really useful to potential clients. And clients will be happy to pay you.
(Case in point: I’m a freelance copywriter. I’ve found that lots of business owners have tried to hire copywriters… but have ended up being very frustrated with them, because they (the copywriters) never took the time to *really* listen to the business owner’s particular market… and so they never learn to “speak the market’s language”… and so the copywriters churn out stuff that, to the business owner, “sounds like a bunch of salesy crap.” Me, being the smart little chicken that I am… I’ve learned from this mistake of past copywriters, and so whenever I take on a new project, I first make sure to immerse myself in the market & learn their language & learn their hopes and dreams & learn their everything… and only then do I start writing. The result? Lots of clients who are happy to open their wallets and pay me for what I write)
In short:
Learn how to be useful to people.
And they’ll pay you lots of money.
Q #3: “How do I figure out what people really need?”
There are lots of ways.
Here’s the easiest:
Ask them.
“What’s your company in dire need of right now?”
If you went around and asked that to a dozen companies that you wanted to work for… and then used their answers to guide your learning for the next 2 years…
You’d have no problem getting a job at one of those companies.
Conclusion:
Being really good at making money & living a really fulfilling life don’t have to be at odds with each other.
On the contrary.
If you learn to make money in the right way…
By learning to care about and really address the real needs of real people…
You just might find yourself in a very fulfilling life.
And with lots of money.
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