It’s a question echoing in coffee shops, online forums, and late-night conversations: “How Do I Make A Lot Of Money?” As a financial expert at money-central.com, I’ve spent countless hours listening to individuals from all walks of life grapple with this very aspiration. Last week, the launch of our WealthScore Quiz further underscored this universal quest. With over 10,000 participants, the quiz revealed that Financial Wealth is the area where most people feel they are lacking direction and support. P.S. Discover your own WealthScore and identify your financial strengths and weaknesses here.
Person looking at an email on a laptop, pondering financial growth strategies
People across generations and diverse backgrounds are united by this ambition to achieve financial abundance. However, the internet is awash with misleading shortcuts and “get rich quick” schemes that often lead to disappointment. In a landscape cluttered with poor financial advice, I aim to offer a dose of reality – my candid perspective on how to genuinely make a lot of money.
Fair warning: Some of the following advice might feel blunt, challenging, or even uncomfortable. That’s because the path to significant wealth often is.
Creating Value is the Only True Path to Wealth
Let’s confront a fundamental truth head-on: Money isn’t simply given away. No one will shower you with riches merely because you’re likeable or interesting. The financial world operates on a principle of exchange: money is earned as a direct result of value creation.
Value in, value out. If your primary goal is to make a lot of money, your primary focus must be on creating substantial value for others.
This isn’t an abstract concept. Building significant wealth boils down to generating immense value for a large number of people and capturing a fraction of that value in return. It’s about action, not just contemplation. It’s not endless planning, researching, or discussing. The only way to create value is by actively doing.
If you’re unsure where to begin, look around. Everywhere you look, there are individuals – customers, colleagues, managers, stakeholders, employees – each with their own set of challenges. What problems can you effectively solve for those around you?
Identify these problems, develop solutions, and scale those solutions to a wider audience. This is the foundational formula for how to make a lot of money.
Time vs. Energy: Shifting Your Financial Asset Focus
When you are younger, you often lack experience, expertise, connections, and capital. Your most abundant resource is time. You invest this time in your professional pursuits, working diligently and trading hours for the skills, knowledge, networks, and eventually, the money you initially lacked.
However, as you mature professionally, a crucial mindset shift is required. Time ceases to be your most valuable asset; energy takes precedence.
The pervasive busyness of modern work culture often stems from the outdated practice of perpetually trading time for diminishing returns. To avoid this trap, leverage the skills, knowledge, networks, and capital you’ve accumulated to strategically focus your finite energy on pivotal moments and high-impact opportunities. This is where you unlock significant financial gains.
In simpler terms: First, work hard to build your foundation, then work smart to maximize your impact.
The Myth of “Making It”: Financial Growth is a Continuous Journey
Many people mistakenly believe that “making it” is a destination – a point of arrival after which you can relax and coast.
This couldn’t be further from the truth. Every single day demands renewed effort to maintain and advance your position. Consider established giants: if Apple were to halt innovation and stop producing new iPhones, its reign as a successful company would be short-lived.
The reality is that the stakes rise as you achieve greater success. You have more to protect, more responsibilities, and more people relying on you. Expectations increase.
There’s a powerful analogy that resonates:
“Every morning in the savannah, the gazelle wakes up and knows it must outrun the lion or be killed. The lion wakes up and knows it must outrun the gazelle or starve. Whether you’re the gazelle or the lion, when you wake up in the morning, you’d better start running.”
Financial success isn’t a one-time achievement; it’s a daily commitment to growth and adaptation. You have to make it – every single day.
Entrepreneurship Isn’t the Only Path to Wealth (And It’s Not Always Easy)
In today’s social media-driven world, there’s an unwarranted stigma attached to being an employee. The prevailing narrative often suggests that you must “bet on yourself” and “build your own thing” to become truly wealthy.
This is not only poor advice, but demonstrably false.
Starting your own business is not the optimal path for everyone, and there is absolutely no shame in climbing the corporate ladder within an established company. In fact, for a significant majority of people, pursuing a successful career as an employee is likely the most effective route to building substantial Financial Wealth.
Furthermore, the romanticized notion of “doing your own thing” equating to working minimal hours from an exotic beach is largely a myth. While some individuals may achieve this lifestyle, for most entrepreneurs, “doing your own thing” entails working just as much, if not more, than in traditional employment. There is no “easy mode” in entrepreneurship.
Don’t allow yourself to be pressured into a path that doesn’t align with your skills, preferences, or risk tolerance.
Excellence in Execution: The Foundation of Income Scaling
Your income trajectory is directly proportional to the level of excellence you consistently demonstrate. This is particularly true if you are committed to career advancement within an organization.
The principle is simple: If you aspire to promotions, significant raises, and prestigious titles, you must consistently deliver excellence in every aspect of your work.
Every detail matters. Your performance is judged holistically, not selectively. The world will often overlook your successes but remember your failures. Top performers consistently bring energy and dedication to both minor tasks and major projects.
If you rank within the top 10% of performers in your field, your potential is virtually limitless. However, the self-awareness to accurately assess your current standing and to genuinely internalize and act upon constructive feedback is a rare and invaluable trait.
If you are in the top 10%, you are likely aware of it. If not, identify the gap and commit to closing it.
Salesmanship: A More Powerful Asset Than Raw Intelligence
Sales proficiency is arguably the most versatile and valuable meta-skill you can cultivate.
Regardless of your chosen career path, the ability to sell is essential:
- Sell yourself to potential employers or partners.
- Sell your personal narrative to build connections.
- Sell your products or services to generate revenue.
- Sell your vision to inspire teams and secure investment.
- Sell your ideas to influence decisions and drive progress.
The wealthiest individuals I know are not necessarily those with the highest IQs. Their common denominator is exceptional salesmanship. They are resilient in the face of rejection, persistently refining their approach until they achieve their desired outcome.
Energy Trumps Passion: Fueling Sustainable Drive
I’ve long questioned the conventional advice to “follow your passion.”
You don’t necessarily need fervent passion for your professional endeavors. What you do need is energy. You need to feel an intrinsic pull, a spark of curiosity that draws you in.
Passion can be fleeting and deceptive, but energy is a more reliable compass.
When you are energized by something, you are naturally inclined to invest focused attention, learn deeply, ask insightful questions, and persevere in the face of challenges – all crucial elements for success.
Extraordinary Output Demands Extraordinary Input
I recently spoke with a young man expressing dissatisfaction with his current life trajectory. He was stuck in a 9-to-5 job he disliked and yearned to launch his own company and create something impactful.
He cited a lack of time as his primary obstacle. However, upon closer examination of his daily schedule, it included approximately two hours dedicated to leisure activities and television consumption before bedtime.
When I gently suggested re-evaluating this daily routine, he responded that he “needed it” to de-stress after work.
My direct question was: “Do you prioritize this leisure time more than you prioritize fundamentally changing your life?”
The reality is that life is inherently about trade-offs and sacrifices. Achieving extraordinary results requires extraordinary effort. If you aspire to exceptional output, you must be willing to commit extraordinary input.
This often entails enduring a period of imbalance to ultimately achieve a more desirable state of balance in the long run.
Rapid Fire Insights for Wealth Building
To conclude, here are some concise, impactful takeaways:
My grandfather wisely advised, “You’ll achieve much more by being consistently reliable than by being occasionally extraordinary.” This principle has been a guiding force in my career.
Cultivate a reputation for problem-solving. You will frequently encounter tasks outside your comfort zone. The ability to “figure it out” – to research, ask the right questions, and deliver results – is immensely valuable. Individuals with this capability are highly sought after.
Manage your expectations rigorously. Expectations that outpace your asset growth are a significant financial liability. You will perpetually chase an elusive “more,” remaining perpetually unsatisfied. Manage your expectations with the same discipline you apply to other financial obligations.
When starting out, prioritize living well below your means. Before significant responsibilities and lifestyle expectations solidify, focus on maximizing the gap between your income and expenses. If a purchase isn’t essential or a clear investment in your future, forgo it.
Avoid wasting time on low-impact activities. For example, obsessively managing investments when your investable assets are comparable to your annual income is often unproductive. The returns on a $100,000 portfolio are unlikely to justify excessive time investment if you earn $100,000 annually. Instead, focus that energy on strategies to double or triple your income – a far more impactful use of your time.
Side hustles are often disguised distractions. While multiple income streams may seem appealing, truly passive income is rare. If a side hustle demands significant mental energy or causes undue stress, it may be diverting you from more impactful, big-picture pursuits.
People prefer to do business with individuals they like. Cultivating likability and being pleasant to work with is a durable competitive advantage. Remember the power of positive interpersonal skills.
The Price of Wealth: There’s No Free Lunch
On the first day of my introductory Economics course at Stanford, the core lesson was succinct:
“There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”
My broader interpretation of this principle is that everything worthwhile in life comes with a cost.
If your ambition is to make a lot of money, it’s crucial to have a clear-eyed understanding of the price you must be willing to pay to achieve that goal.
This article has aimed to provide my honest perspective on those requirements. If the price resonates with you, pursue it wholeheartedly. If not, recognize that a fulfilling and meaningful life can be built without extraordinary financial wealth.
Ultimately, this is your life, and the choices are yours to make.
