Regardless of how we make money there are specific reasons why people get paid. Understanding why we get paid is crucial to understanding how to be prosperous.
Most shopping mall sales clerks get paid for their time. Their job is primarily to be there and ready to take care of customers if needed.
Managers get paid for making people do their job.
Executives get paid for directing the path of a company.
CEOs of publicly traded companies get paid for creating value for shareholders.
Entrepreneurs get paid for creating value for customers in a profitable way.
Soldiers get paid for following orders and completing objectives.
Plumbers get paid for fixing problems.
Doctors get paid for trying to fix people.
Blue collar workers get paid for physically working and being productive.
White collar workers get paid for thinking about how to solve problems.
Artists get paid to create things people want to see.
Writers get paid to write things people want to read.
Authors get paid for writing books people want to read.
Landlords get paid to provide housing for renters.
Businesses get paid for providing services and products for their customers.
Politicians get paid after winning elections.
Song writers get paid to write songs people want to hear.
Singers get paid to sing songs people want to hear.
Investors get paid for buying a good company’s stock at the right price and holding it while the company creates more perceived value for the shareholders over time.
Traders get paid for taking smart risks at the right time and get rewarded when they exit while profits are still there. Traders get paid to take on a risk at the right time that someone else does not want. A profitable trader is providing liquidity for someone exiting or entering a market at the wrong time. A profitable trader is primarily creating the value of liquidity for unprofitable traders in the long run.
We get paid to create value. The value of what we create determines how much money we can make. Know how and why you get paid so you can do more of it.