We get paid for bringing value to the marketplace. That is a simple statement of economics. We don’t get paid for the number of hours we work; we get paid for value.
Since that’s true, is it possible to become twice as valuable and make twice as much money in the same amount of time? The answer is: of course. Could you become three times more valuable than you are right now and make three times as much money in the same time? The answer is: of course. Could you become twenty times more valuable than you are right now to the marketplace and make twenty times as much money in the same time? The answer is: of course.
Becoming successful in America is like climbing a ladder. This ladder starts at minimum wage and reaches all the way to two hundred million dollars a year–and more. Why would the marketplace pay someone only minimum wage? The answer is, he or she is not very valuable to the marketplace. That person might be a valuable sibling, a valuable member of the family, a valuable member of the church, or a valuable citizen of the country. Of course, he or she is valuable in the sight of God. We’re all of equal value in the sight of God. But if you’re not very valuable to the marketplace, you won’t earn much money.
Why would the marketplace pay someone fifty dollars an hour? The answer is, evidently, he or she must be that valuable to the marketplace. Why would the marketplace pay someone five hundred dollars an hour? Evidently, he or she must be that valuable. Why would a company pay one person two hundred million for a year’s work? Evidently, this person must be very valuable.
Would any company pay one person two hundred million dollars? The answer is yes. If that person helped a company make four billion dollars, they would be more than happy to give him or her two hundred million dollars a year.
You can learn to increase your value to the marketplace. Mr. Shoaff taught me (Jim Rohn) how to climb this ladder, and here’s what he said: “Work harder on yourself than you do on your job.” That bit of economic philosophy changed my life.
Up until the age of twenty-five, I worked hard on my job and made a living. Starting at age twenty-five, I worked hard on myself, and I made a fortune. And I learned a valuable lesson: success is not something you pursue. Success is something you attract because of the person you become. What you pursue usually eludes you like the butterfly you can’t quite catch. But if you want to be successful, you must attract success by developing the skills and the appropriate mind-set. What you learn about the marketplace and its goods and services… that’s what’s valuable. The key to getting paid very well in the marketplace is to develop very valuable skills.
* Source: Leading an Inspired Life by Jim Rohn