1/ How to get rich the right way
2/ Many people look at rich people and think "why am I not that rich?" or "that person must be really lucky" or some other envious thought.
3/ What they miss is that being rich is not in itself a virtue. Being rich is the result of something else.
4/ You could be rich because you inherited a lot of money, won the lottery, got a hot stock tip or found some sunken treasure by accident. That is, you could have gotten lucky.
5/ Or you could be rich because you ponzi-scammed a bunch of people, embezzled from your company, kidnapped some wealthy person or committed burglary. That is, you could have stolen.
6/ Or you could be rich because you created a business, provided a good or service, provided value to others in such a way as to get them to pay you. That is, you could have earned it.
7/ Most people don't distinguish between getting lucky, stealing or earning when thinking about how to get rich. Their envy of the rich is simply that they are rich. This is the wrong way to think about wealth.
8/ Wealth is the natural consequence of doing something that's valuable to society *and* capturing at least some of that value.
9/ Stealing from others or getting lucky really doesn't add anything to anyone. You are at best neutral, and at worst making the world worse. This is ultimately unsatisfying.
10/ The best way to wealth is to create value and what should be envied is what ultimately creates that value. The source of the wealth creation. We call these things virtues.
11/ Hard work, discipline, tenacity, patience, courage, wisdom, self-awareness, reliability, kindness, focus and honesty are just some of the virtues that can create value.
12/ There's too much emphasis on how to create an idea, or how to raise money, or marketing techniques or hiring the right people or expanding your network. That is, the techniques. There's a place for techniques, but they're really only useful once you have virtue.
13/ Too many people want techniques without virtue. They're the chess player looking to learn more openings while having terrible tactics and endgame. They're the baseball pitcher looking to learn how to throw a curveball without being able to throw straight.
14/ Work on your virtues and the rest comes much more naturally. Perhaps you'll get rich, perhaps you won't. What's certain is that if you do create value the right way and become rich, that will be a lot more satisfying and fulfilling than doing so another way. /fin
