“Wanting money” isn’t the same as being “money-motivated.” Everyone wants more money. The difference between simply “wanting money” and being “motivated” by money is the willingness to take the actions necessary to get it.
Wanting Money
People that only want money aren’t willing to do the work necessary.
You want quality of life? You don’t want to get up early and work until late in the evening? You want to work as few hours as possible so you can spend time at home with your family? You want to work someplace cool enough that you are allowed to bring your dog?
Fine. It’s a wonderful life. But you aren’t going to make a lot of money.
Don’t let this message be lost on you, my Millennial friends. Money comes with trade-offs, trade-offs many in your generation are proudly unwilling to make.
Money-Motivated
The amount of money you earn is directly proportional to the value that you create for other people. Little value, little money. Massive value, massive money.
The creating value part is all about hustle. It’s about doing the work that other people avoid. It’s about getting up early, staying up late, grinding out the work, getting on airplanes, and oftentimes, missing your family something awful.
The more people you serve, the more money you make. The more people that benefit from your work, the more you earn. Those who are money driven understand this principle and take relentless action to align with it.
Money isn’t everything. People who are motivated by money and make it their master instead of their servant are never truly happy. However, if you are motivated by money and want to earn it, it won’t come to you easily (except maybe through luck). If you are driven enough to work harder than others are willing to, creating more value for more people, then money will find its way to you.
Questions
Be honest. Are you money-motivated or do you just want more money?
If money is motivating you, what actions are you taking that you wouldn’t otherwise take?
What could you do to create more value for more people?
Are you really doing all that you can to produce the financial results you want?