virgin islands scene

I am long on ideas, but short on time. I expect to live to be only about a hundred.
-- Thomas Alva Edison
 

 

Saturday, November 11, 1995

Creating Wealth

So many people get hung up on trying to “get money.” That is not the way to wealth. First of all, you don’t just “get” money. You exchange something of value for money, if you want money. Money, however, is not what anyone wants. What we want are the things that we can exchange the money for.

The way to wealth is to create something valuable that has not ever existed before. This can be tangible or intangible, it doesn’t really matter. All that matters is that it is valuable. What do I mean by valuable? I mean that it is valued by other people who are willing to exchange their own things of value in order to receive the benefits of what you have created.

You can create a product, a place, a concept, a work or art, a network of people, whatever. Most likely your creation will be a combination of things. And creation does not necessarily imply “creativity” in the sense that we normally think of it. Building something is creating, even if you’re not the one who originally thought of it.

The point is, you cannot “get” rich, unless you are lucky enough to receive an inheritance or win the lottery. To create wealth, you must create value. One of the very best ways to create value is to solve problems. The world is full of opportunities to create value and wealth -- and these opportunities come disguised as problems.

Look around you. Opportunity is everywhere. There is plenty of abundant wealth just waiting to be created.

— Ralph Marston

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Copyright ©1995 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. All Rights Reserved. The Daily Motivator is provided for your personal, non-commercial use only. Other than personal sharing, please do not re-distribute without permission.