Alain Guillot

Life, Leadership, and Money Matters

Working hard will not make you Rich

The “How to get Rich” half-truths (and the truth!)

You probably have been told by society and maybe by your parents, that if you want to make lots of money, you have to work hard and get some kind of degree.

And working hard and getting a diploma helps a lot but that’s not the whole story.

In many cases, working hard and having some fancy degree are only small factors that can get you closer to wealth, but there are other more important ingredients in the formula to make money.

Working hard on its own is not the answer.

Many of you have probably heard of the person who works several jobs and still struggles to pay their bills. That could be a backer, an Uber driver, a teacher, or a nurse. All these people work long hours, yet most of them are far from becoming wealthy.

Being intelligent and having many degrees is also not the answer. If that was the case, all college professors would be millionaires.  

I think that the determinant factors to have a lot of money are:

  • Being  willing to take a risk,

  • Knowing how to use leverage

  • Being able to tell a good story And

  • Having a little bit of luck.

Let’s talk about luck for a second. Just by living in North America we are in the top 1% of income earners globally, so let’s recognize our privileged position.

Now, if you want to have lots of money by North America standards, you will need to create a business. Very few people become wealthy by having a regular job. Yes, if you work for Google, or Apple, or any of these big corporations, your salary can make you a millionaire quite fast, but most will never get an opportunity to work for any of those big companies. . 

My tip for you is: If you want to have lots of money, you have to create a business. 

Not too many people will have the courage to create their own business,  and once a person created their own business, their chances of success are small, that’s why most people have a regular day job, but if you create your own business, and you succeed, you could have more money than you could ever spend in a lifetime. 

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