Posted by Sir Four at 8:11pm Apr 25 '05A lot of people, when they think of capitalism, think of selling their labor at a value the market demands in exchange for payment from someone who needs their labor.
That's a sucker's game.
People who "get" capitalism would not even consider building their lives around this philosophy. The idea is to get as many suckers following that path as you can while you pursue true riches. People who "get" capitalism - rich people - tap into perpetual wealth streams. One example would be investments, be they in real estate, the stock market, or whatever. Another example would be ownership of intellectual properties, be they patents, media content, etc. Another example would be sitting at the top of a corporate pyramid skimming profits off the labor of others.
One area where I can make my point very obvious is in the web design industry. Let's say I, computer programmer, am hired at the current market rate to build a website for Company X. This website will take me 2 months to write. I am paid for those two months of work. When two months are over, Company X has no further obligation to me. The website I wrote for them will begin to make profits for them in the next month. And the month after that. And the month after that. Company X has just added a perpetual revenue stream to their assets. While I have added two months' worth of salary to my bank account, and I'm out looking for work again, looking for a Company Y to compensate me for my labor.
What I should be doing is creating perpetual revenue streams for myself. You will never get rich working for someone else. Let me repeat that because it is so important. You will never get rich working for someone else. You will forever be a cog in a much larger machine that exists to make other people rich. If you have some useful competency in a particular area, go into business for yourself. Build your own perpetual revenue stream. And when you can, diversify. Invest in stocks. Invest in real estate. Hire suckers to work under you at "fair market wages" so that they create something which adds to your profits. This is how you play the capitalist game. It's not about the old cliche of an honest day's pay for an honest day's work. It's about building a little empire and getting a little rich, then reinvesting and building a larger empire and getting even more rich. If you are, let's say, 10 years out of college and you're still selling your labor for that "fair market price" to some employer, then you don't "get" it and you're not going to win at capitalism.
That's a sucker's game.
People who "get" capitalism would not even consider building their lives around this philosophy. The idea is to get as many suckers following that path as you can while you pursue true riches. People who "get" capitalism - rich people - tap into perpetual wealth streams. One example would be investments, be they in real estate, the stock market, or whatever. Another example would be ownership of intellectual properties, be they patents, media content, etc. Another example would be sitting at the top of a corporate pyramid skimming profits off the labor of others.
One area where I can make my point very obvious is in the web design industry. Let's say I, computer programmer, am hired at the current market rate to build a website for Company X. This website will take me 2 months to write. I am paid for those two months of work. When two months are over, Company X has no further obligation to me. The website I wrote for them will begin to make profits for them in the next month. And the month after that. And the month after that. Company X has just added a perpetual revenue stream to their assets. While I have added two months' worth of salary to my bank account, and I'm out looking for work again, looking for a Company Y to compensate me for my labor.
What I should be doing is creating perpetual revenue streams for myself. You will never get rich working for someone else. Let me repeat that because it is so important. You will never get rich working for someone else. You will forever be a cog in a much larger machine that exists to make other people rich. If you have some useful competency in a particular area, go into business for yourself. Build your own perpetual revenue stream. And when you can, diversify. Invest in stocks. Invest in real estate. Hire suckers to work under you at "fair market wages" so that they create something which adds to your profits. This is how you play the capitalist game. It's not about the old cliche of an honest day's pay for an honest day's work. It's about building a little empire and getting a little rich, then reinvesting and building a larger empire and getting even more rich. If you are, let's say, 10 years out of college and you're still selling your labor for that "fair market price" to some employer, then you don't "get" it and you're not going to win at capitalism.