Everyone wants the secret. You've seen the ads—guys leaning against rented Lamborghinis telling you that a "simple three-step system" is the only thing standing between you and a seven-figure bank account. It's exhausting. Honestly, the reality of how to make a lot of money is way more boring than the TikTok gurus suggest, but it’s also a lot more attainable if you actually understand how value works in a modern economy.
Money isn't a reward for hard work. If it were, construction workers would be the wealthiest people on the planet. Instead, money is a social credit note given to you when you provide something people want but don't know how to get for themselves.
The Brutal Math of Scalability
You can't get rich trading your time for dollars. There are only 24 hours in a day. Even if you’re a high-end lawyer billing $500 an hour, you eventually hit a ceiling. To break through, you need leverage. This isn't just a buzzword; it’s the fundamental mechanic of wealth.
Think about Navel Ravikant’s philosophy on leverage. He breaks it down into four types: labor, capital, code, and media. Labor is the oldest form—having people work for you. It’s messy and hard to manage. Capital is better; money working for you is much more efficient than humans. But the "new" leverage is where the real explosions happen. Code and media.
Software doesn't sleep. A YouTube video doesn't charge you overtime. When you build a piece of software or create a digital asset, the cost of replicating it is basically zero. That's the gap where the massive profits live.
Why Most People Fail Before They Start
Most people focus on "saving" their way to wealth. Don't get me wrong, being frugal is fine, but you can only cut your expenses to zero. Your upside, however, is theoretically infinite. If you’re spending all your mental energy trying to save $4 on a latte, you aren't spending that energy figuring out how to increase your income by $10,000 a month.
Focusing on the offense is key.
Real wealth usually comes from ownership. This is a point Thomas Piketty hammered home in Capital in the Twenty-First Century. He argued that the return on capital ($r$) is generally greater than the rate of economic growth ($g$). Basically, if you own the assets, you’re winning. If you’re just earning a wage, you’re playing a losing game against inflation.
Understanding Asymmetric Risk
If you want to know how to make a lot of money, you have to look for bets where the downside is small but the upside is capped only by the size of the market. This is what venture capitalists do. They know most of their investments will go to zero. They don't care. They’re looking for the one "unicorn" that returns 1,000x.
💡 You might also like: Class A Berkshire Hathaway Stock Price: Why $740,000 Is Only Half the Story
You can apply this to your own life.
Writing a book is asymmetric risk. It takes time (the downside), but it could sell a million copies (the upside). Starting a side hustle on weekends is asymmetric. Buying a lottery ticket? That's just bad math.
The goal is to position yourself in the path of "positive black swans." These are unexpected events that result in massive gains. You can't predict them, but you can make sure you're in a position to catch them when they happen. This means staying in the game. It means not blowing your entire savings on a single "sure thing" crypto coin that some influencer shilled.
High-Income Skills vs. Low-Value Tasks
Not all skills are created equal. You could be the world's fastest data entry clerk, but you’ll still be replaced by a simple Python script or an AI agent.
What's valuable right now?
- High-stakes sales and negotiation. Machines can’t build deep trust yet.
- Complex problem solving in legacy systems. Companies pay through the nose for people who can bridge the gap between old tech and new tech.
- Specific knowledge. This is knowledge you can’t be trained for. If the society can train you, it can train someone else, and replace you. Specific knowledge is found by pursuing your genuine curiosity and passion rather than whatever is hot this year.
The Power of Boring Businesses
We often look at tech founders, but have you looked at the person who owns five HVAC companies in a mid-sized city? They are likely pulling in millions.
There is a huge movement right now called "Search Funds" or "Micro-PE" (Private Equity). Younger entrepreneurs are buying "boring" businesses—laundromats, car washes, roofing companies—from retiring Baby Boomers. These businesses have cash flow, they have customers, and they usually have terrible technology. By simply adding online booking, better SEO, and modern CRM systems, you can double the value of the business in a couple of years.
Codie Sanchez is a great person to look up if you’re interested in this. She talks about "unsexy" businesses all the time. It's not glamorous, but the margins are incredible.
📖 Related: Getting a music business degree online: What most people get wrong about the industry
The Psychology of the Long Game
Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world for a reason. But it’s not just for money; it applies to your reputation and your relationships too.
In the beginning, nothing happens. You work, you save, you invest, and the needle barely moves. It feels like you’re failing. This is the "Valley of Disappointment." Most people quit here. But wealth is back-loaded. The gains you make in year 15 will be ten times the gains you made in year one, even if you’re doing the same amount of work.
You've got to be patient.
Buffett didn't make the vast majority of his wealth until after his 50th birthday. Think about that. Most of his legendary status is just a result of him not dying and not selling.
Practical Steps to Actually Get Started
First, audit your time. If you’re spending 20 hours a week on entertainment but you’re stressed about money, you have a priority problem, not a money problem.
- Kill your high-interest debt. You can't out-invest a 24% APR credit card. It’s mathematically impossible for most people.
- Build a "Runway." Give yourself six months of living expenses. This isn't just for emergencies; it's "f-you" money. It gives you the power to quit a soul-crushing job or take a risk on a new venture without starving.
- Identify your leverage point. Are you going to code? Are you going to create content? Are you going to buy an existing business? Pick one and stick to it for at least two years.
- Ignore the "noise." The stock market will swing. People will get rich on meme coins. Your neighbor will get a raise. None of that matters. Focus on your own output.
The Reality of "Passive Income"
Let’s be real: passive income is rarely passive at the start. It takes an immense amount of "active" work to build a "passive" engine.
Whether it’s rental properties, a dividend portfolio, or a digital product business, you are front-loading the effort. If someone tells you that you can make $10k a month by doing nothing starting tomorrow, they are lying to you. They are likely trying to sell you a course on how to make $10k a month.
Real passive income comes from owning things that provide value even when you aren't there. That requires building a system.
👉 See also: We Are Legal Revolution: Why the Status Quo is Finally Breaking
A Note on Networking
You’ve heard "your network is your net worth." It's a cliché because it's true. But don't "network" by asking for favors. Network by providing value. If you want to meet someone successful, find a problem they have and solve it for free.
Show, don't tell.
If you're a designer, send them a redesigned version of their landing page. If you're a writer, send them three ideas for their next newsletter. This puts you in the top 1% of people reaching out to them.
Final Actionable Insights
Making a lot of money is a skill like any other. You wouldn't expect to play Carnegie Hall after two weeks of piano lessons.
Start by increasing your "income floor." Get a better job or a promotion by becoming indispensable. Then, take the excess cash and buy or build assets. Avoid lifestyle creep. If you get a $10,000 raise, your life shouldn't change. That $10,000 should go straight into your leverage engine.
The most successful people I know don't have a "get rich quick" story. They have a "I worked on this for five years and then it finally exploded" story.
Position yourself. Buy back your time. Focus on ownership. That is the only real way to wealth.
Next Steps for Implementation:
- Evaluate Your Leverage: Look at your current daily tasks. Are you doing "linear" work (1 hour = $X) or "leveraged" work (1 hour = potential for infinite return)? Aim to shift 20% of your time to leveraged activities this month.
- Identify Your Specific Knowledge: Write down three things you know how to do that feel like play to you but look like work to others. This is where your highest earning potential lies.
- Start an Asset Fund: Even if it's only $50 a week, automate a transfer into a separate account specifically for buying assets (stocks, real estate, or business equipment), not for savings or emergencies.
- Audit Your Circle: Find one person who is five years ahead of where you want to be. Follow their work, subscribe to their thinking, and look for ways to be useful to their ecosystem without asking for anything in return.