I was raised in an area that is seen as being in the middle class. We never had trouble paying the rent or buying groceries. Every school year, we changed into a new set of clothes. In the driveway, there were two automobiles.

It was only after a few years, on a vacation to Jamaica, or a trip to Mexico (which is not far from my house in Southern California), that I told my dad we were wealthy. It would not go unheard. mostly because there were others who possessed substantially greater riches than we did.



At the high school I attended, the seniors had their own parking lot with pricey trucks and fancy automobiles like Porsches. It gave the parking lot of the teacher a sorry appearance.

All of this is to explain that, despite the occasional instance in which I thought we were fortunate, the majority of my childhood was spent feeling as though we were impoverished. I felt it even though we weren’t, as I wasn’t operating a Porsche.

All you desire is money when you feel poor, or at least poor in contrast. Growing up, money was something I thought about a lot. How I would use it if I had it. What I desired to purchase. and even what I had to accomplish to get it.

The solution is not money.

In actuality, it frequently only produces new difficulties. One of those difficulties is that spending money is quicker and easier than earning it. Money feels illusive in this way.

I want to share with you today a perspective that was given to me when I was first starting out in the workforce. And it completely altered the way I perceived money. It also altered my perspective on work, career, and my job.

It has to do with your valuable move skill.

Dennis Hall, my tutor at Berkeley Lab, was an extremely intelligent man. He really pulled me out of the work I was doing at the Lab and brought me over to his group to invest in me.; I’m not sure what he saw in me or why he did it.

Everything changed for me as a result. However, it all began with a conversation about my most useful ability.


What he said to me was this:


“Your ability to add value is your most valuable skill. People are going to have to pay for that. “


To understand it, I would need to think about it and talk about it for hours on end. Now that I’ve spent decades thinking about it, though, and the world has made this easier and more true than ever, let me try to explain it to you simply.

We all want to work smart, not hard, is what most of us say. However, we then put in many hours of hard labour. Correct?

We expect to be paid for our hard work. However, we are compensated for manual labour in that reality. We don’t consider it that way because we are in air-conditioned offices or our own homes. Furthermore, we associate manual labour with ditch digging. However, we work and are compensated for the hours that we put in.

To make money, we are investing our time and energy.

Value creation is our greatest asset. Since people will foot the bill for that.

• It might be a thought, written down.
• It might be an algorithm, that gets patented.
• It might be a course, that teaches skills.
• You might create a conference.

When you produce something of value—that is, something that other people find valuable—they are willing to pay for it. Moreover, customers are paying for the product rather than the labour.

My mother used to go to work if we needed anything extra when I was a child. She would find employment and use the additional cash she made to cover our expenses. That is how things were done.

But now, I can add value if I need more money. and market it. I can launch a new course, write an ebook, or offer coaching.

since adding value is my most valuable skill.

I am not working at my best when I forget that and exchange hours and effort for money.
After realizing this, I saw a shift in myself: I started to worry about money less and less. Rather, I was concerned that I was not maintaining the necessary skills to continue adding value. since I was aware of its significance and is to create value.

You don’t need money. You need a way to create value.