We all have our thoughts about money and the market. Myths that we believe in, that we were told to believe in from a young age and that have misled us ever since. Works the same with other facets of life. How the world works is a big one. Maybe we were told that people are good or just go to school and get good grades and treat people with kindness and all will work out in the world. Or a great many other lies.
The problem is when people take their myths out of childhood and continue to believe in them. There are many market myths out there, some big ones not affecting you personally so much, some that are affecting every day of your life. There’s the myth that the stock market has anything to do with the health of the economy. There’s the federal reserve helps and not harms the economy. There’s capitalism ensures that the best of all things rises to the top. And a great many more.
But those probably aren’t holding you back in your own life, they’re most likely not affecting your bottom dollar on a day to day basis. So let’s address one that is. I’ve talked before about how certain skills are more likely to make money than others. For example I think everyone should learn sales, marketing, and copywriting. The money making skills as I call them. You learn those skills and you can apply them to a wide field to make money. And if you just want to make money then sales is the field I’d recommend.
The Myth Of Making Money & Merit
But say you want to make money doing something else. Maybe you have a craft or a trade that you enjoy or at least enjoy enough to want to make money at it. Nothing wrong with that, that can be a very smart and viable option. Granted you should still study sales, marketing, and copywriting but still crafts and trades especially are great ways to make money when you do them right. But here’s the problem that many run into, a belief that holds them back from making money.
Many of us have this idea that merit is rewarded in the marketplace. We grew up with myths that when people are free to choose the product they naturally choose the best and therefore the marketplace just keeps producing the best and/or better stuff to compete. This is a myth and has little to no correlation with reality. The marketplace rewards what is marketed the best. And with human psychology being what it is, it’s very easy to manipulate what sells and what doesn’t.
But this leads to people spinning their wheels and never making money. They’re sitting there thinking “If I can find a way to make my product or service better, I’ll make more money.” they think that if they just get better at their service or make a product that has more merit than another they’ll make more money. So they get caught up in trying to be the best or even better at what they do. When they’d be much better served by being just “good enough” but then learning to sell, sell, sell.
The Market Doesn’t Reward Merit
It rewards manipulating people’s psychology to get them to think you’re the best. Sure the product/service needs to work but it in no way, shape, or form needs to be the best. As a matter of fact being the best will probably hold you back. Being the best isn’t the best use of your time in the marketplace. Sure that’s not what we like, and some would rather cling to myths about the market then live in the reality of it, and make money from that reality. But such is life. The market doesn’t reward merit it rewards good marketing and sales.
If you want to become excellent at something let that thing be your hobby not your career. If you try to be excellent in your craft/trade/widget then you’ll end up making less money. Remember there is little to no correlation between money and merit. Have the thing you’re good at and want to perfect (hobby) and then have the thing that you make money from. Don’t believe in an idealized version of the market, understand the market for what it actually is.
Not the idealized version you’ve been sold. It’s funny I remember reading Dan Kennedy and him talking about if you want to make money you’ll have to disabuse yourself of many negative beliefs regarding capitalism and the “free market” and the like. And he’s right. But at the same time you can’t drink too much from the coolaid or that’ll keep you from making money as well. Nothing is perfect and very little is as good and rosy as its defenders make it seem. See things for what they are, not what ideologically motivated people want them to be. As always the truth will set you free.
If anything I said here interests you I’d highly recommend you check out The Ultimate Alpha Collection which is a compilation of 16 of my books for the price of 5. It covers everything from being a man to making money to getting the right mindset to getting girls to fighting and more and is a resource no man should be without. Pick up your copy today!
-Charles Sledge
