Food for Thought: What we earn, what we do

Life always presents us with interesting scenarios and those often provide opportunities for thought and learning. For example, several years ago after we'd moved into our new house, we had a new riding lawn mower delivered with a large attachment that hooks onto it and sucks the grass up and into a container. I think they called it a grass catcher...

Now, you have to know that I have, and I can't stress this enough: ABSOLUTELY NO MECHANICAL ABILITY WHATSOEVER!! So I did what any normal guy like me would do: I paid my then 14-year-old boy to put it together for me. He got ten bucks, I got a grass catcher - we were both happy!

An hour after giving him the task, he came into my office and announced that he was done. I promptly handed him ten bucks and he said, "I can't believe that I just got paid $10 for doing something I like to do." To which I said, "No, you got paid $10 for doing something I don't like to do."

Well, that got me to thinking about who gets paid what in our society. Think about it for a minute:

Doing things that others could do but don't want to do will get you paid very little. Things like garbage collection. That will get you $18-30,000 a year.

Doing things that others could do with a little effort and education but choose not to do will get you paid more. Things like tax preparation. That will get you $60-120,000 a year.

Doing things that others could do, but would require a lot of effort and education and so they choose not to do will get you paid quite a bit. Jobs like being an attorney or a doctor come to mind. That will get you $80-750,000 a year.

Doing things that others can't do but would like to do will get you paid a lot! Things like being able to dunk a basketball, hit a 95 mile an hour fastball over a fence or throw a football 60 yards to a man running a 4.2 forty come to mind. That will get you from $400,000 to $25 million a year.

Have you ever given thought to why you earn what you earn and how it is related to what others are able and/or willing to do? It is insightful because if you want to increase your revenue, you can just tweak what you provide to others based on what they are willing to pay for it.

Chew on that... I know I am.

You Are Made for Success!
Chris Widener

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