The Difference Between A Good Life And A Great One

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If you were born in a western country, you have a high chance of living a good life. Unlike the vast majority of people in human history, you have access to all the basics you need to survive. Unless something has gone terribly wrong in your life, you’re not going to go hungry or spend nights on the street. 

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A good life looks like this: you wake up in the morning, put on your work clothes, and head into the office. You do some hopefully stimulating work and then break for midday. Perhaps you’ll have a coffee with a colleague or go to the gym. Then you’ll continue with the rest of your day, spending time with your family in the evening. You know the drill. It’s the middle-class existence. 

There’s nothing innately wrong about living a life like this. You’re providing for your family, have plenty of income, and use your time productively. Nobody could reasonably ask any more of you. You’re “doing life” by anyone’s standard. 

But at the same time, it’s not a great life, is it? Nobody is going to remember what you did in a hundred years. You’ll disappear into the void of history, like ninety-nine percent of humanity, never to be spoken of again.

If you’ve never thought about the prospect of living a great life, you’re in luck. You can live out your days in ignorance, believing you’re doing what you should, never thinking about the possibilities available to you. But if you’ve got a sense that you’re more than just a worker bee, then you’re in for a world of pain. You know the difference between a good life and a great one. Living in a mediocre fashion will never be acceptable to you. 

A great life looks very different from a good one. Here, you’re moving beyond the basics, like looking after your family or paying the bills. You’re earning a lot of money. But more importantly, you’re doing something that fulfills your destiny. You’re providing value to thousands of people, and you’re getting a kick out of your life every day. You never watch the clock. Instead, you decide precisely how you want to spend your time. You’re the master of your destiny and a free agent who can pick and choose projects as you see fit. Nobody tells you what to do, except your clients and customers. You don’t work for the man – you are the man. 

Earning Big Money

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Earning big money requires a change in mindset. You need to stop thinking in terms of trading your time for cash and take a wholly different view. Billionaires aren’t just people who work harder than everyone else. Instead, they understand the economic system and the value of time. It is better to benefit from 1 percent of the output of a hundred people than it is to gain 100 percent from your own efforts. 

At root, earning big money isn’t about aiming to make a lot of money at all. Instead, it’s about finding a way to add value to others so that they willingly hand over their hard-earned cash.

Successful people aren’t just smart or business-orientated. Instead, they have a fundamental intuition about the game of life. They get the fundamental premise that passion is infectious, and that value comes from ideas, not just products. When they pursue something, they do so with the full conviction of their being. If the market doesn’t understand the benefits of their products, they make the case. They fight that battle, and they persevere until they win. Setbacks are nothing but learning opportunities – a chance to communicate better, 

Once you understand the fundamental mindset of the person who can earn big bucks, you’re well on your way to doing it. It’s not about optimizing your time or creating to-do lists. It’s not about being “alpha.” And it’s certainly not about wearing expensive clothes or watches. You have to become a force of nature, leaving behind your reservations and upbringing. Business is a battle, and you have to be prepared to do war. 

Leverage Others

While there are occasional exceptions, most people who live great lives leverage others' genius and productivity. They know that their time and energy are finite and that there’s a limit to the value that they can create in 24-hours. So, for that reason, they combine people and capital, paying each, and then creaming profits off the top. This action is the essence of business. It’s why Jeff Bezos is worth over $100 billion, and you’re not. 

Leveraging people is a win-win outcome too. You’re not exploiting anyone. Instead, you’re negotiating with employees and contractors, paying them more than they could earn were they to go it alone. In return, you’re providing them with the tools they need to create more value than they cost to employ. And, ultimately, that’s what creates your profitability. The extra value that your enterprise creates goes to you. Nobody else loses. 

A great life means seeking out people who can do excellent work for you and utilizing their talents. 

Build Your Personal Brand

Success begets success. It starts slowly, and each win is hard. Then over time, it begins to snowball. People learn more about you and get to know you. Your reputation begins to precede you, and people want to know more about what you do. Eventually, you become a well-known personality in your own right, and others actively seek you out. Soon it becomes easy to land major contracts. 

However, getting to that stage requires a lot of hard work and dedication, plus the help of people who know what they’re doing. That’s why so many budding entrepreneurs use an internet marketing consultant to get their brands off their ground. It pays to employ people who really know what they’re doing. It allows you to focus on the aspects for which you have expertise.

Don’t try to go it alone. See “making waves” as a critical part of your project to create a great life. You want people to perceive you as somebody capable of imparting great value. It doesn't have to be a cult of personality. Branding can work through your business too. But ensure that it’s there. That’s how you differentiate yourself from the competition – the millions of people out there looking to emulate you. 

The Biggest Difference Between A Good Life, And A Great One 

The most significant difference between a good life, and a great one, is, ultimately, how you feel, not the money you have in the bank. With enough work, saving, and investing, pretty much anyone can build wealth. But money is just a part of the story. It’s nice to have. But with genuine success comes the adoration of others, the chance to be an authority, and the proceeds of leadership. You get it all. 

With a good life, you’re limited by resources all the time. You’d like to bust out and live a completely different life of your choosing. But the necessity of paying the bills holds you back, preventing you from making decisive moves. A great life is nothing of the sort. Bills and taxes don’t even feature in your thinking. You have projects and goals, and you go for them. And every time you succeed, your life gets more significant. It’s a total thrill, and something you must try if you have the temperament. See it as an experiment. Don’t settle for the good. You know it’s not enough.