Easy Money

I was once in a band called âEasy Moneyâ™ because the money we made was,⦠âeasy money.â™

On thinking about it recently I thought others might benefit from WHY it was easy money, and how you too can make easy money, even if you donâ™t play in a band or have no desire to.

On examination, there appear to be certain qualities to making easy money. None of these are hard to get (or else it wouldnâ™t be âeasy moneyâ™, now would it?). So, stay with me for a few minutes, and let me share with you how to make easy money.

One: Do the constructive things you naturally LOVE to do. Go ahead and dive into learning what you REALLY want to know.

Two: Find someone, or groups of people, that value what you love to do anyway, and that are willing to pay you for it.

Three: Do what you love to do anyway, for these people, and collect the money!!

Now, that may seem overly simplistic, but it really isnâ™t. Upon examination, this is EXACTLY what I did. And this process can be used to make you WEALTHY (which Iâ™ll explain).

A long time ago, even before high school, I enjoyed playing piano a little, but one of my brothers is the one who turned my on to jazz, and the idea that you could just âmake upâ™ your own music, and that this is what some musicians were doing. This was enjoyable to me. It hooked me. And, in different periods of my life, I went through passionate learning spurts with music. I made some musician friends, and weâ™d put together little bands. And then after awhile we figured out that we could make some money doing this, which we did. But note this please: Itâ™s the fact that I had EASILY (meaning, on my own volition, happily, with no one âtwisting my arm to do itâ™) learned what I needed to know that made the âdoingâ™ of it so easy. Hence, when I got paid to do it, it was âEASY MONEY.â™ In other words, I didnâ™t FEEL like I was working for it at all. (The joke weâ™d all say is, âthe work is in setting up and taking down the equipment.â)

Let me mention, in another way, a key component to âeasy money getting.â™

Joyful Competence: There are things that youâ™ve learned, that youâ™ve loved learning, and that you are now probably pretty good at.

What you already KNOW could be turned into âeasy money.â™ Let me give another simple illustration. There was a neighborhood kid whose father had given the chore of mowing their lawn. So, as with anything, if you do it awhile you get good at it. And this kid actually didnâ™t mind doing it. And then what occurred to him was that he might go and mow other peopleâ™s lawns for a little money, which he did. But then, he also took it one step further. When he got to where he was mowing several lawns, he got a couple friends of his that wanted a little extra money, and he taught them how to mow certain of his âclientsâ™ lawns. He paid them a little less than what the client paid him (i.e., he paid himself a commission) and so made even more money. Everybody was happy. The friends made a little money, the clients got nice cut lawns, and the kid made money when he was cutting lawns and when he wasnâ™t even cutting lawns.

You Donâ™t Need To Know It All: Something about doing something for money. We tend to think we have to be really expertly knowledgeable. But take it from me. You can be pretty amateurish in some cases, and youâ™ll still be able to make money. Of course, if you somehow get really good at something, itâ™s likely that youâ™ll be able to command more money. Let me explain this more.

When you go to see someone with a certain title â doctor, lawyer, mechanic, accountant, etc. â what you expect is that the person really KNOWS what they are doing. But let me tell you the reality of it. Sure, sometimes with a title a person knows quite a bit about something, but they DO NOT KNOW IT ALL. Have you ever thought about the fact that when doctors do what they do, itâ™s called PRACTICING medicine? And that lawyers have Law PRACTICES? You see, virtually anyone doing anything is PRACTICING the thing they do. Scientists practice science, artist practice art, teachers practice teaching, ministers practice ministering, secretaries practice secretary-ing, salespeople practice selling, dishwashers practice dishwashing, and million dollar basketball players practice the game of basketball.

I want to give you one more example of someone who turned âdoing what they loved anywayâ™ into easy money.

There was a certain lady with a growing family to feed, but they didnâ™t make a lot of money. So, one of the things she did was she figured out how to make several tasty meals with hamburger. Then, she got the idea that maybe she could put together a little recipe book and try to sell it. So, she put together a little âThirteen Great Hamburger Mealsâ™ (or something like that) book, and advertised it Direct Mail (this was back in the 60s). Her book hit and made her over a hundred thousand dollars, i.e., easy money.

Another story: Young Anthony grew up fairly poor. So poor in fact that he remembers very distinctly one Thanksgiving, when people brought his family food and can goods, and without this charitable donation they woudlnâ™t have had any Thanksgiving meal. His poverty, and his love for his family, moved him to want to become rich. He thought âit doesnâ™t have to stay like thisâ™ and so, before he was out of high school, he had read over 500 books on the subject of getting rich and being happy. Even in high school, he became someone his peers would turn to, because he seemed to be someone who could help them deal with the problems they were having.

Somewhere along the line, he decided to turn this love, passion and knowledge into a way of living, and now we know him as Tony Robbins.

Back for a moment to the idea of âpracticing.â™ Do you know what successful business people do? They practice the art of putting together successful businesses. Why? Well, the ones who are genuine, they do it because they LOVE to do it. Want an example of someone who genuinely love the world of business, investing and finances? Think William Buffet, or Bill Gates. Or, do you think these billionaire go to work, day after day, long hours, etc., because they need the money? My Point: When you REALLY LOVE what you do, you will naturally get pretty good at it. AND: When you do what you love and make money at it too, it will be EASY MONEY because the money is secondary to your love. (But donâ™t forget: Even these fellows donâ™t know EVERYTHING about what they do.)

Point To Remember: Just because you LOVE what you do AND it has value for others, does NOT mean you will actually make any easy money doing it. You will also have to find the people or persons that (1) can benefit from what you do, and (2) are willing to pay you for it. (But also realize this: If you donâ™t like looking for these people, there are certain persons who will do the looking for you. They are called AGENTS.*)

(*And if you like finding people with talent and skills, and like putting them into positions where they get paid for using the skills and talents they love to use, you might just love being an AGENT.)

Another story about easy money: There was a certain fellow who couldnâ™t find anything he loved to do. When he went to a job counselor he said, âI hate work. I would really rather be fishing.â But the counselor didnâ™t let this just blow by. She delved further. As it turned out, he really DID love fishing. In fact he loved deep sea fishing. Cut To The Chase: With her help he ends up buying a small fleet of deep sea fishing boats and servicing the tourist trade around him, and now he makes great money doing what he loves, and telling exciting fish stories to his clients.

Easy Money.

Phil

© 2003

One more âeasy moneyâ™ story. Can you speak English? Back in the mid eighties, I went to Japan with a little show band (a pretty miserable sounding, but very fun group of musicians). And when I was there I met a few Americanos teaching English. No special degrees. (I think one said you had to have a two year AA degree, but there were ways around this.) And here they were, some of them getting paid $50 an hour to just converse in English to Japanese businessmen and women. There was so much business, they would reach the limit of who they could teach and then up the ante, charging $60 and $70 and more per hour. I donâ™t know if itâ™s still like this, but here were these people, making money âjust talkingâ™ and listening and giving a few pointers in how to say this or that word. Some even had six months free rent, and they were traveling and living in this exotic land, and getting PAID for all this. Now,⦠to me THAT was easy money.

As someone has said, âIf you do what you really LOVE doing, youâ™ll never have to work a day in your life.â

Hi Phil
Your message really struck a chord with me. I first posted to this board a year ago with a message of hopelessness and despair. I was in debt, had lost my job and didn't know which way to turn. You, Rebecca and a few other members helped me more than you know with your advice. I was able to find a partime job in financial planning (somehting I love to do). I then started making and selling silk pillows (somehting I love to do). I love to paint, so I started painting again and selling my work. I love to cook and entertain, so I was asked to host international students and get paid for their stay in my home. I now have four students living with me, and the demand has been so great (apparently my Homestay is famous) that I have become an agent for local homestay host families. I get paid for my work. So to summarise, I am getting paid for actually 'working' four hours, three days a week. These are my Financial planning hours, and the rest of my time is free for me to do what I love and get paid for it. I also love playing around on my computer, and I am now in the process of setting up two websites which have the potential to bring in a vast sum of money. I do what I love and get paid for it!!!

Blessings to you all!

Rose

Rosie,

It sounds WONDERFUL!!. Please keep us posted as to how things continue to develop with you.

Phil