Is earning dough a skill that can be acquired or is it just pure luck?

[tgan3]

Justin Bieber sings some "baby" song on youtube and is a millionaire many times over while others work every day earning minimum wage. So what do you think? Is it possible that earning money is like developing a "skill" like hitting free throws maybe? More you practice, better you get, or is it totally based on fate?

[ILLsmak]

I think skill equals money in most cases, but there is a caveat. You have to be willing to bend. You gotta pay your dues and be a bitch.

So, the most skilled aren't always the highest paid because they won't. Basically, there is all of this money in the world and not a lot of "true talent." Therefore, I believe it is worth more than money. I think a lot of people do as well. If you have something unique, you decide the price for it. The world doesn't know the difference between what is pretty good and what is amazing, for the most part. At least, the pop world that is giving out huge amounts of money.

Anxiety, stubbornness, etc, all of those things impact a person's ability to make money. That's why it seems like a lot of the dudes who get paid are actually just money whores. They may have some talent, too, though.

-Smak

[GimmeThat]

I think skill equals money in most cases, but there is a caveat. You have to be willing to bend. You gotta pay your dues and be a bitch.

So, the most skilled aren't always the highest paid because they won't. Basically, there is all of this money in the world and not a lot of "true talent." Therefore, I believe it is worth more than money. I think a lot of people do as well. If you have something unique, you decide the price for it. The world doesn't know the difference between what is pretty good and what is amazing, for the most part. At least, the pop world that is giving out huge amounts of money.

Anxiety, stubbornness, etc, all of those things impact a person's ability to make money. That's why it seems like a lot of the dudes who get paid are actually just money whores. They may have some talent, too, though.

-Smak

Spot on.

Skills CAN be developed. Just even think about Speech disorders, and even treat speaking as a skill, and you realize that there are trainings or "therapies" out there that helps someone to get over that hump and perfect such skill.

I think while it may be easy to confuse skills with natural ability, I would even add that because of certain natural abilities, it actually becomes difficult for someone to hone all skills.

How is this possible you say? Because the fact is that some people can be extremely talented in certain areas in which might cause them to lack the ability to pay attention to certain "skills" in which requires focus. Something that might involve them to forget their teachings in other aspects, in order to sharpen up the skill in another.


As for getting paid because of your skills.

I guess you can think of the minimum wage as the evaluation of the society place on its "education system as well as the state of civilization"

under the assumption that Everyone should be able to get a minimum wage job.


Anything beyond that, involves talent, being overrated/under perform, being paid based on relationshinal management etc.


Good/Great question, difficult to completely answer over the internet.

[Breezy]

Think of earning money like a value Pyramid. Down at the bottom where it's widest are things like flipping burgers or Working a cash register. Virtually everyone can do it. It's only just beyond the ability of a trained monkey. So those kind of jobs pay the least. If as you get older you improve your ability and skill and make what you can do rarer you get paid more money. Learning to Drive a semi takes some skill, Working construction takes some skill and some physical ability... Now your moving up the pyramid. A Teacher: that takes 4 years of school so you get a little more for that...... Engineer: The list of people who can do that is getting smaller so your making quite a bit more money now.....

Think about Lebron, Who else can do what Lebron does? No one, Just him. So he is quite rich.... It goes like this all the way to the top with guys like Bill gates and Steve Jobs doing something that everyone wants but no one else does.

Short Version: Just think about who else can do what you do. If the answer is no one, Your rich, if the answer is everyone with a functional body. Your making minimum wage.

[DonD13]

there are always exceptions but the vast majority will end up about as rich as the parents are

[nathanjizzle]

anyone can learn how to make money. the first thing they need to realize is that money is out there to be had. second thing is that they are going to have to sacrifice time energy and money to make that money. Starting a business is hardwork and you need to have an understanding of how to keep it alive and well. some people are more content with just having a regular job and salary which is fine too.

[GimmeThat]

anyone can learn how to make money.

now, would you think that it was "consciousness" that our ancestor had helped us in turning all goods to be exchangable by some paper with a stamp on called money?

talk about an economic lesson.

[DukeDelonte13]

It can be both.

[russwest0]

earning money just takes intuitive thinking, the know how, and hustle.

it's a lot easier if you are in an apprentice role learning from someone in the master role. for many rich people that is their parents. it doesn't have to be for you though.

[SCREWstonRockets]

well when theres places where minumum wage is $15/hour, you could call it luck.

[GimmeThat]

earning money just takes intuitive thinking, the know how, and hustle.

it's a lot easier if you are in an apprentice role learning from someone in the master role. for many rich people that is their parents. it doesn't have to be for you though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0GMzQwO2l0

[~primetime~]

It can be both.
It IS both

[~primetime~]

there are always exceptions but the vast majority will end up about as rich as the parents are
The top 5% had to start somewhere...Gates had to make Windows, Cuban had to start Broadcast.com, Hilton had to start a hotel chain...etc

Every family in high society had a starting point where someone worked hard to turn everyone after him into a trust fund baby.

[Balla_Status]

I'd like to find a way to do my own thing at some point. This whole selling my time to the machine thing isn't too fun anymore. I just want to travel...I figure if I do my own thing and live in countries where it's cheap, I'm good.

[Droid101]

Every family in high society had a starting point where someone worked hard to turn everyone after him into a trust fund baby.
This world isn't like that world any more. Upward mobility is much less likely than it used to be.

[MavsSuperFan]

Besides winning the lottery and inheritance (Eg. Paris Hilton)

All rich people have some skill.
Maybe the skill is something as vulgar as just being marketable/controversial, but it is a skill none the less. eg. if nothing else someone like the situation is not boring.

Bieber knows how to appeal to little white girls from 8-16 (there was a period all of my nieces were crazy about him). Some of these girls are from affluent backgrounds (their parents have disposable income he can take) and thus he is a valuable commodity.

[~primetime~]

This world isn't like that world any more. Upward mobility is much less likely than it used to be.
The Dot-Com Boom produced a ton of self made millionaires and even billionaires. The world has been in an economic rough patch as of late, but you're kidding yourself of you don't think another "boom" of some sort is in our future.

Near future too...I think 5 years from now the economy will resemble pre 9-11

[MavsSuperFan]

This world isn't like that world any more. Upward mobility is much less likely than it used to be.
I think his point is at one point maybe like 10 generations ago, someone in the family had to be successful.

Eg. Barron hilton and paris hilton are bums.

There grandfather started the hilton hotel chain and was a great business man

Eg. the Windsor family are leeches. Their ancestor conquered england.

Eg. Kim Jong Un is fat kid/ murderer/slaveowner. His grandfather Kim Il Sung, was a guerrilla commander and soldier and eventually a brutal dictator, but my point is his grandfather was an accomplished leader.

[MavsSuperFan]

I think skill equals money in most cases, but there is a caveat. You have to be willing to bend. You gotta pay your dues and be a bitch.

So, the most skilled aren't always the highest paid because they won't. Basically, there is all of this money in the world and not a lot of "true talent." Therefore, I believe it is worth more than money. I think a lot of people do as well. If you have something unique, you decide the price for it. The world doesn't know the difference between what is pretty good and what is amazing, for the most part. At least, the pop world that is giving out huge amounts of money.

Anxiety, stubbornness, etc, all of those things impact a person's ability to make money. That's why it seems like a lot of the dudes who get paid are actually just money whores. They may have some talent, too, though.

-Smak

Music is an artform, so its almost 100% subjective. If someone likes your music/artform you have talent to them.

Successful artists have marketable talents. Unsuccessful artists have either unmarketable talents, or their audience is not affluent enough to support them.

Eg. I am not a fan of non-english music. I am not a fan of rap music. I would never be arrogant enough to claim artists that dont appeal to me are not talented.

[PHX_Phan]

When it comes to extreme success, like top list actors and artists, that shit is all luck. Not saying talent isn't involved, but there are thousands of extremely talented artists and actors out there that will never get noticed, regardless of how much talent they have. You do not get equal returns on your efforts and talents.

Generally speaking, rich kids will stay rich and poor kids will stay poor. There will be exceptions, but that is the trend.

[GimmeThat]

I think his point is at one point maybe like 10 generations ago, someone in the family had to be successful.

Eg. Barron hilton and paris hilton are bums.

There grandfather started the hilton hotel chain and was a great business man





Damn High Maintenance people

[Droid101]

The Dot-Com Boom produced a ton of self made millionaires and even billionaires. The world has been in an economic rough patch as of late, but you're kidding yourself of you don't think another "boom" of some sort is in our future.

Near future too...I think 5 years from now the economy will resemble pre 9-11
I agree somewhat, but be real. You have to have some education and perhaps seed money to get in on that. Some people just don't have that opportunity. Rich people tend to just get richer.

I can't start a company without seed money, and unless I have parents to borrow from, it probably won't happen.

[MavsSuperFan]

http://www.businessinsider.com/richest-youtube-stars-2014-3?op=1

That is a list of guys that upload youtube videos and their estimated earnings from youtube.

I think a lot of people attribute their earnings to luck.

Eg. Pewdiepie is lucky any idoit can do what he does, upload footage of him playing video games.

This is true, but pewdiepie wasnt close to the first guy to upload game footage, and there are way more gaming channels. I have no idea why anyone would watch him, I checked out 1 of his vids once and stopped like 2 mins in, his screeching is unbearable to me.

But numbers are numbers, and he has an audience. He has monetized his audience. 99.99% of people who upload video game playing footage have like 6 views.

Another example is kim kardashian. She is not really my type, and I find her voice grating, like nails on a chalkboard. But she managed to get rich off a sex tape. Do you know how many girls try to get rich that way? Almost none succeed. Eg. Laurence fishburne's daughter, released a sex tape, she is doing low budget porn now.

I am not a fan of Dane Cook and Larry the cable guy. But they manage to make a great living off their "comedy" more power to them.

[~primetime~]

I agree somewhat, but be real. You have to have some education and perhaps seed money to get in on that. Some people just don't have that opportunity. Rich people tend to just get richer.

I can't start a company without seed money, and unless I have parents to borrow from, it probably won't happen.
being born with "seed money" is definitely a huge advantage in life, however there are plenty of examples out there of successful people that came from dirt.

15 Billionaires Who Were Once Dirt Poor (http://www.businessinsider.com/billionaires-who-came-from-nothing-2013-12?op=1)

^^^ that's an interesting read actually, never knew the founder of Starbucks grew up in the projects :eek:

[InfiniteBaskets]

I actually think technology has made it easier for the common man to produce creative content that can be consumed by the masses. I know a lot of people that have dropped out from my company to start developing apps on their own.

Fifteen or twenty years ago only business entities like Nintedo or Sega could create videogames. Now go on steam and can find indie games selling in the millions.

[sundizz]

This world isn't like that world any more. Upward mobility is much less likely than it used to be.

The difference being that now every single person born in a developed world has a chance of having a reasonably high quality of life, just by doing the accepted path (skool -> college -> job).

So, while there were those opportunities back then, 99.5% of people ended up living life in what we would now consider subhuman standards (14+ hour work days, no guarantee of food, etc).

It's easy to be mediocre nowadays. Becoming a magnate of high society is almost impossible now without being born into wealth. Someone that has 20 million in the bank earns more in interest per year than 99% of people on Earth do working for a decade.

[MavsSuperFan]

The difference being that now every single person born in a developed world has a chance of having a reasonably high quality of life, just by doing the accepted path (skool -> college -> job).

So, while there were those opportunities back then, 99.5% of people ended up living life in what we would now consider subhuman standards (14+ hour work days, no guarantee of food, etc).

It's easy to be mediocre nowadays. Becoming a magnate of high society is almost impossible now without being born into wealth. Someone that has 20 million in the bank earns more in interest per year than 99% of people on Earth do working for a decade.
eh i would dispute this.

There are tons of people that go to school, do great and cant do shit with their degrees.

Further back in the day an average american could work a job at a factory and support 4+ kids and his wife on his salary. manufacturing is now a much smaller percentage of the economy. Nowadays people work service jobs.

Nowadays you basically need 2 incomes to support 1-2 kids. (also need college degrees or you are working minimum wage shit)

Inflation has outpaced the increase in wages for all americans other than the rich. most people are earning less buying power for their labor.

[tgan3]

Think of earning money like a value Pyramid. Down at the bottom where it's widest are things like flipping burgers or Working a cash register. Virtually everyone can do it. It's only just beyond the ability of a trained monkey. So those kind of jobs pay the least. If as you get older you improve your ability and skill and make what you can do rarer you get paid more money. Learning to Drive a semi takes some skill, Working construction takes some skill and some physical ability... Now your moving up the pyramid. A Teacher: that takes 4 years of school so you get a little more for that...... Engineer: The list of people who can do that is getting smaller so your making quite a bit more money now.....

Think about Lebron, Who else can do what Lebron does? No one, Just him. So he is quite rich.... It goes like this all the way to the top with guys like Bill gates and Steve Jobs doing something that everyone wants but no one else does.

Short Version: Just think about who else can do what you do. If the answer is no one, Your rich, if the answer is everyone with a functional body. Your making minimum wage.

Yes, I know..But I have this feeling that working life is 1000 times harder then school. In school, I could barely study or with minimal effort and still come up top in class. In work, (Especially that im in the sales line), everyone is trying to kick your ass, I am trying my best but still I feel like a nobody.

Take an example like trading stocks. You can't beat the market. The professional traders have all the tools and analysts working for them to deliver for them theoretical optimal results, or very near that.

School life = high school basketball (easy to dominate)
Working life = NBA Pros (Everyone is damm bloody good at what they do)

[ILLsmak]

Music is an artform, so its almost 100% subjective. If someone likes your music/artform you have talent to them.

Successful artists have marketable talents. Unsuccessful artists have either unmarketable talents, or their audience is not affluent enough to support them.

Eg. I am not a fan of non-english music. I am not a fan of rap music. I would never be arrogant enough to claim artists that dont appeal to me are not talented.

Nah cuz you always hear stories about dudes who didn't tour or had breakdowns... or in the NBA dudes like Royce White or, even AI.

What if Royce White was a GOAT talent? He's probably not, but the idea is not far so fetched that it couldn't happen.

Talent is something inside of self. Some people want to share it or have an easier time sharing it with the world. I've met and involved myself with many art-people and highly intelligence people. I can tell you for a fact the most talented are not the most successful. Talented people have baggage almost always.

The world can market Kanye West. It's not that hard to market someone with that much stuff behind them.

Shit, look at the numbers for people who have profoundly high IQs. Why is it that it plateaus, in terms of success? There is definitely something to the theory that talent doesn't matter (to the populace) after a certain point. So who are you gonna pay? The person who does what you want them to...

There's no governing body that says WAIT so and so is more talented... we can't give this guy millions! Or, even, so and so has worked harder. It's more about paying dues IMO. If you pay dues to the system, you will get paid. Assuming you have even a bit of talent.

-Smak