In today's society, the accumulation of wealth is no longer simply achieved by "learning a bit more knowledge", but rather depends on whether you have thoroughly studied the laws of making money.
Not making money is not because you haven't worked hard enough, but because your direction has gone astray.
"The Navarre Handbook", the author of this book, is one of the most successful investors in Silicon Valley. His birth was merely that of an Indian dishwasher. However, he managed to rise from humble beginnings to become a billionaire.
In this book, Navarre uses his own experiences to tell the world - why some people can turn things around in just three years, while others remain stuck in the same place for ten years. And, what methods should we use to achieve breakthroughs even faster for ourselves.
1、The truth of wealth
Navar pointed out in "Navar's Handbook" that the biggest drawback of school education is that it has turned learning into an end in itself, rather than a means.
We study for exams, for certificates, for grades, but very few people think about whether these things can really solve problems or earn money.
Many people spend several years taking tests, pursuing a doctorate, or a master's degree, but they have never actually studied "how to make oneself a person that the market is willing to pay for."
The essence of wealth is assets, not money.
Navar believes that wealth refers to something that can help you earn money even when you are sleeping, while money is merely a medium for exchange.
The upper limit of salary income is always limited by your time and energy, but the income limit of assets can be infinitely expanded.
In other words, selling your time always grows linearly, while owning assets may enable an exponential leap.
2、So how can we transform growth from linear growth to an exponential leap?
Naval has summarized three types of levers that can change the growth curve of one's life.
2.1 Labor leverage.
Let others do your work for you, but the essence is not "hiring more people", but establishing a replicable system.
For example, a commercial copywriter has a limited amount of writing capacity. But if you train and replicate 100 people, then have you written more articles? If you cannot replicate the technology and blindly hire more people, then won't the management costs eat up all the profits?
Therefore, establishing standardized processes and consolidating experience texts is very important. This is the key to making the team operate efficiently.
2.2 Capital leverage.
Making money with money is the oldest way to accumulate wealth. The difference lies in that smart people direct their capital to high-value areas rather than remaining in savings or low-return investments.
The power of capital leverage lies in its ability to be combined with other levers to multiply the effect. In the past, those who made money by selling their houses and those who were trapped by mortgage loans had two different outcomes，to master capital leverage is essentially a manifestation of cognitive realization.
Smart people all know how to cut their losses in time and not waste their time on low-return ventures.
2.3 Code and media leverage.
This is the most powerful amplifier in the Internet era. The marginal cost of code and content is almost zero. Once completed, they can be replicated and disseminated infinitely.
A useful software, a valuable article, or an influential video can all potentially become assets that generate continuous income.
A friend who was good at acquiring customers through Red Card Books content told me that she once had a hit post. She used that hit post to attract and close several clients. This is the revenue brought by a valuable article. It can be said that this is the exclusive dividend of the Internet era.
Therefore, it is recommended that everyone start a personal blog and learn writing, as this is the only lever and opportunity that ordinary people can grasp at a low cost.
3、The four-step framework for making money
3.1 Market demand verification
Observe how much cost the user is willing to invest to solve a certain problem.
Unmet pain points are the real opportunities.
First, list a few common problems that you can solve, and then test them with the minimum cost.
For example, create a simple landing page or a prototype product to see if there is any market response.
As a marketing planner who focuses on traffic, I have also been testing what kind of content is liked by everyone, and what kind of content can truly solve customers' problems.
Because in order to continuously gain market recognition, your product needs to be continuously upgraded, and your thinking and cognition also need to be continuously learned.
3.2 Specific knowledge mining
Specialization is an irreplaceable core competitiveness, often derived from personal experiences and interests rather than classroom training.
Naval suggests that you conduct a "childhood excavation" to discover those things that you repeatedly did from a young age and that you did more easily than others.
This is likely to be the source of your specific knowledge.
Everyone is unique, so be good at uncovering your own strengths and continuously refine them into your core competitiveness.
3.3 Productization packaging.
Transform your expertise into an "asset" that others can repeatedly purchase - such as e-books, courses, software, consulting solutions, and so on.
From positioning, developing the minimum viable product, collecting feedback to large-scale promotion, this is the key path to monetizing skills.
3.4 Long-term compound interest.
Not all efforts lead to rewards.
Identify the direction that can generate a compound interest effect, and concentrate your time and resources on it.
Compound interest can come from knowledge, from connections, or from brand influence.
The key is to persist for a long enough period of time, allowing time to become your friend.
Writing is one of the skills that can generate long-term compound interest.
4、 The transformation from the mindset of learning to making money.
Many people believe that if they work hard to acquire skills, their wealth will naturally increase.
However, Navar's experience tells us that although learning is important, the real breakthrough lies in researching how to make money and putting it into practice.
In this era of information explosion, as long as one is determined, learning is not difficult. But if one never feels satisfied and keeps blindly learning and passively filling in knowledge, it is easy to fall into the trap of information overload.
However, researching how to make money can turn passivity into initiative. First, there should be goals and market feedback, then the content can be designed, avoiding blind output and being unable to be monetized.