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This article was first published 15 years ago

You can make money only if...

June 12, 2009 13:25 IST

Image: Greed
Photographs: Dominic xavier Syed Firdaus Ashraf

Bored of work?

It happens to all of us. Doesn't it?

And then you feel jealous when you see others sitting relaxed at home even as you toil day in and day out to make ends meet.

Then the question arises: why can't I make money? This in turn leads to another, important, question: who makes money?

In other words, how can I make money?

This question has bothered man from the beginning of time. Wealth was generated in only two ways in times gone by. If you looted somebody. Or if you inherited it. While some people still continue to make money traditionally, for others times have certainly changed.

So people wonder how some make money and some do not. Others believe that luck plays a very important part in life especially when it comes to making money.

But according to yours truly you can never make money if you lack one of these six traits: greed, need, luck, fear, migration (being a migrant) and, of course, ideas. Together they make GNLFMI.

Greed

If you are not greedy about making money, you will never make it.

A classic example of this we learn during our childhoods. Our parents always taught us that we should know how to live with the minimum. We must not multiply our wants and should always be satisfied with what we have, rather than crib about what we don't.

There is a fundamental problem with this. If you don't desire more, you will never get more. As the GenNext sings: yeh dil mange more.

If you are greedy and have wants you will make sure that you fulfill them somehow (of course not by dubious means).

Case in point: The most startling example that comes to mind who made a huge fortune owing to his greed is Harshad Mehta. However, he was undone by his greed and died in prison.

Disclaimer: Illustrations are only for representational purpose.

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Need

Image: Need

Everybody needs money. Period.

They want it for their survival.

Many of them are stuck in jobs that they hate, but don't quit because they don't have an option. They need money to take care of their family's financial needs. They have not been left a fortune them and they have to continue working in spite of hating what they do. Basic needs of life force them to work and earn money even if they don't like the work they do.

A case in point: We all, including yours truly.

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Who do you think can make money? Or what human traits help in creating wealth?

If you have an interesting take on the subject do write to us at getahead@rediff.co.in with the subject line You can make money only if... and we will publish the interesting ones right here on rediff.com.

Lust

Image: Lust

Call it love or lust. Some women/men are stuck in relationships with boyfriends/girlfriends. To satisfy their lust or love for them, they need to work harder. And make more money.

After all, they need to go to restaurants for candlelight dinners. Or buy that diamond ring to impress their women/men. They therefore need to earn even more money.

In fact, their lust and love makes this species slog harder. And restaurants and gift shops do wonderful business because of them.

Case in point: Though there are many examples we cannot name names for obvious reasons.

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Fear

Image: Fear

Some people are perpetually nervous about their future. They worry about what will happen to them when they grow old. They believe they will live long and the money in the bank will not last their lifetime.

So they keep working hard and accumulating as much wealth as they can.

After all, if you live till 85 you will be out of a regular income for at least 25 years of life should you retire at 60.

Case in point: Shah Rukh Khan. Yes, you read that right. He lives under the fear of losing his numero uno position in Bollywood and hence works harder out of this fear.

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Migrants

Image: Migrants

If you look at any big city you will find successful men and women. And you will always discover that the most successful of them are migrants.

They work hard and make it much bigger. This phenomenon can be seen in any big city: Mumbai or New York.

Migrants know that they cannot be complacent. They have to fight the odds and prove themselves all the time. They work extra, save extra for their homes, take loans and dare to go where others don't. After all, they know that they have nothing to lose. If they lose they can always go back home.

So, if you are a new entrant in a city you are surely going to make it big, provided you put in a lot of hard work.

In case if you don't know, any big city in the world is made up of migrants.

Case in point: Dhirubhai Ambani, of course. He migrated from Gujarat to Aden and from Aden to Mumbai. And the rest, as we all know, is history.

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Ideas

Image: Ideas

If you don't have any of the above five ingredients then you should have ideas that will give you value. Bright and outstanding ideas.

A case in point: Sabeer Bhatia. He created Hotmail. No one could have imagined this idea would become so useful. Bhatia launched Hotmail in 1996 and a year later Microsoft chairman Bill Gates acquired the company for more than US $400 million. Quite a lot of money, isn't it?

So if you don't have any of the above five traits but still have great ideas then the world is yours for the taking.

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