The Simple Chain That Actually Works

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how people really make money, not the lottery wins or crypto pumps, but the boring, reliable way that almost always pays off in the end.

It boils down to four steps that link together like a chain:

To make money, create value. To create value, solve problems. To solve problems, build skills.

That’s it. Nothing fancy, no secret hacks.

Most folks get stuck because they start at the wrong end. They chase money directly, side hustles that sound hot on TikTok, dropshipping courses, and day trading. But if you’re not creating something people actually want or need, the money part never sticks. It’s like trying to fill a bucket with a hole in it.

Real value comes from fixing something that’s broken in someone’s life. Maybe it’s helping a small business owner stop wasting hours on bookkeeping. Maybe it’s writing code that saves a team days of manual work. Maybe it’s just being the person who shows up reliably when everyone else flakes. Whatever it is, if you make someone’s day easier, faster, cheaper, or happier, they’ll gladly pay you for it.

But you can’t solve problems you don’t understand. And you won’t understand them deeply unless you’ve put in the reps to get good at something. That’s where skills come in. Not vague “learn to learn” stuff, specific, useful abilities that let you deliver results. Writing clearly. Building things that don’t break. Selling without being slimy. Listening like you actually give a damn.

The beautiful part is that skills compound. The better you get, the bigger problems you can tackle, the more value you can create, and yeah, the more money tends to follow. It’s slow at first. You’ll feel like you’re grinding for nothing. But one day, you look up and realize people are coming to you with opportunities instead of the other way around.

I’m not saying it’s easy. Building real skills takes time and usually some humiliation along the way. But it’s straightforward. Pick a problem that annoys you or people around you. Get obsessively good at fixing it. Charge fairly when you can fix it better than most. Repeat.

That chain has worked for pretty much every quietly wealthy person I’ve ever met. No exceptions.

So if you’re wondering where to start today, don’t overthink the money part yet. Just ask: What skill can I work on this week that would let me solve a problem a little better than I could yesterday?

Everything else tends to take care of itself.