Wealth-Creation Mechanisms Are Simple

The list of ways wealth is created is remarkably short.

You can

1. Move things from place to place (e.g. shipping, exporting goods)
2. Store things (e.g. winter coats are more valuable in winter)
3. Transform things (e.g. manufacturing)
4. Farm (e.g. … farming)
5. Build buildings (e.g. real estate development)
6. Extract natural resources (e.g. mining)
7. Cure disease (e.g. pharmaceuticals)
8. Find new ways of doing 1 through 7 more efficiently (e.g. 3D printing, fertilizer, mining an asteroid)
9. Provide useful information (most of 21st century corporations) a. Match supply and demand (e.g. Google search ads, Uber) b. Figure out the rules (e.g. lawyers, consultants) c. Information to be informed (e.g. journalism, blogging)

Read A catalog of wealth-creation mechanisms from Rondam Ramblings.

See also:

• Methods of product ideation could benefit from knowing what kind of business you are in and who you should learn from
• Naval Ravikant has a “How to get rich” series that talks about personal ways of going about wealth creation
• Recent technological advancement is in simulation
• How people get rich and income inequality

Links to this note

• People Don’t Expect Much from Simple Ideas

  People tend to think impressive results must come from impressively complicated means and effort. We underestimate the power of simple ideas and overestimate complications.

• The Creator Economy Is Aspirational

  The term “creator economy” and the lexicon around it has broad appeal—who doesn’t want to be a “creator” or a “builder”? Being “indie” is associated with being cool and (slightly) counter-culture.