Why You're Broke Because You're Too 'Useful': Leverage 10% Useless Time to Boost 90% Earning Ability

Focus on Earning Ability, Not Just Quick Money

If you don't have money right now, don't think about what you can do to make a lot of money immediately. What you really need to focus on is how to build your money - making ability so that you can keep earning more. That's the direction you should work towards.

Don't always ask yourself what you can do to make money right now. For newbies or those with no skills, asking "what can I do to make money" doesn't make much sense. I'll be straight with you. If you can't make money now, changing to another thing won't make much difference. Even if you can make some, it won't be a big improvement. You'll still be stuck at the same level. What you really need to change is to build your ability to earn more, so that you can make money no matter what you do.

So, focus on improving your money - making ability, not just the result. Many people only care about the result but don't want to go through the process. That's impossible.

It's common for people to ask me: "I know nothing, I've been scammed before, or I'm unemployed and don't know what to do. What can I do to make money?" Usually, I'll recommend some easy - to - start things.

If you really want to make money, you'll learn and try. But many people just say, "I can't do this, I don't understand that. What should I do?" For example, they can't write articles, don't know how to run a WeChat official account, have never written anything, or can't shoot or edit videos.

Some people worry and ask how much they can make in a month or when they can get their money back. For example, if they spend 100 yuan on a community or 90 yuan on a project, they'll care about when they can break even and start making money. That's normal.

But my answer is usually: It depends on how much time you put in and your foundation. Some people may take one or two months, some are lucky and see results in one or two weeks, and some may take half a year.

Some people only spend 10 minutes a day or work a few days a week, while others can put in two or three hours a day. The results are naturally different.

Learning is the Key to Making Money

If you want to make money, you can't refuse to learn. Learning doesn't always guarantee making money, but you definitely can't make money without learning.

If you want to make money you couldn't make before, you need to greatly improve your ability. Without improvement, you'll stay in the same place.

Many people can't make money because they not only lack execution but also don't want to learn new things. They think the learning process is painful and only want to learn and study things they're really interested in. But there's a difference between what you like and what can make you money.

The differences are commercialization and professionalism. Commercialization means you have to learn to collect money if you want to make money. For example, many people like playing games. Playing games for yourself doesn't make money, but doing game - boosting or becoming a game streamer and making money from tips and ads can.

In terms of professionalism, playing games for fun is just for entertainment. You may study the gameplay, watch live - streams, and watch many games, but if you want to be a streamer or a game - booster, your current game level is far from enough.

Even for things you like, you need two steps to make money: commercialization and improving professionalism. And for amateur enthusiasts, learning is essential to make up for these two aspects.

You need to learn others' commercialization models, such as how to do live - streaming, study platform traffic and algorithms, and understand users' and audiences' preferences. To improve your professional level, amateur enthusiasts need to be better than most people or have other talents like good looks or singing skills.

The saying "Live and learn" makes a lot of sense now and should even become the norm. In the past, information updated and spread slowly, and there were big information and experience gaps. People could rely on one skill or experience for a lifetime. But now, information changes too fast. Only by constantly keeping up can individuals and companies keep up with the times. Otherwise, they'll be eliminated.

How to Start Learning from Scratch

Yesterday, someone asked me how to start learning from scratch. My advice is to spend 70% of your time and energy on what you're familiar with and 30% on trying something completely different and challenging.

We don't need to start completely from scratch because accumulation is important. Past experience is valuable. Starting from scratch costs too much and is too risky.

You can spend 30% of your time and energy trying new things without affecting your current life. For example, if you have 7 - 8 hours of free time a day, can you spend 1 hour on something new and challenging?

This 1 - hour can be used to try things you've never done before. For example, if you've never made a video, try editing a short video; if you've never done a live - stream, try a 1 - hour live - stream.

These new attempts can be related to making money or just new life experiences, like learning a new dish, developing a new hobby, or mastering a new skill.

I saw an online account that shares a life hack every day, such as how to install a plug - board, clean an air - conditioner, repair a window, change a light - bulb, or a water pipe.

As you keep making these new attempts, your ability circle will gradually expand. In three to five years, or even ten years, you won't stay still. You'll find that you've made significant progress compared to the past, instead of getting weaker as you age.

We can use the "70 - 30" time - allocation method, or adjust it to "80 - 20" or "90 - 10" according to your situation. If it's too difficult, start with "90 - 10", like trying one new thing a day.

The key is to take action. Once you take the first step, things will get easier. Many things become simpler the second time you do them.

It's always hard to start. Many people are scared by the initial difficulties and think things are too complicated. In fact, they're not that hard. Most things don't have high technical requirements. You just need to try and ask, and you can finish them in one or two hours.

This way of thinking is helpful for starting a side hustle or personal growth, especially for ordinary people, and it won't be too painful. Just like the concept in the book Mini Habits, we can call this method "mini - change". The most important thing is to start doing something new. If you keep at it, you'll find a big difference when you compare yourself with the present in a year.

Daily Reading & Writing by Xiaolu 2025.08.21 [day716]