Do you know the fundamental principles of making money?

A business owner who earns over 100 million a year once told me two things. It was only after I fully understood them that I began to grasp how money is really made.

The first was:

If you make a living through physical labor, you need to be diligent and reliable.
If you make a living through your mind, you need to think quickly.
If you use money to make money, you need the courage to invest.
If you rely on connections, you need to understand human relationships.
If you rely on others to get things done, you need to accept that not everything will go your way.

While I was still reflecting on this, he added a second point. This is how wealthy people truly think:

Ordinary people first count the resources they have and then decide how big a task they dare to take on.

Ninety percent of people misunderstand how money is made. The opportunities that make money are usually the ones with uncertain outcomes. The opportunities that make serious money are often the ones whose direction is not even clear.

It is precisely this uncertainty that keeps most people away. Not knowing whether something will succeed eliminates most of your competitors, potentially leaving you to capture the opportunity by yourself.

In essence, making money is about securing resources—especially valuable resources that others have not yet discovered. At the most fundamental level, the key is to find scarce resources or resources that are being used in the wrong place. When you do, money will naturally follow. That is the power of vision.

Wealth is not necessarily accumulated little by little over an entire lifetime. Sometimes it comes from catching the right wave and earning, within two or three years, more than others could make in a lifetime.

So, if you believe this is your moment to make money, do not stop to rest. No one knows when the next opportunity will arrive. If you miss this one, you may truly have missed it for good.

For young people without a wealthy family to fall back on, genuine independence is not about wearing designer brands, staying in luxury hotels, or traveling the world for social-media check-ins.

It means having a strong body, savings in the bank, and a sharp mind. When your family needs you, you can step up immediately. When hardship comes, you can carry yourself through it without asking your parents for money or begging friends for help.

The principle behind making money is not complicated: buy low and sell high. But the information, access, connections, and social skills required along the way are the barriers most people cannot overcome.

Do not feel inferior or think you are beneath anyone else. How much money someone has in their pocket has nothing to do with you.

Many people become intimidated the moment they meet someone who puts on an impressive show. In reality, such people may simply be keeping up appearances. You cannot judge a person’s true foundation by what they wear, drive, or eat. Look instead at the people around them.

If their circle is full of capable and genuine people, they are probably the real deal. But if all they have is an expensive outfit and a car used to impress others, they are likely just putting on a show—and their pockets may be emptier than they look.

Just be yourself. You owe no one anything.

Do not surround yourself with people who are not on the same wavelength as you. If you cannot bring yourself to walk away, sooner or later they will dictate the direction of your life.

If your current environment is holding you back, be decisive and move somewhere better. Keep your eyes looking upward and focus only on places where people are doing better than you.

Remember: do not look down, and do not look straight ahead. Looking straight ahead can make you feel satisfied too easily, and complacency can cause you to slide backward.

Take my advice: looking upward will not only keep your neck comfortable—it will also help you see the gap clearly, understand where you stand, and close that gap one step at a time.

When you focus wholeheartedly on making money, life becomes clearer. Once you become entangled in romance, love, and marriage, however, your thinking can easily become confused.

Start with 100, then 1,000, 10,000, and 100,000. Take action. Thinking alone is useless. Only when you begin dealing with real money will your mind become clearer and you gradually understand how the world truly works.

There are four kinds of money that are easiest to make:

1. I know something you do not know. The profit comes from an information gap.
2. I understand something you do not understand. The profit comes from a knowledge gap.
3. We both know the same thing, but you did nothing while I took action. The profit comes from execution.
4. We both understand it, but I simply do it better than you. Even if I show you exactly how it is done, you still cannot keep up. The profit comes from genuine expertise.

Do not waste your time contemplating ideas that are grand but empty. Look instead for opportunities that are small, specific, and practical.

Once you fully understand the small things, the bigger picture will naturally fall into place. If you want to find opportunities, you do not need to rely on wild imagination. Simply observe yourself and the people around you—that is more than enough.