Make More Than You Take

Last week, I saw a video clip of an Elon Musk interview where he talked about making more than you take. I've been thinking about it ever since.

I'm a big fan of anyone who wants to build. Anyone who wants to make more than they take has my respect. That's the main thing you should aim for. To make more than you take. Be a net contributor to society. If you want to create something valuable financially, you don't pursue that. It's best to pursue providing useful products and services.

If you do that, then money will come as a natural consequence of that, rather than pursuing money directly. You can't pursue happiness directly. You pursue things that lead to happiness — fulfilling work, study, friends, loved ones

It sounds very obvious, but generally, if somebody is trying to make a company work, they should expect to grind super hard and accept that there's a meaningful chance of failure. But just be focused on having the output be worth more than the input.

Are you a value creator? That's what really matters. Making more than you take.

In our house, we often say, "What's the goal of life?" The answer is simple. Be helpful. But how do you be helpful? Well, I think the best way to be helpful is to make more than you take.

Making more than you take is obvious from a career perspective. You either join a company or start one to create a useful product or service. If you do that well, you're probably making more than you take.

But it applies to more than just your work. You can make more than you take in all aspects of your life.

Eat at a restaurant a lot? Compliment the chef or leave a glowing review.

Live in a neighborhood you love? Be helpful to your neighbors. Join the HOA board.

Use a great software product at work? Give the team feedback on how to make the product better.

Lurk on a social network every day? Try posting. Follow more people. Reply, like, and boost their content.

Not everyone needs to build rockets.

Every time you consume something, whether content, food, products, or services, you have an opportunity to make more than you take. Being helpful in these small moments compounds. It's the easiest way to make more than you take and be a net contributor to society.