How would your life change if you could, at the drop of a hat, give yourself a raise? For most of you, a raise would mean that you’d be getting paid a little more per hour, or per year if you’re on salary. How sweet would that be to have that kind of control over your finances?

So let me rephrase the question a bit for you. How would your life change if you could, at the drop of a hat, give yourself a monthly residual raise?

Now before you answer that question, let’s lay out the difference between a regular raise and a monthly residual raise, and here it is….

One raise still requires your time while the other doesn’t. If you’re in a job, a regular raise will only benefit you if you continue to trade your time for it. You have to continue going into work everyday. A monthly residual raise is independent of your time. Whether or not you work at all this month, you’re still going to get that money the following month, and the month after that, and after that, and so on.

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This is a great explanation of an entrepreneur who merely survives compared to an entrepreneur who thrives! There is a huge difference. So as you read this analogy, take a personal inventory and think of which entrepreneur you are being. The results in your life will reflect it!

The Potato Farmer and the Apple Orchard

Some time ago there were two neighbors who lived out in the country. Both of these farmers owned a considerable amount of land and wanted to do something with the land to support their families with. One man decided to turn his land into a potato farm and the other planted an apple orchard. Both of these men were very hard workers and were out tending their crop daily. They did this for the entire year and come harvest time, the potato farmer harvested his crop, took it to town and made enough to support his family until it was time to start planting again. Then he would start the whole process over again.

On the other hand, the apple farmers orchard had yet to produce any fruit to harvest. The trees were still too young and would need more time to mature.

One year goes by and the same story stood true. The potato farmer harvested his potatoes once again and was able to support his family for the remainder of the year while the apple orchard had no fruit to harvest. The farmer of the apple orchard still continued to nurture his trees preparing for the time that he could reap his rewards.

Several years pass by in the same manner and finally, as the potato farmer was harvesting his crop as he did every year, the apple orchard produced it’s first year of fruit. The apples were harvested and were sold. Both farmers were able to support their families for the rest of that year.

Now, when it came time to start planting for the next crop season, the potato farmer got to work on his fields while the apple farmer watched him. You see, the apple orchard will continue to produce fruit year after year after year with very little effort from the farmer. He won’t have to replant the his crop every year but will instead enjoy the fruits of his labor for many years ahead. A few years of hard work will support him for the rest of his life while the potato farmer is still laboring away in his fields.

There is a word called leverage that every Entrepreneur should become familiar with. The leverage I speak of is TIME. When you learn to increase your profits without increasing your work hours, then you have discovered the true way to accrue serious wealth in your business and in your life.

So create an apple orchard, not a potato farm!

“All the so-called ‘secrets of success’ will not work unless you do.” This is a quote by an unknown author that hit the nail head on. So many people desire success yet they wait for it to slap them in the face. We’ve all heard of the old saying, “Nobody ever drowned in their own sweat!” We aren’t saved by our faith alone, but by our “Works” also. Basically, if you want something done, you’d better get your butt up and do it. The Lord worked for 6 days and then he rested on the seventh. There is much to learn from all this. Basically success, fortunes and dreams aren’t created by themselves. They are created by work.

Hard work always pays off

Now, there are different kinds of work. Hard work is not defined by how much you sweat or how many ditches you can dig. Work is defined by your productivity. “You don’t get paid for the hour. You get paid for the value you bring to the hour.” ~Jim Rohn

For me to make $1000 by working 10 hour days for a week straight is work alright, but is it productive work? If I were your employer, I would say yes! If I were the employee, I would say no! You see, there is something that ants understand very well. They understand the power of a small word called “leverage!” Can a single ant feed an entire colony? Do a few ants collect the food while the rest hang out with the queen? No! So, think about who you’d like to be in this scenario. Do you want to be the worker ant or the queen? The worker has only leveraged his own efforts. True success comes when you can figure out how to leverage your time with the efforts of others and at the same time, adding value for everyone involved.

There are only 24 hours in a day. We all get those same 24 hours right? So, whether you get rich or whether you get broke is a measure of what you have done with your 24 hours. Success, the same as failure, doesn’t happen overnight or in one swift decision. It happens by one small act or failure to act, duplicated over and over, for a period of time! Work requires action rather than sweat. Work requires productivity rather than the ability to just stay busy. Work requires will and ambition rather than complaining and remorse. If success didn’t involve work, I think almost everyone would be doing it! Then again, there are those who still would not do it because thinking can be work.

The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary. Understand that the first philosophy of the ant is: Hard work always pays off. In the words of an previous mentor of mine, “The field is white, all ready to harvest, so just forget yourself and go to work!”