The secret about capitalism

I studied business at McGill University and graduated in 1999 with distinction. Yet, I only truly learned about the nature of business and capitalism when I worked for a company after I graduated.

What happened was that I was hired as project coordinator, but after a few weeks, I saw an opportunity to distinguish myself as a rising manager. A corporate account was not being taken care of, so I took it upon myself to develop that account.

In a few months, I grew it to a six-figure account, and earned the respect of everyone around me, including my boss.

Then, one day, I was looking at my paycheque, and compared it to the continually growing revenue that I was bringing into the company, and the ultimate insight came to me!

This is what capitalism is all about! Company revenues keep growing, yet workers' salary remain the same! The difference is what they call the "profit rate." This is how the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.

Of course, I was lucky in that I was able to see clearly the amount of marginal revenue that I brought into the company. Most workers do not have access to such data (especially if you're a staff employee, and not a line employee serving an actual client).

Why is this story included in this success blogzine?

Because there are many kinds of success, and the specific type of success you are looking for, you will usually get. If you want success as an employee, that's fairly easy: any business owner can help you become a successful employee, for the simple reason that they DO NOT want you to quit (it distrupts their business, you see).

But if you define success as financial independence, then you cannot achieve it as an employee (at least, not until you retire, by which time the best and most energetic and vigorous years of your life have passed).