Ever since the recession began, I’ve been bombarded with questions about how to make money. After interviewing millionaires for almost three decades, I’ve identified one of their most important skills: the ability to focus their efforts on the primary skill, product or process that generates revenue. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to get rich, but you do have to have laser-like focus on generating profit. Watch this short video and see if you can answer these two critical thinking questions.  I’ll look forward to your comments.   Steve Siebold  ( 3:21 )

[media id=133]

Steve Siebold
flagabigmouth@gmail.com
Author and Professional Speaker since 1997. Past Chairman of the National Speakers Association's Million Dollar Speakers Group. Author of 11 books with 1.4 million copies in print.

28 thoughts on “Identifying Your Primary Money-Making Skill”

  1. Hi Steve, I want to ask: For you, what are the top 10 most “must read” books that I will keep reading monthly? Think And Grow Rich and How to Win Friends And Influence People is given. What are the 8 left? Thanks. I ask this because the capacity of my SD card is limited

  2. Yes, Steve. Carol Gates is the best. Bob Proctor is the best. Both have been a tremendous blessing to my life and so have you Steve. It has helped me sharpen my focus. In Preventive Medicine, it is helping people to demonstrate health. And for my friend, the recruiter, recruit people who are interested in the same, demonstrating health, not merely pain relief only to return to pain later.

  3. Hello Steve,

    I hope thing for you are going well, I just recently subscribed to your free speaking course, and may I truly say that I have been very enlightened by your information. You have really got me thinking (for a change) about the direction of my life, as well as the direction of my future.

    I have been trying to break into the restauranteur business for a long time now, and I have realized that my best money making skill has to be the “FOOD” if my food sucks, my business will suck too!!! So I will have to make my food bettter, much better.

    Since I am looking to pursue and succeed in the speaking business, my best money-making skill in this business is to be the “BEST” and most motivated speaker I know.

    Thanks Steve for your expertise and support,

    Giles Spears Jr.

  4. The best money-making skill any of us can refine is learning to ask better questions of ourselves and those around us.The powerful type of questions which move us toward our goal. Questions like Steve just asked! “If you ask a better question you’ll get a better answer. It’s what you do with that answer that counts.” Matthew Bennett

  5. The most important money making is to recoupe my investment to make this money making site explode my Poetry DVD. The most important money making skills that http://www.thepassionandthepoetry.com is the lack of the web code to open up my website. sot that traffic can hit the site. However, the website person does not feel that something is lacking he never used his website code.

  6. Hey Steve,

    The lake and me miss you here in Georgia.
    Just checking on you and you are looking and sound great.

    My most important money making skill? Hmmm,

    Teaching people, businesses, even restaurants they how to use video on the internet in WordPress blogs to build relationships and turn strangers into customers. Over coming technophobia, lens phobia and saying something of value to $100 camera, kinda link you just did! Keep it up!

    Mike Stewart

  7. “In order to receive any form of compensation you must first provide a service. The greater your service, the greater your reward.” Earl Nightingale. The most critical skill to provide my service is the ability to get people to see what I see…aka “The Close”. I educate people on sound financial principles and my ability to effectively “close” each meeting determines if that person or family will realize financial independence and it also determines my compensation and strength of my business. Great question Steve! Can’t wait for the next one!

    P.S. I reached my weight loss goal in less than 20 days with your FatLoser program and now I have expanded my goal to be even sexier!

  8. I’d like to add to the discussion that when we work on bettering ourselves our first efforts may seem pathetic and mediocre. They may look like nothing in comparison to people who have it all. But we all have to start somewhere.

    My deepest respect goes out to those who do not quit when it all seems impossible, when glamour and success and even some decency appears to be far, far away. Whatever work you do adds something to you. It unfolds inherent possibilities. Nobody can take that growth away from you. The growth taking place will yield results.

  9. Michael Lee: Though your question was not addressed to me, I can clearly see the problem and I will try to answer it. Not everyone (or maybe no-one) can be at two locations at the same time. Thus, even the most skilled people have a limit to what they can take part in. That is where other people comes in.

    Brian Tracy has a point when he says that “I’ve found that luck is quite predictable. If you want more luck, take more chances. Be more active. Show up more often.”

  10. Hi Steve,
    I’ve been thinking a great deal about what it is going to take to be prepared, if our dollar does indeed go belly up. I think when Robert Kyosaki said we will be looking at the greatest distribution of wealth in history, I wanted to be part on the recieving end. But I also wanted to know what I was persuing was honorable and would make a difference for people.
    What I have begun to focus on is the need for people who live in the city to use some of the strategies that I see homesteaders using to be ready if the s***t hits the fan. I don’t think it comes naturally for city folk to be creative and inventive when a crisis arises. I think this is due to a percieved lack of urgency, and available information.
    I believe being a source of information on what people need, and where they need to get it and have a large number of the resources be affiliates of mine will be where I gain the greatest wealth.

  11. OK Steve, how about this one….many would consider Tony Robbins, Donald Trump, Robert Kiyosaki, hopkins, etc the number one speaker – right or wrong. For me, a guitarist, one would consider Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert, Joe Satriani, John Petrucci, etc the best guitar teachers around. How does someone make an impact when they are NOT the BEST and have little chance of being the best due to time, talent, etc but are better than most and not as good as many? How can we exploit our talent amongst the immense competition?

  12. Thanks for the great reminder to focus on the numbers, and thereby identify what earns us the most dollars. Once we identify it, we can tailor our focus to create a beautiful, productive craft, which in our case is speaking 🙂 Love it!
    Denise Fowble, The Tailored Speaker

  13. Hi Steve,
    I am the owner of an etiquette consulting business and I would say that teaching others – taking others to the point where they can demonstrate a high level of skill – dining skills, social skills, business networking skills, etc. like all businesses, marketing and closing sales are important, but if my customers don’t learn…then I don’t earn.

  14. Hello Steve:

    Thank you so much for this. I am in bit of a flux now because I am coach now for going on 8 years and I am not doing well. I am considering changing professions. My degree is Business Admin. and I much prefer to work for myself. Considering my yields I don’t know if this is a good idea. I want to earn 6 figures or more at whatever I do and coaching has not been it….. HELLLLPPPPPP…….. any ideas???????

  15. I don’t know about every business but I believe ATTITUDE is the number one money making skill in my business and probably a lot of businesses around. The combination of a persons thoughts, feelings, and actions are a persons attitude and in any business that is a feeling representing their philosophy of success.

  16. Wow I never thought of my business in quite that way. Now I see why I don’t make as much money as I “should” I’ve relied on my people skills without looking at how I use them as money makers. Have to go deeper with that question. Got to drill down. I’ll get back to you with further thoughts. I think it that I don’t ask for the sale early enough….Timing is where I’m going to look. thanks

  17. For my business, it’s recruiting great people. I don’t have a hard time recruiting, but unfortunately, most people’s thinking is so screwed up that they quit at the first sign of adversity.

  18. Steve,

    i know: good Schnitzel are the money machine in a German restaurant and professional delivered speeches are the income producer for a speaker (plus books and training materials). For cars, of course, it is the right Porsche with other words the valuable final product you can exchange for money.

    Mike Jacobi

  19. Dear Steve

    Thank you for your enlightening talk on…. “what is your best money making skill’ …….it really got me thinking…..as an investor and shareholder and director of various international joint ventures in the canning, transportation and insurance business (to name a few).
    Our best money making skill is firstly to have the best product that sells into the market and to keep the public buying our products through R&D and our continued introduction of new product lines into the market. And to never compromise on quality. Also having the accessibility to reliable high level contacts ……(some of these contacts and friendships are made on introductions at cocktail evenings or sit down dinners or through other close friends)…… within government agencies and the private sector’s movers and shakers in these industries to assist us with advice and other hands on licensing and government regulations and issues etc.,… thank you for making me think a little bit deeper than i usually would. regards steve and thank you for posing these critical questions….keep em coming ……..paulene

Comments are closed.