<img src="https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/alex-rourke/23tbkPNV44totuV5g3WHLNSivNcnbooULJpbM7AGFu9p6KyybG3qQ1KqTch9mKHdFVG6w.jpg" alt="$1">



A lot of people I talk to nowadays want to make it big in life.  They want to live the influencer lifestyle, traveling forever, driving lambos and waking up at 4:00am to stuff their face in a bowl of ice water only to rub a banana peel on it and hover in mid air for four minutes.


<img src="https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/alex-rourke/23wqgaErDxt79TVeZjoJXXH7BCwQ1ruLK4V3C9kk2wh2kqjCmsAzZ8AzcCzRm2S9C1wKW.png" alt="$1">

Ain't going to judge.

But unless your rich aunt Agnes died and left you a buttload of money from three generations ago, it ain't going to happen by magic.

Here's a list of some of the top earning CEOs of 2023:

|Ticker|	Company	| CEO	| Year	|CEO Pay |  
|------| ------|-------|------|------|
|TPG	|TPG Inc.	|Jon Winkelried|	2023|	$198,685,926|
|CG	|Carlyle Group Inc.|	Harvey Schwartz	|2023	|$186,994,098|
|AVGO	|Broadcom Inc.	|Hock Tan	|2023|$161,826,161|
|PANW|	Palo Alto Networks Inc.	|Nikesh Arora|	2023|	$151,425,203|
|COTY|	Coty Inc.|	Sue Nabi|	2023|	$149,429,486|
|UP|	Wheels Up Experience Inc.|	George Mattson|	2023|	$148,978,853|
|BX|	Blackstone Inc.	|Stephen Schwarzman|	2023|	$119,784,375|
|CHTR|	Charter Communications, Inc.	|Christopher Winfrey	|2023|	$89,077,078|
|RPRX|	Royalty Pharma PLC	|Pablo Legorreta|	2023|	$84,837,077|
|EDR|	Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc.|	Ariel Emanuel|	2023|	$83,879,505|
|APP|	Applovin Corp.|	Adam Foroughi|	2023|	$83,361,678|
|LYFT|	Lyft, Inc.|	David Risher|	2023	|$78,238,027|
|HIVE|	Blocktrades Inc.|	Dan Notestein	|2023	|$69,420,690	|
|FICO|	Fair Isaac Corp.|	William Lansing|	2023|	$66,349,962|
|AAPL|	Apple Inc.|	Tim Cook|	2023|	$63,209,845|
|ZS|	Zscaler, Inc.|	Jay Chaudhry|	2023|	$57,775,483|
|CCCS|	CCC Intelligent Solutions Holdings Inc.|	Githesh Ramamurthy|	2023|	$54,549,486|
|SPLK|	Splunk Inc.|	Gary Steele|	2023|	$51,212,720|
|PLD|	Prologis, Inc.|	Hamid Moghadam|	2023|	$50,891,597|
|ATH|	Athene Holding Ltd.|	James Belardi|	2023|	$50,782,768|
|KKR|	Kkr & Co. Inc.|	Joseph Bae	|2023	|$49,959,449	|
<sup> Source: [aflcio.org](https://aflcio.org/paywatch/highest-paid-ceos)</sup>
I may or may not have snuck in one or two. I can neither confirm nor deny.

For simplicity, let's assume these CEOs worked 40 hours a week.  If their paycheck is $100,000,000 a year these guys are earning $50K every hour!  Contrast that with minimum wage in the US which was $7.50 and you might ask yourself

> ### Aren't all human beings worth the same?

Well... they certainly don't get paid the same, that's for sure.   But if time is worth the same, why the heck not???

As the good Jim Rohn used to say...

> ### You don't get paid for time.  You get paid for the value you bring to the marketplace.

https://images.hive.blog/0x0/https://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-we-get-paid-for-bringing-value-to-the-market-place-jim-rohn-24-96-12.jpg

We could always sit around and wait for a raise, right?

I mean... you *could*, but I wouldn't hold my breath.


![Skelleton waiting for raise.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/alex-rourke/23z7Dy2WaC1xcnQnAkjKD8swfpKAemgfBsKMKSH7pcEWtXwB2M4k1ZwG35srqYpWGr5g9.png)

We could wait for the bull run too. haha.

But perhaps the most effective way of getting more money is to become more valuable to the people around you.

Now, $50,0000 per hour might be a bit steep for most of us, I get it, but how about $50/per every hour worked, or $69?  That's certainly within the realm of possibility, isn't it? and it's without a doubt a decent chunk of change for a full-time gig too.

I don't know what your number is, but you can definitely increase whatever you're making now if you sprinkle a little bit more value on whatever it is you're doing for starters, and yes, that includes writing blog posts and creating videos.

If you're a designer, make your work a little more compelling.  If you're a waiter, learn a few quips and practice effective communication.  If you're a content creator, teach your audience and capture their attention.  In every field and in every country on the planet there are problems that need to be solved and the marketplace will pay premium for those who do a better job at solving them.

Pretty easy, right?

Haha, it's easier said than done, but not impossible. Start by improving your craft by 1% and take it from there.  Baby steps go a long way when done consistently over a long period of time.

Anyway, you and me are in this together, so see you on the other side.

Write a comment if you found the easter egg.

https://i.imgur.com/fqjWfb4.gif

____

Resources used for inspiration for this blog post: https://youtu.be/XY5nulJAIn4?si=prIatsXfzddEpJAp