Many of us were taught to do well in school, get a great job, work hard, and you’ll eventually make a lot of money. This may be true, but there is a great limitation to working for someone else. Time. There are only so many hours in a week. No one can buy or create more. Even doctors suffer from this limitation. The average physician makes a large salary, but there aren’t many that make a million dollars a year.

Even a physician is swapping his time for money. He only gets paid while he’s seeing patients. He can’t see more than one at a time and he can’t see them while he’s asleep. The clock ultimately limits his income.

This is also true for consultants, dentists, lawyers, and CEOs.

If you want the opportunity to make a tremendous amount of money, it’s important to find ways to earn without your presence being necessary. Free yourself from the clock and your ability to earn is unlimited.

There are better ways:

Get paid more than once for the same work

Think about artists, authors, and musicians. In their respective businesses, they’re able to get paid repeatedly for the same work.

An author can write a book and then sell a million copies over the next 10 years. During that time, she may have written 20 more books. What could be better than getting paid multiple times for the same work?

What are some other businesses that can utilize this same strategy?

Do something that allows you to receive recurring payments

Leasing office space or other real estate to others keeps money coming in while you do other things. Building a website and leasing it is a similar strategy.

Be an investor

The great thing about stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and similar investments is the ability to make money with little work on your part. You’re essentially making money while you sleep. You could also loan money to others.

Outsource / arbitrage

Many people set up businesses and then outsource all the work. This is especially true online. For example, there are people that sell website building services. These same people then hire someone else at a reduced rate to do all the work.

Ghostwriters write many of the e-books sold on sites like Amazon.com. The listed author paid someone else to write the book. If you can successfully buy something for $X and sell it for $X+Y, you can potentially make money with little work.

Can you think of ways to make money from the work of others?

Create passive income

A website that sells an affiliate product can make money while you sleep and is a form of passive income. It’s not difficult to build a website that makes a mere $5/day, but keep in mind that’s over $1,800/yr.

Make a list of other ways you can make money passively.

Time is limitation for all of us. So far, no one has lived forever. But time doesn’t have to limit your income. Doctors, lawyers, and CEOs are paid well, but you have even great financial potential if you can break free from swapping your time for money.

Uncertainty stops many people. If you write a book or create a website, you’re not guaranteed to make any money at all. If you go to your job, you can expect to get paid on a regular basis. Courage and persistence are required.

Get started today and build an income stream that isn’t dependent on your time or presence. You’ll enjoy getting paid while you’re not at work!