Don't Be Jam

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”. How you make money has got nothing to do with who you are! Making money has very tight constraints. You need a container. You need to be able to charge. You need a way to get paid. To turn an idea into money, you need to be able to describe very clearly what you are selling. What is the problem that you are offering to solve? What is the alternative reality you are going to deliver?

In a way that I say, “I can make Jam. Do you want Jam?” And you go, “I know what Jam is. I want Jam. You have got Jam. Yes, please can I have that.” I hand you a container. You hand me money. That is how it works. It is all about Jam, and having a container to put your Jam in. A way to sell it. And the vital point is… you do not want to be Jam.

When asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”, no one ever said, “I want to be Jam.” That is just the problem you want to solve. And the next week, you might not be selling Jam. You might be selling books, dry cleaning services, a haircut, or coffee. It is just a problem. You are not the problem. The problem is the problem.