You can earn money in 3 different ways:

1. The Hard Money

Ever been told that there is no such thing as a free lunch? Or you may have even told your girlfriend that a certain guy is just too good to be true.

Right at the heart of both examples is an attitude that we don't get something for nothing. To get something, we have to give something. In other words, to earn a certain amount of money, we are expected to give an equivalent amount of time and/or effort.

Most of us are earning money in this way, the Hard Money way. We get paid based on the time spent or effort needed, whether it is on an hourly wage, a monthly salary, or on a per project basis.

There's nothing wrong with earning money the hard way. But we all have only 24 hours a day and as such, there is only that much that we can earn.

2. The Easy Money

Ever been to a site whose owner claims to have mastered Internet marketing? Absolutely nothing is required except a measly monthly subscription. And you do have to log in occasionally to check how many thousands of dollars you have already earned.

That's an Easy Money site. In most cases, it is extremely hard to earn money from an Easy Money site. :)

There are also ponzi, pyramid and chain letter sites. You put in a dollar or two and pretty soon, you will get your dollar back and much, much more. We are talking tens, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars back. Needless to say, most people don't even get their dollar back.

Offline, you have lotteries, sweepstakes and bingo sessions offering Easy Money.

Online and offline, Easy Money is characterized by the fact that the returns promised are grossly disproportionate to the time and/or skills required.

It is also worthwhile to note that if you have the charm, and are willing to fight off hordes of other girls, a rich husband is also a good way of earning Easy Money.

3. The Smart Money

To earn the Smart Money you must first recognize that you are one person, with limited resources, time and talent. And then seek to magnify those as much as you can.

For example, simply putting money in the bank to earn interest would be a good idea. You get some money but expend absolutely no time or effort.

Or, you can start a business. As the boss of the business, you are actually using the time and talent of others to make money.

The Smart Money focuses on results. Not how many hours you work, or how much effort you took, but what result you got.

Don't confuse the Smart Money with Easy Money. Smart Money talks about getting things done faster, better and cheaper, which initially will need a lot of time, effort and talent. Easy Money just wants to get something for absolutely nothing.

4. Conclusion

The Easy Money is, well, easy to earn. :) But you need a lot of luck and, in many cases, have only a small window of opportunity. Even if you are making Easy Money, the returns or income are uncertain at best and most likely will fall drastically over time. (with the exception of the "Rich Husband" scheme)

The purpose of this article is to get you to focus on the Smart Money, in other words, working smart.

Start with just earning the Hard Money. Work hard and learn as much as you can. Keep your eyes and ears open. And give those gray cells of yours a good workout. And soon, you will see that there are better and faster ways of doing the things you are doing, and be well on your way to working really smart.

Provided by David Lim who runs www.quittingyourjob.com