How to Live Longer a Make a Lot More Money

Ray Burnham

I have been lucky to have mixed calling and occupation. I am a teacher, but in the for-profit market. I guarantee my patrons two things: Each will think my teaching the best in the world, and each will pass the national exam & or get his money back.

I joke that it is the 99.999995% of all teachers who give me a bad name by not guaranteeing their work. My website homepage, http://www.burnhamsystem.com, shows what has been the driving force behind my work for three decades: Maximize my contribution to our nation's economy. . . .

Years ago, when I first started at Dad's insurance agency, I discovered something of extreme interest related to life insurance: Given two groups of people (It may be different for women than for men.) who physicians would say have equal probabilities of death, equal life expectancies, starting at age 50, and true for all ages thereafter, the single act of retirement halves life expectancy. I realized at an early age that I would never retire if I could help it.

This is an idea I have not seen elsewhere (but have published myself), but you hinted at it with 20% of 20% of 20%: Pareto's principle in action: Consider hospital workers. Twelve years of schooling, and you're qualified to be an orderly and earn $12,000. That's $1,000 per year of schooling. Two more years, and you're an LPN earning $16,000. That's $2,000 per year. Two more years, and you're a BS/RN earning $24,000. That's $4,000 per year. Three more years, and you're an MD earning $144,000. That's $40,000 per year. One more year, and you're a board certified surgeon earning $244,000. That's $100,000 per year. As you approach the top of our industry [insurance], the same thing happens: small gains yield ever-increasing rewards.

Again: If you work a standard 10 hour day (8-hour-a-day workers don't grow.) and earn $100,000 (you've already done some growing), then $80,000 of your income is the result of just 2 hours a day. But it gets better. Eighty percent of that $80,000 ($64,000) results from just 20% of that 2 hours (24 minutes). And, continuing, you earn $51,200 in just 4.8 minutes a day. Focus on the most important results yields fantastic rewards.