What is your favorite way to make money? Obviously, there are many ways to make money. You can work for a company or have your own business. You can earn money from salary, dividend, commission, bonus, and many others.

    My favorite way is to earn passive income. I'm sure this is not new to you. I've heard about it for years but only recently did I begin to understand its nature. I'm not saying that this is the best way or that everyone should do this. This is just the way I like most.

    The main reason I love passive income is freedom. With passive income, I don't need to be actively involved to make money. I do need to work hard to build the system in the beginning, but once it works I can leave it alone and the system will continue earning me money. All I need to do is checking it every now and then to make sure that nothing goes wrong. I can improve the system if I want to, but that's optional. I can spend my time on a hobby or a new project.

    Differences Between Active and Passive Income

    To better understand the nature of passive income, here are some differences between active income （income that requires your active participation） and passive income:

    * With active income, you can quickly get full-time income.For example, if you receive monthly paycheck then you will get full-time income within one month. With passive income, it may take a long time before you get it.

    * With active income, when you stop working your income drops to zero or near zero.When you work you maintain your income level or slightly increase it. With passive income, when you stop working your income stays at the same level. When you work, you increase your income level.

    From these two differences, you can see that building passive income is long and difficult. But once you make it, you will get the big reward of financial freedom.

    Steps to Build Passive Income

    From the characteristics above, here are the steps you should follow to build passive income:

    1. Build a side business.Since it takes a long time to reach full-time level with passive income, don't leave your day job. The active income from your day job will cover your expenses. At the same time, you should start building your passive income through a side business. Start early because it will take time. These passive income resources might give you some ideas.

    2. Focus.It's important that you focus on just one business and make it successful. Don't be all over the place. There's a price to pay for something to be successful and only with focus can you pay the price before you burn out.

    3. Leave your day job.Once your passive income reaches full-time level, you can leave your day job. This is where you start enjoying your financial freedom.

    4. Diversify.Now that you have more time, you need to diversify your sources of passive income. Work on new income sources. This way when something goes wrong with one source you still have other sources to cover you. This also is a good way to increase your income over time.

    你最喜欢的赚钱方式是什么？很明显，赚钱的方式有很多。你可以在公司上班或自己做生意，你可以通过薪水，分红，佣金，奖金和很多其他的方式赚钱。

    我最喜欢的方式是赚被动收入。我确定这对你不是新的内容。我听说过它已有很多年了，但是仅在最近我开始了解它得本质。我并不是说这是最好的方式或每个人都应该这样做。但这是我最喜欢的方式。

    我喜欢被动收入的最主要原因是自由。有了被动收入，我不需要积极融入赚钱。我只需要一开始就努力工作来建构系统。但一旦它起作用，我可以不管它，然后这个系统将会继续为我赚钱。我所需要做的是偶尔检查它来确保没有出错。如果我愿意我能改善这个系统，但那是可自由选择的。我能把我的时间花在一个爱好和一个新的计划上。

    主动收入与被动收入的区别

    为了更好地理解被动收入的本质，这里说一说主动收入（需要你积极参与的收入）与被动收入的区别。

    * 有了主动收入，你能快速地获得专职收入。例如，如果你每个月收到工资单，那么你将会每个月收到专职收入。但是对于被动收入，它可能会花很长时间你才能得到它。

    * 有了主动收入，当你停止工作时，你的收入会降到零或接近零。当你工作时，你能保持你的收入水平或者能稍微提高。有了被动收入，当你停止工作时，你的收入仍然保持在同等水平。当你工作时，你能提高你的收入水平。

    从这两点差异来看，你能够理解建构被动收入是长期且困难的。但一旦你做到了，你将会得到一大笔可自由支配的报酬。

    建构被动收入的步骤

    从以上的特征来看，下面是你应当遵循来建构被动收入的步骤：

    1. 建立一个另外的行业。既然被动收入要花很长的时间才能达到专职水平，不要离开你的白天的专职工作。白天专职工作的主动收入会担负你的开销。同时，i应当通过一个另外的行业来建立你的被动收入。因为它将会花时间，所以早点开始。这些被动收入来源也许能给你一些提示。

    2.聚焦。你聚焦于一个行业且让它成功是重要的。不要包括所有的行业。为那些成功的事业付出是有代价的，而且你只有聚焦于一个你才能在你精力耗尽前付得起。

    3.离开你的白天专职工作。一旦你的被动收入达到了专职水平，你可以离开你的专职工作了。这就是你开始享受自由支配金钱的特权。

    4. 多样化。既然你有更多的时间，你需要使你的被动收入来源多样化。寻找新的收入来源。用这种方法，当其中一种来源有问题时，你仍然还有其他来源来帮补。这也是一种增加你的收入的好方法。