Maybe a slight variation could be “You’re compensated in exact proportion to the value that others actually know you’re creating for them, and their willingness to share it.”

I’ve definitely seen and experienced the “rhythm guitarist phenomenon” where a person can be doing foundational work that ties all of the other parts of a venture together to maximize profit, yet get zero reward because the business is growing steadily based on their inputs. I’ve also seen more business owners than not that have zero interest in sharing any of the nominal gains with the people that are responsible for their creation.

A big difference is whether you’re building YOUR empire with your value creation, or someone else’s. Employment is a shitcoin.