Produce more than you consume...

I had a thought while taking my recycled cans out today. I've been studying the economics of various countries and have come across a well-known principle...Produce more than you consume, and I thought about how that could be applied to myself. I realized there was a parallel for this principle in civilization and society, in which everyone should produce more than they consume, which I would interpret as, produce more valuable contributions than you consume. I've never thought about this much aside from whether I had enough money to buy what I wanted, which is a type of measure on this in an economic sense. But I've begun thinking about this in a more general way, and thought it was worth sharing so others might be able to appreciate this reiteration of the message: How do I provide value in the world, or do I provide value to the world? And if the answer is no, how is it you're able to survive, and how/should you try to change that?