(If you missed Part I of this series, read it here.)

I’ve got a blunt appraisal of your worth:  Find the average of what you’re paid a day.  Take the number of hours in a week (168) and divide it by how much money you earned this week.  That’s how much you’re worth.

I don’t mean “worth” in some abstract sense… I mean THAT’S HOW MUCH YOU’RE WORTH PAYING.

I hate to say it, but the world says that Bill Gates… is worth more to this world… than you.

A tough row to hoe.

“Well, what about babies, Mark?”, you might ask,  “Are you saying that because babies aren’t paid money, that they’re worthless!?” 

Nah.  I think it works on a sliding scale:  Babies get a free ride.  They’re priceless by default.  It’s our job as parents is to raise our children, gradually helping them to mature, so that eventually they DO contribute value to this world.  But, it’s that that you provide to the world; and the world’s payment to you for that value… that measures YOUR value. 

And the best indication of what value you provide, is how much the world pays you.  Everyone really does have the same 24 hours of time a day a day in which to make a difference.  How much you earn in those 24 hours is the world’s evaluation of your worth.  Minimum wage for only 8 of those 24 hours?  That’s what you’re worth.

It’s a hard scale.  Society says that road pavers (paid an average of $25-45 an hour) are worth more than preschool teachers (charged to watch our children for more hours than most parents are with their own children, and for only $7-$12 an hour).  Garbage men ($14-$24 an hour) are worth more than life guards ($7-$15 an hour).  Prince, the musician, sold $2.5 MILLION dollars of records AFTER his death in months – more than the President of the United States ($400,000 a year).

If you want to be more valuable… you’ll need to provide more value to the world.  

You’re worth nothing if you contribute nothing. 

Sure, you can do an easily replaced job like digging ditches.  Anyone can do that.  Or you can share your unique perspective on the world along with your unique talents and way of doing things.  No one else can do that.

And the only way to really find your value… is to FULLY let your gifts out into this world.

It’s often fear that prevents us from doing just that – sharing our unique perspective with the world in our own unique way, with our own unique talents.  We fear that our contribution might be measured by the world and found lacking, or worse… worthless.  So… we take on that ditch digging job.  Or we approach our career the “conventional” way (doing what your parents thought you should or finding a job you think your friends will think is admirable).

It won’t happen, I say.  In fact, the only way to ever find out that you’re actually priceless, is to actually have the courage to fully release your unique contribution to the world – those unique talents, expressed with your unique perspective and personality.  To the degree that you hold yourself back – to the degree that you fear that you’re contribution to the world might be valueless – is to the degree that you form a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Hold back your value and you hold back how much the world CAN value you.

Copyright © 2021, Mark Farmer, Life Success Engine – the Engine Driving Your Life Success: http://LifeSuccessEngine.com

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