Are You Paid What You’re Worth?

Some questions are tough.
Some, on the other hand, are just plain barmy.

Questions like, “Well, David, what do YOU want to be when you grow up?”
We reach inside the chasm of our 9-year old mind…
A mind shaped by life in a convent children’s home, surrounded by nuns, farmers, gardeners and Primary school teachers…
We check out what very little we know of our limited horizons…
And blurt out whatever we hope will shut them up and leave us to play.

I’m not quite sure that I’ve grown up yet.
(Although Wendy tells me that there are signs that I’m getting there)
But I don’t imagine “Business Coach, Author and Entrepreneur” was on the list back then.

Then, somewhere in our early, confusing teens, we face another vexing question.
”What Am I Worth?”

And – until we learn a better way – we start the painful, consuming game of constantly comparing ourselves.
With somebody. With anybody!

Of course, it’s a game we can never truly win.

If we feel we’re losing… we shrink, and rob the world of our unique gifts and influence.
If we’re striving to vanquish… we’re in danger of selling our soul somewhere along the twisted road.
If we feel we have absolutely won… we’re probably considering running for President.

And then, understanding what our business behaviour (service) is worth…
Well, that’s one we can’t seem to find the instruction manual for.

We desperately cast around, looking at our peers and competitors for some guidance.
Listening our for some wise tradition; some historical, handed-down plumb-line.
Some benchmark.

All a bit soppy really.
Since they’re almost certainly casting around as well.
Leaning on the agenda of others.
Or looking back at you, to see what you’re up to.

When, all the time, the answer lies inside of two people.
You.
And them.

You. Your confidence in the impact of how well you serve others.
With the visible, empirical evidence to support that confidence.

Them. Those clients who would gladly express that they truly value what you do for them; for their lives.
And whose lives (not their assets) clearly demonstrate the fruit of your work together.

I’ve worked with Financial Planners whose sum total of those two beliefs & insights…
(Theirs…
Plus those they serve)…
Is three… four… ten times what it was, mere months before.
No, really. Ten.

When that switch in our mind called “Perspective” is flipped…
what happens then moves beyond the logic we face in technical exams.
Or our Suitability Reports.

For example…
If you really appreciate the wonder of the tender Christmas Story…
So widely celebrated. So seldom understood…

You’ll know that – like me – you’re of Infinite Worth!

Our businesses on the other hand.
That’s a different story.

But it can be a good story.
And – like most breakthroughs in human history – it starts with a question.

A question like this:
”When I look at the impact I have on others’ lives… what do I think that’s worth?”

Followed by this:
”If I learned to ask the right questions… what would they say that we’re worth in their lives?”

Agreed. It might not be “Infinite”.
But I wager your worth to the people you serve… is probably more than you’re daring to imagine right now.
Perhaps you just need to ask the right questions!