I just got off the phone with a wonderful fellow copywriter who is trying to figure out the types of clients she wants.
One of the topics we touched upon was confidence. How important it is to believe in what you can do and to communicate this to a prospective buyer.
My husband is reading a book that contained this poem:
I bargained with life for a penny,
And life would pay no more,
However, I begged at evening when
I counted my scanty store.
For life is a just employer,
it gives you what you ask,
But once you have set the wages,
Why, you must bear the task.
I worked for a menial’s hire,
only to learn dismayed,
that any wage I had asked of life,
Life would have willingly paid.
– W. Clement Stone/Napoleon Hill
(from SUCCESS Through A Positive Mental Attitude)
The Cowboy sent me a few questions that I’ve been pondering and will ponder even more:
- How much value do you place on yourself?
- How much value do you place on your work?
- How much value do you place on your education?
- How much value do you place on your life experiences?
This is what you bring to the table. Value.
And this value may be hidden from you at the moment.
We have a tendency to look at our skills as the first and most important barometer of our value.
“What can I do?”
It is an important question, but not the only one worth pursuing.
How are your people skills? Do you make people smile? Do you inspire people? Motivate them? Somehow get them to take action?
How do you blend your personality traits with what you do?
One of my favorite assessment books is StandOut: The Groundbreaking New Strengths Assessment from the Leader of the Strengths Revolution, by Marcus Buckingham.
I’ve taken various assessment tests throughout my life. But this assessment I could access through the purchase of the book (there’s an online assessment), was one of the most helpful, eye-opening ones I’ve taken.
Why?
Because it told me my strengths and how it relates to the business world.
Understanding your strengths is the key to never selling yourself short.
When you understand exactly what your strengths are, you can build upon them. Develop them. Pursue opportunities to include them in your work and personal life.
You have so much more to offer than you think.
You have more value than you can imagine.
This is why many coaches tell their clients to “think big.” It’s because so many don’t think big enough. We’re willing to be happy with a cupful of life when instead, life wants to give us gallons and gallons.
This week is a short week because of our American holiday, the Fourth of July, but focus on thinking big. Wherever you are, whatever it is that you do—don’t be satisfied with a cupful.
Be hungry. Go after the feast of life with a vengeance. Ask life for the highest wage you can envision, and when you receive it, say “Yes, of course.”
Expect great things to happen to you and be grateful when they do. We continue to be surprised by life’s generosity because we continue to expect so little.
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