This post is part of the Blog Crawl of Self-Love, hosted by Molly Mahar of Stratejoy. She believes in the transformational power of truly adoring ourselves and so do I. Find out more about The ABC’s of Self Love Blog Crawl + Treasure Hunt here.
I like making money. Even more, I like helping others make money.
I’ve been accused of equating net worth with self-worth. But I don’t.
Your self-worth isn’t a number. Your earning potential doesn’t indicate your living potential.
But since transforming my minimum wage mindset into a 6-figure business, I’ve learned one thing: it’s impossible to “earn what you’re worth” until you know your own self-worth. Not in terms of numbers, naturally, but in terms of the value you bring to your inner & outer world.
Yes, I believe that we’re born with inherent worth as human beings. But there is also something to be said for identifying the unique traits and talents that make up your ability to contribute to something larger than yourself, your immanent value.
Before I started my business, my own self-worth had been beaten down. The corporation I worked for didn’t value my contribution. I had very few meaningful personal relationships. I was disconnected from my creativity and my own genius.
Intellectually, I knew I was worth something. Practically, I didn’t have the foggiest clue why.
When it came to understanding how I could contribute to society – and my own bottom line – through a business, it was rough. When you lack self-worth, it’s near impossible to name the value you can deliver to a customer, client, or employer.
Little by little, project by project, job by job, I started to see my contribution for what it was. Valuable. Extremely valuable.
But it was the work – not the price tag – that told me that. It was the results I created. It was the ease & relief I brought to my clients.
It was my unique contribution to each relationship that reinforced a growing self-worth. It was the investment of energy, time, and risk that allowed me to get back in touch with my own value as an individual.
As time went on, I could easily name those traits and talents. I became in tune with my immanent value.
And that – and only that – was what allowed me to catapult my earnings well past the my own self-imagined ceiling. Knowing my self-worth made earning more, taking risks, and asking for the true value of the work that I delivered the default.
No, your self-worth is not a number. The number on your paycheck or your hourly rate doesn’t determine how important you are.
But uncovering & reconnecting with the value you already possess – and exercising that value – is the quickest route to earning more than you’ve ever dreamed.
