“A bar of iron costs $5, converted into horseshoes its value is $12, converted into needles its value is $3,500, converted into balance springs for watches its value is $300,000. Your own worth is also determined by what you are able to do with yourself.” -Dr Wayne Dyer
How much do you think you’re worth? How much success do you think you deserve? Are you worth a $5 iron bar or a $300,000 balance spring for a good watch? You are what you make of yourself. Herein lies the problem. We allow others to determine our self worth and how successful we should or should not be. If we don’t value our own worth highly, do you think someone else will?
One of my early coaches and mentors used to tell me that everything I wanted to know about success and finding my way home (finding myself) could be learned from the movie “The Wizard of Oz.” At the time I didn’t understand it. Oh sure, I knew the story of Dorothy and The Wizard of Oz, but not in the sense he was talking about. You have to realize that he was quite clueless and unconscious in those days. So clueless, in fact, that when my trainer asked me to stop and register, I thought he was referring to the hotel we were staying at for the seminar he was giving. Like Dorothy, it took me a while to get the big “IT.”
The “Big IT” for me was finally waking up and realizing that I had everything I needed to succeed inside of me. I just needed to learn what the right tools were that would allow me to unlock my inner responses.
The second “Big IT” was realizing that I had options. I didn’t have to settle for making horseshoes, I could be a spring for a very expensive watch.
Your self-esteem and your success are defined and determined by YOU. It is an extension of who you are. You have to own it before you can sell it to someone else.
Here are three examples of what happens when you value yourself at a $5 iron bar.
1. When I first hung up my coach shingle, I was tormenting how much to charge. He was so concerned with attracting clients that he only charged $25 an hour. I shudder every time I think about how little he thought of me. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.
2. When I started my business, I treated it as a hobby, not a bona fide business. I would put someone else’s needs ahead of my own in a heartbeat. It wasn’t until I started treating my business like a business that my business became a business.
3. Again, when I started my coaching business, it was suggested that I use my first name, Beverly, because it sounded more professional than Cookie. And, of course, believing that the others knew more than me, I agreed. After about a year, I was having a major identity crisis with the name thing. I had been nicknamed “Cookie” since I was born and that was what everyone called me and I liked it. I decided to risk not being wanted. Thus, Success Source was born, introducing Cookie Tuminello, Success Coach.
Are you beginning to see how easily we can short ourselves?
Now here are three examples of what it means to value yourself as a finely tuned watch.
1. Now I value myself and I value the value of the service I provide to my clients. The service I provide makes a difference in their lives. I now set my fees and stand proud when presenting them. No more shudders for me.
2. Now I choose the clients I work with and the hours in which I am available to serve them. My clients respect the fact that I am a professional which in turn teaches them to value themselves.
3. I now experience more productivity, more profitability, and more power in my business than ever before. Not to mention, I’m now more successful with a lot less stress.
Are you starting to see the difference?
This week, ask yourself this question: Are you a $5 iron bar or a $300,000 balance spring for a good watch? And if you’re having trouble figuring it out, grab a pen and paper and make a list of what’s working and what’s not working in your life and/or business. Take action to eliminate what makes you feel like a crowbar. Remember that your ultimate success begins and ends with you.