Mountains of Arizona
Sunny 70 Degrees
4:03 p.m.
I got tired of being a “freelancer” because I never felt like I had much momentum. Projects would come in, work would go out. More projects, more work.
I could have charged more, of course, but there was only so much effort I was willing to invest in any one project, so I didn’t want to push the price too high lest someone would think I was going to be their private servant as part of the deal.
So there was basically a price ceiling I bumped up against that I didn’t want to break.
Like so many things that shaped the earlier part of my life, eventually I realized this was dumb.
More than that, I realized that I was carrying a fundamental misunderstanding of the process of exchange.
Let’s say you’re swimming around under the water and someone puts their hand on your head to hold you down.
If they refuse to remove their hand, you’re going to have a problem pretty darn soon.
The value of them removing their hand is beyond measure.
The effort required to do so is virtually non-existent.
Now this is an extreme example, but it shows that effort has zero relation to value UNLESS you project that belief onto your reality, then it will.
Am I suggesting we live in a world of make believe? No. I’m suggesting we live in a world of believe and make. What we believe is what we make.
I spent years walking around with effort and value joined at the hip when they’re not even from the same galaxy.
Why do we do this?
That’s a mighty long answer, but the short version is: because you were taught to.
Are you tired of working so hard for money?
Then stop working so hard for money.
Do you realize you have the power to do this?
Work to leave the world better than you found it. Charge whatever you want for that. Find people who are OK with that exchange.