Authenticity -- is it still a "thing?"
Or, has it landed in the trash bin of overused, and now meaningless words like great, unique, awesome, and diversity.
Being authentic gets you into trouble sometimes.
But, that trouble is miniscule compared to the ramifications of being someone other yourself.
Recently people told me that
they were "moonlighting as a teacher."
they didn't realize that they themselves were the brand.
they didn't internally acknowledge their tremendous value, and therefore couldn't convey that value to others who were in a position to hire them or pay them appropriately.
So, what exactly is value — your value?
Your value is what you bring to the project - what people can expect: you'll be prepared, you will be on time, you are trustworthy. And here's what will happen when I show up, and here's what you will get when I am done.
They didn't know what fee to charge for performing their service(s). This is difficult for everyone.
Once they internally acknowledged their value, finding their fee became easier: Now, it wasn't coming up with a dollar figure, it was answering the questions, "what is my value, what do I bring to the project?” “How long have I been developing my expertise, and what is the professional expertise that I offer?”
Based on my professional experience, I pay attention to my intuition and instincts.” They’re important to the work I do as well
