What Value Do You Bring To The Time?

Last week I was on Twitter and shared a thought that apparently based on the emails, direct messages and the emails I received struck a cord. The Tweet went something like this:

You don't get paid for your time.
You get paid for the value you bring to the time.

When I put that Tweet out there I was simply trying to come to grips with some idea of value as it related to my own contributions; contribution to my various business interests, my leadership position, the new material I am adding to my forthcoming second edition of my book and of course the next big thing I need to be creating for Ripple.

Call it one of those theoretical Fridays that found me spending an unusual amount of time in my own head. I started looking at all the various investments of my time and trying to figure out where my input, my experience, my outright effort was best serving those "stake-holders" and projects which I find myself immersed in at the moment.

It is easy to be involved in so many things, which I am, to feel overwhelmed and not really contributing enough to any of them. I guess that's where I was when I started thinking about how I get paid for my efforts. To a certain degree I have never been comfortable with the concept of being paid for something that is not tangible - a product or service in which I directly had a hand in producing. I've always felt a bit uneasy to be paid for just my insight and experience though that is exactly how and why I am paid today.

That's when that little thought hit me. It isn't the tangible output that often people seek to receive from me and dare I say, you either. It's the time, the effort, the insight, the knowledge, the unusual angles in which I may take to examine and solve a problem. And yes...it's the connections. People and companies seek me out to help them identify, develop and grow the key relationships they depend on for their success. They seek me out because of what I bring to the table and the value I deliver for the time I invest in helping them.

I like to think I am a big picture guy when it comes to other people's ideas, dreams and visions. I will admit however, I am often a bit short-sighted when it comes to looking at my own. Friday was a bit of a breakthrough for me and it left my head and my heart more aligned than ever in the work that I am called to do. It also left me feeling more comfortable about how and why I am paid. Thank God for theoretical Fridays as they often lead to relaxed Saturdays.

So I have to ask....are you simply being paid for your time or is there another way you too should be looking at the value you bring to the table? It seems that based on the initial feedback I received from that little 'ol Tweet, that simply little statement got a lot of people thinking. Here's hoping it does the same for you.

Ripple On!!!