Discovering The Price And Purpose Of Meaningful Expression

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Price Vs. Cost

As I was catching up on some blog reading, I came across Tim Brownson’s post The Biggest Risk I Ever Took. It triggered this post so read his first before you move on.

…I still have the book on my shelf to this day.

Secrets of Closing The Sale by Zig Ziglar. It’s really dusty and I haven’t read it in about 15 years but it’s still there. It holds a pretty cool insight into living a fulfilling life. Possibly hard to believe coming from a book about closing, but it’s true.

I remember years ago learning the difference between price and cost from Zig. It was an old closing technique he had discovered however I found it much more valuable as a life lesson myself.

The spin was that there was a price (a dollar amount in his example) you paid for obtaining whatever pots or pans he’s was selling at the time but that there was a cost to not buying them.

Zig’s would frame the long term cost, such as lost time and deteriorating health from poorly cooked food, as much more expensive in the long run than the up front price of the pots & pans.

He would literally bring to present day the emotional pain of the future result of not investing in his product. In the prospects eyes the price paled in comparison to the cost and he would “close the sale” so to speak.

He would bring the future to today and relate it in such a way that his wares where the answer to a better quality of life.

Now I’m not here to talk about the morals of his selling techniques and whether you agree with them or not. So why this stroll down memory lane on a single selling technique and what does it have to do with you?

“When we don’t pay the price of following our hearts we face the cost of living a mediocre life.”

We Are Incomplete

Tim’s post triggered thoughts and emotions around not only where I’ve come from but I also asked myself if I had paid the price or was living the cost. I’ve taken lots of risks in the past, some turned out good, some not so good.

The one thing I like about Tim is he’s totally up front about not having it all figured out or together right now. And don’t let anyone fool you, we’re all incomplete and rarely have it all together:

“I’m not even sure where I am now in the great scheme of things. I do ok as a Life Coach, but it’s not like I have to beat people away with sticks.”

Overall though, Tim paid the price of moving to another country and changing careers because the cost of a nervous breakdown outweighed the price of the change.

When asked if he thought it was risky moving from another country and changing careers:

“Not really, because I would probably have had a nervous breakdown if I’d stayed in sales. And anyway I was miserable as sin, so how risky is leaving a job that makes you unhappy?”

As of the past year I’ve come full circle in discovering not only my own path, purpose and cause but in this journey I’ve worked with a bunch of other people in discovering the same.

In my humble opinion, I’ve discovered we’re all here to express ourselves in some form or fashion that feels natural to us.

However I’ve noticed many people express who they see themselves as based on comparison.  This means they they held others in a higher light than themselves and they think that’s what they should be like and therefore become a thin carbon copy. They chase careers and relationships based on other peoples values.

In my opinion I feel it’s wiser to express who we are by acknowledging what we are.

Our self concept can either be based on our own personal values, our past experiences or we can barrow other peoples who we hold in higher esteem than ourselves.

Our overall self concept is how we see ourselves. The quality of our lives depends on if we’re consciously nurturing that healthy self concept with our thoughts & actions or if we’re still asleep at the wheel and falling victim to our worldly surroundings.

A fulfilling life is a function of consciously expressing what we are through who we see ourselves as.

It becomes more obvious to others how we see ourselves based on what kind of events we attend, careers we align ourselves with, friendships & social circles we surround ourselves with and lifestyle we maintain.

We become our own parent and provider to our inner self, just take a look at how you’ve raised yourself as an adult today.

In my experience, what we are is a function of our connection to divinity and source. Basically, we fucking rock regardless of our roles. (Pardon the pun) Our roles are a function of aligning ourselves with our deepest core values which is driven by what we feel we’re missing.

The void drives our values. Even people who do fulfilling work do it because they are incomplete oddly enough. Whether they are conscious of it or not.

Think about it, if they felt they were complete they wouldn’t feel the need to do the work.

Satisfying work is a function of doing what fills the void. The cause or purpose we consciously design outside of ourselves is unconsciously designed to fill the void within ourselves. (Unless of course you are conscious of this broader concept)

So we are able to consciously express ourselves in a manner that aligns with our deeper purpose or mission. That means it feels good and yes it’s a mission that we design around our voids.

The Price Vs. The Cost of Expression

I’ve talked a lot here about discovering your values in past posts. So if authentic expression is about expressing your deepest core values around your work & play what is the price of expressing them vs not?

The price of expressing yourself and your values could be:

  • Putting yourself “out there” in the publics eyes
  • Standing for something
  • Becoming highly visible
  • Possibly becoming a target for criticism
  • Being rejected or ridiculed
  • Carving out time it takes to learn new skills
  • Changing your environment (Possibly changing countries)

The cost if you don’t express yourself:

  • Doing work you dislike
  • Living unauthentically
  • Just getting by
  • Stress, anxiety and worry (Basically being miserable)
  • Living in a box (Rhetorically speaking)
  • Poor health (I had to throw it in because it’s true)

Ultimately these costs could lead to living a mediocre life, in which you’re unhappy unfulfilled and even depressed. Is the price worth the cost?

Which do you feel you place more value on right now in your life? The price or the cost?

It’s hard to place emphases on the price when you’re not clear on what you’re paying it for.

Your Social Impact

Taking risks and paying the price becomes easier when it’s not your identity that suffers.

The price of self expression seems like nothing compared to the cost of quietly keeping it all to yourself and not expressing your talents and gifts to the world.

Consider your social impact on the world when you focus on a larger life plan that encompasses creating change in the world even if it’s just in your community and improving the quality of life for others.

What could that life plan or purpose look like and what kind of personal currency would it require you to pay?

  • Valuing Vulnerability
  • Opening yourself to new concepts and philosophies
  • Letting go of old concepts and philosophies
  • Accepting yourself as you are right now (Instead of waiting for who you think you need to become first)
  • Become laser focused on the benefits rather than the fears
  • Making a plan
  • Arranging a space for what is right now and moving from there

Focus on what kind of impact in the way of value that you can provide to others. What could that look like and better yet, feel like?

The Fact Remains The Same

Quite frankly I still doubt myself at times. Just like anyone else I put my underwear on too tight some days.

I haven’t gotten it all figured out but I do spend time doing my best to live by the principles that most important to me.

Whether you agree with any of this or not, I encourage you to bring to light what you’re spending your energy on right now. Or better yet where your emotional and mental emphasis is being placed.

This is your personal currency.

Are your spending it on price or  cost.

When you shift your emotional, mental and physical efforts on the price aspect and it’s aligned with your highest values you begin to see major transformation in our life.

It’s hard to stop someone who has made up their mind.

When you make this shift you begin to attract relationships, events and opportunities that align with your values & purpose.

Maybe it’s all bullshit or bollox (as Tim would say) but it sure beats floating around bending in the wind every time someone around you blows hot air your way.

What is your truth? Discover it, stand by it and live it.

If you found this valuable share it with someone on Twitter, Facebook or just email it to them. I appreciate it.

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