Wrong.
Time is the most valuable resource on earth.
Each soul is given a non-refundable, one-time allotment. Some are given less while others rake in a huge pile of the stuff.
Often by no choice of their own.
“In transport economics, the value of time is the opportunity cost of the time that a traveler spends on his/her journey. In essence, this makes it the amount that a traveler would be willing to pay in order to save time, or the amount they would accept as compensation for lost time.” via Wikipedia
People sell themselves too cheap. We, on a whole, undervalue our time and let others steal it. Whether we’re being paid hourly, salaried or per-job – we’re still trading time for profit.
Are you letting people steal time from you?
I for one value my time more than a lesser payment. Although there comes the delicate balance of being “competitive” versus whoring yourself out.
Where is that line drawn? Do you find yourself crossing it for the sole benefit of attracting another customer?
Just remember…it’s often just that…work.
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"You’re such a smart boy!" were his first accolades heard. So, it’s no wonder that this phrase became the title of his business, Smart Boy Designs.
Read more about Christian 
{ 33 comments… read them below or add one }
Twitter: luckyoliver70
August 5, 2011 at 11:49 pm
Hi Christian,
wow, powerful article. I agree that most people sell themselves too cheap because they allow others to steal their time, not only customers or business partners, but also friends and relatives. My time is too precious in order for me to listen to negative stuff from negative people.
To answer you question: I crossed that line more than once in the past to make that additional sale or only to look good in front of the managers. Not any longer.
Thanks for sharing your insights.
Take care
Oliver
Take care
Oliver Tausend recently posted..Money Management – How We Set Positive Causes For A Financially Free Future
Twitter: smartboydesigns
August 6, 2011 at 5:25 pm
Thank you for sharing your personal opinion and thoughts Oliver. I think it’s great that you’ve been in both places. You’ve crossed the line, and now you also have the resolution to not do it again.
I’m sure it’s even more important for you because of that.
Hi Christian,
A good friend of mine is an HR consultant to the banking sector here in Sydney.
She has been putting her hourly rate up significantly every three months for the last year because she said she wanted to be in less demand. She felt she was too busy.
Even though she knows her stuff, I think her hourly rate now is quite staggering to be honest.
What is interesting is that she is even more in demand now and busier than she ever has been.
Quite obviously when we value ourselves more others do too!
~Marcus
Marcus Baker recently posted..Movers and Shakers | July 2011
Twitter: smartboydesigns
August 6, 2011 at 5:29 pm
That’s such a fantastic story! It’s amazing what the power of perceived value can do.
Sounds like she did so gradually too, which can also affect the outcome.
Twitter: janetcallaway
August 7, 2011 at 5:14 pm
Marcus, aloha. Great story. What she is doing is demonstrating the effectiveness of two of Robert Cialdini’s Universal Principles–The Law of Scarcity and the Law of Authority.
Because of her price, she is considered the “elite” that only a few can “have” so more people want her. She’s scarce.
Since she can command such a high fee, she is an Authority thus making people want to have her.
Janet recently posted..Life—Is it Puzzling or a Puzzle? By Janet Callaway The Natural Networker
Twitter: wonderoftech
August 10, 2011 at 8:33 am
Marcus, that is a valuable lesson. If you value yourself highly, then others will too. Thanks for sharing that!
Carolyn recently posted..Email for Life!
Exactly! Man, time is so precious and yet we get caught up in the mundane little things of life and we forget to step back and take it all in.
It’s tragic when people don’t realize they’ve run out of time until it’s too late.
To me things got to the point where I would just rather make no money and move all the way back home than waste time being undervalued. If I take the time back then at least I can put in work on my own projects.
I’ve found now that I’m firm with the value of my time, people question it less. I wasted a lot of time working for other people, and I’m determined to not waste any more. This article is a nice little re-affirmation for me. Peace!
John Garrett recently posted..Addicted to Non-Interactive Video Games
Twitter: smartboydesigns
August 6, 2011 at 5:30 pm
I’ve seen it. We’ve probably all seen it. When someone chooses to waste away their life. It’s sad!
Great to hear your thoughts too, about how much you value your time. That’s so important. People seem to feed off of it in many ways. Let’s decide together to never waste our time again!
I’ve decided that in the time that i wrote this comment, I could have
a) read another blog post
b) gotten some milk
c) thoughts of 3 things i forgot to do.
d) been appreciative of Christian and voted for him again.
I did d) anyway. So many ways to use your time. The one thing is that you do control it. Some people think it controls them.
Laurinda Shaver recently posted..The Extremely Personal Post
Twitter: smartboydesigns
August 6, 2011 at 10:08 pm
So true Laurinda.
We seem to “add” value to whatever we’re spending out time doing, right? So for one person, spending time working for little for some person could ACTUALLY be enduring and wonderful to them. Right?
My Dad always likes to say, “You choose exactly what you want to do.”
Thank you for voting.
Great reminder. Our time on this planet is short. We all have to find out for ourselves what our times is really worth and then use it wisely.
Excellent article, Christian.
It seemed very heartfelt..:)
Mark
Mark recently posted..Coming Soon – Guest Blog Posting 2.0
Twitter: smartboydesigns
August 11, 2011 at 6:37 pm
Appreciate the comment and thought Mark. Really enjoy having you stop by here. And thank you for summing up the post in just one, valuable sentence.
We all have time on earth – and we must find it’s purpose and worth! I love that. What are some purposes you’ve found in your life thus far?
i think this answer depends on the person/customer – if it is an important one you should sometimes put more work in it, this will help your business because you have a good chance to pitch an competitor in another project with the same person.
Steve recently posted..onTour: White Nights in Estonia
Twitter: smartboydesigns
August 11, 2011 at 6:38 pm
Good point Steve. Sometimes you’ve got “long term” value welling up within a customer that will be unleashed at a later date.
Twitter: adriennesmith40
August 7, 2011 at 12:27 pm
I had a difficult time with this in the beginning myself Christian. I wasn’t valuing my time at all, just freely being available to help anyone who called. But I soon realized that I have to value my time if I intend to get anywhere at all.
Like Oliver pointed out, I no longer give my time to negative people and have actually disassociated myself with those friends that use to drag me down.
Time is the one thing you can never get back so decide how to use it wisely.
Adrienne recently posted..If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It
Twitter: smartboydesigns
August 11, 2011 at 6:44 pm
It’s good to hear that you have some real-life examples to back up your thoughts Adrienne. Those “negative” friends can be real time suckers. They have the power to suck the life right out of people, and often change their friends fast. A high turnover rate.
Love this little piece Christian.
Too often have I wasted time. To be honest it’s rarely been an issue of selling myself too cheap. It’s been an abundant of time which caused me to become lazy and get nothing done.
“Write that article? Nah, I’ll do it tomorrow. I got time.”
Instead of just utilizing 100% of my time because it’s valuable and I’ll never get it back. Being productive for a long period of time have never been my strength. I always been a short spurt kind of guy. Yet I know I need to change that and find a middle ground. So i can get things done but also find time to relax.
Allan recently posted..Overcoming Anxiety
Twitter: smartboydesigns
August 11, 2011 at 6:46 pm
That’s often been my problem too, Allan. For quite a while when younger I would put things off, and then get everything done at the last second.
But that’s no way to live, and is a whole lot more stressful after you’ve procrastinated!
Twitter: janetcallaway
August 7, 2011 at 5:24 pm
Christian, aloha. Most people do value their time far too little yet it is the most valuable resources we have. You can always make more money, however, you cannot make more time. To quote a popular e-mail:
To realize the value of one year, ask a student who failed a grade.
To realize the value of one month, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby.
To realize the value of one week, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realize the value of one hour, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
To realize the value of one second, ask the person who just avoided a traffic accident.
To tell you another story on time and its value, let me tell you about an attorney I knew decades ago. He was a very successful litigation attorney. How he used to charge his clients is by what he thought it was worth to them. It didn’t matter whether it took him 10 minutes, 10 hours or 10 days. He charged them what he felt was right for the task.
It used to drive the other partners in the firm nuts because they went strictly by billable hours. Now what’s interesting, Christian, this attorney’s bills were paid in a timely manner and without grumbling. The same could not be said for all the other attorneys in the firm.
He worked effectively and efficiently because he wanted his time to go sailing which was his passion. Because he knew the value of time and task, he satisfied both his clients and himself.
Best wishes for a terrific week, Christian. Aloha. Janet
Janet recently posted..Life—Is it Puzzling or a Puzzle? By Janet Callaway The Natural Networker
Twitter: wonderoftech
August 10, 2011 at 8:36 am
Janet, what a great comment! I love the part about the value of each segment of time. And the part about the billable hours really struck home for me because I used to work that way and hated it. You certainly understand time and have a helpful way of sharing your understanding with others. Well done.
Carolyn recently posted..Bump – The Fun, Fast and Free Way to Share!
Twitter: smartboydesigns
August 11, 2011 at 6:48 pm
A terrific comment Janet. Love all the thoughts you’ve placed into one area. This could be a post all in itself!
The end really resonated with me. Charge for the task, and you’ll satisfy yourself and the client. We all know what we’re worth – it’s just the matter of figuring it out, sticking to the plan, and working hard.
It’s good to hear that this worked out so well for your friend!
It’s insane how cheaply we will sell our time.
I have been really questioning this a lot lately. I think it is time to reclaim our lives, whaddaya say?
David W. recently posted..You’re Just Too Old and Busy
Twitter: smartboydesigns
August 11, 2011 at 6:49 pm
Yes, let’s do it David. Let’s reclaim our lives. The entire economy, at the moment, is forced to sell themselves cheap.
Twitter: wonderoftech
August 10, 2011 at 8:39 am
Hi Christian, This subject is near and dear to my heart. As a lawyer who used to bill by the hour, I always hated how my work was valued. I could have a brilliant idea in a second that would save my client billions but that second was valued less than my proofreading a letter. It just didn’t seem right.
You can always get more money but you can never get more time.
Thanks so much for reminding us of the importance of this very key concept!
Carolyn recently posted..Off the Grid!
Twitter: smartboydesigns
August 11, 2011 at 8:30 pm
That’s a great way to put everything into perspective Carolyn. A second can have a whole REAM of different values!
And I love that last thought too….you can always get more money….and not time. I need to remember that more often.
For some reason I didn’t realize you were a lawyer! Sorry for not noticing that before now. That’s interesting! I need to go back and read your About Page, because it’s been a while since I last read it.
Twitter: berget
August 10, 2011 at 10:44 pm
Hi Christian,
I was just reading a post at Robert Dempsey’s blog about raising your fees, and I thought about a story about a designer friend of mine. I did the same while reading your post.
She hasn’t raised her fees (or value) for five years. I asked her why, and she told me that it’s because she wants all her clients to be happy. She is in high demand, but she’s saying no to the people and companies she doesn’t want to be working with. She has enough money, and she’s happy. So, I’m thinking that being in high demand is not a bad thing, but we need to be in control of our destiny. To some, freedom is more important than money, to some money is more valuable than freedom. I say, the important thing is to understand what we want and value, and then go and get it.
Jens
Jens P. Berget recently posted..I Expect People Will Open My Emails When I Use This Trick
Twitter: smartboydesigns
August 11, 2011 at 11:17 pm
It reminds me of many friends who enjoy working, are in high demand, but just have decided they don’t want to put in too many hours – and they’re happy with a lesser work load. If it makes them happy, then I say, it’s perfect.
Great thoughts Mr. Berget!
Whether or not time is being “stolen” is a relative concept, if you ask me. If you really truly love what you’re doing and are able to make a decent living, but should probably be paid more, is that time stolen? Or is that time well spent because it supports you financially and is spent doing something you enjoy vs. something that pays more but you don’t like as much?
Laurie
Twitter: smartboydesigns
August 11, 2011 at 11:19 pm
A point with a great message Laurie. I appreciate that. Some of the most influential people in my life have been music teachers, general teachers, people who loved their craft – etc….and made a living from their art but who also weren’t rich.
Twitter: vitalyvt
August 12, 2011 at 8:04 pm
Awesome topic and the comments are definitely worthwhile. Hmmm … why did I name one of my blogs “My Time Matters Blog”? Ohh yeah, simply for these reasons. Thank you for sharing this Christian and I totally agree with Adrienne and many others here, that time should only be geared towards the positive things in life … for the most part.
Vitaly Tennant recently posted..How do you earn cash online? Or do you? Ideas here!
Twitter: smartboydesigns
August 15, 2011 at 10:47 am
Naming your blog “my time matters” definitely puts emphasis on what you’re all about Vitaly. I’m sure you’re a productivity master!
What would you say are those things that help you to stay balanced and focused each day?
Hi Christian. I can’t agree more. It is so easy to be abused by people with power and money in today’s financial crisis. I suggest people to do some introspection into who and what they are. List all the things you are good at – and try to evaluate what you are worth (In the economical sense.). Very insightful article!
Twitter: smartboydesigns
August 15, 2011 at 10:47 am
Like that idea about doing a list Velo. That’s a great thing to do often, and find where you need to improve, and where you need to focus more of your valuable time.