Hello,
Welcome.
My name is Lew Redman.
Thanks for listening.
I want to talk today about value and how that relates to money and how that relates to ethics around what is wrong,
What is right,
What should something be valued at,
What should someone charge,
Is there something that's ethically wrong or right about a specific dollar amount.
And I try to be really transparent with my journey on here and explain my own processes and the things that I invest in the way that I use money.
I have some talks around here that talk about money I've made and also ways that I think about money.
And the reason that I want to bring up this topic today is because I just invested $10,
000 into a new coach.
Now you hearing that you might have lots of feelings and judgments that might be like,
That sounds insane.
Or you might be like,
Yeah,
Lou,
That's,
That makes sense.
So depending on your background,
Depending on what's valuable to you,
Depending on so many different factors,
You're going to have a different experience of hearing me say something like that.
And what's fascinating and why this topic is,
Is what I want to talk about today is because recently,
There was the NBA finals for basketball happening.
And there was this whole energy happening in New York City was the first time New York was in the finals.
In 30 years.
And obviously,
New York is the biggest city in the world.
And so there was just a lot of hype.
And everyone wanted to be at these basketball games.
And if you looked at a ticket to go to the basketball game,
Really much any of the the finals,
It was about $10,
000 for like the lowest nosebleed section seat.
And so it went up to like,
You could spend $150,
000 $200,
000 on a ticket to a basketball game.
Let's remember,
A basketball game lasts for 46 minutes I believe.
Would you pay $10,
000 to watch a 45 minute game?
And so if you're not from the US,
Imagine your country is in the finals of the World Cup.
That was the energy of New York City.
So people were paying that.
And again,
Much,
Much more to go to this game.
And you might say,
Well,
Lou,
New York City is the richest city in the world.
And that's true.
But I'm betting that there are diehard Knicks fans that worked regular jobs,
That used their money that they had saved,
Something that mattered to them,
That they saw a lot of value in,
And they wanted to be there to see their team win their first title in over 50 years.
And so what are people paying for?
They're not paying just for a seat.
They're not paying just for a game.
They're paying for the once in a lifetime chance to be in the energy of something greater than themselves,
To revel in the ecstatic glory of their team winning,
And then to be able to tell the story of,
I was at that game for the rest of their lives.
Yeah,
It will be fun.
It will be exhilarating.
But after the title is won and the lights go out,
What about that person's life will actually be different?
They may still be working an unfulfilling job,
Having the same arguments with their spouse,
And not realizing their full potential.
They paid $10,
000 to watch other people live their dreams,
Yet what might happen if that same person invested six months of deep inner work getting clear on their vision and executing it?
What if they bet on themselves realizing their dreams rather than fulfilling feeding off others.
The truth is most people don't see the value.
Many would balk at paying that much for a coach the same way that many balk for paying that much for a basketball game.
And neither is right nor wrong.
It's just a different set of values.
If you do any sort of client-based work,
Your job is not to appeal to the masses,
But to find the problems to solve for the right people who value said problem enough to charge prices where you can actually make a living and not be anxiously hustling session to session.
Seth Godin says lowering your prices is a race to the bottom.
His advice is to get better clients.
Better clients pay more and are more committed,
Leading to better results and testimonials,
Making you more confident in your services,
Allowing you to charge more and attract better clients.
It's a virtuous cycle.
Charging more increases the container's energy for you and your client.
More,
You show up differently,
You have more space and more to give.
The client also shows up differently.
When you spend more on something,
You pay more attention to it,
Which enhances the focus and execution.
I saw a therapist recently who said he was seeing 30 clients a week.
Both times he showed up seven minutes late to our session.
I could feel his rushing and lack of presence.
I wasn't paying much.
So what could I expect?
Because of this,
I didn't really take anything into account.
During the week.
I didn't take it that seriously.
Now that I've invested $10,
000,
Something shifts in me.
The moment I say yes,
I can feel it throughout the week.
And you bet,
I'm doing what I say I will do between sessions.
When my friend invested $18,
000 into a coach,
His first comment to me was how good it felt to give that money to himself.
Yes,
The coach made the money,
But the amount was a personal commitment to himself,
A statement to his subconscious that I'm worth investing $18,
000 into.
People are paying for more than time.
The person going to a Knicks game isn't paying for the 45 minute basketball game.
They're paying for a lot more,
The anticipation,
The energy,
The story.
This can be true for the right clients.
They're not paying for an hour session.
They are paying for the changes they make as they go about their lives,
The confidence they feel when asking for new opportunities and the results they receive when they live a life that is more true to them.
But Lou,
Are there people,
And specifically service providers,
Coaches,
With no experience charging astronomical amounts?
Of course.
Is it unethical?
That depends.
You have to ask the clients.
When criticized for his lack of credentials,
Tony Robbins is famous for saying,
I have a PhD in results.
He actually says F in results,
But you get the picture.
If the person is making a false claim and manipulating people into doing something that is not in their best interest,
Yes,
That's unethical.
But if people are happy and see the perceived value,
Then who's to judge?
Everyone has a story about money,
And no one's holier than thou.
Some people perceive $180,
000 in a watch,
Others $300,
000 in a college degree.
Some judge money,
Yet are in constant anxiety about it.
I'll leave you with this.
No one is going to magically pay you more just because.
And if you work for a company,
You already know this.
Before you want others to value you,
You have to value yourself.
And more so,
You have to just value the thing that you're offering.
That's true for more than just money.
Just as people are willing to pay five figures on a basketball game,
There are people who value what you do at a higher rate than what you may currently charge,
If that's where you're at,
If you're a service provider.
And if you're not,
I'm guaranteeing you that there's someone,
If you're at a company,
I bet that there's someone out there at some other company that values your skill set at a higher salary than what you are currently accepting.
And it's not to say that you need to leave if you're really happy at your job,
But I'm just trying to make the point that we have to be willing to say,
This is what I'm,
Like,
I am going to,
This is what I'm calling in.
This is what I'm accepting.
It won't be everyone.
Some people will say,
No,
That's not for me.
They won't see the value,
But some will.
And it's okay,
It's not for everyone.
You are a service provider,
You might say,
Well,
Lou,
I want to help the people who don't have the funds.
I want to help myself 10 years ago when I had no money.
And this is such a common thing.
I had it too in the beginning.
And I promise you will be able to help more people who don't have the funds much better when you're not in survival mode.
I love the concept of expensive or free.
When you have more than enough,
You can create and do more free things,
And you can make better stuff.
You can create scholarships,
Discounts for those who really need them.
You can do it all without resentment.
And just a side note for service providers that do have a business,
Note that if you want to help people who don't have funds,
You don't have a business,
You have a charity,
And there's nothing wrong with that.
It's just a different model.
And still,
You have to learn how to value your services to fundraise and ask for the money from people who do have it.
And so this again is for service providers.
What I'm not saying is to make people spend money they don't have and creating distress.
I'm not saying manipulating people into doing things that are not in their best interest.
I'm not saying to charge more without understanding your own relationship to the price and the value that you're giving.
I'm not saying to make more money for the sake of more money in endless greed.
What I'm actually saying is that by charging more,
You get to think about money less so you can put more attention on your craft and the things in your life that you care about.
Whether you are a service provider,
Whether you are a client of a service provider,
I hope you reflect on what you value and how you might show up differently if you valued yourself more.
So this is a juicy,
Juicy topic.
And I'd love to hear any comments or thoughts you have.
I thank you so much for listening and sending you lots of love.
And I'm rooting for you,
Rooting for you to thrive in all areas of your life.
And I know for many,
Money can be so much in the shadow of our consciousness,
In the shadow of especially spiritual wellness practitioners who really want to help people And so,
I'm walking this path too.
I'm not perfect.
I'm figuring out.
I hope by me sharing it,
It's helpful to just hear how I process and think about these things.
So yeah,
Open to your feedback and chat soon.
