Nothing To Say

There are days when I sit down to write and feel like I have nothing to say. On such days, I have a few options including trying to research some topics, distracting myself with other actions, catching up on messages or I decide to write whatever ‘nonsense’ comes out as I type.

That’s why today’s topic is ‘Nothing To Say’. I decided to write about having nothing to say and seeing what comes out of that process. As I wondered what to do when I had nothing to say, it made me think about everything else that I could say.

In the past week, I have had some encounters, met people or read and watched contents that have inspired or challenged me. All these lessons matter but somehow they don’t carry the weight of a  specific content, but how about their collective weight? Does this make a difference?

So in a week where I have nothing to say, here are a collection of things to say.

Entitlement

I watched and shared a challenging video clip this morning that reminded me of my late father who told us when we were growing up that all he had to give to us was a great upbringing and good education and after that we were responsible for the life we wanted for ourselves.

He always reminded us he had no wealth for us to inherit so it was down to us to create our own wealth based on the choices we are willing to make and the price we are willing to pay.

Consequently my first job was as a 17 year old and there were times when I had multiple jobs whilst also studying. I learnt not to feel entitled to anything and especially act like anyone, not even my parents, owed me anything. If I wanted something, I worked and planned for it rather than expect someone else to pay the price on my behalf.

I have had this debate with friends who wanted their children to live or act based on their own status rather than the child’s own ability because they believed how the child portrayed themselves was a direct reflection on them. This meant encouraging a child to make choices they couldn’t afford on their own.

One of the worst things any parent can do is allow their children to grow up feeling entitled as those children will end up feeling frustrated, disappointed and ungrateful for whatever came to them too easily. Nothing is ever really enough for anyone who feels entitled.

Born For This

I had the privilege of being interviewed for a radio show titled ‘Born for this’. The interviewer has been through multiple brain surgeries and still deals with the challenges that come with all of that, yet they choose to live their best life everyday.

On their good days, I see them celebrating and on their bad days, I see them fighting and hoping for a better tomorrow. In the year that I have known them, I have never heard a word or seen a post from them complaining about their challenges.

As excited as they were to interview me, I had just as much respect for them and the life they have chosen to live; indeed they were born to live that life and carry their message of hope in the midst of adversity.

What message were your born to carry and deliver? What’s your story? How are you overcoming the adversities in your path? How are you writing or telling your story?

Setting the right price

A group of ladies wanted to put on a conference to help others be better at running their businesses. They needed to pay for the conference venue, speaker’s logistics cost and for catering on the day.

They debated whether they should charge a nominal cost to cover the expense or offer it as a free conference and they all had differing opinions about it. When I spoke to one of the organisers, I asked how they planned to cover their cost if this was going to be a sustainable conference and I also told them to consider the value of the conference to the attendees.

The perception that it needed to be offered free for people to attend because they were targeting a particular community was a wrong premise in my opinion. I asked them to turn it around and ask a different question. What would I be willing to do to access support that will help me run a more successful business and navigate the changing terrain in 2023?

Also they needed to realise they weren’t targeting a community of people, they were targeting business people who just happened to look a certain way; so why were they afraid of talking about money with a community that’s all about making money?

This question helped them to redefine the community and realise charging a small fee was a way to get them to be willing to pay a price for something they needed and their own job was to make sure the content would be worth it.

Do you think of the cost of a thing first or the value of that thing? Would you pay to access content that will transform your life or business? Do you find it’s easier for you to pay for your car maintenance than pay for a medical check up? What value do you place on the things that really matter? Are you willing to invest in yourself or do you only want things that are free?

For a post that started with me having nothing to say, it looks like that wasn’t true; I just needed to dig deeper.

Thanks for reading and sharing my post. Have a great week.