Do You Know Your Value - Insights From a Motivational Speaker

Would You Rather I Take an Hour?
Learning the true value of your time changes everything—especially how you navigate change.

A lawyer goes to the dentist.
He’s in the chair for 10 minutes.
Paying the bill, he says,
“You get more in 10 minutes than I get in an hour!”

The dentist smiles:
“Would you rather I take an hour?”

That, my friend, is value.

And for a long time, I didn’t understand it.

For most of my life, I lived on wages.
I traded hours for dollars.

As a cameraman, I got $100 an hour. Felt like a king.
Then I became a kids’ magician—$500 for an hour.

At first, I was embarrassed by that. It felt… unfair.
Until I looked closer.

To take 50 kids on an excursion to the movies—
bus hire, tickets, food, staff supervision—
costs more than one magician for an hour of laughs and wonder.
The holiday program saw $500 as value.

Now, as a keynote speaker, I can earn $10,000 for an hour on stage.

Again, I struggled at first.
It would stick in my throat when it came time to say it.

Not anymore.

Because I know that if one person in the room hears something that makes them stay—
instead of quitting—
that’s $50,000 saved in rehiring costs.
Two people? $100,000.
Suddenly, $10K isn’t expensive. It’s a bargain.

Here’s the real story:
I didn’t always value myself.
Low self-esteem had me playing small.

But curiosity? That saved me.

At every stage—cameraman, magician, speaker—I kept asking why?
Eventually, my self-doubt ran out of excuses.

My esteem is pretty good now.
Not because I got louder.
But because I got clearer on the value I offer.

If you’re the person who sits back, arms folded, waiting to be taught—
I challenge you to lean forward. Ask questions. Get curious.
Learn under your own steam.

Over time, you’ll surprise yourself.
I know I did.

💬 Have you learned something like this the hard way? Share it in the comments.