A lady once hired a plumber to come and fix her sink. He walked right up to it and banged the pipe and turned a knob until the clog was fixed. He promptly handed the lady a bill after about 2 minutes of work. “$105! Why all you did was bang the pipe and turn a knob! I want a breakdown of why this is so expensive.” The lady exclaimed angrily. The plumber smiled and said, “It’s $5 for banging the pipe and turning the knob. It’s $100 for knowing where to bang.”
I think in business sometimes we forget the value of our genius. What I mean by this is that you are an expert in your field. You obtain knowledge that others lack. You have been to the seminars, bought the books and spent the countless hours honing your skills. Through trial and error you have figured it out. That knowledge is years in the making and you spent your time and money to obtain it.
In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king.
You shouldn’t cheapen that knowledge by losing sight at it’s worth. You were the one who spent years learning. You faced trials and hardships to get there. Your experience is extremely valuable to someone who needs to get where you already are or know what you know. I think sometimes we allow others to pick and prod our genius out of us. We allow them to take from us what we have spent years learning. LET ME BE CLEAR: I am not saying we shouldn’t help others get where they are trying to go. I am a firm believer that if you help enough people get what they want, then you will eventually get what you want. I believe professionals should exchange ideas and help one another. I just want you to be aware and guard your genius. I want you to realize the value behind your knowledge when others don’t respect what you went through to obtain it.
Don’t cheapen your genius.
Like what you see here at Davidbustle.com? Subscribe or share with friends:
Or share with friends!
Not too long ago I was on vacation in Atlanta where we stopped at the Coke museum. Coke had created a museum of nothing but old coke memorabilia, history, taste testing and the process to create Coke. It was really interesting stuff. I mean wow, what a great way to build its brand recognition also! Hundreds and hundreds of people were standing in line to go inside to learn about and see all things Coke. 
Are you playing Russian roulette with your business? Well, you could be if you aren’t marketing to women. Not too long ago a study found that women control 83% of purchase decisions and are the chief purchasing officer in most households. This mammoth-sized market has become a 4.7 trillion dollar machine (and that does not account for teen spending). Women are a majority, not a niche market. Another study found that women are responsible for more than 89% of bank accounts, 80% of healthcare, and 51% of all electronic purchases. 
Denial of yourself is one of the saddest tragedies of our world today. We have millions of people out there that are holding themselves back by denying their extraordinary ability to accomplish something.
There are two lessons that I have learned that has influenced me more than anything else. I learned them from two great speakers,
Every business has rules. It uses them to make life easier and “run smoothly.” However, just about every business has stupid rules as well. Recently, I went to a restaurant that had only a few people eating there. I asked for a booth instead of a table. The hostess told me that the booths were sectioned off because they were low on staff. 
That’s right, you read it correctly, go get rejected. Why? Because in order to win sometimes you must first fail. My business partner has a great quote he has said for as long as I have known him: 
I love this picture. I snapped it at the coke museum a few months back. It’s a door that says “not an exit.” with an exit sign above the door.
