Awesome Reads From This Week

Busy week on my end, but still as motivated as ever. In finally transitioning TRSJ to a Personal Development with occasional randomness site, I’m excited to see the response so far and how supportive people have been. Really think I’m about to go to the next level. More good things are already starting to happen. In sticking with Afrobella’s advice from the post I referenced last week, I’ll just leave it at that.lol.

Anyway, here are a couple reads from this week I enjoyed.

They Will Think You Are Weird via Be More With Less

When you start making great changes in your life, people will think you are weird. That is a fact.

Thinking about what people might think becomes a great excuse not to live fully and not to incorporate much-needed change. People will think you are weird, different, crazy, funny, and that is ok. People will also think you are fun, amazing, beautiful, lovely and badass. As good or bad as any of those thoughts are, none of them should damper your motivation, kill your inspiration or make you question your desire to take action.

This resonates with me because I’ve seen some of the reactions from people in real life when I’m talking about green smoothies, health kicks, cutting down on boozy beverage, etc. They really do look at me like I’m weird.

The Price Is Right: Are You Earning What You’re Worth? via Britni Danielle

An interesting thing happened to me last week. I was contacted by a publication I’ve worked for many times to do on-camera interview a celebrity. The gig would require me to do everything I normally do when interviewing someone—research the details, create questions, meet them in person, and think on my toes to come up with follow-up questions. The only difference was that I wouldn’t have to transcribe the interview and write it up.

After the editor mentioned the details of the shoot, she predictably asked, “So how much would you charge for that?”

I kinda panicked. When faced with this question in person (or over the phone), I tend to stumble, doubting just how much my skills are worth.

For this assignment, I told her I’d be able to do the gig for $150. Not bad for a 30 minute interview and an hour or so of travel time, right?

Wrong!

The price I really wanted to quote her was $200, but I undercut myself because I was scared she’d find another writer if my price was too high.

How often have you done this? Maybe you’re a writer and you’ve accepted a janky rate because you didn’t wanna mess things up. Maybe you interviewed for a job and they asked you what salary you’d be looking for, and you said the lowest possible number you’re comfortable with rather than what you actually thought you deserved. I know I’ve undercut myself before. It can still be a challenge at times since I’m entering more unchartered territory as I continue to progress. But I’ve decided to place a dollar amount on my time, and it has really changed the game. Anyway, Britni goes on to talk about the role fear plays in our negotiations. Make sure you check out her post to see the rest.

That’s all I have for today. Have a great weekend and I’ll see you next week! (Unless I find myself compelled to Barack the button this weekend.)

Slim