The Value of What We Do

I always wonder about the value of what we do.

It amazes me that people pay us for doing what we love doing.

After making $100 a minute, or more, for a speech, I have to ask myself is it fair. When you consider the cost of transporting me from one side of the country to the other, plus the additional bucks for care and feeding, I get to be a pretty high ticket item.

So, when I arrived in Corpus Christi, Texas the night before keynoting before the Texas Society of Association Executives, I was on the receiving end of a handmade card from the TSAE staff as a welcome.

It had the following quote from Maya Angelou: "Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with the shades of deeper meaning."

As you know, I love to inspire and I love to be inspired. That quote not only got me revved up, it also gave me a new appreciation for the value of what we do.

So, I looked in the mirror and committed to making every word I deliver count even more. I want the people my words touch to take away something worth their while ... to see things a different way. I want to encourage them to act on what they learn. I want my voice to be the catalyst for my audiences to uncover a deeper meaning for themselves.

If I can do that, I won't have to worry about the dollars and cents of an engagement. If I do my job the best way I know how, then the benefits of what I deliver could be priceless.

Thanks, Maya.

PS - Michelle Obama truly moved Melissa and me with her words, grace and style last Saturday at the rally on FAMU's campus in Tallahassee. She delivered a priceless speech and if the votes were counted on that day, she hand tied and delivered 8000 for her husband's historic journey to the highest office in the land.