Original post on betweentheweeds.com
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| Wooden Box by Between The Weeds. |
Recently I was cleaning out some old paperwork and discovered an old ledger from my shop in Vermont. I sifted through the pages my mind reminiscing about Whitefield Studio and the painted furniture I had in the shop. How different it was then. The internet had popped its bubble and no one had online shops anymore. What had struck me was how much had been sold. The years seem to muffle the mind and we have a tendency to forget good and bad events. As the pages flipped by in my fingers I noticed how much had been charged for all these sold pieces. I am amazed to discover that more than 12 years ago I sold painted furniture for more money than I do now. Mainly my boxes and trunks sold for $150 to $350 and since they are not around now I somehow forgot this very important fact. So, why did I feel my work was worth less now? Why did I now doubt my abilities? And what do I want to do with this new information?
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| Roller coaster "Windstorm", Fun Fore... |
Life we all know is a roller coaster with lots of ups and downs, twists and turns, and sudden stops. Experiences (hate to use the word challenges)molding and teaching us, all make for an awakened spirit, but what about the other side of You. The logical ego which is just as important as the spiritual side, gets left out of the experience. No one wants to acknowledge this side of ourselves, we are to observe the ego as if it was the black sheep in the family. We instead need to balance the two, cherishing and accepting the roles each play as important parts of a whole spiritual being. For myself my ego was working overtime not inflating my self-esteem but with each monstrous experience deflating how I saw myself. OK when you see the truth about your self or ego it looses its power and healing begins. I think it is one of the life battles of most creative people. We are so intuitive and empathetic to the energies around us we end up absorbing it into ourselves through our life experiences. In the last 12 years I around in the roller coaster seat and once almost fell right out. I allowed my adorable ego to get the better of me.
I realize the economy thing is a culprit for many pricing issues. It does not answer the question why am I charging less now than 12 years ago. If you are producing the same or better quality of work, than your price should show your efforts. Competition is fierce online and social media changes rapidly. You work in the studio or shop long hours for less than minimum wage. Really? Why because someone out there you don't even know or worst do know told you they think your work is worth only this amount. So you hang your head and accept it. Wrong. First off if you allow the energy of that statement to grab hold shake it off you, NOW. Give yourself a good shake, like a dog shake down.
Now listen up I am going to let you in on something fabulous. If you believe your work is unique, professional, exceptional, the very best you can do at the moment and you feel it down to your toes and out into your finger tips and your hair stands up on your body, you need to charge a worthy price. Your work, your energy, your creative idea is a valuable asset and no other has it so charge for it. The key is you and only YOU must fully believe it is true. It is the first step and I hope you do. Your thoughts are energy and you need to tend to your thoughts as you do to your work. Keep your passion for your creative purpose alive and the Universe will respond to that energy in kind, with higher prices and great clients.
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| Wings (Photo credit: PamLink) |
"Your wings already exist. All you need to do is FLY." by Christine Mason Miller, amazing artist.
