Why External Validation Isn’t a Weakness — It’s Human Nature
How Faith Provides a Source of Worth Beyond Our Achievements
When I got my first job as a 14-year-old working at a local supermarket, I was stoked that they paid me $4.65 an hour. At the time, this seems like a small fortune. Of course, back then, $4.65 could buy you a darn sight more than what it does now.
Thirty years later, there was an occasion when I did a presentation at a conference, where I was paid a generous honorarium of $500 for the hour.
What changed between when I was fourteen and when I was forty?
Simple.
My value.
When I got my first job at fourteen, my worth was defined entirely by the tasks I performed. I was a kid hired to do basic work at a grocery store, and my value was calculated down to $4.65 per hour. I didn’t question it because, at that time, my value in that context was ascribed to me by the store manager who hired me. In their eyes, I was worth $4.65 for each hour I put in — no more, no less.
Would I work for $4.65 per hour now? No way!
Thirty years later, when I walked onto a stage to give a presentation, things looked very different. For that hour-long talk, I was paid a figure I could never…
