In my own training to build my business, I posed a question to my coach recently: how does greed factor into valuing your work? He only had to say one thing to shift my thinking completely: “Greed is not in my vocabulary.” That was the mic-drop moment for me. He went on to say a lot more, yet that was really all I needed. He also pointed out the fact that I am even thinking in these terms is a red-flag, which I understood immediately because of what he said earlier. And that is what I will elaborate in this post.
Greed is a program that keeps the powerless disempowered.
If you don’t like hearing that line, you very likely fit into that category. Like I did until a few hours ago. I have been unconsciously working on breaking out of it for very long. The reason I say unconsciously is that I wasn’t focusing on that particularly until recently, but a lot of other work that was relevant helped me to get to the point where I am at today. See, greed is really about shame. And I have been working on shame since I started really working on my self, because I came from a self rooted in shame.
Greed, when you are really in it, is about filling a hole, or, in other words, making your self whole. When you are whole and you still hold the greed program, then it is about shaming you for being whole, being big, playing larger than others who are still in their holes.
This may seem unrelated, I never liked loud people until I got what it is really about. I used to hate that they can take up that much attention without feeling guilty. They may have all kinds of issues and reasons for being loud, physically or energetically, but to the outsider, me, observing them, it just felt “unfair”. And today I see that all of this is about the programming I inherited from my culture: you are accepted if you are modest, you are an evil monster if you play big enough to bother others.
Charging a high fee for what I teach was uncomfortable earlier, but since I started my coaching it has been relatively effortless. Until this program showed up recently. I started feeling ashamed and guilty for being perceived as greedy — I can only frame it that way now. Earlier I was feeling shame and guilt because I thought I was being greedy. Now I realize it is because I was being perceived and defined that way in the eyes of others. And of course, it is how I was seeing others unconsciously.
The moment that line dropped, the program snapped and I realized that greed is as real as the perceiver believes it to be. We can judge anything as anything, and another will judge it entirely differently. Greed is literally defined as evil in many cultures. Some are fighting with their shadows and trying to unsuccessfully rebrand greed as good. And today someone just neutralized greed entirely — an entirely unreal illusion of perception.
What replaces greed?
That is a great question. And where I stand today I can say my answer is power. What do I want to create? Whatever my answer, I have to remember I am working to materialize my visions. And those who wish to invest in themselves by working with me will do so graciously and joyfully accept the challenge, and I will joyfully receive the resources that will enable me to materialize what I want.
And for those who are not ready, my fee will be the No. I offer a wide variety of options, and if you cannot afford my premium offer, there are other ways to work with me. If I feel you are ready, I will lead with my premium offer, and I will gladly let your answer guide the direction in which we flow. The level at which I work, you cannot be coming from a place of need. If you need something, find someone who will help you fulfill those needs. Or even figure out a way to do that on your own. I work with people who want what I have to offer. And if you really want it, you won’t tell me why you can’t do it, you will figure out how to do it.
If you notice, greed did not feature anywhere in the last 2 paragraphs. My focus is only on materializing my vision and getting the resources to enable that. I show up fully in whatever I do, regardless of what I ask someone to invest, even when it is for free. There are many things I do for free, and when I feel like it, I even make my premium offers free, and show up as fully in that as the one investing an infinitely greater amount, because anything compared to free is infinitely greater (remember the absurd math rule from high school, anything divided by 0 is infinite, here it is in action!) I help people that I want to help. The exchange of resources for value is one of the ways we make that feasible, not the only way.
There are a number of reasons I ask people to invest whatever number I make up (I am not allowed to use the phrase Make sh*t up™ as it has been trademarked by my coach ????). I set a number that will challenge my potential client / student. I set a number where I know they will show up fully committed and fired up. When you make a challenging investment in your own development, you are essentially saying you are ready to do whatever it takes.
When it is easy and comfortable, people tend to show up incompletely. Setting a high fee ensures excluding people who want cheap, easy, comfortable. The level at which I work is neither easy, nor comfortable, and it is also energetically rich, and demands high energy, so your investment reflects the amount of energy you are ready to put in. Which is why I create personalized proposals for each person I choose to work with.
Working with me is a visit to hell. An extended visit. To the hell of hells. I set the temperature uncomfortably high. Because that is the most efficient way to help you end your suffering. If you want something easy, you can bet your suffering is not going anywhere. You can pretend and imagine you are not suffering, you can create a million mindsets and beliefs that you are free and peaceful and blissful – I guarantee that deep underneath the surface of these mental beliefs is your worst hell – the place you never want to go, and the place you never manage to escape. And the reason you never escape is you keep avoiding the inevitable.
When you are ready to face the inevitable, I assure you I will be the most compassionate companion on your journey through hell. What comes on the other side is even sweeter than the static heaven promised to you as a gift for enduring your suffering, What you find is the power to enjoy wherever you are – heaven, hell, and everything in between. And beyond. And beyond the beyond…
Closing
Greed is never really the issue. What shows up as greed is a symptom of deep insecurity and voidness. And what you judge as greed, well I’ve said nearly enough about that.
Greed is just me playing bigger than what is comfortable for you.
Realize how I completely shifted the narrative from greed in the last section. Greed is neither good nor bad, it is just a word. What you attach to it is entirely up to you. Greed is just me playing bigger than what is comfortable for you. You can judge me as greedy, and I am happy to act as a mirror that is reflecting your self-limitations. The ways in which you keep your self small. When you are ready to outgrow your shell, to go from self to Self, and beyond, you know where to find me.