My friend, ‘Steve’, one of my mentors, was being handed a precious heritage from his late grandfather
It was an old vintage camera
His dad, handing it as his birthday gift, said …
“You now use videos and cameras for your work online, here is a camera your grandfather used about 90 years ago. Your grandfather saved up pretty much all of his money to buy this in his youth because he loved photography…”
Intrigued by this old vintage camera, Steve asked his dad..
“How much is this camera worth?”
His dad smiled and said “Well it depends who you ask…”
“If you take it to the streets to sell, they’d probably say it’s worthless. At most, you’ll get around $50 (25,000frs) but I doubt they’ll even want it…”
“If you take it to the pawn shop, chances are you’ll get around $300 because it’s a really old camera.”
In parts of the world where this exists, pawn shops lend money to people in exchange for valuable items that can be resold if the person leaving it does not pay the agreed amount of money by an agreed time.
So, pawn shops operate and make money by providing small personal loans and reselling retail items
Back to Steve…
His dad’s last answer about the value of the vintage camera was probably the most intriguing
He said to Steve…
“However, if you took this camera to an antique dealer, got it on Amazon or eBay, you can see similar models listed at $4,000+ (approx 2 million francs) because it is a rare vintage camera. It’s supposed to be an iconic camera sought by many collectors…”
Now, here’s why I’m telling you this story
A lot of times you’re going to feel undervalued by your environment when you’re in the wrong place
And you may become frustrated because you haven’t found the right place that values you the right way.
Or maybe you’ve been stagnant for a while and you feel you need the right place to grow …
My dear friend, your positioning matters and I can’t stress this enough …
If you are not valued…
If you’re not growing …
it only means you are in the wrong place.
Just like the antique dealers would value the vintage camera because it is a rare collection, you’re going to need the right place that appreciates your value and pushes you to grow
There’s always a right place to grow and it is your responsibility as you build to always pinpoint the space that nurtures, values and brings out the best in you
And this will apply to almost every block of your life:
Spirituality
Business
Relationships
Friendships
Immediate environment
So, I ask you, where is your antique dealer?
For some of you, it’s going to be spaces like The Smart Club that pushes you to grow and keeps you around like minded people chasing a valid goal
As you’re building, if you’re looking for the right environment that not only nurtures you but helps you to build more value, build digital skills and work towards your income goals, I’d like to encourage you to keep up till you make it
To your success
Arrey Bate
Internet Entrepreneur | Author | Journalist