Every product or service has a price to pay and more importantly, has a value to offer. Oftentimes, we only see what we get. We do not see the time, effort and the experience it took to get to the actual product or service. We do not see the pre-work behind all the final output. We do not see the struggles, sleepless nights, and the countless failures that the provider had to go through. We only see the tip of the iceberg.
I once encountered a Metaphor Story about a customer who went to a car mechanic to have his vehicle fixed. The mechanic checked on the car for a few minutes, and figured out immediately what to do. He simply tapped on a very specific part of the car and boom! It worked! Upon payment, the customer was charged $1000 and was completely shocked! When asked why it was “so expensive”, the mechanic answered, “That’s $1 for tapping on the car and $999 for knowing where to tap and how to tap.”
It might sound ridiculous at first but it actually makes a lot of sense because we are paying for the skill and experience behind the actual solution. $1 be the tip of the iceberg and $999 be what’s underneath.
In our day jobs, I would like to believe that we all have a value to offer, a skill and talent to showcase and a personality to carry alongside. All of these in exchange for monetary rewards a.k.a. salary / paycheck / professional fee. We demand for higher rates if we think we are not being paid enough. If we opt to have more rewards, we even work on side hustles whenever time and opportunity permits. We’d feel insulted if an employer (for example) would give a lowball offer beyond reasonable circumstance.
The next time we visit our favorite shops or local businesses, think about the value that they provide more than the tip of the iceberg that we get. Think about the labor and energy it took to have your favorite item at the palm of your hands in exchange for a monetary reward. If we can’t pay at full amount yet, then maybe it’s not for us to have yet. But if we have the means to pay in full, imagine yourself being a blessing instead. We have no idea how far a single purchase can reach. We have no idea how many families we feed with every payment we gratefully give. Trust me, we unlock a different version of self in every moment we choose to shift our perspective.
Aldrin Orqueta 