14th July 2014
Success: Are You Entitled? The importance of self-worth
Success: Are you entitled?
By Jessica Huie MBE
Profile any set of successful entrepreneurs and you’ll find a plethora of similarities. Characteristics and qualitative features about these individuals which have nothing to do with which university they studied at (indeed many did not study at all) or how much start-up capital they had.
Delve beyond the business plans of the wealthy, and take a closer look at their mind-set. That is their attitudes and outlook to business, life and success in particular. What you will find is that the common denominator is a sense of entitlement.
Social entrepreneur Roger James Hamilton sums this up by saying “Feeling that you are entitled to success divides those who realise it, and those who give up along the way pursuing it.”
I often emphasise the importance of ‘owning’ your brilliance and expertise and becoming visible, in the PR workshops I run each month at the British Library’s Business & IP Centre. Confidence is so key to success, and if we are to convince customers, partners and investors that we can be trusted with their pounds, then it goes without saying that they must trust in our ability to deliver, as our person will always be under as much, if not more scrutiny as our business.
To what extent do you feel you are entitled to success? Do you truly feel that you are worthy? I am convinced that our level of of self-worth is intrinsic to our level of happiness, fulfilment and success.
An individual with a high level of self worth is likely to possess a strong sense of entitlement. They respect and love themself and feel deserving of all that life has to offer. They work hard in pursuit of their goals because the light at the end of the tunnel is real and within their reach.
On the other hand the entrepreneur who lack self worth, lacks that essential sense of entitlement. Experiences have knocked their self-confidence, attacked their self-esteem and whilst they still have dreams, they aren’t really sure if they have what it takes to realise them….
“Whether you think you can, or you can’t you’re probably right.” Henry Ford
So how do we develop self worth? Contrary to popular belief it is not a quality which can be boosted through accolades (as this sense of validity is purely momentary) or wealth (as before.) To really develop our sense of worth we must know that we are being of duty to others.
It’s beautifully ironic that the more we serve others, the more our sense self worth and sense of purpose thrives. And as our sense of purpose grows, we start to recognise that we are more powerful than we started out believing. Powerful not because we have money or respect, but powerful because we have the ability to impact positively on others. As our self-belief increases so therefore does our sense of entitlement because suddenly we believe we deserve success
Roger James Hamilton explains with the statement “The only way to become more wealthy is to build your work and do your true duty. “
By focusing on worth and not wealth we can achieve meaningful success, and if studies of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs and visionaries are anything to go by, material success is the inevitable (and wholly deserved) byproduct.
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