The Give ME Society

Benjamin Franklin famously said that time is money.

Any amount of time that you or I spend doing one thing, takes away time that could be spent doing something else.

Now, with that being said, I believe I'm a very giving person with my time and knowledge. I love helping people learn and teaching them everything I know. I attend events, create content and all around do a lot of things for other people's benefit and don't make a dime doing it. But, you know what? Giving it all away for free is not a way to make a living.

I've been seeing more and more people complaining about individuals or groups deciding to charge for some of what they create. This give ME mentality reminds me of whiney first graders who can't always get a cookie every time they ask for one. Not only do they want fries, but they want them drowned in gravy, covered in cheese and then fed to them by a half naked waitress with a cute smile. In other words, they want it all and they want it on their terms.

There is no magic formula that works for everyone on what you should and shouldn't charge for. But, giving everything away for free does not keep a roof over your head or food on the table. Everyone in this world has to have an income flow to maintain a happy life. That amount of money is different for each of us and none of us have the right to judge someone else for what they decide to monetize.

I'm at a point in my career where I'm figuring out that balance. Yes, I still do plenty of things for free, but on the flipside I also have to make a living so I charge for things as well. I haven't figure out the perfect balance yet, but I would hope that others would respect and support my decisions that I make. If you don't want to pay for me and what I provide, then there are plenty of others who you could ask instead.

I have to be smart about this because my time is money. Just the other day I had to pass on a very good paying speaking assignment because I had already committed to a free speaking engagement. Yes, that is the choice I made, but when you see that money disappear it is never easy. Given the choice between a free or paid speaking gig, the paid assignment always wins.

I know that most of what I'm seeing out there is good old fashion jealousy from people who are not willing to work as hard as it takes to find the success that they crave. These sort of people hope that by trying to chop down pedestals they will somehow gain attention. To me, they are just cutting themselves off at the knees and not doing any good for anyone.

It is very easy to scream give me, give me when you are standing on shore hoping to catch a fish. Come on and dive in to the deep end where you have to swim to survive and then we can talk.