#392 – How do shame and guilt contribute to your prosperity?

They don't––obvi. If they did, we'd all be swimming in gold coins. So, why do we keep allowing the Ghost of Misplaced Shame & Guilt (GoMSG) to determine our actions?

It all comes down to childhood: you had a splendid idea to make money. You put it into action with enthusiasm and success, and then, bummer! a grown-up broke the news to you––what you're doing is wrong, you're a bad girl/boy, you shouldn't do that!

I was eight when that happened to me. I went to the store with coins from my piggy bank and bought an assortment of candy. Back in my apartment building, I laid out a cardboard on the front yard and displayed the candy on it––with a 5 pesetas markup, of course.

Amazing idea, right? Some kids bought candy from me because it was convenient. But one brought her mom, who accused me of abusive practices: I was charging more, so why would anyone buy the candy from me when it was cheaper at the real store?

"You should be ashamed!," the mom said.

At that age, we're all suggestible: our pre-frontal cortex is still inexistent, making our critical thinking abilities rudimentary. So, not realizing that this mom was missing the point about convenience (it always has a price tag), I did as she commanded: I became ashamed.

I gave the money back to the kids who'd preferred convenience over price and, red-eared, allowed them to keep the candy. I folded the cardboard and dismantled my first business venture.

The GoMSG has been with me ever since: it's made me apologize for my success, dismiss it, or even avoid it altogether. I've shied away from charging for "convenience" (something delivered faster or with special conditions). I've worked for free (ugh!), smiling all the way because hey! I'm not greedy!

Enough! Quality, convenience, and specificity do have a price tag, and I'm ready to charge for them, regardless of what the GoMSG has to say.

What ingrained message from the GoMSG are you ready to delete from your brain?

Love,

Carolina