For years, my purpose has been to serve, but when you keep giving everything away for free, you slowly start undervaluing yourself. I realized recently that underneath all my work was a quiet, lingering belief that I wasn’t enough, that I wasn’t worthy of actually charging people for my time and knowledge. I hesitated to ask for the sale, to promote my work, or to stand firm in my value, even though this is my livelihood.
For months, I’ve had 30 or 40 emails sitting in my inbox from people wanting to be guests on my podcast. I kept putting them off because of my own insecurities. Can I talk properly? Will I mess up? Am I good enough in front of the camera? I used to hide behind the mask of “the expert who has it all figured out,” but the truth is, I’m a human being who is still learning. Doing these spontaneous lives has been my way of building confidence, taking off the mask, and stepping out of my biggest insecurities, like showing up on camera in my glasses with no makeup, just as I am in real life.
So, I decided to brave it. After my book release in October, a European road trip, November workshops, and a quiet December, I’m launching podcast interviews in January. Instead of taking the easy route of pre-recording, I’m doing them live. And for the first time, I set a small £25 admin fee to honour my time. When I replied to four emails today, one person immediately said no, that it wasn’t in her budget. My old self would have taken that rejection to heart and felt crushed. But my current self thought: That’s okay. I am worthy of charging for my time, my experience, and my platform. Minutes later, another email came through saying, “Hell yes, let’s do this! Where do I pay?” When you align with your own value, the right people invest in you.
This shift isn’t just about business; it’s about deeply accepting who I am. Growing up as a big people-pleaser, I looked for external validation through awards, certificates, and media coverage because I never felt enough as a child. When I got glasses, my dad told me I didn’t look like his daughter, and that comment stayed with me for decades, making my glasses my biggest insecurity. But I’m in my late 40s now, navigating perimenopause and running two businesses as a one-woman show, and I’ve come to realise that the more I share my raw, messy, authentic moments — mumbles and all — the more life meets me there.
When you show up as your true self instead of who others want you to be, you reach people’s hearts. You don’t need a folder full of certificates to prove your worth. You just have to believe in yourself first, put down the need for approval, and trust that you are worthy of every single thing you’ve ever wanted.
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