One of the things I've always
understood is that energy in is energy out. It might change form,
but if you don't put in the work you won't get the result. I'm not
saying that the work has to be hateful or arduous to get a brilliant
result, but it has to be done. The energy I put into my business,
and my life, dictates to some measure what is likely to come out the
other end. Perhaps not as success or failure – there are a lot
more factors involved than that...but I've comforted myself over the
years with the knowledge that it was okay that I wasn't doing much
business, because, well, I wasn't doing
much.
The more energy I
put in, the higher the stakes get. The more the potential reward,
certainly – and those rewards might come in many forms. I will
appreciate each of them, but will I get enough of the form that I
will need to make this all work? And of course, that form is the
thing you get as an exchange of the energy you put in – money.
To me, money is
nice to have but not something I covet. I've learned not to hate it
– things you hate but need don't turn up as often as you'd like. I
don't believe it to be the root of all evil – sure, it causes
problems whether you have it or you don't, but like so many things it
is neutral. It is about how it is viewed and how it is used.
I think many of us
have lost track of the idea that it is a symbol for the energy
expended for the thing that you want. Granted, the way economies
work, the way capitalism as a system works, the misguided ideas about
the sustainability and necessity of constant growth, the real estate
market, the cost of food and housing vs. the pay scales of the
average worker...none of these help us to remember what it is meant
to be.
Yes, our cash was
once based on gold – but gold was valued for its rarity, and for
what it took to get it out of the ground and into a form where it
could be used....it was valued not only as a metal but for the energy
that was put into it. Iron used to be valuable too. And salt. And
spices – food in general had more value because it didn't arrive in
pre-formed meals from the store. Technology is a great thing, but in
aiding us in so many of these processes it has cheapened them. It is
also the only way we can sustain this lifestyle we've made as a
global people. Industrial farming and the lack of farmlands we now
have – all that land that has turned into condos and shopping malls
– without technology and the worldwide transportation that has
developed we wouldn't be able to feed our population, or clothe it,
let alone supply it with all the luxuries we take for granted that
have become semi-necessities.
And in the end, all
of those things still come back to energy. Food gives us the energy
to run our bodies. Clothing changes how much energy we have to put
out to keep warm and functional (at least in places not too close to
the equator) and allows us to focus on other necessary tasks. Money
means we don't have to be able to provide for all our needs
ourselves. It allows us to buy food rather than grow it, hunt it or
gather it. To buy clothing rather than growing plants to process
fibres to weave cloth and cut and sew clothing. In theory, we pay
for others to do those things. In theory the price we pay to
purchase those things is to pay for the whole of the process.
Nevermind that our pricing for things is backwards and the people who
do the bulk of the work don't get the bulk of the money on average –
that is for someone politically minded to take up and wave banners
about.
It is,
however, particularly important and incredibly challenging as someone
who is self-employed. You can only charge for your product or
service what the market will bear. Figuring out what that is and who
your market is –
what will they bear...all a huge factor. And in a global market that
means finding people who are educated enough to perceive, or
educating people to the fact that energy in is energy out. And that
means all the energy – the energy to run the business as well as
make the product or perfom the service. It means that part of your
pricing has to reflect the inventory creation and update, the tax
records and filing, the equipment or tools that were required to make
the thing and or the knowledge and skill required. It means the
classes, the schooling, the physical workspace, the raw materials,
the design...everything you do for your business, all the energy you
put in whether it is in money, in time or in effort – or all three,
or another form I've left out... it all has to be rolled into that
price and divided by the number of units you can manage somehow.
The majority of us
have lost track of that too. And as self-employed persons, as makers
and doers we have to try to educate the world and remind them that in
this global marketplace, yes, you can find a better price, but if you
want this thing from this source, that is what you are paying for.
This education, this realization is a part of it, because it is a
part of the energy I am expending in taking time to interface with
you. And when energy in doesn't reflect energy out...well, that is
not sustainable in the long term. For any of us.
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