In the masculine way of living that currently dominates our working world, I feel that worth has been given to what we ‘do’ and more qualitative things, far more than to what and who we are or more intangible things. This, in my experience, has presented a block in many empathpreneurs who tend to work in more healing, creative, intuitive and less tangible (on the outside) professions.

The masculine, more left-brain services such as finances, western medicine, law and business are the ones in which people tend to claim their worth. They know what they offer, as in many cases it can be physically measured, and can charge accordingly. It seems to be easier to claim the value here as these services have been established for longer (at least in our more recent history). 

As always, there are exceptions and I know many people in more intuitive, healing professions claiming and making their worth financially, but there are many empathpreneurs who don’t know the value of what it is they offer, and so don’t charge their worth and end up feeling burnt out and depleted. For me, this has come up consistently and, as always, is multi-layered.

Absolutely, if you are in the early days of your entrepreneurial journey, you may have lower prices, give things away at a discount, offer free sessions, or do exchanges with others perhaps in return for testimonials. For some empathpreneurs, depending on what your values are, you may continue to offer discounts to some people, or perhaps do pro-bono work to support those that aren’t so well-off, and I do this and support it. But there also comes a time when we need to realise the value in many of the services that are offered by empathpreneurs and begin to own it and claim it.

Think of all the things you might offer just by being you. If you are a coach or a healer who holds space for others, you will likely offer many of these qualities and gifts without even realising it. Things like being a good listener, making others feel safe and heard, allowing them to open up, providing empathy and compassion, sharing your intuitive wisdom, sharing and giving authentically from your heart and experiences. It’s only when you take a step back, or ask for feedback from people you work with, that you realise how powerful and life-changing some of these things are and that they aren’t physical, tangible things that can be easily described.

One way to start owning your worth is to see it all as energy. After all everything is energy – even money. Think of all of the energy you put into something – perhaps your products, or the ways in which you prepare and show up for the people you work with. When you do this, your mind can begin to see the true worth of what you do.

There might also be ancestral or past life wounds around owning your worth. For women in particular, there is a lot ancestrally (and currently – let’s be honest) around being inferior, or ‘only’ being housewives or caretakers. The qualities that are used in these roles are not given as much worth by society as a whole, which has a ripple effect on how you might view yourself and your value.

If you do feel there might be more here that is with you from a past life or in your heritage, I really recommend allowing yourself to feel into it, either alone or with someone to hold the space for you in this area, so that – as well as feeling it – you can begin to understand where it might be coming from and heal it through acceptance and love. We are who we are today. Yes, our past experiences – whether within us or through conditioning – make us who we are, but we also have the power to re-write our future by claiming our worth.

The world needs a fundamental shift in how we value qualities that are more feminine, and I believe that, as empathpreneurs, we are the ones to help initiate this change. Gone are the days of the broke healer, the starving artist, and the over-giving creative. These professions – each with their unique qualities – are truly magnificent and are so needed to bring the feminine back into balance with the masculine. And, for this to happen, the value of these gifts needs to be claimed and owned.

• Where might you not be valuing yourself? 
• Where are you not charging your worth for what you do, or who you are?
• Write a list of all the qualities you give or use in your business – things that you can’t necessarily see or measure. If you had to put a price on these in terms of all the energy you give out what would it be?
• How does this make you feel?
• What changes will you make based on this exercise?

This blog post is an excerpt from my book, Embodied Business. You can get your own copy  here or anywhere you buy your books online.

If you would like support with any ‘blocks’ coming up for you as well as getting grounded with your business, please book in a discovery call here and let’s feel into what it might be like to work together.

Photo by Michael Larosa on Unsplash.