Never short-sell yourself : Though for the day

Thought for the day..

One Friday morning in a Washington DC subway in 2007, an unassuming 'street' musician in a baseball cap unpacked his violin case, and started playing passionately for a period of 45 mins. Hundreds of commuters passed by without giving him a second look. In fact, of the 1097 people that passed him by, a mere 7 stopped to listen, including one who recognised him, and 27 made a donation. That performance gathered a total of $32 in donations.

The performer was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest contemporary classical violists in the world and that day he had played some of the masterpieces of classical music on a violin worth millions. 3 days earlier, Bell had played at a sold-out exclusive concert in the city, in which the cost of entry was $100 upwards and he had earned in hundreds of thousands of dollars. Joshua Bell's subway performance was an experiment for the Washington post and was documented in many writings later, including a Pulitzer winning book.

This anecdote is a life-lesson.

As a professional, even if you are phenomenal, unless you showcase your talent to the right crowd, you will be undermined and under-valued.

Never short-sell yourself to the wrong crowd because your value won't be realised by those who do not understand your actual worth!