May I tell you a story?  It’s about me, but it may be about you too.  The details may differ, but I suspect you and I share some similarities in this area.

I never realized that I devalued myself as much as I did until I started learning about marketing.  I used to think marketing was only about promotion, but I have since learned otherwise.  That is a story for later.

As someone who is mostly blind, I found it difficult for any employer to take me seriously.  I was one of the brightest in my class with terrific grades and unstoppable drive, but because I could not see well, employers assumed I couldn’t perform the job.

It’s very hard to prove job discrimination based on disability even when you’re darn sure that’s exactly what’s happening.  They say, “We chose another applicant who was a better fit” or “we chose another applicant who was better qualified” when what they really meant was…

“We chose an applicant who isn’t obviously deficient.”

No, I don’t believe I am deficient, and I did not then either.  But what most likely happened is that the employer stood at its desk, put its ands over its eyes or maybe even turned the light off and said, “I couldn’t cope, so neither can she.”

Maybe the reality was somewhat more subtle than that, but that’s what was going on in the employer’s head.

I had been taught that you go to college and get a job.  Going to college - no problem!  Learning was the only part I ever liked about school.  Kids teased me and went out of their way to be cruel in grade school and high school, but books never called me names or teased me because I wasn’t good at sports or threw a ball at my head because they knew i couldn’t see it.

The jobs I ended up doing after college were not worthy of anyone with a degree, for the most part, but I took what I could get.  I ended up working in disability services eventually, because that was one area where I experienced reverse discrimination.

A lot of the service providers for people with disabilities MUST hire a majority of qualified disabled employees.  Sure, I was qualified as much by life experience as by degree, but I had really tried hard to work in something other than a disability related job.

Yes I was good at what I did and yes, of course I cared very much about the people I served, but I discovered that working these kinds of jobs taught me to devalue my contribution to the marketplace.

Imagine getting a barely living wage for doing all of this: 

  • Creating promotional materials, including letters, flyers, and so educational booklets
  • Speaking to groups in order to raise awareness, raise funds, or recruit students into a training program
  • Coordinating statewide events
  • Traveling all over the state to recruit new students 
  • Writing, editing and proofreading of various types (yes the blind person is a good proofreader)
  • and more

When I made my entrepreneurial leap a couple of years ago, I made a major mindset shift when I really GOT the whole concept of valuing myself.

I love sharing this with people, because I want you to have the breakthrough that I had.  Please listen to my latest show on Today’s Guest on BlogTalkRadio.

Click here to listen.

Download here by looking for the March 7 show and clicking on Download (right next to Play).

Tags: , , , , ,