You’re Not Undervalued — You’re Just Not Undeniable... Yet
Christian Ray Flores here.
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Deep Dive: You’re Not Undervalued — You’re Just Not Undeniable
Being good at something isn’t good enough. It’s good enough for a job, a paycheck, even a career.
But it’s not good enough for a future you want to build, a mark you want to leave, and the freedom you want to experience. Those are the marks of someone who’s learned to be undeniable.
This gap between undeniable and undervalued is never crossed by most people, and I’ll tell you why.
When I first moved to the US, I accepted a job at an international charity and was charged with developing an education project for inner-city kids from the ground up. The job was to create something the kids would enjoy — about a topic they were both curious and uncomfortable discussing in a classroom setting: sex.
Every job has two elements:
Functionality – the position you are filling, lending your skills to do a sequence of functions.
Vitality – the unique, subtle, individual things only you bring to the skillset. (I learned this distinction from Daniel Priestley)
I could easily have compared the project to a couple of best practices, built a blueprint, and executed. That would have been functionality over vitality.
Instead, I pulled from my off-resume skills in entertainment and media. We framed the program around an interactive set of video modules with virtual sets, music, and a charismatic presenter — an actor, Sean Holland, who starred in a popular young adult comedy and TV series called Clueless. The content was funny, engaging, and interactive. The in-class elements, facilitated by young adult presenters, were off-the-charts hilarious.
The program won two Telly Awards and was implemented across the US and internationally.
Making these unorthodox moves was not easy. I had to convince people of the value of the idea, explain why the cost was necessary, and personally recruit the actor through a chain of “do you know someone who knows this person?” conversations. It’s more work, not less. More emotional turmoil, not less. More uncertainty, not less.
The reason for the success was my ability to see how vitality — the unlisted skills and creative instincts — could enrich the functionality and take it over the top.
Most of the clients I work with are not closing that gap, leaving both income and impact on the table. It’s extraordinary what happens when you see just how much that gap is costing you and how much changes when you bridge it. You stop being undervalued and start becoming undeniable.
If your wheels are turning and you want a little help with the next steps to being undeniable, I’m opening up just 3 free 30-minute time slots this week for my subscribers to talk through it with me. Click here to set it up.
Now, let’s unpack both the cost of being undervalued and the 3 easy first steps to becoming undeniable. If you haven’t become a paid subscriber, now would be a good time to hop on board.
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