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Ever wish you had a mentor to help you become who you were meant to be? Crystal Ware is redefining what it means to become your best self, in business, life, and love and sharing everything she she knows to get YOU there faster.
Are you stuck? Feel like you are meant for more but not sure how to breakthrough? Every week, we will explore all of your questions on building a path to true happiness, achieving success and creating our dream life. Brick by brick, we will work through the issues and mindsets that keep us stuck, dive into finding our passion and how to take ACTION. Clarity (vision) + Confidence (Owning your worth) + Courage (to live life on your own terms and become your own CEO) propels you to your destiny. And the good news it: its all within you!
Each week, host, Crystal Ware, will bring you all of the practical wisdom to grow every aspect of your career and life including mindset, vision, goal planning, social media management, financial acumen and so much more. You'll also meet top business leaders, entrepreneurs, mompreneurers and innovative thinkers who invested in themselves and found their way success and happiness by leading on their own terms.
You were made for more, so start living like it today. Join us as we take action, grow together, and get inspired to reach for your dreams.
Crystal Ware 0:00:00
You welcome to the Get Clear with Crystal Ware podcast, the place where we get clear on our goals, own our worth, and learn to be the CEOs of our own lives. I'm your host, Crystal Ware, lawyer and former Fortune 500 corporate leader who found the confidence to say goodbye to a lucrative career and start my own business. Now I'm opening up the playbook and sharing everything I've learned to get you there faster. It may not be easy, but it will always be worth it because you ware made for more. So put on your big girl pants, jump on board, and let's reach for the stars. Are you ready to get clear?
Crystal Ware 0:00:38
Welcome back to another episode of Get Clear With Crystal Ware. I am your host with the most ready to talk to you today about a really hard truth that not everyone will see. Your value and how you can change that, what you can do about it. How you can handle that. So first I wanted to dive in. and talk about what our worth is. What happens to us, how we feel about ourselves. It can be fluctuating. Every day is a new day. Not every day is going to be consistent. We're not going to feel great, look great, do our best every day but when we're surrounded by people that care about us, when we're surrounded by people that value us, when we value ourselves, we can take the good as well as we can take the bad and vice versa. We have to work on ourselves and make sure that our own narrative fits and aligns with the life that we want to lead.
Crystal Ware 0:01:47
And just know that you're not going to be appreciated all the time. I am in sales. I work in insurance. Insurance is something really boring to many people. Insurance is an afterthought in many ways and finding a way to make yourself feel valued, to be an expert, to be a part of the team, to bring value and not just be a cost to a company can be really challenging and so sometimes people think, why do you talk about these things? Why does it matter? Because I've pushed up against all of these issues that I've talked about. I've had to root into myself and really understand my own inherent Value as a person, as an employee, as a ,om, as a wife, all of these things as I've grown and the reason I really like talking about this is because I'm talking to the person that I once was. I had to learn so many things on my own, and I want to help other people get there faster. And you really learn a lot when you’re in an underappreciated area truly, risk management and insurance is not a formal job at many companies until you see companies that have 200, 300, 400 plus employees and then maybe there's one person that deals with it or it's the CFO, or it's just the treasurer. It's an extra job for them.
Crystal Ware 0:03:14
And because it's in a cost for the company, it's really hard to translate. How does this cost have value? It's very, very similar to in house. Lawyers, the litigation counsel, the general counsel, the legal people at the company. However, it's much easier for companies to see the value in their legal counsel. When they're structuring deals, when they're working on the contracts, when they're working on M A or due diligence or other revenue generating pieces of business. Insurance gets involved in those things, but it's usually on the back end.
Crystal Ware 0:03:49
And so it's really hard to turn that into an appreciated role. And I've been lucky enough to be. Able to do that, to bring value, to show my worth, to add value. And not just be a cost and figure out what was meaningful. And how did I do that? Because I listened. I said, what do they need from me? What is in it for them? What do they have to gain by.
Showing me the respect, by giving me an opportunity, by working with me? What is it that they have to gain? And we reframe what we're doing. Of course it matters to us. Of course it has to bring us joy and happiness, and there has to be a benefit for us. But how do you reframe that to what is it for them? And when you can do that, you. Can show your worth, you can show. Your value, but first and foremost, you have to own it. You have to know what it is. You have to embrace your own worth, okay? Because just not everyone is going to appreciate what you do and who you are. Appreciation starts with you, not with the other people.
It is good to feel genuinely appreciated.By others because it makes you feel part of the team, it gives you encouragement, it makes you want to work harder. But you have to appreciate yourself for your own abilities, your own talent, your own knowledge, your own life experiences, and Not let them totally be affected by the words or the actions or the reflections from other people. It needs to start internally, first and foremost. And once you understand and recognize this, it starts to become easier to say, great, I appreciate your input, but I don't have to let that change me.
I don't have to let that shift my own view of myself and how. I feel about myself. I have confidence because I know what I've done. I know who I am. I know what principles and ethics that I stand on. And it's okay if you don't necessarily see them. Maybe it just doesn't work for us to work together. You have to also really take charge of your own narrative. You have to control your story. You have to present yourself in the. World in the way that you want others to see you. If you ware diminishing you, why wouldn't Somebody else diminish you?
Crystal Ware 0:06:17
If you're not promoting yourself, why would somebody else go to bat for you and promote you? If you're not recognizing your own accomplishments to yourself, taking accountability and responsibility for. Things that you have done, why would the person sitting at the desk next to you do the same? We'd all like to think in a fantasy world that our boss should be doing this on our behalf.
Crystal Ware 0:06:42
But it's human nature, and we can't necessarily fight against human nature. We have to take it for what it is. So you have to own it. You have to self promote, and you need to build your own network and surround yourself with people who recognize, celebrate, and value you. That network will then grow. It will shift, it will change the boundaries will continue to push out, and those in your circle will start sharing your vaLues, your abilities with other people. So make sure that you're talking about what you do, what value you bring to an organization or to a salesperson or to your clients or whoever it is that you're bringing value to share.
What it is, how you do it, and the kind of things that you're looking for to grow your opportunities, whether it's within your company, whether it's within your sphere, whether it's with other companies. Whether it's for new clients, if you're. In a sales oriented type role, build that support network where other people who know you will be out there talking about you.
Even the best meaning people don't always do that. So sometimes you got to encourage that. You got to share with people. I would love if you told other. People about this because I'm looking at. These kind of opportunities, and these are the things that I have done and especially in a large organization, if you work for a Fortune 500, a Fortune 1000, where there's hundreds of employees and hundreds of people to get to.
Know, get out there and get in. Some groups, get in a women's group. Get in an accounting group, get in Whatever kind of group where like minded people, whether it's within your company or Just within your industry, so you continue to build that support so that you Continue to learn and grow and you can get out there and work.
Crystal Ware 0:08:34
I just want to pause and say thank you to all the amazing people tuning in and making this show a success. And to share some exciting scoop I am opening up for the first time. Ever, one on one coaching We have two options available, the executive Edge two week program and the Career. Catalyst Six week program, which will use my proprietary earn it framework. If you're ready to propel your professional journey, crush your salary goals, or need Someone to coach you through a big. career decision, let's conquer it together. Limited spots for unlimited empowerment links to sign up will be in the show notes and in the link tree on my Instagram and LinkedIn site. See you there.
Really, really important in this is that we're continuously growing, that we cultivate a mindset of continual learning and improvement to Stay relevant and valuable. When you stay ahead of the game When you stay ahead of your skills, when you always look for new opportunities.
And new ways to do that, then you will understand your own inherent value.
Crystal Ware 0:09:41
Because you are continuously working on you, thinking about you and bettering yourself. Not every situation requires that you're front snd center, or that you have a Conversation or that you're advocating for yourself. But when the opportunities present yourself, you. Need to be leveraging, and then you need to be seeking constructive criticism on. How you can grow and better position yourself, how you can align yourself with People that have sway at the company. Your network is your net worth. It may sound cheesy to you, it. May be trite, it may be something you've heard over and over and over again, but it is really important. So the higher you elevate your network. The higher you ware going to be.
Crystal Ware 0:10:23
Elevated, the higher your opportunities are and. The more growth opportunities that come to you. And those will raise your value. They will raise the value that you. See in yourself, and they will raise the value in others that see in you. If you are staying stagnant, if you're. Staying on the status quo, you cannot. Expect others to see you as a growth oriented change driver, a person that is going after all the big things. So you got to think about where you want to position yourself and how you want to position yourself. But the fact is, no matter what, you can follow all of this guidance, and it's the hard truth, not everyone will see your value. So how do you handle that? I mean, how do you handle it.
When you've just completed a really awesome. Project, a big win for the company.
And you get a great job. You know, there's a newsletter that goes. Out with wins for the week or the month or whatever on the system. At your company, and you're not mentioned in that And, you know, you've done an amazing job. How does that feel? I mean, that can be really deflating, really hurtful. But you have to understand, if you're.
Working with, for, and around people that Do not see your value, they're not Going to promote you And at the end of the day. Whose problem is that? Whose problem is it to solve? It's not their problem to solve. They may just be taking advantage of you. They may know that you are a good worker, but they don't see you. In the way that you see yourself. So it's time to let go and move on and stop looking at opportunities that are beneath your value.
Crystal Ware 0:12:05
Because one of the things that I hear from women over and over and over again is that I want to grow and I want to change and I want to get a higher job title, a promotion, a higher pay grade but they keep applying for jobs that are so similar, the same level, the same caliber, the same titles, or very. Very similar to where they already are and you've got to let go of opportunities that are beneath you. Your choices off of what your value. Are and your worthiness reflect in the choices that you're making on the opportunities that you're going after. So you need to look in the mirror and say, what is it?
Crystal Ware 0:12:52
How do I value myself? And if I value myself here at this level and I'm applying for jobs. That are down here at this other level. I'm not aligning my values and my worth with the career goals that I have in mind for myself, I'm devaluing myself.
Crystal Ware 0:13:14
You've got to let go of those opportunities. I think some people cling to those opportunities because they're afraid of failure. They have impostor syndrome.
Crystal Ware 0:13:25
And they're not sure if they can really hack it in this other job. But you have to let go of that and think, I have all these things. I have all these accomplishments. There's so many skills and talents and abilities within me that I need to move on. That is very important. As I said earlier, you need to seek constructive criticism this can be a powerful tool for your personal and professional development and when you're seeking this feedback, if what you're looking at is trying to find a way to get the people.
Crystal Ware 0:13:56
Around you where you're at to see your value, when you start asking these questions it starts alerting people that you're.
Crystal Ware 0:14:02
Trying to learn, that you're trying to grow, that you're looking for new opportunities. And if they didn't appreciate you before, this may be the catalyst that helps push them over the edge, to start appreciating who you are, what you stand for, and what you're trying to achieve. And if it doesn't, that's a big. Flashing neon sign for you that it's time to go. It's time to pivot and thrive and. Get out of where you are. Acknowledge that this place and this opportunity and this space is not the right one, and explore new opportunities for your talents to shine.
Crystal Ware 0:14:37
It's really important that you don't get held up, that you don't get emotional about it, that you don't act in a way that's going to further hurt, your chances of getting ahead. There's definitely nothing wrong with having emotions, but these emotions would not necessarily lead.
Crystal Ware 0:14:54
Themselves to making a good decisions or creating the reputation that you're looking for at the company you're at. But the hard truth is, it just is a fact. No matter where you are, no matter. Who you are, you can be the CEO of a company and not everyone is going to appreciate you.
Crystal Ware 0:15:14
What distinguishes you not being appreciated as the CEO from you not being appreciated as a low level manager at the company you're currently at. It's your confidence and your feelings around what you can achieve, who you are as a person, and how much you care about all the other people's opinions around you. If you ever notice that the executives.
Crystal Ware 0:15:35
You work for, with and around the CEOs of your company, even if you haven'T worked directly with them or the board members, they care about doing the job and they know their value and their worth they believe deeply, strongly and inherently in their own value and if you don't agree with what they'Re doing, they don't really care.
Crystal Ware 0:15:57
So think about that and how you can pivot. Now, I'm not necessarily saying don't care. I think it's important for me. I definitely care about what other people think. I want to be valued and I want to be a part of the team and I want to be liked. Okay? I do care about those things. So I'm not saying you just don't care about that. But the fact is, I just know that when I see people aren't valuing me in the way I value myself and what I have to offer, it. Doesn't make me shy away or break.
Crystal Ware 0:16:26
Down and question my existence and what do I know and what do I have going on and what is really.
My skills and talents? No. It makes me think maybe these people are not a fit for me and I need to go somewhere where it is more in alignment. So the whole point of this is to say it's okay if you're unappreciated. Today, if people aren't seeing your value, that's okay. It just means you need to ask.
Crystal Ware 0:16:57
Some critical questions about yourself to work on your personal development, your professional development and see where you need to go to elevate yourself and then take charge and pivot and look for a new home, which could just be a different group within your same company. It doesn't mean you have to totally jump ship, but there are opportunities for everyone. There is a right place and a right time for everyone. I truly, 100% believe that and by being brave, by being bold.
Crystal Ware 0:17:27
By going after it and looking in the mirror, to some degree, you can find that place. So that's what you need to do, and that's where you need to start. For 2024, if you're not happy, if you're feeling stuck, if you're feeling underappreciated. Start by looking in the mirror. Where can you grow? What can you change? And then what are you doing?
Crystal Ware 0:17:48
Amazing that another group might see as their star, that the skills will just be so great. There's no denying your appreciation, your value and feeling worthy. And when all those things align, you're going to be getting paid what you're worth and you're going to be so much happier. So those are things I want you to guys to think about today. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out. I am all about helping promote other women. Whether you're new to the workforce, whether you're middle management, or whether you've been in the career for a long time. Because we can find ourselves in the doldrums no matter where we ware in.
Our career, and we don't have to stay there. We can always change, we can always grow, and we can always pivot. So until next time, keep getting clear. I can't wait to see what 2024 has in store for you guys.
Crystal Ware 0:18:45
Thanks so much for tuning in. If you want to create a career you love, get the salary you deserve, and build the confidence to live life on your own terms. Sign up for my Free newsletter where you'll get actionable tips to raise your worth, build your wealth, create freedom, and create a life you absolutely love. Head over to crystalwaremedia.com to sign up or click the link in the show notes and join thousands of others making their dreams a reality. Whether you ware just embarking on the journey or well on your way, the worthful newsletter has something for you. See you next week.