Proven Ways to Grow your Networth

She is always sitting there, pretty, beautiful. She is the youngest of his collections, metallic silver in color, adorning the most recognized brand in vehicle matters. She is a Merc, S class. My neighbor has several cars. Three to be specific. I only have one, an old Pajero. His parkings are next to mine. In fact, our houses are designed in such a way that each house has two parkings; therefore, he parks one of his cars in my unutilized slot.

Each day, as I kick my Paj to life, I look out of the window and I notice her. She is as quiet as death, yet elegant as a queen. She cost him an arm and a leg, Ksh15m to be specific. Each time I drive in and out, she is there, which makes me wonder, “when does he drive this car, it is always here”. Despite her price, her elegance, her wits, she is never with him.

Below are three ways to improve your self-worth in a matter of weeks.

1. How much value do you attach to yourself?

Value is a perception attached to anything by a rational beholder or consumer. An employer is a consumer of your services. What is your perceived value to your employer? Does he consult you each time he is about to make a major decision that affects you, or you always hear it from your colleagues? Does he ask you for your opinion before making important company announcements?  Do you always feel left out or you feel included?

I look at my car. It is not the prettiest thing ever designed; however, I am always with her. She sees all my friends

Self worth

and knows all my clandes by name. She has visited all my work places. She has accompanied me to the dingiest as well as the most exotic places in this country. My mum knows her groan. She has been with me in real danger and saved me. She has also coughed and stalled on me when I needed to impress and I lost a girl. How do you explain to a girl you are yet to box that the car never behaves like that; that it is the first time it has stalled in the middle of the Thika super highway. How do you tell her to alight and help you push the car to the side; all this time other motorists hooting and threateningly driving too close for the ladies comfort. One guy did not mince his words, “Wachana na gari mzee njoo nikupeleke na Subaru” (ditch old cars, come I chauffer you in my Subaru). The lady was not amused.

2. How much time are you according to yourself and others?

Time is a critical measure of worth. If someone finds you worth, they will spend more of their time with you, because how much time is to yourself and others? Time is the most expensive resource available to man. Are you the kind of employee who is never asked to remain behind to help complete an important task? Are you the ones who always finds out that colleagues were asked to go somewhere and no one mentioned it to you? Does your employer want to spend time with you or he is happy when you leave? Are you one of those usually chosen to show visitors around? Is your absence felt?

3. How useful are you all around?

One day I asked my neighbor, “Why are you always driving the Toyota and never minding the Merc?”  His answer was telling; “The Toyota can take me everywhere and noting the kind of roads that we have in Kenya, the Merc will fall apart and you know how expensive it is to service her at DT Dobie”. I asked why he had purchased the Merc, a story for another day.

Are you that kind of girl; are you the one who will not be taken shags because of the embarrassment that you will cause; you will refuse to speak the mother tongue, you will not stand the three stone stove and you will not eat his mama’s food claiming it is dirty? What is the value of being there and never being exposed to anyone or anything in his life?  When he has a function, he only informs you that he will not be around. When there are family meetings, he goes alone? What is your value to him?

I remember this guy upcountry who brought his young family to visit his parents. They arrived around three o’clock in the afternoon. Yes, 3 pm because I was called from grazing my father’s cows to go and slaughter the chicken. The ladies trusted me more to slaughter chicken than other boys because I declared every part, including the entrails, and I never lost the imondo (gizzard). Then they would gracefully surrender the intestines to me and I would roast and enjoy with whoever agreed to stand in for me grazing.

The old lady prepared tea, and they had supper, I was just around. The girl from town was asked to cook tea after supper. As she was cooking, gas went out. She had to contend with the three-stone stove and it was not a pleasant sight. She immediately developed an allergic reaction and her husband had to find anti-allergies.  In the morning, she woke up to wash her baby. It had rained. She washed her baby every less than two hours. The small girl was happily playing with her lesser upcountry cousins, where else could they play except in the mad?

Your worth can also be seen in the way you socialize. An employer is looking for an adaptable social person, who can interact with all people of all social classes. There is no office that does not have that tea lady who does not know English well, you have to contend with her Kiuk Swahili, she would be telling you things like, “wengine malimaliza shai tene, wewe ndio umefaki kuosha kikobe”, meaning that she wants to wash your teacup, and you delaying her.

Appraisal systems in most workplaces are meant to reward individuals in relation to the contribution they make to the company’s bottom line. Few companies are socialistic and decide to award equal bonuses to everyone. The majority are cannibalistic and your performance will be measured and your reward will be commensurate with the results that you achieve. Be assured that what the poor performers leave on the table will be shared among the best performers. Man eat man society.  We all spend equal time at the work place, but what we achieve with that time determines our worth. Most times working smart is better than working hard.

In developing countries, in Africa to be specific, systems are broken or nonexistent. There are many areas in Africa without a hospital and without doctors; water, a basic need is not available to everyone and in some places, children still go without clothes. We need hustlers more than we need sleek busybodies who will only run working systems. We need innovators who will go round a problem and still deliver results. You are worth what you can accomplish, and not how much you cost.