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"I believe that the joy of creating new ideas is so thrilling that it makes me feel guilty thinking other people should pay me for it."

This resonates so much. In fact, so much of what you wrote resonated with me. I spent so long giving my creative gifts free of charge. Mainly because I didn't believe I deserved to be paid. The gifts came to me freely, so asking for something in return felt like fraud.

Thanks for sharing this, James :)

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"People have a tendency to devalue their giftedness when it comes easy to them and they give it away, especially when they are passionate about helping other people."

This hit home James!

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Loved how this essay came together, James. You opened right with your spiky point of view and it grabbed me right away: "You should charge others for the gifts you give them."

You also had some beautiful sentences that near stopped me in my tracks like "Advocacy has often been the currency of my purpose and identity," and ideas that really got me thinking like "The longer I invest in an idea, the greater its value to those who need it".

Amazing work. Thank you for sharing your gifts :)

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