How to measure worth and value

June/2010

Worth and a state of well being, how should these be measured? Should they be measured on a purely material basis? These can not and should not be measured on a material level alone. When we do this as a society, we miss out on those who’s true worth can only be measured in other ways.

Some of the most creative people on the internet and offline did not start out by being rich. Many of them had to take a chance. Many of them had to mortgage homes, or go into thousands upon thousands of dollars in debt to have their dreams realized. Many left day jobs, to master their online projects that they knew would be big in time, or quit school. Many of them were just hanging on by a thread, living from month to month, while they kept their dreams alive. The ones that we hear about are the lucky ones. Someone hears about them, the service is coveted by a large company that offers them millions and millions of dollars to buy out their service.

There are many others who are in similar situations. They have the next big creative idea, they are doing everything that they can to keep that dream alive. Maybe the services popularity has not caught on, or the word has not gone out and so the service has not gone viral, but they are on the path, they are journeying to where they need to be.

Material wealth is not always in line with creative genius. Some of the most creative individuals starve because their passion is so intense, it’s all that they choose to do, and they find situations that allow them to live life doing their passion for better or for worst.

In recent times Youtube has become one of the most vital services on the internet. It’s now estimated to be worth millions and millions of dollars, but did you know that the creators of Youtube were in debt to their eyeballs and were about to be sued by almost every major picture company before they were bought out by google? They had maxed out credit cards, borrowed, and were in debt, but they stuck in there, because they knew they were on their path. They knew, they understood the vital nature of what they were doing, and decided to take the chance, in that case it paid off, and the rest is history. Today Youtube is visited by people from around the globe. It’s estimated that Youtube has more than 100 million visits. It’s estimated that they have watched an average of 14.8 billion online videos in one month. The USA today article describe the founders as a pair of 20 somethings that were in between jobs, when they tried to find an easy way for people to share and upload videos.

http://www.dmwmedia.com/news/2009/03/05/youtube-surpasses-100-million-visitors-january

http://mediaoutrage.com/2010/05/07/what-youtube-founders-walked-away-with-after-the-sale-to-google/

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2006-04-09-youtube-popularity_x.htm

Potential can not always be measured in what is seen, or readily available estimates. Today the Youtube founders who were in between paths when they started the company are worth millions. They took the right steps to make sure that their paths paid off. How many people around them saw only the externals? Two unemployed geeks? How many people wondered if they had any life potential, cause they were not at a standard 9-5 job, and they were in debt? If we as a society had taken their stock back then, and judge them, many would have deemed them problematic, needing help, without any real ambition, potential or goals in mind, but that clearly was not the case.

Many others are not that lucky on their paths. They are just as creative, they have a killer start up, but they fail to attract the right buzz, or land that million dollar deal, and the company goes under, and they are never heard from again. That does not make them any less worthwhile. That is why it’s very important to be careful by the measure which we meet. Potential and true worth, true value can not always be measured in the way that we think it can. Creativity does not always pay the way it should, and just because you have a great idea it does not mean that it will always catch on the way you hoped, but it’s still important to try to keep doing what you are doing. Stay on that path.

If you have a dream, never lose sight of it. You might not be able to get there by standard means. You might even feel discouraged because you are between jobs, but sometimes being in between jobs is where you need to be on your path. If these two founders had not been between jobs, they would likely not have had the time to mess around and figure out a better way to share home videos online, and today YOUTUBE is one of the most fundamental services. Used for education, entertainment, connecting, sharing. It’s one of the biggest features online today, and it was started by two 20 somethings who were in between jobs, and who went into major credit card debt to achieve their goals.