Chapter 1: The wannabe entrepreneur
The conversation was never supposed to become a lesson about value.
It began with a simple question from a young woman named Maya.
Maya had recently started experimenting with entrepreneurship. Together with a close friend, she had begun organizing workshops, reflection sessions, yoga gatherings, and community events. Nothing large. Nothing revolutionary. Just small steps into a world she hoped to build for herself one day.
At the same time, Maya was uncertain.
Like many young professionals, she stood between two worlds.
One world promised freedom, creativity, ownership, and entrepreneurship.
The other promised stability, structure, salary, and certainty.
She wanted both.
And that was where the tension began.
During the discussion, Maya explained that she was confused. She was interested in the community she had joined and excited about the projects taking place around her. Yet she struggled to understand where she fit. She wanted more direction. More clarity. More certainty.
The mentors listened patiently.
Then Zara spoke.
“Tell us what you want.”
The question sounded simple.
It wasn’t.
Because Maya herself did not know.
A few minutes later, another mentor leaned forward.
“You say you want to be an entrepreneur.”
Maya nodded.
“But at the same time, you’re looking for someone to employ you and tell you what to do.”
The room became quiet.
The observation was uncomfortable because it was true.
Entrepreneurs do not receive instruction manuals.
Entrepreneurs walk into uncertainty.
They make decisions with incomplete information.
They take risks before they have guarantees.
Employees, on the other hand, operate inside a structure. They are given responsibilities, expectations, reporting lines, and measurable outcomes.
Neither path is better.
But they are different.
The discussion that followed would challenge nearly every assumption Maya had about work, opportunity, and success.
Chapter 2: Ehem - What Is My Value?
The conversation quickly shifted away from jobs.
Instead, it focused on value.
One mentor asked Maya a question.
“If someone hires you tomorrow, why should they hire you?”
Maya thought for a moment.
“I’m good at administration.”
It was a reasonable answer.
Many people would have stopped there.
The mentor did not.
“That’s a skill,” he replied.
“But why should I pay you?”
The question caught Maya by surprise.
Most people are prepared to discuss their qualifications.
They can describe their education.
They can list their experiences.
They can explain their responsibilities.
Far fewer people can explain their value.
The mentor continued.
“If you ask for a salary, why are you worth that salary?”
The discussion expanded beyond Maya.
The mentor recalled conversations with university students who had entered the job market with strong salary expectations.
When asked why they deserved those salaries, their answers were surprisingly similar.
“My seniors earn that amount.”
“That’s the market rate.”
“My living expenses require that amount.”
None of those answers explained why an employer should pay them.
They explained why the employee wanted money.
They did not explain what value the employee created.
The distinction was important.
Businesses do not pay people because they need money.
Businesses pay people because they create value.
The room slowly began to understand the difference.
The discussion then became more practical.
What could Maya actually contribute?
Could she attract customers?
Could she build partnerships?
Could she recruit participants?
Could she solve problems?
Could she create opportunities?
Could she increase revenue?
The mentors repeatedly returned to the same idea.
The future would belong to people who could answer one question clearly:
“What value do you create?”
Not what title you hold.
Not what degree you possess.
Not what salary you desire.
What value you create.
Chapter 3: The Price of the Stones
At this point, Zara shared a story.
A father gave his son two stones.
“Take these stones and find out what they are worth.”
The son obeyed.
First, he went to a roadside vendor.
The vendor offered him two dollars.
The son returned disappointed.
The father told him to keep going.
Next, he visited a market.
This time, somebody offered twenty dollars.
Interesting.
Then he visited a jewelry store.
The offer increased to two hundred dollars.
Finally, he carried the stones to a university archaeology department.
An expert examined them carefully.
“We’ll pay two thousand dollars.”
The son returned home astonished.
The father asked a simple question.
“What changed?”
The son looked at the stones.
Nothing.
The stones were exactly the same.
The father smiled.
Exactly.
The stones never changed.
The context changed.
The understanding changed.
The perception changed.
The value changed.
The story resonated deeply with everyone in the room.
Many people spend years believing they are worth very little because they are standing in the wrong marketplace.
Others discover that the same skills, experiences, and knowledge become exponentially more valuable when placed in the right environment.
The lesson was not about marketing.
It was about recognizing potential.
Too many people focus on asking what they can get.
Too few ask how they can increase their value.
The discussion returned to Maya.
Perhaps the problem was not whether she should become an entrepreneur or an employee.
Perhaps the real challenge was discovering where her value could create the greatest impact.
Chapter 4: The Changing Nature of Companies
The conversation then moved into an area that surprised many people.
The mentors argued that the nature of work itself is changing.
Historically, organizations were built around departments.
Administration.
Human Resources.
Customer Service.
Operations.
Finance.
Marketing.
Some departments generated revenue directly.
Others existed to support the organization.
Today, those boundaries are becoming blurred.
Zara shared the example of a customer service employee named Nova.
Years ago, Nova’s job would have been simple.
Answer customer questions.
Handle complaints.
Provide support.
Today, the expectations are different.
The business is facing competition.
Margins are shrinking.
Customers have more choices.
Management wants growth.
Suddenly, customer service is no longer just customer service.
Nova is now expected to improve retention.
Increase referrals.
Encourage repeat purchases.
Build stronger customer relationships.
Contribute to revenue.
Her title remains the same.
Her value proposition has changed.
The same transformation is happening everywhere.
Artificial intelligence is rapidly automating administrative work.
Scheduling.
Reporting.
Documentation.
Meeting summaries.
Data processing.
Tasks that once required hours now take minutes.
As a result, companies are increasingly asking a different question.
Not:
“What task are you performing?”
But:
“What outcome are you creating?”
This shift is profound.
A marketing employee is no longer judged by the number of brochures produced.
They are judged by leads and conversions.
A customer service employee is no longer judged only by politeness.
They are judged by retention and loyalty.
Even administrative roles are increasingly expected to contribute to efficiency, revenue, or strategic advantage.
Cost centres are being questioned.
Profit centres are being expanded.
The future is increasingly rewarding people who can connect their work directly to measurable outcomes.
Revenue.
Growth.
Retention.
Innovation.
Problem-solving.
Value creation.
COST CENTERS will be outsourced to AI
For Maya, this realization was significant.
Her answer of “I can do administration” was no longer enough.
She needed to answer a more difficult question.
“How does that administration create value?”
Chapter 5: Maya’s Move
As the discussion approached its conclusion, something interesting happened.
The conversation stopped being philosophical. Her Father who pushed her into this was also watching - he wanted to ensure that the future was secure - succession planning in many ways.
It became practical.
The mentors pointed out that opportunities already existed.
Not theoretical opportunities.
Real ones.
There were international participants interested in upcoming programmes.
There were former participants who could be contacted again.
There were parents who had previously shown interest.
There were backpacker communities that might be interested in joining cultural experiences.
There were partnerships waiting to be explored.
There were networks waiting to be activated.
The problem was not a lack of opportunity.
The problem was a lack of action.
The mentors challenged Maya directly.
If she wanted to understand value, she needed to create some.
If she wanted income, she needed to generate outcomes.
If she wanted experience, she needed to move.
One mentor outlined several immediate actions.
Contact previous leads.
Reach out to potential participants.
Speak with communities.
Explore partnerships.
Build a pipeline.
Create opportunities.
Generate revenue.
Maya listened carefully.
Then something changed.
Earlier in the conversation, she had been asking for clarity.
Now she was talking about action.
She agreed to contact potential participants.
She agreed to approach existing leads.
She agreed to explore international outreach.
She agreed to investigate new communities.
She agreed to build a plan around measurable outcomes rather than vague intentions.
The mentors asked her to create a simple table.
Activities.
Targets.
Expected participants.
Expected revenue.
Expected costs.
Deliverables.
Not dreams.
Not wishes.
Not possibilities.
Deliverables.
The distinction mattered.
Because value is not discovered through endless discussion.
Value is discovered through execution.
By the end of the meeting, Maya still did not know exactly where life would take her.
She still did not have certainty.
She still did not know whether she would eventually become an entrepreneur, an employee, or something in between.
But she had gained something far more important.
A new way of thinking.
She had begun the conversation asking:
“What opportunity is available for me?”
She ended the conversation asking:
“What value can I create?”
And that single shift may prove to be the most important lesson of all.
The future rarely belongs to those who wait for instructions.
It belongs to those who learn to create value before they are asked.
Because titles can change.
Jobs can disappear.
Technology can replace tasks.
Markets can shift.
But people who consistently create value will always find opportunity.
And that was the real lesson behind Maya’s move.
Lets view Maya’s next steps….
Uncertainty often appears when we believe our options are limited.
We spend years asking ourselves, "What should I become?" Teacher? Engineer? Entrepreneur? Manager? Consultant?
But what if we're asking the wrong question?
When we zoom out, job titles start looking less like destinations and more like vehicles.
The more important question becomes:
"What problem can I help solve?"
A person who focuses on creating value can move across many roles throughout life. Employee today, entrepreneur tomorrow, mentor later, investor after that. The title changes, but the contribution remains.
Perhaps that's why so many people feel trapped. We attach our identity to a career label instead of the value we create.
The article talks about value creation, and I think that's the real shift.
Salary is not the goal.
Salary is the consequence.
Revenue, opportunities, promotions, and recognition are often by-products of solving meaningful problems for other people.
The world doesn't always reward us for what we want.
It rewards us for the value we create.
For young people especially, maybe the question isn't:
"What job should I pursue?"
Maybe it's:
"What problem in this world am I willing to help solve?"
Because when you focus on solving problems, you don't have to become one thing.
You can become whatever the solution requires.