A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200 attendees he asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?” Hands went up immediately.

He then said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you – but first, let me do this.” He proceeded to crumple the $20 note up asking, “Who still wants it?” Hands remained in the air.

“Well,” he replied, “what if I do this?” He dropped it on the ground and began to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty, and asked, “Now, who still wants it?” Still the hands held fast in the air.

“My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.

Many times in our lives we are dropped, crumpled, and trampled into the dirt by the decisions we make, the circumstances that come our way or the people we surround ourselves with. Often this leaves us feeling worthless, incomplete and lost. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, we must remember that we never lose our value.

Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still precious to those who love and care for you. The worth of our lives comes, not in what we do or who we know or what society dictates, but by WHO we are!

Your value does not decrease based on someone’s inability to see your worth. After all, YOU are priceless!