As I work with people both personally and professionally I notice that all have been hurt at some point in their life. Some so deeply they haven't recovered. This affects their professional life as well. Some signs I have seen are: anger in the workplace, demoralizing a coworker in front of others, and quitting too soon.

Previously in my career I did adjunct therapy with at-risk women and youth. (You'll find my perspective on that through some of the older articles on my expert page.) When I worked with this demographic it was evident they struggled with a lack of self-esteem. This led to depression, addiction, and self-injury. Today there is a popular movement called The Semicolon Project bringing awareness to some of these issues.

When we allow others to determine our worth or value, we are doing ourselves a disservice. WE must believe we are valuable and change our mindset, refuting the opinion of others. I'd like to share three somewhat unrelated thoughts to drive this point home.

First, The Semicolon Project uses the analogy of an author. An author uses a semicolon where he could've chosen to end a sentence; but, chose not to. "The author is you and the sentence is your life."

Second, your value doesn't decrease based on someone else's ability to see it.

Third, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.’ We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world......."

Don't play small; sit at the big table of life. Remember, that each chapter in your life is a semicolon. You are the author. You determine what to write on the page. Whether you are looking at your personal life or your professional life, your story intertwines. I challenge you to sit at the big table and write the next page.

Author's Bio: 

Royce has a diverse background ranging with experience in sales, management, program director roles, and as an entrepreneur for nearly 20 years. Her entrepreneurial ventures launching nine start-ups have allowed her to develop her skills in marketing, writing, consulting, and leadership. Royce has been asked to speak to groups of up to 200 on leadership, faith, and business skills. She is an active member of Toastmasters and volunteers in her community. Recent highlights of her career include winning a business plan competition on a social enterprise business model, coaching a student who was accepted into the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGIU), and mentoring at Start-Up Weekend and Ashoka sponsored events at Rollins College.

Most recently, she published her first book "7 Beautiful Weeks: A Love Affair That Wasn't Meant to Last. Royce has written and developed curriculum teaching others how to make productive life choices to thrive, not survive.Royce is currently developing several webinars on social enterprise. She enjoys working with at-risk populations and has developed curriculum and facilitated experiential learning sessions to help them break free of unproductive patterns.