The first time I had to negotiate for the first salary of my life, I was a mess. That was far back in 2009 immediately after finishing high school.

Life was hard so I had to work for man to eat.

I was almost working for free because I was very woeful at the negotiation table.

Do you know why?

I was low on my personal development and of course, any piece of naira was given to me because what I brought to the table was nothing to write home about.

When you bring little or nothing to the marketplace, you will be paid little or nothing.

Fast forward to today, I can get to negotiate my pay for the value I carry.

What makes the difference between both scenarios is simply personal development.

You get to eat the crumbs when you're doing so much but contribute less because the value you bring to the marketplace is what the crumbs can pay.

If you will be highly valuable in today's world and can negotiate your way up, your easiest hack is your personal growth.

If you don't grow in the school of personal development you will go slow in the marketplace.

The more you develop yourself, the valuable you become, and the more you can bring to the front burner of conversation.

Remember, you're worth more.