When the Millions Don’t Matter: Finding Your Worth Beyond the Company’s Bottom Line
I sat there in my team meeting, nodding like everyone else, while inside my head I was screaming. They wanted us to clap, to cheer, to feel proud because the company had just reported billions in revenue growth. Billions. And the thought that hit me wasn’t pride. It was: This is some fragglenackle bull Harkey.
Because while the money kept stacking higher for them, nothing shifted for us, the ones grinding on the phones, dealing with wild customers, carrying the weight of the brand on our backs.
Sure, the numbers look good on paper. Stakeholders smile on stage. Leaders beam as they brag about growth charts and profit margins. But do you know what it feels like to work under that kind of announcement? To realize that the billions they’re boasting about will never trickle down to the people who made it happen?
I thought to myself: Good for them. But wouldn’t it be even sweeter if the ones who sweat, sacrifice, and show up every day also tasted that growth? If the recognition wasn’t just applause in a meeting but something that hit our paychecks, our lives?
Instead, employees like me are supposed to sit still and accept that the rising cost of living is our problem, not theirs. We’re supposed to smile through the gaslighting, accept that our concerns are “not valid,” and swallow the blame when nothing changes.
That’s when it clicked: their billions are not my billions. And more importantly, their billions are not my worth.
I can’t keep waiting for a company to recognize my humanity when all they see is my productivity. I can’t tie my value to someone else’s spreadsheet. My worth isn’t measured in revenue; it’s measured in resilience. It’s measured in how many times I keep showing up for myself, not them.
When you start to see it that way, the meeting stops being a reminder of your insignificance and becomes a wake-up call. A sign that it’s time to build your own lane, even if right now you’re just sketching it in your notebook on your lunch break.
If you’re reading this and nodding along, let me say this: you are not crazy for feeling disconnected in those meetings. You’re not bitter. You’re not lazy. You’re awake.
And when you’re awake, you realize that clapping for someone else’s billions doesn’t feed your family or heal your spirit. What feeds you is investing in yourself. What heals you is choosing not to internalize their narrative.
Every time you walk into that meeting, remember—you are more than the applause they expect. You are more than the gaslighting. And you are definitely more than the company’s bottom line.
Practical Takeaways
Here’s how you start shifting that mindset:
Separate identity from income. Your paycheck is not proof of your value. It’s just a transaction.
Reframe meetings as fuel. Let their bragging remind you to invest in yourself, not them.
Start building your next step. Whether it’s a side project, education, or a skill, you need your own lane.
Refuse to be gaslit. Write down your truths. Don’t let their denial erase your reality.
In Other Words
You may be sitting in Egypt right now, in the place of bondage, under the weight of someone else’s empire. But don’t forget: every empire eventually falls, and every person has the power to rise.
When the millions don’t matter, you do.
- KIMMe PROMISEs