Authority is earned.

That’s it. Nothing fancy. Nothing flowery. The title says it all.

Authority is earned.

If you want respect from peers, clients, friends, the industry, family, spouse, then earn it.

If you haven’t received the authority you feel you’ve earned in a business, job, relationship, etc then you have 2 choices.

1. Do what it takes to earn the authority you want.
2. Move on to a place that will respect the authority you deserve.

Authority is earned.

Conversely, if someone is telling you something about your business, life, photography make sure they have earned the authority to say it.

There are lots of people in lots of places saying lots of things. You don’t have to listen. You choose whether to give them authority in your life, business, photography.

Make them earn it. Make me earn it.

Authority is earned.

One more thing. It’s completely up to you. It’s no one else’s fault you have or have not gained authority. You earn it or you don’t.

It’s not anyone else’s fault you chose to believe in the authority of someone who shouldn’t have had it. You gave them that right.

Header image courtesy of stock.xchng.

Enjoy this post? Make sure you don’t miss other great articles by subscribing to The Collective Weekly. It’s a handy update that comes right to your email inbox each week with the top posts, articles and offers from The Collective and our partners.