A very long time ago in Italy, a young artist made a living by selling his paintings on the street. A very rich woman offered him $1,000 to have her portrait painted. The poor artist was fully committed to paint the best he could of her.
When it was completed, the woman didn’t like how she look (in fact, that was exactly how she looked) and backed out on her promise. She refused to pay for the work and called it “a piece of trash”. The artist was extremely hurt by her insult but told her that one day, she would buy that painting back at more than 600 times the price. The woman scoffed and left.
The humiliated artist returned to his hometown. 10 years had gone by and he soon became a renowned artist. His works attracted the rich and famous, including friends and associates of the woman who trampled on him a decade ago.
Friends of the woman who attended the artist’s exhibition had told her that all his paintings but one, were snapped up. It was the portrait of a woman and it was not for sale. Everyone commented that the portrait looked so much like her. Curious, the woman went to the art gallery. There, at the centre of the gallery was the portrait of her that the artist painted 10 years ago. It was titled “THIEF”. The woman was dumbfounded and apologised to the artist. And yes, she paid 600 times above the original price for that piece of painting she once called it “a piece of trash” – $600,000. That artist was Picasso.
By sharing this story with you, I hope just like Picasso, believe in yourself and never let others underestimate your worth.