In this motivational monologue, Tim Arrigo uses the image of a crumpled, stained, or damaged $100 bill to illustrate that a person’s intrinsic worth remains unchanged despite external damage, mistakes, or hardships. He challenges the belief that past actions, trauma, or societal judgments diminish personal value, arguing that every human is born with priceless worth. By separating one’s identity from deeds and experiences, Arrigo suggests we can achieve inner peace and recognize the constant, inherent value we possess.
Chapters
This is a $100 bill. Everybody knows that it's worth $100. What about if I crinkle up that $100 bill? What about if I pour some alcohol on it? What about if I sprinkle some cocaine on it? What about if it falls into a urinal? What about if it falls into a gutter and it washes down a couple streets? Is it still worth $100? What about if a homeless person picks up that $100 bill and As they pick it up and squeegee the slime off it, it tears, but not entirely. It's still holding on by a thread. Sound familiar? Well, is that $100 bill still hold its worth and value? Meaning, is it still worth $100? The answer is yes. So let me ask you this: what makes you think that you're any less valuable because of the things that you've been through, the things that you've done, or the things that happen to you. See, some of you, you feel like you lost your worth and value. You use all these things from your past, the things that have been done to you, things you've done, as evidence to support the fact that you don't have worth and value. You feel worthless. You feel, you feel like you don't carry any inherent value anymore. But see, that's a lie, because you can look at a child when the child's born, and you can see that every human being who's born has, has value. You can see a newborn baby and say, that baby's priceless. See, when we start to separate who we are from what we do and what's been done to us, that's when we find peace. And in that peace is where we discover the value that we always possessed.
