This is a 1,000-gram bar of iron, worth just $100 in its raw form.

Turn it into horseshoes, and its value rises to $250.

Craft it into sewing needles, and it becomes worth around $70,000.

Shape it into watch springs and gears, and its value soars to $6 million.

But refine it into high-tech laser components used in computer chips, and that same bar is suddenly worth $15 million.

Your true worth isn’t defined by what you’re made of — but by how you develop your skills and apply them.