How can you tell you’re producing and delivering real value?
Ask yourself these questions: If you stopped doing what you do, who would care? Who would object loudly? Who would revolt?
If you’re creating and delivering genuine value, and you suddenly stop, people will notice. People will definitely care. Your contribution will be seriously missed. Such people may not even appreciate you for the value you are offering directly, especially if your contribution remains somewhat anonymous, but they’ll soon find out that something important is missing from their lives. Even if they don’t know you directly, the removal of your ongoing value creation and delivery will have a definite effect.