You have a personal brand whether or not you believe you do. We all do. You are an influencer — maybe not as a paid model, but whenever you post on social media, you’re influencing the thoughts, beliefs, and opinions of the people connected to you.
People constantly tell me they DREAD having to “toot their own horn.” And while it’s true no one enjoys being turned off by the person who constantly talks about how great they are, guess what? There are people who WANT to celebrate with you and feel inspired by your success or talents.
Here are some points to help you reframe your thinking and get comfortable with your “brand” … who you are to other people:
1. Focus on what you can give, not what you can get.
What makes you “You” is a gift no one else has. And the world needs that special gift. You never know when someone will really need to hear what you’re offering, or hear about what you do, if not for yourself, maybe for a colleague or friend. Someone out there might want to tell you: Thank goodness you said something. We have a responsibility to help people — even when we don’t realize we’re helping! — and when we put ourselves out there, we often are providing solutions to other people’s issues in ways we don’t initially consider.
2. Stop caring. No, don’t stop caring — just stop caring what people think.
Sometimes we shy away from self-promotion because we’re afraid people won’t like us, will find us annoying or will judge us. They probably already do this. Whether we realize it or not, we all pass judgement from time to time. It’s true about you and it’s true about me. The real question is: Who are you living your life for? Do you care more about getting your ideas out there and helping as many people as possible, or do you care about living your life unjudged? What do you want people to know you for? What legacy do you want to leave?
3. Avoid being a broken record.
People don’t want to hear anything on repeat. Constantly reflecting on how great you are. Let the world know what you’ve achieved and why, but be sure you have plenty of other things to talk about. Explore different topics, and celebrate other people. If you want people to celebrate your successes, make sure you’re out there engaging and celebrating others as well. This is the difference between self-promotion and servant-driven leadership.
4. Speak up.
Most of us grow up being told not to brag or show off. So we have to untangle the feelings of shame and self-consciousness from sharing our gifts and offering our service to the world.
- How many people can you help look and feel good or learn a new skill?
- How many people do you know who are living paycheck to paycheck and looking for a way to make ends meet?
- How many people do you know who are lonely and looking for something uplifting and exciting to be a part of?
Your participation in others’ lives by speaking out about yourself can actually help others. It’s that simple. Let’s take the shame out of self-promotion.
If you don’t tell them, how will they know?
Questions:
Do you hold yourself back from sharing about who you are or what you do? Why?
When it comes to self-promotion, which of the tips here can you use in your life right now?
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