Acknowledge Your Achievements First Before Expecting That from Others

Note: This article is based on the author Paola Quintal, who tell us on her experience sharing her work without feeling ashamed.

Over time, I realized that people in the world hardly ever discuss their experiences, setbacks, anxieties, or doubts. These little things that shape our personalities, passions, commitments, responsibilities, and many other traits that we develop throughout our lives make us who we are as entrepreneurs. So, I bring this up to initiate a discussion about entrepreneur grief, a subject many of us experience but rarely discuss.

Recently, one of my coworkers encouraged me to post my articles in a chat room with other entrepreneurs and us. Usually, I don't directly share my articles with my professional network, even though I post them on my social media, and they are available on my Twitter. "I don't want to seem obsessed with myself, even though I love my articles," was my initial thought. However, I said, "I'll start sharing them and eliminate those negative thoughts."

A few days after this conversation, I realized that every entrepreneur must have "we must promote our businesses." I have multiple questions that I would like to pose here, all of which are reflections of the questions I asked myself during that process those days: Why do we feel sorry when we share our achievements? Why do we feel ashamed when we talk about ourselves? Why are we ashamed to show our work even when we know it is good? Why do they suppose we are self-centered?

The bottom line can be summed up in one sentence, "We have to acknowledge our work and promote it fearlessly and without denigration before others can recognize us." Fearlessly here means getting rid of those silly thoughts like, “What if they don't like my work? What if they disagree with me? What if they make fun of me?” However, you must give it up since, in the real world, not everyone likes us or agrees with us, as there are always opposing viewpoints. So, why not focus on the positives instead?

4 Strategies for Sharing Your Work:

Here, I provide several ways that you can use to directly or indirectly share your work in a way that guarantees people remember you without making you feel self-centered or ashamed, like:

1. Not Confining Yourself to the Virtual World:

"You are nonexistent if you are not present in the virtual world" is a saying we've all heard. However, what about meetings? Have you ever attempted to take advantage of the times when everyone is discussing work, and you would rather stay out of the conversation, fearing embarrassment? Whether you have an official or informal commitment, I always advise you to listen and to take advantage of the opportunity to mention your work. I do not mean that you should talk only about yourself and your work or annoy other people by talking about work-related issues all the time. In other words, you need to draw attention to who you are and what your business is currently working on to stick in people's minds. I'll give you an example:

In a conversation, one of the participants ends their sentence with, "I want to find a content creator for my company blog, but I don't have time for this," and simply continues talking. However, after noticing this detail, I searched for a chance to speak with the person and tell them, "I completely understand what you are going through, as I often feel that my time is tight and insufficient. So, I believe you might be interested in my company's service. Can we meet tomorrow to talk?" In this way, I made my company's service available, which is content writing for corporate blogs.

2. Publishing Your Content:

Let my experience be a lesson to you. If you are writing for a newspaper or magazine, share your blog posts that discuss your company or the products and services you offer to spread the word. Also, discuss it and send it to people you believe could find it helpful for their work via WhatsApp. Remember to post it on LinkedIn, the business social media platform.

3. Sharing Your New Skills:

Being multiskilled is vital in this day and age. Writing requires proficiency in designing software, social media, photography, and other technologies. Tell people about any new skills you learn or any new ones you master that are relevant to your field. The point here is not to boast but to share the skills you possess with others or the unique qualities that set your work apart.

4. Talking About Your Work:

Many of us have experienced the following: when we were questioned about our work, we would freeze, unsure of how to respond or explain it. Please, don't do that. These are special opportunities for others to learn about you, your abilities, and your offerings. You should practice your introduction, which should take no more than 40 seconds. At this time, you should state the name of your business, the products or services you provide, and most importantly, the advantages. Work on it until you can speak it with ease and spontaneity. You can use creativity in your presentation to grab people's attention.

To put it briefly, learn to be selective and don't limit yourself to just one introduction style. Additionally, reserve your energy for times when speaking with someone is worthwhile. Remember that nobody can predict where the greatest job opportunities come from.