My mother always said, "Self Praise Stinks."
I understand that she didn't want us to grow up to be the type of people who walked around telling everyone how great we were. She did not want us to be conceited. She wanted us to be respected. That didn't mean that she couldn't tell of all the achievements of her children and grandchildren, after all that was her prerogative.
I business, especially a health care field, where people don't really know whether you did a good job but rather how you made them feel while you were doing it, some self praise is okay.
I have adapted this philosophy when it came to my children. Don't be a braggart, but you can tell people if you are good at something. If you don't say it who is going to know. My daughter is a magnificent figure skater and very good with languages. My son's language is mathematics and computers, and he puts the rest of us to shame that we don't understand the instruments we use daily, the way he does. As a parent it is my prerogative to state these things.
Ivan Misner, founder of Business Networking International recently wrote the following as a facebook posting:
Many of us are taught as kids that we should refrain from bragging about our successes, but there’s a real caveat to those rules that our parents usually didn’t teach us, and it’s important to understand that it really helps our business to do certain things that capture our success stories. Now, success stories about businesses and entrepreneurs are really vital for those who are dedicated to learning all we can in order to make our own enterprise as successful as possible.
Cocky, Self absorbed, self praise may stink, but self-promotion is the entrepreneurial spirit.
Just Sayin'
Thanks Mom
