Trending
Let’s face it; There are many people who like to brag. Some more than others, but with the emergence, and heavy dependence, on social media, this bragging has gotten a bit out of hand.
Recently, I decided to increase the numbers of my LinkedIn followers, and began inviting people to my LinkedIn family. As I am currently running programs for professional speakers, I thought I’d focus on that particular group. The good news is that many chose to accept my invitation. The bad news is a bit more puzzling to me: For some odd reason, the more people who accepted my invitation, the more disappointed I felt about my own business. Each day I logged into LinkedIn, and each day I was greeted with more folks who accepted my invitation, while also sharing news about their incredible accomplishments.
- Amazing books with amazing sales. I had no idea how many #1 Amazon bestsellers there were! My books are all published by conventional publishers, and five have become bestsellers, but I’ve never had a #1 Amazon bestseller. As a matter of fact, I’ve never even cracked the top 100.
- Amazing speaking opportunities. The professional speaking industry is not for the faint of heart because it requires true talent, marketing knowledge, the ability to sell, and the ability to constantly evolve. I’ve been on the road fighting for speaking gigs for over 30 years, and yet, it seems that many who post are literally inundated with speaking assignments.
- Amazing numbers of followers in social media. Most businesses require some attention to social media, but many of those I see posting have taken it to a whole new level. I scratch away at it every day, and tend to feel pretty good about my numbers… until I see some of the numbers that other people have.
Seeing these posts about others who like to share stories of their success can be intimidating at times, and holy cow, some people can really boast… I mean, post! My apologies if I’m stepping on a few toes here, and for the record, my wife who has been editing my BLArticles® begged me to not even publish this particular piece. The problem is, for most who are trying to climb similar mountains, it can make us feel inadequate when we see the same people constantly posting their successes. We begin to chirp away at ourselves thinking things like: “What’s wrong with me! Why can’t I achieve goals similar to these?” That can be damaging, and that’s why I had to disagree with my editor and speak out on this particular topic.
Let’s start with this: I’ve never met a single person who engages in this form of constant boasting, who in reality, has all that much to boast about. As I mentioned, I know my industry well; really well. The reality is:
- With the advancement in self-publishing, and hybrid publishing, for a price, anyone can publish a book, and for another price, anyone can be a #1 Amazon bestselling author. It’s nothing to be intimidated about.
- High paying speaking opportunities are out there, but they are still very difficult to find and book. Many of those who talk of speaking engagements are grossly underpaid and don’t have quite the number of engagements as they allude to.
- Astonishing social media followings can also be bought and may look very good on paper, but often don’t provide as much true value as appear.
So, am I really telling you people should not post of their successes? No, I won’t do that; I can’t do that. Some people just can’t help themselves, and besides, I’d be a hypocrite because occasionally I put a post out there boasting of my success. But I wish some would take it down a notch, and save those posts that boast for real, honest success stories. As for those who look at some of those post and question their own self-worth, remember, as my dad Lee Jolles used to always tell me: “Don’t ever be intimidated by the success of others. They put their pants on the same way you do; one leg at a time.”