Weaponize your pride (and make more money)

WEAPONIZE YOUR PRIDE: A while back, we discussed why fee levels for speakers differ so much between various countries. We argued back then that it might be due to speakers being more organized in America. 

Bragging is not a good thing. Mostly, I guess, because it’s annoying to listen to.

But we all do it from time to time. And it makes us accomplish incredibly things, because we tend to carry around our pride with us everywhere. If we said something aloud, we better do it.

So bragging is not all bad.

The assumption is that something (like bragging) didn’t serve a purpose it wouldn’t exist. But bragging makes a lot of sense, if you consider it a way for us to push ourselves out of our comfort zone.

Bragging is one end of a continuum where the other end is being humble. Like someone can boast too much, they can be too modest (especially, I think, if they work in sales).

Most of us are somewhere in the middle. Some days we brag a bit, some days we play the humble.

When we’re organized as speakers, we see and talk to people who do what we do more often. If we meet on the first Wednesday of every month to talk shop, there is going to be someone holding us accountable. Mostly that is ourselves.

When we say stuff in front of people, we care about we commit to making it happen. That makes us bolder. That makes us ask for more money or pursue the deal longer. It makes us negotiate harder.

And eventually, win.

So bragging, annoying as it may be, serves a purpose because most of us put our pride on the line by doing so. But only if we’re in a context of other speakers who understand the struggle.

We all compare ourselves to other people all the time. I know some of us like to think we’re free from that mode of being. But to be honest, thinking we’re not comparing us to others is a form of comparison.

So there is no escaping.

And we don’t need one.

Because a little bit of bragging can push us out of our comfort zone, and this is where we improve. And that is why communities like TravelToSpeak, NSA, PSA and others can be so good for speakers.

That’s all for now. I wish you tons of success in your business pursuits and remember that you have tons of speaker colleagues.