Bragging Rights and Wrongs - CareerEnlightenment.com

How to Strike the Right Balance Between Facts and BraggingI can sit in front of you and tell you that I’ve written a bestselling book without bragging. I’m simply stating a fact: Job Searching with Social Media For Dummies sold over 10,000 copies thus making it into the best-selling category.Then I will you that selling so many copies was a lot of hard work. Writing the book was a long, intense process that took over my entire life. I wasn’t born into it, I earned it. Still not bragging.But if I said, “I’m a bestselling author, whose book sold over 10,000 copies easily.” That could be bragging.Here’s why.First, it’s not about whom you are, it’s about what you did.When you talk about your accomplishments, learn to distinguish between something inherent to you, like intelligence, luck or good looks; and something you did, like hard work, perseverance, and innovation.There’s a big difference between “I’m a bestselling author”, and “I’ve written a book that is bestselling”Second, show your struggle and be human.Bragging has a sense of, “I’m better than you. Things you think are hard are easy for me.”You can quickly eliminate that pretense by sharing your struggle. It wasn’t my brilliant writing and perfect timing that sold 10,000 copies (although I’d like to believe that). It was lots of outreach, phone calls, guest blog posts and begging my friends to leave Amazon reviews! In short, my struggle makes me human.It’s Your TurnI want you to think about a time in your life where you’re the most proud of what you did. Maybe it’s a wild success.Next, ask yourself, “What role did I play in this success?”Write out a few paragraphs. Read it to a friend and see if it feels like bragging.Being able to talk about your accomplishments is a skill that will not only help you outshine your competition, but it will help boost your confidence so you can go out there and do it again!