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Stay Humble but with an Edge
Have you ever been to a party where someone won’t stop talking about their work? They go on about a project they’ve been working on — you can tell they don’t really give a shit about the actual work and are more interested in your reaction to it. For them, it wasn’t about the meaning of the work or the effort put in, but is instead about that small dopamine rush they get when someone asks about it (after some leading prompts they initiated, of course). I know for a fact I’ve been this guy before after too much gin. You wake up feeling dirty, having cheapened your brand and embarrassed your work (the hanxiety doesn’t help either). It’s not a good feeling. Don’t do this. Instead, I offer an alternative:
Stay humble, but with an edge.
The goal here is to stay somewhat modest about the work you’re creating but to know when to show it off. You aren’t shying away from the great work you’ve done, but instead are curating it in a way that draws people in (versus creating an excuse to stop talking to you). Your work is great — you know it, I know it, we all know it. That’s not the problem. The problem is letting your work speak for itself. It will do a better job speaking for itself than you could probably describe using words. When you do speak for your work, stay humble about it (remember, you know how great it is) but provide a sharp enough edge that people are enticed to see if for themselves. I can tell people all day how awesome The Great British Baking Show is but until they’ve seen it themselves my words won’t mean much. If I talk up the show too much people will develop preconceived notions about it which may or may not match reality when they finally do watch it. I’m not saying do not talk about your work or advertise your projects but do it in a way that encourages curiosity and interest versus disdain and annoyance.
Thanks for reading.
For more creative content, please visit my website: Lazy Creativity (ourlazycreativity.com). Plus, if you subscribe (you’ll be prompted on the Home page), I’ll throw in a free copy of my book, Lazy Creativity.
Find me on LinkedIn: Kyle Bernier, MAATC | LinkedIn or on Instagram: @Kyle_Bernier
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