I just spoke at a conference for wedding professionals in Utah called WedSmith. Both the attendees and speakers were absolutely wonderful! I learned a lot from everyone.
One of the presenters, Simon T. Bailey, talked about releasing our brilliance, (He has a wonderful book entitled Release Your Brilliance. You should check it out!). He talked about having the confidence in ourselves to break out and do what we do best, as well as, feeling comfortable with being brilliant.
One of the attendees raised her hand and said that she didn’t feel comfortable saying that she is brilliant. She said that she had a hard time showing off about her abilities. Some of the others agreed with her. How can we just come out and say that we are the best, the most knowledgeable, the most talented?
I understand that feeling. Many of us were raised to be humble – bragging was an absolute no, no. But in a competitive industry like the wedding industry, how can we afford not to brag, just a little bit?
I recently interviewed several brides on what they look for in a wedding vendor. Most of them said that they were looking for the best person in each field. They wanted a professional who was confident in his or her abilities and who wasn’t afraid to show it. That’s not to say that they want a blow-hard bragger who speaks only about himself, but they found the confidence reassuring.
Here are a few tips for showing off your brilliance without looking like a jerk:
- Know your product and service well and be able to talk about it with confidence
- Discuss which work made you most proud? Did you successfully solve a client’s problem? Did one of your photographs win an award? Did a bride and groom introduction that you performed make everyone in the room cry?
- Ask your current clients what made them decide to hire you. You can use some of the qualities that they like about you in your sales presentation. (It’s not you bragging, it’s your satisfied customers bragging about you.)
If you love what you do and you truly believe that you are good at it, there is absolutely nothing wrong with talking about it.
I want to leave you with a quote from Marianne Williamson that one of the WedSmith attendees shared with the group. I hope it will inspire you to be confident in what you do, and maybe able to brag about it… just a little bit.
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject. Post for me here on The Susan Southerland Secret or email me at susan@susansoutherland.com
