Humbled and blessed!

Give me a break! Really. Do you know what everyone thinks when they see people who comment “truly humbled and blessed to have been part of this”? Cue eye-roll! From Oxford English Dictionary: Humble, adjective; Having or showing a modest or low estimate of one's importance. So, posting a comment to hundreds, if not thousands of people makes you humble? And blessed. This would give the impression that it is not your own doing that created your success. That your hard work and talent didn’t come into the equation.

Self-promotion is very important part of what we do as Freelancers. It is great to let our clients know when we have our successes. It shows that we provided a service to a client that received good feedback and this in turn can help those who have not worked with us yet to be more trustful in the services we provide.

Stop being so bloody clichéd about your success. You should want to shout it from the rooftops. You want everyone in the world to know that you are good at what you do. Now, obviously, there are ways to celebrate your success that don’t make others want to puke or where you come across as an egotistical maniac. There is a good middle ground.

First, remember that you worked damn hard to gain the success you have. You have trained at your craft, practiced for hours upon hours, invested in your Freelance business, spent large amounts of time trying to get the word out to the world. Be proud of that. Don’t insinuate that a power, higher than yourself, should get the credit. (NOTE: I am in no way saying that you shouldn’t follow your own religious belief system. I just believe there are other times and places for that)

Second, it is OK to pat yourself on the back and tell yourself good job. Why are we so embarrassed at our own success? It’s a form of self-deprecation that is a little unbecoming to be honest.

Third. When celebrating your success, make it about the project as a whole, make it tongue in cheek, make it interesting from your client’s perspective. “Look how amazing my voice was in this video” is pushing things a bit too far. “The way the production company used my voice with an amazing soundtrack behind it really gave me goosebumps!” may be more appropriate.

But most of all, have fun with it. Post something tongue in cheek. Give the impression that you are pretty darn delighted with whatever happened. You should be happy. I am pretty sure that’s why you posted it in the first place.