Why You Should Never Hide Your Success From the World Here's how sharing and celebrating your success helps you and others as well.
By Jessica Dennehy •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The goal of every entrepreneur is to become successful. While you're working towards your goals, the thought of success is so exciting, you often dream about how your life will change once you've made it. The energy from those thoughts motivates you to keep moving forward despite the challenges that come your way. After much hard work and sacrifice, driven by your goals and dreams, you finally achieve success! Then, something almost unimaginable happens.
You hide it from the world.
Why some entrepreneurs hide their success
Entrepreneurs face this scenario more often than you think. Limiting beliefs can put a stranglehold on your excitement to shout about your success from the rooftops — muzzling your voice until you convince yourself that no one wants to hear about your wins. This can stem from your fear of judgment from those around you or some deep-rooted inner belief that you are unworthy of success. You might even diminish your achievements in the public eye because you were brought up to be "humble." Years of negative influences and defeatist self-talk can bubble up to the surface as soon as you reach the top.
The arsenal of limiting beliefs you've built over time is at the ready to tear down all your wins faster than a house of cards. Uneasy feelings that contradict your expectations of what success is supposed to feel like causes you to question yourself. Even though you've bolstered your confidence with a list of accolades, you begin to wonder if you're actually deserving of the wins. Can you repeat the success you've had, or was it all a fluke?
Related: Celebrate Your Successes
How sharing your success helps others
Make no mistake — your success is nothing to hide! Desires to achieve big things were placed within you for a purpose. Humility has its place, but in order to accomplish your dreams, you have to let your confidence bubble to the service. When we speak with certainty about our own value, the world will value us more. Remember, humility didn't get you to where you are now. Your feisty energy and gritty determination led you here, and it can inspire others to push past the pain and go after their dreams. It would be a disservice for you to shield them from the world. Someone is looking for you to lead the way and show them what is possible. You need to let your success shine!
Before you were a successful entrepreneur, who did you look up to for inspiration? Most likely, prominent business owners who weren't afraid to show you what they're made of top your list of people to keep your eyes on. Their success was a catalyst for your own. The confidence and achievements your mentors put on display sparked that fire within you to pursue your own amazing path.
It's your turn now. All the hard work you've put in that has gotten you where you are today will help you make an even bigger impact if the right people see it. That won't happen if you dim your own light.
Related: How Success Stories Inspire Others to Reach Their Full Potential
How sharing your success helps YOU
Aside from impacting and inspiring others, celebrating your success will help YOU the most. Celebrating creates happiness and gratitude, which are high-vibe emotions that driven achievers need in order to keep their momentum going. You must celebrate yourself to generate positive energy for yourself so you can break through your own limiting beliefs (we all have them) and continue to succeed. As a driven entrepreneur with big goals, some of the things you're going to do will be scary. Expressing gratitude helps you push through this fear, giving you a sense of limitless possibilities. Negative self-talk and limiting beliefs will be replaced with the confidence to tackle anything; and confidence is a necessary ingredient in the recipe for success. It gives you the power to believe that you can achieve whatever you set out to do!
Some of you are nervous to celebrate out of fear that it will seem arrogant, so start with your close circle first. This is a group of people who should be excited for you to win and are cheering you on. Your loved ones who already support you will be excited to hear about your achievements. Their enthusiasm will bolster your confidence, allowing you to branch out beyond your inner circle to publicly celebrate smaller wins. Remember to also highlight the path you took to get there. Describing your rise from the struggle to how you are now slaying the day will have a positive impact on the right people, motivating them to seek their own success. At the same time, it reinforces the fact that you deserve the success you've earned.
Related: Stop Being So Modest! Why Women in Business Need to Get Comfortable with Bragging
Everything you have worked for is a beautiful gift. Downplaying the good in your life so you don't offend someone else stifles your recognition and gratitude for your gifts. If you don't share your powerful moves and celebrate your achievements, you are diminishing your gratitude and your own happiness. That drains you of your energy and power!
Shining a light on yourself brightens the path for others and yourself. Embrace your wins to inspire your audience, and open more doors to new relationships and opportunities that can propel you toward even greater success.
