You Sabi, But How Many People Know That?
On Self-Promotion
Dear Reader,
It’s been a minute- I hope this mail meets you well.
When I was younger, I didn’t have to walk up to teachers to say ‘Hey, choose me to represent the school at this competition.’ My grades (i.e work) were simply enough to do the talking.
Imagine my absolute dismay and confusion when I became an adult and realised that doing good work and then going to a corner to bow my head, shy and humble, waiting for the right people to find me wasn’t a wise strategy?
‘Good work speaks for itself.’ This statement was probably true in the 60s when your competition was Bolaji in the same accounting branch as you. Now, your competition is not just Bolaji, but Gu Jun Pyo in Korea and Claudia in France.
I am aware of this, yet, the thought of self-promotion makes me cringe to the point of physical discomfort. It feels like standing in front of an audience and making a joke and no one laughs. Just crickets.
I’ve been researching how to promote yourself when you are shy/introverted/find bragging uncomfortable and one thing that’s really helped is this article and this other one that talks about how one should change their perspective on self-promotion.
Don’t see self-promotion as something you’re doing for yourself, rather see it as something that needs to be done, or else the people who need the value you’re creating won’t find it.
For example, I need to be more intentional about promoting my letters so more people can benefit from the value they provide and not simply because I want more people to know about my letters.
If you create makeup tutorials on Youtube, then you need to promote them, so someone like me who can’t even draw eyebrows properly can find them.
Imagine if Adele recorded songs and kept them buried in her computer or if Picasso never shared his paintings? How many Picassos have we lost to humility and the belief that good work is enough to speak for itself?
The importance of visibility cannot be overstated. Not just on social media, but at work, school etc. To be able to say, yeah, I do good work and comfortably take credit for it, helps so much in career advancement because the people who need to see you are seeing you. Of course, there’s the trend of seeing very visible people in top positions who are actually shit at their jobs, but that’s a conversation I’m not trying to have.
You need to start shouting first about yourself (or the work you do) before others can join you. It’s uncomfortable, but I’m taking it at my own pace and you should too.
So do solid work, and make strategic, meaningful noise about it. Let people complain about how much noise you’re making. Na you know wetin you dey find.
Away from my musings, I read pretty interesting stuff this week, so let’s unpack them:
I think having kids is one of the bravest and at the same time, foolhardy things to do. What Becoming a Parent Really Does to Your Happiness- this article gave a fresh perspective on why people still choose to have kids, despite the (very numerous) negatives.
My attention span is embarrassingly almost nonexistent, so I’m hoping the tips shared in this article actually work.
The Crypto Industry Is Getting Too Honest; What if no one cares whether it’s a Ponzi scheme? I’m very interested in crypto- and strongly believe that using it as an investment platform is akin to investing in a Ponzi scheme. Guess what? Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and CEO of FTX, seems to agree with me too.
Really liked this and it’s a little in line with what I wrote earlier about trying to be visible. If I could, I would do away with all my social media accounts- but it’s also a tool for (much needed) career advancement.
A refreshingly honest piece on beauty standards.
A first kiss is a Cliché. I know of some of the loves she described and the use of metaphors makes this piece incredible.
A heartwarming read about mothers and mothering that had me going: yes! yes! Also very fitting as today is one of the 456 mothers’ days we have in a year.
Writing Prompt
If you’re new to this letter, you should check here for how the Writing Prompt segment works. (I’m refusing to give up on this segment till June).
The prompt for this week is:
Your mother sleeps like a cocoyam…
Send in your submission here or publish it on your Medium account and send me the link!
What this newsletter is:
Watching: The Office- it’s the greatest sitcom of all time.
Listening to: Lots of Zinoleesky.
That’s it for this week.
This particular newsletter was sponsored by nimota rice and Bunny.
P.S: I’ve been away because I was ironing the wrinkled themes in my life. Thank you for sticking with me regardless!
With love,
Titi.
It’s so goodddd🥺