In the first part of this series, I discussed some common limiting beliefs that women have when it comes to self-promotion. These limiting beliefs are culturally based and therefore, pretty challenging to overcome. i.e. “Bragging is unbecoming for a woman.” “People will think I’m pushy and aggressive if I talk about myself and they won’t like me.” etc.

How we view our place in the business world as women is key to our success. If we accept these limiting beliefs as the truth; if we believe that we need to be humble and take a back seat, we will certainly end up in the back seat in our careers and business.

The first step in good self-promotion is to recognize the limiting beliefs that keep you from talking about yourself in a positive manner.

Let’s look at some of the PERSONAL reasons that hold you back from promoting yourself.

Think of the most positive statement you can make about yourself and your career. Here’s an example of one such statement:

I am a very successful and highly competent business woman. I am an excellent manager of people, a great leader, and people look up to me for my business savvy and skills.

Now write down your personal statement, look at it, and then say it out loud 5 times.

How does this feel?

Do you hear any chatter in your head saying, “Yeah, right”. “That’s not REALLY true”.

Make a note of those voices you hear in your head. These are your personal GREMLINS. These voices are all about self-doubt and fear. These are the voices you need to confront in order to successfully promote yourself to the world.

Convert each negative thought that has surfaced through this process to a positive affirmation. For example, maybe my gremlin says to me, “Yeah, right. I say I have business savvy but I never even completed my MBA”.

Let’s turn this statement around. “I have been very successful in business and have many years of good solid experience in management. I have acquired these skills with hard work and long hours and I’m proud of my business background.”

Get it? Give it a try and clear your head of all the negative chatter. As you practice this, you will help yourself focus on all the positive aspects of your career and take a step forward to promoting yourself with confidence.

Part Three of the series will be how to promote yourself effectively and feel comfortable doing it at the same time.