Don’t Let Your Ego Kill Your Success
There’s a new gal in my sketch comedy group. She’s smart, clever… and will probably not last 90 days.
I’ve seen so many people like her – not only in sketch comedy but in every type of business – self-destruct because of one thing: They spend too much time trying to prove how talented they are. Not by delivering extraordinary results that can’t be ignored, but by boasting about minor successes that aren’t very impressive… criticizing others without being qualified to do so… and giving advice without being asked for it. In general, by rubbing just about everyone the wrong way.
That is not the way to form relationships that will lead you to success. As MaryEllen Tribby said in her article “Is Your Ego Bigger Than Your Skill Set? ” “Whether you are working in a corporate environment or on your own, you should always be building relationships. Relationships with your customers, your competitors, and certainly with your curre-nt and previous mentors. If you take these people for granted… and start putting yourself ahead of them… you’ll be burning valuable bridges.”
It’s worth taking a very candid look at yourself to make sure you aren’t letting your ego get in your way. If you deliver extraordinary results, your talent will be recognized. Forget about trying to prove your value any other way.
[Ed. Note: Paul Lawrence is a business author and entrepreneur who owns and operates a six-figure Internet publishing company. He also produces the prestigious annual International Sketch Comedy Championships. For more information on his methods for success, check out his Dare to Live Your Dreams programPaul Lawrence
Paul Lawrence is an entrepreneur who has made his living starting and running a series of profitable businesses. One day while cleaning his mother's pool for a few extra bucks, it dawned on Paul that he could perhaps start his own pool cleaning business. He carefully employed all the marketing techniques that he had learned in school and designed his first flyer. Immediately the business took off and within a week, Paul had his own little business. He quickly expanded, hired employees and then eventually sold it some relatives who made well over $250,000 in the next year before they eventually sold it for a six figure profit. After finishing college, Paul did a brief stint in a management program for a national rental company, but he quickly realized that he was much happier running his own show. Paul left the rental company and launched one of the most financially successful independent ballroom dance instruction companies in the state of Florida where he received quite a bit of media attention for his revolutionary business practices that included front page features in the Life Style section of the Sun Sentinel, features in the Miami Herald, Boca News, Center Stage Entertainment and many others. With that business running profitably, Paul started several other businesses either individually or as partnerships that included a million dollar video production company, a mortgage brokerage, a home maintenance business, several mail order companies, a business consulting service among others.With a love of movies, Paul began to work at breaking into Hollywood as a screenwriter where he's beaten the odds by becoming a produced writer. He is a credited writer for the film CRUEL WORLD, starring Jaime Presley and Eddie Furlong and has signed a development deal for a national television series with one of the world's largest producers of television and films among his half a dozen sales and options of movie scripts he wrote. Paul is the creator of the Quick & Easy Microbusiness program.