1. What your boasting says about you (it’s not good) – Jonathan Goodman
Prince Hamlet has a theory. He believes his uncle killed his father, the king of Denmark, and subsequently married his mother, the
queen. But he has no proof beyond a late-night conversation with his father’s ghost.
Even 400 years ago, when Shakespeare wrote the classic play, that kind of evidence wouldn’t have been admissible.
To get them to incriminate themselves, Hamlet stages a play with a plot roughly mirroring the events that led to his father’s murder and his mother’s betrayal.
After one especially pointed scene, when the queen in the play swears she’ll never take another husband if the king dies, Hamlet asks his mother if she’s enjoying herself.
She responds bluntly, "The lady doth protest too much, methinks."
Shakespeare was on to something. He understood that people overreact in situations where they feel exposed, or fear being called out as a fraud.
If you want to figure out where somebody lacks confidence, pay attention to how they boast.
Someone who’s confident in their skills and accomplishments isn’t
likely to boast about them. They don’t need constant reassurance on social media because their achievements speak for themselves.
On the flip side, those who boast the most in their marketing are often the least confident in what they do. Because they can’t offer proof of sustained or repeated success, in good and bad economic situations, they instead surround themselves with the trappings of success.
Keep this in mind when you’re looking for advice or mentorship. Watch how they present themselves. See if there’s any substance behind their lavish claims.
If the person telling you he has the secret to making seven figures poses in front of a Maserati, he doth protest too much, methinks.
Maybe this is why I love my $20 Casio watch so much.
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