The Dangers of Self-Promotion

I have a friend who is well on his way to becoming a successful screenwriter and film-maker out in Los Angeles. The competition is fierce, the talent formidable. Almost everyone has a dream and thinks they're next (or should be).

He shared with me a story about how he was invited to a private event of up-and-comers in the movie business where individuals sat around a table and talked about their work and latest projects. He said that he had to be prepared to believe in his work unabashedly...for if he did not believe in what he is doing, there is very little chance that anyone else would. Hence the dilemma. How do we defend and even promote our work without the stench of self setting-off peoples' olfactory-like ego-detectors?

I think the best way is to make the work really about a cause bigger than self...one that has a natural amount of audience already, but to do it in an interesting and provoking way. I have a beer blog that really is about a lot more than beer. Beer is merely the platform for me to write about things that I find important...quality, adventure, craftsmanship, the virtue of moderation.

I also blog about theology (this blog) and the college transition. Both are passions of mine and I think I have a unique take on both topics. I work in a public school which is very much a microcosm of society and I am continually challenged to think how theology interacts and informs the real world I live in day-to-day. With the college transition blog, the dissertation topic of my Ph.D. from Temple University--plus 25 years of professional experience--I am an authoritative voice, really pretty much in the "Honors Class" of our culture doing this work. So, I proffer my insights on issues related to this critical topic from a Christian-informed perspective but not just the Christian evangelical sub-culture expert (i.e. finances, parenting, weight loss, relationships, etc.)

I have struggled with how much do I promote what I am doing and how much do I let people just discover it by putting it out there and hope people find it in one way or another. It is always best to let others sing our praises because if someone goes on the attack, the person who has sung can be the one who steps up. Otherwise, the self-promoter now is in a position where it is very easy to be defensive. It also gets weird when a person's P.R. is almost solely from his/her own tweets, website, blogs, etc. Or, when he/she persistently points out others' mentioning of their work. It is kind of like, "Let it rest man."

So, I try to be cautious about tooting my own horn but I try to make it easy for others to take up the work. I don't know, I guess it is a balance.