I hadn’t imagined that I’d be talking about narcissism in this week’s episode of the Unstoppable Woman podcast but after recently attending a business retreat in Noosa I knew this had to be the subject of this week’s podcast.

Sitting among sixty women that are all working to grow their business and create the lives that they want to live – nearly everyone I spoke to found it difficult to promote herself and her business.

When asked why they said 'because I don’t want people to think I’m a narcissist and that I’ve got this deluded sense of self-importance and a need for admiration'.

Nearly everyone I spoke to also said 'I wonder why would anyone care what I’ve got to share and who would listen?'

It got me thinking and self-reflecting.  I had this beautiful moment of Sonder.  The moment that I realised that everyone was feeling the same way I had in my own journey of building my business and specifically a personal brand.

As I thought back to my corporate career and all of the women I have coached, I saw how clearly this same thread was there.  A desire not to self-promote or publicly acknowledge their achievements.  Instead giving credit to their team or others to deflect the attention away from them.

Women everywhere are dimming their lights and not letting themselves be seen for fear of being seen by others as a narcissist.

The penny had finally dropped and with it came my own freedom.

If you want to learn more about how to shine your light without being concerned about what others think - listen now.