Closed Mouths Don’t Get Fed

Self-promotion isn’t ego. It’s oxygen for what we’ve built.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about self-promotion and how uncomfortable it can feel. How many of us were taught to downplay our work, stay low, not bug people. How quickly people label it as ego.

But that’s not the point. That’s the wrong energy.

We work too hard. We create, we risk, we build a life with intention, with courage, with purpose. And if we don’t promote ourselves? That’s the failure. Not the other way around. Because if we don’t talk about what we’re building, it disappears. Not because it isn’t great, but because we never gave it a shot to be seen.

Yesterday, I woke up in a mood.
Yeah, that mood.

Part of the reason I was feeling this way is because I’m doing shit I’ve never done before. Writing a book. Producing a podcast. My first TED talk. Speaking on stage, sharing my voice and experience. It’s a whole new ball game.
I’m learning. I’m building.
And just because I’ve done hard things before doesn’t mean I get a shortcut now.

I have to double down on promoting myself.
Make sure the right people know what I’m about.
And if I want in, I’ve got to move like I belong there. Because I do.

That’s why the mood hit.
That’s what lit the fire.

The don’t fuck with me kind.
The impatient, chest burning, cut through the bullshit kind.
The kind that shifts how you walk, how you speak, how you plan your next move. It wasn’t graceful. It wasn’t cute. But it was clarifying.

All this work. All this waiting. So, I had to ask myself ~

Am I doing my best work?
Am I putting it in front of the right people?
Am I holding back because I don’t want to be annoying?
Am I afraid to remind people, to post again, to send the daily promo? And if I’m building something real, empowering, me, why wouldn’t I do everything in my power to put it in the universe?

Closed mouths don’t get fed. That’s all I heard in my head. I know better. I know what it takes to get the yes. To sell the thing. To never give up.

So, I’m using every tool I’ve got. Every hard-won insight. Every piece of my experience. And I’m promoting my shit. Unapologetically.

That’s not ego. That’s survival. That’s how momentum starts. If it slows, we find another way. Another strategy. Another door. Another person. Another way. Not out of desperation. Out of responsibility.

I know what I bring.
And if I must remind people, so be it.
That’s not ego. That’s required work. That’s fearless.

And if you’re sitting there thinking, “Damn, I wish I had her energy…”
YOU DO! So, stop acting like you’re not built for more than this grind.

Speak up.
Promote your damn self.
Say your rate. Say it straight.
Name the number and leave it there.
Tell people what you do. With confidence. Often. Without hesitation.
Make it clear. Make it known. You’re telling the world THIS IS WHAT I BUILT. And it’s really fucking good. Trust they will want a piece of it. Of you.

COURAGE? Hells’ yes.
Trust your skills.
Trust your worth.
Trust your energy, that singular frequency only you bring.

Yeah, it’s hard to promote ourselves.
But it’s essential, especially when you’re building from scratch.

If we don’t try, we don’t learn. If we don’t learn, we don’t grow. In all the things.

I got you.

Now move like it’s already yours. Because when we’re selling from truth, from love, it cuts deep. Even when people don’t bite right away.

So, we work. Head down. Eyes up. Strategic. Creative. Unapologetic. We keep showing up. We keep trying. We stay the course.

Because if you don’t move like it matters, no one else will.

This shit is hard.
But you’re worth it.

What you’re creating is worth it.

And staying in? That’s how it becomes real. Not by waiting.
By working. By believing it’s possible, especially when it’s quiet and really fucking hard. Keep going. There is space for you. Your idea. Your work.

You’re in it. We’re not here to hope. We’re here to make the shit move.

You don’t have to scream to be heard.
You just have to trust. You. Now go get what’s yours.

With deep gratitude for the work, the voice, the guts it takes to keep showing up.

Teri~