Ever heard of;

Dale Earnhardt

Dr. Phil

Martha Stewart

Donald Trump

Madonna

Billy Graham

Regardless of their chosen profession, business or discipline each of them are successful for a variety of reasons but one thing they all have in common is that they are or were relentless and often ruthless self-promoters.

Being a self-promoter can conger up many different images in the minds of many, some negative, some arrogant, some self-serving and some envy, but in the end this ability separates the also-rans with the supper successful. If you think of Herb Kelleher, (the founder of Southwest Airlines) you might think he was a lunatic. If you mention Bill Clinton, you’ll get two very opposing reactions and if you bring up the name Michael Jordan, you might get very similar reactions. But one thing they all did was self-promote in one way or another.

As I was thinking about writing this book I was wondering, has anyone ever been super successful who did not have self-promotion as their companion as they brought their ideas, products or talent to the rest of the world. I couldn’t think of anyone. Maybe you can, but I’ll bet that if anyone has achieved enduring and satisfying success self-promotion was high on their list of traits and abilities.

What exactly is self-promotion? Is it self-confidence? No, there are a lot of people with strong self-confidence who are not comfortable in self-promotion. Is it talent? No, many very talented people have never been successful or heard of.

Now don’t get me wrong here. I am not saying that fame or fortune equal success. I am only saying that self-promotion is one of the most evident traits of successful people. I could mention numerous people in specific professions who are super successful who are great promoters that you have never heard of. The only way to illustrate this is to use examples you are familiar with.

Is Donald Trump smarter than other corporate executives? Is Oprah Winfrey better looking than other media people? Was Bill Waldron (the founder of Wal-Mart) better educated than you or me?

I am telling you, education is important. Talent is important. Effort is important. Timing is important. The right contacts are important. But even if you have all of these you can still never achieve greatness or sustained success without the willingness and ability to be a ruthless self-promoter.