By Samantha McKenzie

It’s time we practiced tooting our own horns. Yes. Moving forward, it will be highly encouraged to tell people more about your exceptional skills, about the role you played in making something quite the success and how darn good you are at doing what ever it is that you do.

I urge you to make a list of all your awesomeness, your monumental moments, and your incredible abilities to produce. Take time to rehearse if you must because you rock and you know it!

You are being prompted now to take full advantage of self-promotion. So dig up all of the stories you have tucked away about how you supported your home, how you came up with a solution that increased profits or saved lives at the workplace or how you championed a cause within your community. You did it. You played a pivotal role in someone’s success. Give yourself a round of applause. And take the time to soak it all in.

“Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.” (Bible, Matthew 5:15)

While we would prefer to stay in the background or somewhere hidden away from the cameras and microphones, it reduces our ability to build much-needed self-worth and we miss out on the opportunity to be a “real” role model.

We say things like, “I’m more of a behind the scenes  girl” or “I didn’t do it for any recognition or reward. I just wanted to help.”

Choosing to stay in the backdrop of life not only hurts you and your children, it damages the entire world. By staying unrecognized, we allow history to record itself without us and we become silent contributors to the injustice in our very own lives.

Toot your horn ladies . Toot it louder if you can. Tell others what you’re good at. Take credit for your accomplishments. Shine.