Don’t Mess with Me!

Don’t Mess with me!

You may think that because I am a woman of a certain age that I am clueless and that you are smarter than me. Think again! You may have money and power but that does not impress me. Intelligence and kindness rule my world.

Don’t Mess With Me by Lying About Who You Are

I have had a couple of situations come up that make me wonder what causes some people to have a self inflated sense of authority and importance. At a networking event I met a man who waxed poetically about all his accomplishments and the influential people in his network. He spoke verbosely about money and fame however in analyzing his appearance he was dressed well but not expensively. He handed me his business card; beautiful card stock, laminated, well designed and to be honest the most impressive thing about him. When I mentioned my trip to the Camino de Santiago, he told me he was going to Spain the next week. In fact, for everything I mentioned he played the one-upmanship game. He asked me a few questions and then proceeded to downgrade what I said. He told me that people of my age tend to be dinosaurs, at which I laughed and said, “I don’t think so. I am pretty much a geek!” At the time, I thought I would give him the benefit of the doubt as I don’t like to be rude. Who knows, maybe he was all he said. Don’t mess with me because I do not take people at face value anymore when my spidey sense kicks in and it did BIG time!

When I got back to my office I pulled out his beautiful business card and checked his website. Interesting! No website, just a domain name registered with a login required for access. The phone number was not in service. So I dug a little deeper and did a search on his name and found court documents for a lawsuit he was involved in against a very wealthy, and extremely well known celebrity. Another article indicated he was promoting an event with a charitable component but the officials in the city where it was to be held, said that he had promoted numerous events over the years but none have ever come to fruition. After 30 minutes of web search I concluded he is a braggert, an opportunist and untrustworthy. How is it possible before calling me a dinosaur he had not made more effort to prop up his reputation on the internet? I am mystified!

Your Reputation Online

The internet, email and texting have created a venue for self promotion that is unparalleled. In years past, the only options for inexpensive prospecting were the phone and direct mail. Small and home businesses can take advantage of this powerful medium to search out information, leads and to promote themselves quickly and effectively. Take the time to educate yourself and to learn how to promote yourself and make sure the buzz about you on the internet is positive. The words “your reputation precedes you” have never been more indisputable.