Yesterday, I received an award (The Women of Heart International Woman of Heart in Branding and Marketing Excellence award) —and instead of celebrating, an old memory surfaced.

I was instantly transported back to a moment from my childhood, when my dad walked past the wall where I proudly displayed my accomplishments. I had put them there not to boast, but to remind myself how far I’d come and where I was headed. Instead of encouragement, he scoffed and called it my “vanity wall.” His voice carried such disdain that something in me shrank.

That moment did more than sting. It planted shame—not just around displaying my awards, but around achieving at all. Instead of hearing, “I’m so proud of you. Look at what you’ve accomplished. Keep going,” I absorbed a very different message: don’t shine.

I didn’t realize until recently how much that moment followed me.

Even now, when recognition comes my way, I instinctively wave it off. “Oh, it’s nothing. Just an award.” I minimize. I dismiss. I struggle to fully receive. That frozen moment in time quietly shaped how I showed up—for years.

As an entrepreneur, this mattered more than I knew. In business, credibility replaces corporate ladders and performance reviews. Credibility allows you to charge what you’re worth. Credibility creates trust. And awards? They’re part of that equation. By dimming my light, I was dimming my earning power, my authority, my willingness to be seen.

And maybe you know this feeling too.

So many of us grew up with subtle—or not-so-subtle—messages that praise was dangerous, that visibility was vanity, that shining was somehow wrong. Especially when the people we longed for most didn’t see us.

Today, I choose differently.

If no one ever gave you permission to shine, consider this your moment.

You are allowed to be proud.
You are allowed to be seen.
Your accomplishments matter.

Shine boldly. Shine brightly. Be the biggest, most brilliant version of yourself.

The world needs your light. ✨

 

Thank you @LadyJenDuPlessis for the nomination and the award. It is truly my honor.