Entrepreneur Till I Die: What Issa Rae Teaches Us About Owning Success
Most of us have a really hard time bragging (hence why I'm wrote the book Bragging Rights), but some people find talking about their accomplishments with pride their favorite topic. Issa Rae sums it up in this acceptance speech for the Women In Film Emerging Entrepreneur Award.
She says, “As women we tend to downplay ourselves. We tend to dim our light and we’re kind of conditioned socially to be humble. And I grew up in the age of hip hop…and none of my favorite artists are humble,” Rae explained. “So in writing my speech, I decided to embrace this moment in honor of them.”
So get ready for it - she owns it and then some. I'll add the link below, but in the video, she jokingly says, “Entrepreneur means I did that shit by myself,” and so many fantastic lines like "I’m closing all doors behind me, so if you didn’t make it in, oops, your bad.” Before ending to huge laughter and applause with “Entrepreneur till I die; I deserve this. Bye.”
I know you won't go to this (hilarious) extent, but flip the script just a little when you accept an award. Channel your inner hip hop artist to own your success and not downplay your awesomeness. You deserve the applause and we deserve to celebrate you.
How You Can Channel Your Inner Hip-Hop Star
- Self-promotion isn’t arrogance—it’s strategy.
- Here’s how to own your success like Issa Rae:
1. Speak Boldly About Your Wins
- Stop downplaying your achievements.
- Instead of “I was lucky,” say “I worked for this, and I deserve it.”
2. Stop Dimming Your Light to Make Others Comfortable
- You don’t have to shrink yourself for others to shine.
- Success isn’t a zero-sum game.
3. Open Doors for Others—Today, Not Tomorrow
- Unlike Issa’s sarcastic joke, real leaders don’t shut doors—they open them.
- Making change today means sharing opportunities, advocating, and amplifying others now.
FAQ:
Individual: How does "dimming my light" affect my professional growth?When you downplay your achievements as "luck," you reinforce a cycle of invisibility. Channeling a bolder mindset—like the hip-hop confidence Issa Rae describes—allows you to move past the visibility barrier and claim the space you’ve earned.
Team: How does owning my success help my peers?Success isn't a zero-sum game. When you speak boldly about your wins, you give others permission to do the same. This creates a culture of "Success Echoes" where the team moves away from achievement amnesia and starts recognizing the collective brilliance of the group.
Organization: What happens to a company when its leaders are too humble?Over-humility leads to "hidden expertise," which fuels the global $9.6 trillion productivity gap. If an organization's best talent stays quiet, leadership can't leverage that expertise for growth. By normalizing the "brag," a company ensures its best assets are visible, findable, and fully utilized.
Share this because the world doesn't benefit from you playing small—it’s time to own your success.