In this week’s Creative Workout Group, we took all the work we’ve done identifying critics and champions, and used it to start developing material to boast about ourselves and our accomplishments.

This is surprisingly (or not surprisingly, I guess) hard to do, and everyone was nervous about it.

But we took it slow, and by the end we were cracking each other up and feeling inspired. It sounds paradoxical, but I think the key to learning to boast about yourself is:

1. Not taking yourself too seriously.
2. Focusing on where you’ve been and the hardships you’ve overcome (not just how good you have it now).
3. Setting the stage with anything that helps you feel powerful, including props, shoes, a fabulous pantsuit or haircut (speaking of which, I LOVE this video I just came across from Lucky Bitch – and I say this as someone who spends zero effort and money on my hair), and most importantly, the right backing music.

So, in part one of an ongoing series about how to ease into boasting about yourself, I offer you some inspiration from the masters:

Nicki Minaj, “I’m the Best”

Muhammad Ali — man, I could watch videos of him all DAY:

See if this inspires you to talk about what you’ve overcome and what a badass you are.

And if you want to take that inspiration further, put on one of these backing tracks and get some practice!

By the way – if you’d like to join a Creative Workout Group, we have a new one starting on March 3! I’m also offering a free Creative Work Out Zone workshop the first Sunday of every month, starting March 1 — RSVP here.