Who Are You, Really?

I was encouraged to read Peggy Klaus's "Brag! The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It" after one too many mentions of my disdain for inappropriate horn tooting. The book was fine, but its theme could have been summed up in one word: preparation. And that's what I want to pass along to our lil' PSM community. Single moms are the most prepared people in the world when it comes to our spawn, but we just aren't prepared for this new post-single mom life. In fact, in a lot of cases, it comes as quite the shock.

Peggy recommends crafting what she calls a "bragalouge" full of "brag bites", so we're ready when people begin to ask about us. She has developed a "Take-12 Questionnaire", which I found to be extremely useful. It made me really think about myself, my goals - personal and professional, my accomplishments, and my time. Answering the questions created a sort of history and bio of myself that I actually feel pretty good about. I'm now prepared when the right opportunity to gracefully "toot my own horn" arises. If you ask me, that fits perfectly in our Rehabilitation Stage.

*I could not have appreciated this exercise when I was in the depths of despair (aka, the transition from senior year to freshman year), but as time has passed and I have spent more time with myself, I think I actually could have used it sooner than now.

The Take-12 Questionnaire is on her site, but I've also listed it here: (A printable PDF version is also here.)

1. What would you and others say are five of your personality pluses?
2. What are the ten most interesting things you have done or that have happened to you?
3. What do you do for a living and how did you end up doing it?
4. What do you like/love about your current job/career?
5. How does your job/career use your skills and talents, and what projects are you working on right now that best showcase them?
6. What career successes are you most proud of having accomplished (from current position and past jobs)?
7. What new skills have you learned in the last year?
8. What obstacles have you overcome to get where you are today, both professionally and personally, and what essential lessons have you learned from some of your mistakes?
9. What training/education have you completed and what did you gain from those experiences?
10. What professional organizations are you associated with and in what ways_member, board, treasurer, or the like?
11. How do you spend your time outside of work, including hobbies, interests, sports, family, and volunteer activities?
12. In what ways are you making a difference in people's lives?