There’s a quiet thing that happens as you gain experience. You start getting ignored in conversations. Not because you don’t know the topic. Sometimes it’s because you do. I see it when people talk about college. They’ll trade opinions they’ve heard. I’ll ask, “What are you actually hoping college does for them?” The room moves on. Same with careers. Someone wants the next role. I’ll ask, “What are you trying to optimize for?” Or suggest talking to people instead of spraying applications. The conversation shuts down. This happens even in rooms full of smart, senior, well-paid people. And honestly, it can feel bad. You feel left out. It feels dismissive. Like your experience is inconvenient. What I’ve learned is this: Once you stop reinforcing the system and start questioning it, you no longer help people feel comfortable. Most conversations aren’t about finding the best answer. They’re about validating the path already chosen. So when you ask “why,” you’re not being difficult. You’re adding friction. That’s the part no one prepares you for. Growth can cost you social ease. Clarity can cost you attention. If you’ve felt sidelined after asking reasonable questions, you’re not broken. You’re just no longer playing the role the room expects. The right conversations still exist. They’re just fewer, smaller, and more intentional. And once you see that, you stop chasing the wrong rooms.

I used to think staying quiet was the professional thing to do. It wasn’t. Being silent is how someone else walked into the room and took credit for my work. You know that moment. Your idea. Their voice. And everyone nods at them. It’s infuriating. It happened over and over because I was not as loud or as well liked.  But because it happened - I had to figure out how to deal with it without looking like a whiny 5 year old with a crushed ego. Then I realized it - credit theft isn’t about ego. It’s about control. When someone else tells the story of your work, they own the narrative. And if they own the narrative long enough… They own the opportunities that should have been yours. Therefore, I learned to break the pattern I started to show my work early so no one could rewrite the origin. I began to share progress openly so visibility isn’t up for debate. I started to build direct relationships with decision-makers. This is how you protect your reputation without blowing up a meeting or starting a fight. I unpack the full strategy in today’s podcast on handling credit stealers at Company of One.  DM me if you want the link.

Raises don’t come from working harder.  They come from showing value without flinching. If you’ve ever walked into a meeting and softened your wins so you don’t sound “full of yourself,” you’re not alone. That was Andrew’s habit. Here’s what changed: he named his wins, attached numbers, and let them stand. No apology. No softening. Try that in your next conversation.

I just released my first newsletter! Will see how it goes. Topic: Andrew turned an $80K job into a $125K opportunity without a new degree or job hop. I break down exactly what changed — and how you can use the same mindset shift to earn more where you are.

Most don’t need a new job... they need a new way to talk about the value they deliver. If you’ve ever walked out of a conversation thinking, “I should’ve said more,” that’s the confidence gap. And it’s fixable. Andrew didn’t rewrite his resume. He rewired how he showed up. If you want the same shift, here are two places to start: • The Idea Engine — find the value you stopped noticing • Strategy Session — build a simple 30/60/90 plan you can use now If you want the links, DM me. I’ll send them.