One of my favorite high school teachers passed away last month.  Tweet This

Veronica Caley taught a class called “Isms” at Trenton High School back in the day.  It was an eye-opening class for me, a freshman at the time.

Ms. Caley taught us about capitalism, socialism, communism–well, you get the idea.

We also learned about:

/ Geo-centrism – the belief that most things are happening around where you are

/ Ethno-centrism – the belief that your ethnicity is the most important or “central”

/ Ego-centrism – the belief that you are more important than others, at least some of the time

Ego — your best friend or your worst enemy

Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud first described ego as the part of personality that strikes a balance between the basic urges of the id, the moralistic demands of the superego, and the realities of the world around us.

Freud believed that the id was the part of personality made up of all our unconscious desires, wishes, and needs. The ego helps satisfy the demands of the id in ways that are both realistic and socially appropriate.

Today, most of us associate ego with inflated self-esteem or self-concept.  If you think too much of yourself people might say “you have a big ego.” 

Everyone has a “big ego”

DBusiness magazine

The premise of ego-centrism resonates because a person needs to think of himself or herself first when it comes to survival, comfort, emotional needs, and so on.

But ego can work against you.  Read my article in DBusiness magazine on how ego can negatively impact your marketing decisions.

I’m known as a “motivational speaker” who speaks to work teams to “boost morale” and help people feel better about their jobs.

What I really do is help people feel better about themselves.

More importantly, I help members of work teams relate to other team members with a simple exercise.  

This exercise forces–er, I mean encourages the listener to consider that the person sitting on either side of him also has a very personal perspective of the world. It’s actually a fun little bit. 

This group exercise works 98% of the time and my clients can’t believe how effective it is.

It works because attendees learn things about each other that they never knew, even though they may have worked together for a decade!

We’re all alone in this together

Teams fall apart because of people’s tendencies to gossip, silo, compete, and practice ego-centrism. 

If you constantly dwell on why someone is different than you, it becomes difficult to think about all the things you have in common. 

Wives and husbands often fall into the unfortunate habit of focusing on what they don’t like in their spouses.  That’s how the husband becomes a “wasbund.”

Do entrepreneurs have too much ego?

We all fluctuate between thinking too much of ourselves and not giving ourselves enough credit.  

I teach people to be better speakers and can promise you that most presenters aren’t very confident until they get coaching. 

That’s why many speaker don’t seem like themselves when presenting.

On the other hand, entrepreneurs, by definition, must have high opinions of themselves, right?

If entrepreneurs succeed, we call them heroes. If they fail, we often refer to them as dreamers.

DBusiness magazine, recently voted the best business magazine in the country, has published my article on how ego can keep us from being successful.  Read my article on ego with regard to marketing here.

Reprint this article at no charge

Feel free to re-purpose the above article on your website, blog or in your newsletter.  Simply send a message to us stating your intention.

Assume we’ll say “yes,” especially if you provide attribution and include Michael’s website, which is www.MichaelAngeloCaruso.com.

Michael will help your team members appreciate each other

If you work with people, you have to deal with ego issues–yours and theirs. 

Michael may be available to speak to your work team and help them work together better.  Give his office a call at 248-224-9667.

Meanwhile, check out his audio program, Getting People to Do Stuff and learn how to put ego to work for you.