--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think that people are generally really…" description: "\"I think that people are generally really terrible at being ambassadors of their own work.\" — Emily Gould" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d66/emily-gould-27361_ambassadors_i-think-that-people-are-generally-really_3167533.png" --- # I think that people are generally really terrible at being… ![“I think that people are generally really terrible at being ambassadors of their own work.” quote by Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d66/emily-gould-27361_ambassadors_i-think-that-people-are-generally-really_3167533.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d66/emily-gould-27361_ambassadors_i-think-that-people-are-generally-really_3167533.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d66/emily-gould-27361_ambassadors_i-think-that-people-are-generally-really_3167533.png) > “I think that people are generally really terrible at being ambassadors of their own work.” [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She argues that people struggle to advocate for their own work because of humility, fear of self‑promotion, and societal expectations. **In simple terms:** People are bad at promoting themselves. Key Takeaway Learn to confidently share your achievements. Themes self‑promotion humility confidence Mood inspirational pragmatic Type advice career When to use this quote - job interviews - networking events - personal branding - online portfolios Key Concepts psychology marketing self‑esteem Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance authenticity with self‑advocacy? - What small steps can you take to showcase your work? A Different Perspective Over‑emphasis on self‑promotion can seem inauthentic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambassadors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambassadors/) [Ambassadors Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambassadors-work-3585553/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Generally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-generally/) [Really Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really-terrible-1838413/) [Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible/) [Terrible Ambassadors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible-ambassadors-5751689/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Messengers of Peace such as Midori - and our Goodwill Ambassadors, who work directly with the UN agencies - are dedicated and well-informed and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-ki-moon/messengers-of-peace-such-as-midori-and-our-goodwill-ambassadors-who/) [Ban Ki-moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ban-ki-moon/) > [Why employ intelligent and highly paid ambassadors and then go and do their work for them? You don't buy a canary and sing yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/why-employ-intelligent-and-highly-paid-ambassadors-and-then-go-and-do/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [With all the awards I've won, you'd think that I'd at least be able to make a living. It's a really terrible situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-burstyn/with-all-the-awards-i-ve-won-you-d-think-that-i-d-at-least-be-able-to/) [Ellen Burstyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-burstyn/) > [“The really terrible thing is that everyone has his reasons.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-renoir/the-really-terrible-thing-is-that-everyone-has-his-reasons/) [Jean Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-renoir/) > [I would never inflict my bassoon on anybody really other than the long suffering audiences that come to the concerts of The Really Terrible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/i-would-never-inflict-my-bassoon-on-anybody-really-other-than-the/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [Living in hope is a really terrible thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/living-in-hope-is-a-really-terrible-thing/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [Certainly I had a really terrible time with 'Emotionally Weird.' When I finished it, I thought, 'I can't write any more.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/certainly-i-had-a-really-terrible-time-with-emotionally-weird-when-i/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [I have a really terrible sense of direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gordon-levitt/i-have-a-really-terrible-sense-of-direction/) [Joseph Gordon-Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-gordon-levitt/) > [I realized that I was a really, really terrible actor. I was like, "I'd better be myself."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-anner/i-realized-that-i-was-a-really-really-terrible-actor-i-was-like-i-d/) [Zach Anner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-anner/) > [ \[Being a celebrity\] In a word, it's terrible. In two words...Really terrible. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grumpy-cat/being-a-celebrity-in-a-word-it-s-terrible-in-two-words-really-terrible/) [Grumpy Cat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grumpy-cat/) > [I have a really terrible memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ijustine/i-have-a-really-terrible-memory/) [iJustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ijustine/) > [I was a pretty terrible lawyer. A really, really terrible lawyer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/i-was-a-pretty-terrible-lawyer-a-really-really-terrible-lawyer/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [I did a lot of terrible TV shows and was really terrible in them, and I've done terrible films I was terrible in, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/i-did-a-lot-of-terrible-tv-shows-and-was-really-terrible-in-them-and/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [I really was a terrible actor. I did it for years in my twenties because it was like being at university again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/i-really-was-a-terrible-actor-i-did-it-for-years-in-my-twenties/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [A well governed people are generally a people who do not think much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-siegfried/a-well-governed-people-are-generally-a-people-who-do-not-think-much/) [Andre Siegfried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-siegfried/) ## More by Emily Gould > [Women especially are trained to protect other people's feelings, and a lot of that involves not telling the truth even about the fundamental details…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/women-especially-are-trained-to-protect-other-people-s-feelings-and-a/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [No one ever addresses the possibility that a writer might not like her book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/no-one-ever-addresses-the-possibility-that-a-writer-might-not-like/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [A lot of people get to the point in their careers where blurbs are ghostwritten for them, because they're like, "I want to support…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/a-lot-of-people-get-to-the-point-in-their-careers-where-blurbs-are/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [If a woman writes about herself, she’s a narcissist. If a man does the same, he’s describing the human condition. But people seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/if-a-woman-writes-about-herself-she-s-a-narcissist-if-a-man-does-the/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [I can look back and recognize the things I've done and said that were wrong: unethical, gratuitously hurtful, golden-rule-breaking, et cetera. Sometimes the wrongness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/i-can-look-back-and-recognize-the-things-i-ve-done-and-said-that-were/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [Nothing trains you better to write fiction than being really good at writing about your own interiority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/nothing-trains-you-better-to-write-fiction-than-being-really-good-at/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [“And there was Sam’s charming Marxist thing of thinking that restaurants, new clothes, et cetera, were frivolities that only served to keep workers addicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/and-there-was-sam-s-charming-marxist-thing-of-thinking-that/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [Unless your aim is to deceive, there's not a meaningful distinction between memoir and fiction. They're marketing categories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/unless-your-aim-is-to-deceive-there-s-not-a-meaningful-distinction/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [“I stopped typing and started having a conversation about the blog post with my boyfriend. He said he’d liked the part where the narrator…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/i-stopped-typing-and-started-having-a-conversation-about-the-blog/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [I don't think being a lawyer is more or less valuable than being a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/i-don-t-think-being-a-lawyer-is-more-or-less-valuable-than-being-a/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [When you write in the third person, you get to imagine other people's interiority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/when-you-write-in-the-third-person-you-get-to-imagine-other-people-s/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [No human walking the earth thinks of himself as a bullshitter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/no-human-walking-the-earth-thinks-of-himself-as-a-bullshitter/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [“She wondered if it counted as being good if you did the good thing for purely selfish reasons. Probably not, but who cared. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/she-wondered-if-it-counted-as-being-good-if-you-did-the-good-thing/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [To some extent the shorter the writing assignment is, the harder it is to accomplish, and a blurb is 200 words max. Blurbs are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/to-some-extent-the-shorter-the-writing-assignment-is-the-harder-it-is/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [I would love it if my book was considered chick-lit or a beach read. That would be great. People would buy my book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/i-would-love-it-if-my-book-was-considered-chick-lit-or-a-beach-read/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) [Explore all 20 Emily Gould quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) ## More Ambassadors quotes > [I am formally accountable to the steering board of the PIC, and I meet with nine ambassadors from the PIC every week. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/i-am-formally-accountable-to-the-steering-board-of-the-pic-and-i-meet/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [Dan Coats, retiring senator from Indiana, a mild-mannered man, a former United States ambassador to Germany, former congressman, said of Ted Cruz he's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-shields/dan-coats-retiring-senator-from-indiana-a-mild-mannered-man-a-former/) [Mark Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-shields/) > [I know at first hand how the impact of being bullied as a teenager can quite literally last a lifetime and I thought that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-feehily/i-know-at-first-hand-how-the-impact-of-being-bullied-as-a-teenager/) [Mark Feehily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-feehily/) > [I'm the lead singer of the Beach Boys and an ambassador of this amazing music that touched a generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-love/i-m-the-lead-singer-of-the-beach-boys-and-an-ambassador-of-this/) [Mike Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-love/) > [Kate Otto, like so many in her generation, is committed to being a good global citizen and doing her part to make the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-veneman/kate-otto-like-so-many-in-her-generation-is-committed-to-being-a-good/) [Ann Veneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-veneman/) > [What would you do if you were President, and, on the first day of May, the Russian Ambassador presented you with a beautiful cake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-president-and-on-the-first-day-of-may/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [Become an ambassador of peace in your own life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/become-an-ambassador-of-peace-in-your-own-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One cannot toss ambassadors back like bad fish," said Eugenides. "You treat them with care, or you'll find you've committed an act of war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-whalen-turner/one-cannot-toss-ambassadors-back-like-bad-fish-said-eugenides-you/) [Megan Whalen Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-whalen-turner/) > [Our first phase was inviting all the women Ambassadors who were here from other countries and trying to get in touch with all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-bernice-johnson/our-first-phase-was-inviting-all-the-women-ambassadors-who-were-here/) [Eddie Bernice Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-bernice-johnson/) > [The religion of England is part of good-breeding. When you see on the continent the well-dressed Englishman come into his ambassador's chapel and put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-religion-of-england-is-part-of-good-breeding-when-you-see-on-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [You become an anti-Semite. And as powerful as the Israeli lobby is, the Saudi lobby is just as powerful. In fact, the Saudis probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scheuer/you-become-an-anti-semite-and-as-powerful-as-the-israeli-lobby-is-the/) [Michael Scheuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scheuer/) > [When I'm through with the Lee Greenwood Theatre, I won't do anything else in entertainment. Maybe I'll become an ambassador for the United States…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-greenwood/when-i-m-through-with-the-lee-greenwood-theatre-i-won-t-do-anything/) [Lee Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-greenwood/) > [Red Bull are backing a spinal-injury research charity called Wings For Life, which I am an ambassador for, with a programme called Faces for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-webber/red-bull-are-backing-a-spinal-injury-research-charity-called-wings/) [Mark Webber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-webber/) > [I have been working with Women's Aid since 2003 when I became the charity's first Ambassador, and am so pleased to be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-young/i-have-been-working-with-women-s-aid-since-2003-when-i-became-the/) [Will Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-young/) > [I'm a Prince of Wales Trust ambassador, so I'm all about giving youth an education, a voice and a chance to not take the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/i-m-a-prince-of-wales-trust-ambassador-so-i-m-all-about-giving-youth/) [Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/) [Browse all 250 Ambassadors quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambassadors/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think that people are generally really terrible at being ambassadors of their own work.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Emily Gould" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/i-think-that-people-are-generally-really-terrible-at-being/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambassadors" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/i-think-that-people-are-generally-really-terrible-at-being/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d66/emily-gould-27361_ambassadors_i-think-that-people-are-generally-really_3167533.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d66/emily-gould-27361_ambassadors_i-think-that-people-are-generally-really_3167533.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d66/emily-gould-27361_ambassadors_i-think-that-people-are-generally-really_3167533.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think that people are generally really terrible at being ambassadors of their own work.” — Emily Gould", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Emily Gould", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think that people are generally...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/i-think-that-people-are-generally-really-terrible-at-being/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/i-think-that-people-are-generally-really-terrible-at-being/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```