Ring Your Own Chain – A Leadership Lesson From My Dad

Jun 3, 2025 | Tip for a Terrific Tuesday

We don’t like to brag, because bragging has a negative connotation.

What is my last name?

My dad always said, “If you don’t ring your own chain, who’s going to do it?”
And my mother would say, “There your daddy is bragging about what he did.”

We would say, “Mom, you had us. You went through labor, and you had us.”
And my dad would say, “Well, what was I doing?”

My mom said, “When the children were sick, I made chicken soup.”
He said, “Well, who bought the chicken?”

So we learned that it was okay to talk about the good things about ourselves at an early age.

As I grew older, I learned that other people didn’t have that same upbringing where they were told to, as my dad said, ring their own chains.

But, ladies, if you don’t learn to do that, no one’s going to say, “I have just a promotion for you. Come on in and take it.”

We know that studies have said that if there is a job with 10 qualifications, a man would apply if he has only one.

And we, as ladies, won’t apply if we lack one.

How to Reach Your Goals? A 90 Day Strategy

As we get ready in this new year, over the next 90 days, I want you to ask yourself 4 questions each day. What is my goal? What is the time frame to meet that goal? But most importantly, what's holding you back? When you think about what's holding you back, write down...

What To Do When You Have An AHA Moment

In my new book, Dreams Without Goals Are Nightmares, I talk about "AHA moments." An "AHA moment" is when something you read in my book makes a mental light bulb go off, and suddenly you realize, how simple is that? I can do it too.In my book, I have a worksheet where...

Beyoncé: The Power of Never Giving Up!

Like many of you, I watched the Grammys the other night and watched Beyoncé finally win Album of the Year. She had won many other Grammys in her life, but had never won Album of the Year. But she is known for her resilience, and she kept pushing forward. So, what...

Grateful for Coach K’s Endorement

Hi, I'm Dr. Bragg from the Spine and Orthopedic Pain Center in Norfolk Virginia. A few years ago when I wrote my book on back pain I was honored that Coach Mike Krzyzewski from Duke University gave me an endorsement of my book. This month I've reduced the price by 50%...

How to Celebrate Your Wins!!

All of us have had setbacks, disappointments, and some failures in our lives. When we were children, sometimes when we did things that weren't right, we were met with great emotional intensity for making errors or mistakes, more so than for some of our successes. As a...

Secret For A Winning Morning Routine: Put The Cell Phone On HOLD — Not Your Goals

Morning routines are important. Maybe you're into meditation, maybe you're into tai chi, maybe you exercise, maybe you listen to music —  whatever you like to do, I want us all to start our day off with confidence. And for me, that means that I don't look at my cell...

Jalen Hurts’ Path to Superbowl MVP – A Story of Determination and Overcoming Adversity

This is Dr. Bragg with a tip for a terrific tuesday. Did you watch the Super Bowl on Sunday night? I did. Many of you may know that I'm a fan of Jalen Hurts. He went to the University of Alabama, my alma mater, so I have followed him since he was in college. I have...

Why You’re Not Reaching Your Goal

As you evaluate your goals for this year, I want you to look back at your goals for last year and see which ones were on your list that you didn't accomplish, and then do some self-reflection and ask why did you not accomplish him? I think that it may be because of a...

Millionaires Have This Habit In Common

When I've studied people who have been more successful millionaires and billionaires, one of the common things that I've found out about them is that they have a morning routine. They do the same thing every morning — getting up in the morning, thinking about their...

Do you need to be more consistent?

As we enter into the new year, I want you to think about the word consistent. What does it mean to be consistent? It means to act or do things in the same way. Over time, when we think about our goals, often we know how to do what we want to do and we know what we...

Control Your Mindset Like a Thermostat and Control Your Environment

It's time to learn how to control your mindset to control your environment. Sometimes when we don't feel good and don't feel happy, we want to blame others for how we feel. The truth is we have to control our own happiness. You know, you could either be a thermometer...

Are You Tired of Being Stuck?

Are you tired of Being Stuck? Do you understand Your Value? As another year comes to an end, leaders and other professionals who are committed to their continued growth are looking for effective ways to enhance their performance. As a Certified High Performance Coach,...

How to Turn Failure Into a Success

No one likes to fail. I know I don't. But there are some good things that we can learn from failure that will allow us to fail forward. In fact, successful people study their failures so that they can take what they learned from them to move forward. Because if we are...

Stay on Track With Your Goals with Dr. Bragg’s 90-Day Journal!

It is important that we start working on our goals right now. This is why I've created a supplement to my best selling book, Dreams Without Goals are Nightmares, a 90-Day journal, so you can stay on track and make sure that you accomplish your goals in 2023. To ensure...

How to Finish The Year Strong!!

As we move forward into a new year, I want you to reflect upon last year and take the time to analyze what you accomplished. Recognize those achievements and celebrate them. Don't spend any time feeling guilty about the things that you didn't accomplish, because...

Build Confidence to Speak Up in Meetings

If you are having problems with your self confidence, why not try standing up and asking a question at a public meeting or in a group? By doing this, you are making yourself the center of attention for a few minutes later, you will find that this helps to boost your...

Protect Your Peace

We all have an area in our life that we need to work on, but the important thing is to think about what area you want to work on. Write it down, and then, over the next several days, think about what you can do to strengthen that area. Just knowing that you've thought...

Celebrate Your Wins!!! A Strategy to Build Confidence

All of us have had setbacks, disappointments, and some failures in our lives. When we were children, sometimes when we made an error or mistake, we were met with great emotional intensity, more so than with some of our successes. As a result, the brain most easily...

How to Train Your Brain and Have a Good Day!

I'm excited today to be at the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, talking about my new book, Dreams Without Goals Are Nightmares: How to Use the Bragg Factor to Reach Your Goals in Record Time. You know, it is important for you to reach your goals in record time to...

Success: From the Bottom and UP

A lot of times when we set out to accomplish a new goal, we get held back because, in our mind, we get worried and feel trapped, thinking that we're starting from the bottom. Well, let me tell you, success starts from the bottom and moves up. Did you know that the...