Some of the most ambitious people you’ll meet talk less about their plans than anyone in the room.

Announcing a plan gives you a small dose of the feeling you were going to get from finishing it, which quietly reduces the pressure to finish. People deep in something also tend to be busy with the next specific problem rather than the story. Quiet is less about modesty than about being occupied.

Try keeping the next thing to yourself until there is something to show, and notice whether the urge to tell people was about the work or about the reaction. Tell the one or two who can actually help. Let the rest find out afterward.