I nstagram started it off with humble brags (”So overwhelmed by all these opportunities!”), while LinkedIn hammered it home with the infinite opportunity to share your latest 3,000 character win, alongside photos and videos to little clapping emojis of approval: A personal tragedy becomes an invaluable life lesson about B2B sales. Hits = networking = success. It’s the bragging economy stupid.

If a promotion happens and no one online is around to thumb up and “Well deserved!” it, did it even happen?

Refreshingly, the newly minted Ballon d’Or winner, Harry Kane , thinks so. “It’s just the journey,” the England striker told the world as he stood on stage after winning one of the most prestigious player awards in football. “For any young boy or girl wanting to achieve their dreams, anything is possible with hard work when no one else is watching.”

Kane’s journey, by his own volition, wasn’t a straight forward blaze of glory.…