I find myself struggling to get people to appreciate my hard work. Admittedly, some of the reason I find this displeasing (~10%) is the need for external validation, but most of it stems from the fact that if people saw my hard work for what it is, then they would see me as higher value in their minds. This goes for women, friends, roommates and bosses, so finding a way to subtly invoke appreciation is very important.

Example: Recently, I went above and beyond at work. I work for a music label, and we were having a night at a club, so I brought my nice camera (risking the equipment) and spent the whole night shooting (instead of just enjoying myself like everyone else). I got some great pictures, but overall I feel like the fact that I have gone above and beyond was lost on my boss - the head DJ. Also, earlier this week, I stayed up until 9am, updating software, transferring data, and working on projects and got basically no recognition for it.

Any advice - from a power/Machiavellian standpoint- on how to subtly get people to appreciate the hard work I put in?