10 Commandments Of Confidence

[Tami]

From "The Confidence Factor" a book by Judith Briles

1. To your own self be true - listen to your inner voice and calling; do not let others derail you.

2. Create positive thinking - associate with "energy chargers". Don't let negativism drag you down. Do not associate with people who drain your dreams.

3. Associate with confident dream builders - you'll pick up confidence from them and see how dreams really do come true. It is true that you will be the same person in ten years as you are today, except for the books you read and the people you associate with.

4. Respect yourself - others will have confidence in you if you have respect for yourself.

5. Act in accordance with your values - confidence, in part, is the result of integrity and strong character. Stand true to your values, never compromise integrity and you'll have reason to feel confident.

6. Build on your successes - "you don't get self-confidence by telling yourself you're great," says Joslyn Day. "You'll get it because you've accomplished something - getting a good job, raising a child successfully, performing a project successfully, paying off debt - and you rack up more and more successes." In this way you start to see yourself as a winner. That is the key - seeing yourself as a winner.

7. Reject self-pity - no one can afford self-pity. Self-pity prevents a person from bravely and positively facing the future with confidence. Do not become a victim because victims always lose.

8. Aspire higher and reach for the stars - stretch yourself. Visit with role models. Strive to be like them. Reach for the stars, even if you miss them, you'll find yourself sky high.

9. Take care of yourself - eat right, exercise, sleep, play and watch your spiritual being. Laugh a lot. Keep life in balance. A tired, poorly fed, unexercised horse has yet to win a race. Guess what? We're not a whole different than horses, at least in that respect.

10. When you fail, get up and start over again - failure should never influence confidence. To fail is not to be a failure. Learn to fail forward. When you fail, simply get back up again, shake the dust off your knees and start climbing again.

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"You have to give up "I can't" - Bill Gates

"I can't say I was ever lost, but I was bewildered once for a couple of days." David Boone

"Confidence is not simply for show, confidence empowers. A good leader has the ability to instill within his people confidence in himself. A great leader has the ability to instill within his people confidence in themselves." John Maxwell

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I Could Be Wrong - But I Doubt It!!
Written by Doug Sider

It has been said that "what lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." Confidence is a powerful attribute. It has sometimes been referred to as the "twin of courage."

Jack Canfield enthusiastically states, "If you are going to be successful in creating the life of your dreams, you have to believe that you are capable of making it happen. You have to believe that you have the right stuff, that you are able to pull it off." Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle, was recently asked his thoughts on his super success. Larry replied, "I am not the most gifted or talented person in my field, but I studied, practiced, and worked harder than anyone I know. That's how I got to where I am and that's how I will stay here. Super success is not complicated but neither is it easy."

Stephen J. Cannell failed first, fourth, and tenth grades (reread that sentence and let it sink in). Stephen couldn't read and comprehend like other kids in his class could. He and his mother would spend 5 or 6 hours studying for a test and then he would fail it. He remembers being very embarassed when test grade results were distributed. He seemed to give his best scholastically, but his best was never good enough. He had friends who studied little and still took home straight A's.

Stephen, in a recent interview with Jack Canfield, said, "I simply refused to believe that I was stupid. I knew there was something at which I could succeed." He soon learned that he was a very good football player. One day, his high school coach called him aside and told him that if he applied himself, he could become one of the best players in America. Stephen recalls that as a pivotal moment saying, "It turned my life around and I started to believe in my capabilities."

Putting all his energy into football, he earned interscholastic honours as a running back. From football, he gained tremendous confidence in himself, he could achieve excellence in almost any field of achievement.

Now for the rest of the story! Stephen began to take interest in writing scripts for television. He thought that it would be a lot of fun! Breaking into the industry proved to be a long and arduous task. Eventually he formed his own production studio, where he created, produced and wrote over 350 scripts for 38 different show, including The A-Team, The Rockford Files, Baretta, 21 Jump Street, Renegade, and Silk Stockings. At the height of his career over 2000 people were on his payroll. And if that wasn't enough, he sold his studio and went on to write 11 novels - all of which became best sellers.

Venus Williams once stated, "You have to believe in yourself ESPECIALLY when no one else does. That is what will make you a winner."

It is, at least in part, confidence that sets leaders apart. They carry a strong sense of direction, they know where they are going. They know they have certain abilities and are strong in the knowledge of future successes. "Self-confidence carries a conviction and passion." John Maxwell states, "It makes others believe in us as well."

Leaders understand that confidence has a contagious quality. It spreads throughout an organization like prairie fire. Confidence gives the leader the momentum that makes the difference.

Confidence is the bottom line.