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a cut above the rest, Belief, Business, business strategies, Champion, Confidence, Fear, Fearless, Health, Henry David Thoreau, I Am, IAMPRESTONBYRD, Leader, Leadership, Live without fear, Mental health, Preston Byrd, Preston Byrd Collierville TN, Preston Byrd Memphis, Preston Byrd Memphis TN, Self Confidence, Self-esteem, Success, Thoreau, Thought Leadership, Tim Marks, Win, Winner, Wisdom
Recently, I was perusing the web and I came across the excerpt below from “Confidence of a Champion” by Tim Marks.
“Self-confidence is simply belief in yourself. It is the belief that you can handle a certain situation or task. For example, I am a “confident driver” because I have certainty and belief in my ability to handle myself behind the wheel. Social confidence means I am unafraid to walk into a room and shake hands with strangers. Professional confidence means I feel capable to do my job well. Confidence impacts the way you carry yourself in the world, in your interactions with people, and in the actions that you do or don’t take.”
Marks goes on to say that your confidence is based upon your personal mixture of three vital ingredients: self-esteem, self-image, and self-worth.
As I was reading the above statement, I reflected on the fact that Self Confidence is one of the foundational keys to personal and professional success. I am by nature an optimist. I am deliberate about surrounding myself with positivity: people, places and things. I am rarely afraid to face down my fears and make decisions regarding my business or my personal life and to a great extent, I credit this to my strong self confidence.
That being said, I realize that even the best of us experience setbacks, personally and professionally, and sometimes these setbacks can negatively affect our self-confidence: self-esteem, self-image and self-worth.
Recently, I was speaking with one of my friends who I would describe as a smart, strong and an extremely confident leader. If you met her in a crowded room, her presence certainly would not be missed.
However, she was not herself and I knew that something was wrong. I pulled her aside and asked if something was troubling her. She then asked if she could get my advice regarding a personal crisis that she was experiencing.
As she shared with me regarding her situation, I made a few observations: her good posture had turned to slumped shoulders. She made lethargic movements, had poor eye contact and her voice began to tremble and lose it’s strong, confident tone. I could tell that she was letting this problem get ‘the best of her’ and she had been vacillating over the right decision to make.
I didn’t like seeing her in this position of fear so, without hesitation, I offered: “The greatest mistake you can make is continually fearing that you will make one.”
As she left my presence, I immediately saw her renewed confidence and her physical demeanor changed instantly. Then, it dawned on me that earlier in my career, I had encountered a personal crisis of my own and my fear of making a mistake nearly stopped me from taking action and, was stalling my progress and my ultimate success.
The funny thing is…when I finally stopped dissecting my situation and I (finally) made a decision (based on facts); it was as if the sky opened up — my business began to, not only, survive, but thrive! The sheer act of making a sound decision was the catalyst for taking my business to a new level of operation and, ultimately, success.
That being said, if you let fear run your life, you will never take any action and your chances of success are diminished dramatically.
So, in the words of Henry David Thoreau, “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” Live life without fear and Success will surely follow.
~Preston Byrd