No Confidence? No Problem. 4 Tips to Be Bolder
Everyone knows confidence is a key to success in just about every field, but unfortunately not all of us naturally feel comfortable putting ourselves and our ideas out their for all the see. So is there no hope for the shrinking violets among us? Not at all, argues entrepreneur and blogger Andre Charoo on Untemplater. Confidence can be cultivated. Here's how:
- Follow your instincts. Learn to trust your intuition. In the words of Steve Jobs at his commencement speech at Stanford in 2005, "you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something, God, your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart even when it leads you off the well worn path, and that will make all the difference."
- Have a story. What makes you, you? Everyone has a story. Learn it. Perfect it. Articulate it. In addition to being able to share your personal story, I find that often times, some of the most confident individuals are great at telling stories. It's a great way to connect with an audience, humanize issues, and make listeners remember message points. Practice telling stories.
- Jump in with both feet. Forget second guessing. Pick a path, make a decision, and go full steam ahead with it. Even if it turns out that it may have not been the best decision. It doesn't matter. What matters is that you have the ability to make a decision and see it through.
- Run your own race. In our hyper competitive world, it's important to try and remain as grounded as possible by focusing on you. It's easy to get caught up with what everyone else is doing, and be side tracked from your own agenda. However, being significantly moved by others could negatively effect your level of confidence. When you focus on yourself, only you decide whether you're going to be discouraged or not.
Read More on BNET:
- Networking for Shy People
- Office Politics for Introverts
- 5 Confidence-Building Tips for the Self-Promotion Phobic