Do you know what’s blocking 99% of people from living the life they want?
It’s not money.
It is lack of confidence:
- Lack of confidence to try something new.
- Lack of confidence to take on higher-level (and more exciting) job.
- Lack of confidence to ask the person they’ve met out on a date.
… the list goes on …
As a result, most people stay in the “safe zone” forever.
I was that kind of person for most of my life. But in 2013 I decided it was time to break out of the safe zone. I dreaded going to work and desperately wanted to try something new, something entrepreneurial.
The problem was, I didn’t have much confidence in myself. But I also knew that waiting for confidence to magically rain down on me was stupid. So I was looking for a way to build confidence just from within myself.
And I found a simple recipe, which I’m sharing with you:
To build confidence, you must show positive energy
Don’t worry, nothing esoteric.
What I mean is:
Let people enjoy your company. Make other people feel great about themselves.
How do you achieve that?
Give people a warm smile, show gratitude and make sincere compliments.
Humans are social creatures. We are influenced by the behavior of people around us. Imagine somebody with a sad face walks into the room. It will immediately drag the atmosphere down. On the other hand, if you meet somebody on the floor who gives you a warm smile, you will instantly feel great (although nothing has changed).
Positive energy is contagious.
If you share positive energy, you’ll get positive energy in return.
And you’ll immediately feel more confident.
Now, sharing positive energy won’t just help you raise your confidence.
It will also help you achieve more ambitious goals.
How?
The positive energy cycle
When people perceive you as confident, they’ll subconsciously come to the following conclusion:
You are confident => You must be smart
You are smart => You must be a good leader
As a result, it will become much easier for you to build a following of loyal colleagues. And you’ll find it much easier to win support for your ideas.
Let’s get practical: How to show positive energy
Remember what I wrote above: One way to become more confident is to make others feel good about themselves. In other words, making people feel confident.
This goes way beyond just the work side of things.
We all carry our bag of insecurities and doubts with us: We worry about our body. We worry about our clothes. We’re afraid of saying something stupid in a meeting. If we have to use a foreign language, we’re afraid of making mistakes ….
Once you understand that everyone around you is concerned with fears like these, doing or saying something that’s gonna make people feel better becomes easy:
- Hi Anne, you look great today!
- Hey John, that’s a nice shirt you’re wearing. Where did you buy it?
- Stephanie, I really like your idea of doing X, because of . Let’s give this some more thought.
- That’s a great point, Dave! I like how you think outside the box.
The thing is, you have stop thinking only about yourself. You actually have to WANT to connect with the other person. Otherwise your compliment will sound fake.
Now, practice showing gratitude and giving compliments for one month. I guarantee you will see massive change in your life: You’ll become happier, more relaxed and more productive. Moreover, you will become more confident than you are today.
And with greater confidence, great things can happen.
This could become your best year ever.
Talk to you soon,
