Today, I am a fairly confident person, but it has not always been so. There was a time when I remember being scared to death to take a risk and move out of my warm safe comfort zone. I was certain that if I did, I would surely fail. I was a radio announcer, and my boss wanted me to start selling radio advertising. I knew absolutely nothing about sales, and I was almost positive I couldn’t do it. But then, I knew it would mean more money, and with a wife to support, the extra income would come in handy. So I decided to give it a try.
That first couple of months was excruciating! It took everything within me just to muster up the courage to pick up the phone or walk into a business to make a sales call. Though I didn’t feel very confident in my abilities, I knew I had to get out there and just do it. Somehow I figured out that when I made the effort to project a confident attitude, I was actually able to be more confident, which led little by little, to possessing real confidence in my sales ability.
It’s been 28 years since I first learned the value of projecting an attitude of confidence in whatever I set out to do. Projecting a belief and confidence in my skills and abilities, along with having the right attitudes, has propelled me to accomplish many goals over the years. It’s hard to believe that what I do now is something I would have never dreamed of doing back then–speaking before groups of people for a living.
Believe me, there’s still plenty of opportunity for me to doubt my abilities–I could twist my words, say something really dumb, or make a fool of myself in some way, but I have learned not to allow these fears to hold me back from achieving my goals as a motivational speaker. I tell myself, I can! I will! I have the confidence I need to be who I am and do what I do!
If you want to accomplish your heart’s desire, take courage. Be bold enough to step out in an attitude of confidence. Sure it’s risky! But I tell you this–I couldn’t imagine where my life would be today if I had avoided the risk-taking!
