SELLING YOURSELF AND YOUR IDEAS

Whether you need to sell yourself to gain employment or convince someone to buy into your idea, you must first believe in yourself. Every day it seems like I encounter people struggling with their self-belief and self-confidence. We all know that both external and internal influences impact our self-confidence. When I was 12 old, I got involved in raising and showing beef steers in 4-H. We had to give presentations at 4-H meetings, which greatly impacted me. First, I was terrified of making presentations at the club meetings. Then I learned that the more knowledge I had on the subject, the more confidence I had to speak. This was a huge confidence builder. In high school, my junior year speech class was very tough. I failed miserably at it. But by the end of high school, I was doing the school radio program at the local radio station each Sunday night. People told me I was fun to listen to, and they enjoyed the music that I played. This experience was again another huge confidence builder. One step after another, confidence and the ability to sell my ideas and sell myself occurred. The key to this was taking risks and sticking my neck out. (Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?) Many years of selling radio station advertising, marketing, and promotional ideas helped build my confidence. Then giving thousands of motivational talks and leading seminars and workshops has undoubtedly impacted my confidence–especially since hundreds of thousands of people have been in my meetings, and I have worked with hundreds of companies and organizations. Yet, I have not arrived by any stretch of the imagination. I still struggle with my confidence. We all must consistently be working on our personal and professional growth. You may notice that the key to selling yourself and your ideas is purely a confidence issue. The more confidence you have, the more success you will have in winning people to your way of thinking. So, arm yourself with the knowledge you need, dare to venture outside your comfort zone to do the things you fear, stand up straight, put a smile on your face, and tell yourself, “I can do this, and I will!” As you continue to grow, you will have the confidence to sell yourself and your ideas!