Why Madonna and Gardening Can Boost Your Confidence
January 5, 2008
Lack of self confidence is one thing that can really hinder your business success. To be successful in business, you’ll often have to do things you find difficult. And it can be difficult to tackle those things if you don’t really believe you can do it.
Luckily, your confidence is something you can improve dramatically. And here are 6 things you can do to improve your self confidence now:
1) Go Back To School: Make two lists – in the first one list all the things you are good at. Write down anything you can think of. And don’t miss anything of because you think it’s too small, or because you’re not absolutely brilliant at it. Then, on list two make a list of things you would like to learn, or improve your knowledge on.
Then choose one thing and decide how you’re going to learn about it. Could you take a course or read a book? Then just do it.
Increasing your knowledge will give you more confidence. And once you’ve mastered one thing it will also give you the confidence to learn about the other things on your list.
2) Avoid Gordon Ramsey Types: Gordon Ramsey is a great chef and popular celebrity. But, I’m guessing some of his staff will be low on self confidence, due to his constant put downs. Many people lack self confidence because they surround themselves with people who put them down, or make them feel bad about themselves. Now, simply ignoring these people is not enough, because if you hear something enough times, you start to believe it.
The only way to deal with people who constantly put you down is avoid them, or cut them out of your life completely.
3) Be a Madonna Wannabee: Choose someone who has the confidence you would like to have. This can be anyone – from someone you know personally to somebody in the public eye. Make notes on how they dress, how they walk, how they deal with certain situations – everything about them that makes them seem more confident. Then copy those things yourself.
I’m not suggesting you become a clone of that person. But, if you can get into the habit of doing some of the things that an extremely confident person does – you’ll actually begin to feel more confident yourself.
4) Weed Your Garden: Make a list of all the difficult tasks that you have to face in your business – then pick out the worst one – the biggest weed.
Now, write down everything you will need to do to tackle that weed and just do it. Don’t be tempted to tackle the smaller weeds first, or you’ll never get rid of all those weeds. Tackling the biggest weed first will give you the confidence to deal with the smallest weeds easily.
5) Let The Gurus Take Over Your Mind: Listening to good motivational speakers, or self hypnosis is one of the fastest and most effective ways to boost your self confidence.
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Cleaning our house helped boost my mood and my confidence too. Everything is so clean and I feel…successful.
I sometimes make notes of tv show characters whose styles I like. It works better with them, I think, because it’s easier to see a whole variety of outfits on them. No needing to look at celebrity magazines and the like.
That’s all great advice (as usual).
I wonder if it will help our conversions if my colleague Steve goes out to meet new clients dressed as Madonna?
Please don’t email him and suggest it though! He will.
…and when budgeting think like Warren Buffet!
Great post, as usual!
You always provide useful tips; in fact, I’ve incorporated many of these principles not only in my job but I’m also using them as a freelance writer.
Hi Mrs M – I’m with you on the house cleaning one. I hate the thought of doing it but you feel so much better afterwards.
Ian – maybe Steve could be Madonna for his next forfeit. Does Liverpool have anywhere like Speakers Corner in London?
RacerX – handling your finances like Warren would definitely give you a heap of self confidence.
Opal – am glad you’re finding them useful. I love your new site. And anyone interested in freelance writing should check it out. You did better in your first three weeks freelancing than many freelancers do in their first three years.
Please suggest it on the blog so I have evidence of someone advocating it!
Ian – good idea. No problem.
Hi Catherine,
What you write is so true. If we “act like” whatever/whomever, and continue to do so, soon it becomes second nature. I think this could be a real breakthrough for the shy and reserved.
I agree with Mrs. M, I always feel so much better when things around me are neat and tidy…like a tons of bricks is lifted. All the more reason to simplify.
Hi Barbara – it definitely would work for shy people – if they believed it would.
As for tidying – we seem to accumulate so much junk. I feel a heap better after I’ve thrown a lot of stuff out. Cutting down on stuff is easy – but getting your kids to do the same isn’t!
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