Confidence

When I'm introduced to a group of people I've never met before, it only takes a few moments to identify those who have influence over others. What is it about them that sets them apart? What do they have that everybody wants?

If there is one quality you could have that would make you successful, that trait would be confidence.

Just why do you need confidence in yourself? It gives you the ability to stretch. Insecure people seldom stretch because they are not willing to live on the edge of life.

Hellen Keller said, "Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."

Think about a rubber band which is totally useless unless it is stretched. When insecurity keeps us from stretching and growing, we end up with a life that is as unexciting and useless as a limp rubber band.

Our choice of associates will have a tremendous bearing on our confidence level. Most people fall into two categories: confidence builders and confidence shakers. Many people are doomed to suffer from the "Charlie Brown complex". It seems that Charlie Brown just can't do anything right. But notice that one of his problems is the fact that Lucy is always around him. She is always quick to point out the error of his ways. Do you have a Lucy around you? It is safe to say that if you surround yourself with people like her, you will have a difficult time developing a sense of confidence. Every time you start out there will be someone to remind you what you aren't, haven't been, and never will become. If we want to be confident, we must surround ourselves with confident people, people who believe in us, and will be encouragers.

Confidence can provide the momentum you need to be the person you are meant to be. It cannot substitute for character, or skill, or knowledge, but it enhances these qualities.

The largest locomotive while standing still, can be prevented from moving by a single block of wood placed in front of each of the eight drive wheels! The same locomotive, moving at 100 miles-per-hour can crash through a wall of steel-reinforced concrete five feet thick. The only difference is momentum. Confidence gives you the momentum that makes the difference.