Confidence: Your Greatest Capital

You needed to have seen me that morning when I got to the bank.

I was putting on an ash colored suit. My white shirt was practically glowing. And the line from the iron was still visible...

You see, I had opened a shop where I was selling rice, tomatoes, groundnut oil, and other condiments.

Business was moving very slowly. And Christmas was around the corner.

See me see poverty. Poverty na bastard, I swear.

That fateful day, I dressed up for marketing and polished my shoes very well. I flagged down an okada (motorcycle), and headed for Diamond Bank.

How can I forget? It was the one at Regina Caeli junction.

When I got to the bank, I walked straight in. I looked at the first staff I saw and said confidently, "I want to see your manager."

"He's upstairs", she replied after taking a few seconds to size me up.

I guess I met the standard.

When I got upstairs I walked boldly to the office that looked the most executive. I asked again for the manager, and I was told they were having a regional meeting.

"I will wait", I proclaimed with an air of authority, and sat down.

Few minutes later, the meeting ended. The manager was told he had a visitor.

I approached and greeted him politely. Then I presented my proposal.

I represented a fast moving consumer goods company that just started in Awka, and I was their marketing executive. We tended to high-end executive customers like him, government officials, professors, and lecturers who were too busy to go to the market.

Our goal was simple: bring the market to you and save you the time and stress.

As I was speaking, I opened my file and presented a letter headed price list of our offerings for him to peruse as I spoke.

What I heard few minutes later was like music to my ears:

" Get me 10 bags of rice and 20 gallons of groundnut oil."

"Okay sir", I replied calmly.

Inside me I was dancing kukere. But he didn't need to see that.

It happened that they were about to share rice and groundnut oil the next day.

And there I was. Right place, right time.

I am sure that manager would have thought I worked for a company like shoprite or spar. If he had seen my shop, I don't think he'd have entered sef.

But he didn't need to know that.

Was I nervous?

Absolutely.

But he didn't need to know that either.

Had I sold to managers like him before?

Never.

He didn't need to know that too.

Did I have the things he ordered in my shop?

No.

He didn't need to know that I'd have to buy from Eke Awka and supply to him.

All he needed to know was that I could deliver. And I made sure that was all he saw.

I wrote that long story for you if you are one of those attempting nothing because you think what you have isn't good enough.

See eh, nobody get time to research what you ate last night. Nobody wants to waste time checking if your shoe is original Versace or the road side Vasachee.

In business, confidence is your greatest capital.

In fact, confidence is your greatest asset in life.

Even if you think you can't do it, fine. Keep those thoughts to yourself.

Tell them that you can do it with your two eyes closed.

The reason you're broke is not because you can't deliver. It is because you behave as if you can't.

You see all those nonsensical stutters of, "Emm, I am not really sure I can do it sir, but by God's grace I will try...blah blah blah"

Let it end with this INEC postponement o.

Next time they ask if you can deliver, shout YES.

Even if you can't, learn it. If you still can't, outsource it.

Stop throwing money away.

You can do far more than you are giving yourself credit for.

Lastly, the people you are wondering what they will think about you, are wondering what you will think about them.

Wise up!

Toby Nwazor

#MillionaireWriters

NB : Feel free to share