While traveling earlier in the week, I had several hours of driving. I’ve always loved to drive on trips that aren’t too far away because it gives you time to think. You can think about where you’ve been, what your past has prepared you for, and what lies ahead of you – not just in your career, but in your life. While taking a little time to reflect on the past, one thing that came to mind was confidence.
A highly successful person years ago told me that the only thing that separated highly successful people from everyone else was their self-confidence. They had the confidence to do whatever it is they’re doing, and go in whichever direction it is they’re going, without any limitations or hesitations.
As I thought through that, I thought about myself a lot. And I thought about other people who say things when meeting people for the first time. Things like, did you see how that guy was dressed? or did you see what kind of jewelry so-and-so was wearing? I’ve never been a person who has ever looked at other people with any type of envy. And I think that comes from being a highly confident person.
This isn’t a post to brag about being confident, but to reinstate the value of having self-confidence. When you’re self-confident, you walk into a room and you’re interested only in what your goal is. Your interests do not lie in how somebody’s dressed, what kind of shoes they’re wearing, or what their purse looks like. You’re in there for your purpose and your purpose only. That’s what separates those who are able to achieve great things from those who always look at people who are able to achieve great things.
This is in no way to say that I have more self-confidence than everybody. But from a very young age in my career, I never had any fear or doubt. I may not have the biggest personality, the biggest company, or be the most successful, but one thing I’ve always had at a very high level is a very big self-confidence.