Confidence of Champions II: Get Knowledge

By Chris Kanyane

In my previous article we recognized that Confidence is the quality that we are all looking for above all other things. We emphasized the fact that Confidence is the magic key to happiness and inner fulfillment. That Confidence is the foundation of success. That Confidence is the vital ingredient for any achievement and inner fulfillment.

Now in this second round of the Confidence of Champions, I want to show you how acquiring knowledge on the subject at hand is important. Have you ever noticed that when you truly know what you are talking about, you feel confident? Have you noticed that when you are fully briefed on a subject, when you have done your home work, you can stand in front of your colleagues or customers and you can talk with maximum authority?

My message to you is that whatever you do, get as much knowledge as you can about the subject at hand. Know your technical knowledge. Know that there is no one around you that knows more than you. You don't have to go to university to get knowledge. You can learn it by reading and by talking to people that have already been there. You can find your mentors.

The biggest compliment that you can give the next person is to tell them that you admire them. It is to ask for their advice. Look for people who are doing what you want to do. Watch them, practice what they are doing. Model them. Copy them. Imitate them. Be prepared to slip every now and then.

Many people look at me and cannot understand why I am always on top of things. Well I am not always on top of things, but when I am with others I am always on top of things. There is no problem on this planet that can hold me back! You know why? I have become emotionally bullet proof. I don't mean that I don't feel pain - of course I feel pain. It is because I have no uncertainty about my abilities.

Build your experience base. If you want confidence, make sure you maximize your knowledge. Make sure you maximize your experience and exposure to people who are already achieving what you want to achieve. Start exposing yourself to the real world.

You need to keep trying. You need to stop believing in failure. There are many different definitions of failure. For one person failure might be letting someone down. For another person failure might be letting themselves down. For another person failure might be failing to get the desired result. I don't care what the definition of failure is that you have, but know that it stands in your way of building this thing called confidence.

I want to ask you this question: what would you do if you absolutely knew there was no chance whatsoever of failing? Come on, just think about this; what would you do if you knew there was no chance of failing at all? Huh! Would you do a lot of what you are doing right now? You see a lot of people don't take action because they are afraid of this thing called failure. Let me share this thing with you: the word fail really stands for... First Actions In Learning.

If you are going to become confident you have to start taking action this minute. Take the first step right now. I guarantee you there will be times when you regret doing something and not getting the results that you were looking for. But unless you tried it, unless you tried it now, you will never know. Will you? It all goes back to how committed you are. So take action now.

Like Columbus, be bold enough to go where you have never gone before. And in order to do that, you have to have this thing called resilience. Resilience means no one can hold you down. Resilience means if you stumble, if you trip and you fall, you come right back immediately. Resilience means never, ever, ever give up!