How To Boost Confidence

So you want to boost your self confidence; how do you do it?

It is best to learn confidence from people who had it. Their lives radiated with self confidence without them having to talk about it or trying to convince people that they were confident. They just had it.

People who insist that they are confident, most likely are not, and are just saying it as a way to boost their own self confidence. Well, that could work and it could work for you, too – telling yourself you have self confidence to be self confident; but that is not the kind of deep confidence that lies within and doesn’t need verbal reinforcement.

People with deep self confidence simply had it, and you can learn from them. What these people had are little known secrets that could boost your own self confidence.

Confidence Lessons from Bruce Lee

Be Bruce Lee. The world’s most popular martial artist walked this earth chin high, literally. Before he became a mega superstar, he was just a “chink” that walked around Los Angeles trying to sell his great film and TV show ideas. He did have a great idea. It was called “Kung Fu”, which became a major international TV hit but did not star Bruce Lee because Mr. Lee was, well, Asian. Yet, it didn’t ruffle the martial artist a bit. He pursued his dream in Hong Kong and the rest is history.

What was Bruce Lee’s secret to self confidence that could bolster yours? Not martial arts, but mental strength. He was strong first mentally and then it flowed like water to his entire being. Martial arts was simply his chosen method of expressing his inner strength.

He said, “If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.”

Mr. Lee had another secret for you to learn, his humility. He never insisted that he was good, that he was strong, or that he was confident. He simply lived it and didn’t brag about it. The Sweet Science website described him this way: “Bruce Lee had that same kind of blazing self-confidence …. Though bragging and boasting was never part of the now deceased kung fu master’s persona, the world recognized his abilities and new twists on fighting techniques.” (Source: Sweet Science.)

If it works for you to tell yourself that you have self-confidence, then do so, but keep quiet about it or else people will notice that you are just psyching yourself. Talk to yourself, tell yourself what you need to hear, meditate in silence.

You can read so many books about Bruce Lee. There are many to learn about him on self confidence, but these two are the most glaring: his mental strength and humility.

Confidence Lessons from Albert Einstein

Emulate Einstein. Before his famous E=mc2 equation exploded in the world of Physics, people thought Mr. Einstein was just another nut. He went about minding his ways, contemplating about the universe. His secret to self confidence was his genius. But that is a problem, you might think, because you are not a genius. You have to understand, though, that what made Einstein a true genius was not just his off-the-charts IQ but more importantly his recognition of his intelligence and that he was able to maximize it regardless of what people were saying or not saying.

Before he published his theory on relativity, nobody knew about him, nobody knew of his genius, and Mr. Einstein could have let it remain that way. But he chose to let the world know of his genius anyway because he knew the world had to.

There is a genius in you, you just have to recognize that and let the world know. You may not have the highest IQ in class, at work or in your family but there is a kind of genius in you that is uniquely yours. Let it out.

Still not convinced that you are a genius? Read Mr. Einstein’s words: “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

It is quite difficult to compare yourself with the Albert Einstein, for sure. But there is another thing to be learned from this man. He had inspiration. Although he preceded Physics textbooks, he had two sources of inspiration – the universe and his lady. His first wife was Mileva Maric, and according to PBS, she had more to do with Einstein’s success than the world knew about. Just before Einstein published his world-renowned thesis, Mileva told her friend, “We (she and her husband) finished some important work that will make my husband world famous.” Soon after, the couple divorced, and Mr. Einstein was not able to produce another physics paper that was as successful as the one he and his wife did in 1905.

What or who inspires you? What or who pushes you to become better? Find someone who will tap the back of your shoulder for every achievement. The rest of the world may not notice what you just achieved, but that someone will.

Mr. Einstein was a genius, and so are you; he had a source of inspiration and so must you.

Confidence Lessons from Steve Jobs

Say I for i am Steve Jobs. Millions know Steve Jobs for the iPhone, iPod, iPad, iMac, and other brilliant life-changing, trend-setting inventions. A few more millions got to know him after his death, and that is a sign of a true hero. Before he became world-renowned, he was just another geek, a nerdy teenager who tinkered with machines rather than dated pretty college girls. But, much like Einstein and Bruce Lee, he knew who he was inside – his metal strength and inner genius – and built on it.

Today, people are saying “Steve Jobs was confidence personified.” A book titled “Success Tweets” by Bud Bilanich said, “Self confidence must come from within. Outside reinforcement and strokes can help, but you have to build your own confidence,” and the author said, “Steve Jobs did just that.”

What were Mr. Jobs’ secrets to self confidence? Exploration and learning. He said it himself in an interview with Sminthosian: “It gave a tremendous level of self-confidence…. Through exploration and learning one could understand seemingly very complex things.”

So it does help to read books, go to school and listen to advice.

But Einstein and Jobs both dropped out from school, but that’s simply because the books and education they needed were already in their heads. They were way ahead of their time, but that doesn’t mean they shunned learning. Mr. Einstein spent several years learning and perfecting his profession at the patent office, while Jobs enjoyed his calligraphy classes, which developed his aesthetic sensibilities.

While Mr. Jobs explored on so many things that eventually led to the establishment of world-class companies and invention of super high-tech gadgets, he never stopped learning.

So there you have it. Six little known secrets from three world-renowned personalities to boost your self confidence: have mental strength and humility as Bruce Lee, search your genius and source of inspiration as Albert Einstein, and never stop exploring and learning as Steve Jobs.

But if you put all three personalities together, you get a seventh secret: always strive to serve a greater good. Bruce Lee did it for the art form he loved, Albert Einstein for Science, and Steve Jobs for the rest of the world. In other words, build your self confidence not for the sake of building it, but for the sake of harnessing so much strength inside so that you can help other people.