Self Confidence

SELF CONFIDENCE is the most important, the indispensable characteristic of success, the common characteristic shared by great leaders whose talents may have varied widely in most other respects.
Self-confidence is the key to winning, to excelling, no matter what we do in life.
Some of you may already have the beginnings of this confidence from academic or athletic or even social success but in my experience that will not be enough to get you through a career and a life that will thrill you rather than scare or bore you. So, how do you get it? What is the secret to developing your own brand of self-confidence?
First, you must resolve to grow intellectually, morally, technically, and professionally every day through your entire work and family life.
You need to be absolutely paranoid about the currency of your knowledge and ask yourself every day, Am I really up to speed? Or am I stagnating intellectually, falling behind? Am I still learning? Or am I just doing the same stuff on a different day or as Otis Redding sings 'Sitting on the dock of the bay... watching the tide roll away.'
The lust for learning is age-independent.Another important way to build your confidence is to seek out the toughest jobs, the most daunting challenges. There is nothing that builds confidence more than winning against the odds, believe it or not, losing against great odds builds it as well. Seek a real purpose. Seek to make a difference.