Being a novice, being an amateur, a first timer, doesn’t feel great. It used to be, when I would stand in front of a room of people, or simply be called on to answer a question, I would get a pit in my stomach. But as you do it more often, those feelings begin to go away. As you keep doing it, you get better at it and eventually, you master it.
These days, I get asked quite a bit about how I started podcasting and for the longest time, I would answer “I just did it.” While true, it’s not a helpful answer. Because the reality is, it took 40 years to develop the confidence to throw myself into new and uncomfortable things, and that’s what I want to help you with.
Throughout my life, I’ve been able to zero in on something, work hard at it, get better and eventually become good at it. That process produces confidence- a super power each of us has access to.
For me, tennis was my first experience with this process. From around the age of 8 till around 19, it was a big part of my life. It taught me to cultivate both physical and mental strength, technical skill, how to embrace competition and the importance of a short memory. It also taught me that I could take and apply that process to most any other area of life. Having that belief and knowledge, to not only think I can do something, but to know it, is a legitimate super power.
What areas of life would you benefit from some more confidence in? Getting out of debt? Getting your spending under control? Learning about investing? Getting back in shape? Let’s get you confident!
Step one, decide what you want-where you want to go, who you want to be. Step two, learn how to do it. With that telephone in your hand, there are very few excuses for ignorance today. Step 3, screw up, make mistakes but give yourself grace and room to do so. Step 4, do it again, and again, and again. All along, reminding yourself of why you’re doing it.
Small actions can have big benefits. Start small with getting out of debt, or with learning about investing…six months from now, you’ll be glad you did. Three years from now, you could be a completely different person!
You can do this. Do your part by doing your best.
Listen to the podcast here.