Confidence…

Yesterday, during practice ONE.195, I asked a team to grapple with the root of confidence. Belief, one barked out instinctively. Good one, I replied, but not the root. Many more ideas were shared. All were on point. None, however, to the root. Sheepishly, Gman shared he believed he had heard me share this one before – it’s competence.

Confidence, authentic, hard earned confidence is rooted in your competence. Same as ever. You build confidence when you see your weaknesses and don’t run from them. Instead you build skill by running into them. Going against the best. Training when tired. Attempting skills you’ve not yet mastered in training. Fact.

Confidence is rooted in competence. Want more confidence in your speaking skills? Start speaking in front of groups of five or less. Study, learn, and apply. Deepen your knowledge. Learn new stories. Practice them by looking in the mirror. Join toastmasters and start toasting, you know. You don’t gain confidence through belief. You gain confidence through hard earned competence. You begin to increase your belief as quality reps remove doubt.

Immediately following our ONE.195 practice, I took these team shots in the room. That’s Gman grappling with THEman. He’s going to get his ASS kicked. Instead of destroying him, this will build him. You, friend, will not get better by beating those you know you can beat. You get better by going up against the best and studying, learning, and then applying. Day in. Day out. Don’t get depressed (that is an option). Instead get in the habit of embracing the process. Fail. Learn. Levelthehellup. Damn.

Live hard. Love harder…