What is self-confidence?  Most people agree on the outward signs of confidence:  The ability to express oneself in front of other people, the willingness to try something new, and the ability take action in spite of what others may say or do.

Actually – no one is born confident. Self-confidence is built through life experience, and especially the feedback you receive as a youngster about your experiences. But if you have a lifetime of negative beliefs about your own abilities, then you will have low self-confidence.

If you want to build confidence, a good personal mission would be to discover your own unique personal strengths. We all have them. The truth is, none of us ever reaches our maximum capacity.  At its best, life is an on-going process of learning and expansion.

Here are some  actions that can help build your self-confidence.

1. Recognize your own successes
Nothing builds confidence like success, but too many of us fail to appreciate and recognize our own successes. You know how you feel when someone else compliments you for something you’ve done well. Make it a point to personally recognize your own successes, no matter how small they may seem. Or if you are really want positive change, make a serious commitment to build confidence in your TRUE potential. 

2. Believe in your potential
You may not today be the person you wish to be. but believing in your potential will help you move in that direction. Just take it on faith at first, and seek out your personal purpose for living.

3. Learn from your setbacks
Everyone experiences disappointments and set backs, and it’s just human to become discouraged at times. But you can use setbacks as positive experiences if you view them as learning experiences.

4. Act as if
Acting AS IF is one of the most powerful life-changing tools known to mankind. Since your unconscious mind cannot tell the difference between what is real and what is acted… the more confident you act, the more convinced your subconscious mind will become that you ARE confident.

posted by Jill Ammon-Wexler
Amazing Success

But he had a passion for achieving more in his life.  After discovering some breakthrough methods for transforming himself, Kent overcame his shyness, became a successful real estate investor,  and went on to write a groundbreaking bestselling book about how to guarantee your own success.

Here’s what this remarkable self-made man has to say about self confidence and success:

There is a single component that separates people who are successful from people who are not.  That component is confidence.  People who have confidence make their dreams come true.  

The key to living your dreams is having confidence.  With unstoppable confidence you WILL live your dreams, because you will take action and persist until you get there. Your dream is very possible when you have that ultimate belief in yourself and what you are doing.  

A study done in the 1950s by Harvard University showed that only 3% of a particular graduating class  had written goals.  Thirty years later that same study  followrf up to see how the 3% of people fared. The researchers found that: The 3% Of People With Written Goals And Confidence To Act Upon Them Had Financial Fortunes Worth More Than The Entire 97% Of The Rest Of The Class!

This is really an astounding number. It demonstrates not only the power of having a written goal, but also having the confidence to pursue that goal. Confidence is absolutely essential — as long as you have the confidence to take action and really go for it, you virtually guarantee your own success.

Imagine yourself leading your ideal lifestyle.  This is very possible when you have the confidence to set aside all limits and any obstacles you may encounter, and simply go after your dream.  Do you want to guatrantee your own success…

Kent Sayre is the author of “Unstoppable Confidence.”  This remarkable book has sold over 31,000 copies. Kent guarantees it will double your confidence, or you PAY NOTHING.  Kent is also the creator of Hypnosis MP3′s which you can download immediately to change your life.

Many scientific studies tell us that our self -confidence has a direct effect on our performance in all areas of  life — and that this is directly tied to what we simply believe to be true.

Lets review just one classic study.

Picture this… A teacher comes into a primary-level classroom, and tells her students that a new scientific study proves blue-eyed children are a lot smarter than brown- or green-eyed children.

The results are dramatic. The blue-eyed children immediately began to outperform their brown and green-eyed classmates in all aspects of their studies.

Then two months later the teacher calls a special classroom meeting. She tells the students she had made a serious mistake. She apologizes, and says the scientific study actually proven that brown- and green-eyed children are the most intelligent.

Again the results are dramatic and immediate. The blue-eyed children lose their edge and begin to under perform. The brown- and green-eyed children’s grades, on the other hand, immediately soar to the superior range.

What does this prove? Simply this:

• If you *believe* youâyou are  smart, you act smart.
• If you *believe* you are creative, you act creative.
• If you *believe* you are a success, you act successful.
• If you believe you are excellent at something, you act excellent.

We each live up (or live down) to the image we hold of our own self.