What is the difference between those who make it and those who do not?
Two words—faith and confidence—capture most of the reasons some people are successful and others are not.
Others
- Have you met or observed a successful person who reflected doubt, skepticism, and uncertainty?
- Would you like hanging around such an individual?
What about you?
- On a scale of 1 to 10—1 being not at all and 10 being always—at what level are your success characteristics for faith and confidence?
- Are you satisfied with the way you are responding to your life’s challenges?
Let’s look more closely at success traits and how each of us, myself included, can consider deepening our conviction to embrace these two critical characteristics.
Many individuals falsely believe that successful people were given a golden spoon, were just lucky, or simply have it easy. The fact is that most successful people have had as many—and probably more—challenges than individuals who have failed. It is the way that people respond to their challenges that separates the winners from the losers.
Faith is your underlying belief in the direction you are going, in concert with the plans and actions you will take to get there. The strength of your faith will be influenced by your clarity of purpose and the level of passion that comes from knowing you are 100% on track. It is virtually impossible to have faith when you are not on purpose or passionate about what you do. That is why so many people fail to realize their potential.
Success cannot be forced or contrived. Your level of faith in yourself, in your direction, and in your plans is directly proportionate to how connected and clear you are about your purpose.
You will need this faith to succeed because others—well meaning as they may be—will challenge your direction and plans. Since purchasing CRG 5 years ago, my faith on the direction and plans of CRG (on several occasions) has been challenged by individuals and tested by circumstances.
You may be experiencing challenges also. Even though we want to have mentors and wise advisors around us, in the end we must carry the torch ourselves, even if it means pushing back on others’ feedback.
If you are truly living on purpose, it is possible—certainly in the beginning of a unique project or process—that you are the only one who has belief or passion around your project. That is why it is YOURS and not someone else’s; you have faith where others cannot see or understand.
We all require confidence to realize our potential. Having high levels of confidence does not mean you are arrogant. High levels of confidence are usually accompanied by humility so that when you are wrong, you can admit it and learn from the experience. Errors and mistakes are part of the success journey but your self-worth levels and confidence should not be linked to these setbacks.
Confidence impacts others positively. Can you think of someone with low self-worth and no confidence? What is it like to be around him or her? Does it drain energy from you and others around that person?
Confidence or lack of it becomes a self-fulfilling condition. If you are confident that the many options and possibilities that you need to move you forward will reveal themselves to you, that will happen. If you feel they will not, that likely will happen, too.
Confidence—at least humble confidence—is an attracting condition. Others will want to hang out and engage, and trust you because of your confidence.
The opposite is also true. If you are full of doubt or have low self-worth, people will not enjoy working with you. Certainly other successful individuals will limit their exposure to you so they are not dragged down by your negative thinking.
According to a 2004 Carnegie University research study, there are additional benefits to having high levels of faith and confidence. With the presence of faith and confidence (high self-worth), you will be happier.
The study determined that happy people are healthier people. There is a direct link from positive emotions to your resistance to colds, the flu, or other viral infections. In the study, when happier individuals did come down with a cold, they reported fewer symptoms.
In other words, your emotional state is a major player in disease risk. By the way, in the study these tendencies held true regardless of age, race, gender, education, or body mass.
Success is highly influenced by your levels of faith and confidence in yourself and your plans. If you have not already engaged all the following CRG resources, consider them as part of your development to increase your faith and confidence. Start with my new book My Source Experience Journal, then use these assessments to provide benchmarks and a road map for your personal success.
Your Success Requires Faith and Confidence
- If you were to rate yourself from 1 to 10—1 being not at all, 10 being always—in terms of your level of faith and confidence, what score would you give yourself?
- Are you happy with your results to question 1? If not, why not?
- Would others who know you well give you similar scores to the ones you gave yourself in terms of your faith and confidence levels? Why or why not? If the scores are very different—either lower or higher—what are the reasons?
- What could you do to increase your level of faith in yourself and the direction of your life? If you lack faith, where and why is that?
Note: One clue is that individuals with high levels of faith are also very clear about their purpose in life. My new book My Source Experience Journal can be a significant catalyst for your finding the answers you seek to this question. But be prepared to do some work to achieve this clarity.
- Be aware that sometimes you will be the only one who has faith in a project. That’s fine if you are on purpose, passionate, and personally confident about your direction. In the end, it is your faith that counts.
- What could you specifically do to increase your confidence (self-worth) levels? Does your confidence vary, based on different situations? If so, CRG’s Self-Worth Inventory can assist you.
- Confidence does not mean you are arrogant. In fact, the opposite is true; authentic confidence comes with the character trait of humility. To establish your own sense of self, consider these CRG assessments.
- Even though giving is one of the greatest gifts, in the end you benefit more from giving than those who are on the receiving end of your volunteer efforts. Your feelings of happiness, satisfaction, and accomplishment will permeate every part of your life.
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Until next time, keep Living On Purpose!.
Ken Keis
For information on CRG Resources, please visit http://www.crgleader.com.
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