In the last post, we talked about the fact that Success is apparently uncorrelated to intelligence or talent. There seems to be a hidden factor involved that underlies it all; invisible and yet irresistibly potent.

I asked you to ponder what that factor might be; the key determiner of success or failure in your life.

Do you have any ideas?…

I hope you gave it some thought. I know I did. For years.

You see, I’ve experienced that very sort of frustration. I know what it is to set goals, see nothing come of it, and feel the listlessness that results. Not once, but many times. And afterwards have that “there must be something wrong with me” feeling.

Well, I’m here to tell you that there is nothing wrong with you. You are NOT a failure. And you are not less worthy than anyone else.

So, what is that factor that separates the successful from those who perpetually spin their wheels.

OK, it’s time to let you out of your suspense. In one word, the key differentiator is…

CONFIDENCE!

Self-confidence, real belief in yourself and your expected happy outcome, is so critical that it really does make the difference between outrageous success and total blinding failure.

Can it really be this simple?

Yes, it really can.

Think about this for a moment…

What if you absolutely KNEW, without any shadow of a doubt, that if you simply took the actions needed, you would succeed in achieving your goal with 100% certainty.

If this was true, what would stop you from taking action? I think you would agree that the answer is nothing!

If you truly knew that you MUST infallibly succeed, and all you had to do is act… then of course you would do it!

Hence, to the extent that you do NOT have confidence in yourself and your desired outcome is the extent to which you will either take no action to begin with. Or else, you will give up prematurely at the first sign of resistance.

We give up because we do not believe, deep down, that we have much chance of success.

OR else we simply do not believe that we are worthy of that success. After all, who are YOU to think you could pull off such an enormous thing?

Do you see where I am going with this?

Basically, if you can reverse the process and actually have the self-confidence necessary, virtually anything you desire is potentially possible for you.

There are no limits to what you might achieve apart from those you yourself impose. You imposed those limits due to your own lack of self-confidence. And it’s you who can break them.

So what is the solution?…

Well, clearly to the extent that you can achieve a high level of self-confidence is the extent to which you can set goals. And persist with them, until they come to fruition.

But that’s easier said than done. It’s not so easy to overcome the habits of a lifetime, let alone the deep-seated system of thoughts, belief and behavior that have been instilled into you from the womb onward.

And we’re not talking about “fake” confidence either. We’re talking about the confidence that comes from having done something a million times, and KNOWING you can do it. Except, you have this sort of self-confidence and inner belief even if this is your very first attempt!

So, what is a person to do? How do you make the breakthrough to success and achievement via genuine self-confidence?

That’s the topic of my next post.