I wanted to share what I believe is one of THE MOST important and misunderstood ingredients to success…
I’m talking about self-confidence.
As you may know, when I was in high school I had no self-confidence.
I didn’t speak English…
I never put my hand up in class…
I avoided almost everyone at school…
I was bullied often…
And at the end of every day, I’d run through the corridor trying not to look at anyone, so I could get home safely.
I was so scared of the world, and that’s no way to live.
Now I doubt you’re as bad as I was back then…
But, I also know that everyone could use more confidence from time to time.
The more confident you are, the more likely you are to achieve your goals, wouldn’t you agree?
So in this week’s newsletter you’ll discover where confidence comes from, how to build it, and some of the things I did to attain the level of confidence I have today and how you can do something similar.
Before we get into the newsletter, let’s differentiate between self-confidence and arrogance.
Because I know it’s common for people to confuse the two.
So click here to discover the difference between them >>
Now you know the difference, let’s dive into…
How Bruce Lee Taught Me Confidence
From the moment I first saw Bruce Lee on TV I was hooked.
His character in the movie was visiting Rome and couldn’t speak English, so I could relate to what he was experiencing.
I became obsessed with Kung Fu, I enrolled in a local martial arts school, and practiced every day for hours.
Eventually, I began teaching other kids at school, and shared my skills during the school talent show.
After the whole school and my bullies saw me break boards, and knock people down during the demonstrations, they never touched me again.
If you’d like to hear the full story for inspiration, then click here >>
So here’s…
Why People Have Low Confidence
There could be many reasons why people have low confidence…
But, very often it comes from childhood experiences.
You may have been the happiest, most outgoing kid, but then something happened which changed your personality.
Perhaps as an adult you’ve tried different things that didn’t work out, and so you think you’re doomed to fail forever.
Trust me, after 13 business failures, I know a thing or two about failure.
And although my confidence was completely shot after so many failures…
If there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s this…
Your Past Doesn’t Equal Your Future Unless You Let It
If I can bounce back after what I’ve been through, then you can forgive yourself of any past failures and achieve your dreams.
This brings me to the next reason why people may have low confidence.
Self-Forgiveness
Back when I was a “wantrepreneur”, a family friend approached me with a business idea.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but he was grooming me to give him money.
He’d tell me things like…
“Dan you seem like a smart and ambitious guy”
After hearing nothing but praise from this guy, I decided to go into business with him.
His business idea sounded great to an inexperienced kid like myself, so I agreed to invest money I didn’t have to help him build a website.
$5K turned into $10K, $10K turned into $20K, and eventually I’d invested all the money my mom had.
I was like a crazed gambling addict.
I still remember going to the bank with my mom with her begging me not to invest anymore money.
I told her this was my big break and everything would be OK.
After handing over the last of my mom’s money, I waited a few days for him to call.
He never called, so I called him and his number was disconnected.
I went over to his office and it was empty.
At that moment, I realized I’d been scammed.
I was $150K in debt with no way out.
My heart sank, and when I got home I sat on my bed crying, as I looked up to the sky and asked for help.
A week later I met my first mentor Alan Jacques, and the rest is history.
Here’s why I tell you this.
If I hadn’t found a way to forgive myself for everything that happened, I’d still be carrying around that guilt, shame, and low confidence.
My Best Tip For Developing Self-Confidence
One of the best ways I know of developing self-confidence is by developing high value skills.
This could be any skill in business such as public speaking, closing, marketing, copywriting, communication, or financial skills…
But it could also be a skill you’ve wanted to develop for a while.
Maybe you’d love to draw, paint, sing, play an instrument, learn to cook, take acting classes.
The sky’s the limit.
Personally, I chose business, not just because I love it, but because it makes me money.
But don’t be a jack of all trades, master of none.
The purpose of learning is mastery, so choose skills you think you’ll like until you find one you LOVE and can see yourself investing a lot of time and energy into.
In Closing…
Contrary to popular belief…
Confidence is more about being OK with being imperfect than being perfect.
No one is perfect, and your goal should be to strive toward excellence and pursue progress over perfection.
Remember, confidence comes from competence.
So the better you become at your chosen skillset, the more confident you’ll become.
Commit to being a lifelong learner, and you’ll find your confidence improves over time.
To your confidence self,
Dan Lok
P.S. – If you want a shortcut to developing high self-esteem and self-confidence, then you’ll love my training Unlock Your Confidence.
Inside you’ll get my best secrets and strategies for developing ice cold confidence, so you can begin building the life of your dreams and achieving your biggest goals.
Click here if you’re ready to unleash the confidence lying dormant inside of you >>
