The Prosperity Project, Phase 2: Self Confidence

Welcome back, prosperous friends!

Yesterday we learned that it's not so much what you do, it's how you do it that really matters.   We realized that no matter where we want to end up we always have to start right where we are.  We spent some time imagining how we would do our current job differently if we were being paid ten times as much to do it.  What did you notice when you did that exercise?  As you saw yourself going through that well-paid imaginary workday, did you notice that you carried yourself differently?  Did you speak with more authority?  Did you seem to have more self-confidence? 

Self-Confidence is definitely one of the characteristics of doing things in the Certain Way.  It is one of the qualities that make up How You Do It.  Napoleon Hill talks about the importance of self-confidence in his classic, The Law of Success:  The Master Wealth-Builder's Complete and Original Lesson Plan for Achieving Your Dreams.  Here is what he writes: 

Perhaps you have wondered why a few men advance to highly paid positions while others all around them, who have as much training and who seemingly perform as much work, do not get ahead.  Select any two people of these two types that you choose, and study them, and the reason why one advances and the other stands still will be quite obvious to you.  You will find that the one who advances believes in himself.  You will find that he backs this belief with such dynamic, aggressive action that he lets others know that he believes in himself.  You will also notice that this Self-confidence is contagious; it is impelling; it is persuasive; it attracts others.

You will also find that the one who does not advance shows clearly, by the look on his face, by the posture of his body, by the lack of briskness in his step, by the uncertainty with which he speaks, that he lacks Self-confidence.  No one is going to pay much attention to the person who has no confidence in himself. 

He does not attract others because his mind is a negative force that repels rather than attracts.  

That all seems pretty clear, and when we encounter a person who is completely self-confident or completely self-conscious, we recognize it instantly and respond to them accordingly.  But people are complex creatures.  We are hardly ever completely anything.  If you're like me, even if we are sometimes insecure and self-conscious in some situations, we also have certain areas in our lives where we are very confident.  When we are engaged in a particular activity that we do well and we enjoy, we move confidently.  We are enthusiastic and totally in the flow.  Work that we do in that state takes on a certain quality of excellence.

Here's today's study question:

THINK ABOUT THE DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES THAT YOU ENGAGE IN EVERY DAY, BOTH FOR WORK AND FOR PLAY.  WHEN YOU ARE TOTALLY IN THE FLOW, WHEN YOU LOSE TRACK OF TIME, WHEN YOU ARE WORKING CONFIDENTLY AND UNSELF-CONSCIOUSLY, WHEN YOU ARE JOYFUL AND STRONG, WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THAT MOMENT?