7 Ways to Boost Your Self Confidence

I used to be frighteningly under confident in social situations. And although people who know me now would never believe I used to doubt myself so much I literally had to learn confidence until it became a natural part of me. I can tell you relaxed optimistic confidence is just, well so much more fun.

Here I'll tell you about the things that made the most difference to my confidence levels...
Some people have naturally high levels of confidence but everybody can learn to be more confident
Firstly, it's important to get a clear idea of what self confidence really means, otherwise you won't know when you've got it! So, self confidence means:

1) Being calm. For every situation in life you need to run on the appropriate level of emotion. Too much emotional 'leakage' into a experience can spoil the experience. You make great strides towards confidence when you begin to relax in a greater range of situations.

2) Being cool. The second part of self confidence is about being able to relax with uncertainty. To be 'cool' in a situation really means relaxing with not knowing how things will pan out. If you truly tolerate uncertainty, you can do pretty much anything.

3) Not being too concerned with what others think of you. You know when you imagine what some place is going to be like before you go there but when you get there it is totally different to your imagination? That's how reliable your imagination is! Stop trusting your imagination so much. I've long since stopped bothering to imagine what others think of me because so often I've turned out to be wrong.

4) Being specific - where do you want confidence? 'Confidence' is meaningless until you tie it to something specific. You are already confident that you can read these words or can switch a light on and off. So you don't need more confidence everywhere. To get what you want in life you have to establish exactly what you do want. Where do you want confidence in your life? Think about the specific situations now and write them down. You beginning to steer your brain towards confidence.

5) Understanding that what you expect is what you get. Your brain is an organ that needs clear goals to work towards. When a task has been set in your brain it will do everything it can do to bring about the completion of that task. If you've tried to recall someone's name but can't, hours later you'll often find their name pops into your head.
The 'trying to recall' experience set the task or blueprint for your brain's future subconscious behaviour which eventually produced the name for you - when you weren't thinking about it consciously. You can use this natural mechanism to start feeling more confident. But, to ensure you set the right task for your subconscious mind, the next point is vital.

6) Don't task your mind with negatives. Instead of: 'I don't want to screw up' (which sets the task of 'screwing up' for your brain), set the blueprint for what you do want! Your brain doesn't work towards what to do by being told what not to do. And nature has given you a wonderful natural tool to set the right task blueprints with.

7) Use nature's goal-setter: Now you understand how vital it is to set the right task for you brain, you need to know how to do this reliably. Good hypnosis will strongly 'program' the right blueprint in your mind through the use of your imagination. If you powerfully imagine feeling confident and relaxed while in a relaxed hypnotic state it will be hard for your unconscious mind to do anything else. The blueprint for relaxation has been set firmly into your subconscious mind.

Motivate Yourself !!

First, recognize that motivation is an inside job. The word motivate means to impel, inspire, hope, stimulate, incite, propel, spur, goad, move, induce, prompt, instigate, fire, provoke, actuate, cause, egg on, drive, excite, and to trigger. Don’t wait for someone to motivate you, here are 15 ways you can motivate yourself.

1. Set daily, weekly, monthly, yearly and lifetime goals. A goal is a goal if it’s writing. Goals get you going in the direction that’s right for you.

2. Listen to a motivational tape. Record into a tape recorder your favorite quotes, anecdotes and personal success stories. Play back your tape frequently. Nothing is more motivating than the sound of your own voice. Try it!

3. Get motivated to make better telephone calls by buying Art Sobczak’s new book, "How To Sell More In Less Time With No Rejection." To order call Art at 402-895-9399.

4. To overachieve every quota you are given take this advice. First write yourself a check dated for 12/31/05 payable to yourself and write how much you want to earn on the amount line. Make three laminated copies and put one in your briefcase, auto console, and home office. Second, always aim higher than the quota you are given. If you adjust your aim, the results will follow.

5. Buy an inspirational book of quotations and keep it in your car. Read three quotes daily. Remember - inspirational words usually inspire us.

6. Invest 15 minutes daily to read books and articles about the selling profession. This is gourmet food for your brain. Don’t skip a day.

7. Get a mentor, preferably one outside of your company. The truly successful people never go it alone.

8. To jack-up your sales performance, prepare your own laminated cue cards. Create cue cards for making appointments, your 12 best questions, for handling the price objection, and for asking for the order. Each cue card should be prepared word-for-word. Your performances will sky-rocket.

9. Buy a composition notebook for your car. Record your successes, failures, and daily observations about your selling environment.

10. Read the "The Ancient Scrolls" an inspiring book by Tim Connor. To order call 800-222-9070.

11. To get motivated about improving your personal financial situation, set a personal net worth goal and write it on a spread sheet, then review it monthly. Self worth increases proportionately with net worth.

12. Tell your family if you achieve 110% or more of your annual sales quota - you’ll take them anywhere they want to go on vacation.

13. Tell your family when you reach a new monthly sales record milestone, you’ll take them out to celebrate.

14. Select one song that really gets you moving and play it every morning as you back out of your driveway.

15. Make a dinner date with your spouse tonight then go some place special.
Every day is a great day, especially if you don’t see your name in the obituary section of the paper.

It's easy to make every day a masterpiece when you're motivated

7 Keys to Change Your Mood Immediately

Have you ever had one of those days where you just wish youwere in a better mood? Perhaps you tried to shift your stateof mind to something better but struggled to achieve it.Sometimes we get stuck in our own 'stinking thinking' andforget how easy it is to feel happier, so here are sevensimple ways to lift your mood that many people have founduseful and some of them may surprise you!

1. Go for a walk.Most folk know that going for a short daily walk is one ofthe best forms of exercise. If you can, go into a naturalenvironment with flowers, trees and birds. What will younotice first? The different shades of greenery, the fresh smell of country air, the bird sounds, or the sunlightshining through the tree foliage.

2. Listen to some quality music.Music creates magical effects. It can shift the listenersstatewithin moments. Why not dig out that album you haven'tlistened to in ages or why not tune in your radio tosomething you've never listened to before.

3. Think of others less fortunate.The fact that you are reading this article suggests that youare probably much better off than many, many people on thisplanet! What if you were to imagine being in space lookingdown on the amazing beautiful earth, noticing all the oceansand lands with the clouds above... And then thinking aboutthe fact that there are many human beings that are starving,homeless and in lots of pain... Allow your compassion forthem to grow.

4. Read something radical!How many different types of magazines can you get thesedays?! Have you ever waltzed into a big newsagents and justbrowsed through the magazine racks? It's incredible. Why notbuy a magazine you wouldn't normally buy. You never know youmay discover something wonderful!

5. Laughing at laughter.Have you ever had the experience when you just laugh for nogood reason? Isn't it great! Laughter is one of the bestways to lift your spirits. Can't think of anything funny?Try grinning at yourself insanely in the mirror and noticehow difficult it becomes to control your giggle muscles!

6. Simple breathing meditation.A great exercise that you can do anywhere is a simplebreathing meditation. No need to dress in orange robes.Simply find yourself in a comfortable sitting position withyour back straight. Now close your eyes and become aware ofthe flow of air into and out of your nostrils. That's it! Dothis for 10/15 minutes and you'll find yourself pleasantly surprised how you feel afterward.

7. Doodling just for fun!Remember when you were young and you used to doodle withcrayons for hours. Kids love drawing silly little pictures,why not adults? So get some pens, pencils, crayons orwhatever you have and just draw - doodle away until yourstate of mind shifts.

You might agree that these are all pretty simple and that'swhat's so good about them. Making changes, mundane orprofoundly life-changing, are easily and quickly achieved byputting into action simple ideas, methods, tools andtechniques.