Dear Mark,

In your experience, how does confidence come in to play when you are pursuing successful living? Is confidence key to be successful or is it something that can be learned while achieving the successful life?

Brandon in Nashville, TN

Dear Brandon,

Great question!

In my experience confidence is a major key to successful living. But I don't think you absolutely have to have a solid foundation of confidence established to achieve a successful life.

Let me explain, Brandon.

It's been my experience that as long as you are consistently developing a self-confidence while pursuing a successful life, the two will compliment each other to achieve your goal(s). 

Here's a fact I have discovered that usually makes people look very confused when I tell them. But when I explain it, it make perfect sense.

FACT: Confident people and Apathetic people have a lot in common. There is a belief system among both the confident and the apathetic that determines their sloth or determines their success.

What is that belief?

Glad you asked. Neither the confident person nor the apathetic person cares what anyone else thinks.

The difference is that the confident person has a definite purpose and the apathetic person is just wandering through life with no purpose passion or direction.

As far as having confidence before you begin successful living versus learning confidence along the way...

I say it's great to learn it along the way. If you talk yourself into waiting until you feel your confident enough before achieving success, you will never start.

You will gain more confidence by achieving success through your adversities than you will before waiting for it to come knock on your door saying, "Hi. I'm confidence."

Look at your life experience. Maybe you've given a speech in front of a group. Or maybe you have sung in church.

Do you think you would have gained as much confidence by waiting or actually getting up there and doing it? Of course, action will get you more results than inaction any day!

Dear Mark,

Do you apply your successful living strategies to every area of life? Or is successful living only limited to a self-defined area?

JoAnn in Cincinnati, OH

JoAnn,

The beautiful thing about living a successful life is, it is what you define it to be. As long as you are working toward a productive and worthwhile goal, you are already successful.

But I personally subscribe to the thought that we are four cylinder beings. We are creations that are made to function on four levels. Those levels are physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual.

Now if you only run on 3 out of 4 of these cylinders, you may think you're running on 75% of your capacity. But that's not exactly right.

If you leave one of these areas out, it screws up your success recipe so much that it would be like trying to drive across country without enough gas.

Eventually, you will find yourself on the side of the road, helpless and desperate for what you need to get going.

Are you leaving one cylinder out of your life? Which one? Why? 

To see more about four cylinder living go to 

FOUR CYLINDER LIVING

- Mark

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