Comfort or Confidence

Over the course of your career, you will hear people say; "As soon as I am comfortable with this or that I will can accomplish more and more..." This statement implies that comfort is the goal regarding a specific level of performance capabilities. Therefore as you grow more capable, you should enjoy increased levels of comfort. Nothing could be farther from the reality and do not fall for that misconception. Comfort is not the objective, confidence is. The more confidence you exhibit the more confident clients will be with you and then they will enjoy a greater level of trust.

A comfortable state of mind suggests that you are not in tune with the dynamic events occurring all around you. When you are comfortable you lose a degree of street-savy and that puts you in a compromising position. When you are confident you are fully aware of what is happening and what needs to be accomplished to move to the next level. Comfort will never get you to where you want to be, confidence will help to get you to the top of your game and keep you in a competitive and aggressive posture. You simply cannot afford the luxury of becoming comfortable. You are vulnerable and not growing when you are comfortable. Comfort takes the edge off and you need the edge to win. So don't spend any time looking for greater levels of comfort. Spend your time gaining a higher and higher level of confidence. Because confidence wins every time. People are drawn to confident people.

Resolve

Recently I was had the honor and privilege of serving on a panel of judges, to select the recipient of The Youth of The Year Award given by The Boys & Girls Club. In order to be considered and nominated for the award, each candidate needed to consistently demonstrate to the staff at the clubs, commendable behavior and qualities regarding; home & family, moral character, community involvement, school and service to club. Additionally they must detail obstacles they overcame or are in the process of overcoming, write two essays; one explaining what the club means to them and the other regarding why they feel post high school education is important. The final phase of the judging required the candidates to write and deliver a two-minute speech to the panel of judges.

What I found remarkable from every one of these teen age candidates was, even though they were dealing with extremely difficult circumstances including poverty and abuse, they all had infectious resolve to change their situation for the better by doing the things necessary to make a difference in their lives. They determined that the challenges they faced, were not going to stop them from achieving a better life.

Incredibly, they were also resolved to help others. I found it deeply moving to listen to these remarkable individuals talk of how they intended to help others. "They who needed help the most, were dedicated to helping others! "

They were resolute in their resolve...are you.