How to Maintain Confidence in Business Ventures

One of the mosts common pain points I find #coaching #founders in #startups is self confidence. It never ceases to amaze me how some of the people I work with who graduate from the top schools, have worked in top companies and are building the technologies of tomorrow often suffer from a chronic doubt of belief in their own ability to get to where they want to go. So with that in mind, I want to share my top ten tools / tips on how you can begin to build your self confidence (SC), rest a little bit easier and really power ahead building your dreams: 1. Practice Self-Awareness: Keep a journal and reflect on moments of doubt. By confronting these emotions, you can challenge and overcome them.  Do this each morning for 5-10 minutes. 2. Develop a Role Model: Think of someone you admire, real or fictional, and ask yourself, "How would they handle this?" 3. Recognize Your Saboteurs: Identify mental blocks or negative self-talk patterns. By pinpointing them, you can actively work against them.  Ask 5 people who know you well, “What’s holding me back?” 4. Maintain a Trophy List: Create a list of your biggest wins. Regularly update and revisit this list of your achievements, big or small.  Whenever you’re feeling down, go back and read these.  Add compliments from emails, text messages and linkedin recommendations.  5. Prioritize Self-Care: A balanced routine involving proper nutrition, sleep, and exercise can dramatically elevate confidence.  Add mindfulness meditation to the mix which you can start by using the Honest Guys 5 minute meditation on YouTube or downloading apps like Calm or Headspace.  6. Embrace New Challenges: Step out of your comfort zone. Taking on and overcoming challenges can provide a significant confidence boost.  For an added bonus, share your challenges with others to force accountability.  7. Cultivate Focus: Concentrate on what genuinely matters. Visualize success in your endeavors to instill self-confidence.  Use tools like the Eisenhower Matrix to learn what to do, delegate or delete! 8. Begin with Manageable Tasks: Start with smaller tasks and gradually tackle more complex ones. This incremental approach helps reinforce confidence. 9. Celebrate Small Wins: Every achievement, no matter its size, is a step forward. Recognize and celebrate them. 10. Reframe Failure as Growth: Instead of seeing setbacks as failures, view them as learning opportunities. Embracing this perspective fosters resilience and confidence. Every time something doesn't go your way ask "what did I learn from this?" To sum it up, self-confidence is a continuous journey, not a destination. It's a combination of past experiences, current beliefs, and future aspirations. It’s a vital ingredient for leadership, which, if you’re a founder, will be essential in your ability to lead and inspire teams.  Be True, Be Curious, Be Driven

In 2008, I surrendered my CA - Certificate of Practice. This bold decision was made because… …of the confidence that I could build something big and knew when to give up something that wasn't working. Confidence isn’t something that you’re born with. You need to build it over time. Despite all of the ups and downs, it never occurred to me to give up. Here are some methods that worked for me to become more confident: 1) Taking risks: The decision to surrender my degree was made without even giving it a second thought. For me, fear was a prison. I decided to just take the risks and get out of my comfort zone, and I eventually became more confident. 2) Hiring people who are better than me: Hiring the best people for my team gave me immense confidence that our organisation can survive in any condition. 3) Failing fast: The one thing that has helped me learn from my mistakes is to fail fast. With every failure, I knew that I was getting one step closer to success. 4) Taking more decisions: Jeff Bezos once said - "All of my best decisions in business and life have been made with heart, intuition, and guts, not analysis." So, I decided that if I wanted to do something, I’d definitely go for it. The more decisions you make, the more your confidence will grow. 5) Keeping a cash cow: This is something that I’ve learned from an article. Let me explain… Having a cash cow means you have a recurring source of revenue. Now, you don’t need to worry about your business expenses. You can then focus on growth and expansion. It will naturally build confidence. Remember, your business can’t run without strategies. But your strategies won’t work if you don’t have confidence in yourself. P.S. - What has helped you become a confident entrepreneur? #leadership #risktaking #businessstrategies

In business we think we have to project an image of total certainty in order for people to buy from us.   We also think we have to know all the answers for our team to respect us. Neither of these are true. But because we think they are, sometimes we feel inauthentic and doubt ourselves. That’s what keeps you from maximizing your potential. It’s not your education or your bank account or your market. It’s the deadly doubt. The hidden worry that people might "find out." The first thing to know is everyone feels that way sometimes. The second thing is that feelings aren’t facts. The feeling of doubt comes from specific types of thoughts, like thinking we have to be certain and know all the answers. Remind yourself you always do the best you can given your current situation. Maybe occasionally you’re distracted because your kid's in trouble at school, or you're tired because your partner’s been sick, but that’s the reality of life. You still can feel good about always doing the best you can, given the situation. And that’s all you can ask of yourself. You can even feel confident without feeling certain, because confidence comes from within. Confident leadership means you’re comfortable with uncertainty because you believe in your ability to get things done through other people. You don’t have to know all the answers. You just have to ask the right questions. You can choose to believe in your team and in your ability as a leader to set priorities, allocate resources, and evaluate results. You’re on the planet to express your zone of genius. To find and demonstrate your unique ability, not to be perfect. Be confident being your authentic self. Authenticity in business begins by letting people see the real you. Say what you really mean. Worry less about how you look. Be willing to say, “I don't know,” and ask people to help you. Ditch perfection. It’s a barrier to authenticity because it’s not real. We’re all having a temporary human experience on this planet. The greatest gift you can give the world and other people is your true self. #mindset #founders #consciousness #entrepreneurs