Episode 101: Your Confidence is Everything

Welcome to the Soul of Innovation podcast. I am Thomas Anglero, and I want to talk to you about confidence, your confidence, how much confidence you need to have almost all day long, whether you're at work, whether you're at home. Confidence is key. I think confidence is something that's misunderstood. So let me frame it for you so that you feel better about being confident, because a lot of times when we run into people who are confident, we immediately say, "Oh, this person is so confident. They think they're better than me," or, "They think they're better than everybody else." You're missing the point completely, and I think it's tapping into your insecurity. Confidence is really everything. How many people— and I'm not saying people are bad, I'm not saying you're bad— but how many bad people, how many people who are just, you know, just didn't do their homework in school, people who are just not nice, but because they got so much confidence, opportunities come to them. They seem to get promoted more than everyone else or yourself. They just got that edge to them, right? There's an expression, fake it till you make it, right? Fake the confidence, fake that you're a master, fake that you know what you're doing, fake that you know what you're talking about. Until you make it, until you get the promotion, until you become the boss or whatever. I hate that. I am not preaching that. If you meet somebody who's faking it, just slap them. I mean, I know this, I know people aren't violent, but please, I'm done with faking it. I'm talking about you being confident about you, about feeling good about you and walking down the street showing that you feel good about you, about you sitting in a meeting. And when you're sitting there, you're sitting straight up, not slouching. You're sitting straight up and you feel confident. You're not better than anybody, but you feel good about who you are. And there's a big difference. If you're sitting straight up, if you're standing straight up, and you have this look on your face like, I like who I am, I'm not better than anybody, but I just like who I am, I like where I'm at— that feeling, that energy of confidence is reeking, and people around you are feeling it. And they're not going to accuse you of faking it, they're not going to accuse you of being better than anybody else. They're actually just going to be envious of you. God, this guy, this woman, they have so much confidence. Confidence is everything. I walk around the street, people are in absolute fear because of the virus. People are in fear because of themselves. You know, this virus thing has exposed people who are weak on the inside, people who lacked confidence, and it's like they imploded. It's like, you know, a deck of cards that you're trying to make a building out of, and all of a sudden the whole thing comes down on itself. It's like the virus made everybody implode. If they didn't have enough self-worth, if they didn't have enough confidence, this virus has crippled them. Now they walk around the street slouched, right? The opposite of erect. They can't make eye contact. They have their mask on. Matter of fact, it looks like they got 2 or 3 masks on, right? It's crazy. What— don't those people know what they're doing themselves? They're saying, I, I am not confident in myself. I'm insecure. I'm afraid. That's not you. Are you seriously— are this whole thing's going on a year? Are you— and when you listen to this podcast, maybe a year plus, 2, 3, 4, who the hell knows? But are you going to give in to this? Who are you? What have you gone through? What do you feel about yourself? Aren't you confident? Don't you— are you proud of yourself? Don't you want to stand up and feel good? Push your shoulders back. I was in the office yesterday. I looked at myself in the mirror and I said, "Oh my God, I'm slouching a little bit." I pulled my shoulders back and I literally felt the tension in my back shoulders, like, "Man, I must have been slouching all day long." And when I finally stood up there erect, I said, "Ooh, I look much better." That's who I am. I am not— I can't allow anybody to see me slouching because that's not what I feel. That's not who I am, not all the things I've gone through. That little tweak to you, that you make sure you're standing erect, shoulders back, sitting erect, head up, chin up, makes all the world difference. Because around you, everybody else is shattered. They're weak. You want to get that promotion? You want to be seen? You want to get that next job? You want to get that next project? You want people to like you? It's literally a matter of pushing those shoulders back and just being happy with yourself, showing confidence, showing other people who are weak and scared that maybe you're the one that they should follow, that you're the one they should go to advice, that when you make a recommendation, there is no hesitation to say yes to you. I can't tell you how many stories I have about the way that confidence that one thing that we have in us. We all have it. That when you walk down the street— matter of fact, listen to me— when you're sitting alone, whatever you're doing right now, I want you right now to take a moment and feel confident about yourself. Just right now. Doesn't matter. I want you just to even close your eyes, right? I'm closing my eyes right now, and I'm thinking, hmm, I feel good. I feel really good. Hmm, yeah. Now I'm starting to build up my confidence because just that simple thought of I feel good makes me feel good, makes me feel confident about whatever I can do. Should make you feel confident whatever you could do. You're alive, damn it. You're breathing, aren't you? Feel confident. That's all it takes. Now you feel a little better about yourself. Okay, now let's adjust our shoulders, our head. Right? Okay, move your neck around, stretch it out a little bit. Okay. Are you sitting straight? Are you standing straight? Try to check yourself. Right? Twist the shoulders, the hips, the ribs. You feel a little tight in the muscles, you weren't standing straight. Okay? Now you— now you're there. You're there mentally, you're there physically. Don't you feel better? Right? Feel amazing. Right? Wow. And then a little stiff, like: "Whoa, wait a minute, this thing's hurting a little bit. Well, I must have been slouching all day." That's all it takes. That little edge you got there, that little 30-second exercise we did, we did— this is what you're going to do all day long. And I promise you, the day's going to go better. I promise you, when you have your next Zoom or Teams or Webex video call, that you, that happy you People are going to see it and be like, whoa, wow. And you're not going to hesitate to talk. If you do hesitate, you're not going to hesitate to put that video camera on. Like so many of you don't want to have your video on when you're not the person talking. Be confident. Your next smile is based on the confidence you have with you right now. Pretty heavy, huh? Your next smile is based on the confidence that you have within you right now. Go forth and spread beauty and light and be proud of yourself. Be confident. Be confident that no matter what you decide, you're going to kick butt and you're going to do it really well. No matter if you make a left turn down the street or a right turn down this street, that's the best decision you ever made. Isn't that fun to have that way of thinking? And you're fantastic. You're not rude to anybody, you're not hurting anybody, you're just having fun with life. Confidence is another one of your superpowers. It's all yours. You can tap into whatever you want. Be confident. This is Thomas Anglero. I love you. I want you to have the most beautiful day ahead of you that you've ever had. And I want people, when they pass you walking down the street or in the hallways at work or in the store, I want them to take double takes when they walk by you. All because you are— say it with me— confident. That's the way it works. Take care, and until next time. Thank you for listening to that episode. If you want to contact me, you can contact me on my website at anglero.com, and you can also subscribe to the newsletter. Or you can find me anywhere on social media with Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter. Thank you so much, and I hope to hear from you very soon.