Nine Tips For Bolstering self-esteem and Increasing Success

Put these strategies into action and your self-assurance – and sales – are sure to shoot skyward.

• Know Your Strengths: Here's some awesome news: There are a lot of things you do well. And there have likely been times in your life when you exceeded your expectations. Write down these strengths and success moments. Add to the list as you reach new milestones. Review the accomplishments frequently. The positive reinforcement bolsters self-belief.

• Overcome Your Weaknesses: Take an honest look at yourself. Write down things about you that, if improved or eradicated, would make you feel more confident. Then, develop and execute plans aimed at nixing these negatives. During the improvement effort, you'll feel empowered, which increases confidence. What's more, once you've nullified a problem area or turned it into a strength, your self-assurance will soar.

• Get Back In The Game Quickly: Everyone experiences failure. Successful business pros, however, quickly pick themselves up off the canvas, evaluate the experience, learn from it and then recommit to achieving their goals. By taking this approach, you'll start to see setbacks as temporary impediments on the road to success. Such a perspective breeds confidence. That confidence makes it easier to persist past failures, creating a cycle of positivity that leads to consistent achievement.

•Have A Trusted Advisor: Connect with an upstanding, sales-savvy colleague or friend you can turn to for advice and insights. Knowing that you have a capable person to lean on provides a sense of being supported. That feeling bolsters the belief that you will achieve your objectives.

• Hang With Half-Fullers: It's inevitable that the individuals we surround ourselves with influence us. When you associate with upbeat, forward-looking people, you feel better and more confident.

• Nip Negative Thinking In The Bud: When anxious thoughts attack, translate them into positive thoughts that focus on good results. For example, change "I'm worried this prospect isn't going to take me seriously" to "I'm ready to listen to and understand this prospect's needs and develop great solutions that are going to help him grow his business."

• Practice Preparation and Organization: Carefully preparing a plan for earning a sale – or achieving other objectives – will give you confidence to do just that. With a plan, you are taking control and laying out logical steps to engineer a desired result. Knowing you have this organized focus engenders confidence. Even if you're compelled to deviate from the plan, you still have it as basis from which to work. That helps keep you grounded and steady.

• Be Brave and Go Big: Set stretch goals and develop strategic plans for achieving them. It may be scary to leave your comfort zone behind. But when you challenge yourself with an objective, intelligently pursue it and then achieve the aim, the limits you place on your potential expand. Indeed, your confidence will grow – and so will your list of achievements.

• Start and End Each Day with Thankfulness: When you wake up, take a couple minutes to meditate on the people, opportunities and experiences for which you are thankful. This practice helps create gratitude – a sense of calm joy. The feeling of wellbeing will help stimulate confidence and, ultimately, success.

ACTION ITEMS
❑ Reflect on a few of your biggest successes.
❑ Analyze your circle of friends and colleagues. Identify positive people with whom it would do you good to spend more time.

Continue to Step 2