Do you believe in yourself. Do you? Totally and utterly and with complete conviction do you believe you can change the ******* world? ‘Cause you should and you can. But only if you truly believe in the unique and powerful ability that only you possess. Everyone has a unique ability that can influence the world. I guarantee it.

But it’s not easy. To harness this belief and make things happen you have to step out of your comfort zone. Which is scary (I know I’ve done it!). The first thing that you need is to honestly think you can do whatever you want. Nothing is out of reach. As Henry Ford famously said, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right”

Believe it or not I used to suffer from no self-belief.  I used to question myself and my abilities.

Not anymore.

Here are a few things to remember that will help:

• Be Resilient. It’s ok to mess up. More than once. You need to realise you are not defined by the foul ups you make. You get up, get over it, do it again. And again, And again. Stepping out of your comfort zone. Again. Each time it becomes a little easier. Do it so much it becomes second nature. Revel in the new challenge. Don’t be afraid of messing something up. Because you will (everyone does) the trick is to get up. Brush yourself down. And then do it again. Be strong!

• Be Optimistic. The power of positive thinking cannot be under estimated. Visualise. See yourself succeeding. See yourself accepting that Oscar. Getting the pay rise. Nailing the deal.  Expect to succeed. Why shouldn’t you? Look for the positives in every situation (there is always something). It’s not failure. It’s a learning experience. Remember this exchange between a reporter and Thomas Edison:  “ Isn’t it a shame that with the tremendous amount of work you have done you haven’t been able to get any results?” Edison turned replied in a flash: “Results! Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results! I know several thousand things that won’t work.”

• Be Prepared. Give yourself an advantage. If you’ve got a big presentation to make it helps if you know what you’re going to say! Prepare. Practice. Refine. Practice. Knowing what you are going to say will decrease your anxiety. You know it will be the best you can do. No one can ask for more. I have spent an entire day preparing for a 5 minute pitch. I got the contract!. Because I was totally prepared and knew the presentation to the very last detail.

• Be a Risk Taker. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Be strong. Take a ******* risk. When you lack confidence you will stay with the familiar. In other words your situation will not change. Real confidence-boosting power comes from tackling something new. You may not succeed right away, but when you do, the experience is liberating. Don’t fail to do something because you think you might fail.

• Go and do some exercise. It’s true. Getting the heart going. It can help increase your confidence level by helping to distract your thoughts and get your brain working on other puzzles and challenges, too. Before a big moment, like asking the girl from accounts on a date, take a walk around the block. You’ll feel calmed and most probably will think of some new ideas to impress!

It doesn’t happen overnight. But these few tips will set you on the way!

“I work for a good company. I do what they ask. They pay me a salary. That’s just life—you do work in exchange for money. I can’t complain.”

Er…yeah you can.  And you should. ‘Cause it’s not quite true.

This is the truth:

You don’t do work in exchange for money. You do work in exchange for a SMALL PERCENTAGE of the money that your role profits the company. And it is small!

If your role didn’t make the company any profit it wouldn’t exist would it? And the only way the company can give you your role is by creating a gap between the money you earn for it and what you get paid.  The difference left over is theirs to keep.

And then you go home like a good obedient dog to wait for the next small chunk of profit they deem fit to give you. Meagre earnings in terms of the profit you give to the company.

Is this really “just life”?

And in order to get that £100/£200/£300 per day what do you forgo?

·         Is it time spent with your children?

·         Is it time to pursue your favourite hobby?

·         Being able to travel?

Or maybe it is a less tangible expense. Do you give

·         Your energy?

·         Your libido?

·         Your zest for life?

Is this “just life”? Really?

Here’s an idea:

What if you could build a business around your life?

By using the power of the Internet. The passion of your interests. Doing what you want when you want. There is a world of opportunities. Trust me on this. There are now billions of people on the Internet. Each one is a potential customer.

Carpe diem people. Grab the ****** day and never look back.

Stop spending 10 hours a day wishing you were doing something else. Don’t dream.  Do it.  You’ll enjoy it.

Plus you get to keep all the profit.

But people say:

“I’m not that interesting. I should just find a job.”

NO! What are you saying? You are. Of course you can’t be appealing to everyone, that’s impossible. The key is finding the right people. To these people you are tremendously interesting. There will be many others in the world you won’t think so. But who cares about them. They don’t matter. Only the right people matter. They are the ones who will support you. And pay for your wisdom.

But how do you find the right people?

Well we are lucky to live in the age of the Internet.  Now we can effectively stand out in the crowd with a sign above our head saying this is who I am, this is what I do and this is why I’m good.  We can be who we want to be and likeminded people will be flocking to support us. The right people. It’s mind blowingly brilliant!

Gone are the days where you were too small to shout. Where you had to stand in line to be counted. To be noticed by a big company. There has been a power shift. Now anyone can start a company and market it to the world. Before you couldn’t be who you wanted to be. You had to fit their mould. Their design. You were a resource (Human resources anyone?) . Nothing more.

Not anymore.

Carpe diem people.

You have the power. Go do it.