Tag: confidence

Quotes

“Skill and confidence are an unconquered army.” 🎠

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William Shakespeare wasn’t the only one writing interesting things in the Elizabethan Era, back when codpieces and lace decoration were all the rage for grown men. Poet and clergyman George Herbert, while not as flowery as Shakespeare, also had some poetic things to say, especially this mighty metaphor.

Skill and confidence are an unconquered army.

George Herbert

George appears to have understood that confidence is key and that brevity is the soul of wit, perhaps even better than the Bard of Avon himself.

George Herbert, via Poetry Foundation.
creativity · Me · Music

“What you don’t know, you can feel it somehow.” 🎤

patmcg5 Comments

I always liked the song Beautiful Day for its optimism and presence.

It’s a beautiful day. Don’t let it get away.

Sure, that’s the obvious takeaway and a great reminder that every day counts.

But the last part of the song has been inspiring me even more as I dig into a scary new skill, which I hope is the right kind of difficult for me: playing, singing, and eventually writing my own songs. 😱

I do not have a good track record here so far.

I have spent most of my life as the kind of guy who could play Stairway to Heaven on guitar and be done with it. “I’m a guitarist.” 🤷🏻‍♂️ Then I recorded a cover with a friend and built up some confidence.

What I really want is to do find my own voice. Literally.

Despite never considering myself a singer (and consistently receiving negative feedback whenever I have tried 😆) I am jumping into singing with the help of an expert music teacher who always sees the best possibilities.

And that’s half the journey.

Touch me, take me to that other place
Reach me, I know I’m not a hopeless case

Which brings me to the best part of Beautiful Day: the last bit, the part about forgetting what you don’t have now and feeling your way, somehow, into the new.

What you don’t have, you don’t need it now
What you don’t know, you can feel it somehow

Stay tuned. 🎤

What a beautiful day.

You

The trick to confidence

patmcg3 Comments

Confidence is one of those things that is easy to understand but hard to execute. But I just realized there’s a simple trick to it. All it takes is a little faith.

And believe me, this is hard-earned knowledge.

Confidence does not mean that you think you’re the best. It does not mean that whatever you’re doing will automatically succeed. And it has nothing to do with arrogance or self-delusion.

It has everything to do with letting go and having faith.

This attitude is more like a monk than a hyped-up cage fighter.

Do you have something interesting but kind of oddball to say? As long as you believe it, it’s within your values, and you’re prepared to back it up, then go for it. The backing it up takes some faith. ^ That faith is confidence.

The trick to confidence is the same as overcoming fear. You commit to it right now and don’t worry about what happens.

👉 You can’t be confident without being scared

Yeah, you may fall flat on your face or have no results whatsoever.  Confidence says, “Don’t worry – do it anyways. See what happens.”

Knowing yourself, especially your purpose and your values, will help you act with more confidence because you have a solid footing to act from.

*Usual disclaimer for any “just go for it” advice: your actions should always fit within your personal values, ethical norms, and legal constraints. Don’t do dumb shit. 🤷🏻‍♂️😆