The most priceless commodity of our time is something few people have in abundance: self-confidence. In the richest countries of the world, there are still hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people who don’t have the confidence to step out and become achievers. They are homeless, hungry, and hopeless.

Contrast that with those few who have faced hardship and adversity head-on and come out on top. They haven’t let their circumstances dictate their success. They haven’t let prior failures, a poor childhood, cultural differences, or any of a hundred other obstacles determine whether or not they’ll triumph in the end.

Why is that? Why do some people do, while other people wish to do? One important factor is self-confidence. People who achieve are confident in their ability to achieve, while those who don’t achieve have little or no confidence in their abilities.

Do you want to influence your world? Keep in mind the following Five Secrets of Self-Confidence and you’ll be amazed at the changes that will manifest in your life.

Five Secrets of Self-Confidence

1. Know What You Want One of the things that set peak performers apart from the rest of the world is that they know exactly what they want. They can tell you, down to the smallest detail, what their objective is. They know what they want, and they know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they will have it.
2. Sustained, Hard Work Pays Off Peak performers know that in the end, hard work will pay off for them. They know that achieving their goals might mean working when their friends are playing, or it may mean studying into the wee hours to learn how to accomplish their next goal. Modern culture doesn’t recognize hard work as a virtue. We’re into the quick buck, the shortcut. We want something and we want it now, and we don’t have to work for it, that we’re entitled to more fruits than our labor is worth. Ask most young people entering the work force about their expectations if you doubt this.
3. Knowledge Is Power Rather, applied knowledge is power. Knowledge on its own is useless information. Only when you use knowledge does it become powerful. Observe the world around you, and use that knowledge to innovate, invent, or create a solution to the challenges you’ve observed. Make your knowledge work for you.
4. Have Positive Expectations An oft-overlooked source of self-confidence is maintaining a positive outlook on life, expecting good things to happen. If you get bogged down in the day-to-day hassles and challenges of life, your outlook suffers. Your confidence recedes because you find yourself thinking that the world is out of control, and with it your life. How can anyone keep a confident outlook in the face of such thinking?
5. Be A Visionary Have goals that are bigger than yourself. Be bold in your visions for the future. Be outrageous. Visionaries attract people and circumstances that can further them toward their ultimate goals. Dream large!

So how does one build self-confidence? After all, it’s hard to be confident if you don’t feel it. Here are some steps you can take to build your confidence level:

• Face your fears. Overwhelming fear can paralyze you. It can cause you to do nothing. Get a grip! Most fears are completely irrational; what we fear is rarely as bad as we imagine it may be. Confront these fears head-on. Say you have a fear of public speaking, like many people do. Determine exactly what it is you fear about the situation—looking stupid, for instance—and take steps to eliminate the worry of that. Research. Learn. Then go speak to a receptive group. Then do it again. And again. Soon, you’ll wonder what you were ever afraid of in the first place.
• Commit yourself to a cause. When you are commited and passionate about something, your confidence will show through. You’ll amaze yourself. Look at the confidence you’ve manifested, and remember it. Transfer it to the next situation that you find yourself in where you lack confidence. Feed upon your successes.
• Be unique and use that uniqueness. Everyone is unique; we are not all the same. Find your own personal strengths and use the knowing of your strengths to show yourself that you are unique and worthwhile.
• Be persistant and consistent. As you continue to consistently work hard toward your goals, your confidence will increase because you’ll be seeing your successes and progress. You’ll begin to know that you can’t be stopped. Is that confidence? That’s the very definition!

Confidence can be learned, if you don’t have it. Determine that you will have it, that you are confident, and take some action toward it, and you will be rewarded with unstoppable confidence.