I gained real confidence in Italy…
It wasn’t that traveling alone was the solution. It wasn’t. It was a part of the solution, but it wasn’t even the straw that broke the camel’s back.
It was a necessary piece of a puzzle that included…
Boxing, learning how to really defend myself with confidence.
Building a stronger, healthier, more athletic and better-looking body.
… And other things.
… I actually went to Italy with very little in the way of income.
I booked the trip because I told a pal I’d book the trip, and before I knew it I was on a plane to visit my mom’s birthplace and other places in that wonderfully, historic country.
Just under a month of being on the trip, however, business began to THRIVE.
For the first time I was making real money.
I’d been at this business for a few years, and while I saw growth, it wasn’t monumental at all, but early in the trip the business began to grow exponentially – I think I make more in one month than the entire previous two years or something like that.
That gave me a deep confidence.
…knowing that I could accomplish something that I’d been working at for a long time.
But as I look back, it wasn’t the accomplishment that necessarily brought confidence.
… The traveling…
… The boxing…
… The starting and building of my own business…
They’re all about being fearless.
Now, I’m not fearless, but I’m a heck of a lot more fearless now than I was 10 years ago, or even 2 weeks ago.
Accepting failure is a yuge part of becoming confident.
Accepting it as a necessary part of victory is necessary for you to become the man you want to become.
It isn’t actually a matter of being fearless, but fearing less.
Fear is good. It can be a barometer, but not always of what you should avoid, instead, would you MUST pursue.
When you turn your reaction to fear from avoidance to more of a magnetic pull, you turn into a leader and a man who won’t shy away from doing what he must do to live the life he knows he needs to live and to bring those close to him along for the right.
That’s confidence.
It’s venturing into the unknown with courage.
Think about that…
It’s going up to the lady and talking to her with courage.
It’s travelling alone, going down those unknown alleys and taking a left when the map says right…
… With courage.
It’s doing what your soul is begging you to do, regardless of the consequences of failure, with courage.
Put yourself in situations that will force confidence upon you.
That’s what fighting, traveling, and starting the business did for me.
I did these things simply because I wanted to do them.
They weren’t necessarily the wisest or best things for ‘my career’ or whatever the hell we’re supposed to pursue. But I wanted to do them. So did them I did, and I’m so bloody thankful I took those leaps, and you’ll be just as thankful.
Trust me.
