Perspectives: Women, Confidence, & Success

You might look at these 3 words and say where is she going with this article OR … you may look at these words and say that you know exactly how intertwined these words can be for women.

Question: Do you know how to exude confidence?

Over the past week, I have attended a number of women’s conferences and leadership events. And as you may expect, there are several common themes that I can pull out as jewels for women business owners.

First and foremost, as women we must learn how to boost our own confidence. In order to have a higher level of success, it is critical to take risk, raise your hand to be heard, and take on leadership roles. One thing that many of the keynote speakers noted was that you typically do not see men afraid to voice their opinions. It’s almost equivalent to Michael Jordan being scared to take shots. If MJ was scared to fail at taking some of the shots he did, he possibly would not have won all of the championship rings.

Growing up, many of us were taught that our looks do not matter…that what matters is on the inside. Unfortunately, we are in a society that makes its impression based off of how you look. I am not talking about perceived beauty, I am referencing the idea that you should do the best you can with what you have to present yourself appropriately for the role you seek. If you are seeking to work in the ‘corner office,’ than you need to ensure that you present yourself in a manner that those making that decision can visualize you in that role. Being well groomed can be done at any price point with a little effort. When you look good, you feel good!

Define what success means for you! When you take a look at women that have obtained an extraordinary level of success, you see a confidence that they have developed over their journey that can not be shaken. They walk with confidence, they dress with confidence, and the speak with confidence. They have also mapped out what success looks like to them. They have an end goal in mind and a plan to get to it. The major key here is that these women do not allow anyone to shake them away from their end goal.

Self doubt can be crippling! It can actually keep you from releasing your gift to the world. As women, we benefit from hearing the journey of other women. Be mindful of your circle friends. Ensure that these friends are the ones that will lift you up and constructively criticize you when necessary. Also, take the time to invest in yourself. Have you ever taken note of how you feel when you leave a conference and a dynamic woman speaker has just left the stage. There are times in your journey when you need to be around this additional knowledge so that you can grow to your next level. 

In all actuality, that same feeling that you get from attending an awesome conference is one that you can give to other women by sharing your story and living in your purpose. You simply have to have the confidence to do it!