Publisher: Rutledge Hill Press®
Permission to Quote: All rights reserved. Written permission must be secured from the publisher to use or reproduce any part of this book, except for brief quotations in critical reviews and articles.
Self-affirmation
“The
only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
—Franklin
D. Roosevelt
People who are successful have the ability to believe in themselves. Often, they are not born with capacity for self-affirmation; it is something they worked to acquire. Like many of us, they had to change their belief from “I can’t do it” to “I can.” William Danforth was a sickly schoolboy and a weakling until a teacher challenged him to become the healthiest, strongest boy in the class. Danforth took the challenge, changed his life, founded Ralston Purina Company, and devoted much of his time and fortune to helping youngsters “take a dare.”
Teddy Roosevelt came out of the same “weakling” mold as Danforth. Recognizing the need for change, he decided to do everything he was afraid of doing, and thus developed a strong belief in his own capabilities. It was clothing that “made the man” in the case of Bill Zanker, who founded the successful Learning Annex. His agent refused to work with him unless he “looked the part.” Zanker was told to buy a $1,000 suit of clothes, a challenge that cost him just about everything he could muster. But when he put that suit on, his whole concept of himself underwent a significant change. Zanker looked like a success, he thought like a success, and he became a success. Bernie Kopell was a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman trying to break into acting. At the end of a frustrating day, his boss turned on some positive-thinking records—and their message began to soak into Kopell’s brain. His attitude about his own capabilities changed, which enabled him to become a successful actor.
Consider This: The first key to success in any enterprise is believing in yourself—forging ahead in the face of opposition, circumstance, fear, and frustration.
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