Importance of Self Confidence to Success
Here is a little story about Oprah Winfrey that illustrates the importance of self confidence.
Oprah overcame obstacles from an unsettled early family situation. She was born to and raised by a single mother, lived with relatives on occasion including her Uncle/father Vernon, suffered relative poverty, was beaten regularly and sexually abused before she was 10. Having her copious talents recognized and appreciated first by her grandmother and then by teachers, and school scholarships demonstrated her capabilities to her and others. This base apparently gave her confidence that she could overcome all barriers she faced. And overcome her challenges she did. She became one of the worlds best known women and a significant financial success. She illustrates her appreciation for the importance of confidence in herself using a piece of advice from her lawyer.
This is from an article by Tehrene Firman in March 2018 shown at www.wellandgood.com. The article is entitled, ‘The Single Piece of Advice That Taught Oprah to Take Risks on Herself’. It says:
‘Whether you’re thinking about making your side hustle your full-time gig, asking for a promotion at work, or pursuing a longtime dream, the idea of taking a risk on yourself might breed insecurity, self-doubt, and fear—heck, even Oprah Winfrey knows the struggle. But, when she received one piece of advice from a surprising source, it totally changed her risk-averse mind-set/confidence in what she was doing/…and her life.
‘When she was up for The Color Purple (1985), Winfrey was in a contract with ABC that only allowed her two weeks of vacation—AKA not nearly enough time for filming. Since she had three weeks of vacation the following year and four the year after, she suggested a compromise to her superiors. “I begged my bosses, ‘If you just let me do this film, I will not take another vacation for the next three years. I will use the next two years’ vacation to compensate for that,'” she told Vulture.
Then her lawyer at the time, Jeffrey Jacobs, spewed some wisdom that forced her to view the situation—and her own self-worth—much differently: He said she shouldn’t be in a position where she has to beg. And she shouldn’t have to give up her vacation time or sacrifice for something that’s really close to her heart. He said she instead should approach her bosses with the idea of ownership.
“I was like, ‘How are you going to do that? How am I going to own it?'” Winfrey said. “And he said, ‘Well, you have to believe that you’re worth the risk. If it doesn’t work, you lose, but if you actually, really believe that it’s going to work, you win big.'”
She did the movie and it worked out great for her. This is good advice as long as you really believe that the level of confidence you have in your success warrants the potential payoff from the decision; and in realization that if it is not a success there is some undetermined price to pay.
It is also well to remember the odds of success. If you do things where the chances are nine of ten that you will succeed and you do them 20 times you are statistically likely to lose two times. If the odds are 50 50 for success you can statistically expect to win (and lose) one time in two.
