Confidence is Everything

What engages me?
While I admit that the following answer is rather bland and somewhat clique, the one attribute that grasps my focus more than anything else is unshakable self-confidence. You may have heard people say, “confidence is everything”, and while it may not be “everything”, it is without a doubt the majority of any battle, whether it be a presentation, interview, or one’s goings in day to day life. It’s no coincidence that some of the world’s most successful people today, including the highly adored president of the United States, are also individuals who without a doubt have a high level of self-confidence. The fact that a conservative Republican such as myself becomes highly enamored whenever left-wing President Obama steps to a podium speaks towards the entrancing power that a person who communicates with a sense of self-assurance has over me.

To expand upon this, I look towards President Obama’s acceptance speech as a further explanation. Although at this point on election day I was disappointed with the night’s occurrences, I was willing to listen to what the newly elected President of the United States had to say. While a portion of what he spoke about was debatable and disagreeable in my mind, I went to bed that night conceding the fact that what I had just witnessed was very powerful and moving. The way that Barack Obama held himself and spoke to the people of the country on that night has left a lasting impression on me. I now look to this display as a model of the kind of self confidence I wish to exude when I have to speak to an audience, whether it be for school work or a church function.

Finally, I should speak towards my own personal experiences with self confidence and how this has led me to have all the more respect for someone who has it. In all honesty, I’ve always been a person that has struggled with self confidence. All throughout grade school and high school, I was more reserved and quiet than I’d like to admit, mostly because I lacked a sense of self-assurance, or confidence. While this isn’t totally uncommon for most people to have periods of their lives where they lack self-esteem or self-confidence, it just goes to show that confidence in ones self is often fleeting, and without a doubt harder to have and develop than you’d think. For this reason, those who have mastered this area of their self-being garner high respect from me, and often inspire me to strive and improve myself in this regard, and in other important areas of my life.