BEAUTIFUL HEART

An old English proverb says, ‘First impression is the last impression’. I don’t know how true the statement is! And I say this because in life we can never be so sure and so we cannot make such sweeping statements. Sometimes a single encounter with a person is not enough for even a glimpse into the personality. 


Many times people tend to judge a person from a picture of his/hers. But can we know even a hint out of them? Not exactly sure. A picture is just like a peep out of the window to the outside world. But they may be deceptive. Shakespeare rightly said in ‘Merchant of Venice’: “Goodly apple rotten at heart.” 


Often we say things are not what they seem. This may be true in both ways – a seemingly good thing may be just the opposite but a bad thing apparently may be a good one. So how do we become better judges? Actually what matters is the heart. No matter what the external appearance is it is the heart that matters. A beautiful heart makes even an ugly face look really gorgeous. But a person with evil designs and a heart full of ill-wills would make even the most beautiful face the ugliest. 


So on one thing we should all agree that a picture cannot be a good judge of the person. Look for a beautiful heart instead of a goody exterior! 

Let us live with Human Values

During the days of "Gautam Budha" one young boy was addicted to the bad habits and behave rude with the people and becoming a criminal with his anti social activities. His mother tried to bring him back to normal life but could not succeed.  Finally she decided to take her son to "Gautam Budha" to seek his blessings. With great difficulty she convinced her son to meet "Budha".
Both of them went to forest where Budha was sitting under the tree doing meditation. The mother fall on his feet
and started crying. 


Budha" asked her " Why are you crying??" .


The mother said My son is doing all bad things and becoming criminal now a days. Please do something Budha looked at her son and said thatnow it is too late and this young man is going to die in one day" and left that place.  Both mother and her son shocked with that and came back to their home with sad feelings. They even did not sleep that whole night with the fear of death. 23 hours are over and in last hour Budha came to that area and visit their house. 


Asked her son  " Have you indulged any cheating / criminal / theft during these 23 hours??"
The son said "No"
Did you tell lies??" The son said "No"
Budha asked " What you did these 23 hours then?"
The son said " Since the death approaching me very closely, I have been regretting for all my sins committed all these period
and realized that how I wasted my valuable life but it's too late now to realize"


Budha said " Don't worry.  Your death is not happen now and it is postponed.  Spend your rest of life meaningful and be kind to the others. " 


Moral of the Story:
Death is certain to all of us. It may come in any movement, any shape and any reason.  Let us live with human values doing good things and helpful to others. Such people will be remembered even after their death.

You Cannot Change the World (Brian Tracy Poem)

You cannot change the world,
But you can present the world with one improved person — Yourself.

You can go to work on yourself to make yourself
Into the kind of person you admire and respect.
You can become a role model and set a standard for others.
You can control and discipline yourself to resist acting
Or speaking in a negative way
Toward anyone for any reason.
You can insist upon always doing things the loving way,
Rather than the hurtful way.
By doing these things each day,
You can continue on your journey
Toward becoming an exceptional human being.

(Brian Tracy)

Face difficulties positively

This parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer’s well. The farmer heard the mule praying or whatever mules do when they fall into wells. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbors together, told them what had happened, and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery.

Initially the old mule was hysterical! But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back, a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back, HE WOULD SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP!

This he did, blow after blow. “Shake it off and step up…shake it off and step up…shake it off and step up!” He repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows, or how distressing the situation seemed, the old mule fought panic and just kept right on SHAKING IT OFF AND STEPPING UP!

It wasn’t long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well! What seemed like it would bury him actually helped him . . . all because of the manner in which he handled his adversity.

THAT’S LIFE! If we face our problems and respond to them positively, and refuse to give in to panic, bitterness, or self-pity.

Risk Quotes and Risk-Taking Quotes

"Risk more than others think is safe. Care more than others think is wise. Dream more than others think is practical. Expect more than others think is possible"

~ Cadet Maxim

"All growth is a leap in the dark, a spontaneous unpremeditated act without benefit of experience. "

~ Henry Miller

"Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly."

~ Robert F. Kennedy

"We must walk consciously only part way toward our goal and then leap in the dark to our success. "

~ Henry David Thoreau

"Do one thing every day that scares you."

~ Eleanor Roosevelt

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I... I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."

~ Robert Frost

"If your life is free of failures, you’re not taking enough risks."

~ Anonymous

"Progress always involves risks. You can’t steal second base and keep your foot on first."

~ Frederick B. Wilcox

"If you risk nothing, then you risk everything."

~ Geena Davis

John Wooden's Top Inspirational Quotes

"Nothing will work unless you do."

"Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be."

"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."

"I'd rather have a lot of talent and little experience than a lot of experience and little talent."

"The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team."

"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do."

"Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of being."

"Ability is a poor man's wealth."

"The athlete who says that something cannot be done should never interrupt the one who is doing it."

"You can't live a perfect day with doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."

Be True to Yourselves in Your Values and Ideals

It is important in your marriage that both of you are true to yourselves as individuals and true to yourselves as a couple. Before you can do that you need to know what the two of you value.
Difference Between Values and Ideals
There is a difference between values and ideals.


A value is something you recognize as good and worthwhile and that you choose to have in your life now by being willing to sacrifice other things.
An ideal, on the other hand, is something you recognize as good that you want in your lives sometime in the future, but you are not willing to sacrifice for it now.
Values and ideals are often confused, but the difference is the level of committment. Some couples say they value a good marriage, yet they do nothing to make their marriage better. So for them, a good marriage is an ideal, not a value.


How to Recognize Your Values
The best way to recognize your own values is to analyze two aspects of your life.

• The first is finances. How do you spend your money? Where does it go?
• The second is time. How do you spend you time? Are most of your hours at work or school? How much time do you make for one another? How much time is spent on hobbies or recreation?

Prioritize Your Values and Ideals
Sometimes both of you may place a value on the same thing, but the value is different in terms of priorities and importance. Without talking about this, the differences can lead to conflict.


For example, a couple is considering relocating to a locale far from family. Although they consider being close to extended family one of their values, one spouse places a higher priority on it than the other because opportunities for career enhancement rank higher on the list for the other spouse. Being close to family is a value for one and an ideal for the other.


In order to deal with this difference in values, this couple will need to honestly appraise whether the decision is going to be good for their relationship or not.


A question to ask yourselves as you discuss your values and ideals is, "Will doing [such and such ...] bring us closer or allow us to grow apart?"

Education : Knowledge Vs Character

There are two aspects to education: 1. Imparting Knowledge. 2. Instilling character.

It is an age old saying that "If character is lost, evertything is lost". 
Nobody says "if knowledge is lost, everything is lost". 


Today, education has become synonymous with gaining more and more knowledge, be it theoretical or practical. This section itself is not very good. What is happening is that the character side of education is facing severe neglect, mainly because the teachers themselves lack them. In the case of knowledge, even if the teacher is dumb, students have other sources like books, internet etc. But for character, the sources of learning for a child are parents and teachers. A parent/teacher of a great character can produce students of great character, even against the so-called peer pressure, because in those cases, peer pressure reduces due to the overwhelming influence of the teacher/parent. Sad part is neither the parent nor the teacher have that character. Where from are you going to select good teachers in this regard?

If you think about it deeply, the philosophy of education itself needs to be modified to not just produce great engineers and doctors, but to produce, basically a good human being who has heart, and not machines that work only for themselves. The present system only leads to the formation of such machines. Unless something is done about it soon, the world will surely be ruled by robots - robots who have flesh around their bones and blood running through their veins. Sooner we act, the better it is.

But the age old question remains: Who will bell the cat? 

What the hell is this?

I found this as a forward, and I thought it would be appropriate to put it up here.

The photo is the Pulitzer Prize winning photo taken in 1994 during the Sudan famine. The picture shows a famine stricken crawling towards a UN food camp located a kilometer away. The vulture is waiting for the child to die so that it can eat it. This picture shocked the whole world. No one knows what happened to the child, including the photographer Kevin Carter who left the place as soon as the photograph was taken. Three months later he commited suicide due to depression.



This is what the Kevin Carter wrote:

Dear God,

I promise I will never waste my food no matter how bad it can taste and how full I may be. I pray that He will protect this little boy, guide and deliver him away from his misery. I pray that we will be more sensitive towards the world around us and not be blinded by our own selfish nature and interests.

I hope this picture will always serve as a reminder to us that how fortunate we are and that we must never ever take things for granted.

Just two points I want to make:

• What kind of ethics do photojournalists have?
• Why the hell did this photo win the Pulitzer Prize? He should not have been awarded the prize, since he lacked any sense of ethics.

63 Ways to Become More Confident

Confidence is a tool you can use in your everyday life to do all kinds of cool stuff, not least to stop fighting with yourself and freely plug into the things that matter to you.

Here are 63 things YOU can do to be more confident.  Pick a couple that jump out, give them a shot and let me know what happens.

1. Sign up for that evening class and enjoy it.
2. Ask your partner or best friend what you can do for them today.
3. Hit the gym.  The physiological effects will leave you feeling great.
4. Go to a networking event and focus on how you can be helpful rather than being nervous.
5. Get crystal clear on the things that truly matter to you.  If they’re not in your life, you need to bring them in.
6. Write a list of the things you’re tolerating in your life, then write down how you can remove, minimise or diminish each one.
7. Look at a great win or success you’ve experienced and give yourself credit for your part in it.
8. Next time you’re at a social event, don’t just stick with the people you know – have a conversation with someone you don’t know and you never know what – or who – you’ll discover.
9. Next time you talk yourself out of doing something, say ‘What the Hell’ and go do it anyway.
10. Do one thing each day that makes you smile (inside or out).
11. Learn the 7 biggest confidence mistakes, and then fix ‘em.

Ask out that girl or guy you fancy the pants off

12. Ask out that girl or guy you fancy the pants off (only if you’re single, don’t want to get you into trouble).
13. You have to keep your mind well fed, so write a list of 20 things that keeps your mind feeling nourished and make sure you’re giving them room.
14. Stop squeezing yourself into boxes based on what you think people expect you to act like.
15. Catch yourself every single time you tell yourself that you can’t have, won’t get or aren’t good enough to get what you want.
16. Take yourself off auto-pilot – make deliberate decisions on what really matters to you.
17. Next time you come up against a risk or a challenge, listen to yourself and see how that dialog can be improved.
18. Scared of looking silly? You and everyone else.  It’s no biggie so don’t let it stop you.  Say it with me – “It just doesn’t matter.”
19. Don’t think for a second that you can’t be confident.  There are already loads of things you do with true self-confidence, you just have to notice them and get familiar with how it feels.

Listen to yourdoubts

20. Listen to your doubts – they’re there to let you know what you need to prepare for.  Use them to your benefit as you move forwards.
21. Think of a time when it felt like a whole bank of switches in your head flicked to the on position.  What were you doing and what’s the reason it felt so great?
22. You’ve got a whole bunch of out-dated rules that determine what you do or don’t do.  Tear up your rule book and notice how free you are to make great decisions.
23. Sweep aside the roles and labels you slip into without thinking, and just be you instead.
24. Look at how you’re using the 5 Principles of Self-Confidence in your life.
25. If there’s someone in your life who puts you down or makes you feel small, you owe it to yourself to let them know that you expect something different from now on.
26. Flirt.  It’s a harmless way to play around with connecting with people and having fun.
27. Reveal a little bit of the real you in a relationship that might feel like it’s in a rut.
28. Notice and welcome all of your experiences – the good stuff as well as the bad stuff.
29. Always recognise that you’re more than a match for any situation you might find yourself in, no matter how tough the going gets.
30. Don’t get swept up in the drama of what’s happening right now, look for more useful ways of engaging with what happens in your life.
31. Don’t automatically give in to the instant pay-off – it often means you’re selling yourself short.
32. When you feel like stamping your foot and yelling “I deserve better than this!”, take a step back and say “I can BE better than this.”
33. Confidence sometimes means admitting you’re wrong – always be ready to hold your hand up and change your mind.
34. Trust your instincts.  They know what they’re talking about.

Fear is a way of letting you know that you’re about to stretch yourself

35. Fear is a way of letting you know that you’re about to stretch yourself and grow your confidence.  Use it to take yourself forwards rather than run away.
36. Imagine you’re visited by a successful, confident, attractive and vibrant version of you from the future, and listen to what they want to tell you.
37. Don’t feel like you have to do everything yourself – sometimes the most confident thing to do is ask for help.
38. Take a chance on something tomorrow.  Anything, big or small, just take a chance.
39. You need to be around people who make you feel like YOU, so spend more time with the people who support and encourage you and less with those who undermine you.
40. Stop struggling against the things you don’t like in your life – create an environment around you that flows and allows you to be you.
41. No man’s an island, and you need to participate in the world you around to feel confident.
42. Do something bold in the face of your challenges and fears.
43. Work on developing the skills you need to win at the things that matter to you.
44. The body is a mirror for the mind, so shifting your body into a confident state can have surprising results.
45. Don’t get disheartened or demotivated when you get to 90% with something you’re working on – push through and you’ll see that the last 10% is where the magic happens.

Don’t try to validate yourself through comparison – you’re just peachy as you are

46. Keep comparing yourself to others?  Stop it, don’t try to validate yourself through comparison – you’re just peachy as you are.
47. Put your head above the parapet at work and speak up if there’s something you think could be improved or if you have an idea you think has legs.
48. If there’s something you’ve been struggling to understand for a while, stop trying to understand it.  Accept it just as it is, fully and wholly.
49. Shy with new people?  Not a problem, that’s allowed.  Just don’t overthink it, start beating yourself up or thinking you’re less than because you’re shy – the more you think like that the worse it gets.
50. Your environment directly impacts your self-perception, so if you’re surrounded by clutter, paperwork and rubbish put a morning aside to clean up your stuff and get organised.
51. Write yourself a daisy list and start making things happen.
52. Don’t make your happiness or self-worth dependent on being in a relationship or being validated by someone else.  Find your inherent value first, and your relationships and confidence will be immeasurably better.
53. Your strengths can be used to overcome any of your weaknesses.  Don’t let them undermine your confidence.
54. The longer you leave that big thing on your to-do list the more it’ll drain you and the bigger it’ll seem – get it done and free yourself up.
55. What golden threads, themes, patterns and passions have always been in your life?  If those things aren’t present in your life right now, you need to shift your priorities.
56. Your body image does matter, because if you have a bad relationship with your body you won’t be feeling confident in yourself.  Get trim if you need to, just make sure you get along with your body.
57. Get the Truly Confident Living Home Study Course and dive right in.

The well-trodden paths of your life can easily turn from familiarity to apathy and disconnection

58. Try a new path.  The well-trodden paths of your life can easily turn from familiarity to apathy and disconnection.  A new path wakes you up.
59. Don’t say “Yes” to taking on a task simply because you don’t want to rock the boat – you can politely decline requests you can’t meet and don’t need to create an excuse for it.
60. Look at the people you respect who seem confident – don’t copy them, but identify what do they do differently that conveys confidence and what you can learn from it.
61. Make a plan to do something, then follow through.  Achievement gives you important self-reinforcement.
62. When you feel yourself focusing inwards and becoming paralysed with doubt or fear, switch to focusing outwards at what you can engage and interact with.
63. Still beating yourself up for failing or screwing up? It no barrel of laughs, so it’s much better to recognise that everything, whether it turns out or not, is practice in living a rich life.

Improve your self confidence in 15 minutes

Some people have naturally high levels of confidence but everybody can learn to be more confident

Firstly, it’s important to get a clear idea of what self confidence really means, otherwise you won’t know when you’ve got it! So, self confidence means:

1) Being calm. For every situation in life you need to run on the appropriate level of emotion. Too much emotional ‘leakage’ into a experience can spoil the experience. You make great strides towards confidence when you begin to relax in a greater range of situations.

2) Being cool. The second part of self confidence is about being able to relax with uncertainty. To be ‘cool’ in a situation really means relaxing with not knowing how things will pan out. If you truly tolerate uncertainty, you can do pretty much anything.

3) Not being too concerned with what others think of you. You know when you imagine what some place is going to be like before you go there but when you get there it is totally different to your imagination? That’s how reliable your imagination is! Stop trusting your imagination so much. I’ve long since stopped bothering to imagine what others think of me because so often I’ve turned out to be wrong.

4) Being specific – where do you want confidence? ‘Confidence‘ is meaningless until you tie it to something specific. You are already confident that you can read these words or can switch a light on and off. So you don’t need more confidence everywhere. To get what you want in life you have to establish exactly what you do want. Where do you want confidence in your life? Think about the specific situations now and write them down. You beginning to steer your brain towards confidence.

5) Understanding that what you expect is what you get. Your brain is an organ that needs clear goals to work towards. When a task has been set in your brain it will do everything it can do to bring about the completion of that task. If you’ve tried to recall someone’s name but can’t, hours later you’ll often find their name pops into your head.

The ‘trying to recall’ experience set the task or blueprint for your brain’s future subconscious behaviour which eventually produced the name for you – when you weren’t thinking about it consciously. You can use this natural mechanism to start feeling more confident. But, to ensure you set the right task for your subconscious mind, the next point is vital.

6) Don’t task your mind with negatives. Instead of: ‘I don’t want to screw up’ (which sets the task of ‘screwing up’ for your brain), set the blueprint for what you do want! Your brain doesn’t work towards what to do by being told what not to do. And nature has given you a wonderful natural tool to set the right task blueprints with.

7) Use nature’s goal-setter: Now you understand how vital it is to set the right task for you brain, you need to know how to do this reliably. Good hypnosis will strongly ‘program’ the right blueprint in your mind through the use of your imagination. If you powerfully imagine feeling confident and relaxed while in a relaxed hypnotic state it will be hard for your unconscious mind to do anything else. The blueprint for relaxation has been set firmly into your subconscious mind.

3 simple strategies to get you feeling confident quickly:

1) Think specifically of the time/place/situation you want to feel confident in. Remember ‘confidence’ doesn’t mean anything until you attach it to something specific.

2) Focus on words in your mind right now that describe how you do want to be in that time and place. Maybe words such as ‘calm’, ‘relaxed’ or ‘focused’. Remember your brain works on clear positive instructions.

3) Close your eyes for as long as you like and think about how those words feel. Then, imagine the situation itself and rehearse it in your mind feeling confident and relaxed. This way you set the right blueprint or ‘task’ for your unconscious mind.

You can repeat this often to make it more effective and use it with as many areas of your life as you need to. If you listen to a hypnotic cd or download that can make the benefits even more powerful (see my profile below). So if you feel like you’d be blessed with less confidence than some other people you can start redressing the balance by using your mind in the right way right now.

It took me years to learn how to be more confident – now you can do it in a fraction of the time. Good luck!

Top 5 Ways to Build a Wonderful Life

1. Live Below Your Means

There will always be temptation to forsake the future for immediate gratification. We all want to buy that new piece of technology, treat ourselves to an expensive night on the town, or take out a loan for the flashy car we can’t afford. It might feel great at the time but rash spending hurts a lot later on.

Enjoy life’s simple pleasures and save as much as you can. Expensive things don’t create lasting happiness and security. Careful spending will bring you greater leisure and enjoyment in the long run.

2. Put Your Money to Work

Saving is great, but to make the most of your money you need to put it to work. Good investments can be the difference between retiring in your 40′s or in your 60′s.

A post today at The Simple Dollar really got me thinking. According to Trent’s projections, if a person in their early 20′s invests 20% of their income in an S&P index fund, the interest they earn will equal their current salary when they reach their early 40′s. They could retire without a drop in income!

Wise investing is the surest path to financial independence and it’s something everyone can work on. It’s definitely an area I’ll be devoting more attention to in my personal life and on this blog.

3. Educate Yourself

To be happy we need continuous growth. The best way to grow is life long education. This doesn’t mean you need to pursue a doctorate or spend 2 hours reading every day. Self education can be anything that takes you out of your comfort zone. The important part is keeping an open mind and searching for fresh ideas and perspectives.

Education builds over time. It might feel like the bits of wisdom you acquire don’t mean much, but over the years they add up to form a wiser, kinder, more interesting person.

4. Develop Lasting Personal Relationships

Suppose you had everything you wanted. Would you be happy without anyone to share it with? The personal relationships we develop with friends and family members are the greatest source of happiness in our lives. Don’t forget about them.

Taking the time to cultivate and enjoy personal relationships is essential to longterm happiness. Without the people you care about you’ll probably be miserable, no matter how successful you become.

5. Work Towards a Dream You’re Passionate About

Even if your life isn’t perfect, you can always build towards a goal you’re passionate about. If you aren’t building towards something, you’re probably stagnating. When this happens to me I start to feel like a victim trapped by my own life. The best way to reverse this is working towards a goal.

We can’t control everything about our lives, but working towards a goal gives us something positive to focus on and lays the foundation for future success. No matter what your passion is, get out there and start doing something. As Lao Tzu said, even a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.

Bonus: 6. Stay in Shape

You only get one body. Once it’s been ruined there isn’t much you can do about it. Exercise to keep the rust off. Avoid excessive consumption of damaging substances and unhealthy foods. It may feel like terrible self denial at the time but enjoying good health in your later years is worth the sacrifice.

10 Ways to Instantly Build Self Confidence

Build Self Confidence

1. Dress Sharp

Although clothes don’t make the man, they certainly affect the way he feels about himself. No one is more conscious of your physical appearance than you are. When you don’t look good, it changes the way you carry yourself and interact with other people. Use this to your advantage by taking care of your personal appearance. In most cases, significant improvements can be made by bathing and shaving frequently, wearing clean clothes, and being cognizant of the latest styles.

This doesn’t mean you need to spend a lot on clothes. One great rule to follow is “spend twice as much, buy half as much”. Rather than buying a bunch of cheap clothes, buy half as many select, high quality items. In long run this decreases spending because expensive clothes wear out less easily and stay in style longer than cheap clothes. Buying less also helps reduce the clutter in your closet.

2. Walk Faster

One of the easiest ways to tell how a person feels about herself is to examine her walk. Is it slow? tired? painful? Or is it energetic and purposeful? People with confidence walk quickly. They have places to go, people to see, and important work to do. Even if you aren’t in a hurry, you can increase your self confidence by putting some pep in your step. Walking 25% faster will make to you look and feel more important.

3. Good Posture

Similarly, the way a person carries herself tells a story. People with slumped shoulders and lethargic movements display a lack of self confidence. They aren’t enthusiastic about what they’re doing and they don’t consider themselves important. By practicing good posture, you’ll automatically feel more confident. Stand up straight, keep your head up, and make eye contact. You’ll make a positive impression on others and instantly feel more alert and empowered.

4. Personal Commercial

One of the best ways to build confidence is listening to a motivational speech. Unfortunately, opportunities to listen to a great speaker are few and far between. You can fill this need by creating a personal commercial. Write a 30-60 second speech that highlights your strengths and goals. Then recite it in front of the mirror aloud (or inside your head if you prefer) whenever you need a confidence boost.

5. Gratitude

When you focus too much on what you want, the mind creates reasons why you can’t have it. This leads you to dwell on your weaknesses. The best way to avoid this is consciously focusing on gratitude. Set aside time each day to mentally list everything you have to be grateful for. Recall your past successes, unique skills, loving relationships, and positive momentum. You’ll be amazed how much you have going for you and motivated to take that next step towards success.

6. Compliment other people

When we think negatively about ourselves, we often project that feeling on to others in the form of insults and gossip. To break this cycle of negativity, get in the habit of praising other people. Refuse to engage in backstabbing gossip and make an effort to compliment those around you. In the process, you’ll become well liked and build self confidence. By looking for the best in others, you indirectly bring out the best in yourself.

7. Sit in the front row

In schools, offices, and public assemblies around the world, people constantly strive to sit at the back of the room. Most people prefer the back because they’re afraid of being noticed. This reflects a lack of self confidence. By deciding to sit in the front row, you can get over this irrational fear and build your self confidence. You’ll also be more visible to the important people talking from the front of the room.

8. Speak up

During group discussions many people never speak up because they’re afraid that people will judge them for saying something stupid. This fear isn’t really justified. Generally, people are much more accepting than we imagine. In fact most people are dealing with the exact same fears. By making an effort to speak up at least once in every group discussion, you’ll become a better public speaker, more confident in your own thoughts, and recognized as a leader by your peers.

9. Work out

Along the same lines as personal appearance, physical fitness has a huge effect on self confidence. If you’re out of shape, you’ll feel insecure, unattractive, and less energetic. By working out, you improve your physcial appearance, energize yourself, and accomplish something positive. Having the discipline to work out not only makes you feel better, it creates positive momentum that you can build on the rest of the day.

10. Focus on contribution

Too often we get caught up in our own desires. We focus too much on ourselves and not enough on the needs of other people. If you stop thinking about yourself and concentrate on the contribution you’re making to the rest of the world, you won’t worry as much about you own flaws. This will increase self confidence and allow you to contribute with maximum efficiency. The more you contribute to the world the more you’ll be rewarded with personal success and recognition.