Authentic Confidence : Part 4

Why Not You?: Twenty-eight Days to Authentic Confidence
by Valorie Burton

(Page 4 of 4)

Both arrogance and timidity stem from a lack of knowledge and wisdom about God's Word, His promises, and His character. Arrogance and timidity are manifestations of insecurity, self-doubt, and fear that lead to a lack of authentic confidence.

In Why Not You? we'll explore the basic pillars for authentic selfconfidence as well as shifts and changes you can make beginning today to become a more faith-filled, confident person over the next twenty-eight days.

I encourage you to read this book with a partner or group, so that you may talk out the issues discussed and hold one another accountable as you take steps forward in faith. If you choose to read it alone, that's fine! Don't allow not having a partner or group to be an obstacle. I offer actions and confidence-building exercises that can be done in a group or individually. In this book, I open my own life to you and share many personal examples as well as stories from the lives of people like you. From every example are drawn practical, spiritual lessons.

What I want for you is to be so sure of yourself, so confident in your potential, that you experience all that God has in store for you. I don't want you to shrink any longer from who you really are in order to make others happy or to stay inside your comfort zone. When opportunity knocks, I want you to be ready to answer and fully confident about doing so.

I've experienced the pain of allowing doubt to overwhelm me in a moment of opportunity. I've also learned to step up to the plate - despite the persistence of doubts that crossed my mind.

"Be prepared in season and out of season," the apostle Paul advised Timothy (2 Timothy 4:2). Authentic confidence will empower you to be ready to serve God in any situation. Remember my moment of empowerment in front of the television cameras? Isn't it amazing the way God can supernaturally infuse you with confidence if you ask Him to? And remember Jesus's promise: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7).

We never know the ways in which a lack of confidence usurps our success because often multiple opportunities are born out of one simple connection. So it's essential to your personal and professional success to be ready and confident when opportunities cross your path. Many times you simply won't have time to research and prepare. You'll need to stand on what you already know and do your best with what you have in that moment. Authentic confidence will empower you with that skill. For nearly a year in 2001 and 2002, I served on the air as the co-host of The Potter's Touch, and I also helped create show ideas and coordinate guests. It was an awesome and divinely orchestrated opportunity. I grew and learned a lot quickly.

In addition to the terrific broadcasting experience it gave me, the television program also opened doors for me to meet two wonderful friends. One of them is like a sister to me, and the other connected me with the person who introduced me to an editor of my current publisher. Had I not had the confidence to rise to the occasion when the opportunity presented itself, these doors might not have opened.

Why Not You? is a twenty-eight-day program written in twenty-eight small chapters so that you may digest the information and take action daily over the next four weeks. At the end of each chapter are three important tools for you to use to connect more deeply with yourself and God - and to stretch yourself so that God can shape you into a more confident person:

Confidence Prayer: A simple way for you to direct your thoughts to God and ask Him for the strength and wisdom you need in the particular area addressed in that chapter.

Confidence Journal: This is the assignment part, but you don't have to be a writer. Journal if you choose, or just make notes in response to the simple question or series of questions designed to empower you to unearth your potential by addressing the issues, challenges, and possibilities that lie ahead of you. I recommend you get a special journal or notebook in which to write your answers and thoughts.

Confidence Builder: This is the all-important action step - and this book isn't meant to be read passively. It will only work if you step out in faith and take action toward becoming a more confident person who daily conquers doubt, hesitation, and fear to enjoy success in every area of life.

Don't skip over these three tools! If you use them over the next twentyeight days, you'll transform your level of confidence and significantly enhance your quality of life. Throughout this book, you'll also notice that the topics addressed can be categorized in four ways:

1. Truth. It's important to see the reality of where you are. What are the issues you need to address? What aspects of your past hold clues to the doubts or insecurities that are most persistent in your mind? Are you stuck in a rut of overachieving in order to compensate for other areas? As your coach, I'll help you get a grip on your truth as a starting point for building authentic confidence.

2. Faith. Since authentic confidence is based on faith in God's will and plan for you, absolutely key is your spiritual foundation as a cornerstone. We'll talk about how to conquer doubt, just be yourself, put a stop to competing and comparing yourself with others, unravel cultural lies, manage emotional behaviors that sabotage your success, and discover the power of body language to make you feel more confident.

3. Preparation. Authentic confidence will enable you to take steps toward realizing your potential, and that means not waiting for God to hand you your desired circumstances on a silver platter. Rather, it's about maximizing what God has already blessed you with and preparing for the opportunities that will ultimately come, so that when it's time for you to perform, you've no reason to lack confidence. My aim is to encourage you to prepare intentionally so that you'll be ready for opportunities when they do cross your path.

4. Transformation. Last, I'll encourage you to strengthen your courage and faith so that you can transform your behavior with new actions that reflect your authentic confidence. You'll learn the powerful influence of humility, how to set healthy boundaries, how to overcome the temptation to lapse into old habits, how to develop the effective technique of "cross-confidence," and how to be confident even when you do not feel confident.

Thank you for allowing me the privilege of serving as your coach and friend on your journey to authentic confidence. It will be an experience of self-discovery and becoming more of who God intends you to be! Ready? Let's get started.

Copyright © 2007 by Valorie Burton.

About the Author

Valorie Burton is the author of Rich Minds, Rich Rewards: 52 Ways to Enhance, Enrich, and Empower Your Life. A sought-after life coach and speaker whose daily radio feature The Good Life airs on stations nationwide, she is also a columnist for Heart & Soul Magazine, the former co-host and co-producer of the national television program The Potter's Touch with Bishop T.D. Jakes, the on-air life coach for NBC5, and a columnist for BlackAmericaWeb.com.