Star Power was the first career success book I wrote when I first became a career mentor. I used a five pointed star as a model of success. The five points on the star were self-confidence, positive personal impact, outstanding performance, communication skills and interpersonal competence.
The other day, I came across an interesting quote from Rosalynn Carter, former U.S. First Lady, the other day. It read, “You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through.”
I like this quote because it makes an important point about how all of the points on the Star Power success model come together. It is impossible to succeed in your career and life if you don’t believe in yourself.
However as Mrs. Carter points out, self-confidence is not enough – you have to follow through. You have to present yourself well. You have perform – deliver on your commitments, set and reach high goals. You have to be able to communicate well. And, you have to be able to build relationships that withstand the test of time.
And to do all of those things, you have to be tough. You’ll encounter setbacks along the way. There will be times when you’ll want to give up or give in. But if you’re tough, you’ll follow through.
Ironically, toughness brings us right back to self-confidence. In my experience, self-confident people tend to be tough. They tend to be tough because they are resilient. They have the ability to respond to set backs positively. They believe they will succeed, so they have the toughness to do what it takes to get through difficult times.
Self-confidence is at the top of the Star Power career success model because it is the characteristic that allows us to do what it takes to develop our abilities in the other four points of the model.
How confident are you?
Your career mentor,
Bud
PS — You can download a free copy of a more refined version of Star Power, Straight Talk for Success at www.budbilanich.com/straight-talk/ When you do, you’ll begin receiving my daily success quotes and get a free basic membership in my career mentoring site.
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